#and she ended up texting that she fell off the stairs tripping on him. thankfully near the bottom

[frogspawned]

I was about to reblog the poll about the cats and I read your tags on it. Oh my god do you have or had a cat named Wobble? I have a cat named Wibble.

i did! he was born with an extra long tail that threw off his balance. eventually he grew into it, but the name stuck.

^ the man himself

[let-me-luve-you]

Cancer Battle

Tom Holland x Sister (with the whole Holland clan)

Summary: The reader is diagnosed with cancer, but decides to keep it from her brothers. 

Warnings: angst, cancer treatment, cancer diagnosis, brothers being rude, somewhat of a fluff ending

A/N: I did research on this. I hope I did the correct research. So I apologize if I’m wrong.

MASTERLIST

This has been the toughest two months of your life. Right when you were due to go over to America with your brothers to visit Tom, you noticed swelling in your neck. So did your mum. She set you up a doctors appointment, and two days later, you found out you had Hodgkin Lymphoma.

After talking with your doctor, you found you were in the early stages. It was still treatable and your chances of beating the cancer were very high. That helped you relax a little, but you were still in shock at hearing the words, “you have cancer.”

You wanted to start treatment right away so you told your brothers to go without you. They weren’t happy with you since you wouldn’t give them the real reason as to why you were staying behind. Every Wednesday morning for the next month, you would go with your mum or dad to the doctors office to do your antibody therapy treatment. You really didn’t want to do chemo or radiation unless it got worse, so you decided this was the next best option.

After four weeks of treatment, all of your brothers came home. Tom was disappointed you didn’t come see him, but he knew you probably had a good reason. He decided to come over to your parents house to hangout with you today. Except today wasn’t a good day. You were sick due to the side effects of the treatment. To those who didn’t know about your treatment, they would just think you had the flu. So when you walked back into your room from the bathroom, you groaned when you saw Tom sitting on the end of your bed.

“Good to see you too, Y/N.” Tom said with an eye roll.

“Hi Tom. Sorry. You might want to leave, I’m sick.” You said trying to keep your distance but you were wanting to lie down so bad.

“Mum told me. Can I get you anything?” He asked sweetly.

“I’m okay for now. Dad went to the store this morning.” You replied and motioned with your finger for him to move. He understood and moved toward your door as you went to lie down. You sighed, content when your body hit the mattress.

“I’m going to go downstairs. Text me if you need anything.” You smiled at him. “Get better soon.”

The next few days, you started feeling better. This is how it was every week. Stuck in bed on Thursday and Friday. Moving around more on Saturday and fully back to your normal self on Sunday. Then you would repeat the process again.

This Wednesday though, you weren’t feeling good. It felt like you couldn’t catch your breath. You had a fever and you could tell you had lost at least twenty pounds since your diagnosis. You got up earlier than normal to talk to your mum. When you walked into the living room, you found all four brothers.

“Hey Y/N. You okay?” Sam asked.

Ignoring his question, you looked around the room. “Where’s mum and dad?”

“Dad has a meeting at ten and mum ran to the store really quick. Said she would be back soon.” Paddy said not looking up from his phone. You nodded and turned to go back to your room to lay down until you had to go to your appointment.

“It’s a good thing you're up though. I have a press tour coming up and we are going to Bali. The three of them are going and I wanted to see if you wanted to come. You didn’t get to go last time so I thought you would enjoy it.” Tom said.

“I would but uh..” You looked around trying to think of an excuse as to why you can’t go. “I’m still getting over this sickness. Wouldn’t be good for me to go.”

“Well good thing it isn’t until next month then.” Harry said with a laugh before he turned serious. “Why are you always bailing on us? You missed the last Bali trip. You skipped last minute to go to America. Now you’re trying to get out of going to Bali again. What’s up with that?”

“I just have a lot going on. It’s not that I don’t want to, I just can’t.” You said.

“Harry has a point though Y/N. It’s like you don’t like us or something. You never go out with us when we are in town either and you won’t let us post photos of you.” Paddy said.

You stood shocked. You didn’t know how to respond, but it didn’t matter since it didn’t seem that your brothers were done.

“Can you tell us if we did something to you so we can fix it?” Tom said trying to be the nice brother like always.

“Come on mate. We didn’t do anything and she knows it. She just hates us.” Harry said with a snarl.

“Must be embarrassed by us. I don’t know why. People love us.” Paddy said. Sam agreed with Paddy and Harry. Tom just didn’t know what to do so he just stayed quiet. He wasn’t trying to make you feel bad, but he did feel rejected by you lately.

“I love you guys and I would never be embarrassed of you. I just have a lot going on.” You said. You were getting worked up and it was making it harder to breathe. You turned and started to leave the room. “Tell mum to come to my room when she gets home.” You started to walk up the stairs and ignored the hateful comments your brothers were whispering about you.

An hour later. Your mum came into the room and saw you laying there asleep. She went to push your hair out of your face and felt how hot you were. She immediately started to panic and tried to wake you up. Thankfully you opened your eyes halfway and saw your mum.

“Mum, somethings not right. I don’t feel good.” You whispered.

“Get up honey. We are going to the doctor.” Nikki said in a rush. She went to help you stand when you fell on the ground. Nikki was worried because you couldn’t hold yourself up. “DOM!” She yelled. “DOM HURRY UP! COME HERE!”

Tom thought he heard his mum call for him and he heard the worry in her voice so he sprinted to where he heard her trying to talk to Y/N. He was shocked when he saw you on the floor.

“Tom I need your help. We have to get her to the hospital now. Help me get her to the car.” Nikki said. Tom stayed staring at your almost lifeless body “TOM!” Nikki snapped to get his attention. Tom immediately went into protective brother mode and ran to you and easily picked you up bridal style and carried you down to Nikki’s car. He laid you in the backseat and then he joined you by putting your head into his lap. Nikki ran to the driver's seat and rushed to the hospital.

“Mum, what’s wrong with her?” He asked.

“I’m not sure.” Nikki answered honestly. If it hadn't been for the swollen glands, Nikki would have thought you were healthy as a horse. Now with the treatments, it always pained her to see her only daughter struggling with the illness. Once they got to the emergency room, Nikki started telling the ER doctor everything. Tom paled when he heard the word cancer. He looked up at his mum to see if what she said was true. When the doctors took you in the back to run test, Nikki finally turned to her oldest and saw him shaking.

“Cancer?” He whispered. If Nikki hadn’t been standing so close, she wouldn’t have heard him. She gently wrapped an arm around Tom and guided him to sit in a chair. Tom stayed latched to his mum as he cried for his little sister. “Wha- how- when? When did she find out?” Tom asked many minutes later once he stopped crying.

“Before the America trip.” Nikki said. “She’s been doing treatments once a week since. The treatments make her sick. That’s why you found her like she was last Thursday.”

“I had no idea.” Tom said more to himself. “That’s why she didn’t want to go to Bali.”

“Yeah. She wants to stay home until the cancer’s gone. She has a high survival rate, Tom. She didn’t want any of you to worry. That’s why she didn’t tell you.”

As Tom went to say something a doctor interrupted. “Mrs. Holland, Y/N is in a room now. You can go sit with her while we wait for the results. Since Dr. Hammon is the one treating her, she will be here to overlook her during her stay.” Nikki nodded and grabbed Tom’s hand. They followed the doctor to Y/n's room where she looked so tiny on her bed. She had an IV in and was sleeping soundly.

“We gave her some medicine to bring her fever down. She should wake up soon.”

“Thank you doctor.” Nikki said as he walked away. She turned to Tom, “I’m going to go call your father. Sit with her please.”

“Of course.” Tom said before grabbing your hand and sitting in the chair next to your bed. Tom grabbed his phone with his other hand. He quickly added Harry, Sam, and Paddy to a group text.

T: Hospital. Room 135. Waiting on the results for Y/N. We need to talk.

H: WTF?! Is she okay? Is that where you went. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.

T: Yeah. Had to help mum. Just hurry. She should have everyone here for her.

S: Called into work and got the day off. Will be there soon.

P: Harry and I are on our way too. Be there shortly.

By the time all the brothers arrived, Dom was walking into the room as well. Nikki had already spoken with Dr. Hammon and got the news of why Y/N reacted that way. Nikki decided now was the time to tell everyone the severity of it.

“Okay guys. Y/N wanted to keep this a secret, but I no longer can. She has Hodgkin Lymphoma. Her and I noticed swelling in her neck before she was going to the states so I took her to the doctor. She was diagnosed a couple days later. That’s why she didn’t go with you boys on the trip. She’s been undergoing treatment every week to help kill the cancer.” Nikki said looking at all of her sons. “I just talked with the doctor. The bad news is she doesn’t think the antibody therapy is working. She thinks it would be best to try chemotherapy next so the cancer doesn’t spread. The good news is, the cancer hasn’t spread.”

Dom visibly relaxed at hearing that news. He was thankful you were as okay as you could be. “Did she say why she reacted this way. Why did she almost pass out?” Dom asked.

“She said her body was working in overdrive to kill the cancer cells.  Her fever got too high. Now that her fever is down, she’ll be back to her old self.”

“Old self?” Tom scoffed. “Mum she’s been sick more times than she’s been feeling okay. There’s no old self in that.”

“This is her new normal for a bit. Until she defeats the cancer, this is her old self.” Nikki responded.

You groaned and tried to open your eyes. Nikki and Dom rushed to one side as Tom rushed to your other. Tom ran his hand over your head. You turned and slowly opened your eyes and met Tom’s brown ones.

“What happened? Where am I?” You asked, confused.

“Your fever got too high. Me and mum rushed you here. You’re okay now.” Tom said. You turned to see your mum next to you with your dad.

“They know sweety.” She said. You closed your eyes for a second and turned to look at Tom again.

“I’m sorry for keeping this from you.” You said.

“Don’t be. I’m just glad you’re okay now. And I’ll be here every step of the way to help you fight.” He kissed your forehead. The rest of your brothers came up to you.

“I’m sorry Y/N/N for saying you hated us.” Harry said.

“I’m sorry too.” Sam said.

“I’m sorry as well.” Paddy said.

“It’s okay you guys. I’m sorry for not telling you. Just didn’t want you to worry. You guys have a lot going on in your life. Didn’t need to add this to the list of things you were stressing over.”

“We will always worry about you, healthy or not. You’re my baby sister. I never want you to think you have to go through something like this alone.” Tom said.

“I’ll sit with you at treatments.” Harry said.

“I’ll hangout with you when you don’t feel well at home.” Paddy said.

“I’ll make all of your favorites and I’ll make you soup.” Sam said.

You smiled at your brothers and thanked them. You were glad you had such an amazing support group to back you in this fight.

[pbandjesse]

I did not need to be as stressed about today as I had been. Today was excellent. I had such a good group. I am tired but I feel happy.

I didn't sleepy amazing. I woke up a lot. But that is okay. I was starving when I got up though. I don't know why I was so hungry but it was distracting.

I got up and got dressed. James was in their bike gear and getting ready for a ride. They made the bed while I was getting ready. And let me know my backpack was still wet. I had attempted to dye my new little backpack also night because the front pocket was brown and I didn't like it. I left it on the fire escape all day to dry and I'm really excited about it. I will probably do some embroidery on it. But I have many other projects happening so we'll see.

I headed to work and stoped fro breakfast. They were obviously in the weeds and I gave them my receipt at the pick up window because they were all confused. I hope it got better.

I was nervous about my day so I was bouncing around a bit. It was Jack's wife Cindy's first day. And we had our new educator Michael as well. I already like Cindy. And Michael seems great. He's from Nigeria and seems really sweet.

It was a busy busy day. I would spend the morning helping Jordan set up and chatting with him about conspiracy theories and work stuff. I did get a little frustrated with a coworker who was just. Not doing what they were supposed to. And was just adding stress for no reason. But whatever.

I continued to be nervous but as soon as the group got here and I brought mine inside they were so lovely? They were so good. We had a kid with a broken foot and so we weren't sure if he was going to be able to go up the stairs but I checked with him and he said he would just like a job that can stay downstairs. So Mr Platt it is. I think he enjoyed it. And all the other kids did too. They were all so smart. I really had the best time. And honestly just doing my shucking station went great and I had a great time.

We had a double overlap today though and that was pretty stressful. Especially with two new people. And so after I got my group out to their scavenger hunt I went back to help reset and get everything handled. Adam was a little confused to see that the tasks were handled. But like we help each other.

The kids really liked that I did prizes and they were real competitive. And once we went through all of the answers I sent them off to lunch.

I went back to the office to read my book for a bit. When all of a sudden Becca and Adam ran into the break room in a panic that Del's cannery was 20 minute late. How is that possible. And of course it wasn't true. They were maybe 2 minutes behind. The other cannery was just a few minutes early. But there was a 5 minutes panic and texting and running around. And it was just like. Guys calm down.

I went to get the kids and took them to the assembly line. And they did a great job. Gaby was great as a second. And they would finish with enough time to check out the car. Which is always my goal. Though we did have a scare when a piece of the moveable wall fell off and I thought it was metal and was going to hit Gaby in the head. But thankfully it was plastic so it only startled us.

While the kids were out checking out the car I chatted with one of them about siblings. And she ended up asking if she could give me a hug and I always love that. What a sweetheart. Once I walked them out I went to the back to start doing supplies. It was a nice hour cleaning oysters and telling stories.

But I was ready to go home. I wasn't tired yet but I knew I would be soon.

When I got home I would fall apart pretty fast. James was on the couch and after I got changed I would join them. They made me a quesadilla and we worked on booking our honeymoon!!

We did our little trip to DC. Our mini-moon. But this will be the big one. We are going in May. And it's going to be a pretty incredible trip. We were between two. But with the budget we have we went with the one that doesn't stop in Montana. We'll do a Montana trip another time. But this one is going to go from Chicago to Seattle, then we take a cruise to Alaska and back to Seattle. With a few stops at different ports. And we were right in budget and the cruise has at least two rainforest excursions and we found at least two places to eat in the different towns. And two different thrift stores because I think it will be funny to buy thrift store stuff while traveling. If we have to mail things homes so be it.

We took a lot of notes. Wrote down a bunch of things. It's really exciting!! And once that was done I was just like. Hey. This was fun. But also now I feel very tired.

I got in bed and just watched videos for a while. But I gave maybe if a time to get up. And would start going through my closet to make some outfits and out some more Halloween and fall stuff away. James went to the store but before they left they started the bread machine for the first time!! They had had a slight panic that the mixing paddle was missing but I had just put it in the drawer so that tragedy was avoided and in a few hours we would have bread!

While they were gone I would put the dishes away and clean out the fridge. And bake my pumpkin seeds. Which smelled great. I was feeling good.

James would get home and finish the staffs for camp. And I would keep working on organizing the closet. Moving seasonal things around. Hanging my layering shirts so that I remember I have them and to wear them so I'm not cold. I kept joking that I was going to pack for our honeymoon now. But Jess and James think 178 days early is to early. Which is fair.

Jamess bread came out so nice. Maybe a little sweet? But it smelled great. And we would basically just rest the rest of the night. Daylights savings is always hard in me and apparently very hard on James too.

But we are still going to try to wake up to see the eclipse. And tomorrow I don't have to be at work until 1. So I get to have a chill morning. I am looking forward to it.

I hope you all have a good night's rest. Sleep well. Take care of yourself!!

[sweatersstyles]

a styles family christmas

I’m sorry this is late and shorter than I wanted but I couldn’t let the year end without a little holiday celebration from my favorite family! Linking the other parts of the series below so you can re-visit them if you choose but please don’t feel like you have to. Enjoy!

Thank you to @tbslenthusiast​, @bfharry​, and @iconicharry​ for the encouragement to finish this!! also miss zoey @milfzaynmalik is to thank for the super fluffy ending thank you love!

I Want Your Belly - Wonderful and Warm - Washed Away in You - Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

word count: 3.1k

writing tag | masterlist

The crackle of Sterling’s whimpers filtering through the baby monitor wakes you. You’re slipping your feet into your slippers before you realize that Harry’s side of the bed is empty, his voice joining the growing distress of your son.

“S’all this about, bub? Too early to be makin’ so much noise, son.”

You can tell even through the speaker of the monitor that Harry’s still half asleep. Sterling’s cries become slightly muffled, you’re sure by Harry holding his son to his chest now to try to soothe him.

“Let’s see if daddy can figure out what’s wrong before we have to wake mumma, hmm?”

By the time you make it down the hall to Sterling’s room, Harry’s already got him changed and mostly re-dressed in his Christmas pajamas, delicately trapping one of Sterling’s feet to put the red sock back on his foot that probably came loose while Harry was changing him. Your son was much like their father, never one to stay still for long.

“Getting pretty good at this dad thing, H. That may be a new diaper changing record for you.”

Harry flashes you a sleepy smile, placing kisses on each of Sterling’s cheeks as he coos happily up at the two of you.

“Look what you did, bub. Told ya y’were being too loud,” He drums his fingers along Sterling’s tummy before bending to kiss your cheek the same sweet way he did his son’s, “Sorry, love. Meant to turn the monitor off so we wouldn’t wake you.”

“It’s okay, it’s time for him to eat again so the alarm would’ve woken me anyway.”

He helps you get everything set up to nurse, gently gripping your shoulders before kissing your cheek again, “You feed bubs, I’ll go make coffee and breakfast.”

You nod an agreement and he’s already made it out the door, preparing to make his way down the stairs before the statement registers in your brain, “Wait what? Why? Harry..it’s 4 a.m.”

He pokes his head back around the doorway, “S’Christmas morning. Don’t you want coffee before we do presents?”

You sigh, keeping your grip tight on Sterling as you let your head fall back to rest against the chair.

“Harry, I promise I will love and appreciate anything you got me just as much, if not more, when I’ve had a little more sleep.”

“Who says all the presents under the tree are for you, princess. Some of them are for Sterling and you and I both know it takes at least an hour to settle him back down after an early feeding so..thought we’d do Christmas early while he’s more alert.”

“What do you mean some..we only got him one thing. We agreed we wouldn’t go overboard with his first Christmas since he’s so young, remember?”

“I remember it as more of a suggestion than an agreement, really.”

The grin that spreads across his face tells you all you need to know. He definitely went overboard to spoil you both and your eyes grow misty with tears at what you’ll see when you venture downstairs later.

“I know how grumpy you get when you don’t get enough sleep though, so if y’really wanna wait til’ later..”

“We can do it now,” You interrupt, “But I just don’t want you to be disappointed when you don’t get a big reaction from Sterling, alright? You have to remember he’s only 7 weeks old.”

His face lights up, child-like wonder written across his features. He crosses the room quickly to smack you with another kiss, to the top of your head this time, “Meet you downstairs in a bit!”

You giggle at the way his feet shuffle almost too quickly back across the carpet and he trips over his own feet, catching himself and assuring you he’s fine before continuing down the stairs.

It’s only 20 minutes after that you join him in the kitchen, but you can tell he’s used every second of it to stay busy. There’s a plate of food already waiting for you and he offers you a mug of coffee, letting you transfer Sterling to his shoulder so he can burp him while you enjoy your breakfast.

“You didn’t make anything for yourself?”

“M’too excited to eat,” He shakes his head, “I’ll have something after.”

“Alright then, if you can wait then so can I,” You put your fork down, taking a long sip of your coffee before setting the mug back on the table. You offer him your hand, and for a second you think he may refuse, urge you to sit back down and enjoy your meal first. He doesn’t though, the buzz of elation at you seeing what he got for you overrides any other emotion and he grips your hand tightly in his, squeezing once before letting you pull him into the living room.

The only light provided in the room comes from the glow of the lights on your tree. They perfectly illuminate the shock on your face at the sight of how many presents have joined the pile since the night before.

“Harry, how did you have time to do all this? You’ve been busy or with us in all your off time lately.”

“Shh..they aren’t all from me,” He’s sitting on the floor in front of the tree, and he pats the spot next to him, inviting you to join him. He looks down at where Sterling sits in his lap when he says, “Had some help from Santa.”

That earns him a big smile from his son, who can’t take his bright eyes off of Harry. They drift to you for a second when you plop yourself next to the two of them.

“Seriously..I know you had help cause there’s no way you wrapped all these yourself.”

He covers Sterling’s ears, rolling his eyes at your slight insult, “Fine. If you must know, Auntie Sham helped me. I had them all sent to her and she wrapped them for me. I picked them up from her before I came home yesterday and snuck them in from the car after you fell asleep.”

“Sham? My best friend Sham? I just talked to her last night and she didn’t mention any of this to me!”

“‘Course she didn’t. Made her promise she wouldn’t tell. You’re too nosy for me to hide them here, too smart too. You would’ve figured it out a month ago if I hadn't asked Sham to help.”

“A month? The two of you have been scheming against me for a whole month?” He dodges the playful swat you attempt to throw his way, catches your arm instead to settle it against his chest. He uses it as leverage to pull you closer to his face, a firm kiss pressed to your lips. You melt against him, any irritation that may have been building fading away. You make a mental note to shoot Sham a text later to thank her.

When he finally breaks the kiss, he reaches with the arm that isn’t clutching tight to Sterling to grab a small box wrapped with simple red paper, adorned with green ribbon and a bow. This one is more messily wrapped than the others, and if you had to guess, Harry did it himself.

“Baby gets the first present.” He holds the box close to Sterling’s little hands. He has been grabbing at things more lately, discovering his hands and learning to use them. Thankfully they hadn’t quite learned to grip too tightly yet, since they mostly ended up in yours or Harry’s hair when either of you held him.

He tosses a matching box over to you and you catch it. You watch Sterling closely, see his sweet hands as they wrap around the box Harry offered him.

“Harry? Remember what I said earlier about Sterling being 7 weeks old so that present is most likely about to..end up in his mouth.” You chuckle as you watch that exact thing happen and Harry scrambling to move the box away from his son’s mouth, leaning in to ensure none of the paper got left behind. He breathes a sigh of relief when he inspects the package and finds that everything's still intact, maybe just a bit more wet than before.

“Let daddy help you, bub,” He nods to the one in your hands, “Open up, babe.”

You do, tearing away the paper and waiting for Harry to open the one for Sterling. You pull the top off the white box, revealing a bracelet made from the same beads as Harry’s teal Eliou necklace he owns. You look up to see a much smaller version being slipped onto Sterling’s wrist.

“I seeing you eyein’ my necklace when I wear it, but I also know you prefer bracelets so I had the designer make a set for you and bubs, so we can all match.”

“Oh, Harry, I love it so much! It really is gorgeous, thank you!” You turn your wrist around to get the full view of it fitting perfectly against your skin. You wipe a few tears when they escape from your eyes before exclaiming, “Okay! Your turn!”

You pass him an envelope labeled with his name and he raises his eyebrows at you as he takes it.

“Starting out a little small, are we?”

You shrug, “Depends on your definition of small.”

He’s gently pulling at the opening and before you can stop yourself you blurt out, “Just open it!”

“I am! I am! Just didn’t want to rip the card inside.” He works faster now, fingers tugging the edge of the card out and gasping when the airplane ticket falls out and lands in front of him.

“Is this what I think it is?” He snatches the piece of paper up, eyes scanning frantically over the words to find the destination, “How did you know when to schedule it for?”

“I know how homesick you’ve been lately, and how much you wanted more of your family to be able to meet Sterling so I thought we’d go to them instead of the other way around. Jeff helped me, said next week would be best. If you don’t want to do it then though we can..”

“No, this is perfect, except..”

“Except?”

“I also talked to Jeff about taking some time off to visit family. Yours instead of mine though. I see now why he had next week blocked off.”

“Wait..is that why my mom said ‘see you soon’ when we FaceTimed her last week? Did she know already?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to make sure they wouldn’t mind havin’ us around for a week or so.”

He reads over his ticket again, laughing when he sees the end date of the trip you scheduled, “We’re gonna have a busy two weeks.”

“Great minds think alike, I guess.”

His hand reaches the short distance to cup your jaw, thumb swiping away more happy tears that have spilled at the idea of getting to show off Sterling to yours and Harry’s family. He smiles proudly down at Sterling before returning his gaze back to you.

“Yeah, guess they do.”

You both work through opening the rest of the presents labeled for Sterling as fast as you can, knowing it won’t be long before he’s ready for his mid-morning nap. You both make goofy faces and silly noises to keep Sterling engaged with each of the gifts you tear open for him. You can see him fading though, eyes trying to slip closed between each gift.

“I know there’s only a few more left, but I think we should save them for later, H. He’s getting tired.”

“Guess I did go a little overboard, huh?”

“No, Harry, everything is perfect, really. You did amazing.”

“I’ll take him back up to his bed, get him settled.”

“I’ll do it,” You’re already up, gently lifting him from Harry’s arms, “I’ll come back down and we can open the rest of ours together while he naps.”

“Or we could nap while he does..isn’t that what they say? Sleep when the baby sleeps?”

“That’s what we’ve been told, yeah. Never really works out for us though, does it?”

There’s always too much to be done in between; anything from a sink full of dishes to be washed or a few loads of laundry to be done. It was a nice idea though, and when Harry is able to be home he’s helping with as much of it as he can, urging you to do the resting instead.

He shakes his head, “No, it doesn’t but..s’Christmas. There’s no rush today, right? We can just..relax.”

You shoot him a look and you both fall into a fit of giggles, knowing there’s no such thing now that you have Sterling. Not that he was a particularly fussy or difficult baby, but he was just that..a baby that took up all your time and attention and didn’t care what day it may be or how tired his parents were.

“No harm in trying.” You shrug, keeping a tight hold on the mostly asleep babe resting on your shoulder as you make your way up the stairs, Harry following close behind, ready to catch you if your clumsy feet were to trip on the way up.

“Tryin’? Guarantee y’ll be snoring by the time your head hits your pillow in about 5 minutes.”

You don’t even have the energy to playfully scold him for his teasing, a yawn stretching across your face only confirming his theory. You’ve made it back to the doorway of Sterling’s room and you turn back to face Harry, a dreamy smile working it’s way across your lips. He clears the space still standing between the two of you easily, wrapping his arms around you to pull you into a hug.

Harry’s careful not to squeeze too tight, to add the right amount of pressure in the embrace so you know how much he loves and appreciates you. You’re the one who deepens it, still keeping a firm hold to your son but pressing yourself as close as possible to his chest. His hand rests on the small of your back as he reaches around you to turn the doorknob to guide you through the doorway. In his haste to help, he’s pushed the door more roughly than he intended. The creak of the door startles Sterling, and you both wince at what you know is coming; your son’s cry rings loud through his room, breaking the silence you had already adjusted to. You do your best to pacify him, pacing a few times, shushing and rubbing his back in an attempt to quiet him.

You don’t even notice Harry’s absence until he’s back, a chestnut colored teddy bear held in his right hand. It’s the one present that the two of you picked out and agreed on, the one thing Sterling actively tried to reach for when it was opened earlier in the morning. Harry swears it looks just like one he had owned when he was younger and he wanted his son to grow up with a similar comfort. Sterling had stared at it for 10 minutes, no matter how you and Harry had tried to pull his attention away with other things you had opened for him. Currently, Sterling’s louder cries had diminished to softer ones, but still hadn’t completely stopped.

You speak quietly into his ear, almost a whisper when you say, “Look what daddy went back downstairs and got for you, angel. Don’t let him convince you he picked it out though.”

“Mumma’s a terrible liar,” Harry sing-songs at Sterling, flashing a look of disbelief up towards you, “Can’t believe you’d lie to our boy like that on Christmas.”

“It’s not a lie!” You’re still keeping your voice low so as not to disturb the baby again, “I showed it to you online weeks before we found that one in the store!”

“Y’sure? Cause I remember you being distracted by how cute the baby shoes were. I had to convince you not to spend $50 on a pair of boots he wouldn’t even be able to wear until next year!”

“I..well..they were on sale! He’d look so cute running around in boots next year!”

“You think he’ll be running by next year?” There’s a genuine fear in his voice at that thought, the idea of his baby growing up that fast.

“Maybe. He’ll be a year old next Christmas so it’s a definite possibility, especially if he takes after you.”

His voice is somber when he speaks again, “I can’t imagine him being anything other than the tiny baby he is now.”

“Babies grow, H,” The statement comes out more sarcastic than you intended, so you add, “Whether we want him to or not. We can always have another one too, you know.”

“You’re already thinking about another baby? Now?

“Well, not this second, no. But eventually. Like to maybe give you a little girl if you want one. Or any other boy is fine too. I’d be happy either way.”

“I’d take a girl.” He smirks at you, taking the now sleeping Sterling from you, placing a kiss to his forehead before bending to transfer him carefully into his crib. You both hold your breath as Sterling stretches, another tiny mewl at not being held anymore. His eyes stay closed though, and the two of you release a sigh of relief at the sound of his soft snores.

“Yeah?” You work one arm around his waist as he bends to tuck the teddy bear next to Sterling. He knows it can’t stay there while he naps, but for now he hopes it’ll bring his son even more comfort than he’s already feeling, at least for the few minutes more that he’ll be standing there to watch over him.

“Yeah,” He nods, still looking down when he continues, “As long as she turns out just like you, I’d love a lil girl.”

You don’t know what to say to that; don’t know how to tell him that one of your nightly prayers is that Sterling will turn out just like him. Big-hearted and kind with soft brown curls and that bright smile that could charm anyone. You would tell him later, but for now all you can do is stare lovingly back at him, blinking a few times to clear the tears. A love this big was something that had only ever existed in your dreams, and now you were being reminded of how real and true it was, your only response is to wrap your other arm around him and hug him tightly. You know he’ll be able to interpret the hug as a sign of your admiration for what he’s just said, for the wish that he hopes was just spoken into existence for the future.

When he does lift his eyes back up to study your face, his next breath is simply used to tell you, “Merry Christmas, darlin’”

[dianapana]

SH Day 3- Addicted to your touch

Day 3 – Addicted to your touch Separation Anxiety

WARNING: MENTAL ILLNESS

Disclaimer: I am not a therapist, the advice I gave in this piece might be very faulty, please take it with a grain of salt.

Modern AU, OOC

@sasuhinamonth

It all started small, when one day Sasuke announced that he’d be gone for 2 weeks due to work, the news alone made Hinata’s heartache but she smiled and wished him good luck on the project and a safe trip. Each day the feeling of missing him would grow and grow and grow until it was too big for her body to contain, and the feeling turned to pain. Her longing made her physically sick by the end of the second week.

The next stage was composed of excessive calls and texts, Hinata constantly needed to know where he was, what he was doing, whenever he’d take too long to reply the longing would come back and she’d either sink into sadness or lose herself to anger, both feelings she had not experienced much since dating Sasuke. Whenever he’d reply after a longer break, she’d ask him to come over to her house and stay the night.

That was the case on August 3rd. Sasuke came straight to her house after a long day at the office and Hinata ran to hug him, all of the negative feelings almost forgotten the moment she laid her eyes on him. His touch alone made all of her worries disappear. That was the feeling of home, in his arms.

They spent the night normally, eating dinner while watching a movie, changing and going to bed because they both had work in the morning. The issue came with the sunrise, for Hinata refused to let him leave. She cried and begged and screamed the moment he brought up work, she tore his shirt apart reasoning that he couldn’t go to work without one. The moment the white fabric hit the ground; silence fell over the room. Both of them were shocked, unable to speak due to her outburst of emotions.

Her cried aggravated, she fell to her knees and crawled to where he was, hugging his waist, apologizing over and over again. Sasuke was in deep thought, remembering all the small signs over the past month and a half. It hurt him to think that he had hurt her in any way to drive her to this moment, he patted her hair lovingly, took a deep breath and said in a broken voice “I think there’s something wrong Hina”

She looked at him with big round eyes, they were glossy and red, she blinked and looked down at the floor. “There might be…” Sasuke picked her up by her armpits and placed her in his lap, continuing to run his hand through her hair. He continued doing so until she calmed down and fell asleep, her emotions must have exhausted her. He didn’t move her from his lap for fear of waking her up, however, he picked up his phone from the nightstand and send Itachi a message telling him that he will not be going to work, he proceeded to text Kurenai as well informing her of Hinata’s absence at work too.

He spent the following few hours reading about similar situations, which mostly led to the same piece of advice, that a specialist was needed. So, he went on to search for therapists in Konoha, texting them all, asking whether any of them were free that day, two of them didn’t reply, another one was full for the week and could only see them next Wednesday, thankfully the last one agreed to meet with them after closing hours at 8:30.

Having all of that plan, all he needed to do was find a way to approach the topic when talking to Hinata, she had to agree that paying a visit to therapy would do them both good. Hinata had been asleep for about two hours now, so Sasuke took the liberty to move her onto her side of the bed and go to the kitchen to make some food for when she’d get up.

He managed to make scrambled eggs and toast and was about to go and wake her up when a cry of distress came from their room. He hurried to her side, Hinata was holding onto his pillow on the verge of tears.

“You weren’t here when I woke up” Her voice was meek and trembling. “I could hear movement in the kitchen, I knew you were there. So why, why does your absence hurt this much, despite me knowing you are here?”

He wished he had the answer, but he didn’t. He moved closer and sat on the edge of the bed, cupping her face with one hand, slowly brushing the skin under her eye with his thumb. Sasuke leaned in slowly to hiss her nose, cheek, forehead and finally the corner of her mouth. “I think to find out why, we might need some help from the outside” he closed his eyes and sighed, his breath fanning over her lips. “I talked to a man named Iruka, he’s a therapist and agreed to meet with us later today, would you be open to this idea?”

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

Hinata looked at him, searching his eyes and expression for any malice or negative feelings, but there was none, his openness and desire to help led her to agree to his plan, maybe they did need help.

“From what you’ve told me, this is a severe case of separation anxiety,” Iruka said, he looked kind and bore no ill feelings, Hinata had been afraid of the judgmental look he’d give her after hearing about her actions, but his eyes remained warm and understanding. “This usually manifests itself in small children, they are afraid to part from their caregivers even for a moment. In certain cases, it is believed it could appear in pregnant women as well, and usually the caregiver is their partner. Is there any possibility of this being true?”

Both Sasuke and Hinata’s eyes opened wider at the word pregnant, there was most certainly a possibility of that. They were always careful while having sex, however, Hinata was not on birth control, for they affected her badly whenever she took them as a teen so their method of contraception were condoms alone. There’s always the possibility of one breaking, a faulty one, or just them being part of the 0.01% of the population for which condoms did not work perfectly.

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

“I suggest you take a pregnancy test as well. As I mentioned, this is known to happen now and again so do not worry too much; however, this anxiety can affect you negatively” Iruka continued while looking at Hinata “the best way to deal with this is steady growth. In the early stages constant contact is preferred. Think of this as building up trust once again. Constant reassurance is important, always keeping promises, separation needs to happen slowly over time; from constant touch to simply being in the same room but at a safe distance, then being in separate rooms, then Hinata being alone but in a familiar and comfortable space for short periods of time. Of course, this process takes months. For some women the anxiety dies down with the birth, for others in continues after but through steady built of trust it can disappear”

They followed Iruka’s advice and went to Hinata’s gyno the next day and Iruka’s assumption proved to be true, Hinata was indeed pregnant in week 7. They were currently in the first stage of their trust-building, being in the same room, always touching. Hinata sat in his lap while they watched a movie, they held hands whenever they were outside, they’d keep bumping feet under the table as they ate. Sasuke had basically moved into her apartment, neither of them went to work. Sasuke was able to do most of his job remotely, however, Hinata applied for medical time off. Everything was going great, Hinata no longer experienced that painful longing, however, her pregnancy turned out to be a quite difficult one, as soon as they found out she was indeed pregnant, her morning sickness started, she had constant back pain and her appetite was very volatile. They’d often wake up in the middle of the night and drive around the city to find one of her cravings. During a particularly bad night 2 months after, her craving for watermelon in the winter proved difficult, to add to the issue her back pain was excruciating so she could not stay in the car for however long it would take them to find watermelon.

“Do you think…you would be all right if you stayed here and I went to find it for you…?” they had barely moved on from the ‘always touching’ stage, the process was slow but it was there.

“I…don’t know…”

“What do you want me to do Hina? You can’t even sit up properly, being in the car for maybe an hour would we awful, but being here alone would too…but it’s unwise to not follow your cravings either” He was spiralling, the situation was stressful and all he wanted was to be able to help her, he wanted to take her pain away, he wanted to give her everything she’d ever want and more.

“I think, I will be fine” Hinata finally said after thinking for a bit longer. Almost in slow motion, he nodded, ‘ok, ok, ok’ he murmured to himself as he put his winter coat over his pyjamas and stood on the bed to put his boots on. “I’ll go find you watermelon, ok? I will be back as soon as I can. I love you” he kissed her cheek and then the top of her head. She smiled and waved, but the moment his back turned to her, her smile wavered. Would she really be ok…?

Sasuke ran down the stairs to the car, he wanted to be away for as little as possible. He pulled out of the driveway and sped up as much as possible. Firstly, he’d look at the local non-stop supermarket, at the ‘exotic’ or ‘out of season’ shelf, if it wasn’t there he’d go to the local Korean market and buy some watermelon flavoured things, just in case there was nothing else anywhere; before he could think of where he’d go next his phone rang. Seeing Hinata’s name he answered immediately.

“come back…please” she was trying not to cry, he could hear it. He did an illegal U-turn and sped even more towards their apartment “I’m coming, I’ll be there in 5 minutes” Hinata replied with an ‘ok’ however she didn’t hang up, she needed to at least be on the line with him. Sasuke didn’t hang up either, not when we pulled into the driveway, not when he stopped the car, nor when he ran up the stairs. He only hung up when Hinata was in his arms.

“I’m so sorry, I thought I could, but you left and I…” she was sobbing so hard it was even difficult to understand her. “It’s ok, it’s not your fault, we moved too fast. Iruka said it’s slow. It’s no problem Hina, we can just start over” If her constantly touching him was what made her feel safe, he’d hold her close until she was ready. No more rushing of things. Once Hinata calmed down, Sasuke called Itachi.

“I’m sorry to wake you up but I need some help…could you look for some watermelon?”

[thetravelerwrites]

Henry (Amphiptere Naga) Lemon

Rating: Explicit Relationship: Female Human/Male Naga Additional Tags: Exophilia, Monster Boyfriend, Naga, Amphiptere, Best Friends to Lovers, Demisexual, Graysexual, Sex Worker, Cam Model, Mutual Pining Words: 6104

A gift from @oddacle​ to her friend/roommate! A woman moves back to her home town after an online friend offers her both a job and a place to stay. She accidentally learns an interesting secret about him that she tries, and fails, to hide. Please reblog and leave feedback! Art by @oddacle​!

The Traveler's Masterlist

You stretched at your desk and sighed. “Well, Henry, I should get to bed,” You said. “I’ve got a lot of packing to do tomorrow.”

“Dude, I can’t wait to see you in person finally!” He said over the headset. “I’m so excited you’re coming to work in the store.”

“Me too!” You said. “It’ll be nice to see you in person! And I can’t thank you enough for giving me a job and a place to stay. Working at the grocery store was crushing my soul.”

“I get that,” He told you. “I felt so out of place when I worked construction. I’m so glad I decided to save up to open the flower shop.”

“You and me both,” You said. “Flower arranging is something I love to do. I about fell out of my chair when you said you owned a shop.”

“Two more days and you’ll get to see it yourself,” He said with a laugh. “Go get some sleep. I’ll see you soon.”

“Night, Henry,” You said, smiling to yourself as you logged off. You had met Henry while gaming almost five years ago now, and he had been one of the best friends you’d ever had. At first you just played together, but after about a year, the two of you had exchanged phone numbers, and since then you texted each other constantly and called each other once a week. Despite that, you had never actually seen what he looked like. You didn’t mind; maybe he was body-shy. You could understand that.

When you finally quit the soul-suck of a job in the back of a grocery, he was quick to offer you a place in his shop, in your own home town, no less, as well as one of the apartments above the store. You’d been homesick since you moved away with your mom when you were younger, so the idea of going back had massive appeal. Combined with your dream job and working with your best friend, it was like everything you ever wanted was just falling into place.

That Saturday, you loaded every single thing you owned into a rental truck and headed to Santa Barbara, excited to start a new life and meet your best friend for the first time.

You pulled up to Henry’s Floral Arrangements later that evening just before sundown, driving nearly nine hours straight with only a few breaks for food, gas, and bathroom visits. You pulled out your phone and clicked Henry’s number.

“Hey, are you here?” He asked excitedly.

“Yep!” You said, stepping out of the truck. “I pulled up just now. Are you in the shop?”

“Yeah, I’m coming out! Be right there.” And he hung up.

You giggled at his enthusiasm and walked around the truck just as he came out of the shop, his face as excited as a brand new puppy with a brand new toy, and you stopped in your tracks.

He. Was. Beautiful.

He was a naga, but a rarer breed than average: an amphiptere. He had short, two pronged horns on his head and large wings on his back. His horns were teal, and the feathers of his wings were teal and ocean blue with black accents on the outside and grey on the inside, like the skin of his torso. His snake skin was teal and ocean blue as well, with giant black rings lining his back. His eyes were as golden as his nipple rings. He had lovely tattoos on his arms, neck, and back of waves and geometric shapes. He was lean and muscular, and had short black hair. He wore no clothing, so every inch of his glorious body was on full display.

You stood staring at him, unable to speak, as he slithered up to you. Oh god. This was not a possibility you had entertained. Living next to your best friend had sounded like a dream. But now… oh no, this was a disaster. How could you be attracted to him? You never felt attraction, not ever! Of all the times, of all the people, Henry had to be… this! This lovely specimen of a naga, and the best friend you’d ever had! What were you going to do?!

“You alright?” He asked, tilting his head and lowering himself down to look at your face.

You blinked and smiled breathlessly. “Yes! Yes, I’m great! It’s so nice to finally meet you!”

“You too!” He reached out for a hug and you walked into it. His skin was cool and smooth to the touch. He smelled like peonies. “Come in, come in, let me show you around!”

“What about unpacking?” You asked.

“Oh, leave that till tomorrow,” He said. “Let’s order a pizza and eat in the shop.”

You grinned. “That actually sounds amazing.”

“Come on!” He held out his hand and took yours and pulled you into the shop.

Oh, it was incredible. It had just crested into the middle of spring and the seasonal flowers were exploding all over the place. Color was everywhere. You closed your eyes and just breathed in the fragrances.

“Have I died?” You asked, your eyes still closed. “I’ve died, haven’t I?”

He laughed. “I hope not, you just got here.” He picked up his cell phone from the counter. “Pepperoni and pineapple on thin crust, right?”

“Yep!” You said, sitting at the counter, your eye catching on the decorative cherry blossom bonzai tree that you’d sent him for Christmas two years ago. You weren’t sure if he’d even like it, much less have kept it, but there it was, right next to the register where everyone could see it. It gave you a warm feeling in your chest.

He took you to the second floor, where there were two apartments, one on either side. You couldn’t help but notice one half of the stairs was covered with a ramp, likely to make it easier for Henry to get to the second story.

He led you to the apartment on the right and opened the door. It was a modest place but comfortable, and from the smell it seemed like it was recently deep cleaned and freshly painted in a pretty holly-green color with blush pink accents. There was a vase with all your favorite flowers spilling out of it on the kitchen table. It was mostly furnished with older but functional furniture, so you hadn’t needed to bring any heavy wardrobes or mattresses or anything, thankfully. Most of what you had in your old place was junk anyway.

“I love it,” You told Henry. “And I love the flowers.”

“I thought it would be a nice touch,” He said, holding his arm almost shyly. “I wanted you to feel comfortable.”

“I feel more comfortable here than I did in the two years I spent in my last place,” You said truthfully. “You know, we can leave the unpacking for tomorrow, but can we go down and get my rig and gear and hook it up while we wait for the pizza? It’s the only thing I have that I don’t want to leave in a truck overnight.”

“I get that,” He said.

The two of you managed to get your PC, laptop, gaming gear, and computer desk up the stairs in one trip. There was a flat screen TV on the wall of the living room to which you hooked up your PC. You ran a diagnostic as Henry heard the buzzer from the door and rushed down to get the pizza. Then the two of you spent an incredible evening eating pizza, watching comedies on Netflix, and solidifying the strength of your friendship.

You were comfortable, more so than you had ever been with anyone. Five years of talking to him was wonderful, but being close, seeing his smile, hearing his laugh and the way his eyes crinkled when he did was pure magic.

Magic that you didn’t want to ruin by being weird or creepy just because you suddenly felt attracted to him. Would he be weirded out by the fact that your brain turned into goo the moment you saw him? Would he think it was just because of his looks? You didn’t want that.

And you didn’t want to fuck up what was already an amazing relationship. Hell, meeting him in person and hanging out with him had already been a huge test of your friendship; working with him and living next to him would be an even greater one. You didn’t want to complicate it even further with an, in all likelihood, one-sided attraction.

By the time the pizza was gone and he headed back to his apartment for bed, you’d already decided to put the attraction or any notion of a relationship beyond friends out of your head.

But by God, he was beautiful.

You sort of jumped into the deep end when you started in the shop: prom season was just beginning, so you spent weeks making corsages and lapel pins. Henry thankfully spared you from having to deal with spoiled teenagers, entitled moms, and annoyed jocks dragged in by their girlfriends. Henry seemed well practiced at fielding angry customers who couldn’t make up their mind.

After work, the two of you often ate dinner together, either in his place or yours. Even though you were usually exhausted at the end of the day, you still played games together at least four times a week from your respective apartments, talking to each other over headsets even though you were probably only two walls and twenty feet apart. Sometimes you took your laptop to his apartment and played at the same desk.

It went on that way for months. It was amazing and you treasured every minute you got to spend with him. Despite putting the idea of dating him away in the back of your head, it was easy to pretend like it was just the two of you, together, against the world

After prom season ended, business slowed dramatically. You weren’t as tired in the evenings, so when you weren’t playing games with Henry, you did a little writing. You were too shy to let anyone read it, even Henry, but it still felt good to have a creative outlet.

One night, as you were writing, you heard Henry’s voice over your gaming headset on the desk. The two of you had quit playing over an hour ago, so you put it on to see if he needed anything.

“You alright, Henry? Are you back online?”

He didn’t respond, so you thought maybe you were just hearing things, but as you went to pull your headset off, you heard him say, “I’m glad to see you again. I’ve missed you.” The sound of his voice was distant, like he didn’t have his headset on.

Did he have company? His voice sounded silky and sultry, a tone you’d never heard before, and you wondered briefly if he had a girlfriend, or boyfriend. Or whatever. He’d never mentioned anything like that to you, but you weren’t his mom; he was allowed to have private things he didn’t share with other people. You did, after all.

Still, the idea that he was in a relationship cut a little deeper than you would have liked.

You heard another voice, but it was strangely robotic sounding, like it was coming through a speaker, and you couldn’t quite make out what the other person was saying. Whoever they were, they sounded male. Maybe he was in a long distance relationship?

“Mm, I love it when you talk to me like that,” Henry said, a sexy lilt in his voice. “Tell me what you’d like me to do. I could touch myself. Would you like that?”

You blushed and your heart began to race. You shouldn’t be listening to this, you knew that. It was private and none of your business. But… you couldn’t take the headset off. You wanted to hear this. You wanted him to talk to you that way. Maybe through this person, vicariously, you could have an intimate moment with him. It may be the only chance you ever got.

You heard him moan over the headset, and a sparkling heat filled your body. You bit your lip at the thrill you felt, but you were unable to move, like a deer in headlights. There was a dangerous quality to this, the idea of getting caught listening in terrified you.

You heard the person on the computer say something, but you couldn’t understand them.

Henry responded, “Of course I will. I know how much you like that… mmm, that feels so good.”

Henry’s moaning over the headset made you feel both exhilarated and astonished. You felt like you could listen to him moaned for hours.

Henry grunted sharply and repeatedly, then gasped for a minute before speaking again.

“That was wonderful,” Henry said. “It always is with you.” The other person said something you couldn’t understand, and Henry answered, “Oh, I’m afraid we don’t have time for that, darling. Our date is almost over. If you’d like to purchase a ten minute extension, you can donate an additional five hundred tokens, or you can schedule another date from any of the open slots on the main website. You know I’m always happy to spend time with you.”

You sat up in your seat, confused. Tokens? Website? What was he talking about?

There were more words you could hear, and Henry tutted. “Aww, are you sure?” He pouted. “Well, alright. I hope you won’t make me wait long, darling. See you soon.”

There was some tapping on his keyboard, and there was a power-down sound. Henry sighed and you could hear him slither out of his office, closing the door behind him.

You sat for a moment, trying to wrap your head around what you’d heard. Was he getting paid to jerk off for people? You opened a web browser and typed “amphiptere cam model” into the search engine.

You knew amphiptere nagas were rare, of course, so you weren’t surprised to only have found two results. You were surprised to find Henry’s face on one of the profiles, wearing beautiful make up and a sexy underbust corset with matching opera gloves. You clicked it, and realized he was both very expensive and highly sought after, considering all of his five weekly slots were already filled for the next two months.

Henry was a cam model. And he was apparently very good at it.

You put a hand to your forehead, stunned. What was happening right now? This was something you could never have anticipated. He was hot, of course, but he always seemed like a shy, down-to-earth kind of guy to you, even after meeting him. Who knew he had this in him? You weren’t judging, it was just surprising.

You didn’t manage to get much sleep that night, and when you did, you dreamt of being on the other end of that screen and woke in a sweat.

The next morning, you stood in the shower with your thoughts in a roil. Should you tell him you know? Would he be upset with you? Probably; listening in was a huge breach of both privacy and trust. Oh, god, what had you done? How were you supposed to act around him now? He’d know something was wrong; you could never hide your emotions well and he knew you better than anyone. Was it too late to live in a cave and cut ties with society altogether?

No, there was no internet in caves. Fuck.

You couldn’t avoid him forever; you were due downstairs for work. You could tell him that you were sick, but knowing him, he’d shut down the shop for the day to take care of you. He was so damn sweet.

No, You said, mentally slapping yourself. Don’t get distracted by his adorableness! This is a crisis!

You got out of the shower and started brushing out your hair, your stomach in knots. A knock at the door made you jump clean out of your towel. Throwing on your robe, you went to answer it. Henry was standing there with a bag and coffee, and his eyes widened when he saw your bathrobe.

“Oh, sorry, I just came to bring some breakfast. Felt like treating you a little.”

You swallowed a lump in your throat and smiled. “Thanks, this is awesome. I’ll get dressed and meet you down in the shop. You’re the best.”

He gave you a full, sharp-toothed grin and snaked his way downstairs, leaving you to grip the door to keep from falling to your knees. Did he have to be so kind? He was the worst!

You met him downstairs and tried to be normal through breakfast, but all you could think of was the way he moaned last night and tried to keep the blush off your face. Work wasn’t any better, you had all of ten customers that day, so you spent most of it talking to Henry and daydreaming about him calling you darling. It was all you could do to hold it together.

After closing the shop, he asked if you wanted to have dinner and a game at his place, but you declined, saying you were tired. He seemed concerned but didn’t press it, and you were able to escape upstairs.

You made yourself some tea to try and settle your nerves, stress-eating girl scout cookies straight from the box as you waited for the water to boil. Was it going to be like this forever? This was torture.

Another knock at the door startled you into dropping your cookies.

“Fuck!” You hissed at yourself as you bent to pick up a box. “Get your shit together!”

Henry was at the door. He had a bag from a deli.

“I brought you soup,” He said. “You seemed like you weren’t feeling well today. Is anything wrong?”

You felt incredibly guilty, staring at that bag for a solid minute, unable to talk.

“Hey,” He said, frowning and squinting into your eyes. “What’s up? Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“I’m so sorry, Henry,” You said without thinking.

“Sorry?” He said. “For what? What happened?”

You were having a hard time articulating your thoughts. You hadn’t meant to say sorry, and once it slipped out, your mind blanked.

“Look, can I come in?” He asked plaintively. “Something is obviously wrong. I want to help.”

You scrubbed your face. “Okay.”

He followed you in and laid the soup on the table. “So… tell me. What’s going on?”

“I don’t even know how to say it,” You said, looking around helplessly. Your eyes fell on your headset. You picked it up and listened to it, and you could hear the fan from his office running. “Here,” You said, handing it to him. “Listen.”

He put the headset on, frowning with confusion.

“Do you hear anything?” You asked.

“I think that’s the fan, right?”

“Yeah, from your office,” You said.

He laughed as he took it off. “I’m an idiot, I must have forgot to disconnect last night after we were playing.”

“Right, it was active last night. All last night. I could hear you.”

His face went from confusion to blank shock, his mouth hanging open.

“...oh,” He said quietly. “Oh, god.”

“I’m so sorry,” You said. “I shouldn’t have listened. I should have taken it off and ignored it. I’m so, so sorry.”

There was a pause. “How long did you listen?”

“I think it was the whole thing. I heard you… finish.” You blushed just thinking about it.

“That was a thirty minute session,” He said, confusion back on his face. “Why did you listen so long?”

You looked away and bit your lip, unable to meet his eyes.

“Did you… enjoy it?” He asked. He sounded almost hopeful.

You couldn’t speak, but you nodded once.

“Really?” You heard a smile in his voice, and you managed to look up. He had a goofy, sappy grin on his face. “You don’t think it’s gross or anything like that?”

You shook your head. “No. I’m curious, though. Why do you do it?”

“I only do it during the off seasons,” He said. “The first year was really hard for the store and I almost lost the shop. I got into camming to make ends meet, but the money was so good I just continued to do it when business is really slow. I’ve been able to save a lot of money this way. I was even thinking of opening a second location, and I think at the end of this season, I’ll have enough.” He looked very shy. “You really don’t mind it?”

You shook your head fervently. “No, not at all.” You looked at his earnest face. He didn’t seem angry, and while you were relieved, you also felt inquisitive. “What’s it like? Does it feel weird?”

“It did at first,” He admitted. “But it’s normal now. It’s actually fun, especially getting ready and putting on the clothes and stuff. I don’t really get to wear that stuff out, so it’s the only time I get to feel… I don’t know, fancy.”

You smiled softly. “I think I get that.”

“Actually,” He said, rubbing his neck. “I was going to record a free promo to put up on the website tonight. Do you want to help me do my makeup? I sort of self-taught myself, but I can never get the eyeliner right.”

“Oh! Yeah, of course, sure!” You said. “I really liked that corset I saw you in.”

He narrowed his eyes at you and smirked. “Did you Google me?”

“I had to,” You said. “Wouldn’t you?”

He laughed. “I guess.” He took your hand and led you toward the door and his apartment. “Come on. I’ve always wanted to have someone help with this. I’m never sure which colors compliment my skin.”

“Wait, let me grab my makeup bag,” You said, running back to your bathroom, snatching it up, and returning. “Okay, let’s go.”

Helping a guy with his makeup counted as a date, right?

He took you to his bedroom, which you’d never been. There wasn’t any furniture, not even a bed. Instead there was a huge nest of fluffy pillows and soft blankets which took up most of the floor space. He had a large walk-in closet where there was a hidden vanity with fairy lights around the mirror. The hangers had various corsets, fishnet shirts, and gloves. There was another desk that seemed to be a large jewelry case.

“This must have cost a fortune,” You said, impressed. You wished you had the confidence to wear some of this.

“A small one,” He told you. “Sometimes in camming, you have to spend to make money. The customers like variety; it’s why I record a new free promo every week. I don’t want my patrons to get bored with me.”

“Who could ever get bored with you?” You blurted without thinking.

You blushed. He blushed.

“Uh… I don’t have any chairs,” He said. “But you can sit on my tail, if you like.”

“Are you sure?” You asked, looking at his tail as it made a hump for you to rest on. “Won’t I hurt you?”

“No, no, not at all,” He said. “Please. I want you to be comfortable.”

“Really, it’s okay, I’ll stand,” You said, unable to even imagine sitting on his beautiful tail. “Now, let’s see. We’ll wash your face first and then we’ll start on your make-up. What about a gold lip? That’ll make your eyes pop.”

“Ooh, that’s a good idea,” He said. “I just bought some new shades recently, and I think there’s a gold in there.”

Applying his makeup for him was a stressful experience. You were eye to eye with him, so close you could feel his breath on your skin. His lips were inches away from your own, and you were having trouble not dwelling on that fact. He was cold-blooded, and therefore generated no heat, but you wondered if he could feel yours at this distance, if he enjoyed it or was made uncomfortable by it.

You did also notice, though, that his tail had wrapped around the two of you twice. He let his arms dangle, but you noticed the muscles twitching a few times and asked yourself if you might be making him self-conscious. After all, you were the only person in his real life who knew about all this.

“Makeup done,” You said. “You look amazing. I wish I could pull off a look this daring.”

“I bet you could,” He said with a smile, looking at you fondly. “Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen you done up before. I’ll have to take you somewhere really nice so that I can see what that looks like.”

Again he blushed, even through the makeup, and pressed his lips together.

You didn’t answer that statement, trying not to read too much into it, and instead looked over at his vast array of cute garments. “How about that gold and blue underbust with the Victorian scrolling pattern? I think it would look good with your makeup.”

“Oh, yes, that’ll work nicely,” He said, grinning. “And that shrug with those gloves. I usually work a little bit of a striptease into these promos.”

You cleared your throat. “You… uh… you’ll have to let me go,” You said, gesturing at his tail.

“Oh!” He jumped and unspooled, so to speak. “Sorry. Have you ever laced a corset before?”

“Yeah, once or twice. I’ve had friends who’ve worn them before. Would you like help?”

“Yes, please,” He said. He lifted his arms to let you reach around him and position the corset, gingerly moving the feathers of his wings out of the way so that you didn’t crush them. “Thank you for this. I’ve never gotten finished so fast before. I should ask you to help all the time.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” You said, pulling the strings taut. “This was fun.”

“I’m glad you think so, too,” He said, looking over his shoulder. “If you don’t have any plans after I’m done filming and editing the video, would you like to come back over and help me take all of it off?”

You looked at him and blushed.

“I didn’t mean that in a dirty way,” He said hurriedly. “It’s just nice having someone who knows and I can talk to about it.”

“I get that,” You said as he pulled on the gloves. “Are you ready to record?”

“Yeah,” He said. “Thanks for helping.”

“Sure,” You told him. “I has happy to. I’ll let you get to it, then.”

He nodded and you saw yourself out.

When you got back to your apartment and sat down at your gaming desk, you sighed heavily, the thoughts of how good Henry looked revolving in your mind. You were both extremely attracted to him and a bit jealous that he looked better than you in all that stuff. It actually made you laugh a little bit.

“Welcome back,” You heard Henry say, and you looked down at the headset laying on your desk.

Oh jeez, he left his headset plugged in again. God you loved him, but he was such an idiot sometimes.

“I’m glad you could join me. I’m hoping your having a lovely day.” You heard the soft shhff of him taking off one of the gloves. “I always love seeing your face. I love the way your hands move. I love the smell of your shampoo when it mixes with your perfume. I love that soft little smile that you get when you arrange flowers across the shop from me.”

…what? What did he just say?

“I hope you’re listening. I’ve tried so hard to say this to you when we’re face to face, but I can never seem to find the words. This way, I can say what I want. This way, if you don’t hear me, then I haven’t risked our friendship, and if you do hear and don’t feel the same, you can ignore it, and nothing has to change. But… if you do feel the same… come back. Please. This show is for you and no one else. I’ll be waiting for you.” You heard the headset being pulled off and laid down on the desk.

You stood up and did the same. He couldn’t mean you, could he? There was no way. Stunned, you walked back toward your front door and opened it, looking across the hall at Henry’s door.

It was cracked open.

With your heart in your throat and breathing like you just ran a mile, you pushed it open and walked slowly toward his office, only to find it empty. The headset was laying on the desk and the camera was off. Looking down the hallway, you saw the light in his bedroom was on and the door was also cracked. Swallowing hard, you walked down to his room and opened the door.

He was laying there, curled up around himself, laying with his head on his arms, looking a little forlorn.

“Henry?” You asked.

He popped up immediately, his eyes widening. “You came.” He whispered. “You actually came!” Before you could respond, he rushed up and snatched you off the ground, hugging you tight. “Does this mean you want me, too? The way I want you, I mean.”

“I… yes,” You said. “I just didn’t want you to think it was because of… well… all this.”

“I don’t care about that, I’m just so happy,” He said, kissing your cheek. “I’ve been in love with you forever, even before we met in person. I was just scared that if you found out about my second job, you’d be disgusted. Knowing you don’t mind it gave me the courage to try and confess.”

“I’m glad you did,” You replied, hugging him tightly around the neck. “I’d never have been able to do it.”

He pulled back and looked at you. “Can I kiss you, please?”

You laughed at the absurdity, but you appreciated that he asked first. He was thoughtful like that. You nodded, and he didn’t waste time, pressing his lips to yours hard enough that you could feel the fangs behind them.

His kisses became hungry, and he gripped your clothes. “I… um… don’t want to assume,” He said breathlessly between kisses. “But… um…” He looked over at his bed-nest, and regarded you with a questioning look.

“It’s okay,” You replied. “I’ve wanted this for a long time, too.”

He snaked over to the nest and lay you down in it, unbuttoning your shirt.

“Should I take off the corset for you?” You asked him.

“I can leave it on, if you like,” he said seductively, kissing your neck and leaving a trail of sparkling gold lipstick on your skin.

“Would that be uncomfortable?” You asked.

“Not at all,” He replied, his kisses moving lower. “I want to look good for you.”

“I’m not a client, Henry,” You said. “You don’t have to work so hard to impress me. I’m already in love with you.”

“That’s good to hear,” He said, his lips against your breast. “But it’s not about wanting to impress you and I don’t see you as a client. I see you as the woman I want to be with. I should put more effort into my time with you than anyone else. I want you to know you’re special to me.”

“You’ve done more than enough to make me feel special,” You said. “I want to return the favor.”

Your hand went into his hair as his tongue swirled around your nipple, and the lower half of his tail moved up around your head. When you turned to look at it, you saw a swollen, puckering slit, normally hidden underneath him as he moved, that he now revealed to you. You pressed your finger along the line, and he moaned against your skin. One of his hands reached down into your pants, into your underwear, and touched you.

You gasped softly at his fingers tickling your slit, you doubled your efforts on his own, moving your head so that your tongue could reach it and licking a slow stripe upward. A strangled, broken grunt came from him.

He continued to undress you slowly and kiss your body, touching you and teasing. You writhed underneath him while sucking at the slit on his body, watching as a bright golden organ slowly peaked its way out, followed by another. You were startled at first, but it was fascinating to watch. You took one in your hand and sucked on the tip of the other, reveling in the sounds that he made.

His lips finally came back up to meet yours, the need in his body evident as he lined one of his cocks up to you, the other resting against your clit. He rose up to look at you.

“Still okay?”

You nodded. “It’s okay.”

He began to push himself inside you, kissing your forehead and cheek as he did so. You gripped his shoulders and held on as he fully seated himself, his second member resting between you. The slit was farther down on his tail, about halfway down, so the position was a little awkward at first, but the two of you pulled each other close and found a rhythm that suited you.

He lifted you up easily, his tail between your legs, undulating into and out of you, and all you could do was hang on for the ride. You moaned, held securely in his arms, his wings flaring out behind him, the light of his bedroom lamp filtering through the feathers like sunlight through clouds.

“I’m so close,” He gasped, picking you up as a flood gushed from the cock you had been riding, splashing against your leg and his tail, before he moved you onto the second one and kept going.

“That’s handy,” You said, also gasping.

“When this one is done, the other one will be ready again,” He said as you bounced on him.

“Oh, god,” You wheezed. “What have I gotten myself into?”

He laughed breathlessly and kissed you again, hitting harder and faster. You felt your own wave coming fast and you began to moan and whimper, not able to control the sounds you made.

Finally, you came, and the rush of ecstasy filled your mind. You lay your head on his shoulder as you dangled in his grasp bonelessly, his tail still moving inside you slowly.

After giving you a moment to recover, he sped up again, and you came again. It might have been hours before the two of you found a stopping point, or more precisely, and exhaustion point. He lay you down in the nest, corset and makeup still on, and the two of you slept in a sweaty pile.

The next morning, he woke up with the makeup smeared across his face and a serious case of bed-head. You laughed.

“What’s funny?” He asked sleepily, smiling at you from the coil of his tail.

“I think I should have taken you up on the offer to help you dress down,” You said. “Let’s get that taken care of.”

You helped him out of his corset and the two of you stepped into the bathroom, three-fourths of which was just the shower. Stepping into the shower, you soaped him down and washed his long body, and he did the same for you. The two of you couldn’t help kissing and giggling and cuddling the whole time.

He ordered in breakfast as you dashed across the hall to fetch some clothes. When you got back, you said, “You didn’t get to record your promo.”

“I can do it tonight,” He said. “Will you help me with it?”

“Of course,” You said. “I’ll be your manager or assistant or whatever you’d like to call me.”

“I’d like to call you my girlfriend, actually,” He said with a smile.

“I like the sound of that,” You replied, hugging him around the waist. “Partners in all things.”

“I like that, too. Speaking of which, I think I might be able to open that second location sooner than I thought.”

“Why’s that?”

���Well, if you live with me in my apartment, we can rent out your apartment, and the extra income will help. Two birds, one stone.”

You smiled. “Sounds good to me. As long as I’m with you.”

“Always.”

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience! To help me continue creating, please consider buying me a Kofi, becoming a Patron, or donating directly to my PayPal!

Thanks for reading!

My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

[yehet-about-it]

I Like Me Better | 24b - A Night to Remember

~ A Wayv Social Media AU Series ~

< Prev || Series Masterlist || Next >

Synopsis: You’ve just moved into a new apartment with your best friend Yangyang, but you’re immediately faced with a problem: your incredibly noisy upstairs neighbour Xiao Dejun, or to friends, Xiaojun. You spend the first few weeks of your acquaintance hating his guts, but after a sincere apology and a fascinating revelation about his passions and motivations you slowly begin to see past his cold exterior to discover the real him. What will happen as you get closer to this troubled boy and how will those closest to you react?

Pairing: Reader x Xiao Jun

Themes and Warnings: Explicit language, mild sexual content, mild violence and references to drinking/alcohol. Deals with themes of toxic masculinity, insecurity, gaslighting (sort of), and jealousy…

Start Date: 5th Nov 2020

~ Updates now every Monday, Wednesday & Friday @ 9pm GMT/3pm CST

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Word Count: 1.6k (i swear i did not mean for it to be this long lmao) Warnings: Tbh this is just a whole load of fluff. I may or may not have gotten a bit carried away...

You arrived back at your apartment in high spirits, laughing with yangyang as he tripped up the steps, falling onto your landing with a thud. “Agh that never happened!” Yangyang cackled, dragging himself up off the floor and brushing off his pants. “You moron,” you joked, sidling past him towards your door, fishing the key out of your coat pocket.

You sighed, chuckling to yourself as you slid the key in the lock, swinging the door open and standing against it to allow Yangyang in. “Go get some water and get yourself to bed, you mess” you called after Yangyang as he wandered into your apartment and down the hall to your kitchen, yapping on to himself about something or other. “I’m just going to go get Bella!” Letting Yangyang sort himself out, you shut the door behind you after dropping your bag in the hall and ambled up the stairs with a smile plastered on your face.

“Hey,” Xiaojun greeted, grinning at you as he answered the door. “Hey!” You grinned back at him, shuffling into his apartment as he let you in, shutting the door behind you. “Looks like you had a good day,” Xiaojun stated as he led you through into the living room. “Yeah, honestly it was amazing! Everything went so well, and well, I just feel super happy right now,” you babbled, still high from the day’s excitement, the adrenaline and the buzz of the two cocktails not yet having worn off. “How was your day? Did Bella behave?” You came to a stop by the dining table. “Yeah, she’s been perfect! We went for a couple of walks like you said, and she’s eaten plenty. She’s sleeping again now,” Xiaojun answered, nodding to the sofa where bella was curled up on another blanket. You cooed at the sight, uwu-ing over you and Yangyang’s little baby and how well she seemed to get on with Xiaojun. “Thanks for this Dejun, it means a lot” you said quietly, stepping closer to him so you could wrap your arms around his neck and press a small kiss to his lips. Xiaojun’s arms baring his rolled up hoodie sleeves, looped around your waist in response, settling your body against his in a warm embrace. “No problem, I’m glad you had a good day”.

You didn’t know whether it was just the adrenaline still in your system or the fact that you were now undeniably romantically attracted to Xiaojun, but unable to fight the urge, you pressed your lips to his again, this time with more passion, your body pressing against him as your lips danced with his. Thankfully, Xiaojun returned the kiss with just as much passion, his hands sliding up your waist as you opened your mouth, letting his tongue slide in, moving perfecty against yours.

As your hands gripped feverishly at Xiaojun’s collar, he moved you so you were pressed up against the table, and moving his hands to the back of your thighs he hoisted you up to sit on it, slotting nicely into the space between your legs. Soon, every part of your body was on fire with want, and you knew this was it. You wanted him.

Pulling away from the kiss, you looked up into his deep brown eyes with a newfound determination. “I think I’m ready” you whispered breathlessly, unable to deny the throbbing in your core. “You’re sure?” Xiaojun voiced, just as your jacket began slipping down your shoulders, and you shrugged it off, showing you were ready to be his for the night. “Yes.” You nodded, and with that you were in the air, being carried towards the bedroom for a night to remember.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, you were awoken by the familiar feeling of something moving across your torso, and opened your eyes to see Bella had made her way into the bedroom and was clambering over you towards your face, wanting attention. “Hey girl!” you whispered, giggling as you picked her up off your stomach to cuddle her closer to your chest. “Thank you for being such a good girl yesterday, we’ll go home soon and get you some breakfast, don’t you worry” you cooed at her, petting her small, soft head. Looking around, you realised Xiaojun was still asleep, his chest steadily rising and falling with his breath, his expression looking unusually peaceful. A smirk emerged on your face as an idea popped into your head. “Hey Bella,” you whispered. “Why don’t we wake up Dejun huh?” Wiggling yourself to sit up slightly, you picked Bella up again and set her down right by Xiaojun’s face, and as you suspected, she began nuzzling against him, licking his face as she often did to you or Yangyang in the morning.

Xiaojun’s face twitched and his eyes flickered open as he responded to Bella’s attacks. “Wha-?!“ he started, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the light and he realised what was going on. “Oh, hey Bella.” Xiaojun chuckled, raising his hands in an attempt to pick Bella up and stop her from slobbering all over his face. You giggled and your heart swelled as you watched your new beau play with your doggo, not even mad she’d woken him up and witnessing this, you felt a sense of joy. You realised that giving Xiaojun a chance to show you his true self may have been one of the bet decisions you’d ever made, because right now, you were falling head over heels for him.

“Morning,” you laughed as Bella finally ceased her attacks, opting to curl up under the covers between the two of you while Xiaojun turned to you, realising you were awake already. “Heh, morning,” he said rolling over properly to look at you, reaching out to pet Bella. “Sorry about that,” you chuckled, absolutely not sorry at all. “She came in here and I couldn’t resist”. Xiaojun smiled. “Well there’s worse ways to wake up…” he uttered, gazing at you softly, his attention now all on you instead of Bella.

You stared back at him temporarily dazed by the romanticness of the moment and Xiaojun reached out, brushing a few stray hairs out of your face. “True…” you breathed, mentally scolding your heart for pounding so damn loud. It was a small gesture compared to the activities of last night, but nevertheless it sent your head spinning. With Bella snuggled between you and Xiaojun looking at you with such adoring eyes, you couldn’t help but imagine that this was exactly how life might be everyday if Xiaojun asked you to be his girlfriend, and you definitely didn’t dislike that idea, but there were certainly a few hurdles you needed to get over before that could happen. One being to tell Kun about your newfound relationship with the boy he despised and hope he didn’t try to throttle him or get him evicted.

“How are you feeling?” Xiaojun questioned as you sat up, pulling yourself out of your thoughts. Thankfully you needn’t feel self conscious as the comforter fell away, since Xiaojun had lent you one of his grey shirts to sleep in, wanting to make sure you were warm and comfortable. “Hm pretty good”, you hummed, not hiding the knowing smile that adorned your face. You knew exactly what he meant by that. Xiaojun mirrored your actions, sitting up as he spoke. “Well, I think that was a pretty good way to celebrate…” You giggled, “yeah, it was.”

Feeling Bella pawing at you again you sighed, realising you needed to get her home for food and take her out so she didn’t end up pooping in Xiaojun’s apartment. “I hate to leave, but this one needs feeding, and walking” you said, scooping Bella up in your arms. “Sure” Xiaojun replied lifting the covers to reveal his toned, tank-top clad torso, before climbing out of bed and slipping into his sliders. You followed suit, putting Bella back on the floor and proceeding to gather your belongings as Xiaojun helped, handing you your coat and pants. You didn’t bother changing, because it was only a flight of stairs back to yours and you knew Yangyang would be out, so you’d be able to slip back and into the shower without arousing suspicion.

Walking out into the living room you stuffed your clothes into the bag of toys and essentials you’d left for xiaojun to bring up for Bella which he’d already packed neatly away last night. “You got everything baby?” Xiaojun called from the kitchen island where he was filling up his water bottle. ‘Baby?’ You thought. You could get used to that. He’d said it a number of times last night, but hearing him call you that in such a relaxed context felt especially nice.

“I think so!” you replied cheerfully, slinging the bag over your shoulder. “If not you can come get it later” Xiaojun iterated, having gulped down some water, sauntering back over to you and stopping just in front of you, followed by a chipper looking Bella. “Yeah sure. Thanks again for looking after her” you said, pressing a small kiss to Xiaojun’s lips, before bending down to scoop Bella up so she didn’t have to negotiate the stairs on your way back down to your place. “No problem,” xiaojun replied modestly, walking with you to the door. “I’ll see you later then?” “Yeah, I have a couple days off, so just text me if you wanna hang out.” You replied, before Xiaojun gave you another kiss, Bella sandwiched between the two of you. “Sure” he said pulling away and opening the door for you. “Bye then!” you cheered, before heading back down the stairs to your apartment.

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[humbughana]

pick me up

ugh this is tooth rotting sweetness. 

warnings- fluff, drinking. enjoy :)

rafe has to pick up lola at a bar

“are you sure this is a good idea, lo?”

Lola scoffed at her boyfriend through the phone screen as he questioned her ‘girls night’ for the hundredth time during their facetime call, “you worry too much.” she picked up the phone with a frown, “plus, you know that girls night is strictly confidential,” Lola spoke with a shrug as she applied a layer of lip gloss before looking herself over one more time in the full-length mirror.

Rafe’s face curled into a smirk when she turned her attention back to him, “mhm. It does become my business when you call me to pick you up tonight.”

“I did that once!” 

Rafe laughed warmly at her reddening cheeks but couldn't help it, “three times actually.” His girlfriend only scowled at him through the screen, “we’ll see about that.” Lola mumbled but she knew he was right.

The shouting of someone in the background tore her away, “I gotta go, Rafe! Duty calls.” She grinned with a wink and he groaned, “You worry me, baby. Have fun tonight.” 

Lola waved to the camera before hanging up and sliding on her shoes. Honestly, girl's night just consisted of her and a group of girls from her sorority bar hopping until someone inevitably tapped out for the night. 

And every time, somehow, it was always her.

So an hour later, at the first bar, Lola swore to pace herself. That was until it was time for group shots, and then another round, and then more shots and- you get the picture. What kind of person would she be to turn down a free drink? 

This routine was followed everywhere they went and at the third bar of the night, things began to blur together, “lo, are you good?” her best friend, Ally leaned in with a knowing smile, “maybe some water?” her friend took the half-drunk truly out of her hand but Lola shook her head, “we should dance!”

It should have been some record, honestly. Lola was dancing in the crowd, completely trashed and it was barely midnight. Another shot later, Ally caught sight of her best friend dancing on top of one of the chairs, laughing with complete strangers as they cheered her on. On any other night, the girl might have pulled her down but rule number three of girls night etiquette clearly states, thou shall not leave a friend alone on the dance floor. 

Or in this case, a bar stool.

So moments later, the two girls were giggling like children as they looked down on the bar around them, dancing their best on the little surface they had without falling. All the while, too drunk to see straight, it truly was a feat.

Meanwhile, Rafe was mindlessly scrolling through his phone back in his room, trying to study and failing miserably when a Snapchat popped up on his phone from his girlfriend. He smiled, only imagining what it could possibly be. Opening the picture, it was blurry but he could see Lola with her arm around Ally as she grinned, clearly above the ground. 

Rafe shook his head and texted her immediately-

get off the stool

Her reply was near-instantaneous,

make me?

He could imagine her rolling her eyes and it made him grin but he left it at that and moments later she texted him again,

that's what i thought

Lola and Ally found themselves back at the bar, ordering more drinks as if they could handle them. Well, Ally probably could, her friend had perfected the art of boot and rallying, something Lola still couldn't fathom. The bartender narrowed his eyes at her knowingly, “you’re cut off.” Lola gasped as he slid her a cup of water instead of what she asked for, Ally giggled with a shrug, “what?” sipping her new drink that she was given.

Lola crossed her arms but ended up giving in and taking the water as Ally went to join their other friends who all seemed to be faring well as Lola began tripping over her own feet. She leaned into one of her friends who laughed, “hey lo, havin’ fun?” the girl nodded with hazy eyes, barely able to keep them open as time began to pass. She didn’t know how long she stood there, leaning into her friend who held her up but when a new set of arms wrapped around her waist from behind, she jumped as her friends shook their heads, “how you doing, lo?” Lola gasped at her boyfriend's voice in her ear and she spun around, stumbling slightly but he held her up, “Rafe!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck, “ m’ so happy you're here!” 

Rafe laughed in her ear, “you ready to go?” he asked, keeping his hands on her waist to make sure she didn’t fall. Lola frowned before it clicked, gasping she turned around and dramatically pointed a finger at her friends, “which one of you snitched!” All of the girls held up their hands in defense as Lola crossed her arms, “traitors,” she mumbled, leaning back into her boyfriend.

“c’mon lo, i’ll even stop and get you food on the way home,” his pouting girlfriend finally looked up at him, still frowning, “french fries?” 

Rafe nodded solemnly, “all the french fries you can eat, baby.”

Lola finally cracked a grin and nodded excitedly and now Rafe was the one being dragged out, “bye!” she called over her shoulder to her friends who waved goodbye. Rafe smiled thankfully at one of the girls that texted him, “rafe! come on! we don't have all night!” Lola tapped at her wrist where no watch was laid exasperatedly. 

Rafe jogged to catch up to her as she stepped outside, relishing in the cool air. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and then led them to his car which was parked just around the corner noting the way she swayed slightly with an amused smile.

“don’t look at me like that,” Lola mumbled as he helped her into the car before buckling her in, “like what?” he asked, still leaning over her. 

“like you won,” Lola pushed his cheek away with a finger and then let out an obnoxious groan, “why is it always me?” she exclaimed and Rafe laughed, leaning in and placing a kiss on her cheek before shutting the door and rushing around to the driver's side, “my little lightweight.” she grabbed the hand that laid on her thigh and threaded her fingers through his with a sigh, “shut up, it's embarrassing,”

Rafe shook his head and brought their hands up, kissing the back of her hand softly. Lola melted slightly before he added, “yeah, it kind of is baby.” Rafe playfully added on and loudly laughed when a scowl replaced her soft smile and she ripped her hand away from him. 

“I cannot stand you,” she shook her head but grinned anyway when they stopped at a red light, Rafe only pulled her over the console and kissed her. 

“You love me,” 

 “Yeah, yeah.” Lola scoffed, “less talk, more drive.” 

Rafe shook his head and when the light turned green he didn’t move, the car behind him blew the horn and Lola’s eyes went wide looking at him.

“what was that?” he asked with a glint in his eyes, without a care in the world as Lola looked at the car behind them and the person waving their hands around, “Rafe!” 

“Hm?” he asked patiently.

“I love you!” Lola yelled at him and he only grinned and sped off, easily putting distance between the car behind us, “you’ve lost your mind,” she fell back against the seats with a groan. 

Rafe only pulled into the Wendy’s and kissed her again sweetly, “french fries?”

Finally, Rafe had driven her back to her sorority house, the two of them sneaking around to the back of the house and into the door that led to the back staircase and up to her floor.

Tripping over a rock, Rafe kept Lola from falling face-first as he cursed, “jesus lo, you’re gonna get us caught. again.”

Lola rolled her eyes, pushing him off her in the dark and typing in the code to the door, “i swear you are the most dramatic person, i’ve ever met,”

Rafe pushed her up the stairs, a hand sliding to her butt before she batted his hand away, “stop!” she whispered yelled at him but let him push her into her room that she shared with Ally who surely found someone to hook up with tonight. 

He pushed her toothbrush into her hands and she only flashed him her middle finger wordlessly before going to brush her teeth and wash her face. When she came back, Rafe threw her an old shirt of his and a pair of sleep shorts and all but watched her undressed as a slow smirk crossed his face.

“don’t even,” she held a finger up as he got a show when she put the new shirt on. Rafe sat on the edge of her bed wearing some clothes he had left her over the few months they had been dating, he grabbed her waist when she neared the bed.

Lola placed her hands on either side of his face before leaning down to rest her forehead against his, “m’ tired.” Rafe pulled her down next to him, “let’s go to sleep, baby.” his hand fell across her waist as he pulled her back flush to his front. Lola easily fell into his hold, relaxing finally, “hey rafe,”

“Mhm,” he mumbled into her neck and she fought a grin.

“love you,”

Rafe pinched her side lightly and she squirmed, “smartass,”

Lola giggled before closing her eyes again and right before she fell asleep Rafe kissed the top of her head, “love you too, lo.”

[yet-another-fan-girl9]

Thin Walls

Summary: These thin walls hide nothing.

Warnings: blood, injuries, mentions of car crashes, drugs, and stabbing, a toxic relationship, language (it’s Jessica fucking Jones, whaddya expect?)

Word Count: ~3500

A/N: Not my fave piece of writing but Jessica is my WIFE and I Love Her.

~*~

Your chest rose and fell heavily while you placed a box on the floor of your new apartment. The smaller boxes had been easier than the big boxes to bring up, obviously, but also because the biggest ones couldn’t fit through the thin elevator doors. Your partner, Drew, was supposed to be here to help you move. You had been together for three months and you needed to move for work. This new apartment had an easy commute to the hospital. Drew had said that it was a waste to move because one day you two would move in together, but that wasn’t an invitation. What were you supposed to do? Wait? It was almost one o’clock. If you weren’t alone, you could have been done at least an hour ago. 

You went back down and removed two more boxes, one that was pretty light and one that you would definitely have made Drew, who was a workout fiend, carry. Thankfully, the boxes could fit into the elevator, the heavy one must have been holding books. A lot of books. You moved the box of books just outside the elevator when you reached your floor and made a quick trip down the black and white tiled hallway to your apartment to drop off the other box. You noticed that your neighbor’s door, the one at the end of the hall, had a glass pane that had the words ‘Alias Investigations.’ You supposed having a private investigator next door would be useful. 

You turned back towards the elevator as the doors opened to reveal a stunning, tall, woman in jeans and a leather jacket. She took a step forward but was stopped by your box that was blocking the way. The dark-haired woman glared at the box and then at you. You blanked for a moment before you realized you had to get your stuff.

“Oh, my God,” you said and rushed forward. “I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have left it right in front of the doors.”

“Yeah,” she replied sharply before easily picking up the box and walking out to meet you. “You fucking shouldn’t have.”

“Jesus, I said I was sorry.”

The woman rolled her eyes and handed you the box, the weight making you bend over slightly. How much muscle was she hiding under that jacket? You watched her walk away, her boots sending echoes down the hall. She stopped in front of the door at the end of the hallway and unlocked the door with a few more swears. So she was the PI.

You carried the box to your apartment and heard the elevator again. This time, Drew casually walked out. About fucking time. You rolled your eyes and entered without saying anything.

“Hey, babe,” Drew said from behind you. Strong arms wrapped around your body and you visibly tensed. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“What’s wrong?” you repeated, maybe a bit too loud. “You show up two fucking hours late when I’ve already finished bringing up all of my damned boxes! That’s what’s wrong!”

“I was held up by work,” Drew replied in a hard voice.

“It’s fucking Saturday!”

“It was a goddamn emergency!”

“There were no texts or calls to tell me that you were going to be fucking late!”

“Are you gonna be one of those fucking girlfriends who has to know my fucking location at all fucking times?”

“Only when I was about to break my fucking back carrying heavy boxes up the stupid stairs!”

Both of you were full-on shouting now.

“Well, it looks like you got by just fucking—”

Loud banging on the wall cut off Drew.

“BOTH OF YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!” You recognized the voice of the woman from the hallway. Ms. Private Investigator hit the wall a couple of more times before falling silent. 

You and Drew looked at each other and your partner raised an eyebrow. Apparently, you were supposed to apologize first.

“I’m sorry I got so loud so fast, but you should have called or texted.”

“I couldn’t use my phone while I was working.”

What about when you were on your way here?

“Oh, I’m sorry you had no access to your phone while I hauled a shit ton of boxes to my new apartment.” You rolled your eyes.

“It’s alright,” Drew smiled, oblivious to your blatant sarcasm. “Do you want to grab some lunch? I’m starving.”

You’re starving? You’re not the one who was carrying boxes up the stairs. Are you even going to apologize?

“Sure,” you said, keeping your thoughts to yourself. “What do you have in mind?”

~*~

You hummed as you cooked your favorite dinner, the smell wafting through the apartment. You’ve been living in the apartment for about a month now and you loved it. Something you had been very adamant about was customizing the place with your favorite knickknacks as well as some of your own pieces of art. Your prized piece was displayed right by the front door.

The sound of someone trying to open your front door drew your attention away from your cooking. Did Drew forget their key? You quickly rinsed your hands before answering. When you opened the door, you recognized your neighbor from across the hall, a man named Malcolm.

“You’re in my apartment,” he slurred and you noticed the bags under his eyes and the way he jittered against the doorframe. 

“Sorry, Malcolm,” you responded gently. It looked like your neighbor was coming down from a drug-induced high. Probably heroin. “But this is my apartment.” Did you have any equipment inside to help him?

“Wrong apartment, Malcolm,” a new voice said and your PI neighbor appeared next to him. “I’ve got him from here.” She took the man by his arm and pulled him away from your doorway. “Your food smells good, by the way.”

“Oh, uh… Thanks?” you said to her and Malcolm’s retreating backs.

You didn’t know how to accept a compliment (?) from the cold, sarcastic PI you had only seen a couple of times. You definitely didn’t get off on the right foot so the comment about your favorite meal seemed to come straight out of left field.

The elevator opened at the other end of the hallway and Drew stepped out. Their eyes darted from your two neighbors to you standing in your doorway as they walked towards you. You saw Drew’s eyes narrow and you resisted the urge to roll your own. You knew what they were thinking and you went back to the kitchen, leaving the door open for them. Shortly after, you heard the door slam.

“What were they doing here?” Drew asked.

“They weren’t here,” you sighed. “Malcolm just thought this was his apartment so the PI helped him out or something.”

“Malcolm… that’s the druggie, right?”

I wouldn’t say it like that, but… “Yeah.” You checked on your food.

“You’re making that fucking meal again?” Drew groaned. “I thought I told you I don’t eat shit like that.”

You rolled your eyes with your back to your partner. “It’s my favorite meal. You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to. I made it for myself.”

“Then what the fuck am I supposed to eat? I come here, eager for a delicious meal, and instead, I find my girlfriend cooking a shit meal with two other people in her apartment.” They slammed their fist on the table.

You spun around to glare at them. “What the fuck are you talking about? One: you don’t live here so you can’t expect me to cook you a fucking meal every fucking day! Again, I made this for me, not you. Two: they weren’t even in my apartment. Even if they were, it’s not a big fucking deal! They’re my neighbors and they can come over any time they fucking want. It’s not like there was anything going on.”

Someone, probably the PI, hit the wall as a warning. You were getting too loud.

“It’s not like I’m jealous, I’m just worried about you. Listen, you don’t know these people. You don’t want a fucking druggie in your apartment, do you?” Drew raised an eyebrow. “It’s for your own safety. I won’t always be around to protect you.”

“I don’t need you to protect me. Now I have a shift at one in the morning so I need to eat and get some rest.” 

“Fine.” Drew began to leave. “But tomorrow we’ll do what I want.”

That night, your dinner didn’t taste as good as usual.

~*~

Tonight marked the two month anniversary of moving into your new apartment. Unfortunately, you had just gotten home from a long, tiring shift at the hospital. There had been a four-car pile-up and you had been running around the ER for hours. You desperately needed to take a shower but before you could relax, muffled grunts and swears came from next door.

“Are you okay?” you asked and gently tapped the wall in between you and the PI you had learned was called Jessica. Google was your friend.

“Yes. I’m fine,” came the clipped answer. It was followed by a sound you easily recognized as a hiss of pain. You had just spent hours hearing similar sounds.

You sighed and grabbed your first aid kit that carried more equipment than regular kits. Perks of working in a hospital. You made your way to the door at the end of the hall and knocked. God, you could practically hear the eye roll from inside. You knocked again.

“What the fuck do you want?” She opened the door only wide enough for you to see her face and her upper torso.

“I was just checking in on you. You sounded… hurt.”

“I said I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” you replied as you took in her pallid and slightly sweaty skin. “Listen, I’m an ER doctor and I have better equipment than dental floss and,” you sniffed the air, “alcohol.” You held up the kit as proof.

You watched Jessica fight a mental battle, her face barely reflecting the thoughts running through her head. After almost a minute, she succumbed and opened the door wider to let you in. Your eyes quickly found the problem.

“What the shit?” You look wide-eyed at the wound on her lower left abdomen that left a large red stain on Jessica’s white tank top. You had been expecting a cut hand or something, not such a large wound. “What happened?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she sighed and led you into her apartment.

The layout of the place was a lot like yours but instead of a typical living room, she had set up a mini-office. Jessica sat on the hideously orange couch and you followed suit, though you had to move her sparse medical supplies.

“It kinda does matter. I need to know what I’m dealing with,” you pointed out.

“Fine, I was stabbed.” She rolled up her shirt and you bent down to examine the injury in the low light.

“Alright.” You’ve dealt with stabbings before. “From the width of the blade and the angle, I don’t think any organs were hit, but you should check it out tomorrow.”

“Sure,” she responded and both of you knew that she wasn’t.

“It’s clotting well, but you still need some stitches.”

“I heal fast. You don’t need to do this.”

You ignored her and got out antiseptic spray, bandages, and a surgical needle and thread. You quickly found the, surprisingly pink, bathroom to wash your hands. Then you grabbed a clean, white towel and moved to the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Jessica asked from the couch.

“I need to wash the wound before I dress it.”

Thankfully, when you returned with a bowl of warm water, Jessica had turned on a nearby lamp that lit the room. You gave her a small smile and she returned it with a slight nod of her head. You kneeled on the ground so that you didn’t have to fold yourself in half bending over to reach the injury.

You gently washed away the blood as both of you sat in silence, the only sounds were from the busy city outside. It was quiet for a minute before Jessica spoke.

“You really don’t need to do this, (Y/N).”

“One, yes I do. I want to help you. Two, how do you know my name, Jessica?”

“Drew says it, yells it, a lot and we’ve got thin walls. How do you know my name?”

“Google,” you smirked. “According to the people on the internet, you’re a pretty good PI. How do you know Drew’s name?”

“You yell it a lot,” it was her turn to smirk. “Being a PI isn’t easy. Sometimes you look into the wrong kinds of people.” She gestured to the stab wound.

“Don’t worry. I’ve definitely seen worse, and weirder, in the ER.”

When you finished cleaning, the water and towel had turned a deep pink. You picked up the spray and gave the usual warning,

“This will sting.”

Jessica sucked in a sharp breath when the cool spray began to sting. You sprayed a couple more times before grabbing the needle and thread. You looked at her, silently asking if she was ready. She nodded once and you began to sew the wound closed.

Now for the bandage. You had Jessica hold one end near the injury and you began to wrap it around her. You unwound the bandage around her torso with one hand and leaned forward to reach around with the other. Each time you repeated the process, you became increasingly aware of the close proximity between you and Jessica. Your eyes met her hazel ones and you didn’t dare to breathe. Your faces were mere inches apart.

“Uh, um,” you stuttered and looked away. “There,” you secured the bandage with tape, “all done.” You quickly moved back. Remember Drew.

“Thanks,” was all Jessica said. She pulled her stained tank top back down.

“Er, you’ll have to keep an eye on that. Change the bandage after twenty-four hours and all that.” You avoided looking at your neighbor by packing up the rest of your supplies.

“I heal fast.” She followed you as you made your way down the short hall to the front door.

“Yeah, you mentioned that.” You finally turned around and looked at Jessica, though your eyes darted around. “If you ever need my help again, well, you know where I live.”

~*~

Another month had passed since the night you patched up Jessica. She hadn’t needed anything from you since then but last week you had been trapped in the elevator with her. She had lifted up her shirt to show you that the wound was practically gone, barely even a scar was left. You had been about to get a closer look at it but you had reached your floor and Drew had been waiting for you.

That had been the last time you’d seen your neighbor due to your busy schedule and whatever it is that Private Investigators do. It was strange. You wanted to avoid her but at the same time, you wanted to see her. Maybe you knew what the feelings meant, maybe you didn’t, but every time you let yourself think about them, Drew was always there.

“I think we should move in together.”

You raised your eyebrows when Drew’s proposition drew your attention away from the movie you were watching. You set your finished mug of tea onto the coffee table and took a moment to think. You two have been together for about half a year so far.

“But I only just moved here,” you said. “I think I still have two boxes that I haven’t even unpacked yet.”

“Aw, c’mon, babe. I’ve got a better place than this shit hole.”

“It’s not that bad.” You picked at the blanket that was draped over your lap. “Plus, this place has an easy commute to the hospital.”

“We’ll have to get rid of some of your shit, though,” Drew continued, ignoring your previous statement. “You have so many fucking paintings, they just get redundant.”

“They’re my paintings. I made them.”

“Then it’s not like you paid for them. Just throw them out.”

“I spent more fucking time working on each of those paintings than I have spent with you,” you spat. “And it was obviously time spent well. At least I got something out of it, unlike this fucking relationship.”

“Why do you always fucking nit-pick my words?” Drew stood up and looked down at you. “You always have to find a goddamn problem, huh?”

“Well, if it isn’t the fucking pot calling the kettle black?” Now you were on your feet as well, the movie was long forgotten in the background.

“What the fuck are you trying to say?”

“I’m not trying to say anything. I’m already saying it. Loud and fucking clear. You’re the one always critiquing me, what I like, what I don’t like, and every other fucking thing I do. Every time you say I have a problem with you, the problem is always that you have a fucking problem with me!”

“Maybe there’s a fucking reason why you’re so problematic!”

“You know, what?” You were so fucking tired of Drew. “This, you, me, everything is over. Fuck you. Get out of my house.”

“Don’t be such a bitch. It’s one fucking argument.”

“It’s not just one fucking argument you asshole! Get the fuck out!”

“Don’t tell me what to fucking do!”

“Why the fuck are you acting like a toddler who isn’t getting what they want? I’m not going to say this again. Get. The. Fuck. Out!”

“NO!”

Drew grabbed your mug from the table and threw it back down. A small, involuntary scream slipped past your lips as the shards flew everywhere. At the same moment, your front door burst open and Jessica Jones entered.

You watched in shock as Drew turned to Jessica. You grew even more surprised when Jessica easily grabbed your ex by the collar and lifted them into the air. She studied him and narrowed her eyes while Drew was begging her to do no harm. Then she dragged them out of your apartment.

When she returned, you were picking up the shards of your mug. 

“Be careful,” she said and bent down to help you. “We don’t want to have to patch you up now.”

“So you’re one of those powered people?” you asked slowly, unsure of how she was going to react. Based on her rapid healing and super strength, you were probably correct. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it,” you added when she didn’t respond. “We get a powered person in the ER every once in a while. Once I got a guy who was completely unresponsive, but whenever someone touched him they were burned. Had to get out the heavy-duty stuff.” You gently placed the mug pieces on the table. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jessica tentatively reached out and placed her hand on your forearm.

“Yes. I’m great.” You took a breath and a smile spread across your face. “Finally free of Drew. Thank you, by the way.”

“Yeah, don’t mention it.” She went to remove her hand from your arm but you moved so that you clasped her hand in between your own.

“No, really. Thank you, Jessica. I’m not always the damsel in distress type of girl and you don’t strike me as the hero type, but thank you for saving me.” 

“No problem.”

You were both kneeling next to your couch and you realized you were unconsciously stroking the back of her hand with your thumb. The same feeling you felt the night you patched up Jessica washed over you in that moment. You stared at each other. Should you do it? Drew had just left, but did you care about them anymore?

No, you didn’t.

Taking a chance, you slowly leaned toward Jessica. There was a moment of doubt but then the next thing you knew, she had closed the rest of the distance between you and her soft lips were on yours. You were shocked at first, but then returned the motions with the same ferocity.

Her arms were by your waist so you tangled your hands in her soft, dark hair. There was nothing slow about the kiss. It was a kiss filled with want and desire for each other, things that were hidden for who knows how long.

The feeling of her tongue ghosted across your bottom lip so you obliged and let her in. In return, she did the same. You familiarized yourself with her body, something you wanted to do for a while and something that you wanted to continue doing.

When you finally came up for air, you knew that you must have looked a mess. Swollen lips, flushed skin, and mussed hair. Breathing heavily, you said the only word that came to your mind,

“Damn.”

“Listen, I don’t usually do these things,” Jessica began and you waited for rejection. “But do you want to have coffee or something? You know, like a date?”

“Yeah, I would like that,” you beamed. “It’s a date.”

“It’s a date.”

[wizardessheart-sideb]

Image ID: A chapter image done in the style of Wizardess Heart. A large, off-white imagine with a guy on it. He’s wearing a dark gray uniform. There’s a lavender bar over him that reads “Tsukasa Kuze.” The rest of the text reads “Main Story” and “Chapter 1: A Chance Meeting” /End ID]

Summary: I've been chosen as a provisional student for the famous Gedonelune Royal Magic Academy! But as the Trial period goes on, I'm hit with too much at one time: trying to catch up with the prodigy students of the Night Class and becoming buddies with the quiet and kind Tsukasa Kuze. Tsukasa is wonderful, but as his health takes a turn for the worse, I have to find a way to make him well again.

The sun was starting to set as the train pulled into Gedonelune Station. I was ready at the doors, things gathered together and I was practically vibrating. Once the doors opened, I’d enter Gedonelune Town. Just to think, the moment I’d been waiting for for years was finally almost here!

“Aren’t you eager?” The Acceptance Letter commented snidely as he floated over to me. He’d been like this entire trip. I tried to ignore his sour demeanor.

“Of course I am! This is the beginning of something amazing!” I replied.

“You mean it could be. You’re still not an official student,” he pointed out. Take deep breaths, just try to ignore his jabs. But that was easier said than done.

“So? Why should I let that bring down my mood? This is still an awesome experience!” I did my best not to sound angry. He was probably one of those idiots who thought showing emotion in arguments meant you were invalid. He just sighed.

“I guess I can’t argue with that,” he said. For a moment, I thought I’d finally won. But then he spoke up. “But you better get your head out of the clouds. If you don’t get serious, you’ll never make it here.”

“That’s not fair. Just because I’m excited means I’m not serious? How in the world are those related to each other?” I retorted.

“Ugh, you know what I mean.”

I bit my tongue. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know he was thinking I was being immature. How many times in my life had I heard that my enthusiasm and happiness was immature and that alone meant I didn’t deserve respect? Enough times to know the Acceptance Letter would just scoff and say that pessimism and being a jerk makes you more “adult” and worthy of respect. A terrible outlook on life, but whatever.

The train came to a stop and as soon as the doors opened, I flew onto the platform and into town. The pastel pink and orange sunset became more and more vivid as the sun made its daily plunge into darkness. Little by little, the streetlamps and windows of the town started to light up, glittering like the stars back in home in Reitz.

The town was so busy, even though it was getting late. It was so unlike Reitz, where things started closing up at five or six in the evening. I found a small bench to sit on, waiting for one of the prefects to come pick me up.

“What do the prefects look like? What should I be looking for?” I asked him.

“I don’t know what the other one looks like, but the one that usually comes to get students has short black hair and green eyes. He’s fairly tall, if I remember correctly,” the Acceptance Letter told me.

“Okay! I’ll keep my eyes peeled for him.”

“It’s strange, though…” The Acceptance Letter started to speak, but then trailed off. That’s not exactly something I wanna hear, I thought.

“What?”

“Usually, Nox is always here to greet the students. He’s never been late once,” he told me. That was a bit concerning, but I quickly reminded myself that I shouldn’t assume the worst right off the bat.

“Isn’t the campus far from town? He could’ve been held up,” I suggested.

“Potentially. Hopefully he’ll be here soon.”

That didn’t really inspire any optimism in me, but what else could I do? Every time  I saw someone vaguely matching Mr. Letter’s description, I’d perk up, but every time they’d walk away. The minutes turned into hours. We waited and waited and there was no sign of Prefect Nox. I kept a constant look out for him, but as the night dragged on and the sunset was replaced with a star-filled sky, there was no sign of the prefect.

“Should… um…” I trailed off. How can I even contact him? It’s not like I have a Magic Phone or something… I fell silent, unsure of what to do. The crowds were slowly thinning out and just when I was about to suggest we head on by ourselves, a Magic Note flew into view and landed neatly in my lap. “Oh…”

I quickly unfolded and read it. It was an apology from Prefect Nox and Prefect Rex, telling me they were tied up on campus and couldn’t come get me. They said the Acceptance Letter would be able to bring me to campus in there stead. I fought back a sigh. To say I was irritated was an understatement. I really wish they’d sent this out earlier. I could’ve been settling in by now… From my side, the Acceptance Letter sighed.

“That’s really a shame. But I suppose I can lead you back myself,” he said. You… “suppose?”

“Can we go get some food first? I’m starving.”

“No! We can’t take any detours. We need to get to campus immediately!”

“But we’ve been sitting here for hours and I haven’t eaten anything since lunch.”

“You can eat once we get to campus. Your side of campus has a cafe that never closes.”

My side of campus…

The Night Class.

A secret student body of the Gedonelune Royal Magic Academy that studied elemental dark magic. I don’t know why I’d been chosen to be a part of it, but here I was. My dark magic was basically non-existent; Gedonelune outlawed all dark magic centuries ago. There were some movements to try and end the ban on elemental dark magic, but so far, they were just movements.

The Acceptance Letter trudged ahead, leaving me behind. I gathered up my things and followed after him. Despite it getting late, lots of shops were still open and the smells wafting onto the street from cafes was intoxicating. The sharp ache in my stomach reminded me how long ago it’d be since I ate. Why was he so dead-set on me not eating? Did he want me to starve?

“Are you sure I can’t just pop into a cafe and get something to go?” I asked, hopefully.

“No. We need to get to campus.” I fought back a pout.

“It’s easy for you to say that when you don’t need food. My last meal was ten hours ago,” I pointed out.

“Then you should’ve packed snacks,” he replied sourly.

“You showed up to my house and gave me an hour to pack. Of course I didn’t grab food.”

“It’s not my problem you didn’t pack food.”

I’d get better results talking to a wall. The urge to tear into him was strong, but I bit back my words. It wouldn’t do me any good to fight with him. It’d just make our trek to the castle awkward and no doubt I’d be in a worse mood than I already was in. Also I wasn’t sure if physically tearing him would count as murder.

“Fine. Let’s go, then.” If I could breeze past him, I would. I just hoped this trek wouldn’t take too long. My stomach kept growling the longer we walked. And to my dismay, the amount of shops slowly dwindled until we reached what looked like a small boathouse. Beyond it, dark waters spread over the land and at the end, the towering castle loomed on top of a hill. My heart raced at the sight.

“Will we be riding a boat to campus?”

“At this hour? Good heavens, no! We’ll be taking the bridge route. Come along.” He made a sharp turn, walking down a path that went along the lake. My soul shriveled up.

We walked and walked and walked and walked. We traveled on the outskirts of a forest, down a long bridge and through the face gate, up too many flights of stairs, and when I thought we were done with stairs, there were even more. The bottoms of my feet were aching and my legs were nothing more than jelly when we reached a mausoleum. I didn’t care if the Acceptance Letter was just going to kill me and bury me here; I wanted to rest.

“This is the entrance to the Night Class. There’s only one entrance to your part of campus, so remember that you need to go through the casket with the name ‘Robin Geralta’ on it,” the Acceptance Letter instructed me.

“Robin Geralta? Who’s she?” I asked.

“She was a Night Class student like yourself. She was Prefect last year.” Hm. Not sure if I liked that past tense.

“‘Was?’”

“She got pregnant in the middle of last semester and took a leave to have the baby. She’s alive, so I don’t know why they put her name there,” he said.

That’s a little too morbid for my tastes. But I’m glad she’s alive and well. The mausoleum was surprisingly well lit and sure enough, on a stone slab there was Robin’s name, crudely chiseled into the stone. That didn’t help me figure out if it was a jab or an honor, but I wanted to believe this was done with good intentions (just with bad craftsmanship).

“Well?” I flinched as the Acceptance Letter spoke sharply. “Go ahead and lift the lid up!” So demanding… Although my body protested, I leaned down and lifted the slab up. Green light and a light fog came out from the darkness; I could barely make out the stairs. The Acceptance Letter immediately floated in, going down the stairs. Great. More stairs. I groaned and followed.

Thankfully, this staircase wasn’t too long. It felt like we reached the bottom landing after only a few steps. The area, again, had more light that I expected. There were fake windows with moonlight pouring in and wrought iron chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. This must be campus, then. Even with the lighting, it’s a lot more dreary than I imagined it would be.

“What are you doing here?!”

I turned to the demanding voice. A handsome, slender man with black hair was quickly approaching us, robes flowing behind him.

“Nox, this is the new student,” the Acceptance Letter told him. Nox’s demeanor immediately changed from anger to surprise.

“The new student?” Nox asked, blinking. His face fell.  “I’m sorry we couldn’t come get you. I, uh, I’ll walk you to the dorms.” He motioned for me to follow him and I quickly fell into step with him.

“What’s with the face? You look terrible,” the Acceptance Letter told him. So, he’s rude to everyone. I don’t know if that makes me relieved or sad…

“We’re actually in the middle of an investigation and this part of campus is locked down,” Nox explained. Investigation? A lock down? What did that mean? “Let me get you to the dorms and I’ll come by later tonight to give you a real orientation.” Nox grabbed my arm and started pulling me along down the hallway in front of us. The Acceptance Letter just sighed and made a home in my bag.

“This is the end of the line for me. Good luck on your Trial,” the Acceptance Letter said. “You’ll need it.” My fist clenched, but I stayed quiet. Was that little jab necessary? I hated to think it, but good riddance.

“Did he give you a lot of trouble?” Nox asked me.

“Oh no, not at all!” A lie, but sometimes, a little white lie is sweeter than the truth. Nox smirked at me.

“You don’t have to lie. We all know the Acceptance Letter is a jerk. I was just hoping he wasn’t too bad to you.”

“He’s just, um, a little intense…” I replied. Nox just laughed. We stepped up to a stone arch with gray gauze dangling down from it

“That’s one way to put it,” he said. “By the way, this is the only entrance to the dorms.” He didn’t hesitate to pull me in. In a second, we were outside in a forest. Trees surrounded us and there was some kind of black fog dancing among the trees. Nox lead me through a gate and in front of us was an impressive building. “This is the dorm. To get inside the building and your room, just tap your wand to the door handle.”

The foyer was strange. Dark wood and dark furniture was everywhere, but the chandelier shone brilliantly. It felt dark, but more in atmosphere than in lighting. I couldn’t say I was used to this. Most of the buildings in Reitz were definitely not decorated like this. Well, maybe around Halloween some where, but this wasn’t normal to me at all.

“This floor has the common room, a game room, mine and Rex’s suite, the spa, and an infirmary,” Nox informed me.

“Spa?!”

“It’s nothing fancy,” he said nonchalantly, as if he was talking about a vending machine and not a spa. “But it’s nice after a long week.” No, it’s definitely fancy to have a spa in your dorms… Although part of me wondered if maybe this was just a private school thing. Maybe all private schools had fancy things like this. As Nox pulled me towards the elevator, a door to our left opened and a young man, sickly pale and purple hair framing his face, walked out.

“Hello!” I said cheerfully.

“Hi there.” He gave me a kind smile. Warmth like sunshine radiated from him. I couldn’t help but give him a smile back.

“I guess you’re the new transfer student?” he mused.

“I am! Wait, how did you know that?!”

“Prefect Nox told us yesterday we’d be getting a new student and to behave ourselves. Uh, I mean, told us just to give us the heads up.” He grimaced as Prefect Nox gave him an exasperated looked. I just giggled. He seemed really nice! And man, what a relief that was. Part of me was worried everyone was going to be like the Acceptance Letter. But Nox and this guy seemed genuinely nice.

“Pfft, I didn’t hear that bit about behaving,” I told him.

“Haha, thank goodness,” he laughed. I gave him my name as I stuck my hand out for him. He shook it gently, his skin soft against mine.

“I’m Tsukasa Kuze,” he introduced himself.

“Tsukasa, how are you feeling? You scared us…” Nox asked him. The smile from Tsukasa’s face disappeared immediately.

“I’m sorry about that. But I’m feeling fine. I can go back to class now.” The what I was sure was supposed to be reassuring smile on his face didn’t quite reach his eyes. Nox just frowned at him.

“No, you can’t. Another incident happened and class is canceled for the rest of the day,” he said. Tsukasa’s face fell, but he nodded.

“That’s understandable,” Tsukasa replied.

“Tell you what, can you do me a favor?” Nox asked. “Can you take our new transfer student to their room for me? I really need to get back to campus.”

“Sure, I can do that,” Tsukasa nodded. Nox smiled, relieved.

“I owe you one. They’re in Isabelle’s suite in the room between hers and Aika’s.”

“Okay, understood.” Nox turned to me.

“I’ll come back in a few hours and give you your orientation, all right? Welcome to the Academy, by the way.” And without another word, he quickly left. Tsukasa sighed, shoulders slumping ever so slightly.

“He’s usually not this frazzled. He’s just stressed,” he said. What happened to make him so frazzled, though? The memory of his anger when he first saw me popped up in my mind’s eye. He didn’t look ready to kill, but it looked like he wasn’t that far off from it.

“I see. I wonder what happened to make him like this.”

“I don’t know. But we’ve been having a lot of weird things happen on campus this semester.” He sighed before glancing down towards my feet. “Here, let me help you.” He reached for my suitcase and picked it up. I quickly tried to grab it from him.

“You don’t have to carry my stuff!”

“You have both hands full. It’s fine.” He gave me a warm smile and somehow, I felt unwilling to argue with him. I trailed after him, going into the elevator and riding up to my floor.

“So… Um… What year are you?” I asked.

“I’m an Unus student. What about you?”

“Me too!”

“Great! We’re classmates then.” The idea of having Tsukasa in the same class as me was calming. I wouldn’t be in a class full of strangers. I mean, it would mostly be strangers, but I had at least one friendly face to look to.

The doors to the dorm suites were propped open with everything from books to bricks that looked like they were taken from school buildings to platform clogs. Tsukasa turned into one and I quickly memorized the number as I stepped inside. There was a door to our left, to our right, and three in front of us. All the doors except the one in the middle were open and I could hear voices and music coming from the dorm room to my right.

I took out my wand and tapped the knob like Nox instructed me. It opened immediately and I went inside. The room was fairly spacious and there was only one bed. Thank goodness. I have the room all to myself.

“Oh, you have a single too,” Tsukasa commented, placing my suitcase down by my dresser.

“You don’t have a roommate either?”

“Well, yes, but my room is set up for two people. My brother sleeps over on the weekends, so it’s like I have a roommate, but just for a couple of days. It’s not that bad.”

“You have a brother?”

“Yeah. He’s a Day Class student though, so we only see each other on the weekends.”

“That sucks.” I couldn’t imagine having a sibling and then getting separated from them like this. Although I think the siblings back home in Reitz would disagree with me.

“It sort of do- Well, it’s not too bad. I still see him a lot.” He smiled, but this time, it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Tsukasa? What’re you doing here?” A girl’s voice suddenly filled the room. I looked over and a girl my age stood in the doorway of my room. But as soon as our eyes locked, she hurried in. “Oh my gosh, the transfer student is here?! Welcome to the Night Class! I’m Aika, I’m in the room to the right!” Just a few steps behind her was an incredibly tall guy with long, pinkish-purple hair.

“I think it’s technically to the left,” he said. “At least that’s how it is when you walk into the suite.”

“Ugh, you know I’m not good with directions, Dorian!” Aika complained. He laughed and threw his arm around her shoulders. I had to wonder if they were friends or dating. There was a sigh by the door.

“Oh boy. Here we go again.” A girl with long purple curls scampered into the room, a platter of cupcakes in her hands. I tried not to stare at them. It’d been so long since I ate… I prayed my stomach wouldn’t make any noise. The curly-haired girl grimaced.

“I’m sorry about them. They do this a lot. I’m Isabelle, I’m in the room over there,” she said, cocking her head to the side.

“It’s nice to meet you guys!” I said before introducing myself.

“Nice to meet you too!” Isabelle said. “Here, I made these for you this evening.”

“Thank you!” Isabelle was an angel on earth, that much I knew. I took the platter and put it on my dresser. Maybe I should’ve showed some more restraint, but I immediately tore into a cupcake.  Dorian snatched one off the plate, taking a bite before giving it to Aika.

“You can have one too if you like, Tsukasa,” Isabelle told him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, go ahead!”

“Thank you.” Tsukasa instantly cheered up. He grabbed one and started nibbling on it. I was already on my second one.

“These are really good, Isabelle,” I told her. She beamed.

“Thanks! I’m glad to hear it. I was worried my cooking was a little rusty,” she laughed.

“They’re right. These are perfect,” Tsukasa said as he joined my side.

“Yeah, they’re okay,” Dorian said. He took Aika’s cupcake out of her hands and took another bite. She gave him an indignant look.

“Good!” Isabelle said. She smiled and leaned against the wall next to Dorian. Next to him, it was evident how short she was. Although Dorian looked unnaturally tall. I wonder just how tall he is.

“I’m 6’9 and Isabelle is 4’1,” Dorian spoke up suddenly. “I can read minds.”

“What?!” He can read minds?! No, that has to be a joke, right? But as I stared at him, he looked so serious. Aika rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the ribs. He just laughed.

“Dorian, stop messing with them. He just make a lucky guess. You’re not the first to stare like that,” she told him. “He’s too all and since we’re short in this household, he just looks even taller.”

“I didn’t realize you were that tall,” Tsukasa frowned.

“Height isn’t everything,” I quickly said. Immediately, Tsukasa’s mood brightened a bit.

“I actually agree,” Dorian commented. “I prefer shorter partners and they’re easy to find for me.”

“Oh, please, like you have a preference at all,” Aika teased him. He just gave her a teasing smile back

“You’re my preference,” he replied.

“Oh my God, shut UP. You’re so embarrassing!” she cried. Her face was bright red and she tried to hide it in her hands. Aw, that’s kind of cute. I’d like someone to be cute with.

“I like tall women, but really, I don’t care in the end. As long as you’re not a guy, my little bisexual heart is happy,” Isabelle commented, clearly trying not to laugh at Aika. She shifted her weight and looked off into space.

“You know, we’re a pretty diverse campus now that I think about it. We have students of every size, half of us are foreign exchange students, and we’ve got enough queer students to make a club for it,” she said.

“It’s a shame we can’t flaunt any of that.” Again, Tsukasa’s shoulders fell a little.

“Yeah. It’d be nice to show off how diverse we are. But that’s not going to happen anytime soon. Not with the whole secrecy thing,” I said.

“It’s not so bad. We’re safe here,” Aika pointed out. I wanted to ask why that mattered: after all, this was a school, of course it should be safe! But Tsukasa beat me to the punch, quickly speaking up.

“Yes, but it’s stifling, don’t you think? We can’t tell anyone about our accomplishments. We just have to stay silent and pretend we’re all self-taught prodigies once we graduate,” he argued.

“Frankly, I don’t care if we’re stifled,” Isabelle said with a shrug. “If we’re safe, that’s all that really matters to me. I don’t care if I can’t put this on job applications. I’m safe here and I don’t need anything else.” Tsukasa’s lips were pressed into a fine line and everyone could see he was deciding whether or not to fight back even more.

“I guess when you put it that way…” Tsukasa still looked like he wasn’t convinced, though. Dorian gave him a sympathetic look.

“You’ll understand it when you’re older. There’s nothing better than feeling safe and being secure,” he said. The corners of Tsukasa’s mouth twitched, but he said nothing. Although I was sure Dorian wasn’t trying to be patronizing, admittedly it did come off like that. An uncomfortable silence fell in my room. Isabelle cleared her throat after a few seconds.

“Well, uh, I’m sure our new transfer student has a lot of unpacking to do. We’ll call you in for dinner once Dorian’s done with it,” Isabelle announced.

“Yeah, I should get started on dinner. You’re welcome to join us, Tsukasa,” Dorian said.

“Thank you, but I’m full from the cupcake,” Tsukasa said politely.

“Oh well. I guess more for us,” Aika shrugged. She followed after Dorian, the two leaving the room. Isabelle gave me a little wave before heading out. Tsukasa just looked after them, shoulders slumping a bit. I gently grabbed his shoulder.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I’m fine,” he replied. Again, another smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Um, I’ll leave you be. You’ve probably got a lot of work to do.”

“Y-Yeah, I guess so…” It’s not like I could beg him to stay and he was right: I had a lot of stuff to unpack.

“I’ll see you later,” he said.

“Yeah! See you later.” Tsukasa nodded and turned around, leaving my dorm room. Well, that certainly happened. I tried to push the argument from my mind as I started to unpack. Right now, I just needed to focus on my studies and becoming an official student. If there were arguments, I just needed to ignore them. Drama would only distract me. But the look of quiet anger on Tsukasa’s face wouldn’t leave my mind.

[therainroguefanfiction]

⍚ HaikWeek!! 2020 ⍚ Day 6 (Nobuyuki Kai) Hating Goodbye

📑 Table of Contents | « Previous Day

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Friendship, Fluff, Slice of Life

Word Count: 3,136

Pairing: Reader x Kai

World: Haikyuu!!

Prompt: Favorite Moment/Scene/Match + Beginnings/Endings  

Author’s Note: Here is the next entry for @haikyuuweek2020​~ Oh boy, I think I fell even more in love with Kai in this fic ;_;) crap. Also, I re~ally love the training camp arc it makes me so happy~~!

━━━━━━༻⍚ 🏐 HaikWeek!! 2020 🏐 ⍚༺━━━━━━

“Wait, so you’re going to a training camp for an entire week?” you wondered, watching your boyfriend as he carefully folded his clothes into his bag.

“That’s right. We’re going to Shinzen high.”

“That sounds so fun!” you wrinkled your nose, sliding down in his desk chair. “What the hell am I supposed to do while you guys are gone?”

He hummed softly as he zipped up the bag, setting it by the end of the bed. “If you want, I can ask my cousin if she’ll bring you. It’s not a long trip.”

You sat up straight, eyes sparkling. “Is it okay for me to go? Since I’m not on the team.”

“I can double-check with Nekomata-sensei,” he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, giving you a smile. “I’m sure he won’t mind, though.”

“Thank you so much, Yuki!” You threw your arms around his neck and he chuckled, meeting you halfway to claim your lips.

“You’re welcome. I’d be much happier if you were there, as well.”

“You make it sound like I’m your emotional support partner,” you teased, tugging on the collar of his shirt.

His eyes were warm as they met yours, his forehead resting against your own. His large hands held onto your hips, thumbs drawing soft circles against your skin. “In a way, you are. I feel much happier when you’re nearby. You keep my head clear during important moments and I’m able to push myself even harder.”

You felt your face growing hot at his sincere words, not expecting such an honest response. Though, what did you expect? Everything about Kai Nobuyuki was nothing short of soft and honest. You smiled, eyes shimmering with love as you tugged him closer, lips embracing in a slow, sensual kiss.

You had just finished packing up your bag when a knock sounded on the front door, echoing throughout the empty house. You nearly tripped over your feet going down the stairs in your excitement to answer the door.

Yuki’s cousin, Yua, stood there with a soft smile which brightened upon seeing you. “Good morning, Y/N. Are you ready to go?”

“I am!” you quickly slipped on your shoes before stepping outside, tugging the door closed behind you. “Thank you so much for driving me to Saitama, Yua-san. I promise I’ll pay you back.”

She giggled as she slid into the driver’s side, sticking the key into the ignition. The car started up with a soft rumble, the air conditioning ice cold as it hit your skin. “You’re practically family. Besides, I’m excited to visit the Dairyu-ji temple. It’s been so long since I was there.”

Your heart skipped a beat when she called you family and you practically melted right then and there. No one knew this about you, but you dreamed of one day marrying Yuki and being an official part of the Kai family. They were also so kind and gentle, minus his mother who had a lot of spunk, especially when it came to her life’s passions.

You stared out the window, watching the scenery blur as the car passed by. Though the trip was only about a forty-minute drive from Tokyo, depending on the traffic, you had never actually been there. You found yourself wondering if they had a statue of Saitama from One Punch Man.

The thought had you giggling.

Yua pulled up to Shinzen high school, giving you a smile. “I’ll be staying in Saitama for a few hours before returning home. If for any reason you need to return early, just text me okay? Have fun!”

“Thank you, Yua-san!” You gave her a small wave as you stepped out of the car, swinging your bag over your shoulder. You quickly sent a text to Yuki letting him know that you have arrived before you entered the school grounds, taking in the site.

Shinzen high was quite large, offering a variety of buildings that made it easy to get lost. And that’s exactly what you did. In just a few minute’s time, you were completely turned around. It almost felt as if you were an urban explorer and that made it kind of exciting for you.

Fifteen minutes passed before your boyfriend finally responded.

» ‘Sorry, hun, I was in a match. Where are you?’

« ‘About that…’

» ‘Did you get lost?’

« ‘Yes :(‘

» ‘Turn on your location for me, hun :) I’ll come get you’

You did as he asked, turning on your location before leaning back against the stone building. The sky above was a blinding blue, fluffy clouds drifting by on the soft breeze. Cicadas were chirping loudly in all directions, sure indications that summer had officially descended upon the earth.

You could smell Yuki’s familiar cologne mixed with the scent of sweat as he approached you, his warm hand sliding into your own. You gave him a sheepish smile, gently squeezing his hand. “Sorry, Yuki~”

“It’s okay, my love,” he responded softly, pressing a chaste kiss to your forehead. “I’ll always come to find you when you get lost.”

“You’re the best boyfriend in the world~”

“No, you’re the best partner in the world.” He booped you on the nose, giving you that closed-eye smile that you loved so much.

“Psssst. Y/N! Hey, hey Y/N!”

You blinked, looking up from your phone as you looked around for the source of the sound. Nishinoya Yuu, Karasuno’s libero, was hiding behind the bleachers, peering through the opening between seats as he called out your name.

He had a good reason for this, of course. After Tanaka and Noya started hitting on you the first time you met, the Nekoma team became super protective over you whenever they were nearby because of their loyalty towards Yuki. This continued despite the fact that both boys stopped hitting on you after finding out you were taken.

This was a shame, in your opinion, because you had really hit it off with the short libero and enjoyed his company.

You glanced at your team. They were playing a match against Fukuroudani, their backs to you and completely focused on the game. You moved closer to the end of the bleachers, trying to act casual as you looked at your phone. “What’s up, Nish?”

“I wanted to give you a heads up. After our matches today, we’re having a barbeque!”

“Really?” you responded with excitement, whipping around to face him while completely forgetting that you were supposed to be acting incognito. “Is that what you guys were acting like dorks over?”

“Yeah! We love meat over at Karasuno!”

You snickered. “That could be taken so many ways, Nish.”

He huffed, folding his arms over his chest. “But I get labeled the pervert?”

“Because you are.”

“So are you!”

“I never said I wasn’t,” you laughed. “Now go focus on your game, you dork. You guys are seriously behind.”

His nose wrinkled at the mention. “We’ve got this, don’t you worry!”

You chuckled at his reaction, reaching through the gap to ruffle his spikey hair.

Yamamoto caught movement from the corner of his eye and glanced over. At first, he didn’t think anything of you leaning over on the bleachers. He just assumed you had dropped something through the gap, but then he saw a flash of blonde and he realized that Karasuno’s libero was hidden behind them.

While he had no real qualms with the shorter male, even joining the Kiyoko fanclub, he was quite protective when it came to you because you were like his sibling plus you were dating his teammate.

His fist clenched in annoyance. “That little -”

He didn’t get far, though, Kuroo grabbing the back of his jersey. “Where are you going? We may have won the set but the match isn’t over.”

The tiger-haired boy pointed directly at you. “Nishinoya is alone with Y/N! There’s no telling what schemes he’s using to try and get with them!”

Kuroo raised a brow at Yuki who was wiping sweat from his face with the fluffy white towel around his neck. He glanced at you, the corners of his lips quirking up as he noticed the excited expression upon your face. “What’s going on?”

“Nishinoya is flirting with Y/N!”

“You don’t know that,” Kuroo sighed, though he too wanted to march over there when you reached through to ruffle the boy’s hair.

“What should we do, Kai?” Yamamoto turned to the older boy for instruction, but Yuki only chuckled softly in reply.

“I think you’re making a deal out of nothing. He may be a flirt, but he respects Y/N enough to not flirt with them knowing that they are dating me.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“I trust them,” Yuki smiled at you as you waved at Noya who bolted back over to his team. “Besides, they are close friends.”

“Eh?” Yamamoto’s eyes widened at this information.

“They text back and forth pretty often ever since our first practice match with them.”

“You’re okay with that?” Kuroo wondered, holding onto his chin. He couldn’t say for sure whether he’d be entirely happy with his partner texting another guy like that, especially one that had hit on them so strongly upon first meeting.

“Of course. As long as Y/N is happy, I’m happy.” Kai offered them a closed-eye smile before setting the towel onto the bench and returning to the court. The two boys could only watch him in wonder, unable to fully process how he could be so trusting and angelic.

“Bar-be-cue!!” Karasuno’s boys were the first to react when they stepped out of the gym to find the spread of food just waiting to be devoured.

Your own eyes lit up, mouth-watering at the heavenly scent of the meat being grilled. “Wow, so you were telling the truth.”

Noya huffed at you, folding his arms across his chest. “You thought I was lying?”

“Not lying perse, but I figured you had gotten your wires crossed. Wouldn’t be the first time,” you snickered, poking him in the shoulder.

“Rude!”

“While you two argue, I’m gonna eat your share of the meat!” Bokuto grinned as he rushed past toward one of the grills.

“No fair!” You both chorused, rushing after him. Thankfully, you were both able to secure some meat before he could eat it all, settling down beside one another.

“Did you read the latest chapter of Saki no Shita?” you glanced at him as you stuck a piece of meat into your mouth.

“No spoilers!” he all but shoved his hand into your face, brow furrowed. “I didn’t get to read it!”

Konoha scoffed as he approached the two of you, brow raised at the smaller male. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those people that binge read.”

You nodded, sending him a shifty look. “Yeah, those people are the worst. How can you wait so long to find out what happens?”

“Hey!” Noya cried indignantly, making you snicker.

“Binge reading is pretty fun,” Masaru commented with a smile as he joined the group, settling down on the grass across from your chair. “If you take breaks between the chapters, it feels like the story loses its oomph, you know?”

You tapped your chin, looking up at the afternoon sky. “I mean, I guess that makes sense. I feel like if I waited to binge read, I’d lose interest, though!”

He chuckled softly, bringing his fist to his mouth. “That’s valid! We all enjoy it the best way we can, after all.”

“See? He gets it!” Noya grinned. “And besides, I don’t binge it on purpose. Practice takes up a lot of my time so I usually pass out when I return home.”

“Oh yeah, that makes sense,” you nodded. “On the days I spend over at Yuki’s house, he usually falls asleep right after taking care of his younger siblings.”

Noya gasped dramatically, eyes wide as saucers. “You sleep under the same roof? How scandalous, Y/N!”

You scowled, tossing a piece of onion at him. “Not like that!”

He recoiled in disgust, bringing his feet up as if he had just witnessed a mouse scurrying across the floor. The flimsy chair was unable to handle the sudden movement, tipping backward. His arms flailed like a rooster as if that would somehow stop his fall.

“Nish!” you leaned over him when his back hit the ground, noticing how he managed to keep his paper plate up in the air, saving the little bit of meat he had left from hitting the ground. “Are you okay?”

Masaru sweatdropped from beside you. “Judging from the comical swirls in his eyes, I’d say not.”

“Well, if he’s down for the count…” Konoha grinned as he reached for the meat on Noya’s plate. “…I’ll just – hey!! Bokuto, what the hell?!”

You watched the owl of Fukuroudani snatch the meat from the plate, shoveling it into his mouth before Konoha could even register what had happened. And just like that, he darted away like a ninja, popping up beside Hinata and stealing a piece of meat over his shoulder. The poor first-year didn’t even notice, despite the desperate ramblings of Yachi who attempted to explain the theft.

Your eyes followed him as he darted around the group, stealing a piece of meat here and there, even from his own team members. Most people didn’t even notice his ninja-like moves. You sweatdropped, “He’s like the damn hamburglar.”

“The… what?” Masaru raised a brow in confusion.

“He’s an idiot is what he is,” Konoha muttered.

You were about to reply when you noticed the third-year approaching Yuki and Kuroo. “Oh hell nah!” Keeping your plate close to your chest, you weaved through the hulking boys like a plane flying through skyscrapers. You arrived just as Bokuto stole their meat off the grill, dashing away like the criminal that he was. “Bokuto, you little thief! Get back here!”

You tried to give chase, but a strong arm wrapped around your waist, keeping you in place. You pouted at your boyfriend. “Yuki~ Why’d you stop me?”

“I’d rather you spend the last of camp with me opposed to chasing Bokuto-san across the school,” his eyes twinkled with amusement as he pecked your cheek.

“And in case you can’t read between the lines,” Kuroo grinned at you, poking your forehead. “He doesn’t want you to get lost again.”

“Rude,” you huffed. “It happened once, okay.”

“It happened three times.”

“Three?” Yuki raised a brow in surprise, looking between the two of you.

Your face heated up at your secret being revealed like that and you tried to kick him in the shin but he just laughed and rushed off to make sure Kenma was eating properly.

“Three times, huh?” Yuki mused softly, tugging on the side of your shirt.

You pouted at him before looking down at the grill as he added more meat to replace what Bokuto had stolen. “For the record, only the first time was my fault. The second time, I trusted Nish to know where the vending machines were and the third time Eri-chan gave me the wrong directions to the bathrooms.”

He chuckled. “You should have just asked me, hun.”

“You were in games each time, though.”

“I still would have helped you.”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you,” you smiled, poking his side. “I know you would have left the game to help me!”

“Of course, I would.” His arms found their place around your body as he pulled you into a gentle kiss, his lips soft against yours. “Y/N, my love, you will always come first. No matter what.”

“Don’t let Kuroo or Yaku hear that,” you mused against his lips, a bright smile on your face.

You sniffled, wiping away the tears that were gathering in your ducts before they could fall. Noya stood across from you, his own eyes shimmering with tears.

“You take care of yourself, understood?” you sniffled again. “Make sure you read the next chapter so we can talk about it!”

“I will,” he nodded frantically, sniffling as he tried to hold back his tears. “Don’t stay up too late reading, your grades are trash.”

“So are yours!”

“I know!”

Ogano sweatdropped, leaning toward Nekoma’s captain and covering his mouth. “Are those two gonna be okay?”

Kuroo rubbed the back of his neck. “They certainly like to be dramatic…”

As if on cue, both of you burst into tears, throwing your arms around each other. Yamamoto and Tanaka appeared out of nowhere, trying to pry the two of you apart.

“Y/N, knock it off! You have a boyfriend already!!”

“Noya, let them go! They have a boyfriend already!!”

“I’m never letting go!” Noya cried, tightening his grip.

“My bestie!” You cried back, gripping the back of his shirt.

Yaku sighed, bringing his hand to his forehead. “You both act like you’re never going to see each other again…”

Suga chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Guys, you’re making a scene. People already think Karasuno is crazy…”

“Because you are,” Bokuto chirped happily, giving the grey-haired boy a thumbs up. “But it’s okay, Nekoma is, too!”

“What did you say, birdbrain?” Kuroo grinned sadistically making Bokuto stick his tongue out before darting behind Akaashi.

Yuki tapped Yamamoto on the shoulder and the younger boy released his hold on you, taking a step back so the older male could come up behind you. His hands were warm on your shoulders. “Hun, Karasuno needs to get back home. I know you’re going to miss him but you’ll see him again.”

“Promise?” you looked up at him with hopeful eyes, sniffling loudly.

“I promise,” he smiled softly, bringing his lips to your forehead. “We can even make plans to spend some time in Miyagi if you’d like. I’m sure Yua would love to go sightseeing there.”

“Come on, Noya, let them go.” Daichi appeared behind the libero, patting him on the shoulder. “We need to get going, we’ve got a long trip back.”

Reluctantly, the two of you released your grip on each other, exchanging sad looks as if a pair of twins were being separated. Noya’s arms wiggled in the air as Daichi dragged him toward the bus by the back of his shirt.

“Bokuto, why are you crying?” Akaashi deadpanned, not looking back at the boy that was sobbing into the back of his shoulder.

“It’s so sad!”

Tsuki rolled his eyes as he stepped toward the bus. “I’m surrounded by idiots.”

You turned around, burying your face into Yuki’s chest, arms wrapped around his waist. Your words were muffled by the cloth and hard to understand because of how soft you spoke. “I hate goodbyes and endings. They suck.”

Yuki hummed softly, running his fingers through your hair. “I know, hun. I know.”

━━━━━━༻⍚ 🏐 HaikWeek!! 2020 🏐 ⍚༺━━━━━━

» Next Day

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[ragnarachael]

Awkward Air: The Birthday

Pairing: Tony Stark x Reader, Peter Parker x Sister!Reader, May Parker x Happy Hogan

Word Count: 3,4k

Summary: May Parker’s birthday is notorious in the Parker-Stark household, and Happy’s got an important question for you and Peter. (request)

Author’s Ramblings: it took a minute, but we’re back in the Awkward Air series!! i consider the awkward air series DONE after this! however, there will be a little fic that’ll (eventually) come out that mentions this again.. you’ll see why when you’re done reading this one ;)

MASTERLIST !    FEEDBACK !   AO3 LINK !

May’s birthday was always a fun time, whether it was before or after you and Tony were together.

You and Peter both insisted on making May’s birthday a big occasion. Ever since Ben passed, you two always made it your mission to make the day a happy and exciting occasion.

So when you were getting your Parker Party Project together, as Peter titled the group chat, you added Tony and in turn Tony had added Happy. All the people that loved May Parker so much, planning her special day in one little group chat.

Little did you know how chaotic it would be to have Tony and Peter together in said chat.

They both ended up texting at odd hours in the night, and half the time they were just goofing off. Needless to say, you removed your idiot of a husband from the group text once he was passed out for the day after working on things around in the backyard—things being of the Morgan’s tree house variety.

Thankfully, the planning went smoother then, and Tony wasn’t as pouty as you’d thought he’d be.

In the end, you, Peter, and Happy had agreed to throw a surprise party. Peter and you would figure out a theme while Happy and Tony dealt with the food in their texts.

“Okay, so what should—”

“Unicorns!” Morgan exclaimed as she held your hand tightly, the other holding Peter’s she walked between you both in Queens, heading to a small coffee shop to plan while Tony and Happy were back at the compound planning out the food. “Nana loves unicorns!”

“We already threw her a party like that, Morgs,” Peter reasoned gently as he looked down at his niece, chuckling at her reaction.

“Yeah, baby, she’s unicorned out,” you explained briefly, giving her a sympathetic smile before you tugged her and Peter to a stop at a crosswalk. “Maybe we could do something based on those cooking shows she loves?”

“Nah, then that means she’ll wanna cook. We don’t need that.” Peter shook his head as the three of you waited for the countdown on the crosswalk to finish.

“Costume party?” You suggested, squatting down momentarily to fix one of Morgan’s hair clips.

“Why would we do that?”

“She loves doing that!”

“Doing what? Dressing up in costumes?” Peter shot back as you stood up, taking Morgan’s hand again. You scoffed.

“Yeah? At least, I assumed she did,” you sighed before leading the way across the street once you were allowed. “I dunno. We’ve thought of practically everything.”

Peter shrugged, dramatically swinging his hand with Morgan the best he could before finally giving up and swiftly lifting her up and onto his shoulders. He laughed while she squealed in delight, gripping onto his hair as leverage. You kept walking forward with a fond smile on your face.

Your little brother was such a good uncle.

“Maybe some peace and quiet could be her gift,” you joked, closing the Morgan-sized gap between you and Peter.

“Peace and quiet? How much trouble do you think I get into?” Peter questioned, feeling offended. “I’m the perfect one, remember?”

“Ha! Sure,” you cackled, turning a corner the same time as Peter. “The perfect one. Okay. Tell me that the next time she asks where the heck you are after patrols.”

Peter took a moment to grimace at your choice of wording before recalling the small child that was tugging on his hair as you sped up to catch the slowly closing door of the coffee shop you were coming up on.

“Okay, maybe not that perfect.”

You snorted and playfully ushered him in, watching as he ducked down dramatically for Morgan’s sake.

Peter and Morgan happily rushed to nestle into a booth after you got in line to order some snacks and drinks for the three of you. A nice Chai for you, hot chocolate for Morgan, and something with a lot of caramel for Peter.

Once you sat down with them, you got back to brainstorming.

“Movie marathon?”

“She’ll fall asleep, unless Henry Cavill is on TV.”

“Then we watch Cavill movies!” You exclaimed softly, moving to sip at your cup. Peter sighed as he mixed the whipped cream with his frappuccino.

“If Happy is gonna be with us, I don’t think he’ll want to watch his girlfriend swoon over Geralt of Rivia.”

“But who doesn’t swoon over him is a better question,” you replied after smacking your lips. Morgan happily picked at her blueberry muffin you got her while she soaked in the conversation.

“Okay my point here is,” Peter started, stopping his vigorous mixing of his frappe, “May will not hold her mouth. The things I’ve heard that woman say about Henry Cavill? Morgan would be tainted, just like me. I don’t want that for my niece.”

You watched as Peter spoke with his hands, letting his left land on top of Morgan’s head as she munched on a blueberry. Leaning back against your side of the booth, you realized he does have a point.

“Touché... If we can’t agree on a surprise party theme, we might have to be normal this year.”

Peter grimaced then, reaching for his frappe again to finish his mixing mission. “I don’t like being typical when it comes to May.”

“I don’t either, but we might have to. We could have dinner over at mine? We can bake and decorate the cake while Happy takes her around town?”

Peter nodded slowly at the idea, leaning forwards to suck on the straw to his drink. You sipped your drink at the same time as Morgan, waiting for a proper reply.

Peter pulled off the straw then with a smack, licking his lips. “What’ll Tony do?”

“What Tony does.”

“Which is?”

“Help Morgan with her treehouse plans. Maybe even decorate the back deck he finished building so we could eat out there. And maybe be our lookout if we need it, of course,” you explained. “It’s foolproof.”

Peter agreed quickly at this point, probably just wanting to enjoy his sugary drink in peace without the worry of party planning.

Later that night you told Tony about the idea, to which he agreed with whatever you thought was good. You knew he probably should stay out of it and let you take care of it, even if he’s known May for a good chunk of time, he wanted the professionals to handle it.

And handle it you did.

Peter made the trip over bright and early that Tuesday, after making May breakfast without burning anything in the apartment, texted you and Happy in the groupchat to get everything into motion.

You then got up to see the bed was empty apart from you and the pillow you apparently were cuddling in place of your husband. Confusion took over your features, and you were quick to grab your phone and pull on sleep shorts you had discarded before bed before heading down stairs.

That’s where you found Tony and Morgan cuddling on the couch, fast asleep while Christopher Robin played quietly in the background. Usually that meant Morgan must have had a bad dream, which caused you to coo almost silently and move some of her jostled hair to press a kiss to her forehead before doing the same with Tony.

You’d have to work under these conditions until Peter got here. That would be fine.

It was times like these you were thankful you had baked something sweet to snack on for breakfast just yesterday as you pulled out most of the ingredients to make one of the cake recipes your mother made when you and Peter were little little. Peter would be the last piece of the puzzle, bringing the ingredients you didn’t have as well as something for dinner for the six of you tonight.

Around 10 o'clock, you quietly snuck Peter in while Tony and Morgan kept sleeping, the TV having been turned off for a good 30 minutes now.

“Hey, take these?” Peter questioned quickly as he held out some bags to you. You tilted your head and took them without question.

“What else did you get?”

“You should have sent me with a chaperon,” Peter replied quickly, rushing back out to his car while you let out a sigh and made your way to the kitchen before your hands fell off.

While Peter made his trips in and out through the front door quietly, you made your way back to the couch where Tony and Morgan resided.

“Hey, babe,” you whispered gently as you placed a hand on Tony’s chest to wake him. He just grunted and squeezed his eyes tighter. “Baby, Peter’s here. You and Morgan gotta move.”

Tony finally let his eyes crack open, seeming pouty. “Damn.”

You giggled quietly. “I know, I know. You can sleep in with her until one or so, but then I need your services with those lights for the deck.”

Tony’s free hand behind his head moved to rub the sleep out of his eyes before sitting up to meet you halfway for a quick kiss.

“Fine, fine. Do you need a cake tester too? I also double as a cake tester—”

“Tony, shut up and get your butt upstairs,” you replied fondly, moving both hands to cup his face to press one last kiss to your husbands lips. After that, you were quick to move back to the kitchen to let him wake up a bit more before trying to pick up your sleeping daughter.

You rounded the couch before stopping in the kitchen as Peter tried to rearrange something on the kitchen island with his back to you.

“What did you buy? Please be something useful—”

“Okay so I found spring gingerbread houses,” he started, not caring if he cut you off, quick to slide aside for you to see the packaging. He.. wasn’t wrong. Those were gingerbread house pieces with spring decorations.

But, why the hell were they bought?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Peter started quickly, grabbing the three kits that were laid out. “But they were on sale. It was cute, I got extra stuff to decorate them with too because we all know the frosting with them are shit—”

“Pete!” You exclaimed quietly, reaching a hand out to cover your brother’s mouth. “Morgan’s literally in the next room, shut it!”

“Sorry!” Peter replied softly, moving the kits to a hidden corner of the kitchen. “But I got everything else for Mom’s cake recipe, and dinner. That Binging with Babish guy really has everything on his website.”

“I told you! And you thought Andrew Rea wouldn’t be good,” you scoffed, moving to the extra bags to get to work.

The cake was easy, thank Christ. You and Peter have done it enough to where you two can easily sync up and work together successfully. The cake was done by noon and that gave you a while to try and figure out the recipe for dinner you found on Babish’s website.

“What made you choose those fish tacos anyways?”

“May said something about how she liked that movie I Love You, Man and I thought about Babish so,” you explained as you stared at your laptop screen. “Made sense to me.”

Peter let out an understanding hum as he rested his head on your shoulder, cheek pressed into you enough to have it make the side of his face puckered.

Making the recipe was.. Well. It sounded hard. It wasn’t your first time trying a Babish recipe, but it was new having to try it with this new calibre of instructions. You were worried but kept it quiet so Peter didn’t freak out inside while he did everything.

Peter took well to it actually. He was like a bit of a sponge that way. He was always the one between the two of you to adapt to situations and such a little faster, and you were thankful for that for once.

He explained bits and pieces of the instructions to you after watching the video as you took a break from cooking for a bit. You both even started to decorate the deck before Morgan and Tony joined you around two to help.

Happy occasionally texted updates about what he and May were doing, and where they were at so you could have a window where you could make the fish tacos. You suspected it would take a bit of time, around four hours? Maybe? You didn’t do math much unless it was Morgan’s homework anymore, so you had no clue.

But it went a lot quicker than you anticipated.

You and Peter started cooking at 3, and easily got done by 6 o’clock. All you had left was the guac and pico de gallo and you planned to make that dead last when Happy and May were about 30 minutes out.

“Okay! Okay,” you said aloud to yourself, very pleased with all the things you and Peter made successfully on the first try without burning anything. Parker Luck be damned.

“I say we finish decorating the deck with last minute streamers,” Peter announced, quietly eating a packet of Gushers next to you. “It’ll be cute.”

“Nah, it could get too windy for that. I think the deck looks fine on it’s own already. The tablecloth is already on the table we dragged out there, we got those edison bulbs hung up. Got the centerpiece in here out there,” you recounted easily, hands flying to your apron that you’ve had on for the better half of the day. “I think we’re basically done apart from the last two puzzle pieces.”

“Yeah. Happy and May better not be—”

“I was talking about the guacamole and pico de gallo, but go off,” you replied with a laugh, throwing your apron over one of the stools near the edge of the kitchen counter. Peter snorted and poured the rest of his Gushers into his mouth as he tried not to laugh.

The two of you decided to clean up. It didn’t really last too long, since Happy had texted about 15 minutes after you started a small assembly line of somewhat washed dishes.

Morgan was drawing when you called for Tony from the bottom of the stairs to get him to help Peter set up the table outside.

“Mommy!” She shouted as you stopped just outside the kitchen, quick to abandon her drawing to skip over to you. “What can I do?”

“You, my love,” you started softly, quick to squat down to her height, “can finish Nana’s  birthday drawing. When you’re done, we’re gonna surprise her.”

“But I wanna help!” She was pouting now, a signature Tony move as of late. You cooed and pushed some of her hair back behind her ear before letting your hand cup her face as you had an idea come to mind.

“You wanna get the silverware together with me then, baby? Make it all fancy with those pretty napkins Uncle Pete brought?”

Morgan practically squealed at the idea as Peter stepped around the two of you with the plate of fish that was covered with aluminum foil to keep it warm. You laughed and picked her up quickly, holding her on your hip as you tried to hide your struggle.

Moments like this made you realize your little girl was growing up. You shook it off quickly as you sat Morgan on the kitchen island, moving around quickly to pull the napkins Peter brought to her.

Morgan seemed to know what to do right away, because she unfolded the napkins and politely asked you for the silverware. She didn’t really know what kind of roll or fold or whatever to do once she got everything in, but that’s where you were quick to come in.

The two of you had a nice and simple rhythm, even saying hi to Peter and Tony as they popped in and out for the food. Eventually when the small bundles of silverware were with napkins, you asked Peter to help Morgan place them while you made the guacamole and pico de gallo.

And, thankfully, your timing was impeccable. You finished the last minute things, got them out to the deck and came back in just enough time to answer the door when May and Happy knocked.

“Hey!”

“Hi!” May replied with the same enthusiasm. “I saw Peter’s car here, please tell me this won’t end up like last year.”

“The glitter was a terrible idea, I’ll be the first to admit it,” you heaved, laughing softly before pulling her into a tight hug. “I hope you two didn’t go out to eat or anything, because we’ve got a thing or two going on in the back.”

“Nana!” Morgan shouted suddenly, quick to rush over to the front and leave Peter behind. You and May laughed before separating so Morgan could get her hug while you turned to Happy.

“I trust that you’ve spoiled her?”

“Oh yeah,” Happy replied immediately, chuckling. “What do you think I am? An idiot?”

You laughed softly before pulling him in for a hug. “Just making sure you’re taking care of my Aunt, Hogan.”

“I always am, Stark,” Happy chuckled again.

After Peter and Tony got in on the greetings, you were quick to direct everyone out to the backyard. The food couldn’t wait out there forever with their covers, and you were already treading on thin ice that it would start to suck after being covered for so long. Thankfully, everyone listened and you were out on the deck for dinner just in time to properly see those lights in action.

Dinner was a hit. You didn’t expect it to be bad , per se, but you were worried after it sat that it wouldn’t be as good. Your worry washed away the second May said something along the lines of “That Babish guy did this before! It looks just as amazing as his!”

You laughed, you teased, you occasionally cleaned Morgan’s face of guacamole when she took a bit more than she could get in her mouth properly. It was a lovely family get together.

Until Happy asked to help you and Peter in the kitchen when you said you were going to grab more drinks for the adults. You were getting anxious.

“Pete if you could grab the cake from the fridge,” you asked gently as you walked into the kitchen. “I’ll grab the candles.”

Happy was quick to help Peter with the fridge door so the cake could be retrieved.

“I uh.. How would you feel,” Happy started slowly, unable to try and find the words he was looking for. “How would you feel about May getting remarried?”

You’re more than sure Peter would have dropped the cake if he had it in his hands.

“You what?” He questioned back quickly. You were frozen with your hands on the small pack of candles that Peter bought earlier in the day.

You knew where this one was headed. And you were a lot more accepting than you were when you first thought of this happening.

“You’re asking us for permission?” You questioned suddenly, turning around to look at Happy who was trying to deal with a babbling Peter. But Peter quieted immediately when you talked.

“Well... yeah. May is her own person, I know, but I want to do it right.” Happy was fidgety. He was anxious just like you were.

You couldn’t hold back the smile that was growing on your face then.

“Happy, I’d love nothing more. And I’m sure Peter feels the same, it’ll just—”

“Take some cake to shut him up?” He questioned back amusingly, seeming relieved from your answer. You laughed, nodding immediately before placing the candles down to move the reeling Peter away from the open fridge to grab the cake yourself.

“Do you have an idea for a ring? I can help whenever—”

“Wait a minute,” Peter spoke suddenly, “marriage?”

You sighed as the cake finally got out of the fridge, placing it on the island as Happy closed the door with a sigh. “At least you’re not reacting like you did when Tony asked you and May for permission.”

“Okay, that was a bad day for me,” Peter retaliated before taking a deep breath. “Holy shit. Marriage.”

“We can chat later on about it,” Happy said quickly, trying to get Peter to calm down. “We’ve got a cake to bring out.”

[annab-nana]

You’re Family - Colby Brock

Y/n’s been hanging out with the trap house boys for a little while and has been dating Colby for a month, but when she leaves them, she comes home to her monster of a father. She realizes she can’t keep her father’s actions a secret from her friends and boyfriend much longer.

Warnings: some curse words; physical abuse; mentions of alcohol

Word Count: 1.9k+

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

The room was filled with the laughter of all of us as we watched Jake trip over the penny board that he had left in the middle of the floor. Thankfully, he caught himself before he faceplanted.

“Nice save there buddy,” Aaron joked. Jake sent him an evil glare, which only made me laugh more. My giggles slowed when I felt my phone buzz in my hand. I lifted it to see who was trying to contact me and much to my dismay, it was my piece of crap father. The text read: Come home, now. My eyes widened. I don’t know what I did to piss him off this time, but it didn’t look good. I quickly got up from beside Colby and turned to face the group.

“I have to go, guys, but hopefully, I’ll see y’all soon.” I hoped I would see them again. My dad might make sure I don’t see them again. He doesn’t like me to leave very often. I tried to smile at the guys, but it was probably very evident that it was forced. Colby stood up to walk me to the door as he always does.

“Bye, y/n!” The guys collectively shout as Colby places his hand on my lower back, guiding me towards the door.

“Bye guys!” I say with fake enthusiasm over my shoulder and wave at them. My gaze shifts from the guys to Colby, who looked a little confused. “What’s up, Colbs?” I asked him as I reached for the doorknob, twisting it to open the door. He stepped out with me and shut the door behind him.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I couldn’t help but notice how you reacted when you got the text and said you had to go home. Is everything okay?” My breath hitched in my throat a little before I spit out a quick answer.

“Oh, it was just my dad. I forgot to do the dishes last night and he wants me to finish them before I do anything. You know how parents are, right?” I didn’t completely lie. It was my father, but that wasn’t the reason. I prayed Colby couldn’t see straight through the bullshit I just told him. He seemed a little skeptical but let me go.

“Okay, babe. See you later,” He told as he came down to kiss my cheek. I smiled at him as he pulled away before telling him bye and heading to my car. When I shut my car door, I saw that he was still standing at the front door, smiling like an idiot. I laughed and waved at him. He waved back and headed inside. He was a really goofy sometimes, but I loved it. I pulled out of their house and started the way to mine.

I really want to tell Colby about my situation, but I don’t want him to worry about it because I know he will. He has a lot going on with his Sam and Colby channel and is always going to meetings and stuff. He’s constantly busy and the last thing he needs to worry about is me. When he’s with me, I want him to be carefree and have fun.

I’m just ready to get whatever is about to happen with my dad over with so I can go to my room and be left alone. I thought that I’d be back before he came home to do the dishes, but I guess he came home early. The drive home was super slow as I was dreading going home. I pulled into our driveway and walked to the door. As soon as I walked in, the strong smell of alcohol hit me like a brick.

“Y/n, get in here!” I hear his voice ring throughout the house. I shut the door and walk into the living room right where I expected him to be, leaned back in his dingy old chair sipping on a beer. His gaze lifted from the TV to me.

“Where have you been?” He asked me, sounding like he was trying to hold back the anger, but I knew he was going to unleash it any second now.

“I was with some friends.” I tried my best to sound calm, but on the inside, I was freaking out. He doesn’t know I hang out with a bunch of guys. I always tell him I’m with my other friends, Avery and Olivia.

“Who?” He questions.

“Who am I always with, Dad?” I didn’t mean to say that with attitude, but a little slipped out.

“Don’t get smart with me, y/n. Who were you with?” He said, raising his voice.

“Avery and Olivia,” I rush out quickly as I take a small step back. He put his drink down and leaned forward in his chair.

“That’s funny because I saw Olivia at the gas station earlier.” My eyes widened slightly as I came up with something to say back.

“She left early. She had to babysit again,” I lie straight through my teeth. My breathing was getting faster as my nerves built. He stood up and threw the pillow that was in his lap across the room.

“Keep on lying, y/n. Your punishment is only going to get worse. Olivia was on her way to run an errand for her mom and she said Avery was on vacation, so I’m going to give you one more time to tell me where the hell you were.” Fuck, I really messed up. I was leaned up against the wall, as far back from him as I could be at the moment.

“Other friends that I met a few months ago, Colby, Sam, Jake, Aaron, Corey, and Devyn,” I confess to him. There’s no point in lying anymore. He’s already caught me and there’s no way out of it. He charged for me and wrapped his hand around my neck which lead to several slaps, kicks, punches, and so much more.

After a while, I was lying on the living room floor, crying in sadness and pain, but not too loud. If he heard me, he’d come back. He left the house to go drink some more. I managed to get up and make it to my room. I went to the bathroom and grab the basket that I kept under the sink. It had supplies for when this happened. I wiped off the blood from the cut on my lip. My dad was a smart man and made sure he hit me where it wasn’t visible, but he slapped me pretty hard and cut my lip. I tended to every cut and wound and grabbed my phone. I need to tell someone. I can’t keep doing this.

“Hello?” I heard Colby’s soothing voice through the speaker of my phone, which made me cry more.

“Hey,” I sniffled a little when replying, sure he heard me.

“What’s wrong, y/n?” I could hear how concerned he was for me just in his voice. I wipe some of the tears with the back of my hand and stared up at my ceiling.

“Can you come over here? I need you.” He’s never been to my house before. I always insisted that I’d be fine when I left him and that I’d text him when I got home so he knew I got home safe. “I’ll send you my address.”

“Okay, I’m on the way.” He told me before hanging up. I continued staring at the ceiling and crying until Colby came. I walked to the door after I heard a knock and opened it. His eyes looked so sad when he saw me. Aside from the cut on my lip, my crying had messed up my makeup and the bruises were showing through. I fell into his arms crying, just ready to see him, one of the few people who make me happy.

“Y/n, what happened?” He asked me, pulling us away so he could look at me. His face looked so hurt when he examined mine. I looked down and placed my head against his chest.

“My dad… He umm…. He’s not a good guy like you, Colby. He… He…” I couldn’t physically say that he hit me without breaking down completely. Colby rubbed my back, whispering that it’s okay now and that he’s here.

“Let’s go to your room, okay?” He questioned and I nodded before leading him to it. We walked in and sat down on the bed. Colby grabbed my bookbag that he saw sitting next to the end of my bed and walked into my closet, grabbing clothes and putting them in the bag.

“Colby, what are you doing?” I asked him.

“I’m getting you out of here. You can live with me and the guys and Dev at the house. You can’t stay here.” He finished with my clothes and went into my bathroom, grabbing my toothbrush and stuff. My basket was out, and I had bloody wipes still sitting on the countertop. He walked out and looked at me. “Are you ready to go?”

“I guess so,” I said as I grabbed his hand that he had reached out to me. We left the house and got in Colby’s car. “Are you sure I’m not intruding on your and the guy’s lives?”

“You are never intruding on my life. The more of you I get, the better. As for the guys, they love you almost as much as I do. They’ll be excited, I promise.” He told me as he grabbed my hand and kissed it. I smiled at the amazing man in the driver’s seat.

“Sorry I lied to you earlier. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to tell you yet.” I muttered, referring to what I told him before I left.

“Don’t worry about it, babe. I understand,” He told me. In no time, we arrived at their house. Colby slung my bag over his shoulder and grabbed my hand.

“Are you ready?” He asked me, his eyes staring right back at mine. I nodded and we head to the door. He opened it and all the guys were playing around right there in the hall in front of the stairs. They turned to us and looked at me. I didn’t fix my makeup like I should have, so my scars and bruises were visible and the fact that I had been crying was very evident. Corey was the first to say something.

“Y/n, are you okay?” I almost started crying again right there but held back any tears that threatened to fall. I looked to Colby and he spoke for me thankfully.

“Some stuff happened, but y/n’s going to stay with us for a little while.”

“If that’s okay with you guys,” I muttered lowly.

“Of course, it’s okay,” Aaron said.

“Yeah, y/n. You’re family.” Sam stated. My heart warmed at his statement.

“You mean that?” I ask him.

“Of course, he does, y/n. You’re one of us.” Jake added. I looked up at Colby and smiled.

“Thanks, guys,” I whisper as I leave Colby’s side to go hug them. After I hug them all, Jake speaks up again.

“We love you, y/n, but if you’re going to be living with us, you and Colby are going to have to be quiet when you’re upstairs if you know what I mean.” The group busted out in laughter just like we were a few hours ago. I love these guys and my new home.

[neocityarchive]

ends | mark lee au (pt 1)

summary | part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: none

Chapter Summary: You didn’t have to be reminded that you lost the best thing to ever happen to you, but when a great opportunity came your way, you thought maybe a little risk won’t hurt. 

A/N: i woke up and suddenly this wasnt on my blog lmao im so frustrated. i mightve accidentally deleted it but here it is again.

You looked at your phone to check the time. You have 15 minutes to get to the SM building. Why you’re going back there, you have absolutely no idea.

One of your sunbaes called and asked you to come in, saying they needed the interns’ input on the graphics of the new advertisement material for the recent SM Rookies project. You could have easily said no, but you also are very much aware that SM doesn’t usually do this. It would be crazy to pass an opportunity this big. But that’s not what you’re really worried about.

You stared at your screen until it went black, then pressed on the lock button, illuminating it again. Only a minute has passed since you last checked. You still weren’t used to your generic lockscreen. It’s been a month since you changed it, but it still feels weird not seeing Mark’s cheeky grin everytime your phone lights up.

Stop it, you told yourself.

You don’t know if it’s just in your head or if it’s the fact that you’re anxious and overthinking about the possibility of seeing him again, but the bus seems to be going faster today when you didn’t need it to.

You have no idea if the boys are going to be in the building. You stopped keeping track of the whole group since the break up. You couldn’t bring yourself to watch any of their videos since your ex seems to be in every single one of them.

In an attempt to get distracted, you put your earphones on and your playlist on shuffle, shifting your attention to the busy city life happening outside the bus’ window.

As if the universe didn’t want you happy, the songs coming up the playlist just made everything worse. Yang Da Il’s Sorry started playing and suddenly, you were thrown back to a memory you’ve been trying so hard to suppress lately.

You just got back from a trip to China, two days earlier than what you told everyone. These days, Mark has been really stressed trying to balance his time and energy between the three units. You could tell he was tired despite his efforts not to show it to anyone. You haven’t had a decent conversation in a while. He was always drained, so every phone call would just end up in an argument. If not, he’d be sleeping, or he would say bye even before you could tell him about your day.

It was hectic, so you thought you could pay him a surprise visit to lift some of the stress off his shoulders. After all, it used to work. Used to.

You were already on your way to the conference room where the dreamies were having a meeting but you stopped in your tracks a few feet away from the door.

It was quiet. There wasn’t the usual rowdy noise you could hear even from the elevator, which is very weird considering it’s the dreamies. That’s how you knew they were talking about something serious. A chill went down your spine, finding the whole thing unsettling.

“You should tell her the truth,” you heard Donghyuck’s voice from the hallway.

“I know, though,” Mark replied abruptly.

Your face contorted. You missed the sound of his voice, so much that your chest ached. But that wasn’t what you wanted to hear more about. Tell the truth to who? What truth? Who’s her?

“Just don’t make her wait,” Hyuck said. “She’ll only get hurt.”

Mark sighed. He sounded exhausted, like they’ve been on this topic for quite a while and the flow of the conversation wasn’t going his way.

No one spoke. It was very unusual since they usually just talk over each other, but this time, even a singe drop of water would sound deafening. You found yourself holding your breath.

It didn’t seem like they were talking about work. If it was, they would definitely be louder. You searched your mind of anything or anyone they could be talking about but there wasn’t enough information to make a conclusion. Still, there was something stirring in your chest. You don’t know how to explain it, but it didn’t feel good.

“Mark hyung,” Renjun called, breaking the silence.

“Oh?”

He cleared his throat. “I’m just going to ask the question that is on everyone’s minds right now.”

Silence. It was deafening.

“Do you still love Y/N?”

You blinked. Twice. Thrice. You suddenly felt like all the air had been knocked out of your lungs. Your knees felt week, and your mind was going nuts. This wasn’t what you expected to hear when you came. Not at all.

You started going through the possibilities. Do they know another Y/N? Did you hear Renjun right? Is this some sort of prank??? Do they know you’re listening?

But the silence in the room proves it’s no prank.

You wanted to run, you wanted to scream. You wanted to burst into the room all at once. But your feet stayed glued to the ground. You found yourself waiting for the answer to a question you never thought you’d have to ask.

Do you? you thought.

Your mind wandered to your recent phone calls, your frequent arguments. It happened so often that there has been a part of you that hesitates to call him, afraid you’d fight again. He rarely ever sends goodnight and good morning texts, or even updates about his day anymore. Things have definitely changed between the two of you, but you always thought it was just because he was exhausted from work.

Your breath hitched in your throat. Today was supposed to be a good day. Today was supposed to be the day that would get you your boyfriend back. The day everything would be back to normal. But apparently... not.

“Do you?” Hyuck asked again.

“I don’t know. I’m just...” Mark’s voice trailed off.

You waited.

“...so tired of it.”

You pulled your earphones from your ear and stuffed your phone in your purse in frustration.

Your eyes have started to well up again. You looked up, trying to blink the tears away but it won’t work. No matter how you try to fool yourself and convince yourself you’ve gotten better, all these small moments that lead you back to him proves otherwise.

Part of you always knew things would be like this eventually, that Mark would get tired. He had way too many things on his plate, and you always felt like you should be the least of his problems.

He was always born to be a star. With his talent and passion for what he does, he was bound to take over the world. You knew that meant a lot of sacrifices for him. Living away from his home country, giving up the chance of a normal teenage life, always being within the eyes of the media and fans. You always knew the time would come when the compromise he had to make was our time for each other.

You just never thought it would come to the point where he would give up everything you had after all you’ve been through. Somehow, through all those months of dating him, you had yourself convinced that he loved you enough to not leave you like this. Turns out you were wrong.

“I never imagined I would say this...” you remember him saying, “but I think we should break up.”

It really felt like your world fell apart that day.

You used to be so cynical about how breakups are portrayed in the movies. It’s always so dramatic. The characters always seem like everything have stopped working after the breakup. You used to think it was overboard. But after going through it yourself, you realized maybe the movies were right.

Nothing felt right after that day. Everything seemed so much dimmer, much quieter, much slower. It was like the world forgot how to function properly...

The bus pulled at your stop, breaking your train of thoughts. You got off and walked to the building, taking two steps at a time, afraid of seeing anyone even remotely familiar. Thankfully, you arrived at the 11th floor without any casualty.

The whole thing went by quickly. Your mind was completely preoccupied while working. No traces of Mark, not even on the huge television screens on the walls.

Contrary to what you originally thought, working in SM was actually a fun experience. Aside from the fact you met the love of your life there, the people working with you were really nice. Today, they offered you a job, convincing you to stay. It sounded tempting, good pay, good benefits, but you didn’t know if you could work in a place that holds too much of the past you’re trying to let go of. Maybe not now. You told them you’d think about it.

Before you knew it, the work part was over. You were already back in the elevator, feeling a bit better than you were when you arrived.

The elevator stopped at the 9th floor, revealing a group of people who looked like executives. Upon seeing them, your sunbae grabbed you and the other intern by the arm and pulled you out of the elevator.

“You may go first, Mr. Lee. We’re not in any hurry.” He smiled to them, who nodded politely as they entered the elevator.

“Thank you,” the man who you assumed was Mr. Lee said.

Once the doors closed, your sunbae let out a sigh of relief.

“Are you okay?” you asked. “Who was that?”

“I’m fine.” He nodded. “That was a major stockholder of the company and a bunch of other important people.”

You nodded to yourself, suddenly realizing why the faces looked familiar. You must have seen them in the TV or something.

“Alright you guys. I’m gonna take the stairs. I’m just going down one level anyway. You can wait for the next one here,” your sunbae said.

Just then, the other elevator door opened but it was going up. The other intern went in, saying she forget something upstairs. Just like that, you were alone in the 9th floor.

A sudden realization dawned on you. You didn’t recognize the floor right away since the interior changed a bit, but this was where the recording booths are. This was also where you last saw Mark. As if in a trance, you decided to around to see what else changed within the few months you haven’t been here.

A chill went up your spine as you walked past the lounge beside the recording booth, your mind going back to how easily you got your heart broken the last time you were there.

It was two days after you heard the dreamies’ conversation. You couldn’t bring yourself to see him after that. You called him earlier and asked to meet up, lying that you’ve only just gotten home from China.

He agreed to meet you at the lounge beside the recording booths, saying he can’t leave the studio because the dreamies need him for advice while recording.

So you went there, feeling uneasy. There was no one else around, which was a good thing because you were sure whatever happens, you would cry.

You and Mark haven’t seen each other for weeks, but when he came, there were no kisses. Not even hugs. There was none of the usual excitement and undeniable craving that you both get whenever you see each other after not being able to for a long time. This time, he just sat quietly beside you. You weren’t even surprised.

He looked different. He had makeup on, but you could still tell the circles under his eyes got bigger. He obviously wasn’t doing well. But then again, neither were you. You spent the last two nights sleepless and crying, anxious, wondering what the hell you should do.

Without a word, Mark held out his hand, palm up. It’s something he does when he wants you to hold his hand.

You hesitated, wondering what happens after this, but it didn’t take you much thought. You intertwined your fingers with his anyway. It felt so natural and familiar, and weirdly out of place in the situation. It hurt.

He squeezed your hand gently.

“You okay?” you asked, your voice barely a whisper. If it was any louder than that, you knew it would break.

He nodded weakly.

“You look tired,” you managed to say.

He looked at you for the first time that day, and it took all of your willpower to keep yourself from breaking down.

“Cause I am,” he replied.

“Can I help?”

He shook his head, looking down. He detached his fingers from yours to fix his cap, running his fingers through his hair. You were half expecting for him to hold your hand again, but you weren’t surprised when he didn’t.

“Y/N,” he said.

“Mark,” you replied.

He bit his lip, an anxious habit. “Aren’t you tired?”

“Not really? I had a nap before coming here so–”

“That’s not what I meant.”

You just stared at him.

“Aren’t you tired,” he said again, slower and softer this time, “of this...? Of... us?”

You looked away. You knew this was coming. You just didn’t think it would be this soon. You took a deep breath and tried your hardest not to cry.

“I am,” you said, your voice close to breaking. “But...”

You weren’t sure what to say. It’s true. You are tired. You’re tired of not being able to see him, of not getting a proper conversation out of the small time you have together, of things not being like they were before. You’re so damn tired of it all. But telling him that is like telling him to stop doing his job, to stop doing what he loves. That’s the last thing he needs.

“But?”

You sighed. “I don’t care.”

He shook his head again. “God, this is so hard,” you heard him mutter under his breath before turning to you. “How can you not care that you’re tired? Doesn’t this frustrate you?”

“I can’t just...” your voice broke. You let a deep breath and swallowed, trying to calm yourself. “What do you want me to say? I’m tired, Mark, and yes, it does frustrate me. A lot. But so what if I am? It doesn’t mean I want to give up on us.”

He buried his head in his hands.

You don’t know what you’re still holding on to. It’s like everything that used to be there is disappearing right before your eyes. You’re stalling, but you already know how this ends.

“Y/N,” he said, his eyes meeting yours. “Let’s face it. I’m already losing time for you, and it will only get worse. We never see each other anymore. I can’t even go out of this damn building to spend an hour with you. All we do is argue on the phone, and even when we see each other, we don’t talk properly. How can you still want to stay even after all this?”

You opened your mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Does love really need to have a reason? you thought.

“Look, we barely understand each other anymore. I can’t... I can’t do this.”

Your heart broke. There was no other way to explain it. That’s exactly how it felt. Like something inside your chest just died. It’s like he had stabbed you with a knife, and just when you thought the pain was at its maximum, he still had to twist the blade in your chest.

“I never imagined I would say this,” he said, “but I think we should break up.”

You just sat there, almost motionless if your lips weren’t quivering. If this was a few months ago, he would already have his arms wrapped around you, muttering that it’s going to be fine, that he has your back no matter what. Now, he’s just... there.

You forced yourself to speak. “Just like that?”

He didn’t reply.

You let out an empty laugh, a tear rolling down your cheek simultaneously. “You couldn’t even wait a day and just spend a little more time with me. That’s how much you want this done.”

“No, I—” he tried to speak, but you were already riding the high of your emotions, you just had to let it out.

“I got back from China two days ago,” you said. “I was supposed to surprise you, maybe ask you out for lunch. But when I got here, I overheard your conversation with the guys. I heard you say you were tired of us, but it wasn’t just that. The way you said it...” you let out a shaky breath, your tears now uncontrollable. “God, it hurt to hear. I knew what you were thinking even then, and there was no changing your mind. So I couldn’t bring myself to see you after that because I was so afraid of what you’d say. I had a feeling if we saw each other that day, it would just make things worse. So I spent the last two days thinking what to do, you know how stupid I am.”

“Y/N,” he said softly, but you weren’t done.

“I still hoped I could maybe change your mind. I hoped my gut was wrong, that there was still a chance this could work. But I guess my luck had already ran out. I knew from the moment you walked in and just sat there, not even giving me so much as a hug, that you won’t even try to make things work anymore. So I guess... this is really it.”

“I didn’t... you weren’t supposed to.. I...” He searched for words, but you couldn’t bear to stay and wait for him to change his mind when he clearly won’t.

So you stood up and took something out of your purse. It was an elephant keyring that you got from China, something you bought especially for him. You two have a thing of giving each other tiny souvenirs from the places you went without each other.

Mark stood up too. His eyes were welled with tears, making the situation harder than it already is.

“It’s a lucky charm, supposedly,” you said, handing him the keyring.

He wrapped his fingers around it. A single drop of tear streamed on his cheek. And then another.

“Stop crying. God, at least make it easier for me to leave. This is unfair,” you joked, wiping his tears.

Mark managed to let out a laugh. For some reason, it just broke your hear even more.

You forced a smile. This is the guy you’ve been in love with, longer and harder than you’ve ever been with anyone. You hate the you probably won’t hear his explosive laugh again or watch him get overexcited over the simplest things or hear him randomly sing Frank Ocean under his breath. You hate that you have to let it all go so soon when you never thought you’d ever have to.

“I love you, Mark Lee,” you said, taking a step back. You know he secretly loves it when you say his full name. “And I sincerely hope you’ll find peace again and be happy after this.”

Before you could break down again, you began walking away.

But you haven’t even taken three steps when you were pulled by the arm. You spun around slightly, ending up wrapped in his arms again, his hug tighter than any you’ve felt. He buried his head on your shoulders while you wrapped your arms around his waist like you’ve done so many times before.

He didn’t say a single word when you pulled away. Neither did you. There was nothing left to say.

You turned around and just like that, you were gone.

The ding of the elevator opening pulled you back to the present. But you were too far from the doors already. You wouldn’t make it in time.

Your cheeks were wet. You didn’t realize you’ve been crying.

You figured it’s pointless to tell yourself you’ve moved on when you know full well it would take so much more than just two months to get over something as special as your relationship with Mark. Still, you couldn’t help but beat yourself up over the fact that you’re staring at an empty lounge in an empty hallway, crying like a baby.

You quickly dabbed your eyes and cheeks to dry the tears before looking around to see if there was anyone who witnessed your slightly embarrassing moment, but the are was still empty.

You went back to the elevator before you could see another thing that would trigger your thoughts once more.

You thought you were already safe. Excluding the flashbacks, the day has gone smoothly so far. But with the luck you are born with, when something is bound to go wrong, it definitely will. It’s almost funny that it didn’t even take five minutes before something did.

“Y/N?!” a familiar voice called from behind you.

You turned around, facing a tanned, brunette boy whose eye glinted with surprise, and with an aura radiating mischief and cleverness.

“Hyuck?”

[alsparaarchive]

𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒚 𝑻𝒐 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝑶𝒇 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 / Alex & Sid

Date: February 1, 2021 Location: Alex’s Winter Garden home in Florida

Summary: A reconnection; Sid seeing Charlie for the first time ; “I want to make this work..” and “Stay with me... stay with us.”

Date Started: February 1, 2021 Date Completed: February 5, 2021

Sidney “When setting expectations, no matter what has been said or written, if substandard performance is accepted and no one is held accountable—if there are no consequences—that poor performance becomes the new standard.” With a nod to no one but himself, Sidney let the wheel of his rented SUV slip through his fingers, as he turned off the main highway and headed in the direction that Alex had just pinged him. Maybe she’d been joking. Maybe she really hadn’t expected him to board a flight from NY to Florida that night and show up at her door at some unholy hour for ‘coffee.’ The thought had crossed his mind. It was the reason why he’d slammed his phone into the car’s USB port (it took him awhile to find it) and threw on the audiobook he’d been listening to for the last couple of days about leadership… in life, in lov… was he still calling it that? He sighed and turned the wheel again. The traffic lights all going green as he neared them, because he really was the last one out on the road tonight. His phone pinged (again) and he told himself to ignore it. It wasn’t safe to reach for it now and truthfully, he was determined to just show up outside of Alex’s house and knock. If it turned out, she’d changed her mind or cancelled he wasn’t exactly sure if he’d have the heart for tomorrow’s flight back to NY and the game that was to follow it. So, instead of answering or looking to see who it was pinging him, he settled on the audiobook and listening to Jocko again, because maybe that was where he’d gone wrong the first time. He’d lacked accountability for the both of them. Which yeah was strange because when had he, Sidney Crosby ever lacked accountability for anything… oh, yeah right… when he got tripped up by brunette hair and the girl caught up underneath it. ‘You have reached your destination.’ Thankfully he made it through the gates relatively unscarred by the Security Chief on duty—turns out his name still held some sway down here, and he was able to use it to get clearance. Upon arriving at Alex’s place, Sidney turned off his rental and walked over to the big doors that seemed larger than life compared to his back home in Nova Scotia, his hand finding the doorbell and --- oh maybe this was where he should try texting and not wake her baby up. Pulling his phone up and not even looking to see if the texts he got might've been from her or not he texted, ‘I’m here.’ And waited. Hands nervously at his side, but maybe pockets would be a safer option…

Alex New York City, Sidney was in New York City for God's sake, he wasn't actually going to show up for /coffee/ was he? That seemed ridiculous but of course she left the option open in case he had actually been serious. It was early enough in the night when they had first texted but now it was late and Alex somehow managed to fall asleep on her sofa under her favorite knitted throw blanket that Trina had made for her a couple Christmases back. It was the loud ding of her phone that jerked the brunette awake, mostly cursing herself for forgetting to put it on vibrate after Charlie fell asleep. Blue eyes squinted at the bright lights of her phone, trying to read what the text said as her eyes adjusted to light again. That was until they went wide at the words she was reading. Here? Already? What time was it? Fuck... She didn't want to be rude and leave him waiting outside in the chilly February air but boy did she wish she could've ran to the bathroom first to fix up her hair and makeup, maybe even brush her teeth again. But it wasn't like Sid hadn't already seen her at her worst and still chose to wake up next to her and kiss her good morning anyway so she refrained and padded her way from the living room, across her 'grand entry way' which was actually far less grand than in the house she shared with Servando but that was neither here nor there. A hand quickly raked it's way through her hair smoothing out any frizz or knots that could've made their way into it while she slept on the couch and then she opened the door, her heart stopping in the process, especially once she saw Sidney on the other end. It took her a second before she could even say anything, her breath and words caught in the back of her throat until she rasped out a little "hi.. sorry, yeah, hi.. come in." Smoooth, Alex... real smooth.

Sidney The thirty-three-year-old penguin centre wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting; maybe a thumbs up, not that that was her usual emoji of choice but, seriously he needed to stop thinking about it… as he continued to stare down at his phone and ignore the feeling creeping in all around him that he’d screwed up here. Of course, it had been insane to just show up like this… no, seriously what had he been thinking? He forced his phone back into his pocket mad for letting some audiobook take advantage of him and mad at possibly jeopardising the team, because he wanted to fly to Florida for the night and see his ex-girlfriend again… Only, before he really had a chance to let it sink in any deeper… the door was open and there she was. The same as ever. Which was bad, because he really had wanted this to be easy… maybe a night where they could let the past go and talk about the future, a future where they could be friends. And maybe that was still the case, it was just, he kind of wanted to kiss her a little more. “Hi.” It was weird, because it wasn’t. A smile shaping across his face as he took a step—oh wait. “Hold up.” He ran back over to the car and grabbed out the small penguin plushie he’d picked up at some store in the airport. He’d initially wanted to get Charlie a proper Pittsburgh Penguin one, but the fan store had been closed and he wasn’t about to show up at Alex’s without a gift for her new baby. His mom had raised him with manners after all. Half-jogging, half-walking back over to her, Sidney held up the gift he’d bought, “had to get her something from her favorite hockey player, right?” It was then, as he stepped in around her that he realised that she must have fallen asleep waiting for him, her hair falling at every angle that wasn’t where it usually would. Hand reaching up, Sidney brushed a few strands behind her ear, “did you fall asleep on me?” his voice teased her, as his smile continued to grow a little larger with every breath slipping out between them… he’d missed this. He’d missed her.

Alex The puzzled look on her face soon subsided when she saw her ex holding the penguin stuffed animal which brought an immediate smile to her face. The gesture was the sweetest thing. "You didn't have to do that but I'm sure she'll love it, thank you." She took the plushie from him and looked down at it, still smiling, as he stepped inside. She closed and locked the door behind them and set the penguin down on the table she had next to the stairs so she would remember to bring it up to her daughter's room. Turning back she wasn't expecting him to be standing that close to her at all, her breath hitching when she felt his fingers brush ever so softly against her face and then behind her ear. Alex looked up at him and gave a sheepish smile at his question. "Guilty," it came out in almost a whisper. The striker had no idea what to do with herself in that moment but was quick to clear her throat and pull away to lead him into the kitchen. "Did you really want coffee at this hour?"

Sidney He brushed her words to the side, because of course he did… his mom would’ve had his earlobe in between her two fingers and pinching hard, if she found out he’d just shown up outside of Alex’s house and hadn’t brought something for her new baby— actually maybe he shouldn’t mention this to his mom... “And here I thought you’d have been waiting up for me…” they were playing a dangerous game… or he was and he knew it, but still he couldn’t stop himself. And it wasn’t like he wasn’t fully aware she now had a tiny baby only a few feet away— he’d brought the penguin, he knew— it was just hard to care in that moment when the last he’d seen her they’d been quick to push niceties aside and make up for lost time… “probably not a good idea… how about a water?” He followed her into her new kitchen taking it all in. She’d done a good job here. Though he was sure Pam had had her way more than once or twice… “so, you’re back…” Words he’d always wanted to say. “Have you ticked everything off you wanted to do since you landed…” he was fully aware she’d been back for awhile now, but she hadn’t been back in his life… and that was where he needed the blanks filled in by her.

Alex "Things are different now; remember how I used to take hours to fall asleep? Now I sit down in front of the tv for ten minutes and I'm out like a light. I guess doing the whole mom thing will do that to you." Her words rang out through the hall as she walked him into the kitchen, nodding in agreement with the suggestion of water. She grabbed one for each of them out of the fridge and walked back over to Sidney handing him the bottle. Alex leaned back against the breakfast nook counter and had to stop her arm after it had managed to get midway from her side to his shirt, the way she'd always pull him in closer. Not this time. To be safe she set her own bottle of water down and then crossed her arms over her chest and nodded along with his words. "I'm back," the brunette echoed. "I'm not sure I had much of a list but if I did then no maybe not now that I think about it." Not that she was going to divulge what those things were that she had yet to tick off. "What about you? What have you been up to?"

Sidney He did remember that. Of course, there were nights where that hadn’t been a problem… but he wasn’t going to bring that up right now. The bottle remained unopened in his hand as he nodded and without even realising he’d been doing it notice the space that was so clearly left between them both tonight. Even when they’d first met there hadn’t been this much space between them, but then again neither of them had known the full consequence of what would happen when it did manage to disappear. Wow, had it really been nearly six years since he’d first met Alex, at that bar back in Vancouver… taking a sip he distracted himself from yet another long-lived relationship he’d apparently failed to succeed at. Though, really what was success in the terms of a relationship? With Kathy he thought it would be kids…. With Alex… he kind of hoped it would be everything… he swallowed the water down hard and had to bring the back of his hand up to his mouth to wipe the access away, “uh… you know, just hockey… you weren’t…” he swallowed again, but this time there was no water to soothe the motion… “like alone during… like…” he wasn’t even sure what he was asking… he knew her mom and sister was bound to be there, but still… maybe it was the traditionalist inside of him that wanted to make sure that she hadn’t been completely abandoned either… “do you still keep in contact with Charlie’s dad?”

Alex It was a completely reasonable question, one that should’ve been expected, and yet she hadn’t prepared for it at all. What was she going to say? Not once had she ever hoped Charlie would wake up and start crying for her but there she was practically boring holes into the baby monitor sitting on the other end of the counter as if she could will just that to happen — but nothing, not a peep from the eight month old and she had to hold in her sigh. Looked like there wouldn’t be an easy way out. “Sid, I—“ she stammered, tears stinging her eyes but she refused to let them do anything more than that. “My family was there, I wasn’t alone.” She didn’t even want to get into the trouble she had while giving birth, it hadn’t gone nearly as smoothly as expected but Alex was nothing if not a fighter and everything turned out okay so there was no need to rehash that and worry him for nothing. She tried to find the words to either lie or be completely honest with him about the father but she couldn’t make either happen, all Alex could do was shrug and bite her bottom lip looking anywhere but at his face in that moment.

Sidney From the first moment he’d seen her reaction to his question, he’d found himself regretting it. There had a been a few times in his life that he’d seen Alex cry; like that stupid time he’d taken her out to a batting cage in Pittsburgh, and some idiot in the cage across them had clipped a ball into her head just as she’d been taking off her helmet to kiss him…, but that had been fixed with a trip to ER (she had’t wanted to go but he’d persisted) and a night of ‘anything you want… /anything,’ which she’d definitely taken full advantage of. And that was just it though… in the past he’d been able to fix it… now as much as he wanted to do something to put her at ease, he didn’t think it would be appreciated. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. I’m sorry.” He was, as he put the water back down on the counter and stepped in closer, because fuck it… arms wrapping around her pulling her in against his chest and holding her there— well, at least as long as she’d allow him to, “you know, you could’ve called me… I’d have… been there.” He hadn’t been sure. At least when he’d first seen the photos of her pregnant belly beginning to swell, but slowly as she grew closer to the date he had thought about ringing her or letting her know that if she needed anything… he’d be there.

Alex Her mind seemed to be spinning in all different directions as he pulled her in to his chest but of everything her mind was screaming nothing shouted at her to pull away and so she let herself melt into him, grabbing hold of the back of his shirt like that was somehow going to steady herself and anchor her thoughts back down. She might've wanted to sob but she didn't, she didn't even cry, just took a few deep breaths trying to ignore that each one meant breathing in his scent. To this day nothing had ever intoxicated her more which was saying a lot for anyone who had seen all the evidence of her being drunk for a good few days straight after the World Cup. She wanted to shake him, beg him to do the math and ask her if there was a chance he could be the father but instead she pressed her forehead into his chest, sighing. She almost said something but she stopped herself just before she did knowing it was better to wait until she knew for sure. "Don't," she pleaded in a whisper. Don't make her admit that she wanted nothing more than for him to be there holding her hand through the whole experience, that through every second of the complicated birth all she wanted was to hear his voice telling her she would be okay, that she could get through it and everything was going to be fine. That she and her baby would be happy and healthy once it was all over. Sure she'd heard it all from her mom but if she was honest, it just wasn't what she wanted, wasn't what she needed. Now knowing he would've been there, even thinking there was no way the baby was his, it nearly broke her. The striker picked up her head and looked into his eyes, her hand sliding up from his chest to his face and she rested it there against the little bit of scruff. She knew she was walking that very thin line but in the moment of vulnerability she didn't care.

Sidney The first time Alex had kissed him, Sidney had been completely unprepared. A piece of chewing gum lodged somewhere in the back of his mouth, needing to be swallowed up quickly in order to make sure he didn’t completely blow it and lose any chance he had at getting another one out of her later that night… who kisses at the start of the date anyway? Alex Morgan that’s who. Just not tonight. He watched as her eyes remained on his own. His hand now moving from its original position too. Only where her hand had found the side of his face, his hand had found the hot skin stretched across her hip… “Alex…” this was where he should warn her. That if she kept her hand there and her gaze locked on his own he was going to have to do something about it. But, just as she’d once done with him, Sidney decided to forgo the warning he’d had planned for her and do something completely and utterly insane, which was… kiss her. Where the four extra inches they only a moment ago had between each other disappeared entirely. Time was a funny thing and time without Alex had only made whatever 'need' he'd once had to get closer to her, much more urgent..  his hand gripping her hip just a little harder than it had before and his mouth eagerly trying to get her own to open up to it… she wanted this, right? He snapped back. Maybe he’d overstepped. Again. Maybe this time this was a line she’d had no intention of crossing… “sorry… I… sorry…” he needed to shut up. Wait to hear what she wanted, but his hands were already fidgeting… eager to find their way back to her. Though which part of him wasn’t right now? That was the real question.

Alex The way he was looking at her, the way he said her name, she had to know it was coming and yet for some reason the kiss felt like a total surprise. Shocked, it took her body a few extra seconds to react but before she could even kiss him back he was jerking away and apologizing. She wondered if she should just tell him it’s okay, not to worry about it, and quickly suggest they do something else to busy them but doing that, she realized, would betray every bone in her body, every organ and square inch of flesh. The first time she kissed Sidney was because for years it felt like she might burst into flames if she didn’t get to at least once and while she tried to make it to the end of their date, she really did, just knowing there was nothing stopping her anymore, she couldn’t take it. She had to have him. Much like right now. This time it might’ve only been about a year and a half but even one second without him felt like an eternity. Her heart still beat to the spelling of his name, every part of her knew who it belonged to and they’d all have the same answer — Sidney Crosby. She remembered right before she could respond that he made some kind of promise to behave himself in her kitchen tonight and while that might’ve already been somewhat blown she wanted to make sure he kept that promise while also somewhat throwing him off. The striker shook her head and took hold of his wrist. She lead them into her living room and pushed him back just enough to make the back of his legs feel the arm rest of the sofa right there behind him and then urged him to sit on it. “You said you promised to behave yourself in the kitchen...” she made it sound like she was looking for another apology but before he could the footballer had moved herself in closer, straddling his lap. She let her hands toy with his shirt a bit and just as her cold hands met the warm flesh against his abs she shocked him with something else, her mouth crashing back into his. “Maybe I don’t want you to,” her other arm hooked around his neck as she desperately pushed their bodies against one another’s, kissing him like she was so sure she’d never be able to again.

Sidney He’d never minded the quiet. Actually, Sidney was known for seeking it out… isolation, peace, serenity, yeah all of that… he’d take it over some stuffy room with music loud enough to pump your own blood for you anytime the choice presented itself. Only just not tonight. Not when the quiet meant he didn’t know what she was thinking. Usually he was good at that, working out what she wanted before she actually did�� like, if she’d been running late for practice and he’d manage to pick up that cleat that had been wedged somewhere beneath the coffee table… raising it above his head for her to take without taking his eyes off ESPN. But tonight he wasn’t sure what she wanted. Maybe what was going on right now, was that she was taking her time to try and work out how to tell him to leave, because what he’d just done wasn’t a good idea with her new baby just one story above them… or maybe, hopefully she was trying to tell him she wanted him to do it again, and again till both of them loss feeling in their lips. The thirty-three-year-old Canadian had never felt so lost. Which was saying something because he’d once been in a car with Geno listening to some sort of Russian Rap thing of his and he’d been pretty damn lost back then too. He watched her shake her head and fought off the urge to sink into the floor that had suddenly turned into quicksand below his feet… right… a thought he barely managed to process before her fingers had wrapped around his wrist and tugged him forward. He moved as his thoughts began to jump off every surface inside his head like some make-shift game of Pong… ‘cause what was she… OH he let her guide him down onto the sofa like some sort of child (which was probably what he looked like right now… eyes big… mouth opened wide to question just about everything that was happening). Not that anything managed to pass through. Speaking had become a hard thing to muster when you had Alex Morgan, straddling your lap and her hands somewhere beneath the many layers you really shouldn’t have worn in the first place… so, it made sense that after her next set of words Sidney had stayed silent… his mouth instead finding another use— which was to push his tongue into her mouth instead. Lips moved quickly, as his own hands found their place… a hand on her thigh tapping slowly and the other slowly creeping up the back of her own shirt… It was probably no surprise to her that something had started to stir awake underneath her, because when had the brunette ever crawled on top of him and not felt that… he just wished sometimes he wasn’t so damn predictable with her… maybe he should take her back to the kitchen… but that would involving moving and losing that pressure she had against his lap right now… and he didn’t want that. So, predictable it was, as he took his hand back out of her shirt and tugged it up and over her head… his mouth moving away from her lips to cover up new skin (because this was definitely new) that he’d just now released.

Alex She had to stop being so easy, so predictable, but who could help themselves when it was Sidney Crosby's lips pressed against their own? She was willing to bet she was just the first in an impossibly long line of women /and men/ who would kill to be in her exact spot right now and what made her so special if she was just another one throwing herself at him? What ever made her so special to begin with? That she would probably never understand. The striker was starting to realize there would probably never be a time they didn't greet each other with such a hello and in a moment of so many questions she had no idea how to feel about that. Every time she had him inside of her she swore he took another piece of her away with him when it was all said and done which had been fine when they were knee deep in falling madly in love but like this? A future so uncertain? Could she handle losing another piece if he decided to up and walk away in the morning, chalking this up to them being /them/ but ultimately thinking it was a bad idea? Could she handle it if maybe she got lucky and he did want to work things out but threw that all away in a fit of rage after learning there was a good chance Charlie was his? She couldn't do this and let go again, she knew she couldn't but there she was letting herself get lost in his touch anyway. Alex had to fight back a moan at the familiar sensation of his hands on her skin. He'd have to work harder than that to hear those again, she was determined but it became increasingly harder when she felt him underneath her, the pressure and friction in a spot she wished made her less weak. Her head fell back, long brunette locks like a waterfall cascading down over her back and his arm. She closed her eyes and bit down on her bottom lip hard enough to stifle any kind of noise that threatened to erupt from her throat but her breaths getting heavier as his kisses crossed her chest, the rise and fall of her diaphragm, was probably a dead giveaway. Her hands found the back of his head as she let him rediscover her but there was only so much she could take before she was tugging back on what little hair he had making him look back up at her. Her eyes searched his as she leaned forward again, hair falling down to frame both their faces now and her lips crashed back into his but what was fast and hungry just moments ago she turned into slow, deep, passionate, only breaking their contact to remove both layers of his shirts. The soccer star pushed Sidney back on the couch and let them both reposition comfortably but she didn't dare move from being on top of him. She took both his strong, muscular arms and raised them above his head, wanting to pin him down but she did so in a way that had her hands sliding into his, their fingers interlocking and she squeezed tightly before lips found his earlobe, teeth grazing it gently and she let him feel her breath. She wanted to whisper how much she missed him, wanted him, needed him, but all that came out was a stammer of breath as she just barely grinded her hips down against him. Alex picked her head up again and looked into his eyes like she was letting everything she wanted to say pour out from her own. "Sid.." she breathed out as her forehead fell down pressing against his.

Sidney Sidney knew that at any moment, Alex could change her mind and this feeling he hadn’t felt since that party of her’s, where she’d ended up with a whole packet of confetti all stuck in between her hair, the same very party he’d also attempted for a moment to free her of said confetti; first with his fingers than his body, as he picked her up and pushed his hips into her own…  could be gone in an instant. And yet, he wasn’t going to let that fear stop him either… His hands coming up to the sides of her cheeks, pushing brown hair back away, so when she pushed her lips back to his own again the only thing between them was stale air… And there it was a sense of home that not even his house back home in Nova Scotia, had. He lifted his arms up next… letting her free him of the two layers he’d naively thought he was going to need tonight… before his arms wrapped back around her, as she pushed him back and he manoeuvred them both till it was only his shoes still hanging off it. Mouth still on her own, Sidney used his right foot to free his left, before doing the same to the other… the sounds of his shoes hitting the carpet beneath them both lost somewhere between him no longer carrying and the softness of it all. He’d have smiled if he’d been less worried— still half certain that any minute, Alex’s other half was going to step back through the doors and tell him he didn’t belong there anymore… a thought that grabbed ahold of his chest, squeezing back hard… because he wasn’t sure he’d be okay with that tonight. Might even put up a fight that for once didn’t involve two sets of hockey gloves coming off. Eventually he found himself being brought back to reality, when her hands found his own and raised them up over the top of his head, her fingers sliding in between his own next to keep them there… not that he’d have fought her… Alex having complete and utter control over his body wasn’t just something he was used to, but something that his body had been craving for just over a year now… The evidence that had been not-so-slowly building up inside his boxer briefs and the jeans that encased them probably all the proof he needed to give her right now that he wasn’t going anywhere tonight if she didn’t want him to. With her forehead pressed to his own, his name still fresh in the air (was it possible to only ever have her say his name from now on?), he pushed his hips up against her… hoping that she got her answer, but just in case… “give me back my hand… I want to touch you…” Bold? Maybe. He didn’t care as he pulled against her, before sliding his hand down between her legs and adding a different kind of pressure than earlier… his fingers fiddling around with the fabric as he knotted it up and managed to get his hand underneath just her panties… the breaths coming out of his mouth as he continued to move them against her, quicker than his from earlier.

Alex She didn’t let go of his hand but she didn’t fight him when he started to fight against the weight she was using on her wrists to keep him restrained and before she could do or say much of anything his hand was pushing it’s way past any and all fabric covering the one place she was starting to need him the most. If she couldn’t feel how hard he was underneath her she might be embarrassed with how wet she already was for him but it seemed that was completely mutual. Her breaths picked back up and she used her free hand to dig into his flesh at the side of his hip as she struggled to hold herself up enough for him to keep doing what he was to her. She had been so adamant about making him work for her moans but after a few shallow breaths one slipped out right as her lips found his again. If there was one thing Alex was sure of anymore it was that Sidney was her kryptonite and more than likely always would be. She couldn’t help but start moving her hips against his hand slightly as he pleasured her better than anyone else ever knew how. It didn’t surprise her that it took him no time at all to find that spot that drove her crazy because she had his entire body memorized as well. “Sidney...” his name again but this time it was a lot more desperate, begging for more of him. Both hands met at his jeans and started to undo them maybe a little too eagerly but the faster she had them off the quicker his hand could be replaced with what she needed most of all. “Please.” Her body trembled not only with the anticipation but with every other earlier thought swirling around in her mind as well. But she wanted... no, she NEEDED him especially after what he was just doing to her.

Sidney Fingers pulled against not exactly wet but not exactly dry either fabric as he continued to do his best to bring her close to the edge… It wasn’t that he’d planned to finish her off this way when he’d first put his hand down between her legs and took up his hold of her, but now that he’d had a moment to think about it, the thought had crossed his mind that maybe this should be enough for them both tonight. It wouldn’t be but he was trying really hard to stay open to the possibility of it, just in case she told him to stop because she still had some sort of healing to do. What was the timeframe on that anyway? If his head had been clearer he’d have tried to do that math, but with her mouth on his own again… he hadn’t got very far with the whole thing. Already forgetting about his plan to keep his pants on when she started to tug at his waist line… ‘cause okay if she wanted them off he wasn’t about to say no. Moving his hand from underneath her; already missing the warmth he’d left behind, he brought it up around her waist and rolled her underneath him… his nose brushing against her forehead as he balanced and watched her make quick work of the pants she’d just been asking him to get rid of. With a few awkward shuffles… Sidney had managed to pull them down to his ankles, his feet now taking over to finish the job as he brought his hand across her face, “you want this, right?” It was a stupid thing to ask, but he had to make sure… even if he wasn’t some sixteen-year-old kid and she wasn’t some girl he’d randomly picked up at a friend’s party. Sure there was a history there, but that was exactly why he needed to ask. Had to make sure that by sleeping with her tonight she wasn’t going to completely end up hating him by end of it. ‘Cause he wasn’t sure he’d be able to live with that.

Alex She could always tell when there was a shift in him and watching Sid carefully she waited to see if he would speak what was on his mind. She wondered if any of it came close to being the same as what had been swirling around in her head since this all started and by the time the question rolled off his tongue she realized he was just as unsure as she was about where they stood with each other. She couldn't help but let a soft smile take over her features, thinking it was sweet to ask. Just like before, her hand found the side of his face, being as tender as she could with him even in the midst of passion and while looking into his eyes so he knew she was sure, Alex nodded. "I want you," she whispered leaning up to kiss him to stop herself from saying anything more while her mind ran rampant with "I always want you. I need you. I love you." /That/ would've all been way too much. "But only if this is what you want, if you're sure. I'm perfectly okay if you just want to just lay here and hold me." And she was... she just wanted to be close to him in any way he'd allow. It still blew her mind that he flew all the way here, probably not expecting this in the slightest because she knew when he said coffee it probably meant some very awkward conversation that wouldn't end the way she wanted it to at all so this was so much better than what she had been expecting. Soft petal lips made their way back to his after her tongue ran over them and now her kisses turned sweet, tender, loving. He'd gotten every kind out of her in such a short amount of time. "Just be here with me," she breathed out against his lips and pulled him down, kissing him more. Whatever he chose to do from here at least he knew she'd want and be more than okay with it. She really never could say no to him.

Sidney It was funny but, Sidney was fairly certain, not even an earthquake could’ve shaken his soul as much as that whisper of her’s had just done... Soul? She’d been the one to make him put a name to it… a name that made sense amongst her family’s household, which was where he was at when he’d first felt like he was losing it… losing her… Only this time she wasn’t a week out from flying to Lyon, but underneath him.. telling him all she wanted right now was him. This wasn’t a tug… or sudden evaporation of air… this was a squeeze and one that had his body eager to kiss her back and tell her just how much he wanted her back. Only she’d pulled back away again and was making excuses for him to stop… he didn’t want to…, but he let her finish… falling in closer and sliding up around and behind her as she asked him to just be there with her, “I’m always going to be here with you, Alex…” it might not have seemed it, but really when had he really left her? Not really. Not in any permanent sense. Shifting back around, Sidney slowly started to build up the momentum again, as his hand slipped down and freed her legs from that last bit of fabric separating her from him… waiting for her to do the same with his own…, and then after another shuffle or two he was finally free from whatever kind of elastic that had the nerve to be marketed as ‘comfortable’ — just not when you had Alex Morgan, underneath you, telling you she wanted you… He felt her hot centre and wet folds come into contact with his own skin… and took a moment to slide himself a couple of times through— His eyes slipping shut as his mouth pushed up against her own. It all felt insanely good. Not just, because he hadn’t been in this position since the last time he’d had sex with her, but because maybe unlike last time this didn’t have to end again. After pulling his lips back, Sidney stole a look down at his hardened length; its tip lying on top of her… just a few inches from where he really wanted it to be… Hand moving down, he managed to line himself up near her entrance… eyes reconnecting with her own as he finally broke through… a groan slipping out into the space between them the moment he had, “Alex..." not a question... statement... letting her know... she was who he wanted. She was who he couldn't seem to stop himself from coming back to.

Alex It wasn't easy to take Alex's breath away but the way he just told her he'd always be there with her did just that. She wasn't sure if her heart stopped or sped up (was it possible to do both at the same time?) after hearing it. She fought desperately not to let all her emotions come flooding to the surface. Not now. Not yet. She needed him first, the rest could all come later. Thankfully it didn't seem she'd have to wait long now that they were both free from what was left of their clothing. The feeling of him sliding against her awoken something inside her that she swore she'd probably never feel again after the last time they'd been in a similar position. Everything felt like so much, the slowness making her feel every tiny sensation surging through her body and she wasn't sure how much more she could take. She was almost about to beg again when instead it was her name filling up the space between them, his body finally becoming one with her own again. Like it was a reflex her legs wrapped up around him and she pulled him in closer, needing to kiss him even more than she had that first date or any other time she felt like his lips were the only thing that could bring her any oxygen. Her lips worked tirelessly against his own until another moan and then a break of the kiss to moan out his name, her light blue eyes going a much darker shade with desire as they flickered up to look into his. Although she was positive he already knew, why else would they keep coming back to each other? Alex was so determined to show him just how /his/ she truly was. With heavy breaths she used her own hips to urge him to begin thrusting himself. Her eyes closed tightly as another moan slipped out, her head falling back. It was her first time having sex since she had Charlie and she always wondered if things would feel the same afterward. Eight, nearly nine months was more than plenty of time to heal and as she felt him get deeper inside of her she was beginning to realize it somehow felt even better.

Sidney If he’d been prompted for one… hungry is the word he’d have used to describe the way his lips had pushed back, after her own hips had started to move underneath him for the first time since he’d slipped inside. Yet, despite that… he had started off slow… and deliberate… which allowed his mouth to slip away from her lips and instead focus on the sensitive skin beside her neck and collarbone. Skin where it was all too easy to get carried away and leave marks that she’d have to complain about again tomorrow, when the light of day caught sight of them… he’d apologise later… right now he was busy. Hand shifting down her arm as he shifted slowly inside her… still the same…. which had him groaning into her neck and tightening his hold against her wrist… Now, more than ever, Sidney was reminded of the time between this and there last time… which along with her hips… had him moving faster. It was becoming increasingly harder to focus… his lips returning back up towards her face, where they were forced to clumsily meet with her own, as the groans started to slip out more freely between the air there in front of them… Was he making too much noise? Not that he could’ve done a thing about it if he had been. At least not when Alex felt as good as she always had and he was just beginning to realise why this had always been so easy with her… she knew him… every single part of him… “do you need me—“ he broke apart, asking her the question he wasn’t sure he really wanted to know the answer to, because if she said yes… he was going to have to really pay attention and right now he wasn’t sure he’d be able to…

Alex He wasn't playing fair going for her neck like that but if she was honest she hadn't expected anything less. He always knew and typically utilized every way he knew how to bring her to the precipice embarrassingly fast but tonight she had the excuse of being worked up by his fingers first as well, not that it probably would've made much of a difference. Her first always came pretty quickly with him, it was her second that she could withstand typically for as long as he needed her to. Her breaths grew more shallow and frequent as she felt herself clench around him, so close to the release and contraction of muscles. She wanted to scream out for him but this wasn't like any other time she didn't care much about who heard the loud cry of his name. She didn't dare wake Charlie this way even if she was too young to understand it. The footballer leaned forward and bit into Sidney's shoulder stifling a symphony of moans as she came for him. Once the orgasm was fully ridden out she released the patch of skin that her teeth had definitely just branded and laid back panting but still begged him not to stop knowing he still had yet to reach his own climax. She had made a habit of knowing how to make sure her second time aligned perfectly with his first so they could come together. Something she never cared about doing with anyone until him, wanting the experience to feel even more intimate between the two of them. "Shhh," she shook her head. "You're okay, baby. Don't stop." Her lips found his again and she continued to moan into the hollows of his mouth reveling in the feeling of having him inside her, hitting all the right places. Her fingernails dug gently into his back but raked down with just enough force to leave marks that would more than likely last the night but disappear by morning. Most of them anyway. "Sidney," she moaned out quietly knowing from more than enough experience by now that hearing her say his name always helped bring him closer.

Sidney When sharp teeth met his shoulder and bit down… Sidney almost saw stars… not because it hurt, but because at the same time, he felt her walls wrapped around him start to constrict and — it had just been so long since he’d felt that. It kind of felt good, to know he still had it in him to get her to that point again. Not that he was doubting his skills…, more so the emotion behind each and every one of them… they’d spent so much time making love to one another that now that they were here tonight and those words hadn’t been uttered between them, well it was different. He did love her still though. That hadn’t stopped. Even after their break-up… it was just… he knew right now wasn’t the most appropriate time to bring that up, because maybe they’d been some pause for her… maybe there /should’ve/ been some for him too. Opening his eyes back up to see her breathing quickly beneath him… it was definitely one of his favorite looks from her; not one he wanted to see her take out on the red carpet, but one that urged him to keep going in before her words ran through… his thrusts now getting harder and deeper and if he’d been back in that bed he’d grown up in, surely his efforts would’ve caused a few of his ‘signed’ hockey gloves to fall off the shelf from above and land on top of them.. and he knew it was impossible, but he didn’t want to stop. He wanted to keep going…. Keep feeling this good forever. Only just as that thought had settled in… he felt that pull… his stomach twisting downwards as he reached that point of no return. He wasn’t even in Dallas and yet that’s what he saw… stars… as her own name slipped out of his mouth in half syllables and he felt himself empty out inside her. His breaths coming quick as he struggled to keep himself from collapsing down on top of her— and saying something he really shouldn’t be admitting to in a moment like this. Not when he was sure she’d cast it off as some kind of heat of the moment thing anyway. Instead he let his hand slip back up to the side of her face, where his eyes studied… her own, her lips, her… before leaning back down and kissing her again. Softer this time… the energy inside him on some sort of mini-vacation for the time being. Shifting back outside of her… once the energy had returned, Sidney knew he probably should’ve made an attempt to wash up, but all he wanted to do was lie next to her… kiss her… and make up for the last year and a half… “can I bring you back to New York with me?”

Alex The harder and deeper his thrusts got the more difficult it became to keep her moans to a volume that was quiet enough not to be heard by the sleeping baby upstairs. She watched him somewhat unable to believe that it was Sidney on top of her and this wasn't just some stranger she was having to envision his face onto. Not that she'd ever done that more than the one time. One hand stayed gripped tightly to his hip while the other went up and touched his chest and his face. Her thumb ran across his bottom lip just as he gave her that look she knew so well and with it she allowed herself to become just as close. She felt the warmth inside her and her name, that was enough to send her over the edge a second time. Her second orgasm was always more intense and this was no exception, holding her breath as her mouth fell open, her head back, and she bit down desperately on her bottom lip to keep the scream to nothing more than an exhale of breath. He left her panting once again, her legs trembling underneath him. She knew she couldn't get up for a while even if she wanted to, there's no way they would work but it was a good thing she had no intention on going anywhere and seeing he didn't either caused her to smile. It all turned soft again, the looks, the kisses, and the touching. She laid there running her fingertips up and down his arm, kissing him between moments of getting lost in his eyes. She thought it too, so many times, she was so madly in love with this man, always had been, probably always would be... but now wasn't the time to voice that as much as she may have wanted to. "I wish," she gave him a look that told him she regretted the no more than anything. "Tomorrow is the first day of pre-season, I have practice." She leaned up and kissed him again. "But I want to see you again soon." Of course they'd reconnect during his busiest time and right as hers was starting to pick back up. It reminded her of why they ever said goodbye in the first place and her heart felt like it sunk into her stomach. Her cheeks heated up as she fought back tears, swallowing a growing lump in her throat. This was all it was going to be, wasn't it? Until maybe the next time it would happen all over again but the in between... it just wouldn't be there, would it? She turned away from him and quickly brushed away a tear hoping desperately that he wouldn't notice. She didn't want to be that cliche emotional girl to cry after sex, she barely ever cried as it was so any tears meant there had to be a lot going on inside of her.

Sidney He felt a little stupid now that he’d let her reply sink in. “No, of course…” he offered up a smile, well at least half of one before her lips found his own and he kissed her back. What he’d done tonight; the insanity of it, he knew he couldn’t keep doing and yet, when she’d said she wanted to see him again soon… he wanted to do it again… tomorrow. He’d never really been a fan of flying, but it was part of the job so he’d grown accustom it it. Just, it would’ve been nicer to skip the whole thing and just have her there in New York, but that would’ve meant something else and he wasn’t sure if she wanted that right now. It was just— soon, maybe that had been her just being polite. Letting him down easy that she was glad for whatever this was, but longterm…, that just wasn’t in their cards anymore. She had a baby now… and Sid, knew that Charlie was always going to come first. Not that he’d have it any other way…, but still that meant Alex wasn’t just thinking about them, but where Charlie was going to fit into that picture too. Outside of the few times they’d joked about it, the topic of ‘children’ had never really been breached between them.., so this.. this was something new. And something that Sid didn’t have an answer for. Caught up in his own thoughts he hadn’t even noticed the shift in mood (at least outside of his own) until he felt her twist and turn her head away from him…. was she crying? With his hand sweeping against her cheek, Sid applied just enough pressure to twist her head back around to face his own, his thumb brushing any hot water away that had started to fall… He wasn’t exactly sure what had done it. He’d felt his stomach dip when she’d said soon; where in his mind all she’d really said was, no point making plans when we’re not even sure what we’re doing anymore. But, what had caused this reaction from her? Time? Or maybe just the fact that he’d shown up tonight and they’d once again found themselves with no clothes on just like last time? And look how good that had turned out. He wasn’t sure. All he knew was whatever it was… he wanted her to feel better, “hey… it’s okay…” he brought his lips to hers. Quick and soft… “you’re okay…” at least that’s what he was hoping. He wasn’t and the last thing he wanted was that for her too. If she wanted him to go he would— if this was too much for her right now and she wanted him to leave… he’d go. “Do you want me to leave?” That’s what it was right? He’d just shown up and expected everything to just go ahead and be like it used to be… before Lyon… and it wasn’t. Not anymore. He'd got ahead of himself... again.

Alex Of course he would be sweet about her tears, he always knew how to be soft and tender in moments she needed it most but that didn't stop her from feeling completely pathetic for letting the few tears fall. She wanted to grab on to him, say no until her breath ran out, and beg him to never leave again but she kept herself composed and took a deep breath before answering. "No -- no, I'm sorry. I guess I just never expected this and it's all just ... a lot." The striker lifted herself and sat up after finally feeling like her legs could move again. Her hand fell to the back of her neck as she sat forward, trying to collect herself and her thoughts not wanting to say or do the wrong thing to give him the wrong impression and send him running. "I--" just as she started to speak again she heard the baby monitor go off, Charlie starting to cry. "Shit." Alex shook her head, giving him an apologetic look. "Sid, I'm sorry.. I have to go check on her." Worst possible timing, kid. She just sighs and quickly slips back into her lounge pants and t-shirt running up the stairs to tend to her daughter. She completely forgot the monitor was still on and even though she was whispering, he could still hear everything she was saying as she talked to Charlie in her soft, soothing mom voice that turned into more of a baby voice when she picked up a toy and made it dance in front of her face, trying to get her to laugh instead of cry. She picked her up and brought her over to the changing table where she quickly and expertly changed the infant's diaper, something she didn't think she'd ever be able to master but had finally gotten it down to a perfect science after one too many incidents. It was hard doing it all on her own but luckily she always had her sisters, family, or fellow mom teammates around if she needed help with anything. She didn't ever want to admit to needing the help but there were probably a dozen times by now she had to push her pride aside and call them up for assistance. Charlie was a relatively a chill and easy going baby but of course there were still those moments Alex might've thought she couldn't do it and was failing miserably at being a mother even if everyone always told her otherwise. Once the baby was satisfied with her fresh diaper and pacifier back in her mouth Alex took a sigh of relief and cradled her daughter in her arms, bouncing and swaying her back and forth hoping she would be quick to fall back asleep. She felt terrible for leaving Sidney right in the middle of such a serious conversation like that.

Sidney A lot. He could feel his mouth go dry. This wasn’t good. He watched next as she manoeuvred her body away from his own. With her legs now swung over the couch it was easy to see what she was trying to do. She was trying not to look at him. This was it right? This was the prelude to that conversation that somehow weaved its way into his dreams. Things would start off good— really good and then, this. She’d start with something like, ‘this was nice…’ and then would come the but, ‘it probably shouldn’t happen again.’ Something inside Sid’s chest tightened, as he sat up behind her and waited…. Only just as she’d started to say something— most likely something that involved him putting his clothes back on and leaving, Charlie’s cries broke free and put her to a stop. He nodded… ‘cause he understood, watching as she pulled on a few of the clothes he’d just taken off her and hurrying off to go and calm down her baby. Hands finding his lap, Sid did his best to stay where she left him, but something cracked through the monitor that had been left abandoned in front of him and curiosity got the better of him, so he leaned forward and picked it up. It was the first time he’d heard Alex with Charlie… first time he’d heard Alex with any kind of baby really…, sure they’d seen Geno’s baby when he’d been born, but even back then neither of them had been too involved. This was new. He listened as she quietly tried to calm Charlie down, before giving up and playing some sort of game with her… at least that’s what he assumed she was doing when her voice shifted upwards… She was a good mom. That was the first thought that entered his mind. The second was he hoped she knew that. The third…, he didn’t think it was possible love Alex anymore than he already did, but turns out… he could. ‘Cause there was more to Alex now than just Alex his kind-of-girlfriend. There was Alex the mom and she was something pretty amazing too. Moving to put the monitor back down, Sid rose up to his feet, before leaning back down and pulling on the boxers and white t-shirt he’d had on from earlier… he just had to see. Walking up the stairs leading up to the upper portion of the house, Sid wondered if this was a bad idea… that maybe, Alex didn’t want him intruding on her and her daughter and their little moment right now. He’d even almost considered walking back downstairs, but the floorboard beneath his feet had creaked and he knew she’d heard him… Bringing his hand up to the door he slowly tapped, pushing it forward as he ducked his head inside… “is it okay… if…” he could see Alex now.. swaying slowly back and forth with a little baby in her arms…, she seemed so small, so tiny and even though Sid, had never really felt comfortable holding them… there was something inside of him that would’ve maybe said ‘sure’ if Alex had asked him to. “She’s so tiny.” She wasn’t a new baby, but she still looked small to Sid, when he crept over and stood in front of her and Alex.

Alex Alex breathed in deeply, almost forgetting to exhale when she heard the footsteps in the hall. She knew he would meet her eventually but she hadn't mentally prepared herself at all for this moment yet. It dawned on her that this was the first time Charlie could be meeting her father, the first time Sid would be meeting his daughter.. /their daughter./ And whatever 'a lot' was before this moment didn't seem to come anywhere close. Nothing could be more than this moment right here. She swallowed and nodded her head forcing a little smile when he asked if it was okay he come in. Charlie wasn't asleep but definitely close and she knew Sidney wouldn't get the full experience of her yet but this little moment would still always be cherished regardless. It felt cruel and unfair of her to let him meet Charlie without him knowing there was a possibility she could be his but it was too late now, he was walking in and commenting on how small she was which Alex guessed was true but considering how much she had already grown since being that tiny little baby she brought home from the hospital it felt weird to agree because from her point of view it felt like she was growing so much and getting so big already. A real personality starting to form and certain features becoming more prominent, features she swore she could see so much of Sid in and it gave her hope, so much hope, but what if it was all just wishful thinking? One of Alex's hands found Sidney's back, pulling him in closer so they could both stand there overlooking the baby. She watched as he reached up to support the half of her body that Alex had pulled her hand away from to touch Sid and she smiled. She'd gotten more than used to the whole one handed holding in all different kinds of positions by now but still, it was sweet the way he was so quick to want to support her. The brunette couldn't be any more thankful for the dark room lit up nothing but just a small night light plugged in at the corner of the room. He didn't have to see the set of tears that was welling up in her eyes yet again. God, she couldn't remember the last time she felt so emotional. Alex almost offered to let him hold Charlie but the way her eyes were closing the soccer player knew her daughter was drifting back to sleep and she didn't want to jerk her around too much waking her up all over again. They had plenty of time for that to come, at least she hoped which made her realize they had yet to finish their conversation. Taking her hand back from Sidney's back she once again held her daughter with both arms, bringing her back over to her crib, laying her down as gently as possible. When she was out of her arms and getting herself comfortable without another peep Alex breathed a sigh of relief knowing it was safe to sneak back out of the room. She took Sidney's hand and lead him out, closing the door until it was left just slightly ajar. She never fully closed it in case the monitor stopped working or something. "I promise next time when she's awake you can hold her." She reassured him, giving his hand a squeeze, not wanting to let go. "Do you want to go back downstairs or do you think we can finish that conversation in my room?"

Sidney Whatever sense of surety he might’ve still had about tonight being more than what it was for them a year and half ago evaporated the moment he stuck his head inside Charlie’s nursery and watched her and Alex become one body. It was just— it was hard to watch them and not think that maybe there wasn’t any room left for him anymore. Of course, that was all before she’d called him over, invited him in and not just to stand next to her, but to join her… holding Charlie… together. Something twisted inside his chest, something he wasn’t even sure existed till right now, so putting a name to it was proving to be rather difficult, but whatever it was it felt kind of big. He was distracted, still caught up in all of it, when he felt her shift and move away… nodding his head when he finally let her words reach him… “I’ll hold you to that. She’s… she’s amazing, Alex…” Which made sense, since kids usually took after their parents... parents something stale grew in the back of his mouth realising that there still existed some other guy… some other part of this duet… that he’d have to get used to. What was he doing? Getting ahead of himself that’s what. He still wasn’t even sure Alex wanted him in her life again… and here he was already debating how he was going to handle knowing that somewhere down the line, Charlie’s father might make a reappearance. What if Alex was still in love with him? What if… his head hurt. It was running a mile a minute and what he needed to do was stop— realise that Alex had just invited him into her bedroom to talk and maybe that was a good thing, right? You didn’t invite people into your bedroom just to tell them to leave, right? He swallowed, “no.. yeah, that sounds good…” squeezing her hand back before shifting his fingers through her own. It was hard to let go tonight. Though by the time she pulled him into the room across from Charlie’s it seemed silly that he’d done that. Letting go, he stood in front of her, looking at her, her room, and then maybe a small glance over at her bed, before finally settling back down on her face… did she want them talk here? Or… “hey… come sit here…” it wasn’t his room, but Alex still looked pretty emotional and the last thing he wanted was her just standing there, trying to get out whatever she’d tried to get out before and not feeling like she could. Her bed felt nice and one he wouldn’t mind crawling in and sleeping next to her if she’d let him, but right now he knew he had to get his mind back on the present… “so,… just before…” he had to at least try and convince her to keep him around a little while longer, right? “I know neither of us was expecting that tonight, but was it so bad? It didn’t feel bad to me. I missed you, Alex. And I know it’s been a long time…, that things have changed, but I want to make this work. If you want to…" it was the most he'd said all night and still, he hadn't stopped... "we don't have to jump straight in... like we did tonight... we can go slow.. whatever you want." Just don't go.... is what he would've said if his hand hadn't already reached over, taking hers up and telling her... without actually telling her... that he wanted to stay.

Alex Alex couldn't believe all she was hearing. She'd sat on the edge of the bed next to Sidney, her legs crossed, body angled towards his and she listened, wondering if those were the words actually coming out of his mouth or if they were what her brain was choosing to hear because it's so badly everything she's ever wanted. Since the day she left, all she wanted was for him to come back and say those exact words, 'I want to make this work..' A part of her always thought that even after saying goodbye he'd try to show up, chase her and tell her he couldn't let go but when he didn't all she could do was beat herself up over it because why would she possibly let herself hope? How could he possibly have known to come after her when she so adamantly told him there was no way to make it work? But she always hoped he'd protest, insist they could find a way, but maybe they weren't ready then. Maybe they could be now. God she hoped that now they could be but if she'd learned anything it was that hope was dangerous when it came to them. "Sid..." she looked down at their hands and rubbed the back of his with her thumb watching for a second, realizing how right this always felt. How every time he was touching her she was home. And now here he was practically asking to come home which made all kinds of emotions stir up inside her once again. She knew she wasn't crazy for leaving that light on... in case one day he ended up back on the doorstep. Everyone told her he wouldn't, he was gone, it was time to turn it off, lock the door and move on but she never did. Every night, that stupid metaphorical porch light on. Now it finally didn't feel so stupid anymore. She didn't know what to say, all words eluding her in that moment so she opted for her free hand finding the back of his neck, pulling him into a soft and sweet kiss. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that," she whispered pressing her forehead back against his. "You can always come home to me." She pulled him into another kiss, this time one more passionate but still nothing that could be misconstrued as hungry, just happy. So incredibly relieved and happy. "I want you to stay." She pulled back just enough so their eyes could meet, "stay with me? ... stay with us?"

Sidney He must’ve taken in a breath somewhere at the start of her response and forgotten to release it somewhere in the middle, because by the time she was finished, the breath he was eventually forced to let out— came out three times as loud as it usually would’ve. Not that he cared. The only thing Sid cared about right now was the fact that Alex, was going to give him ago with her— her and Charlie, and what else really mattered? “Yeah?” He felt his face shift, as his mouth twisted upwards, “your really want me to?” He wasn’t really asking her to repeat herself. He’d heard her and if there was one thing he knew about Alex, she never said anything she didn’t mean. Which, in the end, made it easy for him to lean forward and recapture their lips back together. There had been a few kisses tonight; unsure, hungry, and now… relief. Like, he could kiss her.. and just focus on kissing her…, a weird thought for sure… but when you’d spent the last few years wondering if every time you kissed it would be the last, you tended to lose focus on what really mattered. After pulling back, Sid remained close… his hand against her cheek, his knee touching her own, “let’s get some sleep…” it seemed insane to think that they were about to share a be together again… what had it been? Five years… he stood up, pulling the quilt down and folding it over twice once he had. Yes, nothing had changed there… He looked up his eyes catching her own, where he held them… if he’d been younger and more likely to be swayed that what was happening right now was all just a dream, he might’ve tried to pinch himself. Instead, he slipped wordlessly into the bed and waited for Alex to join him, sliding over and taking her up in between his arms once he had, “night—“ he said it, but a part of him knew that neither one of them was ready to sleep just yet and that tonight would be filled with hours and hours of quiet chatter… as they both did their best to catch up with each other’s lives… Did he mind? No… not in the slightest.

[redgillan]

I’ve got you under my Skin - 3

Bucky Barnes x Reader ♀️

Summary: Modern!AU  We’ve been sleeping together on and off for almost a year and I know it’s angry hate sex but I got you a little gift because it reminded me of you.

Word Count:1,658

Warnings: Language

A/N: Why are people always eating pizza in my fics? Anyway in this chapter, you’ll see some Kindergarten teacher!Bucky bc I couldn’t help myself. Hope you enjoy this, let me know what you think :)

Bucky stood in front of the class, his students reciting the alphabet in unison. They were sitting cross-legged on the carpet, looking up at the smart board with mild interest. They could hear people gathering in the hallway, signalling the end of the day.

From the corner of his eye, Bucky saw a shadow run across the deserted playground. He turned his head just in time to see you opening the front door. The sound of your high heels clicking rapidly across the linoleum floor brought a grin to his lips.

Steve had texted him earlier and asked if he didn’t mind taking care of his daughter after school. He couldn’t leave the precinct, something about a solving a major case, and Peggy was in London, visiting family.

Normally, Bucky didn’t mind babysitting Sophie. She was a student in Bucky’s class, and also his Goddaughter, but today, he had a meeting with other teachers. They were discussing details of their upcoming field trip to Washington.

Steve asked you if you could watch over Sophie until Bucky was able to leave work, and you agreed, even though you had an important meeting the next day.

Bucky could see you through the window beside the door and he laughed to himself when you sagged against the wall, out of breath.

He realized that you had come straight from the office and had not had time to change clothes. Your business outfit was simple, but the pencil skirt and high heels commanded respect. Bucky always found it strangely exhilarating.

He said goodbye to each kid individually, giving them either a hug or a high five. Meanwhile you were growing frustrated and impatient because Bucky seemed to take his sweet time. Yes, you were upset and it had absolutely nothing to do with the conversation you had overheard before Bucky opened the door.

“Damn, that is a man right there!” one of the dads had said. “He’s so sweet with the kids and he looks so soft,” one of the moms agreed, the others made a needy sound in the back of their throat. “I bet he’s into some kinky shit,” said another mom, giving a little eyebrow pump as she said it. “Mr Barnes in the streets, Daddy in the sheets.”

You wanted to scream. And the worst part was that they weren’t wrong. Everyone adored Bucky –well everyone but you. He had an athlete's physique, tall, broad-shouldered and powerful, and today, as you watched him high five a little girl, you realized he looked incredibly cuddly in that cable-knit sweater.

Bucky turned to you when the kids and their guardians were gone. Sophie was sitting at his desk, eating some biscuits. She greeted you with a toothy smile.

“You’re an ass, Barnes,” you grumbled when you walked past him.

Sophie pointed her finger at you. “You said a bad word,” she exclaimed with her mouth full.

Bucky grinned mischievously at you.

If a kid used inappropriate language, he calmly explained to them why they shouldn’t curse. Some teachers still had ‘naughty corners’ but Bucky believed that making a child stand in a corner for several minutes was humiliating. You, on the other hand, were an adult, and he loved riling you up.

“This is unacceptable,” Bucky said, using his teacher voice. “Go stand in the corner for five minutes!”

His words made Sophie gasp, her small hands coming up to cover her mouth. Bucky kept his expression blank while resisting the urge to laugh.

You stared at him, blinking slowly. “You serious?”

He nodded. “I sure am, doll.”

You gritted your teeth. He wasn’t sure what made you angrier, the naughty corner thing or the nickname. With a defeated sigh, you walked over to the corner of the room and threw him a dirty look over your shoulder before you faced the wall.

Smiling brightly, Bucky pulled out his phone and took a picture of you, making a mental note to post it on the group chat later.

“Okay, Soph,” he turned to the child. She had chocolate all over her mouth. “Time t’go home. Go wash your face, bug.”

Thankfully, she did not have to leave the classroom to use the restroom so she didn’t need an adult with her. Once she had shut the door behind her, Bucky made his way over to you. He let his eyes linger on your legs.

“I gotta say,” he whispered in your ear, “I’ve always had a thing for women in straight skirt and high heels. That’s kinda hot.”

“You know what else is kinda hot?” you whispered in a faux sultry tone, then continued without missing a beat, “My foot in your ass.”

He chuckled, his warm breath tickling your neck. “You’re not allowed to use your phone in the naughty corner,” he said, nodding toward the phone in your hand. “You’re grounded.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not going to stare at the wall for five minutes,” you replied with a sigh. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

He stepped away from you, walking backwards toward his desk. “Meetin,” he said, scrunching his nose up in distaste. “I’ll see ya later.”

*

Bucky climbed the stairs to Steve’s apartment, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He was in a good mood, his meeting hadn’t taken as long as he’d expected. He had dropped by his apartment to pack an overnight bag and arrived at Steve’s place just after seven.

“Aw,” your face fell when you opened the door and saw him, “I thought it was the delivery guy.”

“Tadaa!” Bucky held up the pizza box. “I was behind him when you buzzed him in.”

“You paid.”

“No, I grabbed the box and ran away,” Bucky deadpanned. “Of course, I paid.”

“It wasn’t a question,” you said with a roll of your eyes. “Well, I guess I should thank you, but since you ate my entire box of cookies the other day-”

“Talk ‘bout holdin a grudge,” Bucky cut you off, setting the box on the coffee table, “t’was two months ago.”

You sat next to each other on the sofa. Bucky handed you a few napkins before he lifted the lid. He had been craving pizza all day so this was a happy coincidence.

“Are you fuckin kiddin me?” he groaned, looking down at the pizza. “Spinach? Who the fuck puts spinach on a pizza?”

You leaned forward and picked up a slice, ignoring his offended look. “Gotta eat your greens.”

“Doll, I eat plenty of greens,” he said with a pointed look. “Here’s a list of things you’re not allowed to put on pizza.” Holding up his fingers, he enumerated, “Pineapple –no. Cauliflower –no. Spinach –big fuckin no.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think I was going to start World War III.”

“Seriously though,” he continued, undeterred, “stop turnin junk food into healthy food. What’s up with that trend?”

“Just pick them off and stop whining,” you sighed.

“Spinach on pizza is like toothpaste and orange juice,” he kept rambling, “it’s pretty gross.”

You shook your head. “I’m sorry, but who drinks OJ immediately after brushing their teeth? That’s just dumb.”

He gave you an annoyed look. “Ok, fair enough. So I guess it’s like-” he trailed off while he tried to think of a new example, “it’s like vampires and garlic. It will kill you.”

You snorted. “Now, that’s an exaggeration!” Bucky turned his head to look at you, a glint of mischief in his bright blue eyes. “Why are you looking at me like that?” He didn’t answer. “Stop it!” He didn’t stop.

Bucky bared his teeth and hissed like a vampire. He used to this when you were in college, it annoyed the hell out of you. He bit back a grin when your eyes widened. You wrapped your hands protectively around your neck and shook your head.

“Don’t you dare!”

He pounced on you so suddenly that you let out a high-pitched scream. He fell on top of you and jokingly tried to bite your neck. You squirmed under him, your legs twisted at odd angles.

“Jerk,” you said, laughing.

Bucky dropped the act and laughed with you, planting his hands on the sofa on either side of your head. You turned your head to face him and his laughter quieted down. You were so close that he could see the flecks of colour in your eyes. He kept his eyes on yours, unable to move.

You tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear, but the disobedient strand didn’t stay there. It tickled your cheekbone as Bucky leaned into your touch. It was soft, warm, real.

Something was changing between you. He wondered if you could feel it too.

“What are you doing?”

You pulled away from each other as Sophie walked into the living room. Bucky felt dizzy, his pulse pounding in his ears. Sophie rubbed one eye with her fist while she made her way toward the sofa.

“Did you have a nightmare?” you asked, avoiding her question.

“I heard noises,” she replied, clumsily climbing into Bucky’s lap. “Is my daddy home?”

“Not yet,” you said, gently tucking a curly strand behind her ear.

Your hand froze in mid-air, the gesture felt oddly familiar. When you looked up to meet Bucky’s eyes, he was already looking at you. It dawned on the two of you that you had shared something special, something innocent and sweet.

You cleared your throat. “Now that Uncle Bucky’s here, I’m gonna go home.”

“No, stay!” the little girl begged. “I want to watch a movie.”

“Stay,” Bucky mouthed the word but no sound came out. “Stay until she falls asleep.”

It didn't take you long to decide. “I’ll stay.”

You settled back into the sofa cushions and took the remote, aiming it at the television. You laughed at something Sophie said and Bucky felt his heart lurch. Goddammit, he thought. He had some thinking to do.