#and the other person was too nice and indulged me Once on my bday like. maam none of these count whatsoever oh my godddddddd

[zhuhongs]

breakup songs that are highly relatable to me even tho i havent been in a relationship in years and its debatable if any of my prior "relationships" even count 😔😔😔

[noforkingclue]

I'm being self indulgent (is my bday!!!!!) and I really want to ask, may I request a Twelfth Doctor x adopted teen reader? It's reader's birthday and the prompt I want is "For once in your life, what is it you want?" Reader is very selfless and the Doctor doesn't know how to treat them for their special day :)

Please and thank you if you write this!!!!

Happy birthday!!! Birthdays are the time for being self indulgent and I hope you like the fic :D

Title: Just For You

Doctor Who tag list: @v4n1r, @queerconfusionthings, @yourneighbourhoodclown, @love-of-fandoms, @emilythezeldafan, @fabulous-jj-style, @theseeker945, @pleadingeyes, @kjaneway1, @truthbehindthemysteries, @im-a-muggleborn, @startrekkingaroundasgard, @mythandmagik, @geocookie21, @zerocanonlywriteshit, @thewinterpoet2, @anteroom-of-death

Everything tag list: @greenrevolutionary, @imjustassaneasyou

You were currently lying on one of the luxurious sofas in the TARDIS. The Doctor was pacing around in front of you and had been for the past five minutes. Suddenly he came to a halt and spun around on his heel. He clicked his fingers at you and said,

“I’ve got it. 1920s, the Ritz. Afternoon tea. Humans like tea right?”

“Yes.” You said

“Great,” he rushed over to you and grabbed your hand, “You know where the closest is. This old girl can help you find an outfit. It’s going to be perfect. I’ll make sure that this’ll be a birthday that you won’t forget!”

“Doc,” you said, “You really don’t have to do this for me.”

“Why not?” the Doctor frowned

“It’s too much.”

“It’s your birthday,” said the Doctor, “You humans have too few. Don’t you always celebrate them, make a big deal about getting older.”

“Thanks for reminding me about that fact.”

“It’s your day,” the Doctor continued, “What do you want to do. We have all of time and space at our fingertips.”

“I don’t know,” you said, “What do you want to do.”

“It doesn’t matter what I want to do.”

“Yes it does,” you insisted, “I don’t want to do something that only I’ll enjoy. You need to enjoy it to.”

The Doctor gave you an unreadable looking before sighing. He sat down and after a brief moment of hesitation took your hand. He patted it gently and said quietly,

“For once in your life, what is it you want?”

“What do you mean?” you asked, although you had the sinking feeling that you knew what he meant

“You have done so much,” the Doctor continued quietly, “You’ve put up for me for so long. I know I haven’t been the easiest person to get along with and I want… I want to show you that I care. To go somewhere that is just for you.”

“You mean that?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“It’s just,” you let out a sigh and looked down, “I’ve always been taught to put the needs of others before myself. It’s hard for me to be selfish.”

“I know,” the Doctor wrapped an arm around you and pulled you next to him, “I know but today is all about you. Anything you want I can do.”

“Anything?” you looked up with a teasing smile

“Within reason,” the Doctor said, “I can’t go back to last week so you can give yourself the answers to that test.”

“Please.”

“No going back on your own timeline.”

“Git.”

“I know you don’t really mean that.”

“I know.”

“So,” said the Doctor, “What do you want to do? Whole of time and space remember?”

“You know,” you gave him a shy smile, “Afternoon tea at the Ritz does sound nice. Very relaxing.”

“Then the Ritz it is,” the Doctor stood up and offered you his arm, “After you.”

You beamed up at him and quickly linked arms. Most people would view your friendship and unusual but you knew that you would never find as good of a friend as the Doctor. You couldn’t have asked for a better friend, knowing that he cared for you just as much as you cared for him.

[kaebedom-me]

Hello, it's my birthday today and i wanted to do a little self indulgent thing for me 👉🏻👈🏻

Sorry if it's not very reader friendly and stuff but please enjoy this Kaeya x reader hc thing that's semi related to the Golden Apple Archipelago event

tags: kaeya x reader, gender neutral reader, fluff, n/sfw at the end? a little bit, ~2.7k words, establishing relationship - platonic kaeya x reader at the start, kinda canon divergence, bday hcs, VERY self indulgent, it's a little long, not proof read

it's not often you have to visit the knights of favonius headquarters, but you happened to have to bring something for Jean

so when you turned up at hq you fully expected to see Jean in her office and not a very sad, very pouty and tired looking Kaeya slumped on the table

"quartermaster, I wasn't expecting to see you here, is the acting grandmaster ill?" you asked

he perked up at your voice, the sulking dissipated, Kaeya was acting as if you didn't just see him glaring at the pile of paperwork next to him

"actually, I'm currently the acting grandmaster," he said with a playful smirk that you adored. "do you have something for me?"

it was for Jean personally, so you'd hang onto it, you told him. you asked him what was he doing here and he pouted at you, dropping the acting grandmaster act

you've been friends with Kaeya pouty quite like this before, so you relish it as he explains to you the mysterious letter Klee got and how Jean and the others are accompanying her somewhere in some mysterious archipelago

you weren't too sure how to react, you hoped they were safe, and you hoped Kaeya would feel better soon

"I feel a lot better now that you've visited me, though," he teased, smiling at you a little cockily

you tried not to show how affected you were, you coughed. "I wasn't planning to visit you, you just happened to be here"

you couldn't stay long, though. you had prior plans, and a new plan popped up while you were talking to Kaeya. you left him to his own devices an hour later

he didn't walk you out like he usually does but you didn't mind

after clearing up what you could for the day and contacting the necessary people, you got yourself a room in Mond

the next day, at around the same time you visited the acting grandmaster again

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm afraid the acting grandmaster Jean wouldn't be back so soon"

Kaeya was only a little bit shocked to see you opening the door to his temporary office again, you just smiled

"I know, I was looking for acting grandmaster Kaeya"

you didn't like how miserable he looked when you first saw him in the office, nor did you like the strained smile as he bid you goodbye. no matter how hard he tried to hide it while entertaining you, you saw through it and wanted to do everything in your power to cheer him up

he teased you, of course, the entire time you were there but you didn't mind. you saw the lively glint in his eye when you moved to come in

"did you need anything, acting grandmaster? documents delivered to your subordinates? lunch? simple requests from the people?" you offered

"my, playing errand are we? nothing else on your agenda?"

you were so genuine with your "no" it took Kaeya slightly aback. he could guess what you've done to be here again today, and it touched him just a little

"could you help me retrieve some of these files from my office then?" he asked, you happily agreed before walking out of the office. Kaeya smiled at your retrieving figure, his free hand came up to cover it

and so you stayed, playing assistant until Kaeya packed up for the night. you even took him out for dinner just to make sure he was eating and taking care of himself outside of the office

he was very grateful for you and your help, wanted to spend more time with you even but you always ushered him home so he could get the rest he needed. as Kaeya's falling asleep, he'd think about how to properly thank you

you weren't always free though, some days you brought in your own letters and paperwork to his office. there the two of you would work in silence. every now and then you'd offer to help Kaeya out, he appreciated it but kept it to a minimum, since he wanted you to get your things done too

afternoons where the two of you worked together, were the most productive ones. And whenever you made longer trips for him, he'd made sure to get more work done than his usual pace just so you'd praise him and smile at him fondly

one afternoon, you came in a little bit later than usual. Kaeya was a bit disappointed, he caught himself waiting for you like some puppy. he tried not to sulk for too long though, he still had work to do and work he'd like to catch up on so Jean wouldn't have as much work piled up

when you came in you were trying to be stealthy about it, Kaeya noticed it immediately though. his excitement was easy to hide with a judging look

you smiled at him sheepishly, you offered a small apology. "I brought cake,"

his eye lit up, an easy teasing response flowed from his lips. you're so easy to tease and so adorable when you try to hide how flustered you were

the cake wasn't too big, something the two of you can share and finish without feeling sick. Kaeya knows when something is or isn't expensive and he happened to have heard from Lisa that these cakes were exquisite and very popular in Fontaine

"what's the special occasion?" he asked when you cut him a second slice

"nothing, I just wanted to have cake," your reply came a little too fast as if you prepared the answer before he even asked

he hummed. he couldn't look at your whole face since he opted to sit next to you when you set the cake box down on the meeting table. you busied yourself with cutting another slice for yourself, scooping up the crumble that adorned the cake that fell off

"I thought it'd be nice to treat you to something nice, for all the work you've done and how hard you've been working the past few days," you tried again, feeling how much he was staring at you

"is that so?" Kaeya racking his brain for a possible ulterior motive, he absent-mindedly scooped up the crumble from his cake and plopped them onto your plate. "this is a very special treat then, cake all the way from Fontaine..." he trailed off

you could feel your cheeks heating up. your gaze snapped up to meet his. Kaeya was smiling at you fondly, not how he would when he was trying to get information out of people, you think maybe this smile works better than the other one

ah, there's really no hiding from this man

"I- uh, um... well, it's- um," you couldn't stop stuttering, suddenly nervous now that he saw through you, you had to avert your gaze

Kaeya tried again. "I heard from Lisa these were popular in Fontaine, it must've been a hassle to bring them here, in a short time too, I imagine"

"It wasn't a hassle," you reassured, eyes suddenly serious when you met his. Kaeya blinked, surprised at your reaction, he wasn't expecting that but he had enough control over himself to not show it. instead, he smiled some more, encouraging you to continue

"it's, um, my uh..." you averted his gaze. Kaeya didn't have to hear the rest of the sentence to know what you were talking about. "..it's my birthday today," you said quietly

this time, he couldn't stop himself from looking shocked. "ah, but uh- I didn't want it to be that special! I just thought we'd have cake before resuming work," you stumbled after a beat of silence. you didn't dare look at him, you really wanted to avoid telling him, since you didn't want to distract him too much

the sound of the chair gently scraping on the floor, you shyly turned to look at Kaeya who looked like a kicked puppy. before you could reassure him, he apologised. "I am so sorry I forgot"

"n-no! it's fine! it's not a big deal," you reassured, waving your hand as if you were trying to wave away his worry

"I'll make it up to you"

"no! I'm having a wonderful time!"

"but-"

"Kaeya, please, I just wanted to spend the afternoon with you, I'm really happy like this"

Kaeya didn't doubt you. you did look very happy while you were digging into the cake. but it didn't stop his brain from working in overdrive to figure out ways he could make your day better. you averted your gaze again, probably still embarrassed that you were hiding this from him

"can I do anything to make it more wonderful then?" he asked once he regained composure

he smiled when you scooted in your chair so you were facing away more from him, a habit you had when you were trying to be subtle with hiding your face from him

"I just wanted to spend some time with you," you muttered. "the fact that I got the few days from before and right now- this is easily one of my best birthdays,"

Kaeya was mindful to push the cake and the plates aside so he could lean on the table to try to peak at your face. he so badly wanted to see how you looked like when he said "would you like me to hold your hand?"

"what? no!!"

the more you tried to lean away, the more Kaeya came into your personal space. he has been suspicious of your behaviour around him for a while now; he likes to think he knows a good deal about reading people, and that he also has a good grasp of one of his closest friends

and for so long he's been hinting at how he feels about you but you never seemed to pick it up despite how smart you are

maybe there isn't a better time than now to tell you straight up

"why not?" he was so close if you moved you'd bump right into him. "you enjoy holding hands, no?"

"we can't!" you still weren't looking at Kaeya, but you knew he had that stupid cocky face on his face. you didn't know he was looking at you with so much affection it's almost disgusting "because!"

Kaeya moved his chair closer to you, humming to encourage you to continue your sentence "because?"

"because, if we did, i'd want to hold it more often."

you thought now is a good time as ever. if Kaeya didn't reciprocate your feelings then you could just never come back. and you'd be left with the memories from the past few days, that'd be enough for you

you held your breath while you waited for Kaeya to respond. he leaned back a little and you tried not to look hurt when you had to turn back to look at him. before you could though Kaeya chuckled

"I'm sure we can arrange that."

you were wondering what he meant by that. shyly you glanced at him from your peripheral. he was smiling in a way that you hadn't quite seen before, a soft one, full of affection and admiration for what you hope was for you

"um," was all you could muster, finding yourself dumbstruck by the sheer beauty of the man that never quite leaves your head

Kaeya glances at his hand and moves it closer to yours. his smile was more inviting now, things were starting to click in your head. so you reached for his

Kaeya doesn't comment on how flustered you must look, nor does he say anything about the way your hand slightly trembles from nervousness when reaching for his

when you placed your hands in his, he immediately curled his finger around your hand, squeezing it tightly

he tugs you closer to him. "do you want me to kiss you?"

you felt like you were about to combust from looking at him, you were so dazzled by this side of you him you wanted to cry

your voice didn't want to cooperate, you could only nod a yes to his question. Kaeya didn't say anything about it, didn't tease you like expected. he just leaned into your space again to press a kiss into your lips

it was a very tender kiss, you could feel the curves of Kaeya's smile on yours. prompting a smile to tug on the corner of your lips too

when he pulled away, you immediately dragged him back for more. your free hand going up to his neck, while his settled cupping your warm cheek. you couldn't help but giggle

Kaeya's hand that was holding yours squeezed yours again before he mischievously bit at your bottom lip

Kaeya could be so sweet. you squeezed his hand back and slowly opened your mouth as he leaned back a little to tilt your head

his tongue tasted like cream, so you thought maybe yours did too. Kaeya pecked the corner of your lips before moving back in to swipe at your own tongue. you leaned onto his hand and let him lead you. his hand that held yours never once tried to leave yours

this time, when Kaeya pulled away you chased after him unconsciously. he chuckled at how dazed you looked from a simple kiss. his thumb gently caressed your hand while he waited for you to get your senses back

and you were positively adorable when you started to become embarrassed again. before you could pull yourself away from him though, he brought up your hand to kiss your knuckle

"K-Kaeya, I um-"

"mm? not enough? did you want to touch my chest, too?"

you scoffed when his stupid cocky smirk start to form on his face, but you couldn't help but smile back though, squeezing his hand as tightly as you can. "you're ridiculous"

there's a billion ways Kaeya could've responded, he decided to lean in for another kiss instead

kisses quickly turned to a make out session

you remember pulling away once to tease him about the work he was supposed to do

he scoffed. "you'd rather have your fancy cake and watch me suffer than have me making you moan at the slightest flick of my tongue?"

you'd slap him if it weren't for the way that your limbs felt like jelly and that damn hand that held yours tightly. you cursed at the way you shivered

you did end up sleeping with Kaeya that afternoon, right on the table you put your cake on

(Kaeya was careful not to knock it onto the floor)

your intertwined fingers only untagling every once in a while when Kaeya had to use both his hand to manoeuvre or take off your guy's clothes

you had wanted to taste more of him but he insisted that this moment was about you

(when you pouted at him, cheeks flushed and body shimmering from the sweat from your first orgasm, Kaeya promised you'll get your turn if you'd follow him home)

you had to take a nap if you wanted to follow him home, Kaeya was kind enough to drape your jacket over you when the two of you were done

"stay," you mumbled tiredly

"I'm not going anywhere, darling, I still have so much work to do because somebody kept insisting on distracting me"

he said that but once he was done cleaning up, he came to pick you up and brought you over to his desk. you got comfy on his lap and breathed him in

occasionally, Kaeya would rub circles on your back and lean down to kiss the crown of your head. soon enough, you drifted off to sleep in his embrace while he continued his paperwork

the next morning you woke up in Kaeya's room, you made your way back to your room before heading off to hq

the person who greeted you in the office wasn't Kaeya but Lisa

"oh dear, you must be looking for Captain Kaeya," she offered kindly. "he left on urgent business"

you nodded and smiled. "no worries"

Lisa offered you some tea, you politely declined. instead, you passed her the parcel that was originally intended for Jean. looks like it was back to business as usual

Lisa looked delighted when you handed it to her before you left she handed you a letter. "Kaeya told me to hand it to you when you drop in"

you thank her and retreated back to your room. you had other things you pushed off until now so you decided it was best that you returned to your life too

not before writing a letter back and slipping it into Kaeya's apartment though

[1lostone]

*waves* verrrrry late fic (and life!) update

Hello!

I came back in time for a quick check in, only to find the mass exodus from tumblr has begun. I never really reblogged a lot of explicit pictures so that doesn’t hurt me or my blog much. I suppose I’m still here until they start trying to censor written content.  *shrug*  

I know a lot of people have migrated to pillowfort, or back to livejournal/dreamwidth, or even on discord, but honestly the only social media place I go to frequently for fandom stuff is tumblr, or ao3. (which isn’t really social media). I am, of course 1lostone on there.  So for now I guess I’m here- even if I am screaming into the void all by myself. Those cat gifs ain’t gonna reblog themselves...

So a fic update:

I have been on the year of suck. Several personal issues have just kept me from being able to sit down and write. I am about 7 months behind on my #FandomTrumpsHate fic (although I am doing my damndest to get it done by the 31st, now that I am off of work.) It’s coming along nicely. Not quickly.... no. I still write like a constipated snail, but nicely. Lots of Jim and Spock H/C and mutual pining and Bones’ crazy eyebrows, and really, what else do you need from life? 

I have two other fics I plan on finishing as soon as I can. The first is the Rickyl wordmonster, In the Bed Where You Lie. After That Thing That I Still Do Not Accept happened in the show, it was super hard for me to continue. I wrote a ridiculously indulgent authors note about it. Because of that, and that until that point I had tried very hard to mirror the show as much as I could, once it became such a dumpster fire of suck I said fuck it- and went back to the comics. The problem with that, is I had to figure out exactly how to merge where I was in the story with what was going on in the comics, and TL;DR- I figured it out. It’s just been the time to do it! 

The other fic I desperately want to finish is my Rogan + Cherrik Xmen fic Running to Stand Still that I’ve been poking at for ... er... I think 4 years? Maybe more? Jesus fuck that’s a long time, lol. I have literally one chapter and an epilogue left, so that one shouldn’t be too hard. 

Finally, I have another Trek fic I want to work on, Conscience and Concern. It started as a Khan/Kirk because why not, then moved to Kirk/Spock for foxyk’s bday... maybe I can finish it before her kid is like 30. :p 

Other than that, I just need to get back into the swing of allotting myself time to WRITE. If my personal life will calm the fuck down, I’ll be good to go! :D

Anyway, let me know if you’re moving to another place, so I can find you again. It occurred to me that some of you I’ve known for almost 10 years, across fandoms and back, and it would be sad to not “see” you anymore. 

[livingmybestfictionallife]

Oh Boy(s)

Anon Request: Is there by any chance you do Harrison? If so, could you do an Imagine where Haz is drunk and he is singing Shape Of You. You may let your imagination loose on the rest, surprise us readers with the out come 😊

A/N: So while writing this I kind of let my imagination loose a little too  much and decided to turn this request into the idea I mentioned months ago, so hopefully this works out. Possibly another part to add.

Warnings: jealous!harrison, jealous!tom, alcohol use, harrison and tom being drunk jerks, sexual implications

A/N: Also, I just want to point out that, judging by this picture, Tom (and Jacob if they’re playing teams) is horrible at beer pong.

Young and hopeful, (Y/N) decided to be a volunteer at the 2016 Comic Con, however she could not have imagined how far this act of civil service would take her. From working backstage at panels and manning the photo-op lines, she managed to find an ‘in’ with some of the celebrities her age that attended the con. When (Y/N ) learned her volunteer position received the perk of getting a behind the scenes photo-op with any actor or actors of her choice, she eagerly chose the Spider-Man: Homecoming cast. At the end of the day, when her chance came, she even managed to hit it off with a few of the actors, namely Jacob and Tony.

A few months later, after stewing in anticipation, (Y/N) received an email from Tony saying she was chosen to be a PA on the set of Spider-Man: Far From Home. During this time she had grown to be incredibly close to all of the main actors, but the person she bonded with most had to be the other PA their age, Tom’s best friend, Harrison.

When the actors were running lines and perfecting takes, Harrison and (Y/N) were doing whatever needed to be done, whether it be helpful work or coffee runs, they did it together. They roasted Tom, told jokes, distracted their actor friends one too many times, and frequently hung out outside of work as well. With how much time they spent with one another, Tom, Jacob, Zendaya, Tony, and Laura all assumed that Harrison and (Y/N) were already an item. It wasn’t until their last day in Atlanta that the rest of the group figured out that their relationship was still considered ‘platonic.’

Months rolled by and the group remained in contact with one another, but Harrison and (Y/N) remained closer than the rest, with the exception Harrison and Tom. About a month before Tom’s upcoming birthday, Harrison sent a message in the group chat that hadn’t been used in half a year, with the exclusion of Tom.

HazO🇬🇧: Trying to have a surprise birthday bash for Tom at my place. Who’s in?

JB🌺Aloha: in london?

Tony⚡: I’m in

HazO🇬🇧: Yes in LONDON!

Z✊🏾: ON his bday?

HazO🇬🇧: No in December

 Z✊🏾: Did I ask for your negativity?🙅🏽 

La-La-Laura👑: I can make it :)

Tater🍠: I can try

JB🌺Aloha: who TF is tater?

Z✊🏾: can’t be Tom. He has a quackson emoji 😂

Tater🍠: It’s (Y/N) -.- you nuke a sweet potato around Haz and Tom ONE TIME and you’re scarred for life 

JB🌺Aloha: Ohh, I forgot about the tater name.

Tater🍠: I wish everyone would...

HazO🇬🇧: So everyone’s coming??? cool!

A month and a lot of convincing later, (Y/N) managed to work out a way so that she could afford the plane ticket out of the country for Tom’s birthday. Jacob, Tony, Laura, Zendaya, and (Y/N) all stood outside Harrison’s home in the warmth of the London sun, waiting for Tom to stroll into the backyard alongside Harrison. The group lingered around a cooler, each sipping on cold beer or hard cider, chatting about their time in Atlanta, and catching up on what had been going on in one another’s lives.

Slowly, the back doors opened to reveal Tom and Harrison, bare chested and obviously buzzed, sauntering toward the group. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM” they called as he approached. Jacob passed Tom a beer and smiled.

“First legal one with all of us according to your home away from home,” he said as Tom twisted off the top of the bottle. (Y/N) continued to linger around the outside of the group and sip her drink. She had always felt slightly different from everyone else. Even though Harrison wasn’t one of the stars, he was still an actor and shared the extroverted tendencies of the rest of the group; not only that, he had known Tom and his family for years before meeting the rest of the group. (Y/N) was the newest member to join the team, and often felt as if she didn’t belong there, and so she lingered in the background and isolated herself unless she was around Harrison, Tony, or Jacob. 

Even today, (Y/N) sat along the side of the pool and kicked her legs back and forth in the water as the icy alcoholic apple taste slid down her throat. She leaned back and tried to relax as the sounds of Tony’s playlist circulated throughout the stereo system. Slowly heard faint footsteps grew closer to her and (Y/N) opened her eyes to see Tom had made his way toward where she sat alone at the edge of the pool.

“You came!” he smiled as he sat down beside her.

“You think I’d miss this?” she questioned with a laugh as Tom clinked his bottle against hers.

“I bet Harrison is excited to see you,” he said softly in a deep tone under his breath

“Why? Are you not excited to see me?” she teased and offered Tom a small smile.

“All I meant is that you and him are close, right?” Tom returned with apprehensive eyes. “He’s been blabbing about (Y/N) since we left Atlanta.” Curiosity overcame (Y/N) as she realized Tom was unaware of who he was speaking with.

“Yeah sure,” (Y/N) sighed as she pounded back the rest of her drink, and quickly noticing Tom’s level of intoxication. His eyelids looked heavy when he blinked, and (Y/N) could almost hear the fuzziness of his brain like the static of a television channel that isn’t responding. “Are you already drunk?” she asked.

“Maybe,” Tom said with a chuckle in his voice and holding a finger to his lips, signaling for her to keep quiet about it. “I mean, it’s my birthday!” Suddenly, his lighthearted tone fluctuated to irritation. “It’s my birthday and I have to watch my best friend try and get it on.” 

“It doesn’t look like he’s hitting on anyone,” (Y/N) attempted to reassure Tom as she gazed over her shoulder toward Harrison who stood beside Zendaya and Tony. 

“Not yet,” he said while finishing his drink. “Look, just...don’t tell him I was talking to you,” he rushed to add while slurring his words. “Harrison doesn’t want anyone to know that he likes (Y/N).”

“Then why did he tell you?” she asked sneakily, feeling guilty for taking advantage of Tom’s inebriation. 

“He thought I wasn’t interested.” With that he slipped into the pool and swam, underwater, to the opposite end where Jacob and Laura were practicing underwater handstands.

Since Tom was drunk, (Y/N) chose not to give their conversation much thought, but she couldn’t help remember her interactions with Harrison and Tom in Atlanta and even before that at the convention when she first befriended the group. When she first met everyone, she immediately threw herself into a roasting battle and got caught in the crossfires, inevitably being on the receiving end of Tom’s banter. As the day went on, she and Tom continued their roasts even when the others had stopped, and soon their banter was interpreted as annoyance and bickering. Harrison was convinced Tom wasn’t interested in the random girl they had just met; after all, his breakup was still moderately fresh, fame was on the horizon, and when Tom shows and interest in girls it’s normally through jokingly showing off and being kind, not by what Harrison was interpreting as him being blatantly rude to the new company.

(Y/N) always had a hunch that Harrison liked her. He would occasionally bring her favorite candy to set for a snack, he’d use his own money to buy her coffee when they went on Starbucks runs, and always seemed slightly shier around her than with anyone else. She had begun to rely on Harrison’s kindness to get her through the relentless teasing from Tom that had, in reality, been a continuation of their banter from when they first met. She didn’t have anything against Tom and knew that he could be a genuinely nice person, but he was never that way when anyone else was around. He was always standoffish and on defense when (Y/N) was involved in the group’s activities, but since the first night that Harrison disclosed to Tom that he may like (Y/N), Tom set roasting as his default when (Y/N) was around. He had to keep himself from indulging in whatever could have been for the sake of his best friend, and if being an ass is what would see Harrison happy with (Y/N), then being an ass is what he would have to do.

The sun faded behind the earth long ago. Since arriving, the group had run out of alcohol and was quickly replenished when Harry and Sam arrived at the party. Pizza fueled the young adults’ day and turned into a life source once night fell upon them. (Y/N) was pretty sure that, between Harrison and Tony, the local pizza joint had to have been called at least four times, and Harry and Sam didn’t make the food overload any better when the brought frozen, prepackaged hamburger patties to the party.

Despite trying to ignore any inclinations of either Harrison or Tom trying to make a move on her, it was nearly impossible for (Y/N) to keep her mind off of the thing causing her the most anxiety. Everything seemed to be a sign, whether it be through the chicken fights or their water rugby/basketball game, everything pointed in a million different directions. When the group decided to play chicken, Harrison chose (Y/N) to be on his team, one of the twins took Zendaya, the other chose Laura, and Tom and Jacob were a team while Tony continued to man the music. Harrison’s logic was to keep (Y/N) as close to him as possible so that, if the time was right, he could tell her how he felt. Having her on his shoulders was about as close as they could get. Tom’s logic was to be as physical as he could: fighting her would fulfill this. She was caught between support and competition as Harrison held her above the water and Tom tried to drag her off Haz’s shoulders and into the water with him.

When the sun began to set, the game changed when Tony threw a rugby ball into the pool. Z and Laura drew the line at dangerous sports, but (Y/N) had grown up playing watermelon ball with her family every summer since she was fourteen. The object of the game was very similar to the one proposed in this game: teams were divided and the object was to get the ball from one end of the pool to the other; the only difference is that when (Y/N) played it back home, a watermelon was used instead of a ball, which made the game much more difficult. Again, she was paired with Harrison, per his request. Competing alongside them was Tony and Harry while Jacob, Tom, and Sam became their opponents.

As soon as Laura threw the ball into the pool, (Y/N) took off. She dove into the water and grasped at the ball, careful not to bump heads with the other players, and swam to the bottom of the pool. Her plan was to skim the bottom, completely unnoticed until she reached the opposite end of the pool. When she finally reached the edge, she hurriedly kicked her feet only to have a pair of hands come from behind her and latch onto her hips. Frantically, she looked at the swimming trunks around her and tossed the ball toward the white shorts with blue stripes: Harrison. She turned underwater and looked for the person who had grabbed her, but they had already swam away. Once (Y/N) resurfaced, she found that her team had a turnover and Tom now had the ball. She went back under and quickly used her feet as leverage while she grabbed his ankles and pulled him back. As expected, he face planted into the water and dropped the ball, giving Harry just enough time to swoop in and rush toward their scoring end. 

Just as quickly as (Y/N) had pulled Tom, she shoved him away and swam toward their scoring end to receive Harry’s pass and dunk the ball through the small basketball hoop. From there, the physical interaction among players only escalated. Guys were able to avoid groin kicks to one another but they were really grabby with the ball and forgot one member of their competition was female until they accidentally grabbed a boob. Used to the similar physical interaction in watermelon ball, and being too incredibly competitive to let it bother her, (Y/N) took advantage of the guys perceived awkward moment after accidentally grabbing her and scored against them. It wasn’t until the end of their fourth round that (Y/N) began to notice the looks on both Harrison’s and Tom’s faces. Both exhibited excitement but while Harrison’s showed pride, Tom’s displayed thrill--the thrill of the chase. The two didn’t square off on one another until Tom forced (Y/N) under water and Harrison hurried toward them and shoved Tom under, allowing (Y/N) to swim away throw the ball to Tony and their team to score the winning point.

After the sun was completely absent from the sky, the group decided to settle down from the roughness of their afternoon, eat dinner, and play a little beer pong. Harrison and (Y/N) stood side by side as they each took their turn throwing ping-pong balls at the red solo cups that floated opposite them.  As the songs transitioned into those of Ed Sheeran’s latest album, Harrison’s excitement and confidence boosted. Without coordinating anything, Harrison and (Y/N) began to sing ‘Shape of You.’ She laughed as he hurried his drunk slurs to hit all the right words and notes during the verses, but once the chorus came on, it was like he was at a concert, screaming to hear himself over the roar of the crowd and pounding speakers.

“I’m in love with the shape of you; we push and pull like a magnet do. Although heart is falling too, I’m in love with your body. Last night you were in my room and now my bed sheets smell like you. Every day discovering something brand new; I'm in love with your body. I'm in love with your body; every day discovering something brand new. I'm in love with the shape of you!” Laughing, he took her hands and spun her around in an attempt to dance, only to find the resistance of the water to make it much more difficult than expected. Thankfully, almost everyone had joined in with Harrison’s charade, and (Y/N) was able to deny that he was doing any of this seriously rather than to be funny or because he was taken away by the heat of the moment or the liquor in their systems.

Harrison had definitely crossed her mind in the romantic way but part of her continued to debate against taking their relationship from friendship to romance. He was nice and kind and loving and she would love to be able to see where their relationship could go, but she was more than terrified of losing the friendship she had with him. It had been ages since she had someone like Harrison in her life, and being friendless was something she was too horrified to return to that she couldn’t imagine risking what she has to maybe have something else. She wasn’t greedy, she was thankful for how things were and didn’t see a need to try and have more.

“Get it, Haz!” Zendaya and Jacob laughed. (Y/N) let out a small chuckle as the faces and voices faded in and out of her buzzed analysis of the situation. She focused on their actions rather than the implications and hurried to take her turn, inevitably missing the cup and accidentally hitting Tom in the chest.

“(Y/N), quit staring at Harrison and get your head in the game,” Tom grumbled as he rubbed water over the stinging welt on his chest. Harrison rolled his eyes and gently put his hand on (Y/N)’s shoulder in a reassuring and also possessive manner. She partially melted in his touch--ready to surrender her opposing argument and be in favor of a romantic relationship--however, the other half of her felt nothing more than a platonic, if not brotherly, protection. In hopes to drown her thoughts, (Y/N) chugged one of the cups in front of her and felt a buzz return to her head.

“Come on, mate! Don’t take your anger out on her just because you suck at beer pong,” Harrison chuckled.

“She pegged me!” Tom protested.

“I’m sorry!” (Y/N) quickly interjected with a small laugh on her lips, assuming the back and forth between Harrison and Tom was playful, friendly banter.

“Let’s go Holland!” Harrison called while slipping his arms around (Y/N)’s waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. Hesitant, her heart started to flutter against her chest in both excitement and apprehension; even if she wasn’t certain on if she wanted to start a relationship with Harrison, she at least knew she wouldn’t want something to start on the account of alcohol. Tom rolled his eyes and tried to shoot at one of the four cups he and Sam had left. After missing, he huffed as Harrison leapt back, lifted (Y/N) and spun her around in the water--her back against his chest--in a drunken, victorious jest. Tom walked to the edge of the pool, hoisted himself up, and grabbed his towel.

“Is he okay?” (Y/N) asked Harrison who shrugged in return. Her eyes then flashed toward Sam who also exchanged a look of confusion. Both of the guys she was trying to get information from were even more inebriated than she was, so she swam to the edge of the pool, got out quickly, dried off, and then picked up her phone and followed Tom’s path into Harrison’s home. Slowly, she raised her hand to the door of the room the boys used to change: Harrison’s room. As she pushed the door out of it’s closed position, (Y/N) entered to see Tom hunched over on the side of the bed staring aimlessly at his phone as his thumb scrolled against the glass screen. “Tom, are you coming back out?”

“In a minute,” he grumbled. As (Y/N) closed the door and made her way closer toward him, she could see that he was staring at a now blank screen and the reflection of his face didn’t look very happy.

“Is something wrong?” she gently asked, only to have Tom rise and face her with frustration in his eyes.

“Yeah, I don’t need you to come and check up on me when I’m just trying to cool off.” (Y/N)’s nose scrunched at his words and she turned as he tried to pass her.

“Why do you try so hard to be an asshole to me?” she called him out. Tom bit anxiously at his cheek, and turned to face (Y/N) with his eyes locked on hers.

“For Harrison’s sake,” he stated firmly as he gazed intently at her. When (Y/N)’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, Tom continued to explain in an exasperated voice, “I’m always acting like I don’t like you so Harrison doesn’t see that I actually do like you.”

“What’s the big deal with pretending not to be my friend? Harrison is your best friend and he’s one of my closet friends. He should be glad we get along!”

“Never mind,” Tom sighed while walking away. “You’re not getting it.”

“What am I not getting? You’r paranoid about Harrison knowing you’re my friend so you act like you can’t stand me! Just tell him you actually like me and that you don’t hate me, and maybe he’ll stop trying to drown you in water rugby.”

“I can’t do that to him,” Tom stated.

“Why not?” (Y/N) asked as her frustration continued to soar. Tom let out an aggravated groan and cupped (Y/N)’s face in his hands before allowing his lips to crash onto hers. Stumbling backward from the force of their bodies colliding, the pair fell on the bed, Tom’s bare chest pressed against (Y/N)’s now chillingly wet bikini top. Subconsciously, her lips opened against his, asking for more. The fluttering in her chest that rose when Harrison put her arms around her was increased to tenfold as Tom’s mouth pressed against hers. The hesitation and confusion over Harrison disappeared and everything seemed not to exist except for the moment shared between her and Tom. 

She could smell the beer on his breath as it trailed her neck but didn’t protest his touch. Even when he tugged at the strings of her top to unlace it, it was as if the rest of the world was gone. The sloppy kisses, fluttering hearts and various other products of the moment swept her away into a realm where reality ceased to exist and what was to follow seemed like a dream.

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