#and im not supposed to wonder? or get upset? like i absolutely am leaning into the 'he was on the streets' angle bc i hate myself

[hella1975]

assigning a character the highest honour like *adds go home by julien baker to their playlist*

[strangeradventuresofp]

must have been the wind (five x reader)

A/N : this is HEAVILY inspired by alec benjamin’s song lol if u havent listened to it i suggest u do its so good also five is aged up, 18 as always unless otherwise specified !! hope u enjoy loves<3

Five often roamed the halls of the Umbrella Academy mansion. Probably to remind himself that it wasn’t going to collapse anymore, after him and his siblings managed to stop the apocalypse. It was still so surreal to him, and he really didn’t have much of a clue of what to do with his life, so, he just moped around the various, decked out corridors, unsure of what his purpose was. Mostly, he spent his time in the kitchen or at Griddy’s, either drinking coffee or alcohol. Not so much alcohol anymore; after you shared your dismay with him he -mostly- cut it all out. And, of course, Five spent a fair amount of time with you. He had taken a special liking to you after his brothers, Klaus and Diego, had found you trying to run away from someone in your past. They had brought you here to look after you and keep you safe. This obviously led to you being very close with the two men, and evidently, the rest of the Hargreeves as well. They acted as if they were your big siblings, which you were incredibly appreciative of, as you had never really had a strong bond with your own family. 

Your bond with Five, however, was different. You liked him, and he liked you. Various flirty comments had been made between the two of you, but neither of you ever admitted you liked each other. In fact, you both acted as if you had absolutely zero interest in ever being with each other, but everyone knew that wasn’t true. You had taught him how to make coffee just how he liked it, after he begged you six times a day to brew him some more. You liked to think it was just so he could hang out with you, but you knew that black coffee was his one true love. It wasn’t terribly unlikely though, Five did everything he could to hang out with you.

It was a particularly stormy Monday, and it wasn’t unusual that you and Five were the only two in the house. Luther had accompanied Allison on her shopping trip. Diego was probably trying to fight crime again. Vanya was at violin rehearsal, and nobody ever knew where Klaus was unless he was present in the house. Five was messing with the things on the table in the lobby before he heard a glass smash in one of the bedrooms above him. His brows furrowed in concern and curiousness. He quietly made his way up the stairs, meanwhile hearing gentle sobs coming from your bedroom.

You quickly wiped your face, and turned around to face the open door, with Five stood in the space.

“Y/N? I heard some noises when I was downstairs, I was just wondering if you’re okay?” As you smiled, Five studied your face, noticing how puffy your eyes were, and how red your face was, frowning.

“I think your ears are playing tricks on you. Thanks for caring, Five, it’s really nice of you. I wish I could tell you about the noise, but I.. I didn’t hear a thing. It must have been the wind.” Five didn’t believe a word of what you said, and frowned, eyebrows knitted together in an attempt to figure you out. “Sorry, Five, but I would really like to be on my own right now.” You smiled apologetically before closing your door, leaving him stood outside it, taken aback. Suddenly, a blue flash appeared and Five was stood back in your bedroom.

“Y/N-”

“Are you kidding me? I just told you I wanted to be alone.”

“I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong.”

“What’s your problem, Five?”

“Why won’t you tell me?”

“Because I want to be alone, like I said!” You knew his intentions were good, but it made you upset that he didn’t respect your wishes first time around. He opened his mouth to speak as you pushed him out of your bedroom and closed the door once again. He sighed, and decided he wouldn’t try again, even though he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving you so upset, on your own.

A few moments later you heard the front door open and close, looking out of your window to see him leaving, presumably to get himself a coffee. Even though you had taught him months ago, he still insisted that you make it, because ‘yours just tastes better’. 

It wasn’t long before Five found himself inside the doughnut shop, wanting a black coffee, as always. He was surprised to see his brother, Number Four, already sat at the counter.

“Hey, hey. Ben’s sat there.” Five sighed and took the seat the other side of Klaus and put his head in his hands. “What’s up, brother?”

“Y/N’s upset, and I don’t know why. And I don’t know how to help. And she won’t let me talk to her because she wants to be alone,”

“You gotta respect that she wants some alone time. Try talking to her later.”

“But she’s partly upset with me. I made her mad earlier and I just-” Five sighed, trying to find the right words. “It makes my heart ache to know that she’s upset. It’s like the worst pain I’ve ever felt. And I don’t know how to make her feel better.”

“Just buy her flowers or.. Or a doughnut or something, I don’t know. Just do something that she’ll like.”

“But how am I supposed to-”  As Klaus looked to the side, he saw a quick blue flash and noticed his brother was no longer sat beside him.

“Thanks, Klaus. No problem, Five!” He sighed and looked at Ben. “I don’t get enough credit form you people.”

~~~

A few hours and a hundred tears later, you heard gentle knocking on the wooden door. You mumbled a ‘Come in’ and opened your eyes to see Five stood by your bed, which you were curled up in, holding a cup in one hand and a bag in the other. He noticed your eyes hadn’t gotten any less puffy, and suspected that you had continued crying after he had left your room.

“What do you want, Five?”

“I brought you doughnuts. And some hot cocoa, with marshmallows. I tried to make it how you like it, but you’re always better at that sort of stuff.” He grinned sheepishly as he put them down on your bedside table, and you felt the bed dip as he took a seat beside you. You sat up to face him, frowning.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I also bought a few movies I know you really like. I thought we could watch them.”

“We? You don’t like any of the movies I like.”

“I know but.. I thought you might want some company. And I want to apologize for, you know, earlier. I overstepped and I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry.” As you looked at him, you noticed a shy smile on his face, that brought out his dimple. You smiled, pulling him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around gently, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Five.” You placed a gentle kiss to cheek, causing both you and him to gain red cheeks. Five pressed his lips to yours almost immediately, unable to hold his feelings for you any longer. Your mouths moved with each other rhythmically, and as you smiled against his lips, his hand reached up to cup your cheek. The kiss lasted a few minutes before the two of you pulled away from each other, your forehead leaning against his.

“Put the damn movie on.” Smiling, you pushed him away, making room for him on your bed while he started the movie up. He sat beside you, his arm gently rested on your shoulders. You hugged around his waist, listening to his heartbeat. Kissing your forehead, he moved the hair out of your face.

“A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be crying so much. I won’t ask what’s wrong, but I’m always here for you, Y/N. You can tell me anything. Nothing could ever make me think any less of you.” Once again, your lips collided, moving with each other in sync, huffing when he pulled away from you, earning a quiet chuckle from his parted lips.

“Five?” He hummed in response. “What are we?” Your eyes met his as his brows furrowed.

“I don’t know.” You sighed, hoping for a better answer, before he opened his mouth once again. “I like you.”

“I like you too.”

“Be my girlfriend.”

“Okay.” Snuggling more into him, you felt him plant a kiss to your temple and you grinned. 

~~~

“Hey! Guys, you gotta see this! Five and Y/N are spooning!” Klaus shouted to the rest of the house, stood in the doorway of your door.

“Klaus, what are you doing?” Five rubbed his eyes, propping himself up on his elbow, feeling you stir in his sleep beside him. Other footsteps could be heard coming down the corridor as the other siblings piled into the doorway.

“Little Number Five and Y/N.. Who would’ve thought?” Klaus placed his hands on his heart, grinning at you and the boy.

“Um.. Everybody?” Allison giggled as the others in the doorway laughed. Five shushed his siblings, gesturing to you. “Okay, okay. Let’s leave them alone.” Very quickly, the doorway became empty, and the door became closed again, and Five lay back down, facing you, smiling at how adorable you looked.

“Mm.. Five, what are you doing?” Your heavy eyelids pulled themselves open to look at your boyfriend, watching him smile at you.

“You’re just beautiful.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.” The ends of his lips turned up into a smirk and he kissed you quickly, before pulling away and grinning cheekily. “Make me a coffee?”

my masterlist

A/N : hiihi thanks 4 reading ! i actually rly like this and im proud of it so i hope u guys like it too and i hope u all have a lovely day<3

[not-playable-character]

I swear to God im working on the next after story, so much has gotten in the way. Everytime I sit down to write something comes up and I won't be able to access my computer this weekend more than likely because I'll be flooded out of my house. So to make it up to you guys who have been patiently waiting (especially @ibest14 who requested this fix) im posting what I do have written as a lil preview (and so you guys can say yea or nay to the premise)

It was a normal Saturday afternoon when the Winters family got a very strange package.  It was addressed to the whole family and had no return address.

“What the heck is this?” Rose wondered aloud carrying the small package inside, “Hey mom! Did you order something online?”

“Not that I remember, why?” Mia asked curious why her daughter was asking about the mail, “Who is it addressed to? Maybe your dad ordered something.” She went and stood next to Rose to look at the package.

“Hmm, I think we should wait for dad to get home to open it, I mean it is addressed to all of us.” Mia agreed with her daughter and went to continue making dinner.

Ethan got home a few hours later and was greeted by his daughter with a warm hug, “Haha, hey there kid how was your day?” He asked returning the hug and picking Rose up.

“It was good! We got a weird package in the mail, mom and I decided to wait for you before opening it.” Rose said leading him into the kitchen after he put her down.

“Welcome home, Hon!  How was work?” Mia asked kissing Ethan on the cheek.

“Ugh, Williams was an absolute pain again.  He somehow unplugged all of his equipment and disconnected his computer from the ethernet cable again.” Ethan complained sitting down at the dinner table next to Rose. “Chris somehow changed his computer to Arabic and Sal’s computer was changed to have wingdings as the default language and it bricked the whole thing, he said it was an accident, but I think it was one of the dicks that keep harassing him.  I told Chris and he’s looking into it.” Ethan picked up the package and looked at the outside.

“Ugh why can’t these douchebags see that Sal is way better than them.  Probably just jealous of him.” Rose said frustrated at the harassment her uncle was receiving.

“We should invite him over for dinner sometime, lift his spirits some!” Mia suggested placing a glass of juice down for Ethan.  He agreed and thanked her for the juice.

Ethan handed the package back to Rose who tore into the packaging.  Inside was a video game box, “Resident Evil? Isn’t that a game from the nineties?” Rose asked confused.

Ethan leaned over to get a better look, “Yeah it is, I played almost all of them, but I’ve never seen that one.  It looks like its supposed to be the seventh one, but they only made six that I know of.” Ethan became confused taking the box from Rose studying it, it strangely didn’t have a back cover.

“Weird, maybe they are rebooting the series, but why wouldn’t there be a lot of news about it?” Rose asked.  Ethan’s face lit up at the possibility of a reboot of his favorite childhood series.

“Man, I hope so, I always loved Craig Bluemarsh and Leo C. Harrison.  They were the best!  The whole M.O.O.N.S squad from Badger City.  Special Ops turned paranormal investigators was the twist of the decade!  And the whole thing with Egbert Walberk and how he possessed himself with countless demons to become basically a god.” Ethan sighs as he reminisces.

“You clearly have bad taste honey because Julie Easter was the best character in the series.  The ace of the M.O.O.N.S squad, the one that Walberk kidnapped to force demons into her with a mind control amulet.  Oh, and don’t forget Chloe Bluemarsh, college kid turned aid worker for those affected by the demons.” Mia added as she chopped vegetables for dinner.

“Ahh yes, how could I forget! Anyway, this looks like a cheap bootleg or fake.  Probably just a prank from Dani or Angie.”  Ethan said tossing the case further on the table looking upset.

“Aw man…. That’s lame dad.” Rose says dramatically throwing herself over the back of the chair.  “I’m keeping it anyway; the box looks cool.”

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

A month after the whole package incident, Rose bursts into the house beaming.  “Dad, Uncle Chris just told me that we are having a meeting with the whole gang! We should totally bring that janky game we got and show it off!”

“Whoa, slow down Rose! You’re gonna hurt yourself running around like that.” Ethan says watching his daughter bounce in place.  “Why do you think we should bring that thing anyway? I doubt there will be anytime to just sit around and play a game, if it’s even real.”  Rose rolls her eyes at him.

“Dad, I’m sure Uncle Chris can pull some strings so we can have a little get together.  We never get to see each other all at once!” Rose states, putting on her best puppy dog eyes, “Don’t you want to see the gang, Dad.  It would be so much fun.  You know how much I miss them all.” She begs.

Ethan can physically feel his resolve crumbling at his begging daughter, always caving into her once she pulls out the puppy eyes, “Fine, I’ll talk with Chris and we can bring the game with us, but you are responsible for the PlayStation and if it gets damaged or broken you have to buy the new one.” He says in his dad voice, trying to be stern.  Rose squeals and jumps into his arms hugging him.

“You’re the best dad ever!”  She says running off to prepare for their long weekend at Blue Umbrella.

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“Ok, is everyone comfy, I’m about to start the game!” Rose said excitedly setting up the PS4 in the Blue Umbrella lounge room.  Everyone was present, Rose even convinced Miranda and Elena to join them after Milena was put to bed.

“I am unsure of what we are even doing sweet thing.” Alcina said settling into her chair near Mia and Donna.

“Well, I’m gonna play this weird game I got, maybe Dani can take over if I get tired.  We are just gonna check it out, if its good, Great! If not, we can make fun of how bad it is!” Rose explained sitting down on the couch wedged between Daniela, Angie, and Heisenberg with Bela and Cassandra on the floor in front of them.  Alcina wasn’t convinced that it would be fun, but she couldn’t deny Rose’s request considering how excited she looked.  She sighed and pulled out her reading glasses seeing the small text on the screen.

“Psh, what are you a grandma?” Heisenberg teased. Alcina growled at him.

“Oh, please grow up you child.” She replied trying to de-escalate the situation knowing Rose and her daughters hated when they argued.

“I see making your head bigger didn’t help your eyesight.” He continued to tease sensing her anger.

“I grew proportionally you ignoramus, becoming larger would not fix my farsightedness.” She growled out becoming angrier.

“Guys….” Rose said sadly at the two arguing.  Heisenberg immediately stopped his next sentence and turned to give Rose a side hug.

“Sorry kiddo, I forgot you hate it when we fight.  I’ll stop, I promise.”  He says sincerely as Alcina nods looking guilty, Rose smiles accepting their apologies.

“No more sappiness get to the action I’m getting bored!” Angie cried out from Daniela’s lap.  Rose rolls her eyes at the doll’s bratty attitude and begins the game.

[notanacousticsetcal]

speak now - luke hemmings

summary - based off of the song speak now by taylor swift -- highly recommend listening before reading for the full experience.

warnings - none? nerves and kind of public speaking

word count - 1.6k - lyrics not included this time, lemme know if you guys prefer that

a/n - im SO sorry ive been MIA, i have had absolutely zero motivation. this is some trash i wrote a while ago and i thought i would post it while im trying to find inspiration to write something better. its the 5th installment of the song series so you can go check those out as well if you want! also, like i said in the word count, i did not include the lyrics this time around. i think i prefer that but im not sure, let me know if you guys want me to include the lyrics next time and i will! thank you for reading, i missed yall.

***

Your mom’s old pale yellow dress didn’t fit as well as you had hoped but you had no other options, formal events were not a common occurrence in your life. The wedges pinched at your toes and the thin dress straps dug into your shoulders but the soft yellow complimented your skin and you liked the ribbon around the waist so it wasn’t a total loss.

You sucked in a sharp breath, adjusting the dress once more in the mirror before grabbing your purse and hustling out the door. 

This wasn’t happening. You weren’t actually doing this. The girl who feels like she has to throw up before public speaking and stutters over small talk and avoids eye contact at all costs is supposed to stand up in front of 100 people and declare her love for the boy getting married to someone else? You felt nauseous thinking about it.

But you couldn’t sit idly by and watch the love of your life say “I do,” to the snobby girl that put gum in your hair in middle school. If there was ever a time that you would stand in front of a crowd voluntarily and speak, it would be now.

The venue was beautiful. The church had vaulted ceilings and large stained glass windows that cast colorful shadows on the hardwood flooring. There were cascading white curtains and pale pink tablecloths with little white doilies. It was pretty but humble and you felt a pang of jealousy in your chest.

Concealing yourself in the crowd wasn’t difficult considering she’d invited the county and all its neighbors. Everyone was in the pews standing and mingling and you noticed the only group sitting quietly was the family of the bride herself, all looking around carefully like the normal folk were unevolved cavemen. They wore coordinating lavender outfits with done up hair and hats with little feathers -- something straight out of a period piece. 

You rolled your eyes at their judgmental nature and apparent superiority complex before your attention was drawn to the boys in the front row talking seriously among themselves, dread written clearly on their faces. 

Calum, Ashton and Michael wore similar black tuxes, looking uncomfortable in the formal getup. You only watched for a few moments before you caught Ashton’s attention. He first looked shocked but his expression quickly became sincere. He gave you an apologetic smile which you returned before heading to the back to avoid any more curious eyes. His family would surely recognize you if they saw you and you didn’t want any extra attention on you until you were subjecting yourself to it. 

As you waited for the ceremony to start, you stared fondly out the window at the snowy trees and calm serenity of nature before allowing yourself to be whisked away in a vivid daydream about what it might be like to tell him how you truly feel. 

You jumped, pulled from your daydream by dark, heavy chords coming from the church organ. You cringed a little as the horribly ill fitting song continued, but readied yourself for the ceremony to begin. 

The silk purple curtains concealed your figure enough in the back of the church and your heart rate began to rise. This was happening. You were about to profess your love to a man who might turn you down in front of everyone and their mother. But it would be worth it. You couldn’t live your whole life wondering “what if?”

You heard a squeak of door hinges from your right and held still. Any sudden movements might give you away. 

A young girl came running through with a wicker basket in hand, poorly distributing rose petals along the aisle. Something caught your eye in the front of the room. 

Luke stepped out, front and center, and straightened his tie. Your breath caught in your throat. He looked just the same as the last time you’d seen him on that warm summer night. You had expected some drastic change, to not even recognize him. But it was Luke. The same one that picked flowers with you at recess and stopped to wait for you whenever you needed to tie your shoe. The same one that was always there to dry your tears and to watch dumb romantic comedies with you without complaining. He stood there quietly, clean shaven and rosy cheeked, the same Luke you knew and loved. 

You pushed away the more upsetting memories, like the one from that warm, sticky night. The image of his tear stained cheeks and pleading eyes. 

Moments later, your eyes were pulled from Luke. Courtney came strutting through the open Mahogany doors, waving like she was fucking Queen Elizabeth.

You rolled your eyes at her bedazzled ball gown and fake pageant smile. She didn’t care about Luke, she cared about image and reputation. Which is why you were really about to piss her off.

You looked back towards Luke and tried to read his expression but it was stoic, unmoved. You wish that was me, don’t you?

Courtney reached Luke and shot him a wide smile, to which he returned. Except Luke's was empty, not sincere. Luke had always thought Courtney was beautiful and smart and made the decision from there that marrying her wouldn’t be so bad. After you had turned him down in the glow of the firelight on that July night. It broke him and you hated yourself every day because of it. You weren’t ready to love him then. But you were most certainly ready now. 

Ready to risk everything for that blue eyed boy. 

The ceremony progressed and the preacher neared the end of the formalities. You felt your time was nearing. Your knees were weak and knocky, your hands shaking. 

The preacher paused, and with his booming voice said “if anyone can show just cause why this couple cannot lawfully be joined together in matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.” He looked down, preparing to move on and read the next portion, assuming no one would protest. No sane person ever protested. 

Your breath hitched in your throat. It was now or never. If you didn’t find it in you to step forward at this moment, the person you love most in this world might be gone forever. 

The room fell silent and you closed your eyes, pushing the sheer curtain aside and taking a shaky step forward. You heard heads turn and a few audible gasps.

When you opened your eyes, everyone had turned to you. Every familiar face, every friend, every stranger.

You caught Courtney’s eye and she looked as if every fiber of her being was on fire. If someone reached out and touched her in that moment, they’d get a 3rd degree burn. She looked like she was trying to strangle you with her eyes.

You flattened your dress once more and looked up, bracing yourself for the look on Luke’s face. 

He didn’t look angry or upset, just… confused. And surprised.

You took that as a sign to continue. You softly cleared your throat, speaking directly to the man in front of you. “I am not the kind of girl who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion but you are not the kind of boy… who should be marrying the wrong girl.” There were some shocked whispers and appalled gasps but you ignored them.

You walked forward down the aisle to get a clearer look at Luke and stopped at the stairs. You felt like you were alone with him now and it made it easier. “So don’t say yes, let’s run away now. I’ll meet you when you’re out of the church at the back door. Don’t wait or say a single vow, you need to hear me out.” You looked at him with pleading eyes and for the first time, his facade fell. You saw the glint of relief in his eyes and the slump of his once tense shoulders. 

Luke looked around once more at all of the people that had gathered there today for him and knew he needed to make a decision. He turned to look at his friends stationed behind him, and to no surprise, their faces were lit up with pure happiness and relief. He couldn’t help but smile back at them. Calum threw him a thumbs up and Michael mouthed “go with her, dumbass.” 

Luke turned back to the audience and spotted his mother in the crowd. He tried to read her expression but when she gave him a soft, curt nod, he knew what he had to do. 

He quickly grabbed Courtney’s hands and your face immediately fell. He was going to choose her after all.

Then, he whispered something you didn’t expect. “I'm sorry, Court. This is a mistake, you don’t love me and I don’t love you — you and I both know that. We can’t do this. I have to go.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek quickly as she stood, frozen.

You felt a pang of guilt. But then you remembered that she would get over it and be marrying someone filthy rich by the time she was 25 and didn’t feel so bad anymore.

Luke then turned back to you. He jogged down the steps and pulled you into a hug. It was so silent in the church now, you could hear a pin drop.

He grabbed your shoulders and kissed your forehead. “Let’s run away now, I’ll meet you when I’m out of my tux at the back door.”

You nodded, tears in your eyes, and ran towards the double doors of the church. This was the best decision you had ever made.

You stood in the crisp, chilly air, waiting for Luke to come out of the door on the side of the church. Snow fell on your hair and eyelashes and you reached out a hand to catch some flakes. 

In only three minutes he’d managed to change back into his black skinny jeans, looking like himself again. You could’ve cried at the sight.

“Hi,” you said. What else do you say to someone when you just got them to call off a marriage at the alter?

His smile grew and he ran forward, nearly tackling you in a giant hug. His hands found the back of your head and his eyes searched your face, memorizing every feature, worried that at any second, he might wake up from this amazing dream. “So glad you were around when they said speak now.”

taglist (dm or ask to be added!): @theshyspy

[kmelanin]

patient-hyunjin request

request- Hi beautiful! Your writing is absolutely amazing and a true gift for black girls! I saw your requests were open and I was wondering if you could write a skz Hyunjin smut like you're a western idol and you come visit korea during ur break cuz he's also on break but you get mad cuz he's always hanging with this gg idol but then you guys makeup and bathtub cuddles. Pleasee and thank you

an/ im so sorry this is late! I hope you enjoy my sloppy writing. :’))))

-Hyunjun posted a photo- You read your phone screen and sigh. You sat back in your seat in the back of your drivers vehicle, on the way to the airport. You were heading back to Korea for your mid-summer break vacation. This would be your first time back since leaving for America five years ago to pursue and further your singing career. Out of all of the people you will be seeing and visiting, your ex best friend is the only person on your mind.

If anyone knew you, they knew about Hyunjin and vise versa. You two were such an unstoppable duo, until exactly five years ago. You always think about his confession, or supposed confession. 

--- “You what?” He stands there in front of you his face twisted up as if he was a puppy and you kicked him. 

“I'm leaving Korea.” You repeat. He doesn't say anything, just squints his eyes. So you continued. “I have this opportunity to further my career with this company” You continue on explaining yourself. 

“What about the companies I showed you?” He asks softly, his voice laced with confusion.

“I told you no in the beginning Hyunjin, they don't want me. Not only am I black, but I'm also one thick ass bitch. It doesn't match up. In the US, I can actually get somewhere.” You try to say everything carefully, trying to read his expression. But it was so hard. 

“What about me? You know I can't just leave, and I need you here.” He tries to fight it, fight the reality. 

“And what? Just sit on the sidelines, and just say fuck my own wants and dreams?” You ask about getting defensive. 

“No, but I- I love you so much. I don't want you to be so far away from me.” He runs his hands through his hair, his frustration showing. “Look, I wanted to tell you this another way. But you, you are the one for me YN. I can't- I'm not ready for you to leave this soon.”

“I can't change anything Hyunjin. I've put you first for so long, it's my turn now.” You are getting heated now. Why can't he understand? 

“If you leave, I'll hurt, hurt for a while. And i won't forgive you…” He mumbles, tears running down his face. You didn't even know how to react to it. You knew he would be upset, but trying to manipulate you like this? 

“Fuck you, Hwang Hyunjin.” You got up from your seat and left.-----

You regretted leaving him that day, and not saying goodbye before you left for America. But you don't regret going to America. You tried to call him a couple of times since then, but he ignored you, sent you to voicemail. You tried to talk to him through other members, but they just advised you to let him move on. 

But you didn't want that, you wanted your best friend. You wanted him to be proud of you, as you are to him. 

The only person you've told that you were coming is Felix, and your mother of course. But she's in the US. You didn't want to tell the world, so you could get some peace and quiet.

Once you get off of the plane, you meet up with Felix and he rides with you on the way to your apartment that you have here. 

“He’s gonna kill me.” Felix laughs next to you.

“Why do I have a feeling that he's going to kill me too?” You sigh, your nerves are also trying to kill you. 

“Ahh, I don't think so. I think he’ll be shocked, but he has definitely changed.” He rolls his eyes. 

“Changed? What do you mean?” You ask, tilting your head a bit. 

“Everyone but Hyunjin thinks that he just suppressed everything. Like at first you can't tell that anything is wrong, he is good at putting up an act. I mean, that's kinda our job. Right…” He pauses, “ But we know him better than he thinks. Lee thinks that he's waiting, he doesn't want to get over you.” 

His words stunned you. You are speechless, did you leaving really hurt him that bad? He definitely hates you.

“I mean, you had to know that the kid has been in love with you since way before debut. God, it was annoying! So i'm not surprised he can hide his feelings so easily, but it's like this time he really got hurt, so he hides a lot more.” 

Once you got to your apartment, Felix made sure you got in safely and then had to head to the studio. He did leave Hyunjins location tomorrow night, so that gave you an idea. Supposedly he's going to be at the dance studio, practicing his dance moves. You really have no idea how to confront him, other than to pop up. You've been at this studio before, so it shouldn't be hard to find. 

For the rest of the night you take your time and unwind from your travels. You call your manager and let him know you wanted some food in the house and a chef, you needed some homemade Korean food in your life. 

You hop in the shower and wash the day away. You don't wash your hair since you had a jet black, fresh wig on. But you do shave everywhere and use some body scrub. After some shower lotion, you love to see your skin glowing. 

You put on a silk slip dress and your slippers. You can hear the chef in the kitchen banging things around, making a great meal. You go into the living room and head over to the sound system that you had, it plays whatever music throughout the whole apartment. You put on some softer korean music, and you start to light some candles. Your anxiety levels at the moment, were skyrocketing. But you were trying your best to forget about him for the moment, and get yourself together. 

The past five years has definitely made you realize the love you had for this man. But you thought for sure that he hated you, that he wants nothing to do with you. But after hearing Felix, you just needed to see him, and either actually end things or get this friendship back in order. You needed to end these questions that cloud your brain on a daily basis. 

After everything you've been through and all the shows you've done, you've never felt this amount of anxiety.You stand in front of the studio, right outside. It was around six at night, and you were really debating on leaving or not. You look at your phone, at the time once again. He should be leaving anytime now. 

He was taking forever, or maybe it was the nerves making the time go by so slow. You put your phone away and you walk up the stairs. You open the tinted glass door and step into the air conditioned hallway. You walk down the hallway and turn down the first left. If you remember correctly, this was the right direction. Since the rooms were sound proof, you couldn't hear any music, but you went to the room with the lights on. The one room in the hallway with its lights on. 

You take a deep breath and you look through the glass. 

You swear your heart stopped. You can see him, but his back was turned to you. You could see his face in the wall tall mirror. He was wiping his face off with a towel, and he had his water bottle in his hand. His hair was longer than you remember, in that beautiful black color. He wore black shorts that went right above his knees and a big white shirt. He also had some black Vans on.                                               How can he make such a simple outfit look so good? 

Suddenly, your eyes connect in the mirror and you quickly pull yourself away from the door. You turn around and try and scurry away. But you hear the door swing open and his voice yells out towards you. 

“Hey! Stop!” The sound of his deep voice alone has you stopped in your tracks. “Who are you? Stop playing around.” He goes on in Korean. You need to turn around before he thinks you're a fan and calls the cops for stalking. So you do. 

You turn around and lower your hood, once again connect your eyes with his. You clench your jaw at the sight of his eyes widening at the sight of you. His mouth falls open, moving around as if he wants to say something. Then his eyes get glossy, and soon start to water. 

 “Yn?” His voice whispers. Before you could say anything, the door opens and this auburn hair colored girl walks out. 

“Oppa?” She squeaks and leans against him. She then spots you and tilts her head, probably wondering who you were. 

You sure the hell were wondering who she was. Felix didn't tell me he was seeing anyone, why didn't he tell you?? You didn't know what to feel.

“Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting your dance practice. Text me, and maybe we can catch up while i'm here?” You chose your words carefully then you were out of there. 

By the time you were outside there were tears running down your face. Everything is so overwhelming at the moment. Was that his girlfriend? Is that why he ignored all of your messages?

You stay in your apartment for the next couple of days. You just needed time to think about what just happened. You found out the girl he was with is a trainee, and she just debuted. He was always kind and helping people with their dances. But it's been so long, and with the way she was leaning against him...they could be dating, or at least seeing each other.

Your phone starts ringing on your lap. You look down from the movie you were watching and you see Felix's name across your screen.

“Hello?”

“You are so lucky we have nothing going on!” He yells through the phone. 

“What?” You are confused. 

“Don't ask me what. You knooooow what. You went to see him but then just leaves when he wants to say something.” 

“I freaked! He was with some girl and I was interrupting something.” 

“If you thought they were dating, you really are stupid.”

“Excuse me-”

“He's on the way to your apartment so I hope you're there.” He cuts you off. “Tell him.” Then he hangs up. 

You knew exactly what he was talking about. 

You were now at that point in your career where you can locate anywhere in the world and it would mess and disturb anything. So you wanted to relocate your permanent home in Korea. You wanted to tell him in person, hoping for a great reaction. But like usual nothing is going your way. Now you had no choice but to tell him now. Not when you had time to grow another pair of balls. 

You quickly run to your room and change your clothes to something that covers a bit more skin, then just some short shorts and a sports bra. 

Your doorbell goes off and you take a deep breath. This is it. 

You walk to your front door and you open it. 

There he stood. He had a striped shirt tucked into some black jeans. A bit of jewelry, hair just perfect. No makeup, but he still seems to just walk out of a magazine.  

“Please come in, I'm happy Felix sent you here.” You say softly as you hold your door open wider to let him enter. He comes in and slides his shoes off, leaving him in his black socks. You weren't sure how much he knows, but everything is making you so anxious. 

As soon as you shut and lock your door, you were instantly pulled into a back hug. His towering figure practically engulfed you against the wall. His neck was tucked into your neck. You turned around so you can hug him back. You didn't know how much you missed this until now. His hold is so warm and welcoming, especially when he's clinging on to you for dear life. You were so used to seeing Hyunjin the korean kpop idol online, that you almost forgot how much of a baby he was around you. He was always so touchy. It annoyed you before, but now it's the best feeling. 

You loosen your grip a bit, because you wanted to see his face. But one of his hands that was on your waist goes up to the back of your head. So as you went to look at him, he pushes your head forward and crashes his plump lips against yours. Utter shock runs through you, freezing your body where you stand. 

He pulls away slightly, but comes back leaving a more gentle kiss on your lips. He repeats and repeats. Slowly you realize what the fuck is happening and you kiss him back. You kiss him probably way harder than you intend, but he clearly doesn't mind because he instantly matches your energy. Both of his hands are holding your face gaining that control that he wants.

Hyunjin is hungry, he's been starving ever since you left. He couldn't help himself. He can wait for the words, they can come later. But he has been waiting for this exact moment for what feels like forever. 

You needed this to slow down though, you put your hands on his chest and push him away. He listened this time. He even backed away a step, putting himself at a bit of a distance. 

“Felix told me that you might have thought there was something going on between that trainee and I. There's not, I promise.” He goes on. 

“Oh yea? What else did he tell you?” You ask, crossing your arms. 

“Your address.” 

“Mhmm, and by that kiss i'm guessing you don't hate me.” You say thinking out loud at this point. Hyunjin frowns and pouts his lips a bit.

“Hate you? I could never hate you.”

“Well, I wanted to tell you this last night, but I felt like I was definitely intruding.” You start, but you don't want to talk much about that since all you could really think about is his lips at this point. “I am relocating my home base here in Korea.” You blurt out. His eyes look away and back to you quickly. His head tilts a bit in confusion. You wait, letting him comprehend what you just said. Then in the next second, his eyes jump in shock. He looks back at you and his mouth falls open. 

“You're staying in Korea?” His voice comes out strained. You couldn't say anything from the look on his face. Thank fuck he was right or else he would've been broken all over again. You just nod your head really fast, and brace for impact. Which thankfully you did, he runs the very short distance to you and he scoops you up hugging your body. He spins with you in his arms, and you both laugh. 

As soon as he puts you down he grabs your face again and kisses you. This time you kissed back instantly causing the kiss to level up quite a bit. His hands slowly make their way to the back of your head to hold you still as he kisses you deeply. One of his hands runs down to your waist to pull you impossibly close. 

“I missed you so fucking much.” He moans against your lips. You couldn't help but to whine at his words. Because God you missed him so much. Your hands mess up his perfect hair as you run them through it. 

His lips break away from yours again, and he suddenly bends down and grabs onto your thighs and lifts you up. Your sudden shock doesn't help and he leans you against the wall. He laughs a bit as he comes back in for some more kisses. Once he has a better grip on you. He lifts you off the wall and walks towards the living room. 

“Down the hall, first door.” You mumble and kiss down his cheek to his neck so that he can find his way to your room. 

He gets to the end of your bed and he drops you on top of it. You let out a small shriek when he does. 

“What's with you, you're so aggressive?” You ask laughing a bit. He smiles down at you as he climbs on top. 

“Try having the love of your life leave for five years and come back and tell me how you feel.” He mumbles against your ear then kisses it. 

“Mhm, I left the love of my life, but now I'm back and I'm staying, so I know that we have all the time in the world.” Your words barely come out and his lips leave marks all over your neck. He rips your top off and starts to leave more.

“Well during this time, I'm going to show you how much i've missed you.” He hooks his fingers into the waistband of your bottoms and he pulls them off. He leans down and leaves baby kisses on your skin, trailing down in between your legs. You let out a shaky breath when he leaves a kiss on you right above your panties. 

He didn't waste anymore time and he ripped them off. His tongue touches you first, and a sigh leaves you. Your fingers find his head and you grip on to his hair for dear life, pushing and pulling on his head as he eats you out. He puts one of your legs on his shoulder and he leans up just a bit, so he could get his tongue deeper. Soon his fingers join, making you scream out in utter pleasure. Your lower body was twitching so much, making him hold on to your for damn near dear life. 

“Mhm, I can't wait.” He suddenly lets you go and he rips his shirt off, and he leans up and unbuckles his belt. You got distracted by his slightly cared out torso, and so he quickly undoes the rest of his pants and pushes them off. You go to grab onto him, but he stops you and pushes you back. He mounted you and slid his dick against you a couple of times to coat himself in your juices.

“I wanted to taste you too.” You whine a bit, your mind filling with the thoughts of him.

“Like you said, all the time in the world.” He mumbles and takes a peek up at you. He bites his bottom lip as he slowly pushed himself into you. Any response you had to his words, disappeared. This feeling was better than you would've ever thought. You finally have everything you've ever wanted in life. 

He leans down on top of you and he thrusts his hips against yours. His arms were flexed on either side of your face. He gazes down at you, his eyes stuck on your lips Your face is scrunched up in pleasure, your mouth falls open in an ‘o’ shape. He takes that chance and kisses you deeply. He slows down his hips, giving you long deep strokes. You could barely keep up with his kisses from the constant bliss you were getting from him. 

He pulls away and trails down your neck, marking you up some more, making the ones that were already there, bigger. He kisses down your torso. Before you could whine about him not being on top of you, he quickly flips you over on your stomach. He pulls your hips up making you bring yourself on all fours. The way he was handling you really turned you on. He always was so gentle with you. 

His hand pushes your back down a bit, and you arch it as much as you could. He pushes into you again and he bottoms out. He leans over you leaving kisses on your back as he drills into you. 

“You aren't going to leave me again? Mhm?” He asks you in a low voice. All you could do is cry out, but you nod your head trying to answer him. He moves your head so it's to the side and he gives you a kiss on your cheek.

________

You lay on the bed, your body covered in sweat. Hyunjin gets up and asks you where the bathroom is. Your eyes were closed and you were so close to being asleep. You tell him and he walks off.

He walks into your bathroom and notices everything to set up a nice bubble bath. He was surprised how big of a tub you have. 

Once he was done filling it up. He lights the candles that you already have. He walks back to your bed and sees you fast asleep on the bed. He smiles and walks around to the side you are closer to. He leans down and picks you up, startling you. 

“Hyunjin, put me down.” You groan. You just want sleep. 

             “You gotta get cleaned up.” He smiles down at you as he sets you on your feet. Your eyes widen at the view in front of you. He takes a step forward and puts a foot in.

“It's perfect, come here.” He holds a hand out, you quickly take it and he helps you in. You sit down in the warm water. It was perfect, your body easily welcomes the water as you go down. He quickly finds the spot behind you and you. His arms circle around you and he snuggles into your body from behind. You couldn't help but to smile and play with his hair a bit that was on your shoulder. 

“I love you so much. It's like all the hard times i've had in the past don't even exist when you're around. As stupid as I sound, plese don't leave me again.”

[maybeebeee]

The Instance of the Curry Cup

Hi! I haven’t written and posted something in quite a while, but Pokemon SWSH has absolutely consumed my life so here’s a little thing while I’m writing a much bigger thing!

A group chat leads to a party that leads to a curry cooking competition. Piers relentlessly teases Gloria for having a crush on Hop. Hop has a crisis. Just another day in the life of some of Galar's most prominent figures.

As a note for the group chat section of this fic, here are the nicknames to note which characters are who!

Hippity Hop = Hop Eat Sand = Raihan Champion Time Snr = Leon Croon Toondra = Gloria Mermaid = Nessa Big Tiddy Goth GF = Piers Flame Dad(dy) = Kabu Wooloolooloo = Milo Kung Fu Fighting = Bea Rocky Horror = Gordie Baby Goth = Marnie

Rated G, some mild language use | Hop, Gloria, and the other rivals are around 15/16 | Read on AO3 or under the cut!

It had all started with a group chat.

Not long after becoming Champion, Gloria had been added to the gym leader group chat. Leon, Piers, and Opal were still in it and she had learned quickly that Piers, Gordie, and Raihan were the instigators of most of the chaos in that chat. Marnie seemed to encourage her brother a little too much on that front, but overall it was fairly controlled chaos.

Then the second group chat came about.

Raihan had started it, mainly to avoid Melony’s constant reminders to be aware of the language being used with Allister around on the other chat. Subsequently, neither Melony nor Allister were on the new chat.

Nearly everyone else was, though, besides Opal. Even Hop and Sonia had been added, given that it was more of an open chat than the “official” gym leader one. Given that combination, however, it was far more of an ordeal to try and deal with that group, and with Piers and Raihan apparently never sleeping at all, it felt like Gloria’s Rotomphone was constantly buzzing with notifications at even the most insane hours of the night.

It had been just over a year since she’d won the Champion Cup, and Gloria now found herself standing in the kitchen of Leon’s sizable flat in Wyndon, surrounded by the physical embodiment of the most ridiculous parts of that second group chat.

Raihan had suggested the party-but-not a few weeks back, and after a fair bit of negotiating schedules, it had been decided that tonight was the best night to do it, so here they all were. Gloria was glad for the reprieve from her neverending Champion duties, and she’d been absolutely over the moon to see Hop again after what seemed like forever.

And now here she was, knocking elbows with her rival-slash-best friend as they and a bunch of their partially tipsy adult friends battled it out in what had been dubbed the Curry Cup by whoever had suggested the stupid idea in the first place. Probably Raihan.

“Two minutes left!” Slurred Sonia from across the bench. She was just about completely relying on Nessa to stay on her feet at this point, yet somehow still had it in her to decide how much longer those of them competing could cook for. Coming to these gatherings had certainly been an eye-opening experience for Gloria, seeing so many of the most well-known figures in Galar coming together and getting completely sauced for the hell of it.

“You said ten minutes literally thirty seconds ago!” Hop whined, haphazardly throwing in some extra ingredients to finish off his curry when Sonia simply waved him off. Gloria wondered how much of Sonia’s hangover her friend would have to deal with at the lab in the morning, or if the young professor simply wouldn’t show up at all.

It certainly wasn’t two minutes before all of the participants were ushered away from their curries, but Hop still seemed quite confident with his final product. Gloria couldn’t say the same for her own, especially being so used to taking her time with cooking when she camped out with her Pokemon. Not that she had much time to do that anymore, really.

“Sorry to say, but I’m definitely crushing you in this competition, mate, I can just feel it!” Hop said as he slung a friendly arm around Gloria’s shoulders, watching intently as Sonia, Nessa, and Bea walked along the row of curries on the bench to judge them all. Gloria tried to ignore how warm her face was suddenly feeling, but the look she got from Piers told her she wasn’t doing a great job at hiding it.

Damn her own big mouth for blabbing to him about her crush on Hop, the one time she couldn’t sleep and happened to be awake at three in the morning, with Piers being the only one she could think to message at that hour. It had been a good conversation, actually, but still.

Every time she’d seen him since then, it seemed like he was teasing her about Hop. Even directly in front of Hop. It was constant, but Piers claimed it was because Marnie didn’t get crushes on people, so he was using her as a stand-in when it came to teasing about that kind of thing.

Ignoring the ex-gym leader’s very obvious silent mocking, Gloria turned her attention back to Hop and lightly elbowed him in the side before wrapping her own arm around him in return. “As if,” She laughed, “Who’s the undefeated champion in this room? I’ve got this in the bag.”

As it turned out, neither of them were destined to be crowned the Curry Cup Champion, and the competition ultimately went to Leon. Hop decided that it was all rigged because the judges weren’t sober, and had wandered back into the living room with a dramatic huff as most of the other guests went to congratulate his brother.

Piers seemed to take the opportunity to suddenly appear next to Gloria with a ridiculously smug look on his face. “Seems you’re ‘aving fun. Said anything to ‘im yet?”

She folded her arms and pouted crossly. “No. Cannae say anythin’ with you nearby anyway, you’re such a pest.”

Piers scoffed. “Please. I’m doing the both of you a favour, bruv, since ‘e won’t say it and neither will you. The two’ve you are gonna go crazy if this keeps up. I’m gonna go crazy if I ‘ave to watch you idiots keep dancin’ around each other for the rest of time!”

“Shut up, he’s obviously not got anythin’ to say on the topic. Do ye know how much he talks? Surely he’d have said something by now if there was somethin’ to say.”

“Do you ‘ave any idea how much he talks to me? ‘E always messages me at times kids your age shouldn’t be up, sayin’ how he doesn’t want to bother you but can’t sleep and keeps thinkin’ about you so ‘e decided to message me and blah blah blah. Please just tell ‘im so that he actually messages you when he’s thinkin’ about you, there’s only so much more of his sappy shit I can take.” Piers practically begged, seeming like he was mere seconds away from pulling out his phone to show her the evidence. Gloria didn’t doubt that Hop had messaged him plenty, but she still wasn’t convinced that he reciprocated her feelings, even though she knew she had no reason not to believe Piers.

Still, she pulled up the collar of her cardigan to try and hide the bright blush on her face at the thought of Hop being all sappy about her. The question still remained, though, “Why doesn’t he just tell me that himself? Not like he hasn’t messaged me at four AM before sayin’ he misses me or whatever. Gotta say I’ve done the same, prob’ly more sappy than him too.”

Piers gave a dramatic sigh and turned back towards the kitchen. “I need another drink. You’re ‘opeless, the both of you.”

Gloria let out a huff of her own, but decided now would be a good time to retreat after her rival, hoping that maybe now they could actually catch up a bit more now that she’d gotten Piers off her back and everyone else was still preoccupied in the kitchen. Only, she got to the living room and found Marnie and Bede, with no Hop in sight. The other two weren’t sure where he’d gone, only giving a vague direction to “outside.”

With that clue in mind, Gloria headed for the balcony, recalling how Hop had mentioned once that he liked to stand out there and see if he could spot Postwick in the distance, past all of Wyndon’s bright lights and vast expanse of the Wild Area even further past that. It seemed like a good place to start.

True to her assumption, Hop was leaning against the railing and squinting out into the night, so she casually sidled up next to him and prodded his shoulder. “Thinkin’ about something, Hopscotch?” She questioned, a gentle teasing note in her voice.

Hop shrugged. “Nothing to worry about, mate. Just the usual.” His tone was flatter than Gloria had been expecting, so she raised an unconvinced eyebrow at him despite the fact that he wasn’t looking at her yet.

“The good usual or the anxiety usual?” The teasing was gone now, replaced with concern as she let her hand rest on Hop’s shoulder. Many late-night phone calls over the past year had made Gloria well aware of the fact that her best friend still suffered greatly from the many untruths and insecurities that his mind threw at him, even though he seemed to be doing better than he ever had before on the outside, and it was always heartbreaking to watch when he got like this.

“Stop calling me out like that.” Hop joked halfheartedly, his weak smile quickly falling back into a frown, “But really, don’t worry. Just me getting all upset over something stupid again, which is the usual.”

Gloria squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll bet my hat it’s not stupid. Is it the competition?”

He nodded sheepishly following a moment of silence, as if he knew he wasn’t getting out of this now. “It is stupid. Who gets worked up about losing some stupid curry contest that Raihan came up with anyway? It was supposed to just be some fun thing and I ruined it for myself by...by doing what I always bloody do, you know? Losing, and then getting upset about losing, and then getting upset because I know I’m never going to be number one at anything, and then beating myself up for being so stupid, and--”

“Hey.” Gloria interjected, “You’re not stupid, you hear me? Losing doesn’t make ye stupid. Being upset about things doesn’t make you stupid, and your brain lying to you about your worth doesn’t make ye stupid. You are not stupid, alright? You’re strong.” She encouraged, shifting to settle her arm properly across Hop’s shoulders and pull him closer to her side. Their height difference was making it a little harder now that he’d suddenly sprouted almost half a head taller than her since the last time they’d seen each other, but Gloria didn’t care.

Hop didn’t say anything, but leaned into her a little more, so she continued. “You wanna know a secret? You’re my number one. Always have been. So don’t go sayin’ you’re not the best at anything, because you’re the best to me.”

There was nothing but the sound of Wyndon's bustling streets below for a long moment, but suddenly Gloria was being pulled into a tight hug, with Hop's head resting atop hers. "Thanks. Really." He breathed into her hair, "For the record, you're my number one, too. Undefeated champ or not." The soft laugh he let out that time was genuine, and Gloria couldn't help the smile that came to her face in response. Never would there be another sound as sweet as Hop's laughter, she thought. 

When she finally leaned back just enough to look at Hop properly, Gloria had to take a breath to compose herself, suddenly noticing the lack of space between their faces. She hadn't intended on that happening, so she tried to ignore it, like she always tried to ignore her feelings for him. "Say, I was thinkin' about going camping in the Wild Area tonight, wanna tag along? We could make some curry together with our Pokemon, no competition allowed." That wasn't exactly the usual way one went about ignoring their feelings, but at this point she figured it didn't matter. How many times had they camped out together anyway? No big deal.

Hop beamed. "Sounds brilliant! Shall we go now?"

Gloria laughed, but was already reaching into her bag to find Flygon’s pokeball. Since becoming Champion she’d realised she needed to be extra careful about keeping her Pokemon as close to her as possible, especially given that she now had Zamazenta as a trusted member of her team. She didn’t want anything to happen to any of her dear Pokemon friends, which was why these days she always kept her bag on her, or at least within arm’s reach no matter where she was. Just in case.

Flygon let out a happy trill as it burst from its pokeball, setting down expectantly on the balcony behind Hop and Gloria as if it already knew their plan. The two young trainers quickly climbed aboard the eager Pokemon's back, and Gloria's heart began to race when Hop settled in behind her and curled his arms around her waist. We're about to take off, you daft bastard, of course he's gotta hold onto something, she reminded herself. 

“Alright, Flygon, let’s get goin’. To the Wild Area!” Gloria announced. The Pokemon didn’t hesitate to take to the sky once again, both of its passengers whooping with delight once the initial jolts and jerks had passed. Maybe a Flying Taxi would’ve been a smoother ride, but there was something so much better about trusting your own Pokemon enough to transport you safely to where you wanted to go, and it was certainly cheaper than paying to get all the way to the Motostoke side of the Wild Area from Wyndon in a Flying Taxi.

It had already been reasonably dark when they’d left Wyndon, being a little while after dinner time by then, but by the time they made it to North Lake Miloch it was well and truly night time outside. Gloria had actually started to doze off at some point when there had been a pause in conversation, and she awoke with a start as Flygon landed back on the ground. Thank goodness for Hop being able to direct Flygon as effectively as she could herself.

Still, the heat rushed back to her cheeks when she realised that she’d been leaning almost entirely back into Hop’s chest as she’d fallen asleep, but by that point she could only hope that he hadn’t taken too much notice of it. They’d fallen asleep on each other plenty of times, anyway, why should it matter now? Catching feelings was annoying.

If Hop had thought anything of it, he didn’t mention it, and the two of them went about setting up camp with as much friendly banter as usual. Gloria had a handful of berries and half a bag of mushrooms in her supplies, while Hop had some other berries to contribute as well as a few potatoes. They figured it would all mix well enough together, so they let out all of their Pokemon and set to work.

“Maybe letting twelve Pokemon have free reign of the camp wasn’t the best idea.” Hop commented when Gloria’s Flareon came up for the third time to try and taste some of the curry before it was ready. 

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” The Champion said coyly, gently shooing away her meddlesome Pokemon, “They’re all such angels, they’re not doing anything wrong at all.”

Hop laughed. “You’re right, it’s just Flareon. And also our Dubwools chasing each other around everywhere. And Zacian and Zamazenta looking like they’re about to murder anyone that dares get too close to the camp.”

Gloria shrugged as she fished around for a few plates to get ready for serving up. “At least they’re looking out for us. I feel better having them ‘round, just in case.” 

“Fair call.”

Not long after that, the curry was served and most of the Pokemon had been settled down by the offer of some food. Hop and Gloria sat close together by the fire that Flareon and Hop’s Cinderace were keeping an eye on, and chatted idly about this and that, all sorts of things that they’d missed in each other’s lives since the last time they were able to meet up, or even have a long conversation on the phone. 

There were neverending topics to cover. Hop being able to do research on some of his own projects now, Gloria’s latest exhibition matches, silly things they’d caught their Pokemon doing...it always felt as though they’d never missed a beat when they saw each other, like no matter where they left off they could always pick it right back up again.

“You know,” Hop said after a while, once they’d both truly lost track of time and could only guess that it was some time in the middle of the night by now. Gloria was leaning against his shoulder, with his arm casually draped around her in return as they both lay up against their Dubwools. “I really wish we got to do this more. I mean I know we’re both really busy and all now, but…” He sheepishly glanced away, “I dunno. I just miss you, mate. A lot.”

Gloria gave a gentle smile and leaned into Hop a little more. “I know the feeling. Seems like we went from seeing each other every day when we were growin’ up, to once or twice a week during our Gym Challenge, to now...what, once a month if we’re lucky? It’s stupid, I just wanna see my best friend all the time.” She sighed.

How long would it be after this time that they’d be able to spend an extended period of time together like this again? Sure, Gloria had tomorrow as well, but after that she had to head to Kalos for Arceus knew how long for all manner of exhibition matches and photoshoots and advertising campaigns. It was unfair how little time she got to spend at home anymore, she still didn’t know how Leon managed to do it for ten years straight, and from an even younger age than her, for that matter! 

Hop’s next quiet comment cut her out of her spiralling thoughts. She could’ve sworn there was a slight blush tingeing his cheeks, but it could’ve just been the firelight. “Best friend, huh?”

She quirked up a brow in surprise and sat up slightly. “Aye? Always have been, always will be, you know that. Is...something wrong?” Surely this wasn’t going where her lovestruck teenage brain was hoping it would. There was no way Hop liked her like that as well. Piers could not be right about this whole thing.

The boy in question kept his gaze trained on his lap, but Gloria felt his fingers tapping a nervous pattern on her shoulder, where he still had his arm around her. “I, um.” Hop started, rather eloquently, “I...like you. As in, like like you. And I think I have for a really long time but I just never wanted to say anything because I figured you wouldn’t like me back since we were always just best friends, but...sorry. You don’t have to like me back, I just wanted to let you know. Just in case, I guess. I’m sorry. Shouldn’t have opened my big mouth.”

Gloria could’ve sworn her heart stopped in that moment. She felt like she was acting on autopilot when she reached over to grab Hop’s free hand, only hesitating for a fraction of a second before pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek as well. His skin was soft and warm under her lips, and she felt so giddy as she drew back to look at Hop’s adorably surprised expression, his wide golden eyes and slightly parted lips. An irrational part of her mind wanted to lean in and kiss him properly, but now certainly wasn’t the right time for that.

“Of course I like you back, Hopscotch. Honestly cannae believe you didn’t notice how unsubtle Piers was being about teasin’ me literally every single opportunity he got, he’s an idiot.” Gloria laughed, giving his hand a squeeze as he seemed to still be processing what had just happened.

Hop managed to sputter out a laugh of his own a second later, pulling Gloria closer to his side and planting a little kiss of his own to her head. “Are you kidding me? I thought Piers was teasing me about it constantly. I had a three AM crisis to him months ago about it, I can’t believe it.”

Gloria snorted in her laughter, causing a few of their nearby Pokemon to look at her with concern. “I did the exact same thing. Arceus above, I really thought he was havin’ a laff when he said you were messaging him about me!”

“Serious? With the way he said it I was sure he was kidding when he said you were doing the same thing as me! Maybe he was right, we really are dumb.”

Somehow they ended up in a bit of a tangle as they laughed, unapologetically clinging to each other now that they were both apparently on the same page with what it all meant. Maybe nothing had really changed that much with their admissions at all, maybe - much to both of their dismay - Piers had been right, and they’d just been subconsciously waiting for someone to say something this whole time. 

Either way, once they had finally composed themselves enough to focus, Gloria leaned in to press her cheek up against Hop’s. “So...Hop, my dearest best friend and favourite rival.” She teased, “You wanna...be my boyfriend as well?”

Hop grinned, his eyes crinkling up with glee. “Gloria, mate, my number one and favourite champ, obviously yes.”

Gloria beamed. “Great. Brilliant.” She whispered giddily.

The following morning, a photo of the two of them in close quarters surrounded by several of their Pokemon was sent to the group chat, accompanied by a short message.

Hippity Hop [7:48AM] :

sorry we disappeared last night lads, spontaneous camping trip! also we’re dating now. have a great day :)

Eat Sand [7:49AM] :

wait...you weren’t already dating???

bloody hell my life is a lie

leon why’ve you been lying to me

Champion Time Snr [7:53AM] :

this is news to me mate i thought they’d been dating since they started the gym challenge

Croon Toondra [7:54AM] :

WHAT?!?

....you’re havin a laff right

Eat Sand [7:54AM] :

no lee really said he thought hop was your boyf

Croon Toondra [7:55AM] :

canny believe ye lee

thought we were friends

Champion Time Snr [7:55AM] :

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Mermaid [7:58AM] :

honestly i agree w/ the boys i thought you were bf + gf for ages

sonia said you were

she can’t defend herself rn she’s still passed out hungover so

Big Tiddy Goth GF [8:00AM] :

bout time innit

felt like reality tv at this point

congrats tho took you ages

Flame Dad(dy) [8:03AM] :

Congratulations, although I have to say I was also under the impression you had been together since the Gym Challenge.

Wooloolooloo [8:04AM] :

Same here! You two are right cute though so congrats :)

Kung Fu Fighting [8:07AM] :

yeah rai told most of us that lee told him ages ago so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ good job anyway you cute

Rocky Horror [8:10AM] :

think we can all just agree someone was wrong and we’ll leave it there

that someone was lee but we’ll ignore that

reckon he’s just tryin to get us off his back about him and rai ;)

Champion Time Snr [8:11AM] :

thanks everyone appreciate it

also gordie please shut up

Hippity Hop [8:12AM] :

I forgive you lee!

at least for the sake of this group chat >:)

Big Tiddy Goth GF [8:14AM] :

get him hop it’ll be funny

lee watch out bruv

also you’re literally as bad as the kids with your feelings it’s disgusting

Baby Goth [8:15AM] :

Ignoring piers i’m happy for you two :D

Also thought it was a thing but that’s coz it just seemed like you were

No one actual said anythin to me

Croon Toondra [8:17AM] :

love ye all but i’m also fookin over ye dkjafhf

lee just go sulk and cuddle your boyf

Eat Sand [8:18AM] :

who’s lee’s boyf???? >:(

oh wait i see

fml

[black-streak]

Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting (but Sundays are meant for rest) - The Beginning

 Part 1

So I came up with this partially fleshed out idea on discord and decided to try writing a prequel of sorts to my HCs? Anyways, Mari is like 20ish and Tim is around 25 here. Pre-relationship.

~---~

 Marinette would forever be grateful that she had memorized the layout of the manor back in her first few visits. Otherwise she would have been absolutely lost by now; her sleep addled mind unwilling to give a single thought as to where she was walking. The only thought she could process was a cry for coffee whispering like a mantra through the back of her mind.

Turning a seemingly random corner, she found herself in the side kitchen standing in front of the coffee maker, already holding a fresh pot of the heavenly smelling life elixir. Okay, that's a bit dramatic, but whatever, it's 3 am and she's entitled to her theatrics.

Pouring a cup into her favorite mug, having had it appear before her despite not recalling retrieving it, she held it close and made way to the sit-in table, slumping down into the closest seat.

 It took about 10 minutes and half her mug down to realise she wasn't alone in the room. Turning her head slightly, she spotted Tim typing away at his laptop, his own mug just to the right of her arm.

   'When the hell did he get there?' She couldn't remember hearing any footsteps or the coffee pot pouring but then… she also didn't remember turning it on…. 'He's been here the whole time, hasn't he?'

  Turning back towards her own, she finished off the cup and got up to retrieve the pot, moving over to fill both of their mugs before returning it to its holder only to drop back into her seat beside him, leaning closer to see what he was working on.

"Thanks."

   Jumping slightly, she just blinked at him for a moment, then gave a slight nod.

"Couldn't sleep?" Tim glanced at her, inquiry quiet and half incoherent in its murmur.

Humming softly she considered before truthfully admitting, "Rarely can."

"Damian asleep then?"

"Probably."

"You're not sure?"

"Didn't want to check his room and bother him if he was. Plus, he'd be cranky if I woke him for no reason."

That seemed to catch Tim's attention for whatever reason, because he turned his eyes off the document to look at her fully now.

"You don't sleep in his room?"

"Nah. I tend to cuddle in my sleep and he can't stand being confined like that. Puts him on edge, I think."

  That only prompted an even more perplexed look from him. Unable to process that with so little sleep, she turned back to looking over his shoulder, trying to read what Tim was working on. Giving up, she looked back up to him.

"Whatcha working on?"

"Eh, just some last minute paperwork for a new deal WE is suppose to be negotiating next week."

"... At 3am?"

"You judging me," he asked, lifting one eyebrow slightly in amusement at the hypocrisy.

"You said the deal is for next week."

"It is. But if I get it done now, it's one less thing to stress over at the last second."

"But if you read it on a sleep deprived mind, you're less likely to recall anything you typed up. Meaning you'll have to reread it…. And depending on how dead tired you are, might have to rewrite it. Who knows what sleepy you thinks makes a good deal?"

"Hey! Sleepy me is perfectly capable of working without my brain's input."

Leaning over the counter to rest on her crossed arms, Mari tilted her head slightly to pout up at him.

"Yes but perhaps it'd be best to do so tomorrow and get your brain's input at the same time to save time? Come on, just put on a video or something mindless. I'll keep you company."

  Her logic was sound. There was no argument Tim could give that would actually work in his favor on the matter, but hearing a slight sigh of defeat still gave her an immense sense of victory. Peering over at her, he decided turnaround was fair.

"Alright… but if we're not going to work, you should be trying to sleep. Im cutting you off." He said, pulling her mug out of her reach only to find it empty. Sighing, he moved to set it in the sink only to see her take up his own, carrying it over as well.

"In that case, so should you," she smirked, washing out both mugs and setting them to dry before taking up his laptop, grabbing his wrist, and tugging him towards the living room.

'How did I not see that coming? That was the obvious outcome… when Was the last time I slept,' Tim wondered, not really paying mind to Mari as she situated them both on the couch, turning the screen to face them both from the coffee table, youtube pulled up and a vine compilation being queued up to play.

…..

  Half an hour later, the two were passing jokes back and forth, sleepy giggles and references whispered into the dark room, laptop forgotten and asleep before them, both too out of it to think of moving back to their rooms. Only to be broken up by a mewling yawn, Mari slumping further down, sleep finally pulling at her.

  It didn't quite hit Tim that something about the situation was slightly off till Marinette curled into him from where he slouched into the corner of the couch, head dropping onto his chest. 

Ah, Fuck. Damian was going to kill him.

Nudging her slightly till she hummed to him, he tried to gently wake her back up fully.

"Mari, shouldn't you go back to your room now?"

It had the opposite effect.

  Mari sprung up, eyes wide, blush flushing up her cheeks, seemingly not having realized she had been cuddling up to him till just then.

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable! I keep forgetting you guys like warning beforehand. Either way I should have asked if you minded though. That was so invasive of me and the last thing I want is to invade your space when it's not warranted or wanted. I promise it won't happen again Tim, I'm so sorry."

Finally stopping to take a deep breath from her rambling, Tim jumped in, panicking to think he was causing her distress.

"No no, Marinette, it's fine! You're a very tactile person and frankly I don't mind it. I just know Damian wouldn't like finding you cuddling up to me, or anyone for that matter, especially in the middle of the night when he thought you were in your room, that's all."

That seemed to stop her in her tracks. Settling back down, she fixed him with a thrown look. 

"I mean… I know Dami can be protective at times, but I don't think he'd be that upset by it. Maybe a touch put off, but I think he'd tease me more than anything?"

Now he was thrown for a loop. This went against everything he knew about his little brother… that could only mean bad things.

"... Really."

"Yeah, as I said, he knows I'm a cuddly person when I'm tired. Plus, your his brother. At least he knows and trusts you. He'd just make fun of me for being so clingy. Sorry again about that by the way."

Narrowing his eyes, Tim couldn't see a hint that she was lying, but still he had to push to be sure. The last thing he needed was Damian to feel like his position was being threatened. That's what sparked their rivalry the first time after all.

"Hmm... I took Damian to be the possessive type. Especially over someone he was seeing. Trust me, Mari, he's not going to like his girlfriend cuddling anyone. Especially not me." 

"Holy Tikki, what?!"

"Tikki?"

" You think… you think Dami and I are dating?!?!"

"Be quiet, you're going to wake someone up!" He rushed out, trying to cover her mouth, only for her to evade, eyes blown wide with shock but still aware enough to dodge his grip.

"No, hold up. You seriously thought we were together?" She spoke in a startled tone, grabbing at his hands to make him stop reaching at her face and concentrate on her words.

Finally giving up on keeping her quiet, Tim actually started processing her words.

"You're… not?"

"No! Of course not! Did he say we were?"

"Well no but… I just assumed. He doesn't like anyone and yet acts like your his personal sunshine."

  Giggling, she shook her head, settling back into the couch at his side.

"Yeah, that's only in front of others. Says no one needs to know what a chaotic being I am. His words not mine."

"Oh. So you guys really aren't..?"

"Nope," she chuckled, popping the p, slowly curling back into his side.

Stopping abruptly, she pulled back a bit and glanced up to him, blush dusting the top of her freckled cheeks. 

"Is.. Is this okay?"

  Now assured that he wouldn't be promptly attacked just for letting Marinette near him, he couldn't see why not. Plus, she obviously took comfort in it and needed sleep. Who knows if she'll find any alone in her room. Wrapping an arm around her and tugging her slowly down, he nodded.

"I already told you I don't mind. Plus, your warm."

Humming her thanks, she burrowed herself under his chin and promptly passed out, Tim following only moments after.

…..

Tim woke up late in the morning, having slid down the cushion and twisted up his limbs with Marinette's who was still half on top of him. By some stroke of luck, they hadn't been disturbed by anyone thus yet. (Dick had already passed through and took a picture to send to the group chat. Who knew the way to make Tim sleep was to pass out on top of him?)  Feeling her shift, he looked down to see bleary blue eyes blinking back at him from under messy bangs. A small smile lit her lips and she moved up giving a light kiss to the underside of his jaw, before slowly getting up.

"Thanks Tim. Probably the best sleep I've had in a long time. We should nap sometime…. Maybe watch a movie first," she suggested, flushing but sending a coy, eager look his way.

Nodding, he could only think one thing.

'Welp. She's going to be the death of me."

[eleven-times-lively]

I Thought You Hated Me - Part 3

Part 3/3 And shes like "Look, i get that youre heartbroken and im sorry that i cant love you back but no matter how much pain you're going through, I have it worse because you basically outed me and then ignored me and so did the others. And you dont know how much it hurts to know that because I thought you guys hated me for being gay, I thought that you guys thought I was a freak. I was always scared to come out and the moment I did, you left me when I needed you" 

Summary: Remus Lupin is in love with you, but learns that you like girls. What follows is an emotional rollercoaster for you and him. Word Count: 1064 Note: This is the final part!! I love this fic and I really enjoyed writing it! I hope you enjoy reading it!!!💕

“You are unbelievable, Remus Lupin.” Your tone of voice could kill as you looked at him, brows knitted together and lips pressed into a thin line. His innocent visage of pure concern quickly turned into one of defense and confusion. Somehow something deep inside him told him to just stay quiet. “Absolutely, astonishingly un-be-liev-able!” Your volume picked up as you went. You pushed his hand off of you and turned to fully face him on the couch, tears once again falling gently when you saw him. “Remus, I’m sure you’re utterly gutted right now, heartbroken in fact, but that doesn’t give you the excuse to act like an absolute prat all of a sudden! I mean ignoring me, for Merlin’s sake! That’s not who you are!” “Y/n it was James’ idea.” “I don’t bloody fucking care Remus! You have your own wits about ya and should’ve said something! But instead you went along with it like a lonely puppy, just like you always do.” You recoiled slightly at that, perhaps it was a bit harsh. “I am sorry that I can’t love you back, and I never will in that way. It’s not a choice, Remus, so holding it against me is like… well… holding being a werewolf against you. I don’t know what you’re thinking, or what you’ve gone through this past month, you know on account of you not talking to me, but you need to understand that I have it much, much worse.” Your tone softened as you saw him begin to cry, realising the truth in your words. “Y/n, I am so, so sorry and I have no idea how to show-” “I am not done, Remus Lupin. Cutting me off didn’t work out for you last time so I suggest you don’t do it again.” “Verywell, proceed.” “Yeah… I was going to. Anyway, you basically forced me to come out to our best friend when I wasn’t ready! And knowing Sirius’ and James’ loud mouths, half the school probably knows to! That was supposed to be the one special and important moment that I was supposed to be in control of NOT YOU. Oh! And to make things worse, you all bloody ignored me! You have no idea how much pain I was in, Remus. Thinking that my best friends hated me for being gay. I felt like some kind of freak! I mean, if Sirius ‘messed up childhood’ Black thinks I’m a freak, then it surely is true!” “Y/n, we didn’t mean-” “Yeah of course you didn’t! How dare I think that your collective one brain cell is able to form a plot that coherent! It was just the three of you being absolute wankers and ignoring me for-... wait why were you ignoring me?” He hesitated a moment before speaking, wondering if that was a question meant to be answered. “James…” “I don’t care about James, I want to know why you did it.” “We thought that since you had just stormed off and wouldn’t let me talk, we shouldn’t pay attention and let you talk either. I just went along with it. I mean… what was I meant to do, y/n!?” Now he was yelling, “I was upset and vulnerable, one of my best friends had just stormed off and wouldn’t give me the time of day, so of course I was going to listen to the other two!” “Do you know how much that hurt!? No one came after me! I ran off and not one of you made the effort to try and find me, ask what went wrong, ask if I was okay!” “Sirius did!” “What! By grabbing my sweater and letting me pull away! Some effort! Remus I was bloody terrified to come out, I mean clearly if I haven’t in six years! I was scared and alone, and the moment I did come out, and not even on my own volition, you and everyone else ditched me! Just left me in the dust wondering what I did wrong. Do you have any idea how that feels!? No! You don’t!” Your words were coming out more strained and exasperated than angry any more, “You had nothing but constant and ample support when we found out you were a werewolf! We risked our lives learning how to turn into bloody animals for you! And this is how I’m repaid?” “Y/n, please, I-” “No, Remus, just don’t,” you began to get up from the couch, but he also stood up and blocked your path to the stairs. “No. You walked away last time and didn’t let me finish. No way in hell I’m letting that happen again.” He slowly, cautiously took your hands in his, looking you dead in the eye. “I love you, y/n. As a best friend, and more, but I need to respect that that will never be reciprocated. I feel bloody horrible. What kind of an arse leaves their best friend when they go through a major milestone like that?” His voice was wavering, about to break. “None of us were thinking, cause trust me, Sirius and James feel just as sorry as I do. It was a bloody awful thing to do, but all they saw of it was that you had stormed off and wouldn’t listen. And, before you even say it, it was horrible of me to not tell them otherwise. I-... no, we have all been absolute idiots this past month. And I know that it will take more than an apology to fix this, but I hope we can start here. I promise you, we will talk to Sirius and James later, together, and you’ll get the apology you deserve from them. You’re my best friend, y/n, and I never want that to change. I’m sorry we made you feel the way we did, but I hope you can take us back. Cause to be bloody honest, we all really miss you.” You didn’t say anything, lest you start crying again, but a smile slowly crept onto your face. You just leaned forward and wrapped Remus in the tightest hug you ever had. The two of you must’ve stayed like that for a while, cause by the time you separated the common room was full again. “I love you, Remus,” was all you said as you pulled away.

[wizardrywilting]

my favorite quotes from give me silence

ch. 1:  Let her rephrase, a very pretty Muggle girl named Eloise Mary Howard. --- It should be noted that Lydia was mentally compiling her will. --- Arthur Weasley was running towards her, dressed in some combination of a pantsuit and clown costume. --- Immediately, they covered the pranking product they’d been working on with a quilt, this catching it on fire. --- The twins snapped their gazes to each other, then jumped up and grasped hands. They jumped, the wooden floor thudding beneath them. By the time they had finished cheering and jumping, Mrs. Weasley had hollered at them twice, Percy yelled four times, and Lydia was blushing. --- Fred set his chin in his hand. “Tell us everything .” --- “Ginny! You don’t knock on strangers’ doors!” --- (Yes, Colin did get a photo of Neville licking a napkin, stress written on his face. It was hilarious.) --- “You’re the oldest of us, which means you’re the responsible ones.” The twins looked horrified at the idea, and Lydia laughed herself silly. --- Even though it was so cute and honestly, the fur would be cheaper to knit than yarn was - that is to say, on the way back home Chio had already shed enough for them each to have a handful of fur. --- Neville had glitter on his eyebrows, and he was attempting to blink it away from his eyes, face contorting in funny ways. Chio’s fur was doused in blue and purple glitter. Lydia herself had glitter in a smattering of multicolored freckles across her nose and cheeks.  ---

ch. 2:  “If you need me to pick the liquor cabinet’s lock I know how.” --- Mrs. Weasley sighed. “Did they break a window?”  “Uh...We fixed it?”

---

Where Lydia came from, albeit not a traditional family, you learned knife tricks and pressure points to incapacitate someone.

---

“I know. We just never see eye to eye.”

 “No one can meet your eye, you’re too tall.”

---

 “Have good, British dreams, Lydia.”

---

But we’re not...not that.”

 “Of course not, she’s only thirteen. But dear, perhaps you should acknowledge that you fancy her. Merlin knows we all noticed.”

---

It was, quite frankly, concerning. Was this a heart attack?

---

Fred was chuckling, the prat. “Just glad to see you, his brain cells have given up. Wait a minute.”

---

Was she seriously apologizing for a hug? What?

---

“Merlin, I miss you. It was so boring with all the boys. I think I lost some estrogen.”

---

 “Lydia, love, you look like a pixie.”

---

ch.3:

She had wanted to stay behind and ask a few questions, maybe pull out her pocket knife, the usual sort of thing, when she noticed Neville struggle to stand, shaking like a fucking tree branch during a tornado.

---

“Neville, I would make God bleed for you.”

---

Were they twice her size? Yes. Would she still rip them a new one? Absolutely.

---

What right did a little kid with blood in her teeth and something called an ele-friend have to her heart?

---

Madam Pomfrey was smiling at her. Lydia didn’t like it.

---

Sighing, Madam Pomfrey faced Lydia again. “As you were deflecting?”

---

It was a nice painting, surprisingly well done. Lydia’s face was in the foreground, getting smacked in the face by Natalie’s wand, while the girl herself was cheering in the background. The blood on her face was surprisingly realistic. Up in the top left corner, Natalie’s attackers were out cold, various painted injuries littering their bodies.

Lydia felt strangely warm.

---

Lydia beamed. “It’s more like insane. To be stupid you have to have brains. Luckily, I left mine in the dorm today.”

---

 “You called her Minnie.”

Lydia quickly realized her mistake.

 “N-No, I didn’t!”

 “You did,” they sang, “You called her Minnie! We’re rubbing off on you!”

---

Poppy smiled and thus began their weekly gossip. She did so love this child. If only she could tell her.

---

ch. 4:

As with every other Halloween, really the day must be cursed, things go to shit.

---

That does beg the question, why are magical people so determined to risk their lives? Is it a universal thing?

---

Was it petty? Absolutely. Had she gotten caught yet? Of course not, who did you take her for, Parkinson?

---

Harry shrieked like a mandrake, and Lydia quickly sent a spell to silence him.

---

“You. You’re a girl.”

She raised her eyebrow at the log-turned-Sirius-Black. “And you’re not a dog anymore. I’m glad we’ve established that.”

---

He paled a little at her smile, and stepped backwards. “I’ll uh, I got nothing. Oh, look, Sirius! Let’s shift focus to him.”

---

Something seemed to click. “So you’re the kid that sent me a letter with threats.”

---

“First of all, you’re terribly hard to kill, Harry,” Lydia sighed, shifting to sit more directly in front of the fire, “Secondly, think about this. There’s a couple hundred more students than normal, and everyone thinks the kids underage are safe, because why would Dumbledore’s magic ever be faulty? There’s a fourteen year old kid, he looks pretty defenseless, especially now that he’s been lulled into a false sense of security. He probably thinks he’s safe, with the age spell and loads more people that could protect him if Voldemort gets inside Hogwarts again. This would be the perfect time to strike - lots of people to blame, a tournament that could be found at fault, and an old man’s magic coincidentally not working. I’m just saying, if someone’s been after you for awhile and hasn’t succeeded...now’s the time.”

Sirius chuckled nervously. “You’re not a Slytherin are you?”

---

“Are they being mean again?”

 “Who’s they? I don’t know anyone named They. What a weird name, They-”

---

Aria sighed and flopped onto a space between the bridge’s arch where there was a bench. Colin grabbed her elbow so she didn’t do something stupid like fall through. That had to be a safety hazard, right? Was there no safety inspector for Hogwarts?

---

It seems like Ginny was going to get to try out that new boils curse she’d just learnt after all.

---

It was very hard being a Triwizard contestant. Well, that was kind of a lie, and Cedric didn’t lie. Unless it was to tell his dad he was excited for a Ministry job, that is.

---

There were downsides to being a Triwizard Champion too, of course.

-There’s barely any time for friends.

-No alone time.

-Mum cries whenever she sees you, you’re not sure if she’s proud or scared.

-There’s potential for trauma, but hey, it’s writing material.

-You could die or be seriously injured. You’re trying not to think about that.

-The other Hogwarts champion was entered without their own free will and now might be getting bullied and you feel overwhelmed with the guilt.

---

“Cut ‘im some slack, Lyn. He’s got so much to worry about. His adoring fans, for example.”

---

She slugged his arm. “Don’t get smart with me, your job is to be pretty. It’s Lydia’s job to be smart.”

---

George nodded at the three Hufflepuffs. “Pretty Boy, Pretty Boy’s friends.”

---

 “I stand by what I said, purple glitter jazzes up my comforter.”

---

 “Lydia, how are we gonna get down six floors?”

Lydia snorted. “Prayer, Colin. I’m personally praying to Yoshi.”

---

“You know you need the sleep, young lady. Now, fret until ten o’clock.”

As Madam Pomfrey left, covering the snoozing Colin with a blanket, she heard a mutter. “I don’t fret.”

---

ch. 5:

Heidi glared, picking up her cup full of ice cubes and popping one into her mouth with a loud crunch.

---

“Might as well break the rules for a good cause, right?”

---

Ginny gasped. “Oh no, am I gay? I feel gay.”

---

George is running away from the Durmstrang students, and I should go save him before he gets mauled. I told him not to charm their hair and skin orange, but he didn’t listen.

---

Oh, is that Hermione sounding disappointed? Surprising.

---

Glancing to where Alicia and Katie had been flirting all afternoon, she winked.

---

“I set the books to become inanimate again when he apologized to Hermione.”  “He, ah, refused to until blood started dripping into his socks.”

---

“he won’t let me go with Priscilla.”

Ginny leaned across the table. “You mean Lee’s tarantula?”

Lee nodded. “Match made in heaven, I say. But you know how it is, star crossed lovers and all.”

Ginny blinked very slowly for a moment and then left for the Ravenclaw table, shaking her head. 

---

 “Our little snake.”

 “Already sneaking around the rules at such a young age.”

 “I’m fifteen! ”

 “Our little-”

 “-tiny baby rebel. My, how they grow up.”

 “Just yesterday you were learning manipulation. And now, you’re sneaking into a dance.”

---

Finally, George said, “What’s the solution? I’m begging you Lydia, help me.”

She stared him in the face and said, “Aren’t beggars usually on their knees?”

---

 “New plan, because you’re as graceful as Hagrid’s skrewts.”

---

“This is your karma for that idiotic stunt with the dragon.”

 “Are you ever letting that go?”

 “I will when you stop flirting with Death.”

 “I don’t flirt, I tease. There’s a difference.”

---

“Hey Freddie, do you think your mum would be upset if I told her I want to drop out?”

 “Do you?”

 “Kind of. We could get a head start on that joke shop of yours.”

 “With what money?”

She shrugged, finally tearing her gaze back to his. “I guess how all poor people get money - struggling. It's just...I want to be with you and George, where nobody else matters.”

---

ch. 6:

She hoped Luna liked the earrings made from orange skins, it seemed her style and had made Lydia’s fingers sting when juice seeped into a few paper cuts.

---

Ginny barely gave her finger guns before she was sprinting.

---

“Is that allowed?”

 “Probably not,” Colin admitted, then shrugged. “But since when do we adhere to those silly things?”

---

 “Hi, you’re that scary snow white girl Colin’s always talking about, right?”

---

“Ready to piss off some purebloods?”

Ginny grinned like she had just hexed someone. “Oh Lydia. I was born to piss of purebloods.”

---

The night hasn’t gone devastatingly wrong as of yet, and Lydia supposes that’s all she could expect without sacrificing her soul or something.

---

Lydia briefly wonders if she’s just doomed Hogwarts to a fate of destruction. She figures it will be fine. Probably. Maybe.

---

A loud bell rings over the music, startling the band so badly a tambourine gets thrown and hits Professor Snape in his hooked nose.

---

Lydia cuffed his shoulder. “I know damn well your mum didn’t raise you to ignore a beautiful girl, Ron Weasley!”

---

They were all rushed to bed as soon as they got back to the Burrow, the car having malfunctioned and it already being near dawn by time Mr. Weasley learned they were accidentally in the Netherlands rather than England. (How that happened Lydia didn’t know. She’d fallen asleep against George’s shoulder after the fifth hour driving.)

---

She pauses in her unwrapping a little, and she mentally screams.

Look, she’s paranoid and mind reading is possible.

---

  ‘No way!’

 ‘Shut up.’

 ‘How come you fancy him and not me?’

 ‘Shut up!’

---

She began to mentally sing. ‘LA LA LA LA.’

---

ch. 7:

George had the big mouth, and often didn’t bother listening. It was as if he had one functioning ear, and he simply didn’t bother to use it.

---

The things he’d seen...it made him want to set something in fire, or smash something. Neither were an option though, as his mum really liked their curtains and dishes, so he stewed in the feeling.

---

This is how she should be - chasing him with giggles and hexes falling from her lips.

---

“ Ced got high and went swimming with his egg so the task is probably something to do with water. “

---

Sirius, honestly, is not having a good day. Or a good thirteen years, really. The things he looks forward to are rats, pets from nice villagers, and seeing his godson.

---

Ron snorted. “You reckon they think we’re all going in the cave to snog - OW, Hermione!”

---

“Your idiot godson - sorry, totally intelligent and not at all stupid godson -

---

Harry is pouting, and it’s the cutest goddamn thing Sirius has ever seen.

---

As Lydia runs to catch up with the other three, Sirius can hear Hermione demanding what the letter said, and Lydia saying, “If I told you I’d have to kill you. May I tell you?”

---

ch. 8:

She didn’t regret it, a little suspicion of authority figures was healthy.

---

“I’m surprised you weren’t born on a broomstick.”

George sighed with faux disapproval. “I wish I’d been.”

---

“No, you’re pretty...uh, good. You’re pretty good. You don’t have any...toothpaste.”

She laughed again, and George prayed for a sinkhole.

---

He fancied Lydia, and he was totally screwed.

Lydia was by his side every day of the year, basically.

She spent summers at the Burrow, save for those in the States, and they went to school together!

Oh Merlin. If his siblings (read: Ginny) found out they’d be insufferable! No. She couldn’t find out.

---

Katie grabbed her arm and pulled Lydia to her own chest, telling Alicia, “Love, time for Bear Protocol.”

Alicia, apparently doing what Bear Protocol meant, kicked Lee. “Bear Protocol. Now.”

Immediately, the debate cut off, and the twins slid close together, blocking anyone seeing Lydia from behind them. Lee did the same from her right side, and the three Chaser girls did so on her left.

---

 “Why aren’t you in class - oh goodness, what’s this?” Professor McGonagall, for her part, looked about as alarmed as one could make her.

---

Professor Flitwick simply levitated her and told Professor McGonagall, “Alert her professors she won’t be in lessons today, won’t you? I’m sure Poppy will want to keep her for quite a while.

Professor McGonagall sighed slightly but nodded, mumbling something that said an awful lot like, “Attached much?”

ch. 9:

Fred is pretty sure the detention was just for appearances sake, because when they got to Professor Flitwick’s classroom he had pretended to be disappointed, but when Lydia smiled at him he had smiled back.

They had practiced charms Fred is pretty sure weren’t supposed to be taught unless paid extra Galleons for, and he gave them all snacks.

---

“Madam Pomfrey is currently with someone else. She’ll be available tomorrow, or when she finds time.”

George obviously was strung out, because he snapped, “Get Pomfrey!”

 “Madam-”

 “Pomfrey will make an exception, Lydia isn’t a normal patient.”

 “I really doubt-”

Ginny sneered. “Doubt a little less, or you’re getting boils in places cream can’t reach!”

---

“ Mam .” She cried out, and Madam Pomfrey pulled Lydia forward so the girl could grab onto the woman.

---

And if later on Professor Flitwick found and joined them? Well, no one needed to know.

---

[toreii]

Congratulations for your 1000 followers! 🌟 I only discovered your blog now and I really liked the drabble you wrote with a MC who can't give a child to Nobunaga. But what if she could? Like how the Devil King would react when his beloved tells him she is pregnant or how is he acting during the pregnancy/labor? I would love to read something about this since I have a soft spot for Nobunaga too and I find this situation so sweet ❤️

Thank you for your support! I tried combining both suggestions. In case anyone was wondering, Kippoushi is Nobunaga's childhood name. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!

-toreii

Mai had always been aware of the changes in her body. Despite remaining in the Sengoku era, she had learned to keep track of her monthly cycles as they came and went. Except, one day, it didn't come on time. Her worry only grew as the days went by with no sign of blood in sight. She was sleeping more often than usual, and her lack of appetite was beginning to turn heads in her direction. It didn't surprise her that Nobunaga would want answers. She sat before him across his desk, her legs tucked beneath her with her hands folded neatly on her lap. While she sat serenely, Nobunaga fixed her with a hard stare and a frown that displayed his displeasure.

"What is going on with you? You refused to see Ieyasu today. Who else must I bring to check up on you?" Nobunaga inquired.

Mai sighed. "I do not need a doctor, Nobunaga."

He slammed his hands on the desk causing her to flinch. "You refuse to eat, you're constantly bed ridden, and you've been caught hurling on more than one occasion. If you aren't sick, then tell me what is wrong with you?"

Mai grimaced. She looked down weighing her options. Then again, Nobunaga had every right to know. She needed no medic to tell her what she knew already. She was a woman. She took a health course in school, and had many conversations on the topic with her mother when she was younger. Mai knew exactly what was going on with her. She stared back at Nobunaga's impassioned, carnelian gaze. Above all else, he was worried for her and her well-being.

Everything is going to be okay, she thought.

Mai cleared her throat, hooking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I guess I should just tell you."

"Tell me what, Mai?" Nobunaga pressed.

"I think I might be pregnant."

Mai couldn't recall if there ever was a time Nobunaga looked absolutely stupefied. Part of her wondered if she had broken the Devil of the Sixth Heaven, and she had a need to go over and poke him to make sure he was still with her. Mai didn't expect for Nobunaga to suddenly leap over his desk making her yelp in surprise. Just as she fell back, she was being yanked up and being pressed firmly into his chest.

"Nobunaga?" She squeaked out feeling his powerful arms wrap around her tightly.

"You're pregnant," he uttered in a shaky voice.

Mai gently held onto him, unmoving, listening as he choked back a sob. They remained holding onto each other for a while in the still night as the candle light cast a warm glow in the tenshu. There was no one to disturb them. This moment was theirs for as long as it needed to be. Nobunaga had ensured no one would interrupt them in their private moment. Mai was so thankful for his decision. Her own fortitude began to chip away as she felt him crumble in her arms.

Nobunaga pulled away from her blinking the obvious tears from his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I'm sorry. I wanted to be absolutely positive. If we were in the future, trust me, I'd be rushing to tell you."

"I see," Nobunaga murmured. He stared down at her abdomen finding no significant change despite wishing to see a swell against her clothes. "I suppose it is too soon to tell."

"I worry something could happen. That's why I stopped going out. I'm sorry about not eating much, though. There are days I can't stomach food. Which is why I've been looking into alternative recipes I'm hoping Masamune can help me make so that my stomach doesn't get too upset. I've always heard the first three months are the toughest, so if I get unbearable, please forgive me."

"You fool," Nobunaga laughed. He placed a hand on top of her head. "Scream. Cry. Get angry. You are free to do as you please. I will be here to take care of you every step of the way. No matter what it is that you want, I will give it to you. I will work hard so that you and our child are left without anything that you desire."

"I don't want to impose," Mai replied.

Nobunaga hooked an arm around her waist drawing her in. "I am at your will."

"Oh you," she murmured, reaching up to wipe away at the wet streaks on his cheeks. "Can we both agree that I'm unable to join you in battle, at least?"

"My lucky charm deserves her well earned rest. Stay healthy for our baby."

"I will also work hard to deliver our baby safely," Mai vowed.

Nobunaga tilted her head back a bit, leaning in as their mouths angled in a crooked kiss. Their nervousness, their fears, and their worries all melted away with just a single kiss. They held each other lovingly placing their hopes in the future for their new arrival. They would work hard to build the peaceful world they so desired for their child. Nobunaga and Mai couldn't wait to welcome their baby into the new age.

Nine months later, amidst careful planning and preparation, Azuchi Castle became abuzz with the arrival of the young master. Where the lady would usually be alone tended only by the midwife and two servants, Nobunaga never left Mai's side. He let her rest comfortably on his lap, her legs propped up by impromptu stirrups her ninja friend, Sasuke, had fashioned for her. It was a far cry from the commodities of the delivery rooms in the hospital, but with Nobunaga holding her hand and supporting her upper half, Mai had nothing to fear.

With the rise of a new day, Mai delivered a healthy baby boy. She slumped against Nobunaga as they watched their son wail and move about in the midwife's arms.

"Congratulations, my lord," the aging woman cried. "He's got a good set of lungs on 'im."

Tears flowed from Mai's eyes. "Thank goodness. My little Nobutada."

"Nobutada?" Nobunaga repeated.

"That's right. You must promise me that will be his name when he comes of age."

"What do you suggest we name him now?"

Mai hummed. "How about… Kippoushi."

"You silly woman," Nobunaga chuckled, brushing aside her matted hair.

"What? I think it's a cute name," Mai said with a wink.

"His name will be Nobutada," Nobunaga affirmed.

Mai giggled. Once their baby was cleaned and Mai taken care of, they were both left alone with their baby finally in Mai's arms. Mai was pleased to see a head full of black hair. She couldn't stop touching the baby soft hair styling each wisp into small curls.

"He looks just like you," she commented.

"Really? I think he took after you," Nobunaga said.

Mai smiled. "Maybe the both of us. I would like it if he grew up with the same open mind as you."

"I want him to have your nobility and sense of justice."

"Minus your hot temperedness."

"And your foolishness."

They both laughed. The baby stirred in Mai's arms and she was quick to rock him back to sleep. For such a small baby to come out of her, Mai was thankful she was able to deliver her first child safely. She wanted to shower her son and all her future children with so much love. She couldn't wait to get started. She looked back at Nobunaga meeting his own tender smile. They shared a quick kiss before returning their attention back to the baby.

Nobunaga reached over placing his hand on top of hers as it cradled their son's head. "Nobutada, how would you like to rule the world with your mother at my side?"

"Don't you think it's too early for that?" Mai asked.

"Not at all. As long as I always have you two, I know my ambition will come true," Nobunaga answered.

"Well then, you can count on me and our kids to always be there right where we belong."

Nobunaga kissed Mai's head. It wouldn't be an easy road, but their future was certain. With the arrival of a new day and new life, both Nobunaga and Mai knew that their dream would soon be a reality.

[axther]

Hi! I loved the way you did my Bnha matchup awhile ago and I was wondering if I could get a Haikyuu one! I’m a 5’1 pan female with long hair that fades from red to blonde. I am very curvy/busty and I am very insecure about it. I am soft-spoken, intelligent, shy, extremely patient, and I get flustered really easily. I love to play the ukulele and sing! I have been bullied for most of my life. I’m also an INTJ, Aquarius and Hufflepuff! Thank you so much!

omfg im so sorry queen 😔 i took far too long w this. I started this at midnight and all my sins are outside the door (05/26: peep the grapes of wrath reference 👀) (also I would just like to mention that i saw the difference between this matchup and your previous one, and the first one was four pages in total. On this one, the first first matchup is four pages. I’m genuinely seeing progress, and it’s throwing me for a loop) 

#1 is...Kuroo! 

you saw this coming, let’s not lie 

Kuroo is abso-fucking-lutely a tiddy man 

Patient plus gets flustered easily??

Redhead????? 

Sign this bastard up right now 

You walked in through the door and in .005 seconds he’s at your side 

“Hey hey hey there, cutie! You here looking for someone?” 

You tell him that you’re there to apply as a manager

and you’re already lighting up like a Christmas tree 

Yamamoto is crying in the background because hallelujah, they’ve got a cute manager!! 

And off the bat, Kuroo’s there for you

The flirting gets taken back a notch so you can focus on your duties as manager 

But once you have a moment?? 

He’s at your side like glue 

Slowly, you create yourself a niche on the team

They joke that you and Yaku are good mom/bad mom 

And Kuroo watches it all

Lev sometimes pisses him off by getting a step too close 

And Kenma just gives Kuroo a side glance 

And it takes him little over three months to realise that he has a crush on you 

What worries him about it is that this is a genuine crush

Most of the ones he had before were driven by looks, or by a solitary incident

And he would just bottle it up and let it fade

But this time??

He’s this 🤏 close to getting a ring and proposing on the SPOT 

So while you had out water bottles he leans against the wall with a lovesick grin

And he pines 

But one day 

You were let off your duties one day 

And after practice, Kuroo goes to look for you 

And he hears snickering by the music room 

And he turns 

Some girls tease you about being thiccer than them 

And you’re about to cry and you’re holding yourself 

There’s a ukelele in your arms but you’re clearly upset 

Kuroo steps in immediately 

He’s furious because Jesus Christ, girls can be so damn mean

And he’s biting their heads off

And no matter how they try to play it off, he’s not having it 

Once they leave with hisses and their wounded pride, you drop to the floor on your knees

He’s kneeling with you, talking as softly and gently as he can

And honestly? 

He’s panicking, too. 

He’s a bit of a womaniser, yes, but most of the time it results in little more than first dates 

And here’s the girl of his dreams, breaking down in the hallway after school’s over

About fifteen minutes in, Kenma and Yaku find him and you 

And you have your head on his shoulder, and you’ve cried yourself asleep

He looks up at them, puts a finger to his mouth, and the two leaves 

The next day Kuroo’s literally never leaving your side 

He told all of the team what happened 

And Lev mentioned it to his seatmate 

Who mentioned it to a TA 

Who mentioned it to...yeah you know what’s up

So when you get to your shoe locker, it’s filled with positive notes and even some sweets! 

There’s even a rose in there, and you keep all of it with you all day 

Classmates come up and tell you that if you need anything, they’re there for you! 

The three girls that started it in the first place are forced to publicly apologise, thanks to not only both of the volleyball teams but a couple of delinquents that lent some muscle 

Kuroo is with you all day and he’s ecstatic that people are coming together to make you happy! And soon enough people figure out exactly why Kuroo had to be picked up and dragged away from your class 

And soon you and Kuroo become the talk of the school, in the way that you and Kuroo don’t know 

People ship it ofc 😚✨

by the end of the week people are asking Kuroo when he’s going to get the balls to ask you out 

Very quickly he has the support of the entire school on asking you out 

Cue the wildest week of his life 

Everyone’s giving him ideas left and right 

And he gets overwhelmed, which feels weird, but that friday, he’s walking you home

And he’s biting his lip, but in a nervous way

You lean in and ask him what’s wrong 

“Nothing! Nothing at all! Just thinking at lot, that’s all. Nothing you should worry your pretty little head about.” 

He ruffles your hair but you see right through him

“You know you can talk to me, right?” 

And there’s a moment 

He stood still

The hundred muscles in his neck stood out in high relief 

And the sunset went deep into his eyes and lit the embers in them

And before you or him could think

He leans down and kisses you

It’s soft, and quiet, lingering but barely there

Neither of you pull away until he opens his eyes, and he takes a second, 

And you stare up at him

And he’s staring at you

And then he steals another kiss again, this time definitely there, 

And he picks you up and swings you around while still kissing you 

When you pull away from breath he’s laughing and just giddy as hell

He holds you in his arms, rocking you back and forth 

He’s nuzzling your hair and just so, so soft 

Damn now I feel soft 

#2 is...Nishinoya! 

Boy is THRILLED 

You’re shorter than him!! 

Than HIM!!!! As soon as he sees you he’s on his knees begging to god he has a chance 

You call him ‘sempai’ and the boy is gone 

He can and will dramatically fall over with his hand over his heart every time you do anything vaguely cute 

Though you brush off his affections, considering how he would act around Kiyoko, he’s dead serious 

As soon as he realises he likes you, he’ll stop flirting with anyone else 

It’s abrupt, and most of the team notices 

The best way to convey how he feels about you is this 

99 percent of the time, your interactions could be considered as him, laying on his stomach and letting his legs swing back and forth

And he’s staring at you with a blush and holding up his head with his hands while you literally just stand there 

But anyway

Even though everyone wants to help Nishinoya get with you, he refuses 

He wants this to be 200% his own making!! 

All from the heart!! 

He starts out with flirting with you like he used to 

But when all that happens is that you get flustered, he moves onto plan B

And that’s gifts!! 

You find that every day, as soon as you step into the gym, Nishinoya has some sort of treat or present 

The first day, he gave you GariGari popsicles

the second, he gave a bunch of crude (but well intentioned) chocolates 

He’s doing his absolute best!! 

You get an inkling of an idea, but you’re too shy to ask him what his intentions are 👉👈

And though he’s so rambunctious, he’s too shy to tell you outright immediately 👉👈

It goes to mutual pining

And then he gives you another gift...

So it’s just this cycle

(and now the meme makes sense) 

But then, after a month, it becomes clear to Nishinoya and his wallet that this isn’t working

So he leaves love letters!! 

He wants to be as romantic as possible!! 

And every time you get them, he sees you get all giddy and flustered and now he’s giddy 

Does Tanaka call him a simp? 

Yes

But he calls Tanaka a simp for Kiyoko right on back, so...

#3 is...Yachi! 

Blushy baby blushy baby blushy baby 

Take one (1) look at her and tell me she wouldn’t absolutely have a crush on you

She has the cute classmate that gets really flustered 

And is super sweet and patient and never get angry

Oh my god she would love you so much 

She wouldn’t confess to your face, either 

She blabs to the entire team and all her friends about you 

And it’s cute as hell because she’ll talk about how gentle you were when someone was freaking out over a test

Or how you aced said test 

She’s in constant awe of you 

She thinks you’re an angel 

So one day, while she’s talking to her friends 

And you were supposed to be out delivering papers, but you’re done early 

You overhear her 

“She’s just so kind and sweet and pretty...I love her so much…” 

Yachi sounds so dejected 

You want to comfort her 

But then 

“Honestly, YN’s just the best girl...she’s pretty, and she’s smart. I don’t think I’d ever be able to ask her out.” 

Yachi’s friends see you right behind her

And they’re all like ‘ahaha we dippin’ 

As they leave, Yachi turns

And is face to face with you

She lights up in the spot

And she’s stammering, trying to somehow make an excuse

When you give her a soft smile and play a bit with your hands 

“I would….I would like it if, maybe, a-and you don’t have to if you don’t want to! But there’s a crepe shop that just opened, and would you wanna…?” 

You ask her, and she’s elated 

She’s lowkey shrieking with joy 

She’s jumping on you with a hug 

And she may be bright red, but goddamnit!! She’s gonna kiss her gf!!!

@shslpotato

[numba99]

The Arrangement Part 8

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 * Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

Summary: You’re an aspiring model in NYC who is offered an opportunity of a lifetime - an arranged relationship with a famous Ranger. Things start out rough and are further complicated by the fact that you’re already in a relationship. Will you be able to figure things out or will it all end in disaster? Word Count:2,079

Warnings: none, besides its been v long since the last update (im so sorry LMAO) so if their are minor inconsistencies in the story line I am sORRY I think everything adds up though. And gain we are pretending the media surrounding hockey is a much bigger deal lol

It was a bittersweet day. Sure you were getting to see Mika, something that would always be a bright spot in your day, however it was the last time you were allowed to be together. After tonight, being with him would put both of you in jeopardy. If his contract was anything like yours, he be sued for an obscene amount of money.

You tried to push this thought out of your head as you waited for Fred to arrive to take you on the final date. Tonight you were going to a little rooftop bar in Greenwich Village. It was going to be one of your more public dates, and that’s just how management wanted it.

You were supposed to act like you were upset and be distant from each other. That way when they leaked that the two of you broke up, witnesses would say how unhappy you looked together. It was the perfect set up.

A knock at the door pulled you from your thoughts. You instantly smiled seeing Harry standing on the other side. You would have thrown your arms around him, but he had a giant bouquet of flowers in his hands.

“Here love,” Mika said, handing you the arrangement for pink and purple flowers. It was much bigger than any of the others he has gotten you. “Sorry it’s so big, I didn’t get you any for our last date and I wanted to make up for it,” he explained, as if reading your mind.

“You so don’t have anything you need to make up for,” you gushed, kissing his cheek, “But I love them so much, thanks Mika.” You clutched the flowers to your chest, bring them your kitchen table - which had been bare without his bouquets. When you got back to Mika you hugged him tightly, breathing in his fresh minty scent.

“I missed you too,” he chuckled, teasing you for hugging him like you hadn’t seen him in months.

“Sorry,” you laughed at yourself, “Guess I just can’t get enough of you.”

“Understandable,” Mika winked, “Now let’s head out, don’t wanna keep Fred waiting.”

You walked hand in hand to the car, greeting Fred with a big smile. You were going to miss him, you thought. He was always a friendly face when you needed it. Not to mention, you may have never told Mika how you really without him.

“Did I tell you how beautiful you look yet? Because you’re absolutely stunning, the outfit, you hair, everything,” Mika commented. His warm eyes traced your body under the dim car lights.

“Oh, come on, it’s nothing special,” you blushed, never being great with compliments. Plus, your outfit was pretty simple after all: a tailored white blouse, snug blue jeans, and pink heels.

“On the contrary,” Mika replied, “it’s special just because you’re wearing it. I especially love these shoes. I think I’ve got a shirt that color, we should match one day.” You smiled, your heart filling with joy when he spoke of a future with you.

“It’s a date.” Mika squeezed your hand and kissed your cheek. Part of you didn’t want to go anywhere. You’d be happy to just ride around with him for a few hours.Unfortunately that was not part of the plan.

“Here,” Fred announced.

“Let’s do this,” Mika said, taking your hand in his. You walked more confidently through the crowd of photographers. The flashes were still annoying, but they didn’t bother you nearly as much as they did when you were first exposed to them.

“You’re getting good at that,” Mika noted.

“I learned from the best,” you winked. Mika smiled, glad that you were getting over your discomfort with all the paparazzi. He knew that if you two were to stay together, you were going to have to get used to extra attention.

The two of you decided to take the stairs, considering it wasn’t too high up. You were a little breathless when you reached the top - stairs were never really your friend - but it was definitely worth it. It was a beautiful roof top, lined with shrubbery and flowers making it fell more like a garden than a city building.

“This is amazing,” you breathed. It was a perfect night for this too, not a single cloud in the sky. The moon was bright, washing over all the people mingling. The skyline melted into the inky black sky, building lights twinkling like stars.

“It is quite nice, isn’t it?” Mika agreed. The two of you weaved through people, finding a little standing table no one was using. You were surprised no one seemed too interested in Mika, but then again, this bar was a favorite of many famous people so it wasn’t a shock to see someone.

Mika went to get you two drinks, returning with glass in each had. “So, we’re not playing along with this stupid act annoyed shit they want us to do, right?” Mika asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“I’d rather not,” you replied. If it was your last “safe” night with Mika, you didn’t want to spend it acting like you didn’t like him.

“I was thinking we give ‘em hell this last night,” Mika smirked, “They’re going to be pissed at us anyway, might as well have fun with it.” You were about to reply when your ringing phone cut you off. Normally, you wouldn’t answer the phone during a date, but you recognized the number from the Gucci audition.

“Hello?” you answered, nerves filling your body. This could be it.

“Hey y/n, it’s the creative director of the Gucci New York Fashion Week show, do you have a minute?” the woman asked.

“Of course.” You tried to sound nonchalant but there was definitely a hint of excitement in your voice.

“Great, well I am happy to say we have chosen you to be one of the models who walks in our show,” she told you.

“Oh my god, that’s amazing.Thank you so much,” you gushed, unable to act put together. Mika looked at you quizzically, wondering what you were so excited about.

“Of course! We are so excited to be working with you, you really impressive,” she replied.

“That means so much, it’s such an honor to be chosen,” you said. The woman explained she would be in contact in the future about fittings and dress rehearsals. You listened as carefully as you could not wanting to miss anything in your excited state. When you finally hung up, you turned to Mika, squealing with joy.

“What is it love?” he asked.

“I got a spot in the Gucci fashion show!” you exclaimed. Mika’s face lit up. He picked you up and spun you around.

“I’m so proud of you babe,” he smiled, planting kisses all over your face. A couple people in the surrounding area looked over at the two of you. Definitely won’t look like the two of you are fighting.

“I have to thank you for it, I never would have even gotten the opportunity without you,” you replied, so incredibly grateful for him. This was something you’ve dreamed of for so long and could really change your career.

Mika shook his head. “Not me babe, all you. And I can’t wait to be sitting front row watching my beautiful girlfriend on the runway.” Mika moved closer to you, his hands slipping around your waist. “May just have to buy whatever you’re wearing so I can fuck you in it.”

“Mika,” you blushed, “Someone’s gonna hear you.” The rooftop was getting progressively more crowded and he wasn’t exactly being quiet.

“I don’t care,” Mika replied, “I’m sick of not being able to say how I feel. I love you and I want everyone to know. I love you, I love you, I love you.” His voice got louder as he spoke, grabbing the attention of people around you.

Mika took your by the arm, leading you to the edge of the rooftop. He leaned over the edge a bit. He yelled and waved trying to get the attention of the photographers below. Some turned up, cameras flashing, desperate to get photos of the two of you.

“I love this woman! I love this woman so much!” He yelled, giving you a kiss in between.

“You’re crazy,” you laughed as he peppered kisses all over you.

“Just crazy about you,” he smirked.

“Corny ass,” you teased, rolling your eyes.

The two of you had a great rest of the night, dancing and laughing together. You knew there would be hell to pay, but Mika’s carefree attitude was rubbing off on you. In the end, you knew you two would have each other and that made you feel safe.

At the end of the night, the two were headed for the exit, hand in hand. Mika stopped you right before the door. “Wanna go out with a bang?” Harry smirked.

“What do you have in mind?” you asked.

“Just follow my lead,” Mika replied with a wink. You didn’t know what he had in mind, but you were down. You nodded and Mika smiled, leading you through the heavy doors. The flashes were instant and abundant.

“Mika, y/n, over here!”

“How long have you been dating!”

“Mika what were you saying on the roof?”

Harry stopped in the middle of the crowd. The photographers looked on anxiously, waiting for something they could use.

“Y/n and I are in love,” he announced simply. He took you, and dipped you down, kissing you deeply. So dramatic, you thought as he kissed you. But you secretly loved it. Even with your eyes closed you could see the lights going off like crazy. There was no way management wasn’t going to see this.

After a few moments, Mika pulled away and continued to the car. He smiled and waved at cameras, something he didn’t usually do. He was really playing it up.

“You’re so ridiculous,” you laughed as he pulled the car door shut.

“But you love it, don’t you?” he teased.

“Guilty,” you replied, kissing him quickly.

“Fred, you can just take us to my place,” Mika announced, squeezing your thigh. You were excited, having never been to his apartment before. You rested your head on Mika’s shoulder during the drive, suddenly realizing how sleepy you were. You hoped Mika had a comfy pair of sweats for you to change into because you were absolutely sick of these jeans.

“Here we are,” Fred announced, “Before you guys go, I just want to see I’ve really enjoyed driving you two around. Today is supposed to be my last day, but I know it’s definitely not your last day together. Whatever happens, I know you two will get through it. I wish you all the best.”

“That was so sweet,” you gushed, almost feeling like you could cry, “Thank you for everything, really. You’ve been incredible.”

“It was my pleasure, I only ask I get invited to the wedding,” he joked.

“Of course,” Mika chuckled. After a final goodbye the two of you headed out. 

“Jesus,” you gasped, walking into Mika’s place. It was huge, the living room bigger than your entire apartment.

“Oh this old thing?” Mika joked. “If you think this is nice, you should see my place in Sweden.”

“Can we go after this mess is over?” you asked.

“Of course babe,” Mika replied, wrapping his arms around you, “We’re going to go every where together.”

Mika kissed you softly and you felt like you were flying. If you hadn’t been so tired you probably would have gone further, but right now you needed sleep. Plus, you imagined you had a big day ahead of you tomorrow once management caught wind of these pictures.

“How soon do you think we’ll be called in?” You asked Mika as you pulled on one of his tees (he gave you a super comfy pair of sweatpants too, which you were completely jazzed about).

“I’m surprised they haven’t called already,” Mika said, peeling off his clothes, leaving him in just a pair of black boxers. He grabbed your waist, pulling you down onto the bed with him.

“Well whatever happens, at least we’ll go through it together,” you said, snuggling against his side.

“Yeah, you couldn’t get rid of me if you tried,” Mika smiled, kissing your forehead. Nestled together, you both drifted to sleep, worries of what tomorrow would bring far from your mind.

[shine-skz-blog]

[3:06 pm]

“Come on, come on, come on!”

You threw your head back and let out a frustrated groan. Months you had waited for this game to come out, and now it was taking forever to download. It felt like you couldn’t wait another second. Hopping to your feet, you walked laps around the living room before lying in just about every position possible on the couch.

“Hurry up!”

You whined again as the bar sat at 99% for what felt like an eternity. However, once the bar filled and the title screen for the game appeared, you tumbled off your couch. Your head bumped the coffee table softly, but you were too excited to care.

“Finally”

Quickly, you pushed the coffee table out of the way so you could sit closer to the television. You grabbed your favorite controller, and with a huge smile on your face, you started a new game.

Hours passed like seconds as you sat on the floor, eyes glued to the screen. Falling in love with the characters and the storyline, you were completely enveloped into your new fantasy world. However, you were rudely interrupted by the ding of your phone.

↳ Binnie🖤

Come to the door, love

Rapidly glancing back and forth between your phone and the screen, you tapped the speech to text button. An important scene of the game was playing, and you couldn’t risk missing it.

Y/n🧸↲

Just come inside, it’s open

Keeping your eyes on the screen even as you heard the knob turn, your jaw slowly opened, hanging there in surprise. The backstory of the villain danced around the screen, and your eyes didn’t miss a single beat. You couldn’t help the sympathy that was growing for the so called “evil” character. He wasn’t necessarily bad, he just had things he had to protect, and sometimes he had to do some awful things to keep them safe.

“Y/n?”

The voice of your boyfriend made you jump in surprise, though you still didn’t look at him. His gaze slowly followed yours to the scene on the television. A soft chuckle escaped his lips, he knew how you and your games were.

“How long have you been sitting there?”

You waited for the cutscene to end before you even thought about replying.

“Depends, what time is it?”

“It’s 9:20”

Had it really been that long? Running a hand through your hair, you chuckled shyly.

“Six hours...”

The hesitation in your voice was prominent as you admitted the truth.

“Y/n, love, you should take a break...”

Changbin reached for your controller, but you snatched it away, your eyes finally landing on him for the first time since he walked into your house.

“No, I can’t quit now!”

A defeated sigh escaped your boyfriend’s lips as he sat down behind you, and wrapped his arms around your waist.

Another hour had passed and you hadn’t laid your eyes on him once. He’d try to keep his loose hold on you, but you shook him off the second you had to fight something. Changbin had come to your house hoping to share the good news of the time he finally had off. He had looked forward to your eyes lighting up and being smothered with hugs and kisses. He looked forward to carefully planning what you two could do in his free time, the last thing he expected was this. All he wanted was to feel your touch, but you were ignoring him, and it was killing him. A groan unwillingly escaped his lips as he nuzzled his face into your neck, placing soft kisses to your skin. Your hand flew his to his shirt, gripping it tightly as you pushed him back.

“I’m sorry, Binnie, not right now... There’s some leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry though”

The male got up quickly, leaving you on the floor as he headed to the kitchen. He wasn’t hungry, not at all, but he was getting upset. The last thing he wanted was for you to notice that though. How could you put him on the back burner when he finally had time off? He opened the fridge, pretending that he was looking for something.

“You know, love, I have a few days off and I was hoping we could spend them together? Quality time, just you and me?”

His voice gently called out as he closed the fridge. Changbin was trying hard to just drop a subtle hint, something that wouldn’t upset you, but would get him the attention he wanted.

“That’s wonderful, babe! Then I’ll have enough time to finish this game and spend time with you when I’m done!”

Complete and utter backfire

Your lover clenched his jaw in response. He couldn’t believe just how dense that stupid game was making you. Marching into the living room to finally demand what he wanted, he found you on your feet with a new intensity in your gaze on the screen.

“That’s him, Binnie, my favorite character! I know he’s supposed to be the bad guy, but I really do like him... You know, how would it make me a hero to take him down when I know the things he’s protecting will suffer? How is me indirectly killing the things he loves any better than what he’s doing? I guess the hero and the villain just depend on what side you see it from. I wouldn’t mind joining his side, he’s really dark and mysterious, such an amazing character... But oh well, a game is a game, right?”

He knew it was just a game as well, but the way you worded it all, he didn’t know why, but he absolutely despised it.

“I can be dark too”

Changbin was trying hard to validate himself after hours of being ignored, but it was no use.

“Please, Binnie, we all know you’re the softest person on earth”

Had you truly thought it through, you would’ve realized what was happening, and what Changbin truly meant by what he said. Though you were still so wrapped up in your game that you didn’t even notice. His heart fell, it shouldn’t have bothered him so much, but it truly did. His sadness didn’t last long however, but became full fledged jealousy for the game that stole your attention. Once you sat down again, Changbin sat in front of you, leaning his head into your lap and holding onto your waist. After a bit, he slowly lifted his upper body, forcing himself between your arms as you held your controller out in front of you.

“Bin, I can’t see, what are you doing?”

“You love me, right?”

Your eyes flicked to him for the first time in what felt like forever to him, and he savored the second of attention before they went back to the screen.

“Of course I do, a lot, you know that”

“More than anything else?”

“Yes, sweetheart”

Your answer was quick as if you wanted to stop talking. Changbin growled slightly, but tried hard to keep his cool. His hands went up to your cheeks and cupped them softly, placing a kiss on your nose before he rested his chin on your shoulder. He was facing away from the television, and if he got any closer to you, he’d be sitting in your lap.

“Baby, I love you, really, but I can’t focus like this”

“Then don’t focus on that”

Carefully, your boyfriend pulled the controller out of your hand and hit the pause button. Your arms fell to your sides now that you had nothing to hold.

“Focus on me, please”

His voice was desperate, and you could feel just how much he needed your attention. Slowly, you moved your eyes from the screen to meet his gaze. The sadness in his eyes was evident, and you finally realized just how lonely he must’ve felt the whole time. You went to wrap your arms around him, but instead he grabbed your wrists and pulled you forward. A soft yelp escaped your lips, and before you realized it, you were completely enveloped in his embrace.

“Please, y/n, I can’t stand another second without your soft touch... I’m sorry if I come on a little strong, but I’m desperate for your attention”

“No, Binnie, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have ignored you”

Cupping his face in your hands, you placed a sweet kiss to his lonely lips. Changbin looked you in the eyes as you pulled back. He shot you a smile before tightening his grip on your waist and kissing you again, longer this time, as if you were all he had. You moved your lips slowly with his, and when he finally pulled back, he took your breath with him. Without pause, he began to pepper kisses all over your face. You couldn’t help but laugh at his actions, he was always the sweetest.

“Sure, video games are great, and the characters are lovely, but could they ever make you happy like I do?”

A hint of jealousy lingered in the male’s voice, and you didn’t fail to notice.

“Bin, not anyone or anything could make me as happy as you do, nothing could ever come even close to taking your place in my heart.

“I love you with everything I am, y/n”

“I love you too, Binnie, so much”

Changbin’s heart warmed from your words as he gazed at you lovingly. Suddenly, however, you pushed him backwards and crawled on top of him when he was down. Resting your head on his chest, you slowly lied on top of him, earning you a soft chuckle in return. His fingers slowly combed through your hair as his arm wrapped around your waist and you felt your eyelids grow heavy.

“I’m gonna make you cuddle me for your whole vacation if you keep playing with my hair like that...”

A soft mumble escaped your mouth, and was muffled softly due to you nuzzling into his chest, but he still understood.

“It would be an honor to cuddle you for days straight, y/n...”

That was the last thing you heard before you drifted off to sleep sprawled out on the floor with your boyfriend. It wasn’t perfect, but you wouldn’t trade the moment for anything.

[let-it-raines]

Second in Command (Epilogue - Part Seven)

Summary: Life as the “spare to the heir” isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be when you’re the supposed screw-up of the family, but people don’t know what really happens behind closed doors.

Rating: Mature

A/N: You guys are totally going to be annoyed with me for how I left it on a cliffhanger when I totally didn’t have to except to show some character growth and how things change...which I guess is exactly the reason I ended it that way :D

Found on AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr Chapters: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

Epilogue Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 

Tag list: @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @kmomof4 @wellhellotragic @ekr032-blog-blog @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615@a-faekindagirl @mayquita @captainsjedi @captswanis4vr @kristi555 @teamhook @skyewardolicitycloisdelena91 @branlovesouat @dreadpirateemma @alys07 @andiirivera

“Can I come in, son?”

“Yeah, of course,” Killian answers automatically, the shock of his father just showing up at his door stunning him for only a moment. It’s not like he never visits. He usually just calls or texts first. “I didn’t know you were coming over, dad. Why didn’t you call?”

“Oh, I was visiting the kids and thought I’d drop by since I knew that the two of you had returned home.” His dad steps inside, squeezing his shoulder before leaning down to pet Indy. “Hello, darling,” he then greets Emma, kissing her cheek before wrapping her up in a hug. “How are you feeling today?”

“Good, good,” Emma insists, her eyes still blown wide as if she’s actually been shocked. He knows she’s still a bit rattled from the flight and her nausea. The same thing had happened when they went out sailing the morning of their anniversary, before the disaster of the rest of that day, and even though he had been wary of it, Emma insisted she was fine. She never said she wasn’t, but the green of her face told him otherwise. “How are you?”

“Kicking pretty high for my age.”

“You are not old,” she laughs, tugging on Indy’s leash. “Do you mind if I take Indy for a quick walk? Let her run around a bit. She’s been told she’s going outside, and I’m afraid she’ll freak out if she doesn’t get to go.”

“Of course, dear. I’ll chat with Killian, and the second you two come back inside, I want to hear all about how you’ve been since you left us to go holiday in the warm sunshine. I swear it’s rained for the past week.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Emma takes a step over toward him, leaning up and kissing his cheek, whispering that she’ll be right back before taking a step outside with Indy and leaving him with his dad.

“Do you want something to drink? Eat?”

“I’m fine.” His father begins walking to the living room, settling down into the recliner he prefers when visiting all while Killian sits down on the couch next to him, only a side table between them. “So how was your holiday?”

He almost chokes on his own saliva thinking of all of the things he absolutely cannot tell his father about their holiday as well as wondering if he should bring up the privacy issue just yet. He doesn’t know, is never truly sure about these types of things. He could have a nice, normal conversation with his father or it could turn into another tense, stressful one. He’s had enough of those for a lifetime, but he also knows that he doesn’t have all of the time in the world to fix this. He’s got fewer than four months, really.

“It was wonderful,” he finally answers, his lips ticking up on one side. It really was wonderful to get away with Emma and only have each other for awhile despite the disaster that was their anniversary. It got better, though. It wasn’t completely bad. They had the sailing trip and the takeout meal that was better than anything else they’d eaten if only for how comfortable they both felt. He felt his son move for the first time, which was bloody brilliant and most definitely his new favorite thing. “It’s a gorgeous island. Emma mentioned something about asking you to make our beaches like that.”

Brennan barks out a laugh, the wrinkles on his face all gathering together while his gray hair shakes the slightest bit. If Killian was a betting man, he’d guess his dad is getting his hair cut in the next two or three days, keeping up with his lifelong schedule of haircuts. “If only I could. That would be bloody wonderful. But I like the way she thinks.”

“She’s definitely a brilliant dreamer.” He trails off toward the end of his sentence, looking down at his hand and twisting his ring around his finger, his constant physical reminder of his lifelong commitment to Emma, as if he really needs one. “Can I talk to you about something, dad?”

“Of course.”

“I know, well, I know that things were different when I was a kid, that technology wasn’t as advanced, that I was a bit of a surprise child and that you were on the older side when I was born.”

“Well, why don’t you just call me elderly then, Killian? And you have absolutely no proof that you were a surprise child.”

His dad laughs when he speaks, but Killian isn’t finding a lot of humor in it, knowing that he’s likely going to upset Brennan with his words.

“What I mean is, I know you weren’t really, truly involved in my life. And I’m not blaming you or trying to make you feel…upset, but I need a very particular kind of advice that really only you and mum or Liam and Abigail can give. And I’m honestly not even sure you can give it.”

“What’s wrong, Killian?”

He takes a moment to collect himself, hundreds of words on the tip of his tongue but none of them feeling quite right. But he has to say something, so he might as well speak the truth.

“How the hell am I supposed to be a father in a world where I can’t protect the privacy of my wife and my child? There were, um, photographers who rented out a house and used scopes to take pictures of us on the beach. And Emma and I got into a pretty nasty argument about it. She’s worried…I’m worried about Andrew’s privacy. We want him to live a life as normal as possible. We don’t want photographers following him to school or to the park, and I just – I don’t know how to fix it.”

He’s been clenching his fist all while he talks, the tenseness in his hand almost painful while hot tears form in his eyes, every fault and every insecurity he’s had long before the fight with Emma coming back and assaulting his senses, making everything a dark, cloudy blur.

Brennan looks calm, secure, the blue of his eyes not changing while his eyelids rapidly blink, his brows furrowing and the lines on his face increasing. Has he said too much? Shown too much emotion? Asked for the impossible?

“The fact that you have very obviously beaten yourself up about this proves that you are a better dad than I ever have been.”

“That’s not what I meant, dad. I didn’t – ”

“I know, Killian. I’m not taking offense to anything. I was a poor excuse for a father for the majority of your life. I was focused on Liam, on my job, on the protocol and the way that my father raised Albert and me. All I knew was that fathers were not supposed to be close to their children, and as much as that hurt me as a child, I stupidly believed it. The fact that you have forgiven me is something I still can’t believe.”

He leans over and places his hand on Brennan’s knee, patting him before leaning back and wiping at his eyes. “I did it for me, but with the way you’ve worked to change, you deserve it.”

“Thank you, my boy.” His father smiles, settling back into his chair and crossing his hands together in his lap. “But this is not about me. This is about you and your family. So you don’t want Andrew in the public eye? At all? Is that what you’re saying?”

“I mean, we haven’t discussed it in serious length, but yes. I’m sure that Emma will be okay with releasing the occasional photo or having him join us when we go overseas so we don’t have to be apart from him, but I think we’re going to have to take a step back in traditions. And when he gets older, I think we may need to move somewhere much more private.”

The front door opens then, the alarm beep sounding at the same time that he hears the click of nails and the squeak of sneakers as well as Emma’s voice. He straightens up, fixing his hunched back and sitting against the couch in as much of a relaxed position as he can.

“Go find, Killian, girl, yeah,” Emma coos, her voice getting louder the closer she gets to the living room. And then she’s in view, Indy running in first and jumping up on the couch before getting down once she spots Brennan, less familiar people always more exciting than him. Emma walks toward him, sitting down in the seat Indy just vacated and reaching around him to tangle her fingers in his hair, stroking the strands. “What’s wrong? Your shoulders are tensed.”

How the hell does she always know?

“Killian and I,” his father answers for him, seemingly understanding that Killian wasn’t sure what to say, “were simply talking about how you two seem to be suffering from some privacy issues and are worried about your child’s future, that you want Andrew to lead a more private life than normal.”

“Oh,” Emma gulps, her hand stilling in his hair before beginning again, “well, yeah. I know that we all grew up differently and that my childhood isn’t really an option, but that’s what I want, what we want. We want him to be able to be a kid, you know? I don’t want him to be used to cameras everywhere he goes. I don’t know how we’d fix that, but that’s definitely my top priority right now. And forever probably.”

His hand finds Emma’s knee, thumb running back and forth over the material of her leggings while she speaks. He’s here with her, for her, consistently, and he hopes that she knows this.

“Why don’t you two give me some time to think things over? I’ll meet with security. We’ll work out some plans and ideas. You two should probably talk to Liam and Abigail. It’s not, well, it won’t be exactly the same. You have more freedom than them, and they’re not quite as private as the two of you. But they do have experience in all of this.” “Thank you, Brennan,” Emma sighs, leaning back into the couch and scratching at his neck, his eyes fluttering closed for a quick moment.

“Of course, but at the end of the day, above everything else, we’re a family. How you two feel is far more important than any sort of duty and tradition we have, even if I do ask that we stick to the important ones.”

“Actually, I have something else that I want to talk about.”

His head snaps to her, eyes searching for what she has to say, but she’s not looking at him, her gaze trained on the wag of Indy’s tail while her fingers tap over his on her leg, the hand in his hair having stilled.

“What do you want to talk about, love?”

She looks at him then, the smallest of smiles on her face that comforts him the slightest bit, before directing her gaze to Brennan. “I don’t want to walk out of the hospital all made up hours after giving birth. Kudos to Abigail. She is a badass woman for that, but that’s not what I want. Andy doesn’t need to be exposed to so many people as a newborn. I don’t need to be all dressed up when I’ve just given birth. I don’t care about tradition when it comes to this. This is what I’m doing, and I really feel like it’s the first step in taking a stand about him not being some kind of public property.”

He didn’t know she felt that way about any of that, nearly every word she said news to him, but he gets it, supports it. If that’s what Emma wants for this, that’s what they’ll do. He’s never quite understood that tradition anyways, and he likes the idea of a more private celebration with just them and their families while Emma heals and they adjust to the terrifying process of being parents for the first time.

“I’m not sure we can do that, dear.”

“What?” His head snaps over to his dad, trying to process the words. “You literally just said that how we feel is more important than any duty we have.”

“But that we need to stick to the important traditions, yes. New family members are an important tradition.”

“Brennan,” Emma grits, her voice strained as she tries to keep it friendly, “I respect our family and all of the traditions we have, but I am not some kind of human machine who’s only here to produce babies. Yes, of course this is a big deal, but it’s a big deal for us as a personal family, not as some part of the institution. You can still put the sign up, make any and all announcements you want. Hell, I’ll release a picture if we have to, but all I’m asking is that we’re allowed to leave and travel home in peace.”

“I agree, dad. I mean, really. Of all of the things we break and bend, of all of the things we change, surely you can let this one thing go? It’s not hundreds of years ago where people are faking pregnancies and paternities to keep the line intact, which was ridiculous then. I think letting family be family is the most important thing, don’t you?”

“Aye, it’s just…you’ll have to forgive me.” Brennan runs his hand over his face, visibly warring something within himself, the lines on his face stressing. “You were right earlier when you said things are different now. These are not things that I really went through with you, not as prevalent as you. Emma, dear, I’m sorry. I don’t…I shouldn’t have ever considered making you do something you’re not comfortable with. I love you dearly, and you and Killian know what’s best here, not me.”

“I don’t want to disappoint you,” Emma says, getting up from the couch and sitting down on the edge of the coffee table so that she can squeeze Brennan’s hand. “You are so brilliant, and you uphold this family so well. I know that I’m different, that it was difficult to accept me, but change can be good, you know?”

“I know.”

Brennan stays for a little while longer, hashing out a few more details with them before accepting a cup of tea and some food, finally listening to them talk about their holiday all the while scratching behind Indy’s ears, her eyes closed in bliss the entire time. It’s peaceful, relaxing, and he feels his shoulders loosen the longer the conversation goes on, Emma’s laughter and joyful voice sounding throughout the room. In the back of his mind, though, he keeps replaying the conversation, thinking of everything he said, everything they all said, and he’s amazed it all went as smoothly as it did, surprised that his father acquiesced to their private exit from the hospital so easily. He had no idea that Emma wanted that, and he wonders how long she’s been toying with the idea, how many late nights she’s spent worrying about bringing it up. He knows she didn’t just think of it now, that it wasn’t spur of the moment, and he tries to remind himself to ask her about it later, to make sure that there’s nothing else she’s hoarding inside.

She goes through enough, has gone through enough over the years, and she shouldn’t feel like she has to hold things back from him.

But he saves his thoughts for later, letting his dad leave and letting Emma take a nap, her eyes falling shut without her even laying down on the couch. He wakes her before she can get into too deep of a sleep, though, knowing that it’ll hurt her back, and helps her go upstairs to their room, ignoring the curses she’s muttering under her breath about him waking her up. While she sleeps, he goes downstairs to his office, answering emails and clearing out his inbox that he left alone while they were in Spain.

Summer is normally a slow time for them, June and July full of engagements while August is usually taken off to spend in Balmoral. Emma’s due in September, though, a few days after his birthday, and she’s not working after August begins. He is, though, doing his regular work and making a few short trips, making sure never to never travel more than three hours away in case he needs to be home.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have things to do now, organizing his files and reviewing the financials for Kidding a Goal until Indy comes walking into his office, her nails clicking against the wood until she’s staring up at him with her mouth wide open, tongue practically falling out of her mouth. He checks his watch and sees that it’s far past seven. He’s surprised she didn’t come and get him two hours ago.

“You ready to eat, my girl?”

That gets her tail wagging before she takes off, running toward the kitchen at such a pace that she’s probably there before he even gets up from his chair. Sure enough, she’s already waiting next to her bowl like the most well-behaved dog in the world, which is not something he expected when he and Emma decided to get a dog last year. But she’s done well, their training working most of the time, but Indy does have the tendency to lick his face when he’s sleeping. He’s not a fan of that.

But she’s his best bud and a constant companion on his runs, so it all evens out.

After feeding her, he hears footsteps coming down the stairs, Emma wandering into the kitchen with sleep-rumpled hair and pillow streaks on her face, her pajama top falling off of one shoulder. She immediately heads toward the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and some yogurt before settling down on a barstool.

“How’d you sleep?”

She grunts in response, opening her yogurt and eating a large spoonful. “I hate being pregnant sometimes.”

“So not well then?”

“Nope. I felt like my guts were all being squeezed out, but do you know who’s not moving now that I’m awake and out of bed?”

“Andy.”

“Yep.”

She keeps eating her yogurt, quickly finishing it up before getting another carton. He should probably fix something for dinner so she doesn’t consume the entire yogurt supply in their fridge.

“Hey, sweetheart?”

“Yeah?” she mumbles, pulling her spoon out of her mouth and looking up at him, her hair deflating the slightest bit from when she came down.

“You want to tell me what that was earlier? With my dad. When did you decide you didn’t want to do the public announcement?”

“Oh, um, I first thought about it a few weeks ago, but it was really driven home after last week. Why? You have an issue with it?”

“No,” he laughs, leaning down across from her and propping his elbows on the counter. “I think it’s bloody brilliant, that you are brilliant. I like that you want to do things your way…our way. It’s very sexy.” “Oh boy, if you’re looking to get laid right now that is not happening.”

“Well damn. Now I have no reason to compliment you.”

“Shut up,” she groans, tossing her spoon over into the sink, the metal clanking. “But seriously, you’re okay with all that, right?”

“Of course. I want you to do what makes you comfortable. I’m not the one giving birth.”

“Damn right. I think I’m going to give your dad a heart attack though.”

“Aye, definitely. I know he’s trying and he’s being accommodating, but I could practically see the fear of breaking traditions rolling off of him in anxiety-filled waves. But he’s seventy-three. Some things just aren’t going to change.”

“So basically we hit the jackpot today?”

“Yep.” He walks over to the fridge, opening it up and seeing what they have left over from before they left. “What do you want for dinner?”

-/-

“Bloody buggering hell,” he curses, bringing his thumb to his mouth and soothing where he just jammed his finger on the wood.

Building a crib should not be this difficult, but it apparently is. He’s been following the instructions exactly, making sure that each piece is doubly secure, and he’s not sure how it’s taking this long. He should be finished, this crib should be made, and he should be able to move onto the shelves or Emma’s glider that she was insistent on them getting.

He’s spent more time in this room in the past month than he has in any other room in the house, June somehow running away with itself all while he’s been hidden away within these four walls. It took a month and a half for he and Emma to decide on a simple light gray, one that he’s pretty sure is also in their bedroom, but honestly, once they both agreed on the color (likely because they have agreed on it once before), he wasn’t going to say anything else. He did pick out the gray-ish blue that’s on the wall with the shelves (or at least where they’ll go once he gets to them), so he’s pretty proud of it.

Neither he or Emma are much one for designing, though they have gotten a bit more into it since the remodel of the apartment, but he’s pretty proud of how Andy’s room is shaping up, even if the lad will stay in the bassinet in their room for awhile. It’s a simple room, clean lines and clean colors. All of the furniture are different shades of white and warm browns, woods really, with natural accents. Abigail gifted them a large wooden giraffe along with some leaf and animal prints, so those are sitting in the corner waiting to be placed after all of this furniture is built.

His favorite part, though, is definitely going to be the little sitting area by the shelves and the changing table. He’s not under any impression that this is going to be a calm room, a place to relax, but he figures there have to be times when he’s rocking Andy back to sleep in that very spot, the shelves filled with colorful children’s books that’ll become routine reading one day as well as being filled with several stuffed animals and photo frames that he can’t wait to update with pictures. Of course, the cabinets below will be filled with the essentials, the things no one likes to talk about like diapers and nipple cream (that was something Emma did not want to know about, and he honestly doesn’t blame her), but they’re definitely still in the dreamy, picture perfect nursery phase where the messiness of a child isn’t quite a factor.

Really to him, as much as he knows this is real, as much as he sees the physical proof, feels the physical proof (which holy shit is it incredible to be able to feel his son move), it’s still difficult for him to comprehend that in two months he and Emma will have a child. It’s something they’ve talked about for years, something they were planning on, but it’s difficult to put into words just how much love he has for his son.

And his wife.

She’s a rockstar in every sense of the word, and if he doesn’t mention it enough, Emma sure as hell will. He loves her fiercely, and that love is another thing that he can’t quite put into words. He honestly doesn’t understand men who moan and groan about their wives constantly. If anything, he finds it disgusting. Yes, you’re going to have disagreements with your significant other. That’s natural when you decide to spend your life with someone who has their own wants, needs, and opinions, but at the end of the day, his wife is his best friend. If there’s anyone he wants to spend time with, it’s her. No question.

If the answer to who your best friend isn’t your spouse or the person you’re marrying, he doesn’t understand why the hell you’d bother getting married. His mates are great, but they’re not Emma.

Maybe he is a bit of the cheeseball that Emma always claims him to be, but he likes it that way.

He’s definitely going to embarrass his kids. All of the time. He can’t wait. He’s got a few years, but he can’t wait.

“You know we can hire someone to do this, right?” Emma asks, a bit of laughter in her tone that makes him roll his eyes. His best friend, most definitely. The teasing is just a small part of that.

“Aye, but I’ve started it, and I intend on finishing it.” “Okay, but the crib doesn’t need to fall apart while there’s a baby inside of it, and the glider doesn’t need to fall apart while I’m sitting on it. That’s, like, a double disaster, and I know you lived by yourself for a long time, but I’m pretty sure you’re not capable of that anymore.”

“Oh, really? Because I was just going to make them as unsafe as possible so that I could live by myself again. I miss being able to stretch out in the bed.”

“You’re so funny,” she teases from the other side of the nursery where she’s putting away the washed clothes in the closet, organizing them by size. He swears they have enough clothes to last Andy for the first two years of his life, and that’s not counting the piles of things he knows David and Mary Margaret have at their house. “I think I may have bought him too much stuff. I don’t even think I own this many things.”

“You don’t mess your clothes up multiple times a day.”

“Good point.”

“I tend to make those.”

“Eh. Debatable.”

“Not at all debatable.” He turns back to the crib, looking at the instructions to see if he can remember where he left off before Emma distracted him. “Shit, this is impossible.”

“I can call my dad, babe. It won’t be a problem. He’s a bit handier than you.”

“Please, I am plenty handy.”

“Okay, well being handy with me is not the same as being handy when it comes to building things.”

“If we call your dad, he’s going to take over. I want to do some of this myself.”

“I will tell Dad just to help. Come on, babe, you love spending time with my dad.”

“Only now that he doesn’t give me the scary speeches anymore.”

“Yeah, I bet those were a lot of fun.”

“I mean, it’s been a solid half a decade since I’ve gotten one, but he still shakes me to my core.”

He hears Emma laugh, snort really, before she makes her way over to him, slowly settling down on the floor next to him and waving her hand until he gives her the instructions. She looks over them while looking at the crib, her eyes continuously darting between the two.

“You put part G in backwards. That’s why nothing after that is fitting.”

“Bloody hell,” he curses, reaching over and taking the instructions from her hand and checking to see if she really did just solve his problem, “how did you see that when I’ve been staring at it for the past hour?”

“Fresh eyes, my love. Fresh eyes.” She leans forward and kisses his cheek before falling back against the wall. “And that’s exactly why calling my dad and asking him to come over in the morning will be a great idea. I bet Mom will want to come too, and she does a mean job with a power drill.”

So Emma calls her parents who agree to come over in the morning. On top of moving, they’ve also begun to change around the hours of the pub, opening it earlier and letting Will close it out at night. And it’s because of this that they show up at eight in the morning, he and Emma both still asleep when their doorbell rings. Emma groans when she hears it, burying her face into his chest and making it impossible for him to get up without disturbing her. He can feel Andy summersaulting around in her belly, and he smiles to himself knowing that she’s going to have get up. She can’t sleep when he’s moving around like that.

He can’t sleep when Emma’s basically running marathons in bed, but that’s not something he’s going to voice out loud. He can get up and sleep in a guest room if he needs to. Emma can’t get up and walk away from the person who’s running marathons in her stomach.

There’s two human feet inside of her. That’s pretty weird if he thinks about it too much.

Okay, so really weird.

Slowly but surely he gets out of bed, letting Emma flip over into his spot, and heads downstairs to open the front door. David and Mary Margaret have a key, but they never use it, always waiting for either he or Emma to open the door for them, which he appreciates after one too many times having them walk in on he and Emma.

“Hi,” he greets, opening the door and ushering them inside. “Emma’s still asleep, but I’m sure she’ll wake up soon. Do you guys want some breakfast?”

“We ate at home, sweetie,” Mary Margaret greets, giving him a quick hug before David does the same. “So Emma said you guys were having some issues in the nursery.”

“I believe that it was more like Killian not being able to put together a crib in under three weeks.”

“So funny, Dave,” he bites, rolling his eyes and locking the door. “I did eventually figure it out. I just think this mid-July heat is obviously getting to me. Or maybe nerves. I’m not too sure.”

“Well, let’s go help then. We’ve got to be at the pub at two, but I think we should be able to get things done.”

After he fixes himself some coffee, not nearly as wide awake as David and Mary Margaret, they head upstairs and begin working in the nursery, assembling the shelves and drilling them into the walls in half the time that it would have taken he and Emma had they done this by themselves. So maybe help isn’t all bad. Before Emma even wakes up, they have the shelves installed and pictures securely nailed on the wall. There are books already being stacked, stuffed animals and knick knacks being placed, and all of the fun nipple creams and breast pumps being placed in the cabinet.

They’re working on the glider when Emma finally wanders in, her hair falling out of its band so that half of it spills down her back while the other half is piled on top of her head, and she’s got her glasses on, something she only does when her eyes feel too puffy to put her contacts in.

“Hey, sweetheart,” David greets, finishing tightening the screw he’s working on before getting up to embrace Emma. “How are you feeling?”

“Rough today. I think the little dude’s a giant or something because he crushes my lungs and my bladder at the same time. So I can’t breathe, and I have to pee. So, yeah, it’s fun.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thanks, dad. It looks fantastic in here. You guys have done so much. I feel like we’re not going to have anything to do in the next two months if we finish all of this.”

“That’s kind of the point, love.”

“Yeah,” she yawns, covering her mouth, “I know. Mom, do you want to come and rest with me in my room? My back hurts today, and I just can’t sit on the floor in here with you guys.” “Of course, hon,” Mary Margaret answers, walking away from the closet and stepping over to Emma before she rubs up and down her back. “Are you sure you don’t want Killian to join you? David and I would be fine to work on our own.”

“No, it’s fine. I bug him all day, and I’m kind of thinking that you can paint my toes for me or we can watch movies or something. It’s been awhile since we’ve done that.”

“Text me if you need me, love,” he tells Emma, his eyes tracing over her in a bit of concern. It’s difficult watching her be uncomfortable or miserable on some days when he literally can’t do anything about it.

“Yeah, babe, I will.”

Emma and Mary Margaret walk out of the room, their voices fading away as they walk into their bedroom one room over, and he’s left with just David who promptly gets back to work finishing building the chair. Music plays in the background, an eighties’ playlist he thinks, and it doesn’t take longer before the chair is completely together and he’s sitting in it testing it out. It’s comfortable, probably one of the best seats they have in the house, and he can definitely understand why Emma insisted on this one after shopping around a bit.

“How does someone so small have so much stuff?”

“My child is twenty-eight years old, we don’t even live in her childhood home anymore, and I swear things of hers still pop up all of the time.”

“That’s likely because Emma leaves everything all over the place.”

He folds his hands behind his head, closing his eyes and rocking back and forth while Cherry Bomb plays in the background, which is definitely not a nursery appropriate song. Or maybe it is. Who needs Mozart when you can have The Runaways?

“So is Emma like that every day?”

“Like what?” he asks, popping an eye open to look at David who’s sitting against the shelves, which can’t be good for his back. God, how old is he getting if his first concern is for someone else’s back?

“Exhausted.”

“No, not every day. She’s usually got a hell of a lot of energy, even if there’s always a nap. I think she had a restless night. She’ll tell me like it is, though. If she’s having a bad day, she’ll let us know.” “What about you?”

“Well, I don’t have a baby crushing my lungs and my bladder.”

“True,” David laughs, running his hands through his short hair. Killian swears it’s gotten more gray in the past year, the blonde nearly disappearing. David is only fifty-two, so he’s not exactly older. Hell, if it weren’t for the wrinkles on his forehead and the gray hairs outnumbering the blonde, he’d look much younger. “But I remember being a dad for the first time. It’s terrifying, so you’re allowed to be scared.”

“I am. It’s…” He reaches up and scratches behind his ear, his hair getting long enough that he knows he needs to get a haircut soon. “Emma and I try to make sure that we keep up our normal routines, that we have our normal conversations without talking too much about the baby, but it’s kind of hard, you know? It’s like we’ll be talking about going out to eat and two minutes later we’re making a list of middle names or speculating if he’s going to look more like me or Emma.”

“I know. But it’s an exciting time, Killian. There will never be anything like it, and if you want to talk about the fact that you’re having a kid, you should. You and Emma have been together for so long, and I really don’t think your relationship is going to struggle if you’re not sitting around making references no one else understands for hours on end.”

“Oi,” he protests, resisting the urge to pick up the toy elephant next to him and throw it at David, “that is your daughter you’re mocking, and she can still kick your ass.”

“Trust me, I know. Who do you think raised her to be like that?”

“Mary Margaret.”

“You’re walking a thin line.”

He winks at David, his lips ticking up on the right into a smirk. “I know. You and Mary Margaret did such a good job, still do such a good job, and even with all of the times you’ve messed up – ”

“ – which is a lot more often than even Emma has probably told you.”

“I just…you’re a good dad, Dave. To Emma, to me. I hope I can do half as good as a job.”

“You’ll be great, Killian.” David smiles at him, something genuine, and Killian’s reminded of how much David really has impacted his life in all of the best ways. “I promise. And as much as I love you, I do love my little girl more, and she’s going to be amazing. She’s always…she’s never been too open to a lot of people, but the people she loves, she loves so fiercely, you know? And she’s already doing so well at being a mom. She’ll call me at nights, and I can just hear the happiness and excitement in her voice. At the end of the day, that’s all you want, you know? For your kid to be healthy and happy.”

“Yeah, I know.” He smiles to himself, thinking of how happy he is. “Also, how dare you imply that you love your own daughter more than me. I thought I meant more to you than that. I thought we had something special, man.”

“I can still give you hell. I’d watch yourself.”

He and David finish up in the nursery for the next few hours until David and Mary Margaret have to go to work, leaving after the three of them eat lunch down in the kitchen, Emma staying upstairs for a nap. When the Nolans are gone and he’s finished eating, he heads upstairs, bypassing the nursery and walking into their bedroom where Emma is sitting up on the bed watching TV.

“Your toes look nice,” he compliments, grabbing onto her big toe and moving it back and forth. “Do you feel any better?”

“Yeah,” she sighs, twisting onto her back and scooting up the bed, “it’s just one of those days, you know? I’m not usually this miserable.”

“I know, but it’s okay to have bad days, love.”

“Come here,” she tells him, crooking her fingers and motioning toward him before she turns on her side and wraps her arms around her pillow. He does as she asks, kicking off his sneakers and crawling up into the bed, the mattress moving against his weight until he’s pressed up behind her, his knee stuck between her thighs and his arm wrapped around her waist while the other rests above her head. This is how she’s been comfortable lately, and he can’t say he minds. “Did you guys get a lot done?”

“Aye, it’s almost all finished.” He moves her hair off of her neck, placing a kiss there before resting his chin on her shoulder. “It just needs your finishing touches, I think.”

“And we have to unpack all of the boxes that are in the guest room and put them away in the closet.” “That too, but we’ve got time, Emma.” She hums, and he can feel the vibrations as well as Andy moving around under his touch, the movements following how he taps his fingers. “Has he been active today?”

“Not since I woke up, but he always responds to your voice.” “Yeah, he recognizes me?”

“Of course, you talk so damn much. How could he not?”

He turns his head and presses a kiss against her jaw, biting a bit just to tease her. “You are not a very nice woman, my love.”

“Oh please, I’m, like, the seventh nicest person you know.”

“Seventh?”

“I figured it was conceited to put me at number one.”

“Possibly.” He moves his hand against her stomach again, snaking his fingers up under her pajama top so that he can feel the warmth of her skin. “So he really does get more active when I talk?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty weird to think about, but it’s true. He likes when you talk. I think it’s because you’re a much better story teller than me.” “I mean, obviously.”

“And that he’s probably just glad to hear someone else besides me. Imagine being stuck with someone for nine months. Good God.”

“Well, I’m stuck with you for forever. Good God.”

She groans and curses him under his breath before she scoots over and turns in his arms, slowly but surely moving to face him. “Don’t be an asshole. Also, so I was talking to mom today, and she wants to be called Mimi. I think Dad wants to be called Papa, which I like as long as that’s not what you want. I know that’s what some kids call their dads.”

“Aye, it’s what Lizzie calls Liam, which is weird since Alex doesn’t do that. But I’m okay with dad or daddy, so David can be called Papa.”

“Yeah, I kind of like it. Mimi and Papa. And then your parents are Gammy and Grandpa, right? That’s what Alex and Lizzie call them.”

“Aye, but I know Mom didn’t want to be Gammy. It’s just what happened. She says it makes her feel old.”

“Your mom is not old.”

“I know, but considering your parents are barely fifty while my parents are in their sixties and seventies, it doesn’t help.”

“I’ll tell my parents to get older then.”

He smiles at her before closing his eyes and settling into his pillow, letting his head sink down into the softness. It’s calming in here, the lights turned off and curtains closed while the ceiling fan hums a steady rhythm above them. He could fall asleep like this even if he’s not the biggest fan of naps, always somehow ending up groggy when he wakes up, and it doesn’t help with the way that Emma is playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, her fingers scratching into his scalp.

“Are you working tomorrow?”

He pops an eye open, looking at Emma and smiling when her nail hits a particularly sensitive spot on his neck. “Aye, I’ve got the Investiture ceremony at ten. Why?”

“Just wondering. I was thinking we could go somewhere. Just us. Maybe take Indy to Berkshire and let her run around, spend some time outside.” “We can do it in the afternoon, if you want. I think the weather is supposed to be nice.”

“Yeah,” she sighs, leaning forward and sliding her lips over his for a brief moment, “I think that would be nice.”

The next day after he’s finished with the ceremony, he hurries home, changing out of his suit and into shorts and a t-shirt, slipping a baseball cap onto his head and grabbing something to eat for lunch while Emma does the same, her hair falling out of the back of her hat in a long ponytail. They’ve got all day, but the afternoon’s weather is pleasant enough that he’d like to go now so they can stop by a café for dinner, even if that’s the absolute last thing that Thomas will want them to do.

They want their privacy, but they should be able to go out to dinner.

So he and Emma load up into his car, letting Indy sit in the backseat with the window rolled down so she can feel the mid-July breeze blow through her fur. It doesn’t take long to get to Windsor, pulling into their parking garage less than thirty minutes later, and instead of going inside like they’d usually do, he hooks Indy up to her leash while Emma grabs some water bottles and they head to the private gardens, avoiding the visitors wandering around on tours.

As much as he prefers the spring, mild July days are near the top of his list of favorite things. Everything is brighter, more pleasant. The grass is actually greener, the flowers contrasting against their background to create a landscape of whites and shades of purple, while everything is covered in a clear blue sky, only a few white clouds scattered throughout. New life blooms, and he gets to be the one to appreciate it, to revel in it. England can be so dreary sometimes, the weather somehow reflecting the moods of most people on their morning commute to work, so he appreciates when it’s not. He’s always loved the outdoors, and if there’s any complaint he has about his home, it’s the small private garden that they have to themselves. He’d like something larger, more space to run around, and sometime in the future, he and Emma plan to spend more time in Bucklebury so that they have the privacy.

That’s what they’ve decided on since returning from Spain last month. There’s been more lengthy, draining discussions with his parents and their security team than he’s ever wanted, and as much as he feels like they haven’t really accomplished anything, he knows it’s a slow process. Of course, there are drawbacks to every positive. They’re still going to have to spend most of their time at Kensington. It’s closer to their work, to their families. Hell, Emma’s parents just bought a house so that they could have the ability to spend time with their grandchild, and now they’re going to move away from them. It’s less than an hour drive, but it’s not nearly as close as they currently are.

But everyone understands, and they don’t plan on moving any time soon, not until Andy’s a bit older. They want to be near all of their loved ones when he’s younger, and they’ve spent so much time working on their home, making it exactly how they want. It’d be difficult to leave full time, so it’ll be nice to have the option of both.

It’ll be even nicer to give Andy the most normal life that they can possibly give him.

Emma whistles next to him, her fingers between her lips, while Indy runs back to them from where they let her loose. She was about five seconds away from jumping into a pond full of fish, and as much as they’d usually let her swim, they don’t need to have a wet dog with them for the rest of the day. So she runs back to them as quickly as she can, her legs leaping in the air with her black and white fur bouncing the slightest bit. He’s convinced that she shouldn’t be able to be that quick, but she’s still just a young dog, less than a year old, and though her legs will get longer, he doesn’t think she’ll ever be full of this much energy again.

If she is, he and Emma are definitely in over their heads.

With the dog.

He’s going to choose to not think of what it’ll be like with a toddler than can run and a dog that he can run after.

After she calms from her almost pond dive, Indy walks along in front of the two of them, occasionally wandering off the stone path to sniff around in the plants, nearly tearing up several flowers until they call her back to keep walking. They stay wandering for a little over two hours, not caring where exactly they’re going or if they’re circling back around in the same spots. Indy and Emma get tired around the same time, so they settle down onto a stone bench with a patio cover that’s next to another small pond.

In the distance, he can see the Chapel where they were married, the steeple rising up above the other buildings and stone walls, and he smiles to himself thinking of that day. In the grand scheme of things, he knows that when it comes to he and Emma, as important as it was, they had so many smaller, inconsequential days that he holds just as fondly in his heart.

But that was a pretty damn good day.

He stretches his arm out over the back of the bench, wrapping it around Emma’s shoulder and tangling his fingers into the ends of her ponytail while she leans her head on his shoulder, the bill of her hat hitting him in the chin for a brief moment. He’s glad she suggested them getting away from London for a little bit, for suggesting that they change up the routine and spend a day enjoying summer, especially since they’re missing out on Scotland with the rest of the family.

A month in the same place as everyone is likely a bit long, anyways. He loves his family, but that’s a lot for anyone.

“I love you, you know?” Emma asks out of nowhere, her gaze never falling away from the rippling of the water in front of them, a fish leaping up out of the water while the lily pads float around.

He squeezes her shoulder, rubbing up and down her arm and kissing her head even if she can’t feel it through the hat. “I know. I love you too.”

[hockeyandstuff91]

Waves of Pleasure - Part 8

Word Count: 2,222

Players: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Gavin Bayreuther, Dallas Stars, Flames (mentioned)

Warnings: cussing

Authors note: Okay first of all no smut? Who am I? lmao jk it was bound to happen! No worries though, it’ll be back for next part im like 99.99% sure at least lmao. I'm honestly really impressed with myself not gonna lie LOL! This is what I love about writing series like this, when something is going on in the story that it keeps me motivated to post regularly. I missed this feeling a lot actually. I had been so busy the last few months, being so exhausted I just honestly had 0 motivation for any series I have going. BUT HERE WE ARE DAY THREE and there’s a new part! I know I wont be able to keep the whole updating daily thing going for super long, that’s just what happens with my writing. However I am so happy you guys have been so supportive and loving of this series so far, and where I have been taking it. This was never really the plan, it just happened naturally as I wrote. The characters have a mind of their own I swear! Alright I'll stop rambling now so you can get on to good stuff lol <3 love you guys! thank you again so much and I hope you enjoy this part! Please give me some feedback so I know how you all like it <3 :)

Part 1     Part 2     Part 3    Part 4     Part 5     Part 6    Part 7    Part 9

(Brooke POV)

I yawned as we entered the hotel in Calgary. The travel was early in the morning, to allow the boys enough time to rest a bit here before going for the pregame skate. Having games back to back I could imagine was a little exhausting for the boys, but I was for sure not use to being up this early. I didn't have much to complain about though, I was traveling with my two favorite people, so it really didn't matter what time it was.

The team was checked in to the hotel, key cards being passed out to all of the guys. I looked around, trying to keep an eye on Gavin. I was worried about the kid, he had seemed to not be very talkative with anyone lately, which just wasn't like him at all. I wanted to talk to him, but I knew I wasn't the teams mom and it wasn't really my place to say anything, or try to fix anything.

My attention was brought back to the room as Tyler wrapped his arm around me, pulling me in the direction of the elevator as we followed Jamie and part of the team in. There was a race going on between some of the younger guys to see which one of their elevators would make it up to our floor first. I laughed and just shook my head, wondering how they had so much energy already.

Once making it upstairs and into our room, I crawled into the bed immediately, curling up under the warm blanket. I smiled as I felt the bed dip around me, both boys pressing their lips to my cheeks as they wrapped their bodies around mine. I loved when they would both cuddle me like this, it always made me feel safe and at home.

Our nap didn't last too long before the boys were woken by their alarms, getting ready to head to the rink for a few hours. I however had plans to meet a friend that lived in town, which I was excited for.

We all parted ways in the lobby, the boys getting into the team bus, while I got into the uber that Tyler had ordered for me, making my way into downtown.

The day had gone by so fast, getting to see a bit of the city with my friend, before I headed to where the Flames played for the game. Tyler and Jamie both walked me up to the suite that they had gotten set up for me, spending a few minutes with me before they had to go down to get ready for the warmup.

The game had just started, and it was less than a minute in when Spezza made a goal. This game was already off to an amazing start. It was pretty back and forth for almost the rest of the first period, the boys were doing great, Gavin still looked like he wasn't fully in the game yet. I sighed, hoping that one of the boys would talk to him soon when intermission came up. The clock ticked by, less than 4 minutes left when unfortunately the Flames scored, tying the game.

We still had plenty of time left, and I had a really good feeling that we were going to win this one tonight. There was something about the energy on the ice that was different, it was exciting already, especially after the super early goal by Spezz.

(Jamie's POV)

"Alright we need to talk," I said pulling Gavin aside as soon as we got into the locker room, the first period over with, tied with the Flames currently.

"What's up?"

"You have not had your head in the game since we left Colorado. Is there something going on?"

Gavin shrugged, refusing to look at me.

"Dude you can talk to us you know. We are your team for a reason, we have to be a family and work together, or games are going to keep going like this."

Gavin sighed and looked around, pulling me farther away from everyone. "I'm terrified to say anything about this.."

"About what? What is going on?"

"I heard something our last night in Denver.. I came up from the bar kind of early after the game and-"

"You heard something?" I asked, leaning against the wall next to him.

"Yeah.. uhm.. coming from the room beside mine," he said, swallowing hard. I could tell he didn't want to have this conversation at all.

Then it clicked in my head. Fuck.

"Your room was right next to Tyler and I's," I sighed, covering my face.

"Yeah and Tyler was still in the bar.."

"Alright you're gonna need to talk to Tyler about this," I said.

Gavin nodded, looking down at the floor. I walked over and whispered to Tyler what Gavin had just told me and nodded towards where Gavin was standing in the corner.

(Tyler's POV)

I sighed and stood up. I had a feeling this would happen eventually.

"I'm so sorry dude," Jamie said, looking down at his skates.

"It's alright. It was bound at happen at some point. I'll fix it. Don't let this get in your head now and fuck with the game. We are still cool," I said as I made my way over to Gavin.

I could tell that Jamie was feeling really bad about this, but I didn't have time to deal with that right now, I needed to talk to Gavin about this before we had to go back out to finish the game.

"Hey Gav," I said as I made my way over to him.

"H-hey Tyler," he just about whispered, staring at the ground.

"Listen.. this isn't going to make any sense to you probably, but I just want you to know that everything is okay."

Gavin finally looked up, searching my face, probably wondering what I meant by that. "But.. do you even know what I heard? I didn't tell Jamie what it was, I just said I heard something."

I chuckled and nodded "Yeah I'm pretty sure I can guess what you heard," I said glancing over to Jamie. "I told them to be quiet," I said shaking my head, laughing.

"Wait. You know?!"

"Yeah Gavin.. That’s what I was trying to explain. It's not something that is easy to understand, but its an arrangement we have. The only way I can explain this would probably be more details than you want to know," I said.

Gavin just stared at me, I'm sure he was confused and not really sure how to react to what I just told him. Honestly I didn't expect anything else from him, how was he suppose to understand that I let my best friend and teammate fuck my girlfriend?

"So.. you.. he.." Gavin sighed, I could see the gears turning in his head as he tried to figure this out.

I laughed, closing my eyes and rubbing my hand down my face. "Okay, without being too graphic, yes Jamie and Brooke have sex, and I'm fine with it."

"Wow," Gavin said, glancing over at Jamie and then back to me. "Okay.." he nodded slowly.

I figured this was going to take him a little bit to get use to, I just was hoping that it wouldn't take so long that he would be unfocused during the rest of the game. I patted him on the shoulder, leaving my hand there for a second.

"You ok now?"

Gavin just nodded in response to me. I nodded back and started to walk away. "Oh and uh.. Please don't say anything to anyone else, not yet," I said, looking back to him.

"Oh.. yeah right. Sure man," Gavin said, following me back towards the rest of the team.

"Listen we will talk more later. Lets try and focus on the game now, yeah?"

"K," was all he said as he sat back on his side of the room.

I sat back down next to Jamie and groaned softly, leaning back against the wall. "Well hes kind of in shock I think, but he knows its okay now."

"That’s good," Jamie sighed in a bit of relief. "Still dude, I feel ba-"

"Jamie.. please don't. I've seen a difference in you since this started, a good one, and I don't want you to start feeling bad now because of a small slip up. I honestly couldn't give a shit if the guys knew, honestly it would make it a lot easier if they did. If the media found out however, that would not be good."

Jamie looked over at me, a bit confused. "You would be ok with them all knowing?"

"Yeah why not? We are a family here, we work together, we are all apart of each others lives and we celebrate when someone finds something that makes them happy. Jamie I don't know if you are just oblivious, or trying to hide it from me and yourself... but I know you are falling for Brooke. I can tell dude."

"What?" Jamie's eyes went wide "No no.. no dude its- its not like-"

"Jamie I know what its like to fall for her, I know what it looks like and what it feels like. It's okay. I wouldn't expect anything less. She is an amazing person who means the absolute world to me, I can't imagine that I would be the only one to feel that if someone else got to spend as much time with her as I do, like you do."

"Tyler I-" Jamie sighed, looking down at the ground again, his jaw clenching.

"Hey," I put my hand on his shoulder, waiting for him to look at me. "I didn't say it was a bad thing or that it made me upset. I expected it, and I'm fine with it. Just know I came first," I laughed and patted his back a few times.

Jamie chuckled and nodded "Oh I know you are first in her world, anyone who isn't stupid can see that. You two are inseparable."

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah we are."

That statement was very much true. Ever since Brooke and I had met we had been that way. That was why when this whole thing with Jamie had started, she was terrified that she was going to lose me. I had to spend all night telling her otherwise, and explaining to her that this was something that was my idea.

This whole thing started because I wanted Jamie to feel less alone, and because I trusted both him and Brooke more than anyone in my life, besides my family. They were the two closest people to me in my life and I wanted it to stay that way. It wasn't something easy to explain to others, why I was okay with this, or why I was into watching my girlfriend have sex with someone else. It was just how it was.

Looking at mine and Brooke's relationship being just the two of us was amazing, always had been. There wasn't anything missing, there wasn't something one of us lacked from the other, everything was great. It just happened that adding Jamie to that, was a positive in my mind. Seeing my best friend happy, was something that made this make sense to me.

Jamie hadn't had the best relationships in the past, and to see him finally happy, and be able to turn his mood around after a loss, or whatever else was going on in his life, was something that Brooke could help him do. It didn't in any way negatively affect Brooke and my relationship at all, it actually enhanced it. It brought her and I closer together, and I fell even more in love with her, which I didn't think was even possible.

Watching her be able to make someone almost as happy as she makes me, was something that was special. It had gone from a kink of mine, allowing her to sleep with someone else I trusted, to watching something more form between them. I had known from the very start that this was what was going to happen, and that’s why I had suggested it. I wanted Jamie to be able to feel the same kind of love that I did, knowing that it was genuine and real. Knowing that she would never hurt him, which I couldn't promise from other girls. And I wanted Brooke to also feel doubly loved, never allowing her to second guess or doubt how loved she really is by both of us. To always feel secure in knowing that there are two guys who are always here for her, and love her no matter what.

Our relationship, this situation, it wasn't 'normal.' I didn't expect most people to understand, but they didn't have to. I knew how I felt about it, and I knew how Brooke and Jamie felt about it. It worked for us and to me, that was all that mattered. I knew that when the time was right, they would express to each other how they felt, and I would be here to explain all of this to them, and help to move the relationship of us three forward to where its meant to be.

[mikoriin]

Major In Love: Bonus chapter

okay so like i realized this scene doesnt fit in the fic but i rly like it so im going to share it here. maybe put this as a bonus chapter to major in love

Syaoran sat slumped over his desk, his nose buried in his textbook. He had an exam coming up in his Religious Studies class and he wanted to get the best grade he could. His eyes ran across the pages and through his notes, flipping through the color coordinated information in his binder. He had been studying for three hours now and his brain was frying, he had two exams already within the week, a presentation that he pulled multiple all-nighters to finish, three essays, and a quiz. He was exhausted. He leaned back in his chair, resting the back of his neck onto the rim of the seat. He looked up at the white ceiling of his dorm, darkness slowly flooding his eyes as he began to doze off. Suddenly he felt a light hand on his shoulder which startled him, his eyes darting open, blinking various times. "I brought you some coffee." Tsubasa spoke, two mugs in his right hand. Syaoran happily accepted the caffeine, taking a big sip of the piping hot drink. It burnt his tongue but it didn't hurt as bad as his head felt. He watched his brother go to the desk opposite of his and open his own textbook and notes. They both took various classes that gave out a lot of homework, though Tsubasa's major was different than his own. Tsubasa was a linguistics and sociology major, a little similar to Syaoran's own major but with its own differences in classes and teachings. Luckily, the twins were fairly intelligent and could figure out the classes easily, even if one or the other needed a bit of help on whatever they were working on. Syaoran was taken out of his trance by the familiar notification of snapchat. He grabbed his phone and lit up the screen, his phone background a repeating art piece of puppy paws with a green backdrop. He noticed he had two texts from Ryuo and a snap from Sakura. Syaoran's heart fluttered at the sight of her name on his phone screen. The two had exchanged numbers and snapchats at Yuzuriha's party before everyone left the next morning. Sakura stopped Syaoran and Tsubasa on their way out, saying she wanted to keep in touch with the both of them. Syaoran opened the snap, it was a selfie of Sakura sulking with her cheek squished against her hand and a caption "This essay has me Dead" with various emojis. Syaoran smiled at the photo, even though the picture wasnt necessarily flattery, Sakura still looked incredibly cute; she really was photogenic. He replied, taking a picture of his work desk piled with books and papers, putting a caption that read "I'm exhausted". He looked at his reply before sending, wondering if it sounded too uptight. His brows furrowed, contemplating on what he should do to make the message a little more friendly and inviting for further conversation. He decided to add the weary emoji, something simple but to also show the message wasn't strict or serious. With a shaky hand, he pressed the reply button then clicked off his screen and set his phone down. Just as he was about to get back to studying for this godforsaken exam, his phone lit up again. Syaoran blinked then grabbed his phone and saw it was another notification from Sakura. She replies fast, he thought. He opened the reply to his reply to see another selfie, this time she said she "wanted a Phat Cup of Coffee". Syaoran chuckled at her use of the word "phat", clearly incorrect but done so on purpose for the sake of humor. "Does your textbook have a typo too?" Syaoran heard Tsubasa's voice from across the room. "I just found, like, two." He laughed. He looked over to his brother, a blush on his cheek. "Ah, no, I'm Snapchatting Sakura." He said sheepishly. Tsubasa then turned his full attention to Syaoran, a knowing grin on his face. Syaoran blushed even deeper at his brother's sly smile, "I-It's not anything serious, we're just talking about coffee. I'm sure she sent you a snap as well." He said, almost blurting out his sentence. Tsubasa raised an eyebrow, checked his phone screen, then looked back to Syaoran. "Nope." He said in amusement. Syaoran's face went beet red, surely Sakura was talking to someone else as well, maybe she just assumed that if Syaoran got the snap then Tsubasa would see it too. Yeah, that had to be it. Syaoran was knocked out of his racing thoughts by another snapchat notification, this time from Tomoyo. Curiously, he opened it then felt his heart race by what he saw. It was Tomoyo, clearly sneaking a picture of Sakura hunched over in her pajamas focusing on the essay she had mentioned, the side of Tomoyo's face in the corner of her own photo, she was grinning. There was text, it said "Bring her some coffee" with a heart emoji. Syaoran immediately stood up, the legs of his chair scraping against the hardwood floors of the dorm. "I'll be right back." He sputtered out without looking his brother in the face, quickly shutting the door behind him. He went outside the boys' dorms, heading to the side of the building where some vending machines sat. He parked himself in front of the coffee machine, then stopped himself, Crap I didn't ask what kind of coffee she likes! He mentally slapped himself. His eyes darted around the vending machine, examining the various types of drinks it had to offer. He could get a mocha, cappuccino, black, caffe americano. What kind of coffee does she like!? His mind was swimming in distress, he quickly grabbed his phone out of his pocket and went to snap Tomoyo, she had to know Sakura's preferences. "Syaoran?" He heard a voice from beside him. Syaoran looked to his side and saw her, Sakura standing in her pj's in front of him. His face turned a pretty shade of red, "Hi." He said, standing up straight. "You came to get coffee too? I'm glad! We can talk to each other in person now." Sakura beamed, her smile lighting up the area surrounding her. Syaoran smiled gently, his nerves easing a bit at her relaxed nature. He put his phone back in his pocket, then pulled out his wallet, getting cash out for the machine. Sakura walked up beside him, which he noticed she was awfully close, scanning the machine for her desired drink. "I think I'll have...an Espresso." She said to herself, pressing the buttons on the machine to fit her order. Syaoran mentally noted her like of espresso, thinking he would have to remember that for the future. He stood silently, still unsure of what to do. He was supposed to bring the coffee to Sakura's dorm, which he was putting off thinking about until the time came, but now she was here buying one for herself. He already had coffee in his room, he didn't want that to go to waste but he also felt weird not buying anything. "Aw shoot!" Sakura cried from beside him. "Is everything alright?" Syaoran looked at her in concern. Sakura looked at him defeated, "Yeah I just forgot to bring my cash with me...I'm so forgetful when I'm tired. I'll have to use my card now." She sighed slowly. "Is that a bad thing?" He asked. "Well, not really. But I hate using my card unless its an emergency, but I already made that trip here." She laughed quietly, brushing a bit of hair behind her hears in nervousness. "I need coffee to survive this essay and I don't want to make another trip." Syaoran looked at her for a moment, then down at his wallet. "I'll pay for you." He said without hesitation. Sakura looked absolutely shocked by this, "No!! No, you really don't have to! I was a dummy and forgot my cash, I'll just use my card, it's okay!" She was so flustered at the idea of Syaoran paying for her coffee. "I want to." He said with the most genuine eyes. Sakura looked into his eyes, connecting jade with amber. Syaoran smiled at her, giving her a look so gentle she could feel her entire body grow soft. She blushed, "Okay. Thank you so much, Syaoran." She said shyly. Syaoran's heart skipped a beat when she said his name, sending chills up his spine. He nodded then put his money into the machine, watched it make her coffee, then handed it to her, their hands briefly touching at the trade. Syaoran's cheeks turned pink at the touch, her hands were so soft. "I'll pay you back tomorrow, okay?" Sakura said with her own red cheeks. "No, you don't have to. I wanted to pay for you." He replied, giving her that same gentle smile. Sakura blinked, then smiled back. "Thank you, Syaoran...Really." She rubbed her shoe on the concrete, looking down at her hot cup of coffee. "What are you gonna get?" She then asked. Syaoran looked at the machine then down at his wallet, he only had ten dollars left in cash and then his credit card. He wasn't against using it like Sakura was, but he did prefer to use cash when he had it on him. Realistically, he had enough for a coffee, but he wanted to use the money for lunch tomorrow before he went to work. The scale in his head weighed his options: save the money for lunch or have a coffee with Sakura right now in this very moment. Sakura seemed to easily outweigh the food. He put in the order for a regular coffee, paid, then took his beverage. The two sat against the wall by the vending machines sharing their coffee over conversation; "My brother used to always call me a monster, saying I stomped around the house too much. I always dreamed of growing taller than him and crushing him under my feet, but he's still taller than me and still calls me a monster!" Sakura told Syaoran, grumbling at the talk of her brother. Syaoran chuckled at her words, thinking her batner with her brother was cute. She looked to him, "Do you and Tsubasa have anything you quarrel over?" Her smile was genuine and curious. Syaoran hummed, "Not really. We have our differences though and he likes to tease me about things, but I don't mind. He's just a little more bold than I am." He said, watching the stars peak out from behind the clouds. "Though our brother, Kimihiro, can get a bit upset easily." "You have another brother?" Sakura asked, her expression full of surprise. Syaoran nodded, "He was adopted into the family when we were 7. It took him a bit to warm up to us, but we're all very close now." He smiled fondly. "How old is he?" Sakura asked curiously. "21, the same age as Tsubasa and I." "Where does he go to school?" "New York, he's studying psychology." "That's so cool! Do you guys talk often?" "Yeah, we FaceTime when we're all free, sometimes we all FaceTime our father who is a college professor in Washington." Sakura brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. She stared at Syaoran with a tender smile, "I really enjoy talking to you Syaoran." She said with a pink tint to her cheeks, "I hardly know anything about you, but I think you're kind and hard working. You take on so much and never complain and you're always helping out others. I admire you a lot." She rested her head on her knees, her smile radiating light all around her. Syaoran stared into her gentle green eyes with a blush, she was so honest and genuine. She made his chest feel like it was on fire and the butterflies in his stomach never stilled when he was around her. He looked away from her eyes, the blush still lingering on his brown skin and took a long sip of his coffee. Sakura sighed, "It's getting late and I have to finish this essay." She said, standing up from her spot on the ground, stretching in place. Syaoran stood up with her, brushing off any dirt that may have gotten on his pants. "Thank you again, Syaoran. I had a really good time." She smiled that same bright smile, "I'll see you in class tomorrow." She waved a goodbye, then turned to walk back to her dorm. Syaoran watched her go, feeling his heart pound in his chest. He had talked to her again, held a proper conversation with her, and it made his heart soar.