#and then dream starts talking over her barely 5 seconds later

[yawnderu]

Lorelei — Simon "Ghost" Riley x Reader | Part II

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Synopsis: Aware of the way his lifestyle doesn't align with your dream life and unwilling to quit his life as a soldier, Simon breaks things off with you. It isn't until a year later that he sees you again, a tiny carbon copy of him held in your arms.

"Can I hold her?" You dread the question. The way he asks it, the way he looks at you, the way you know he's going out of his comfort zone to come to your house, knowing you don't want him there.

"Sure." You put your pride aside, having the best interest of your baby in mind. The little girl is placed carefully in his arms, and it breaks your heart to see just how well she fits there, like a missing puzzle piece.

"She's so beautiful." He whispers, brown eyes fully focused on his daughter—his daughter. For someone who avoided the topic of family like the plague, the concept was still weird to even think about, despite the way the girl in his arms looked just like him when he was a baby, countless pictures hung around his house before they were permanently destroyed by his father in attempts to torment Mrs. Riley.

"What was that, Captain?" Simon crooned teasingly, leaning his head closer to the baby to try to understand the babbles that were slowly becoming more and more clear each passing week. Of course, she was still too young to talk, though the little girl loved babbling out at any given moment.

"She's lovely, isn't she? Shame she looks like you." Your words came out teasing for the first time ever since you saw him again, the banter in your previous friendship coming back for a second as he playfully glared down at you.

"Shame she acts like me too." He jested, the baby's mannerisms very reminiscent of his own. You poke your tongue out at him jokingly before looking back down at your daughter, the strings of your heart being pulled the more you stare at her. The little creature doesn't cry much, luckily, so you have all the time in the world to simply admire what you created— what you both created.

"Look at her tongue stickin' out." Simon pointed out to the baby's tiny tongue sticking out, a quiet laugh leaving his lips at the way she imitated you. You gently pinch her chubby cheek, planting a kiss on her forehead as a small laugh escapes you too. It's not hard for her to steal your heart, Simon noticed.

"Hush, darlin', daddy's busy flirtin' with mommy." He knows he's overstepping, but... it's worth the risk. He wants what you used to have back then, despite knowing he doesn't deserve it. He'll prove himself, Simon promised since the first time he saw you again.

"Just so you know, this—" You point between him, the baby, and you. "Doesn't mean we're together. Not a chance." You try to be stern, though you both can't deny the look in your eyes. Still, you resist, not wanting to be disappointed again. Simon leaving is an open wound that never healed.

"I know." He replied after a few seconds, not looking at you. His eyes were focused on the baby, holding her close to his chest as she cuddled up to him, quieting down from her babbling. He sat down on the couch, one of his fingers absent-mindedly running over the features of his daughter.

"I'm thinkin' of retiring within a year or two, once Makarov's dead." He starts hesitantly, not daring to look at you just yet.

"Do you think the three of us can be a family? I know I messed up, and I'm sorry." He finally looks up at you, though only for a short second before he's getting up again, gently putting the baby in her crib. He gives her a small plushie to cuddle, soft blanket wrapped over her tiny frame. He comes back to you, bare hands hesitantly reaching for yours before noticing you're about to recoil back. He doesn't blame you.

"I'll do anything." He swears, taking a step back to respect your personal space. You look away for a few seconds, arms crossed and a small frown on your lips. The thought of Simon leaving or dying is always there, eating at the back of your mind.

"You're retiring?" Is all you can ask, not bothering to hide the sheer curiosity and confusion. Simon has been a soldier since he was 18— it's all he knows. He has given up his entire life and family— why stop now?

"Yeah. Think it's time to slow down... actually live life a little, for once. I had to retire at some point, yeah?" It wasn't an easy choice at all. He has bled for the army countless times, lost his family because of it, lost so many allies he can't even count them in his head, yet the tiny girl was the one that made him realize enough is enough.

"Interesting." It's all you reply, eyes slightly narrowed as you look deep into his, seeking for any signs of hesitation or lying. You find none.

"I'm serious. I can be a father to her, and... a husband to you, if you let me. Just like you wanted." Just like you told him you wanted things to be. Just like he thought about before breaking up with you after 4 years.

"Don't have to give me an answer now, but I'm retirin' and that's final." He went to grab his backpack, pulling out a folder. He placed it in front of you gently before giving his sleeping daughter a soft kiss on the forehead, eyes fully focused on her as he memorized her features. It's gonna be a long time until he sees her again.

"I'm deploying in an hour." He mentioned, his back turned towards you as you read the papers. His will, updated to include your daughter. Previously, it was only you there.

"Not comin' back for a long while, unless things go well. If shit hits the fan..." He knows it's always a possibility when dealing with Makarov.

"You'll both have enough to live a good life." He was getting choked up. Not crying or tearing up, but uncomfortable enough that he was struggling to speak.

"Simon." You call out and he turns his head towards you, slight surprise in his features. It's the first time you call him Simon since he came back into your life— it used to be Ghost, much to his dismay, to place even more space between you. He never said anything about it.

"Something to keep your heart safe." You walk up to him, both of your hands holding one of his, placing a hard object in his palm. He looks down at it and his heart almost stops.

The ID bracelet your baby wore shortly after she was born. He nods his head once in acknowledgment, expression growing more determined as his fingers trace the outline of the plastic.

"Come back to her safe." Your hand hesitantly went to the back of his neck, pulling him closer until his forehead was against yours. He lets you, and you're both stuck looking deep into each other's eyes for what feels like forever.

"Come back to us." You plant a soft kiss to his forehead before letting go, basking in the slight sense of normalcy, ignoring your worthless pride for once. He leans down and returns the kiss to your forehead, nodding once. He stares down at you, memorizing your features the same way he did with your daughter before turning around and leaving, swearing to keep the silent promise with a newfound sense of determination.

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@skulfan1 @survivalshxt @ghostslittlegf

[dhiings]

𖦹 NANA Tour w/ Seventeen - EP 1

I'm sorry if there's any translation from Korean that is not entirely correct. I mainly used the sentences/convo/lines from the episode itself hihi. Currently into nana tour, cause i'm missing gose so muccch :""

Scoups entering the dark room alone to wake up Jane. 5 minutes had passed by since seventeen member knock on her door. She's the last two member to be awakened from sleep. Na PD, including the staffs still patiently waiting for her to come out. After further knocking and missed calls, still, no sign of movement or even sound. Scoups decided to take matter with his own hand by entering her room.

"nooka?", Scoups trying to wake her up in small voice. Noticing it wont work, he softly nudge her body to wake her up. "Hm? cheol oppa?", Jane starting to get in touch with the reality.

"Wake up and get ready. Everyone's waiting for you in front of the room", he answered gently. He then starts combing her messy hair with his hand waiting for an answer. "Just tell em to come inside, sleepy", she said while yawning.

"Just come in guys!", he said with a louder voice. Still standing right beside Jane who's now in sitting position instead of lying down. All members and staffs starts to barged in and immediately in awed seeing her awakened-bared face.

"Jein! Woah, you look very pretty waking up. Woah... seventeen members, as expected, handsome and beautiful humans", Na PD said.

Still in between dream land-and-reality, the only sentence that comes out of her mouth is, "Whose birthday are we going to suprise? Oh- Why so many people?". Hearing that, Seungkwan and Mingyu bursts laughing. "Yah! Someone give her water", Hoshi said. Jeonghan hand her a bottle of water. "Oh-Na pd? 안녕하세요? [hi?]", now that she's quite awake after drinking some water.

"HAHA, hi jane. C'mon, get up, were finally going to do it.. today! Youth Over Flowers!"

Still in confusion, she answered lightly, "huh? what? where?"

"Italy noona, I-TAL-LI-A" Dino added. Her eye wide open, she was gagged and her mouth was wide open.

Then, they continued to go to the next room and wake up the last member, The8. On their way to The8's room. Jane was walking beside Scoups, still in her pajama. She quietly ask him, "What about you? Are you going to go too?". He chuckled and answer, "No, how can i go.. this will need a little bit longer time to heal". Hearing that, Jane starts to look concern and sad, even though, just a second before she looks so excited with this trip. Knowing Jane have a little bit issue with separating with her loved ones, even if it's only several day, Scoups side hug her and keep reminding her, "It's okay. You'll be okay. I'm going to be okay. We're all going to be okay. Go have fun".

"OK! You only have 3 minutes to prepare. Go go go!" Na PD announce.

"WOAH, Thank god i packed my bags already. I'm a prepare child, no wonder my MBTI is 'J' '", Jane talked with the cameraman. The next moment we know, she comes back in frame looking more fresh now that she already washed her face and teeth. She quickly put on some moisturiser and put on some lip gloss. "Y'know, i feel like i'm cheating the system here by packing a small bag, but who cares, i'm just a girl hihi."

She entered the room with her finished look wrapped in a cardigan and a simple shoes. She was greeted by Na PD saying, "Ah! Bag is not allowed. It's going to get confiscated. Put it here".

Jane trying to protect her belongings by stating, "Just this small pouch! Can i just bring this pouch? this is my necessity items". Girls that get it, get it. She get a pass... BUT, only a small pouch.

Seventeen members are still speechless though (even Jane herself), they can't believe to be fooled that easily by Na PD. "To be honest, it's really hard to fool all 14 of us", Dino said.

"It's really not easy! It's really not easy!", the others comments too.

"Especially, Jane. She could always predict when something's coming!"

A while later, 6.30. Time to head to the bus. On her way to go downstairs, she saw PLEDIS CEO... "OH- 대표님!", she urged to hug him before she go inside the elevator. "Have fun, okay?" he command.

"Sir yes sir!"

Before entering the bus, she went straight to have a goodbye hug with Scoups. "I'm going to miss you, A LOT" She said, hiding her face in his neck crook. He replied, "I'm going to miss you too nooka", while hugging her back.

He starts to let go of their hug, caressing her cheek, "Go, the others waiting for you". She looks at his eye, "Wait for me okay! I'm going to go back and bring you many maany souvenirs"

At Incheon Airport, while waiting for boarding time to Rome, she stopped by a bookstore. After looking around, she decided to buy one, to accompany her during the long flight.

At the same time when Mingyu's accident (his passport when missing) happened, Jane disappears too. Wonwoo's, being the first one to noticed it, tell the others, even to the staff that haven't board yet, to help look out for her. But, before the staff could go further into panic mode, Jane appeared from the plane's bathroom.

"Sunu-ya, you scared us to death. I thought you haven't boarded and got lost", Wonwoo approached her.

"Wah, what is wrong with today. Don't give me another heart attack please. I'm begging you. And, DK, why? just whyy DK-ya?", Na PD said inside the plane. The others just chuckled.

Throughout the flight, Jane just read her book. Being bored, Wonwoo starts to get curious and kept on peeking on her. "Watchu reading?", he said trying to get her attention. Receiving no reaction from Jane, he playfully grab her hand and starts playing with her fingers.

" 'The Collected Regrets of Clover', it's sooo good", she answered. Just as she's going to flip to the next page, she can't move her hand. She tried to wiggle it out, but there's no use. Her hand is still intact with his hand. "Wonu oppa, i can't flip the next page", she complained.

"I could do it for you!", he said, flipping the page grinning.

Once they landed in Rome, Jane and the other korean members went straight to the bus after they're done with the migration. Jane decided to stick with Wonwoo and have a seat beside him. While waiting, she decided to contact her mom and Scoups informing that they already landed safely.

She leaned on Wonwoo's shoulder, occasionally peeking his phone to see him playing 'Go-Stop' with the others.

Once The8 and Jun complete their migration process, the bus started to move.

"Oh! You came"

"You're here"

"Great job"

"Come on, come on, come on"

Jane's start chatting with Jun who's seated right behind her. "You okay?". "Yeah, just tired", he answered.

"The line must be long, aigoo, you did a great job juni oppa. Here, take a choco bar i steal from the airplane", she offers

"Ah, thanks uki!"

"You too Hao oppa", giving another choco bar to The8, who's sitting not far from her.

Not being in the conversation with the others, Jane's confused on why everyone's laughing. She just stare at Wonwoo, asking 'what happened' with her eyes. "Ah, the airport is called Lenoardo da Vinci. But, DK suddenly just said, Vernon, he thought it was the other Leondardo DiCaprio", he explained.

"Ahhh", hearing that, Jane needs time to process. Then, realisation hit her. Chuckling and teasing DK. But, she get teased back because she realized too late, the joke was already stale.

Once they arrive in front of the colosseum, Jane was so amazed by it. It never conquer to her that it will be this massive big. Then, they took their own time to observe and look around.

Jane followed The8 to observe and admire it by their own eyes (not forgetting to take a picture too!).

Before they all went back, they took a photo with Scoups whose in the phone with Hoshi. "Go back to sleep, don't forget to eat the medicine. Bye bye coupsie oppa!", Jane added before Hoshi ended the call.

Arriving at the Airbnb, she decided to live in the same room with Dino and Jun. Then, she play a game that Na PD insisted, until, he decided to end it because it's hopeless seeing the member keep winning in every round. Before going to bed, they receive a letter that Scoups wrote, which ofc Jane voluntary ask if she can read it.

" Thank you for picking my letter. I feel so sorry for you guys going without any preparation. I will be waiting for you well in Korea. You can use this card however you want, okay? Have fun. I love you.", she read it aloud.

FUN FACT: the voice behind "Nana tour~" in between scene is actually jane's voice

[stevesbipanic]

Boy For All Seasons

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Ao3

Eddie's holiday planning hadn't been pushed back when finals came up so it was no surprise he wasn't graduating again this year. He thought maybe he should give it a rest, Steve wouldn't be walking the halls with him come fall anyway and he's sure Steve's parents found him a nice college to go away to.

He had decided to drown his sorrows in a new record from the new mall when all his wildest dreams were answered. Steve Harrington was still in Hawkins and he was dressed as a sailor! This was too good.

"Hello, Sailor."

"Munson! What're you doing here?" Steve's mood seemed to improve seeing the older boy, Eddie guessed anything was better than this.

"Was hot, wanted ice cream, what're you doing here I would've assumed your dad would be shipped you off to college already."

"I didn't get in anywhere." Steve looked sad at this which wouldn't do.

"Well I'm for one glad you're still around, Stevie."

A very faint blush graced Steve's cheeks, Eddie took this as a win. As he left he could've sworn someone said "That's another check on the you suck side."

Armed with the knowledge that Steve was sticking around, Eddie's plans were back in action.

He wanted to do something big for Fourth of July cause he knew he'd get away with it. Maybe fireworks in the carpark and an Uncle Sam costume.

Eddie was so excited when the day rolled around, he'd been visiting the mall when he could but wasn't always brave enough to say hello to Steve.

Eddie had loaded his totally legal fireworks into his van and was practically vibrating with glee as he drove to Starcourt. However, all the joy inside him quickly left him as he arrived. Starcourt was ablaze with police and ambulances crowding the parking lot.

Eddie could barely process his legs moving as he jumped out of the van, heart in his throat. He doesn't think he took a breath until his eyes landed on Steve hunched over at the back of one of the ambulances.

Steve was covered in blood, his uniform seeped in it and his face busted up.

"Steve, holy fuck are you ok?"

"Eddie? You can't be here...Russians.... Billy....Dustin?" Steve mumbled his eyes not totally focusing on Eddie.

Steve seemed like he could barely hold himself up, Eddie grabbed the cloth that was slipping from Steve's grip and held him up by his shoulder.

"What happened, sweetheart."

"Hurts..."

"I know, Stevie, I'm sorry, I'm sure a paramedic will be back any second."

"You look funny," Steve giggled.

Eddie cracked a smile through the worry, "Yeah well had a whole little suprise for you."

"Bet I would've loved it."

Before Eddie could reply again a girl, covered in a lot less blood came up to them.

"I've got him, Munson."

"Buckley?"

Robin ignored him in favour of taking care of Steve, who's eyes were starting to slip close.

"You gotta stay awake, dingus, that paramedic said you've got a concussion, they're gonna take you to hospital, ok?"

Steve hummed a reply as he lent against her.

"You should get out of here before the cops try to talk to you, Eddie."

Eddie spared one last glance at Steve before nodding, Steve was safe for now and that's what mattered.

As he lay in bed later that night his plans for flustering Steve was overuled for his worry for them, what had Steve gotten himself into, what was he talking about Russians for, fire definitely doesn't cause bruises like that.

That night he dreamt about Steve laying hurt in Starcourt, when he woke up all he wanted was to go and check on him, he promised himself he'd keep a closer eye on him from now on.

Tags: Tags: @zerokrox-blog @smallfrogpleasedtomeetyou @eboyawstenn @sharingisntkaren @goodolefashionedloverboi @the-redthread @steddie-there @questionablequeeries @liorereshkigal @mightbeasleep @carlyv @my2amgaythoughts @gregre369 @space-invading-pigeon @bisexualdisastersworld @epiclazershark @sherrylyn628 @nelotegreitic

[gnattyplayssims]

1965 Pt1 - Nightmares

TW//Panic attack

"I can't believe your parents allowed it."

"Why cause I'm a boy?"

"Well yeah. Earrings are for girls."

"What about you?"

"I want to...but I'm scared. Doesn't it hurt"

"It's not that bad. Just a little pinch and it's over."

"Okay...I trust you."

On the other side of the door, everything seemed to freeze for Sofia. In an instant she had been transported back 15 years. Mathias had her pressed against the fence again.

"I trust you...I'm just scared...won't it hurt."

She stumbled back down the stairs. "Mommy?"

In her mind there was a room devoid of color. A place filled with the things Don had once whispered in her ear.

"No matter where you go...I'll always be there. In your mind, consuming your body. Keep your eyes on me, My Dove. Satisfy only me and you will never have to worry."

"You're too trusting Sofia...You walked right out of the lions den into the snake pit. You want to think you're worth something? You're not...your own mother didn't even want you."

"Please stop."

"How old is Ava now? 16? 15? The same age you were. Watch how they break her."

Sofia barely managed to stumble down the steps "MOM!" Thomas yelled for her but Sofia couldn't hear him. In that room in her mind only one thing mattered and it wasn't her. In that room she was nothing but a body, a slave to man's desires...and she could never escape.

"Please stop...please..."

Thomas covered his ears trying to block out his mom's crying. She calmed a bit at his voice "Mommy?"

Thomas couldn't know what was happening in his mother's mind or why a gentle touch would send her over the edge. "I'm sorry!"

He ran from the room.

In that room Don and Jameson had their way with her. Again and again she was used by them. Again and again their lies sunk deeper into her broken heart. And everytime it ended the same way...her on her knees...the door opening...a detective walking in...

"Sofia?"

Nikolas sat in front of Sofia and pressed his hands gently to her neck but she jerked at his touch. "Please don't Nikolas." She was shaking.

He tipped her head back but her eyes weren't focusing on him. "Sofia? Take my hand. Keep your eyes on me. That's it. Come back to me."

"Nikolas?"

He let out a breath of relief. "You had me worried there. Your dad said that would help but for a second..."

"My dad?"

"Your mom used to have attacks too...after she gave you up. Sofia, when did the nightmares start again?"

"They never really stopped."

"What? Sofia that's 5 years. You told me things were getting better."

"They are. I can control it now. Like when the kids are at school or asleep. The smoking helps...and the alcohol."

"Sofia," His voice broke, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't want you to see me as broken."

While Sofia showered, Nik called Hezekiah and made arrangements for Sofia to move back home and helped the kids pack their things. Two hours later she still hadn't come out and he got worried.

"Turn it back on!"

"No. Water costs money and you've used enough for today."

"So do you want to talk about it?"

Sofia shook her head. "They're just stupid dreams."

"Clearly not stupid. Was it Don?"

She nodded, "And Jameson...I dream of them both now...you're in my dreams too."

"Oh?"

"Yeah...you come in while I'm...well...and you always join them."

"Oh..." silence settled over them for a moment. "Damn...I'm even messing up in your dreams."

"You didn't mess up today...I...felt safe when you touched me. I'm sorry I know it doesn't make sense."

"No it's okay. You've been through a lot. Your brain is still figuring it out."

He took her hand and she jerked when his fingers traced her scars but he held firm. "There are other ways to release pain." She was staring at him "What?"

"You're touching my scars"

"Yeah."

"Jameson never did"

"The scars are a part of you Sofia and I accept all parts of you."

He stood to his feet suddenly, the atmosphere in the room shifting him towards thoughts he didn't want to entertain. He grabbed a towel and pulled her to her feet, draping it over her shoulders. "I'm taking you to your parents. I know you didn't want to but..."

"Thank you, Nik."

Later that night after an exhausting day of moving their things and settling in at grandma and grandpa's Ava found Thomas in her room. "Tommy what are you doing in here?"

"I want to sleep with you."

"But why? You have your own bed. Grandma set it up just for you."

Thomas didn't respond and Ava sat next to him. "What's going on?"

"I made mommy upset and that's why we had to move here."

"Thomas. No. That's not true at all. Mom...it's hard to explain but what happened today was not your fault. You did exactly what you were supposed to."

"I got to sit in a cop car!"

"Wow just like a real criminal. Maybe next time they'll take you to jail."

"No, Nikolas would never take me."

She grabbed his neck and tousled his hair. "You don't think so? I think you're the perfect culprit. No one ever suspects the nice ones."

"Ava?"

"Yeah."

"I hope you have your defenses ready cause...attack!" Thomas squirmed out of her arms and began tickling her.

"No fair! I wasn't ready!"

"You have to be ready at all times! You left yourself wide open."

"I thought we were having a moment."

Thomas just grinned.

"When I get older, I want to be an officer just like Nikolas."

"You can be whatever you want." She pulled him into a hug. "Tommy, you and I had some pretty crappy dad's and they hurt mom a lot but never doubt that she loves you very much and would do anything to protect you."

1965 Pt2 - Hannukah Confession

[adammbakri]

H’ai

ABOUT FIVE OR SIX YEARS AGO

I was back home on a family visit. Summers in New York get suffocating, so I got into the habit of spending most of them in Palestine.

One early morning, while I was in a state between sleeping and waking - later I would learn that this phenomena has been scientifically termed “hypnopompic state” - I saw him standing on the edge of my bed: a tiny little boy of 4 or 5 years old, about 10 CM long (a little over 4 inches) with wavy brown curls and big brown eyes! He seemed to be looking at me as if in a state of wonder, and his eyes kept getting larger and larger. Expressionless really, but not unfriendly. The dream must have continued for a few seconds before I woke up with a very agreeable feeling. However, not intrigued enough, I rushed to a lazy conclusion that it was most likely my appreciation for "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that unconsciously concocted this whole surrealistic vision. So I brushed it off and went about my day.

FAST FORWARD FOUR OR FIVE YEARS (During which I didn’t give the vision any serious thoughts)  

Excerpts from my diary: August, Summer of 2022 The city of Hammamat, Tunisia

Entry 1. 8/1: I arrived at the studio today. There were a group of men standing at the entrance. I didn’t recognize any of them except the line producer whom I recognized from his profile photo on whatsapp. The strangest thing happened! Upon seeing me entering, he said, "here comes the spy". Huh? If that was a joke, it was shockingly bizarre. And if it wasn’t, I am very confused.

I was supposed to have a fitting at 4pm. I waited in a dusty fitting room smelling a mixture of mole and sewage. The fitting ladies have left their lunch boxes uncovered so flies were swarming everywhere. The costume designer didn’t show up. Neither did her associates. I left.

Entry 2. 8/2: I had my first session with the sword trainer this morning. He didn’t speak a word of English or Arabic.  He only spoke Spanish and had a cigarette in his mouth the entire time. The session, according to the training schedule, was supposed to be a full hour solely with me. Instead, we mimed our way through for 15 minutes with the presence of another actor, a young kid of 16 or 17 who kept his sunglasses all the time and barely said hi. I am supposed to start shooting in a week or so.

Entry 3. 8/3: I had a fitting today and I like the costumes. They look good on me. I bumped into the director today. We exchanged hello and I expressed my enthusiasm, an interaction of 7 seconds in total. Weather is unbearably hot.

Entry 4. 8/4: Line producer called me yesterday at 10pm. I was in bed. He mumbled something about the horse trainer sending a report against me, saying I can’t ride a horse! Huh? What horse trainer? I haven’t seen him! He must have mistaken me with someone else. He said no, he sent him my picture! I said I have shot an entire movie for 3 months and a half riding a horse, having had trained intensively for 7 months prior to that. What is he talking about? Line producer kept making this weird sound: ha’m h’am. What the hell was that? Was he actually listening to me? I think he is either clinically retarded or has serious concentration issues. Where am I? Who are these people?

Entry 5. 8/5: Over breakfast, I met one of the actors on the show. He said, "the staff of the hotel love you… those are the people that count - the real people - Don't mind what others say." What others say!!!! What did he mean by that! I wish he didn't say that because now I will be walking and looking behind my back!

Entry 6. 8/6: this production is a disaster. I have to get things done, and do my work to the best of my abilities despite of this chaos.   These are things that are way beyond my control. I am not responsible for teaching people how to follow a protocol. Or how to be decent human beings.

Entry 7. 8/7: We haven't had any rehearsal or meeting with the director yet. They told me he doesn't want to rehearse or meet! How strange! I see him at the gym from time to time. He is on his phone the entire time. We exchange hellos! He actually knows I'm one of the main actors of his show, the one he is supposed to direct, but he doesn't seem very interested in meeting me. What is going on? Who IS this guy?

Entry 8. 8/8: I can’t have this food anymore. I am going to get sick. From now on my dinner will be my lunch.

Entry 9. 8/9: colleagues who were friendly to me are now cold. Barely saying hi. I am so confused.  Why is this happening to me?  What is happening?  I miss Cynthia.  

Entry 10. 8/10: They cancelled my shooting days again. I can't take it anymore.

Entry 11. 8/11: I miss Cynthia so much.  

Entry 12. 8/12: First day of shoot was supposed to happen today. I waited 8 hours on set today at the end of which the 3rd AD came and said I can go home because we are not shooting.

I want to quit this show.

Entry 13. 8/13: At breakfast one of the actors told me the main actor left the show, and they are restarting everything. I am shocked.

I  called my father, told him what happened and said “I want to leave this show” . He said no I should stick around. It’ll be good for my career and I have to do my work professionally.  He seemed preoccupied so I let him go.  My anxiety is sky rocketing.

Entry 14. 8/14: shoot’s been delayed for another 5 days.  It’s been two weeks and I can’t stand it. It is grueling.  But I am here for work and I am a professional actor.  Repeat after me Adam: It’s going to be okay.

Entry 15. 8/15: first shooting day. Director doesn’t show up to set?  How is that possible?  

Entry 16. 8/16: I need to pick up my colors again.  Either that or I seriously get sick here.

AND I DID

I had watched a course on Domestika where the artist suggests the idea of writing down one's needs at the moment in time prior to creating a painting. So I followed his suggestion! The first thought I wrote was “I need a friend”. Then as I began to put my thoughts onto the paper, sketching out each detail and curve, something magical started to happen. The lines and shapes effortlessly took on a life of their own, gradually forming into the image of a little boy. And then, as I looked at the finished drawing, it hit me like a bolt of lightning - this was the same child who had appeared in my dream years ago! He was there all along! He never left my subconscious! All I had to do was bring him to the surface. With every stroke of my pencil, I felt as though I was breathing life into this new friend, watching him come alive on the page before me.  

Upon finishing up the first sketch I caught myself uttering the word “Kh’ai” … it’s a sound that Lebanese people use to express a feeling of relief or release… My wife uses it often. Holding the pen, I looked at the character and said he is H’ai with an H sound, not a KH.

H’ai is an Arabic word which means alive, thriving, breathing or animated.

I did end up leaving the show, or “forced to leave”, but thanks to H’ai, I was able to keep my peace and sanity through that awful time! Creating tens and tens of sketches and drawings that continue to this day! H’ai became not only a friend but a guide, a channel through which I connect to the Source of all things - the omnipresent - from which I draw upon images of beauty and wisdom. Drawing H’ai has become one of my most spiritual practices, akin to a meditation... a sacred ritual, healing, and divine. 

Darkness IS the absence of Light. But the concept of light cannot exist without its opposite. So yes, it goes without saying, I am forever grateful for the darkness that allowed H’ai to be manifested. To emerge as a beacon of Light… 

P.s visit my art page on Instagram: @adammbakriart to meet H’ai (:

Adam

[pureimaginationts4]

The very first generation (1): Countryside Sweethearts

It seems that I have an obsession over countryside sweetheart couples =)) When I first tried The Sims 4 like 5-6 years ago, the very first sims I made was a poor couple coming from some rural area trying to follow their dreams and from zero they gradually built up a very good life together. But right after they moved in the mansion they had been saving up their entire life for, my female sim fell into a pond full of piranhas and died out of nowhere. I was too shocked to keep playing so I quitted The Sims 4 for a while.

When I got over the shock and downloaded TS4 again, well, it was easy to guess that the very first generation of my "trying TS4 again" phase was still a countryside sweetheart couple: Alan Hanley and Anna Connor.

Alan was a poor smart med student who had just moved to a big city to attend Foxbury Institute, the top university of medical. He first saw Anna in a kind of universities' exchange event where she performed a beautiful piano concerto on behalf of her art school University of Britechester. He fell in love with her at the first sight and knew right away that she was the one for him. Anna also had feelings for him and they gradually became a well-known couple among the students because even though many rich men fought for the attention of the most beautiful and talented girl of the Britechester, Anna only loved Alan with her whole heart.

After graduation, they started their careers from the lowest positions. Alan became a medical technologist at the most reliable hospital of the city while Anna started to work as a pianist and music composer. Without good finance, they had to overcome so many obstacles to follow their dreams but they always encouraged each other and made all the efforts to build up a better life together.

Alan promised himself that he would give his beloved Anna the best life he could offer and he indeed worked so hard to climb the career ladder faster than anyone because he didn't want his Anna to wait for so long and the day he was officially promoted to be a doctor, he proposed to Anna and gave her the dream wedding they had always talked about.

(I did not know about the camera and screenshot function back then so barely had good pictures of their wedding =)) only phone camera and selfies haha)

Things got better and better and finally they saved up enough to buy their first house. Even though it was a lovely small house, they were still very happy to obtain their first achievement together. They also adopted a cute little puppy named Cookie.

After two years of marriage, Anna carried their first child James Hanley.

Alan was a very loving husband and amazing dad. Though he got busier and busier when he became a world-famous surgeon, he always spent time for his kid and his wife.

Growing up in a lot of love from his parents, James was a cheerful and sweet kid. He was also a genius like his dad and a music lover like his mom.

Some more years later, another adorable baby girl came to this world and was named Rachel Hanley (well, a lot of pictures of the first kid but I was too tired when it came to the second one so there were not many pictures of her =))) Though her name Rachel has the meaning of "purity" (one of my fav names), she was actually the wildest spirit in the family and Anna had a lot of headaches dealing with her daughter's rebellious phases.

Together, Alan and Anna raised their kids, watched them grow up and walked with them through important milestones of their lives.

After almost 20 years of marriage, Alan and Anna was still deeply in love like their first days. His favorite thing was to watch Anna play the piano. It always recalls the first time he saw her shine on the university event stage.

Though he always said Anna was his muse, he was actually the inspiration of many of her famous music compositions, which helped her obtain a lot of notable awards. The inspiring story of the popular music composer Anna and her university sweetheart was very famous in the showbiz and they were the golden couple that a lot of people admired.

Anna still kept and treasured everything Alan gave her, especially the guitar which was the very first present that the poor med student Alan skipped many meals to save up for and gave her on her 20th birthday.

Alan and Anna slowly grew old together. They fulfilled their lives with a lot of laughters and happiness.

They even had a chance to watch their grandchildren grow up.

Alan was the first one to say goodbye to this world. He passed away at the age of 90. Though she was a bit lonely, Anna still had a lot of memories of Alan to recall day by day and she knew they had spent a contented lifetime together. 5 years later she reunited with Alan in the afterlife.

Here's the last picture of Anna taken with her son James before she passed away.

And that's the story of the first generation of The Hanley aka one of my favorite couples, Alan and Anna.

(It was so sad to watch they go though :()

[beacon-lamp]

Tommy’s stresm rn.....think we’re in the bad place boys

i go to twitch dot tv slash tommyinnit.

i hear pewdiepie and dream interrupting pokimane after she asked them to let her talk.

i leave twitch dot tv slash tommyinnit.

[nottherealmax]

I am actually intrigued by Cal and Jules' connection/psychic bond and this become longer than I intended but bear with me for a moment.

When the show starts we know that Calliope has been in Savannah for about 2 weeks, I think? And that Juliette has been crushing hard on her this whole time. Then after their first kiss happens, when they're talking outside the school, there’s that moment when Cal admits she hadn’t been able to keep her eyes off from Jules the whole time too, so much so that she figured out Jules was a vamp. Keep in mind that she would have had to look real close, bc Ben who knew Jules his whole life never even suspected, and sure, Cal has the advantage of being a hunter and knowing what signs to look for.

So we know about Jules' crush because we see it, but then it is clear that Cal had also been very infatuated with Jules from the beginning, too. 

And that could be some Romeo & Juliet parallel or something, if I remember correctly Romeo is basically declaring his undying love to Juliet 0.3 seconds after he sees her and they barely even interacted, but I think it is more than that, too. 

So, their connection:

First, in ep 3, the first dream they share, Juliette says they’re on Eden, “the beginning”, and says that when she bit Cal, she had no idea it would link them like that, but that doesn’t entirely make sense, because imagine if every vampire made this kind of connection with everyone they bit? And we see Elinor biting this guy and letting him go, we see other vampires biting the blood servant and it is never implied that they have a connection like this.

Then in ep 4, Juliette turns around to save Cal bc she says she heard her scream. But even before that, when Oliver tells her to run, she says Cal's name as if she could sense she was in danger? Later Cal points out that she actually had her mouth taped so she couldn't scream, but she was screaming inside which kind of implies that on some level they can hear each other's thoughts? Or Jules could hear Cal’s at least.

Cal tells Juliette that she’s in her head because Jules bit her, and she’s not sure if what she feels is real or is happening because of the bite, but we as the audience know she had been at least infatuated with Jules even before she was bitten, and we also know she wouldn’t have staked Jules if Jules hadn’t bitten her. Even though by that point a) they had talked only twice and b) she was 100% sure that Jules was a vampire, she was willing to let a so-called monster go because of what then?

In the locker room scene in ep 5, Cal tells Jules that it’s like they’re connected, not because of the weird dreams, but something else. Does she somehow know/feels their connection goes beyond that of the bite?

There’s also the matter of Cal’s blood; when they find Noah’s body, there’s a pool of blood on the floor and Juliette is not at all bothered by it, but when Cal is hurt, she’s immediately affected to the point where she can’t barely even control herself, like she was mesmerized by the smell of it, (like Edward with Bella lmao) and then she actually loses control, up until Oliver shows up and threatens Cal and Jule’s instinct to protect her wins out against her bloodlust. 

Then when she’s explaining the severing, Talia says “when a vampire bites a human, it can create a psychic bond between them”, the ritual can break this bond. But what are the criteria for this bond to be created in the first place, because I’m pretty sure it doesn't happen every single time a vampire bites a human. 

How does it work? Does the vampire need to want this bond to be created or is it random? And then, why doesn’t the severing work? Like, immediately after the Severing when Cal visits Jules’ dream, it sort of feels like she has to be let in first? With her throwing rocks in the window and then waiting for Jules to let her in, like the dream visit thing doesn’t happen on its own, it’s not something they have no choice over, it feels like they both have to be willing for it to happen. 

As it was with Jules hearing Cal scream, there’s that moment when Jules climbs through Cal’s bedroom window, she asks Cal how did she hear her, and Cal answer “I didn’t. But I knew you were here.” So because of their bond, they just know when the other is close. 

In ep 7 Cal says to Jules “I can't eat, sleep or think straight, unless we're together,” and that's a very teenager in love type of thing to say, except that Cal doesn't strike me as a person that gets like this because of an infatuation, it feels like there’s more to that than just what she’s saying. Is this a collateral effect of their bond? Like, they just have this uncontrollable urge to be near each other?

Talia also says “Clearly, the severing didn't work. And it didn't work because Cal is with her of her own free will.” 

Cal very obviously isn’t fighting against their connection anymore and I think that could be partially because their connection was there before they even talked with each other.

In ep 5, when they’re in the woods, Jules’ voiceover says “it’s impossible to be immune to the insanity of first love, a union predestined, written in the stars.”

Were Cal and Jules predestined to meet? They both mention feeling like they are meant to be together, so is their bond like a soulmate type of thing? 

Right now my theory is that if their connection was there from the moment they met, even before they talked, maybe the bite just made it stronger, and that’s why the severing didn’t work because the ritual was supposed to break a bond that was created by the bite, and their bond already existed before, it just got amplified by it. But if the bite didn’t create this bond between them, then what does it mean?

[katiesharms]

i'm gonna get right for you honey

fandom: top gun: maverick pairing: phoenix/hangman rating: G word count: 3k requested: yes! by a couple of commenters on ao3

summary: “Marry me.”

Instead of saying yes or bursting into tears or professing her love for him like he’s been trained by movies to expect, Nat laughs. A full belly, doubled-over laugh.

or

5 times Hangman asked Phoenix to marry him and 1 time he didn't

a/n: a couple of people in the comments asked for a fic about how jake proposed, so here it is! hope you enjoy :) title from let's get married by the bleachers

1

The first time he asks her, it’s a joke. Mostly. 

They’re not even dating, barely friends, just two people thrown together because both of their squadrons are always grouped for scheduling purposes. But that’s not to say he’s not still harboring that pathetic crush from flight school.

So when she walks into their early morning meeting, her WSO close behind, piled high with Starbucks cups, he thinks she looks like the perfect woman. Or maybe that’s his 4 hours of sleep talking; he had a long night. Jake has no idea how Natasha seems so fresh and chipper this early, nor how she and her WSO, Chaser, had time to stop at Starbucks for a truly astronomical amount of coffee.

She and Chaser start handing out the cups to the clamoring aviators, matching the names on the sleeves with the people grasping desperately for their caffeine. Jake hopes she has his cup, if only for the brief thrill he’d get when their fingers brush on the hand-off.

His prayers are answered when she turns to him, holding a coffee out to him. She’s like some twisted version of a wet dream, gorgeous and handing him something that keeps him upright.

“Oh my God, marry me,” Hangman moans as he grabs the cup from her. 

“You talking to me or the coffee?”

His heart skips a beat, like some fucking romance cliche, when he realizes he said that out loud and not in his head. He’s way more tired than he thought. 

“Uh, the coffee,” he answers unconvincingly, and a smirk dances at the corners of her mouth.

“Harboring something sweet for me, Bagman?”

And fuck, is he. But he can’t exactly tell Natasha that now, surrounded by both their squadrons and half sleep-drunk. Not when she’s never once hinted that she sees this, understands them.

“Yeah, this,” he retorts instead, pulling his hand out of his pocket to reveal he’s flipping her off.

“Aw, who knew you could be such a romantic?” Phoenix coos, jokingly cloying.

He’s saved from having to devise another clever response by Coyote, swooping in to grab his cup.

“Jesus, Phoenix, did you mislabel those, or have you forgotten how much I hate almond milk?” Coyote asks as he forces down the first sip, grimacing. 

“Sorry, I can’t keep track of everyone’s order; there’s like 30 of you.”

Hangman, suddenly worried, takes an experimental sip of his coffee. It’s perfect; no sugar with just a splash of milk. He’s pretty sure she even got the 2% right. Swallowing, he looks up to confront her on it and finds her avoiding his gaze, engaging in a conversation with Sting instead of meeting his gaze. Deciding that he doesn’t have the energy to bring it up just yet, he files it away for later.

2

The second time he asks, it’s out of panic.

He doesn’t even know how the argument started, just that they’re now screaming at each other in his apartment, so loud that his neighbors will probably ask him about it the next day. Two months into this relationship, and this is their first real knock-down, drag-out fight, one where he doesn’t know what will happen at the end of it.

“Jesus Christ, you have the emotional maturity of a five-year-old,” she spits out, rounding the corner into the living room.

“And you have the judgmental frostiness of an android,” he volleys back, following her.

“Wow, what a great pair we make.” She scoffs as she reaches her destination: her bag on the table. 

“I don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal about this.”

Her eyes flash dangerously. “That’s part of the problem, Jake.”

She pushes past him, and he doesn’t realize what’s happening until her hand wraps around the doorknob.

“No, Nat, wait, don’t go, please,” he pleads, reaching out to grab her arm. When he closes his hand around her forearm, she shrugs his grip off but doesn’t move further away.

“I just think it’s best if we get some space. Calm down.” Her voice contains a simmering rage that he can only hear because he knows her so well.

“I don’t want space; I want you,” he says desperately, and somewhere in his rattled brain, he decides it’s a good idea to drop down to his knees. 

“What are you doing?” she hisses, trying to tug him up, but he stays put. 

“Marry me, Nat. Let’s get married. I don’t want space or a break or anything. I want to spend my life with you.”

She doesn’t say anything, just watches him with a vaguely disappointed look on her face. It makes his stomach drop.

“Jake, get up,” she says wearily instead of answering. Well, he supposed that is an answer.

“I’m serious.” He remains on his knees, though the hard floor is doing them no favors. 

“No, you’re not,” she says matter of factly. “You’re just scared, and you don’t want this to end.”

His panic somehow ratchets up. “Please don’t end this,” he practically begs.

“I’m not,” Nat says emphatically. “I just don’t think either of us is in a good state of mind to be having these conversations. I’m going to go home, but I’ll be back in the morning.”

“You promise?” he asks weakly, grabbing one of her hands in both of his, rubbing his thumb along the back of it.

She smiles down at him, fond and annoyed all at the same time. “I promise. You promise to make good decisions tonight?”

He rolls his eyes, the frantic energy leaving his body. He’s now just tired. “Yeah, yeah. I won’t go buy a ring or anything.”

“Oh my God, please don’t,” she implores.

Jake finally rises to his feet and releases her hand. “I’ll call you tomorrow?” he asks timidly.

“Yeah, call me tomorrow,” she confirms, and he watches her walk out the door.

3

The third time, he’s serious. 

Well, he doesn’t have a ring, or a speech prepared, or even a plan, but he’s positive he wants to marry her. And that feels like enough to him. He loves her and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. That’s all you need, right?

So as he’s watching her carefully read the instructions on how to put together their new dining table, he blurts it out.

“Marry me.”

Instead of saying yes or bursting into tears or professing her love for him like he’s been trained by movies to expect, Nat laughs. A full belly, doubled-over laugh.

“No,” she chokes out through her amusement.

“What do you mean no?” he grumbles.

“I mean no!”

“You’re not gonna explain why? I’m kinda hanging here with my dick out, Phoenix; wanna let me in on your thought process?”

She hums, tilting her head to the side and looking up in thought. “Nah.”

“C’mon, babe, I propose, and you can’t even give me a serious answer?”

She laughs again, and Hangman feels a scowl settle over his face. “You call that a proposal?”

“It felt like a proposal, yeah.”

“There was no ring!”

And okay, yeah, he doesn’t have a ring, but it’s not like this was a spur-of-the-moment thing. They live together! They’re going to get married eventually, so why not make it official?

“I love you, and I want to spend my life with you. If I can look at you, sweaty and grumpy, struggling to put together a piece of furniture, and still want to be with you, that means this is forever, right? I mean, we’re gonna get married eventually, so why not just get engaged?”

“Real romantic, babe,” she says sardonically, heading to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Jake tries not to feel offended at how nonchalant she is about the whole thing.

“C’mon, you’re hardly a romantic.”

“Sorry if I expected a little more reasoning than ‘might as well’ when my boyfriend proposed to me.”

“So, to clarify, you’re saying no?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, you’re saying yes?”

She laughs. “Yes, I’m saying no. Babe, it’s barely been a year, and we were deployed for most of it. Let’s learn how to be us on dry land first.”

“Fine,” he relents. “But this isn’t the last of this conversation.”

“Sure, babe,” she says, her glass at her lips, “whatever you say.”

4

The fourth time, he really thinks she should accept. 

If not because they love each other, then at least for the practical reasons.

He’s on the tail end of his leave when he gets his next assignment. Both of them hope he’ll finally get reassigned to Lemoore, where she is, where their home is, and where their friends are. It’s been some long months alone out east, and Jake is tired of the distance. He knows they’ll never fly together, that they shouldn’t fly together, but he wants them to at least be in the same time zone.

She gets her email 30 minutes before he does but waits patiently for his to arrive in his inbox. When it does, they open them together, hands grasped on the table.

When Natasha reads hers, she breaks out into a grin. Jake’s face falls, and so does hers when she looks up to see his expression.

“Again?” she asks, crestfallen.

“Again,” he confirms, placing his phone on the table. Nat puts hers down next to his, and he sees the difference. His reading out ‘Oceana,’ hers reading ‘Lemoore’.

“I should’ve known that when Mav said he’d put in a word for me, it’d have the opposite effect,” Jake grumbles, not completely serious. He knows that Maverick tried his best, but there’s only so much sway he can have without Admiral Kazansky still around.

She places a comforting arm around his shoulders, leaning to rest her weight against his. He brings his hand up to play with where her hair is falling out of her ponytail.

“I still don’t know why they moved you off Lemoore.”

“Because Bradshaw retired, and they needed to fill his spot.” Jake’s not positive that’s why, but he likes making this Rooster’s fault, somehow.

Nat rolls her eyes. “Don’t blame Rooster for this.”

“I’ll blame him for anything; you know that.”

She playfully slaps his arm but otherwise doesn’t dignify it with a response. The two of them just sit like that for a moment, enjoying what they now know are some of their last moments together for months. He hates that the Navy is still keeping them apart, that both of their desires to be the best and strive for greatness, which is what brought them together, is making sure they’re on opposite sides of the country. 

There has to be a way for them to stay together.

“What if we got married?” he asks, staring at their mismatched emails forlornly. 

“Is this your way of improving your previous proposal?”

“I’m not being romantic about it; I’m being practical. If we get married, we have a much higher chance of being stationed together.”

“Practically, what every girl dreams of,” she says sarcastically. 

“C’mon, don’t be like that. I’m being practical so that we can be romantic. It doesn’t have to be a real marriage, just one to keep us together until we’re ready for the real thing.”

“You’re not helping your case.” Natasha’s angry now, scowling as she disentangles herself from Jake and stands up. He can tell from the set of her jaw and the narrowing of her eyes that she’s genuinely pissed.

“Are you seriously mad at me right now?” he asks, bewildered.

She’s silent for a little bit as she angrily transfers dishes from the sink to the dishwasher, not meeting his eyes. With one final slam of the dishwasher door shut, she turns to him, still mad.

“Marriage isn’t a solution to a problem, Hangman.” And oof, the callsign. He’s in some real trouble. “It means something, or at least it does to me. You can’t just keep suggesting it when you don’t know what else to do.”

“It’s not like that,” he tries desperately, but he’s not sure he believes it. “I love you. So much. And I want to be with you forever.”

“Getting married is about building a life together. It’s a real commitment, a choice you make every day. We’re not getting married on a whim.”

Every word she says hits Jake squarely in the stomach. He hadn’t realized how much the idea of marriage actually meant to Nat. Maybe he should’ve, but he didn’t, and instead, has shown her that he doesn’t respect something important to her. If she wants him to take this seriously, he will.

“Okay,” Jake concedes quietly, stopping Nat in her conversational tracks. “I’m sorry for being so glib about it. I’m just tired of missing you all the time.”

Her face softens into something more sympathetic, and she pulls him into a hug by the back of his neck. “It’s okay; we’ll be okay. First chance I get, I’m flying out to you.”

“Not if I come here first.”

5

The fifth time, he really thinks it’s the one. 

Phoenix gets a weekend off before he does, and she flies out to Virginia Beach about two months after their assignments start. When he pulls her into a crushing hug in arrivals, he wonders if she can feel the ring in his pocket, nestled right up against his heart.

Jake bought it the day before he left Lemoore. When he texted her sisters their opinion, the two of them FaceTimed him immediately to bombard him with questions. After assuring them that he was getting a ring just to be ready, they helped him pick out the perfect, simple one for her.

Unlike the previous attempts, Hangman has an actual plan this time. He pulls out all the stops: a romantic dinner at a restaurant his wingman recommended, a walk along the beach, and a proposal with the sun setting over the Atlantic. He even has a speech prepared.

Over her handmade pasta and his steak, she teases him about the grandeur of her first night in.

“One would think it’s been two years and not two months since we saw each other.”

“It might as well have been two years to me.”

She rolls her eyes, but there’s no heat in it, only fondness. At least she seems to accept his response, not pushing further. Jake subconsciously reaches into his pocket to run a finger over the ring box.

“I was thinking we could go for a walk on the beach when we’re done,” he offers over dessert. “I’m not sure how it’ll compare to the Pacific, but I thought you might wanna see it after being stuck in Lemoore for so long.”

“That sounds great,” Nat agrees readily. “Is it far from here?”

It’s not; a short drive from the restaurant. The sun is beginning to lower, washing them in a golden light. Natasha looks absolutely radiant, and Jake realizes, belatedly, that he never got a photographer to capture the moment. He hopes some kind strangers will get a few good shots.

When they step out of his truck, Nat takes his offered arm and leans against him as they start to stroll through the sand. He doesn’t have a full plan from here on out, just waiting to gain enough courage to actually pop the question. He lets her take the conversational lead, explaining Julia’s annoying new boss and the ridiculous daily updates she gets about him. After about 15 minutes, Jake feels it. He feels ready. They’re in a more secluded part of the beach, very few people around, and he decides it’s time. Pulling ahead of Nat, he turns to face her, stopping her in her tracks.

“Jake?” She’s understandably confused at his abrupt action.

He fumbles a little bit with what to do with his hands before settling on grasping hers. His entire prepared speech flies out of his mind, and he decides to improvise.

“Natasha, I love you. I love you so much, like I’ve never loved anyone before. And there is no doubt in my mind that I will love you for the rest of my life. So -” Jake realizes that he’s still standing, having missed a crucial step. So he drops down to one knee in the sand, ignoring the way it shifts uncomfortably beneath him.

Fumbling in his pocket for the little box, he looks up to find Nat watching him, wide-eyed and shocked. Her mouth is pinched tight at the corners, and her wide-eyed expression shoots worry through him.

Before he can even pull out the ring, she places a hand on his shoulder, and his heart stops.

“Jake,” she starts, apologetic.

“Are you seriously saying no before I can even ask?” He tries not to sound like a petulant child, but he’s frustrated, unsure of what he did wrong.

“I’m sorry,” she says genuinely, and Jake realizes she’s crying.

He immediately pulls himself to his feet, putting a hand up her cheek. Maybe this isn’t about him after all.

“Shit, don’t be sorry. It’s okay, really.” The last thing Jake wants is her thinking she’s disappointed him somehow.

“It’s not that I don’t love you or want to spend my life with you,” she sniffs. “I just don’t know if I’m ready to get married yet.”

“That’s okay,” he reassures. “We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for. I do wish you’d talked to me about this before I made a fool of myself on this public beach.”

“Sorry,” she apologizes again, and Jake waves her off. “I guess I didn’t know I wasn’t ready until you were on your knees and asking. I never really thought about it.”

“Even though I asked before?”

“Those barely count, and you know it. But still, I guess it says something that even after those times, I never thought about it too much.”

Nat’s tears have slowed down, but she’s still a little blubbery, so Jake keeps brushing his fingers across her cheek to collect them. It’s far from the ugliest cry he’s ever seen from her, but it’s one of the more concerning ones.

“Babe, I’m not upset or annoyed or anything, I promise. We’re in this together, right? So, like everything, we’ll make this decision together. When you’re ready, we can talk about it.”

Natasha nods along, but there’s still a bit of doubt in her eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

He could laugh at how ridiculous the question is, but he has a feeling that it would not go over well.

“If our past has proven anything, it’s that I have endless patience for you. So, I promise no talk of the ‘m’ word until you’re ready.”

6

The sixth time, he’s not the one asking. 

About three months after his ill-fated proposal, Jake gets a few days off, and he’s able to go home for almost a week. When Nat picks him up at the airport, she squeals in a decidedly un-Phoenix way, causing Jake to burst into laughter into her hair.

“Excited to see me?” he teases.

“I’m excited for you to put together that nightstand you ordered without telling me.”

Jake groans, dropping his head into her shoulder. “Fuck, I forgot to call you.”

“Yeah, dickhead.”

When he walks into their house, he sees the Wayfair box in the middle of the living room, gigantic and downright inconvenient.

“Uh, how long has it been here?” Jake asks sheepishly.

“Three weeks,” she deadpans. “Chop chop!”

He doesn’t get started on it immediately. First, he lets Phoenix push him into their bedroom and make up for their months apart. Then, they grab burgers from his favorite place in town, and after, he’s so exhausted that he passes out the second they’re home.

It takes the better part of two days to build the nightstand. Natasha, always petty, offers no help and instead watches him appreciatively as he assembles the piece of furniture. While screwing together two frustratingly heavy wood boards, he catches her gaze from across the room.

“Like what you see?” he teases.

“Mmm,” she hums, smirking. “I like a man who knows his way around a toolbox.”

What happens next delays him to the following day. 

He’s almost done building the nightstand, assembling the ornate and complicated drawer knobs, when Natasha’s voice pulls him from his concentration.

“Jake?” she asks from the kitchen table. 

“Yeah?” He glances up at her briefly before looking back down at his task.

“Will you marry me?”

He drops what he was doing with a clatter, looking up at her. “What?” he whispers, hopeful.

“Will you marry me?” she repeats, sure and confident.

“Fuck. Hold on.” He scrambles up and rushes to their room, pulling open the bedside table. He rifles for a minute, his hands shaking as he looks for the box he placed in there the day he got home. Once his hand closes over it, Jake lets out a sigh of relief and runs back out to the kitchen.

“Here.” He opens the box, and Phoenix takes a breath as she watches the ring glint in the light.

“Shouldn’t you be the one wearing a ring? Since I proposed?” She still takes it, examining it briefly before sliding it onto her finger.

“I can get one, if you really want.” His breath is shaky, and he knows there are tears in his eyes.

When she doesn’t speak for a moment, instead moving her hand around to examine the ring more, he feels himself grow a bit restless.

“Are you sure?” he asks because he can’t go through this again if she’s not sure.

“I asked you, didn’t I?” She looks up at him, beaming so wide that it scrunches up her face, and he knows. Knows that she means it, knows that she’s ready.

They’re getting married.

[imthebadguyyy]

A/N - based off of this sinful photograph

Suggested listening - Wildside by Normani and Kiss It Better by Rihanna

Wildside

Pairing - Lewis Hamilton x Reader (fem!littlemix!reader)

Fandom - F1

Summary - You've been on tour for a while, and you miss your loverboy. But when he surprises you on tour, its bound to get spicy.

Warnings - smut (not well written)

The snap of hips. The soft groans and moans. The sound of pants. The sound of Rihanna's 'Kiss It Better' blaring through the walls. The bed knocking against the wall as Lewis's hands squeezed your hips, the intensity of the thrust pushing the bed against the wall. The high pitched moan that left your mouth as you reached your high, eyes closing as stars exploded behind your eyelids, as your boyfriend came right after you, your walls clenching as he came. Even after reaching your high, you didn't want to open your eyes, far too consumed in the earth shattering pleasure that was coursing through your veins, until a soft hand reached to pull your chin up, soft brown eyes looking into your own, clouded with lust and euphoria.

Pulling your mouth into his in a heated kiss, Lewis moved his hand to rest on your bare stomach, squeezing your tummy softly as he deepened the kiss. Pulling away he let his head droop onto your bare chest. "That was.." he began, far too blissed out to think of an adjective. "Godly" you said, chest rising and falling rapidly, trying to come to terms with the intensity of your orgasm. Laughing he leaned back up to kiss your nose, before standing up and walking to the bathroom. You heard the tap running, and the sound of the dustbin opening and closing. You closed your eyes again, the aftershocks still coursing through your body.

Opening them again slowly, you saw Lewis walk towards you, towel in hand, and a lazy smile on his face. He gently cleaned your thighs, finishing with kisses on both of them. He reached up and wiped your torso, which was gleaming with a thin layer of sweat, before running the towel over your nose, cheeks, eyes and mouth. He dropped the towel in the clothes hamper near the bathroom door, pulling on his boxer shorts and and pulling out one of his t shirts from the cupboard. "What about the clothes on the floor" you piped up, finally beginning to wake up from your post pleasure state. "When did it get so messy?" He said, spotting 5 different clothing items in 5 different corners of the room. "When you decided to run your hand up my dress in a restraunt" you replied, throwing him a fake glare.

"You liked it" was his cocky reply, smirk spreading over his face as you flushed and ran a hand through your hair. "I did not" you lied, watching as he raised his eyebrows. "Oh really ? Thats not what you were saying 5 minutes ago- oh wait, you weren't saying anything at all. You were too busy moaning my name to say anything else-" "OKAY fine I loved it. Now shut up and bring your fine ass back for cuddles"

*-*-*

That was a month ago. Now you've been away for nearly one and half months, away with the girls on the LM5 tour. You loved touring, it was the best part of being a singer, getting to see the music you girls made together come to life on a stage in front of thousands and thousands of screaming fans. It was a thrill like no other. The only problem was that you were away from home. Distance was never an issue for the two of you, after all, he was a Formula 1 driver. It was very rare that he was home, except during the breaks and the gaps till race weekend, but ever since you two had started dating, he tried to be with you whenever you could. Sometimes, your shows would be in places where the races were too, and then he'd definitely turn up. But it was a difficult thing to do all the time, and some nights on tour were spent pulling all nighters as you talked to each other on the phone, till one of you eventually fell asleep.

But you knew when you started dating him, this wouldn't exactly be a regular relationship. The two of you were doing your dream jobs, and they were both extraordinary. And you were willing to put in the work you had to put in to make the relationship work, and you did. Yet here you were in Madrid, feeling heartbroken and desperately wanting your boyfriend by your side. It had been a rough couple of weeks, you were jet lagged and tired, and although this was the second leg of the tour, and you had had a break, it was tiring. It was hard going to bed every night alone, when all you wanted was to cuddle your boyfriend.

Little did you know, Lewis was feeling the same. In fact he had missed you so much, he had told Angela and his publicist to cancel all events for a week, while he flew out to Madrid to see you. He had missed you, he had missed you more than he could put into words. But he also wanted to surprise you. Pulling out his phone, he scrolled down to Leigh Anne's contact, and sent her a text.

Lewis, Leigh Anne

Hey. Is Y/N asleep ?

Hey! No, she's in an outfit fitting.

Okay that's good. I need your help with something.

Sure how can I help ?

I want to surprise her by coming to see you guys in Madrid.

Oh thats wonderful ! She's been a little down in the dumps. I think she misses you.

I miss her too.

Let me know when, and I'll send a car to pick you up.

I'll be there on Saturday. Landing at 3:15 and I should be at the hotel by 4:30. Then I can get ready and surprise her at the show.

Okay done. I'll send the car around 5:30,so you can rest for a bit. You should be here by 6. The show's at 6:15.

Thank you! Can't wait : )

I'm so happy youre coming to see her ! I'll let the girls know.

*-*-*

As soon as he had finished texting, Lewis decided to start packing, the prospect of seeing you again sending a buzz of happiness running along his veins. God, he had missed you a lot. He turned to Roscoe, the dog sitting by his feet, looking up at his dad with his head cocked to one side. "I'm going to go see Mumma, Roscoe" he explained, smiling as the doggo barked in response. He wouldn't be able to take him to Madrid, he'd have to leave him with a dog sitter, but he couldn't feel too bad about it, since he had had Roscoe with him even when you were gone. And besides, Roscoe enjoyed the dog creche. He couldn't wait for Saturday.

Later in the evening, he sat down with a glass of wine, while the ringtone of your FaceTime rang through the empty house. After a few more seconds of ringing, the call was picked up, your tired face coming into view. "Hi darling" he said, noticing the tiredness in your eyes, and how much you were struggling to keep them open. "Hi bubs. Did you finish eating?" You asked, rubbing your eyes. "No, I've ordered soup" (did anyone get the reference ;) "Oh okay" was the reply. "What about you? What time is it?" "Its 9:20 AM" you replied, gently rubbing your eyes again, forcing yourself to stay awake.

"9:20? Thats pretty late baby. Why are you still sleepy?" "We were recording till 4 AM, so Im functioning on like 5 hours sleep right now" "Oh damn. Go back to sleep then baby" "Can't, rehearsal" was you reply, making him furrow his eyebrows. "Okay I guess. But don't tire yourself out" "I won't" "I love you" he said, smiling at you. "I love you"

*-*-*-*

The Madrid show was always a fun one. The fans were loud and you loved it. They were one of the best crowds you girls ever played for, and the show had its own adrenaline and excitement. But it was difficult to give a 100% when you were tired, but you really tried, you did. During Power, you hit highnotes you didnt think you could, during Woman Like Me you danced like there was no tomorrow. During Wasabi, you brought your sass level up to a 1000. It was during Bounce Back that you caught sight of a very familiar face in the audience. Unable to actually grasp if you had actually seen Lewis, you turned to Jade, who was on your side, and looked back at the crowd and back to her, asking for confirmation.

The smirk she gave you was answer enough. After that, focusing on giving an excellent performance increased tenfold. Every swirl of your hips, every flip of your hair, every wink you threw at the audience, it was all five times sexier. In the crowd, your boyfriend was well aware of what you were doing, and it was fair to say that you were succeeding at it. He could feel an uncomfortable sensation around his pants region, as his cock twitched uncomfortably in his pants. He couldn't wait till the show was over, and you two could have a show of your own.

*-*-*

"That was amazing darling!" Lewis said, spotting the 5 of you in your dressing room. "Oh look its Mr. Loverboy!" Perrie said, cackling as you rolled your eyes at her, before running up to your lover and jumping into his arms. "Hiya Bub! I missed you!" "I missed you too love. That's why I surprised you. I couldn't stand another day without you at home" he said, wrapping his arms around your waist to keep you stable as you jumped into his arms. A chorus of "awws" echoed throughout the room, as the girls watched your cute little interaction. What wasn't cute however was the comment Lewis made in your ear, hiding his face in your ear so that the girls couldn't see. "I can't wait to get back to the hotel. I saw the performance you were putting on for me baby. You have no idea how hard I got, how uncomfortable I was standing in front of so many people when all I really wanted to do was fuck you"

You could feel your mouth become dry, and your heartbeat quicken, and you could feel the area between your thighs become wet. You tightened your grip around him, letting your crotch rub against his very softly. "I think it's time to go" you mumbled against his ear. "Okay girls, as lovely as it was to see you, I think it's time we go back to the hotel. I'm pretty worn out from travelling as well" "Yeah I'm pretty tired too" you replied, faking a large yawn. "Alright then, we'll see you guys tomorrow!" Leigh Anne said, leaning forward to give you a hug. After you finished hugging all the girls, the two of you made your way to the car, eagerly waiting to get back home.

The car ride home was tense. The tension was apparent in the air, reverberating through the air, choking you in a way you revelled in. The air was thick with tension, and it was suffocating you in the best way possible. It was almost too much to take. When the hotel came into sight, you practically leapt out of the car, and rushed to the door, an equally ruffled Lewis beside you. But he was not going to give in to you so easily. He enjoyed seeing you flustered. And he was not a person that gave someone what they wanted when they asked for it,no. He was going to have you desperate for it. Smirking to himself, he made his way to the reception, grabbing you by the waist as he went.

Throwing him a confused look you followed, slightly frustrated. "Hello sir, how can I help you?" the man at the reception asked, eyes going slightly wide as he recognized the two of you. "Hi! I just wanted to ask, till what time is your pool and spa open?" He asked, sliding his hand down to the back of your dress. "The pool closes at 10 pm sir, and the spa at 9 pm. We open the pool at 7 am and the spa at 11pm"he replied, struggling to maintain his professionalism as he spoke to one of the best drivers in Formula 1. "Alright thank you. And what time does breakfast start?" Lewis asked, hand pressing down on your ass, ever so discreetly. "Breakfast is from 6-10 am sir" "Thank you so much"

Next to him, you were fuming. Of course he was going to ask questions to which he already knew the answers to. A painful throb between your legs made you let out a small whimper, and the man at the reception looked at you with concern in his eyes. "Ma'am are you alright?" He asked, eyeing your stiff posture and tense state. "Yes, just tired, thank you" you replied, a little stiffly, but it was hard to concentrate when Lewis's promise of fucking you senseless kept replaying in your mind. "Alright then, good night" Lewis said, biting back a smirk at your flustered state. He knew getting you all riled up would lead to some seriously earth shattering sex, and he couldn't wait. But first, he definitely wanted to tease you, to push you over the edge, just a little more.

Your room was on the 16th floor, and as the two of you made your way into the elevator, he eyed you up and down, eyes lingering on the curve of your breasts. The minute the door shut, he pushed you against the wall, capturing your lips in a steamy kiss you'd be remembering the next day. His hands moved to your ass, squeezing hard, eliciting a moan from your lips. The moment your lips parted, he was pushing his tongue into yours, his other hand coming up to pull on your hair roughly, relishing in the gasp that left your lips. As suddenly as he started, he stopped, pulling back and standing almost nonchalantly against the wall.

Trying to wrap your head around what happened, you gripped the wall with your hand, feeling your legs grow weak to a point where you felt like you couldn't stand on your own. You could feel your wetness dripping, threatening to run down your thighs, as the throbbing became even more painfully exciting. You looked down at the floor, eyes closing as your frustration grew more and more by the second. Finally, with a little 'ding', the elevator stopped at the 16th floor. The moment the door opened you stepped out on wobbly legs, trying your best to walk properly. But of course, that wasn't going to happen. As you turned one long corridor, Lewis suddenly grabbed your waist, pushing you against the wall again, to reach down and suck on your neck. You let out a gasp, and tried to run your crotch against his, but the retaliated with a slap to your ass, smirking when a high pitched moan left your lips. Lifting you up against the wall, he mumbled against your ear "the key card" your clouded mind was unable to process the words, too consumed by slight relief you were getting. "Get the key card baby" he repeated. This time you noted it, reaching down to his pants pocket to pull out the key card. You couldn't resist running your hand over his cock, feeling how rock hard he was. The thought of him fucking you senseless returned, and you let out a groan.

Grabbing the card from your hand, he opened the door, propping you up against the door in your bedroom. His eyes were filled with a raw, animal desire, as he dropped the card on the floor and reached up to unzip your dress. He ripped the zipper down, your dress falling to the floor in a crumpled heap. He locked his eyes on your heaving chest, hand reaching up to grab your chin, pulling you in for a searing kiss. His hand slid up your torso, reaching behind to unhook the red lacy bra you were wearing, letting it drop to the floor as he took in the glorious sight in front of him. You waited, wanting him to just touch you, but he just stared, eyes looking into yours, clearly saying "beg for it"

You couldn't help the soft "please" that left your lips, too desperate for some sort of touch. "Please what?' Lewis said, tightening his grip on your waist. "Please" was all you could say again, nearly whimpering again at the rough look in his eyes. "Use your words baby. Now, please what?" "Please just touch me!" You finally gasped out, moaning loudly when he licked a stripe down your chest before taking your right tit into his mouth. His hand fondled the left one, running his thumb over your erect nipple, the rough pad of his thumb sending shockwaves of pleasure through your body. His mouth sucked on the skin of your tit, before moving down to bite down on your nipple. You gasped again, pain and pleasure coursing through your body as his tongue ran over your nipple over and over till it nearly felt raw. He switched his actions, moving his mouth to your left tit instead, letting his hand harshly fondle the other. He continued the same process of biting, licking and sucking, till he was satisfied with himself. "I fucking love this baby. Seeing you all wet and needy for me. So what do you want? My mouth? My fingers? My cock? Or does my baby want them all ?" He asked, watching as your pupils dilated and you let out a strangled moan.

You let your crotch rub against his thigh, gasping when the friction went straight to your core. "Look at you darling. I asked you what you what you wanted, and you picked my thighs? Well, I want to see you dripping. I want to see you cum on my fingers, my mouth, my thighs and especially on my cock. I'm going to make you cum over and over and over again till you can't even stand on your own fucking legs. I want your thighs to be shaking around my head. I want to see you moan and groan and scream my name so loud, by tomorrow everyone in this hotel will know my name, because you'll spend all night screaming it" you moaned again, his words going straight to your core."Please Lewis, God, just make me cum please!" The desperation of your cry was enough for him to carry you to the bed, dropping your body onto the soft mattress.

He pulled of shirt, unbuttoning every button so you could see him do it. He could see your eyes grow dark, as his compass tattoo came into sight. You had told him it was one of your favourites, and he had used it against you ever since you had told him that. Smirking at you, he climbed onto the bed, lying down between your legs. You pushed yourself up against the headboard, spreading your legs wide for him. His eyes grew dark, as your core came into his view, shimmering with your juices. A near animalistic growl left his mouth, the sound hitting your core. He moved so that he was situated right in front of your core. He let his eyes take in the sight of you in front of him, snapping back to reality when you let out a groan of frustration. Throwing you a devilishly reassuring smile, he inched neared and nearer, till his nose was nearly touching your clit. Then he just lay there. Not moving. You could feel your heartbeat hammering against your chest, chest heaving up and down, an alarming intense feeling growing in your tummy. Finally, when it became too much you let out a small scream of frustration "Oh for fucks sake Lewis please just fuck me!" Your outburst brought a smile to his face. "Oh I will. Just not yet" and with that, he ran a finger along your slit, before finally slipping it into you. You let out a moan, finally getting the friction you had been desperate for. His fingers circled your clit, thumb gently pressing down, before he removed it,only to slam it back down on your sensitive clit, earning a scream of pleasure from you.

He slipped a second finger into you, scissoring around your clit, as your desperate cries of "oh, oh baby! Fuck, fuck lewis-" were lost in the heat of the moment. He leaned his head down to your core, letting his tongue run along your slit too, before licking around it, collecting your wetness on his tongue, before letting it harshly circle your clit. You bucked up into his mouth, feeling his tongue wrap around your clit. He sucked the nub harshly, his fingers still moving in and out of you. "Oh God, Oh GOD, Lew-I- oh! Oh God!" Your broken moans were music to his ears as he sucked your clit into his mouth. You could feel a strange intensity growing in your stomach, feeling a lot stronger than your usual orgasm. The band in your tummy was threatening to snap, but you needed that something more to help it snap. That something more came when Lewis sucked your clit into his mouth, letting it rest in between his teeth, before flicking it with his tongue.

With a cry of "Oh fucking hell, Lew-" you camr gushing into his mouth, your juices coating his fingers and gushing onto his tongue, as he let you ride out your orgasm on his deadly skilled tongue. Well, he had got his wish. Your thighs were shaking around his head, as your body tried to come to terms with the intensity of the pleasure coursing through your body. Looking down, you saw him with his painfully hard cock, grinding down on the sheet, as he let out a moan at the relief the bedsheets gave him. Raising an eyebrow, you patted your thigh, signaling him to come over to you. "You loved on me so well bubs. But I can see how hard you are. Do you want to use me to get off?" You asked, watching the effect you had on him. All he could do was nod, as you sat up on your knees. "Stand up" you ordered, getting up from the bed as well.

You walked over to the wall, letting your body rest against it. Somewhat confused, Lewis followed you, standing in the space between your legs. "I tried to get off using your thighs didn't I? I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did. So use me. Use my thigh. Get off" looking at you in pure shock, your boyfriend moved forward, groaning when you pushed your leg against his throbbing cock. He relished in the friction, slowly beginning to move against your leg, moaning when he began to rub against your leg. He began to hump your leg faster, as the pleasure began to build up in his body, before you reached your hand down to cup his length in your hands, moaning when you realized your fingers didn't quite meet. You ran your fingers along his length. You pumped him, letting your thumb circle his sensitive tip, eliciting a soft whine from him. You circled faster, moving down to your knees, and letting your tongue run up his shaft very softly. Above you, Lewis slammed his hands against the wall, groaning when you took him into your mouth.

But a part of him still wanted to cum inside when he was fucking you (in a condom, because wrap it before you tap it) so he pulled you back up, smirking when you whined. "I know baby, but I just really wanna fuck you now. Back on the bed please, unless you want me to take you here against this wall" practically running, you clambered onto the bed. You watched as Lewis pulled out a condom, ripping the packet open before climbing back on top of you. He let his hand rest on your hip, eyes temporarily losing some of the animalistic need that had been present in them. Leaning down, he connected your lips together in a kiss, a searing, intense kiss that took your breath away. "Ready love?" He asked, looking into your eyes, looking to see if there was even a slight hint that you didn't want this. But you did.

With a sudden jolt, he thrust himself into you, groaning when your warm walls clamped down on him. His hips thrust into you, starting off slow, letting you adjust to his massive length. "My sweet baby,taking me so well. Does it feel good?" You couldn't even respond, mouth agape, as his the pace of his thrusts increased. "Answer me" he said, suddenly stopping. Almost crying out at the loss of pleasure, you looked at him with desperation. "Yes yes, fuck it feels so good, please don't stop!" "Thats all you had to say baby" he said, before pushing in again, slowly. Then, he pulled back out. Looking at him in confusion, you gasped when he slammed back into you, a high pitched moan of "Lewis!" leaving your lips. He moved so that he had a better hold of your hips, rocking the both of you back and forth, the intensity of his thrusts was so much that the bed knocked back against the wall. What he wasn't expecting was for you to take his left thumb up to your mouth, running your tongue over it before sucking on it.

Moaning, he started thrusting into you even harder, shifting so that he was directly hitting your g spot. "Oh, God ! Oh fuck, Baby that feels so good please keep going keep-oh!" The cry that left your lips was so loud, you were sure Perrie in the room next to yours had heard you. "Fuck baby, you take me so well" Lewis said, as he nearly hammered your g spot. He was so, so damn close to cumming, and when you leant up and bit a sensitive spot on his neck, he came, gushing into the guard between you two, but he wanted you to cum to, so he reached down to pinch and rub your clit, still riding out his orgasm in you, moaning when you came with a scream. He winced when your core spasmed on his sensitive cock, and he pulled out slowly, before collapsing next to you. Panting, you curled up to him, letting your hand rest on his compass tattoo. "Okay that was Godlike" you said, earning a tired laugh from your lover.

"Yeah it really was. I missed you" he said, allowing you to nuzzle into his neck, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead. "I missed you too" you replied, kissing the tattoo. "I love you too" As you lay there together, still revelling in the moment, your phone buzzed. Reaching over to check it, you saw your groupchat with the girls flooding with messages.

-*-*-

Perrie 🧚🏻‍♀️ - Y/N, I'm filing a noise complaint. 🍆

Jade ✨ - Pez 😂 let them be. It's been a while for her.

Leigh 🦋- She really got some tonight huh? 😏

Perrie 🧚🏻‍♀️- LOL she did !! And it was obviously some goooood 'some' *wink wink*

Jade ✨- I could hear em too, and Im on the other end of the hall.

Leigh 🦋 - I know I did too! Must be some damn good sex. 😏

Perrie 🧚🏻‍♀️ - Go Y/N !!

Jade ✨ - Can't wait till she reads this.

Perrie 🧚🏻‍♀️ - Are they still going?!

Leigh 🦋 - No 😂 she's reading the messages. Y/N!! Yoohoo!

You - yes I'm here 🖕🏽

Jade ✨ - Did you have fun babe 😏

You - ..... yes

Perrie 🧚🏻‍♀️ - babe you can't really say no because we heard you

You- Im not saying I didn't have fun. But you guys need to calm down.

Leigh 🦋 - But its funnn

You - okay byeeee ❤

Perrie 🧚🏻‍♀️ - Going for a round 2 😏?

You - okay I said bye.

Leigh 🦋 - she is !!

Jade ✨ - Go babe !

You - I need to leave this group.

Perrie 🧚🏻‍♀️ - No we love you !! ❤

Leigh 🦋 - Yeah don't leave us ❤

Jade ✨- Don't leave meee ! ❤

You - Haha I'd never leave you girls ❤ now bye.

Jade ✨ - bye babe !

Perrie 🧚🏻‍♀️ - bye you sexy minx 😏

Leigh - bye hun 💙

*-*-*

Smiling to yourself, you put your phone away, to see Lewis looking at you with a raised eyebrow. "Who was it?" "Just the girls" you said, cuddling back up to him. "What did they say?" Giggling, you looked up to him and kissed his neck. "They said they're going to file a noise complaint. And they asked me if we were going for a round two" "Were we really that loud?" He asked, looking at you in surprise. "Yeah, even Leigh heard us and she's at the end of the hall!" "Damn" Lewis said laughing. "Well," he said, looking at you again, with a cheeky look in his eye, "they were right about one thing" "And what is that?" You asked, smiling at him mischievously. "We are going for a round two"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

@maxverstappenx @grandestrategia (because you are worth it 🦋💙)

[heyitsperfect]

Night diving - Happy Lowman

Warnings: kissing, nudity, fluff

A/N: Back to the time where everything was fine. 

Request by anon: Hi lovely! I’d love to request something with happy with 15 and 19 from the prompt list 🥰 something fluffy! Thank yo so much if you do! Love your writing!!

 Prompts: “Quit touching me, your feet are cold!” & “But I’ve never told you that before.” 

Your life has always been easy. A perfect family. Mom and Dad are both overly caring and protective of you. No surprise you turned out to be a party pooper. Until your college years you didn’t experience a lot of fun. In those years you had the time of your life. You made new friends and those friends showed you how fun life can be. 

In your last year of college your friends decided to make a road trip through California and of course you took along. The trip was about to last 4 weeks. The first 2 were spent in the north and traveling south. Somewhere along the road the little bus you rented broke down. You barely made it to the closest garage Teller-Morrow. It was friday afternoon and the parking lot was packed with bikes and men standing around. 

You got all out of the bus and one of the mechanics with dark curly hair walked with the name Tig stitched on his shirt over to you.  

“What can I do for those lovely ladies?” he was flirting with all of you. Sara who was driving most of the time explained the problem. You loved bikes but you are definitely too afraid to ride on your own. Your ex-boyfriend had a bike and took you on a ride from time to time. 

“Like what you see?” a gruff voice spoke up behind you. You didn’t notice you walked over to the bikes. 

“Ehhmmm, yeah.” you looked at him and saw an incredible hot man standing in front of you. Tall, bald head with a snake tattooed on it, muscular figure. Damn, he looked good. 

“I like what I see.” he saw you checking him out. A big smirk plastered on his face as you felt the heat rush to your cheeks. “What’s the matter with your car?”

“It decided to stop our road trip for a little bit. We barely made it up here.”

“Lucky for me, I guess.” before you had the chance to answer him one of your friends chimed in. 

“Yo Y/N, we’re stranded here til tomorrow, sooo enjoy your night, but I see you already started.” she said and smiled at the scene in front of her. 

You looked back at him and smiled. You actually had a chance now to get to know him a little bit more and maybe have some fun with the hot stranger. A little later you found yourself sitting at the bar talking. His name is Happy, which made you laugh for 5 solid minutes because he definitely didn’t look like a Happy. He didn’t speak much, he prefered to listen to you and let you do all the talking. 

You don’t know if it was the booze or the fact that you were really comfortable around him, but somewhere along the night you told him you always wanted to go skinny dipping. Happy made a short process and took you, on his bike of course, to a lake a little bit out of town. 

You got off his bike and started stripping down your clothes. You let one piece after another fall to the ground, the girl you were before college was long gone. You looked back at Happy who was still standing next to his bike. 

“You coming or what?” you called out for him and got him out of his daze. He stripped down his clothes and came after you. The water was nice in contrast to the warm californian night. Happy was quick to catch up with you and embraced you in his arms. You wrapped your arms around his neck as he pulled you even closer. He leaned in and kissed you. The world stopped moving for a second. Never had anybody kissed you like this before. You made out for you don’t know how long. This make out session turned into something more. Soon enough he was fucking you, but only seconds before you orgasm…..

“Babe, quit touching me. Your feet are cold.” Happy moaned out half asleep. This was all a dream. You dreamed about how you and Happy met years ago, again. Every year around the time of your anniversary you had that dream. It’s like a reminder of how you met.

“What….sorry.” Happy pulled your back against his chest and wrapped his arms around you. 

“Were you dreaming about how we met again?” he mumbled against your neck, leaving tiny kisses there. 

“How do you know? I’ve never told you that before” you turned around in his arms and looked up at him. 

“I know you better than you know yourself.” he said, totally self confident.

“Oh, then you know what’s gonna happen next.” you started kissing up and down his neck while his hands started roaming up and down your body. 

“Mmmmhh I might know what you think of, little girl.”

[broadstbroskis]

no better company than you | nathan mackinnon

a/n: alright, i’m rolling in late for @antoineroussel oussel summer exchange (thank you love, for running such a lovely exchange again, it was wonderful and i’m glad i was able to particiapte) and i’m very sorry for the lateness! i had the pleasure of writing for the lovely @ghstandpucks​ 💜 again, i am SO sorry about the wait but i hope you enjoy this! 

word count: 3.2k

-----

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry I’m late!” You slide into the booth and throw your bag down next to you, hoping to god you don’t look as frazzled as you feel; this restaurant is far too nice.

Nate just smiles at your words, too familiar with your family by now to know that you’re always running 5-10 minutes behind. He’s ordered a bottle of wine- a nice rosé, fitting for the beautiful end of summer day- and had already started pouring a matching glass for you the second you started sitting down. “How’d the interview go?”

You bite your lip. “Eh.” 

“I’m sure it went better than you think.” Nate says encouragingly. “You’re too hard on yourself. All three of you are.”

And well, that’s not a lie. Your siblings were just as critical of themselves as you were. Sid was famously known for it and Taylor, your twin, was as bad as you. But…

“Listen to you!” You laugh at him. Nate’s just as bad as the three of you. A mini-Sid in many ways, to many people in your hometown.

But that was in Canada. This was Denver. And here, Nate was cool. Laid-back. Lowkey. Everything a professional athlete should be. Nobody knew about what a dork he really was, except his teammates.

And now, maybe you too, if all went well with this job interview.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nate says, looking at his menu to feign ignorance.

You giggle, pulling your own up toward your face. “Sure, buddy.”

It’s not often that you and Nate spend time one on one like this, even if you see him all the time over the summer. He’s usually with your brother when you see him, politely trying to decline your mom’s invites to dinner or already hanging at Sid’s house when you invite yourself over to your brother’s house for pool or lake time. Usually time one on one with Nate like this is brief, usually like in passing while he’s waiting for Sid in the kitchen while you’re eating.

It’s nice. Nate’s funnier than people give him credit for and it’s easy to relax into dinner and conversation, to forget about the anxiety from your interview as you chat about what’s new for both of you and gossip about people you both know.

By the time he drops you off at your hotel, it’s late and you’re too tired (and maybe just on the right side of tipsy) to even worry about the interview. You just barely change into pajamas, run through your nightly routine, and climb into bed, before shutting the lights off. It feels like you’re asleep before your head even hits the pillow. 

In the morning, you’re awoken by the sound of your phone ringing, and it takes a second for you to place the sound, but when you do you pounce on it, recognizing the local area code immediately. “Good morning.” You say, trying your hardest not to sound like you woke up literally thirty seconds ago.

It’s human resources, from the job you interviewed for yesterday.

You got it.

-----

“Ew, no!” Your dad holds his hands up innocently, when you rush over to stop him from unpacking a box. “Why would you put that there?”

“Hey, sweetie, maybe it’s time for a break.” Your mom says gently, exchanging a look with your dad, who nods his agreement enthusiastically.

Which is fair. You’d just about almost taken his fingers off just because you didn’t like where he was unpacking colanders. 

“Dinner!’” Your dad latches onto immediately. “Nate offered to take us all out tonight, I’ll let him know we’re ready.”

“Ready?” You frown, looking down at your workout shorts and baggy t-shirt.

“We’ll be ready in an hour.” He amends, already texting Nate.

Nate knocks on the door to the new condo you’re renting an hour and fifteen minutes later, sheepishly grinning when your dad tells him that you and your mom still need a few minutes. “Thought I had my timing perfect.”

Your dad snorts. “Oh buddy. Keep dreaming.”

He’s not too off on his timing, but unfortunately for Nate, you don’t have too much else going for you in your condo yet. Your dad had gotten your TV all set up, but in addition to the TV and living room furniture, you haven’t gotten much else, and that includes food and beverages. So the two of them sit in mostly silence while they wait another few minutes for you and your mom to finish getting ready. 

“I told you that you should have just met us there.” You tell Nate, as he trips on a box on his way out the door.

“Oh, so this wasn’t deliberate sabotage?” He deadpans.

“You caught me. Just trying to keep you around the city full time until I have time to make better friends.”

Nate laughs, as the two of you follow your parents out the door. “Be nicer to me or I won’t introduce you to my friends.”

“Who said I want to be friends with your friends?”

“Children.” Your mom turns to look back at you and Nate smiles at her innocently, but it’s been a while since that’s fooled her. “Do we need to stay home?”

It serves to get the two of you moving, even as you laugh at her joke. Nate drives you to another one of his favorite restaurants, and dinner flies by, with Nate insisting on picking up the tab, even when your dad tries to fight him on it. 

It’s started to cool down a little by the time you’re walking back toward the car, Nate and your dad still fake-fighting about paying for dinner, and you find yourself not realizing you’re smiling at the two of them as you walk behind them until your mom bumps your shoulder. “A few hours off for dinner with some good company was just what you needed.” She says.

And even though the smile on her face seems too knowing, you’re too tired to ask about it right now, so you just nod in agreement. “Yeah, this was nice.” You smile back at her.

-----

Mel Landeskog pokes her head around the corner and you wave at her, trying to catch her attention. “Jesus Christ.” She shakes her head. “I didn’t think he was serious.”

“I mean.” You bite your lip. “I did have to work today.”

“I would have picked you up!” She shakes her head, muttering under her breath, and you know Nate’s going to get an earful from her later. “But no, no. That dumbass just let you come all the way over here by yourself. Sends me a text to come meet you by the door. All casual.”

“I mean.” You send her a look. “Did you expect anything different from Nate?”

It’s the way she looks at you and sets her face that almost has you nervous for Nate. You’ve known Mel for a long time now, but really, you don’t know her from more than just years of NHL events. “I do now.” She says.

You hope Nate knew what he was getting himself into sending Mel a text to come find you earlier.  

Once she leads you up into the box with some of the wives and kids, she’s back to smiling and laughing, making introductions all around. The mood all around is light and easy, everyone excited for the home opener of the season, and happy to be back with everyone again. 

It’s fun to be back in this atmosphere. Hockey’s been a part of your life for so long and there’s truly nothing like the energy of the first game of the season. You feed off the energy, catching up with some familiar faces and chatting with all the other girls, probably too excited when they invite you to a girl’s night later in the week, but it feels good to have plans that don’t involve trying to invite yourself to Nate’s when you’re bored.

“Hey, good job tonight.” You nudge him afterwards, catching up with him in the family room.

He laughs, pulling you in for a hug. “A little different than what you were used to?”

“It lived up to the hype, I guess.”

“I’ll turn you from a Pens fan.” Nate promises. 

It’s your turn to laugh. “Feel Sid’s wrath.”

“What’s he going to do? Check me into the boards? Bring it.”

Nate’s been hanging out with your brother and your family for years now, so he should really know better by now. “Okay, buddy.” You pat his shoulder patronizingly. “Sure.”

“I could take him.” Nate insists. 

“Throw hands. Next game. I dare you.” 

He side-eyes you, because you both know that’s not going to happen and it’s only a minute before you’re both laughing. 

“I better see you on Friday!” Ashley Kadri shouts out to you as she’s walking past with Naz and Naylah, interrupting your laughter. “No excuses!”

“I’ll be there!” You call back. “Promise!”

When you look back, Nate’s pouting-exaggerated, albeit, but pouting. “Are you ditching me this Friday?”

“Yup. Found better company.”

“How dare you?” He cries. “There is no better company.”

“Well.” You shrug. “I’ll know for sure after happy hour on Friday.”

“Find your own ride home.” Nate says and then he starts speed walking away from you at an absurd speed.

“Nate!” You protest, jogging to catch up and he finally slows down enough for you to catch up when you round the corner, bumping your shoulder right back when you purposely bump into him in retaliation.

-----

No one lets loose like a group of moms when they’ve got a night without their kids.

Someone has mentioned this to you before, at a bachelorette party or a wedding or something, but you don’t think you’ve ever seen it really in action before until this happy hour. 

“If the waitress comes back, order me another drink!” Kerry calls, before running off to the bathroom.

The waitress nods at her, before addressing the rest of you. “Another round?”

“Oh, please!” Mel nods quickly and repeatedly.

“Can we get a few more orders of mozzarella sticks too, please?” You look down at the empty plates in front of you. “And maybe some nachos too?”

“Yes!” Jackie lights up across from you. “Great call!”

It pretty much only goes downhill from there and by the end of the night, both Mel and Ashley are crying for reasons no one is sure of entirely and you’re pretty grateful to see Nate among the group of husbands and boyfriends to come to pick up all their girlfriends.

So grateful you scream his name the second you see him. “Nate!”

He winces, trying to pull his ear away from you, but he’s laughing. “Guess you had a good time, huh?”

“Uh huh!” You nod enthusiastically, not realizing how loud you are until he winces again.

Nate laughs. “Alright, I think it’s time to go home.”

You gasp loudly. “I can’t leave my new friends!”

“Your new friends are all leaving you!”

You frown, but look around and realize he’s right. Naz has already sneakily pulled Ashley out of the bar and Gabe and Erik were collecting Mel and Jackie’s things. “Oh.”

“Oh?” Nate parrots. “Come on, get your stuff, crazy girl.”

“Hey!” You protest, grabbing your purse. “I am the least crazy person in my family.”

“I hate to break it to you.” Nate says, as he guides you into standing. “But that’s not saying much.”

He’s right, but you bump him with your shoulder anyway as you walk past. That’s about sibling honor and shit.

Nate parked too far away and by the time you reach his car, you’re leaning on him, the adrenaline from hanging out with friends wearing off quickly. Nate’s nice about it, guiding you to his car and then helping you into his front seat before heading around to the driver’s side. 

“You guys had a fun time then?” Nate says, once he’s started driving and you’re half asleep leaning against the window. “Looks like it at least.”

“Yeah.” You nod sleepily. “But you were right.”

He chuckles. “About what?”

“There’s no better company than you.”

-----

Nate becomes pretty clingy after that night, texting and facetiming whenever he’s out of town, and stopping by pretty much anytime he’s got a free minute. It quickly becomes something you look forward to, missing his visits when he’s out of town and looking forward to his calls, smiling when his texts come in and breaking up your work day. And it isn’t long before you realize that you’re being just the same. Sending him messages before and after games. Inviting yourself over for dinner and making Nate cheat on his diet.

In a blessed move from the NHL scheduling department, Sid and the rest of the Pens are scheduled to arrive in town on a Friday morning and aren’t leaving until the end of the weekend. 

They have a practice scheduled for early afternoon, which is perfect for you to wrap up your work day before heading over to watch the end.

Geno lights up when he sees you watching from the glass, the first person to acknowledge you, and skating over in the middle of the drill, leaving behind two shocked linemates. “Mini!” He shouts cheerfully, even as you roll your eyes at your least favorite nickname. All because you happen to be the shortest of your siblings. “Great to see you.”

“You too, Geno.” You smile warmly at him, a little annoyed that you can’t get a giant bear hug from your favorite pseudo-older brother right away. “But I don’t think a few other people feel the same right now.” You jerk your chin back over his shoulder. 

He turns his head quickly but then looks back. “Psh. They’ll get over it.”

You bust out laughing, which is right about when your brother comes over, and in classic Sid fashion, is all about hockey. “Stop being a distraction.”

“I was minding my own business until Geno came over here!” You protest, even as Geno starts laughing and Sid eyes you skeptically. 

“Why don’t I believe that one?” Sid says dryly and sure, maybe you were making faces at some of the guys you knew well as they were passing you, but you weren’t actively being a distraction.

“That’s your prerogative.” You tell Sid, who shakes his head and pulls Geno back for the remainder of practice. 

Practice doesn’t last for too much longer and you spend a few minutes chatting with the coaching staff while you wait for Sid to change. But he and Geno finally come out of the locker room and you stop mid-sentence to throw yourself at your brother.

Sid’s laughing and so are you, but both of you start laughing even harder when Geno pulls you both into his arms. “Two of my favorite people!”

“Taylor’s going to be so offended.” Kris grins, watching the three of you amused.

“Taylor?” You grin back at him, going for a hug once Geno releases you. “How about his wife and kid?”

“Those are my other favorite people.” Geno reasons.

“Now I’m offended.” Kappy deadpans.

“You’re not even close.” Geno grins, roughing his hair.

Kappy tries to get him right back, but Geno just swats his hand away and then Sid’s shaking his head, like this is just the same shit, different day. “Look what you did.”

You grin, leaning against him. “Not sorry. I’ve missed this entertainment.”

Sid shakes his head. “Then you can round them up for dinner.”

You do. Easily.

Nate had suggested one of the team’s favorite restaurants and you’re happy to see that he’d accepted your invitation to join everyone, even if he rolls in a little late. You’re deep into Kris’ camera roll, looking at pictures of his kids and catching up on stories that you haven’t heard about them recently, so you don’t even notice he’s arrived and said hello already until he blows on the back of your neck.

You jump. “What the hell?”

Nate’s grinning. “Hey.”

You shake your head at him and bump your shoulders against him. “Hey.” You mimic and then turn right back to Kris.

But your shoulder stays leaning on Nate, and it remains there comfortably all night.

-----

Sid’s a little cranky when you first meet him for breakfast the morning after the game and you’re sure it has everything to do with the last minute turnover that cost them the game (and bragging rights over Nate this summer, which is really what he’s probably cranky about).

He gets over it pretty quickly though, and soon the two of you are laughing and talking, catching up about your family and your lives.

“-and I even love my office, the vibes are just great!”

Sid shakes his head. “Vibes.”

You grin. You know he hates that word. “Good vibes.” You confirm.

“So you’re liking Denver?”

“Love it.” You confirm, smiling.

“Meeting good people?”

You eye him skeptically. “Yes dad. I already said my coworkers are great and I’ve been hanging out with Nate and his friends a lot too. It’s good”

“Geno thinks there’s something going on between you and Nate.” Sid says casually.

The jump of your heart is far from casual. “Oh yeah?”

Sid eyes you but his response to that is surprising. “You know if there was something going on between you and Nate that would be okay?” He pauses, watching you again, but your face is completely neutral, purposely not moving. “Right?”

“You know if there was something going on between me and Nate that your opinion wouldn’t matter at all, right?”

He grins, laughing as he nods, but after he takes a bite of pancakes he says, “To you, yeah. To him, it does.”

“Why?” You blurt out, giving yourself away before you can stop yourself.

But Sid doesn’t say anything to that. He grins again and then changes the subject entirely.

-----

You only make it about a day before you’re knocking on Nate’s door, pretty forcefully.

“What’s up?” He swings the door open, with a frown. “You okay?”

“Does what my brother thinks really matter to you that much?” You blurt out. It’s been bothering you ever since Sid mentioned it at breakfast. That you lasted this long was probably a miracle.

Nate blushes and your jaw drops. “It-”

“Oh my god.” You grin delightedly. “Come on, really?”

“That’s not-” He blows out a frustrated sigh. “You’re really going to make me say it?”

You nod, but you’re pretty sure he’s not going to get far into what he’s going to say.

He sighs again. “It’s not about, like, his approval, or shit. It’s just- he’s important to you. So obviously he’s important to me-”

You kiss him. 

“You know that you don’t even have to worry about that, right?” At some point, you’d slid one hand to his hip and the other arm around his neck, and the hand there plays with the hair at the nape of his neck. 

“I’ll argue about that with you later.” Nate says impatiently and so you’re laughing when he kisses you again.

[cheer-deforest-kelley]

This is the amazing day I met DeForest Kelley on the set of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

My boss was friends with a woman who worked on a few of the Star Trek movies. He introduced us and told her of my love for DeForest and she invited me to the set when De was filming.

I could not take photos as it was a closed set, but it didn’t matter as everything I saw was burned into my soul.

In late December 1988, I drove through the gates of Paramount Studios and parked right by the Star Trek Production trailer (Trailer 12). My head spun as I walked inside and was surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the making of a Star Trek movie. While sitting in my friend’s office, a voice on the walkie-talkie said that Bill and De were in their dressing rooms. My head exploded.

My friend walked me to the stage that was the Enterprise bridge and I got to sit in Captain Kirk’s chair (my feet didn’t touch the ground—literally and figuratively). I saw Director’s chairs with the names William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley embroidered on the backs. I would have loved to sit in De’s chair, but all I could do was touch the arm as we walked by.

The Stage Manager told us that Bill was on the New York street set, so we left the stage and walked to an outside set with a high stage. When we arrived, Bill was being strapped into a harness (which fit around his torso, waist and crotch and which would allow him to be lifted into the air). His legs were bare and very white (he was wearing gym shorts). He was making jokes and talking in a very high pitched voice as they tightened the straps around his nether region.

I forgot all about Bill when I heard a voice on a walkie-talkie say that De was stepping out of his trailer and would arrive in a moment. My heart started pounding and I started feeling very warm (it was 49 degrees outside— which by the way, is considered freezing for Southern California). I turned around and saw DeForest Kelley ambling towards me. He was wearing dark blue jeans, a dark green sweatshirt, a light blue jean jacket with a fleece collar, black cowboy boots and a multicolored scarf around his neck.

Tears welled up in my eyes. De said hello to a few people, hugged my friend and she then walked him over to me. She told him my name and said where I worked. De shook my hand for a very long time (eventually just holding my hand rather than shaking it) and called me a spy because I worked at different studio than Paramount. He commented on how cold it was and lifted his sweatshirt up to his chin to show us a fleece-lined shirt that a fan from Seattle made him. He was very charming and chatty; I said a few sentences but was mostly mute (just call me Gem).

After a few minutes, he said it was great to meet me, shook my hand again and went to talk to Bill (who was now wearing sweatpants with yellow stripes and a blue uniform tunic that was unlike their usual uniforms). They talked for a while, laughed a lot and then hugged goodbye. Bill (being the Director) had to leave to watch a previously filmed scene— he was driven away. Suddenly all the commotion on the set just stopped and much of the crew left, however De stayed.

He came over to talk to us again (OMG!!) and said “It’s always hurry up and wait.” I responded “That’s showbiz.” He laughed (thank God) and said “That’s right, you know it!” I found my voice this time when he asked about my job. We talked for at least 10 minutes— discussing the cold weather again, his being a little sad that production on the film was almost done (You’re sad De? Let me hug and console you.) and what we were respectively doing for New Year’s Eve. For De, it was was “Absolutely nothing except kiss my wife before midnight since we don’t stay up that late.”

A man holding a humungous binder came over and said he needed De. De said “Bye now” and left (sob!!). Of course I kept my eyes glued on him. After he conversed with the binder guy, he talked to some crew members, but when they left, he stood alone for about 5 minutes, during which he smoked two cigarettes (he had a very nice lighter). He looked around and found a random Director’s chair and plunked down in it (he first pounded the chair with his fist, to make sure it was sturdy-- it was an old looking chair).

Bill was gone for over an hour (lucky me). I was free to wander around the set, but I mostly stayed close and kept an eye on De; he talked to the crew, left once (potty break?), read a magazine and smoked-- sad to say he constantly smoked. He once looked over at me and gave me a big smile.

When Bill returned, they were ready to film the scene when Kirk falls from Yosemite’s El Capitan and McCoy berates him. There was a publicity photographer taking pictures of everything, including this scene (which happened to be printed in a magazine and is my first picture posted here).

The Assistant Director called for De, who stood up and unbuttoned his jacket. A woman appeared and De closed his eyes as she touched up his make-up and combed his hair (I wanted to comb his soft hair). Two big burly men then lifted De (by his outstretched arms and butt) onto the elevated stage; they lifted him so high and hard, he literally flew into the air before landing on the stage on one foot-- he caught his balance and then turned back to them laughing with his eyes wide. They both laughed nervously and said “Sorry De.”  He told them they were very strong.

On the stage was the bottom part of El Capitan made out of fiberglass. At the time, not knowing anything about the story, it just looked like a huge rock surrounded by dirt, boulders and trees. There were screens surrounding the stage that looked like blue sky with clouds.

They connected wires to Bill’s body harness. He was lifted just off the ground and then quickly hung upside down where he swung around loosely. De came over and bent down with his face very close to the upside down Bill and they spoke quietly between themselves; De then stepped back and Bill called “Action!” Kirk said “Hi Bones, mind if we drop in for dinner?” and laughed like he was a little drunk. De took a step forward, bent down and McCoy started yelling at the slightly twirling Kirk. Kirk patted McCoy’s ears and squeezed his cheeks, laughing and making little noises. They quickly filmed the scene twice. The first time went fine, but the second time, they both began laughing and De said to the upside down Bill, “Kiss me.” They quickly kissed on the lips (I know, I know!!) and the entire crew cracked up. Bill called “Cut!” and someone else yelled “Lunch—45 minutes.” De said goodbye to the crew, got into a car, lit a cigarette and was driven away.

I had to get back to work. I walked (floated actually) to my car and drove out of the studio gate, ecstatic that one of my wildest dreams had come true.

A month later, my friend gave me my very own Final Frontier cast & crew jacket (similar to the one McCoy wore in the campfire scene), a photo of the cast & crew (Leonard’s and De’s smiles are absolutely adorable), some Star Trek notecards and a cast publicity photo.

Sorry this is so long. It’s taken from a note I typed up when I got back the the office that day. I didn’t want to forget a thing.

[thescarletwitchsapprentice]

A Pure Soul (Yandere!Wanda Maximoff x ADD!Autistic!reader)

Summary: Two weeks or so after Wanda arrives at the Avengers’ Place, (y/n) shows up. An autistic Avenger who’s extremely honest and who doesn’t really seem to mind just being by themself, but also is kind and even affectionate to others. Wanda’s smitten by this and does the unthinkable.

Request?: Nope. I’m literally just throwing this out of the back of my head. From the Yandere Starter Prompts list by @yandere-mccree

Prompt: 5. “This world doesn’t deserve an angel like you.”

Warnings: (AOU Spoilers, CACW spoilers, IW spoilers, Endgame spoilers, torture sorta, sleep paralysis mention, ableism, slight manipulation?, kidnapping, mind-breaking mention)

Note: I wanted to try a bit more of a subtle Yandere vibe for Wanda. I’ve never really written one of these, so it might not be as great as I hoped. I don’t encourage or condone the unhealthy aspects.

Word Count: 3,268

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

It’s only been a couple of weeks or so after she’d been taken from Sokovia after it was destroyed. Wanda’s still mourning the loss of her brother when you arrive. You're a shy person, not a fan of eye contact, but you do like touch, hugs in particular, as well as head pets.

Wanda doesn’t pay attention to you much at first. You’re just another Avenger to her; a nice change of pace, but that’s all. But then comes Lagos. Wanda now has guilt along with so much trauma. It’s no surprise when you hear her crying in her room one day, the door somehow left open a crack.

“I’m a terrible person,” she says softly, thinking no one heard.

You peek in and catch her with a pillow to her face, weeping. Your heart breaks. You know it’s on her, but she clearly feels terrible. You stand in the doorway until she soon notices you.

“Oh....(y/n),” she says as casually as she can. “Hey.”

“You’re not a terrible person,” you tell her.

She’s shocked to hear this.

“You’re not afraid of me?”

You shake your head.

“Why would I be?”

“I’m too destructive,” she says, sniffling. “You saw what happened in Lagos.”

You enter your room and sit on her bed with her. 

“But you’re also very kind,” you point out. “And you’re a good person. You clearly care when you hurt others, and you want to rectify your mistakes. A bad person wouldn’t do that.”

In that moment, you can sense her need for some physical contact. You lean over and give her a hug, rubbing her back.

“I’m glad you’re here, Wanda,” you tell her.

And you are. You truly are. Even if you don’t know her well, you’ve heard her talk a few times, and she’s a breath of fresh air. Most of the Avengers tend to be a bit loud and sometimes a bit insensitive, but not Wanda. Wanda’s extremely sensitive to others’ feelings and tends to be a quiet person. It’s something you need. Her accent is also soothing to you for some reason, not to mention she’s beautiful.

You let her cry on your shoulder for a few hours, even humming to her a bit. Then it’s dinnertime and you’re called to the kitchen. That’s when something in Wanda changes. You, an Avenger who barely knows her, aren’t afraid of her; in fact, you’re glad that she’s here. She also doesn’t know you all that well, but she’s seen some acts of kindness you’ve done for her and the other Avengers, even when you thought no one was watching. And she heard your thoughts when you were hugging her, all wonderful things about her, how you wish she could see how amazing she is, how beautiful she is.

At that moment, her heart melts. How can someone with such a sweet and pure soul like you exist? How could someone so....perfect exist? It’s a ray of sunshine in her heart, making her forget about the guilt and trauma, even if only for a few moments. Your presence is exactly what she needs. And she needs more of it.....

===================================

At first it starts off simple and small; making an effort to see you more often, running into you in the compound, smiling at you, making conversation. And honestly, there’s something about Wanda you can’t quite shake off. She does make your heart flutter; sometimes you get shy around her or even blush. It’s adorable and it’s something that only makes her more fond of you. 

She discovers you’re autistic when the lights of the compound are too bright one time. The second she notices how anxious you are after Tony turns on the lights before getting his coffee in the other room, she immediately turns them down for you, and she’s the first person you tell. 

“I’m touched that you trust me enough to confess this,” she tells you with a few tears in your eyes.

Wanda asks you what other things you like or dislike, things that give you sensory overload and things that help you calm down. She asks you about your experiences as an autistic person. You’re touched by how considerate she is, and even confess to her about your ADD, or Inattentive ADHD, as they call it now. She also asks about that, but does her best to take it a little at a time so that you’re not overwhelmed with questions.

What you don’t know is that she already knows all of this, having telepathy and all; she wants to hear it from you so that it doesn’t come off as creepy. She also loves to hear your voice. It’s like music to her ears, music that eases her stresses and trauma, even if only temporarily.

Then she starts to make some more effort, actively implementing what she knows and paying attention to things you say and do, so that she knows what she can do or say without it being suspicious. Wanda wants the relationship to move as naturally as possible. You’re her precious angel, and she doesn’t want to scare you. And she won’t unless it’s inevitable or of absolute necessity. 

Wanda buys a bunch of fidgets and other sensory things for you to try, keeping in mind what you’ve told her. But also throwing in some “close guesses,” meaning things she knows but that you haven’t told her, things close to what you’ve told her. She can easily pass it off as just “having a hunch,” as long as it doesn’t happen too often. 

Though she wants it to be as natural as possible, she occasionally uses her powers on you; nothing too severe at first. Just sending little suggestions to your mind; she’s told you a few of her favorite things, so she’ll base those suggestions off of that. One of the first suggestions is why not ask her how to make paprikash? She suggests that the two of you make it together and you agree. You’re not big on spice, but there’s some sweet paprika as a substitute. And it’s not as spicy as you think, but it’s delicious.

Sometimes Wanda sends a suggestion to get you going on a rant on one of your Special Interests; it’s both a chance for her to “get to know you more,” but mostly because she adores hearing you speak about what you love; she especially loves seeing that twinkle in your eyes and she loves seeing your face light up. It’s one of the most precious things to her, seeing you so happy. She wants to cherish every single second of it. 

Though you’re nervous about it, suggestions of humming or singing to her pop into your mind. You give into them fairly often, mostly later on in the relationship. She tells you about how beautiful your voice really is, which gets you shy and blushing. It’s so endearing to her, seeing her sweet little sunbeam being so cute without even trying.

When you come back from a battle, Wanda checks to make sure you’re okay as soon as possible. She volunteers to patch you up to the best of her ability, and she soon becomes the person you first think of when you need first aid or care after a battle.

Then Wanda decides to take it a little further; her room in the compound is next to yours. She stands outside of your door, waiting for you to go to sleep, before opening the door a tad and sending in sweet dreams. If there’s one thing she despises, it’s seeing her sweet little angel upset, and this assures that it won’t happen. 

Next she sends little dreams with her in it; first only small appearances, but then she becomes apparent little by little until she ends up being the focus of many of them. Of course she’ll throw in miscellaneous dreams here and there, just to make sure you don’t get suspicious.

Then comes Wanda’s biggest suggestion to you; you two have gotten so close over the past few months, why not ask her to be your girlfriend? It only makes sense. You still feel those butterflies in your stomach, you two both have amazing chemistry, and you both are very close. At this point, you don’t question it. You’re just nervous to ask, as you’ve never been in a relationship before. Of course the nervousness is also slightly part of the suggestion, more on a subconscious level. It’s not enough to make you panic; just enough to make you shy when asking her. And of course, you are. You end up stammering a little, blushing a bit. She fondly assures you that it’s okay to feel this nervousness, and happily accepts being your girlfriend. 

===============================

Now that you two are a couple, her next suggestion for you is to give into those affectionate feelings you have when cuddling with her. She loves the warmth you bring. Wanda didn’t think you could get any cuter, and yet she’s a full-on puddle when you cuddle with her. You’re just so sweet and Wanda can’t help but feel protective over you.

Others begin to notice you opening up more and they start making conversation with you. Of course Wanda’s listening to their thoughts to make sure they’re not interested in going further than a friendship with you. Friends are okay for her, and she’s very excited inside when you make a new friend, as she knows that making friends doesn’t exactly come naturally to you. However if it ever gets to anything past that, she’d have to take action. One does express interest in you, and that doesn’t sit well with Wanda. This person doesn’t deserve such a sweet angel, let alone her sweet little angel. Something must be done. 

That night, after sending you sweet dreams, she sneaks over to their place and hides just outside of their bedroom door. She’s able to track their brain activity, so she knows when they’ve gone to sleep. Once they do, she sends them their worst nightmares, ones that paralyze them in their sleep out of fear. The next day, you don’t see them at their usual time. You figure maybe they’re sick or they overslept. In the meantime, she’s there to keep you company. It happens on and off with them for some odd reason.

If it’s one of the Avengers taking an interest in you, Wanda ensures that the two of you don’t get too close. If you go on a mission and need a partner, Wanda steps up. It’s not really a surprise to them, with her being your girlfriend and all. She glares at the Avenger who’s showing interest, letting them know to stay back. 

=========================================

And then shit hits the fan.

You come back to the compound in tears one night and Wanda’s the first one at your side.

“(Y/N), what happened?” she asks worried.

You tell her about how you ran into someone who said that autism is a disease that needs to be cured and that you shouldn’t exist because you’re a burden on society. Wanda doesn’t leave your side that night. You need someone there for you. Externally she’s supportive and loving. But internally, she’s both heartbroken and fuming as she looks through the memory. A fire storms inside of her. How dare they tell such a sweet and pure soul like you that they’re a burden! How dare they say her sweet angel has a disease that needs to be cured! Wanda knows that autism has its challenges, but also its upsides. It’s not anything that needs a cure. It’s a part of your identity. She will NOT let this slide. Not even a little. 

After cuddling with you, and sending extra-special sweet dreams that night, Wanda finds the place of the person who told you this. Wanda sneaks into their bedroom and induces their worst nightmares, along with a dose of sleep paralysis. She uses her telekinesis to throw objects around the room and even at them. She uses her power to make them choke. Her grief and anger only amplifies the severity. It’s satisfying to her to hear them scream, plead, beg for mercy, to see them so helpless, knowing what they said to her precious angel. She keeps doing this to them until they’re completely broken, even going back multiple nights, just to make sure they’re gone for good. 

You don’t hear from them until you find out that they’ve become completely catatonic. Part of you still feels bad for them for some reason, but you don’t know why.

“You have nothing to feel bad about, (Y/N),” Wanda assures you when you bring this up with her. “Their guilt probably just got the best of them. C’mon, how about we get some lunch together?”

Wanda’s got your back and more for the next few days. And then Tony locks her in her room, and you’re infuriated. He just sees her as a weapon and not a person. In spite of their attempts to convince you to come along on missions, you decide to stay back and keep Wanda company, to make her confinement more bearable. 

The two of you both fight Tony together, end up in the Raft, and escape together, living away from the compound. Then comes the war. You’re the one dusted and Wanda survives. Those five years without you are hell to her. She spirals back into grief, guilt, and trauma, blaming herself for not being able to save you. Thank God for Bruce Banner. In 2023, he brings you back. The second Wanda finds this out, she rushes for you, her eyes filled with tears, and you’re just as relieved to see her. Your warmth sparks a sense of purpose back into her. After you died and were brought back to life, to her you’re truly an angel now, and she refuses to let an angel be harmed. She’s reluctant to let you fight, but she tells you as long as you stay by her, it should be fine.

Tony sacrifices himself to save you all from Thanos. The second the funeral is over, you decide to take a nap. Wanda gently grabs you and takes you to a remote location; a cottage in the middle of the woods on an island. Those five years without you and then suddenly having you back sent her protective instincts into overdrive. She decides that she can’t let anyone or anything hurt you anymore. She’s lost her parents and her brother. She can’t lose you. She won’t lose you.

When you come to, you’re shocked about where you are. 

“H-huh?”

Sitting up you begin to panic when you hear a familiar voice.

“Good! You’re awake.”

The smell of paprika hits your nose as you see her face, a sweet smile upon it. 

“W-wanda?” 

She brings over a plate of chicken paprikash. 

“What do you think, (y/n)?” she asks.

“Of what?”

She gives a little giggle.

“Of our new home, of course.”

Your heart jumps in your chest.

“New home?”

Wanda sets down the food on a nearby table, and sits next to you on the bed you’ve been placed in. 

“(Y/N), I.....those past five years....”

“Must’ve been horrific,” you say, still in shock.

She nods. 

“And I wish I could’ve saved you.”

She gently takes ahold of your hands. 

“And now that you’re back....I’m scared to lose you. I want us to be together forever.”

Your face flushes, and you glance away. She giggles a little and gently guides your face back up to her.

“My sweet (y/n), you’re too adorable,” she tells you.

Your eyes meet the bridge of her nose, and she doesn’t make you look at her eyes. She knows eye contact can be hell for you.

“I’ve missed this energy so much; I’ve missed your kind-hearted nature, your beautiful voice, your wide and innocent eyes, that cute little button nose, you cuddling up close to me. I’ve set everything in this cottage up just for you. I want you to be as comfortable and happy as possible here.”

“Where exactly are we, though?” you ask.

“Somewhere where you’ll never be hurt again. I’ll ensure that.”

This set off a slight red flag, and you panic a little.

“We couldn’t have just moved to a house in the suburbs or maybe a house in Greece?”

She shakes her head as she pets yours, something that absolutely gives you butterflies.

“No. This world doesn’t deserve an angel like you, sweet (y/n). You have such a pure soul-you are a pure soul-and the world outside will only hurt you. Sweet and innocent people, especially at your age, are very rare. They’re like diamonds; real diamonds. They’re extremely difficult to find, but once you do, they’re a treasure that needs to be protected. I want to be that for you. I want to protect you, keep you safe, love you and care for you. This cottage, this island, it can become a whole new world. At least give it a try? For me? Please?”

You want to say no, right? You’re not sure. It feels like something inside of you is at war, but one side is winning. Wanda’s clearly relieved to have you, and you’ve loved her for a long time now as she’s loved you for a long time now. You feel comfortable around her too. Perhaps a little protection might not be the worst idea. At the very least, a trial run wouldn’t hurt.

You nod.

“Okay, I’ll give it a go.”

Wanda hugs you close and gives you a small peck on the cheek. 

“Thank you, my sweet (y/n)! Thank you.”

The two of you have dinner together and then watch a few sitcoms before you cuddle up in bed as Wanda softly sings you a Sokovian lullaby, your head lying near her shoulder. As you drift off to sleep, Wanda watches you endearingly. What you don’t know is that you’re going to enjoy being here. She’d love it if it’s on your own terms, but if you start to seem distant, she won’t hesitate to use her magic to send some suggestions. Maybe it’s to prompt you to ask her to include or remove or change something, or even to enhance your joy for the little things. Extreme worst-case scenario? She’ll plague you with a few nightmares, ones that’ll show you how dangerous the outside world is without her, but it will pain her to do so. Expect a lot of cuddling and kisses from her when you wake up in tears in the hopes of making things better. And she makes sure they do. All she wants is for you to stay and be happy and safe with her. 

And even if you wanted to leave, it’s doubtful that even with your powers, you’ll get past the barrier Wanda’s put up. It’s doubtful that you’ll even get that far. It’s a big island after all. Big and deserted. She wants to give you enough space, but not too much. Just enough to make you happy. If you somehow find it, Wanda will make sure you’ll forget finding it. She’ll fill in the gaps with something else so that it doesn’t seem suspicious. It’s not surprising that she knows how to deal with so many outcomes; she’s had five years to think it over, after all, just in case you came back.

But none of that matters right now. All that matters is that she has you, her precious angel, and you’ll be hers forever one way or the other.

[sparkliingcrown]

— my worst nightmare.

Summary: You know the saying that goes 'Keep your friends close but your enemies closer?' How much closer can you get to your enemy than being roommates?

Request: Brownies + Dark Irish Coffee 

Genre: Roommates AU, College AU, Enemies to Lovers

Words: 6.1k

Warnings: Lots of swearing. I didn’t hold back in that aspect. Uhm, mentions of drinking, yn kinda panics at one point... I think that should be all! If not, pls notify me ^^

Note: An Eishi Café special. Yes, this is because it was last minute requests and it took too long for me to get to and open up the café again. ALSO TO THE ANON THAT REQUESTED THIS, I’M SORRY I MISREAD THE ORDER AND WROTE IT AS A LIGHT REQUEST! I hope you still like it nonetheless... Sorry it took so long T^T Also, this is my first time writing something like this so I really hope that it fits.

You were hauling your bags and boxes up to your new dorm room by yourself. That wasn’t exactly the greatest way to start the day, considering you had to stay up packing the last of your stuff, rushing to the nearest train station, riding the train, and then driving all the way to your new dorm room for college yesterday. You didn’t even get to sleep a wink on the train and you sure as hell can’t sleep while on the road. So, in short, you were tired, hungry, and really fucking pissed.

You mocked your naive and excited self, making faces as you tugged your bags closer to your body, pulling the strap of your backpack higher up your shoulder to keep it from falling on the floor. Go to college, they said. You'll have the time of your life, they said. Who's they? The many, many movies you watched growing up. And where exactly were you now?

"Can you at least try to help me move my stuff inside?" You drop your bags at the door, stretching your arms out.

"Lemme think about it." He closes his eyes for a second, letting out a deep breath. "No."

That's right. You were stuck with him. Choi Seungcheol. The bane of your existence.

That motherfucker.

His majesty was sitting comfortably on the couch, a cup of boba in his hand. Oh, how you wish you could just reach out there and squeeze it to make it explode in his face. Instead, you huff. You turned away and stomped your way down to the elevator to get the rest of your luggage. Muttering to yourself, you hauled the last of your luggage in, just wanting to collapse onto your bed for the day having barely gotten any rest the previous day.

You were expecting your best friend, Jiwoo, to greet you at the door. You were expecting her to greet you with that enthusiastic squeal when she sees you. You were expecting her to give you a warm hug that would last probably longer than 5 minutes. Alas, the universe decided to be rude to you and give you your worst nightmare.

Seungcheol stares as you drag your bags and feet to the nearest room, raising an eyebrow when he thinks he heard you utter his name. He did not help whatsoever. Asshole. Once you get to your room, you don't even bother cleaning up and unpacking. You sank to the floor with a loud whine, not caring at all if Seungcheol could hear you from outside.

You were so excited to live out your college dream. Going to the library, going to parties you know Jiwoo would drag you to, midnight talks with your roommate, binging series you’ve been eyeing for a while. The universe just really had to ruin it for you by placing him as your roommate. You didn’t even know he was enrolled in Hybe University. It seemed like he didn’t know either. You recall the shocked look on his face when he opened the door.

“You’re my roommate?!” You both exclaim in unison.

You feel your lifespan shorten by 30 years when it fully sinks in that you’re stuck with him for a full school year. If it wasn’t enough that the bags you carried were heavy, the ones under your eyes felt even heavier. Seungcheol frowns.

“You look like shit,” he states, taking a long sip out of his cup.

You manage to send your iciest glare at him, chucking the heavy luggage inside to make him  move. “No shit, Sherlock-”

“The name’s Seungcheol.”

You ignore him. “I just drove a fucking half hour just to get here.”

You kick the bag, moving it to a corner then go to get a smaller one waiting by the door. Seungcheol moves out of your way, walking back to the couch. “Don’t fucking test me, Choi.”

He puts one of his hands up in a surrendering gesture. You sigh, closing the door behind you to get the rest of your things.

You let out a groan, deciding to unpack your things a little later. Eyeing your bed, you get up to move to your bed. You easily drift off into sleep. You would’ve loved to say it was dreamless but you actually quite enjoyed the chaos of it all. You awoke at 2 in the morning, lost and confused. You frown at your waste of half the day yesterday, smacking random items in your room to figure out where you had placed your phone.

Once you located it, the screen lit up your face - blinding you a little in the process. Jiwoo had excitedly messaged you. Well, excited was an understatement when she sent you 102 messages in the span of one hour and 17 missed calls for the rest of the time you were unconscious on your bed.

Your stomach growls, shocking you. “Yeah, I should get some food then start unpacking. Probably message her back as well…” you mutter to the air, dusting off your jeans as you finish up the process of fully moving into your new home for the next school year.

You sigh, “Fuck, this is going to be a long year.”

You bury your head in the reference book that you picked out to help with your assignment. It wasn’t doing it’s job of helping. You shifted in your seat. With a groan, you lean back in your seat, not understanding any of the material so far. Jiwoo pats your back encouragingly, nuzzling her cheek on your shoulder.

"There, there," she says, running a hand through your hair. "Hold on, I'll just return this book because it didn't have what I was looking for."

With a solemn nod, Jiwoo rises from her seat. She skips away with the book in your hands leaving you suffering all alone. You mentally slap yourself for sulking when it's literally only the second month of college. Living in the dorms has not been any easier ever since you arrived. Seungcheol took any opportunity to get a rise out of you and you would bite back with just as much sass.

It was like a competition between you both. Over what exactly? No one could really tell. Jiwoo came over often so she's very much used to seeing the two of you bicker like little children out of the smallest things. This was the reason as to why she dragged you out of the dorm.

"Come on, ever since you've arrived, you're either staying in your room or going to that boba place!" Jiwoo was tugging you by your wrist while you used your other hand to cling onto your bedpost. "You need to live! To breathe!"

"I do that just fine over here!" you complain.

Then, it was just a competition of whining. Jiwoo won that one easily. Her bright, sparkling puppy eyes were too much to resist. You sighed. You were too soft for Jiwoo sometimes. You mumble, cursing the professors for giving a bunch of work already. It was to the point that you could barely keep track of any of your subjects anymore.

You stare at your laptop screen, a half blank essay staring back at you with a menacing aura. You turn your head. An open textbook sat atop several other books of the same subject stared at you too. You could hear it calling for you, yelling at you to study for the test next week. With a silent cry, you drop your head down onto the table. You hear a snicker from behind you. One that you've heard way too many times that you didn't even need to turn around to see who it was.

"Hello to you too, Choi." You let out a tired sigh, head rising from the table.

"You look pitiful like that," he comments, eyeing the multitude of books surrounding your laptop. "You need any help?"

You raise an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Do you need help?"

"The Choi Seungcheol is offering me help?"

"Ah, good, so your ears can work," he gives you that shit eating grin that you just want to punch off his face. You can already feel the fire burning inside just ready to burst. You feel like a boiling kettle to say the least. It's his turn to raise an eyebrow now.

"Well?"

"No way," you huff like a child, turning your back on him.

He sat across from you. It really just had to be the only fucking unoccupied seat left. You mentally cursed all the students who came to the library. Then you felt bad and instead cursed Seungcheol who just had to come to the library when you were at the peak of the stress rollercoaster, just ready to dive into the depths of despair and bad grades.

Your eyes flutter back and forth between the laptop, the books and Seungcheol himself. With a defeated sigh, you turn the laptop so the screen could face him. "Please."

That same grin never left his face, he tauntingly cups a hand around his ear. "What's that? I can't hear you."

"Old man," you retort with a snicker. Just as he was going to open his mouth to protest, you repeat yourself a little louder. "Please help me with this damn assignment so I can finish it already."

"That's more like it." He pulls out the chair next to you, pushing away the books to help you.

You would never admit it out loud but you were actually grateful that Seungcheol had offered his help. With every small pointer he gave you, you were able to fly through all of your workload like a breeze. He even lent you his notes for that test you were so worried about. You leaned back, tipping your head back as the most relieved sigh anyone could muster slipped past your lips.

“What? No ‘Thank you’?” he asked, a small pout on his lips.

“I didn’t kill you. Is that enough?” He rolls his eyes at you, returning to his own seat. Guilt started to take form in the pit of your stomach. You sighed. “I gotta go. Thanks. I’ll see you at the dorm.”

You didn’t see it. He didn’t want you to see it. He didn’t even want to acknowledge it; the heat rising up and painting his cheeks pink from when you sent him that small smile before leaving. Seungcheol mentally slapped himself, shaking his head and trying to focus on his own essay he put off while helping you. Safe to say, he never really did finish that stupid essay.

"Joo, do I have to go?" you complained, tugging your shirt downwards. It's a little too much for your taste.

"You deserve it, babe," Jiwoo replied. "You got good grades after studying for so long! Loosen up a little! Please?"

You give her a skeptical look.

"Just this once?" She gives you her best puppy dog eyes that shimmered under the light of her dorm room. She puts up a finger and juts out her bottom lip in a pout, ultimately stealing your heart with how cute she is. "For me?"

"Ugh, fine. You're too cute not to."

"Yay!" she wraps her arms around you and gives you a light kiss on your cheek, dragging you out of her dorm and to her car.

She drove you to the party, that sweet smile never leaving her face. She talked about a blend of many topics she was interested in. You heard her mention something about talking to that girl in her class. You only stared out the window, humming in response as you dreaded arriving at the party.

Alcohol. It reeked of alcohol. You just arrived but there were already so many people that just smelled like sweat and whatever was served in the kitchen. Jiwoo took you to the dance floor, which was clearly just the living room of the house with the couches pushed to the side so there's space. She introduced you to a couple of her friends. You give them a small wave. It probably wasn't the best idea to try and have a conversation this close to the speakers.

After just a few minutes of walking in, you already lost Jiwoo. She was probably just with one of her friends. Come to think of it, she was clinging on to one of them really tightly and just being very clingy. But she was almost always like that with anyone. You brush it off your mind, heading to the kitchen to get something to drink.

"They look pretty," Seokmin stated, sipping from his cup and making a slight face at the bitterness. "Wait... Is that Y/n?"

Seungcheol's ears seem to perk up at the mention of your name. He turns to the direction his friend was staring at, seeing you hover over the kitchen island with a drink in your hand. You looked bored. A little lonely too. He deduced that your friend had left you to fend for yourself. He snickers to himself.

"Oh yeah, I think that is," Jeonghan was suddenly by his side, eyeing Seungcheol for his reaction. Seungcheol pulls a face.

"What are you looking at?" he sneers.

"Don't you think they're pretty, Cheollie?" Jeonghan giggled, obviously already a little tipsy. Seungcheol scowls. An old conversation flashed by his eyes.

"Where are you going?"

You raise an eyebrow. "And why do you care about where I'm going?"

"Because I'm your roommate? What if something happens to you?"

"Awh, does Seungcheollie actually care about me?" You jut your lip out in an exaggerated pout.

"No, I- Wait..." He takes in the outfit you decided to wear, and breathes in the scent of that perfume you always wear on special occasions. "Don't tell me... You're going out with that guy again, aren't you?"

You roll your eyes, adjusting the straps of your shoes with a groan. "So?"

"Are you that blind that I have to fucking tell you? He's not good for you!"

"Why do you give a damn about who I go out with? Why would I give a damn about who you think I should go out with?"

"That's not the point- Stop going out with him!"

"What are you? My dad? Fuck off, Cheol."

"That guy is not good for you." He crosses his arms against his chest. "Hell, even I would be better for you and I'm your enemy."

“Yeah, you’re my enemy. That doesn’t explain why you’re butting into my love life like this. Literally, just fuck off!” you exclaim, losing your cool with a stomp of your foot.

You fall silent. He falls silent. Seungcheol is worried for that second that passes. He didn’t know why. The silence was uncomfortable. It was like the chill of realizing there’s a spider in the shower with you. He felt chills run down his spine. He didn’t even know why.

You say nothing more, picking up your purse. The silence was odd. It was new. Especially to the both of you. Seungcheol was just about to speak up again, voicing his opposition to you going out with the sketchy guy you met when you walked out and slammed the door on him.

His mouth hung ajar, disbelief spread all over his features. He scoffs, “Ugh, whatever.”

He turns to look at you again. You were by the dance floor now, the neon lights surrounding you. He always thought you were pretty whenever you two wouldn't be bickering until the day's end. Seeing you next to the lights, seeing you like this, it made his heart race a little. He blames it on the alcohol.

Seungcheol ignores the way the rest of his friends start teasing him. It was mostly Joshua and Jeonghan ganging up on him but it was teasing nonetheless. He rolled his eyes, shoving them off him when Jeonghan started giggling a little too close to his face. Sure, he thinks you look pretty, and sure, he doesn't deny that he did find you attractive when he first met you after the summer. That doesn't matter, though, right? Right?

So, what was this feeling festering in his heart when he saw another guy walk up to you and ask you for a dance?

Seungcheol watches as the anonymous guy takes your hand and graciously leads you to the dance floor. His friends would be dramatic and say that he glared daggers at the dude. To be fair, he was. Seungcheol wasn't going to admit to that, however. He crushes his cup in his hand, startling the rest of his group but leading to only more teasing from all of them. With a roll of his eyes, he decides to shift his attention elsewhere.

Your weight shifts from one foot to the other. Maybe situating yourself near the dance floor wasn't the best idea you ever got but you needed to search for Jiwoo in the sea of sweaty, horny, drunk people. What better option than to sit right next to the speaker? You mentally facepalm yourself when the neon lights blinded you from identifying anyone. You blink once. Twice.

Who is this stranger in front of you?

Alarms blare in your head, telling you to get away. Your grip tightens on your cup, anxiety filling your stomach. He notices your worried expression and immediately flashes a smile. "You don't come here often, do you? I'm Eungwang."

He extends a hand out to you, asking you to join him on the dance floor. You shyly follow him, his hand never leaving yours. He twirls you around, telling you to smile a little bit and relax. You could feel all eyes on you, the blinding neon lights and booming music slowly becoming unbearable with each passing second.

"You okay?" You nearly didn't hear Eungwang calling out your name. "You look stressed. Are you okay?" You did your best to shake your head no, breath stuck in your throat.

A worried look passes his eyes, the corners of his lips turning downwards. It was becoming too much. You knew you shouldn't have come to this party. Jiwoo just had to bring you along. Jiwoo... You still haven't found her. The pounding in your heart and ears were getting worse, getting louder. You twist your head, trying your best to scan the crowd for a glimpse of your best friend.

"Get your hands off of her," a more familiar voice speaks up. With wide eyes, you see Seungcheol with his hand on Eungwang's shoulder.

Without an answer, Seungcheol rips him away from you and grabs your wrist to pull you into a more open space. It was weird. You always thought Seungcheol's hands would be rough, yet his touch felt so light. It felt like feathers. It was almost as if he was afraid to break you in your state. If you weren't too occupied with panicking, maybe you would've been trying to fight your way out of his grip.

You hadn't even noticed. Within minutes, the two of you were seated in the front lawn. The cool air brushed your cheeks, slowly pulling you out of your trance. Seungcheol tosses you a water bottle which you catch with trembling fingers. You take a sip and let out a breath. With pursed lips, you turn to look at him.

"Sorry.”

"What for?"

"I probably ruined the mood, right?"

He rolls his eyes, tucking his hands in his jacket pocket. "Whatever. The party was shit anyway. We should get you back to the dorm."

"But Jiwoo--"

"Your friend will be fine." He tosses his jacket to you. "Wear that. It's cold."

"I will not."

"Suits you." He snatches it out of your hands almost immediately. "Don't come crying to me when you get a cold."

Like a child, you stuck out your tongue.

You're sick.

You don't know if it's fate trying to trick you or something. Whatever it was, it definitely isn't funny. Thank goodness, it was still the weekend. You definitely would have lost it if you got sick in the middle of the week. Good news was Jiwoo got back to her own dorm safely because her roommates dragged her back. That made you feel a little better.

Swaddled in your blanket, you begin your travel to the faraway land of the living room where you met your roommate looking at you amusedly. You sent him the best glare you could muster with a bit of snot dripping down your face. He only snickered.

"I told you, you should've worn-"

"Shut it. I'd rather be sick than wear that sweaty jacket of yours."

"Oi!" He stands up, pointing at you who was rummaging through the fridge. "I'll have you know my jacket isn't at all sweaty and gross! I wash it often!"

You let out a snicker, taking some leftovers out of the fridge and shutting it close with your hips. Seungcheol drops his plate in the sink. He stares at you for a fleeting moment; your hair was a mess and there was a bit of snot running down your nose. Nonetheless, you were wrapped up tightly in your blanket that reached the floor. You peek your head to see what's playing on the TV when you see a familiar character.

"You watch...Link Clink?" You sniffle slightly, bringing your blanket back up to rest on your shoulders.

"Oh? You know this show?" Cute. He shakes the thought out of his head immediately.

"Yeah...It was on my watch list." You didn't think that he'd watch something like that. "Not like you need to know."

He rolls his eyes at you, ignoring your last comment. "You wanna watch it together sometime?"

What in the fuck? You don't know if it was your cold, if it was just the air conditioning or literal chills went down your spine at his offer. Maybe it was just the first option. Caught off guard, you stare at him. His eyebrow was raised at you while waiting for your response.

"Uhm...yeah, sure... why not?"

"Oh, yeah." He opens up a cabinet, your curious eyes following his form as he searches through the cupboard. He pulls out a green plastic and hands it over to you. "I figured you would get sick, so I bought some stuff this morning that could probably help."

"Oh, uh, thanks..."

"Don't mention it." You weren't too sure but you thought you saw him blush a little. Perhaps it was your brain playing tricks on you. Nonetheless, despite being your enemy, he was nice enough to buy you something. Though, it really was just a small cold.

He clears his throat, snapping you out of your trance. "Get some rest. Jiwoo will probably drop by here later."

"Yeah, okay."

“You’re telling me he took care of you while you were sick?”

“And you’re telling me you didn’t threaten him at all to take care of me while I was sick?”

Jiwoo takes a long sip of her bubble tea, taking her time to chew the pearls while you wait for an answer. She simply shakes her head no. You sigh.

“It’s not like he, like, took care of me. It was more of, like, he just made living together less of a living hell, I guess,” you state, taking your own sip of your tea.

“Less? What do you mean?”

“I mean, he still teased and taunted me. Like, he kept bringing his friends over. You know how loud all of them could get. Finished a bunch of my snacks even though they had my name on it. He broke my third favorite mug, too. One time, he placed my shit on top of the cabinet when he knew I couldn’t really reach it.”

You almost let out a laugh when you remember it.

“Awh, you need me in your life after all."

"Shut up, I can replace you with a step ladder."

"Too bad you won't. You love me too much."

You hadn’t even noticed the rosy pink that started to bloom on your cheeks and creep up to your ears. Jiwoo did, however, and would not let you live. Her eyes grew wide, dramatically placing her cup down. She shook you. A big grin was plastered on her face once you turned to look at her.

“Oh my goodness, it all makes sense now,” she cheered, enthusiastically shaking you around like a maraca. “You guys have been talking a lot lately… When I visited there was no sign of chaos anywhere.... And you were just giggling!”

“Giggling?”

“Giggling, Y/n, giggling! You!” she squeals. “Oh my god, you’re blushing! They’re blushing! Don’t tell me… you actually like him, do you?”

You let out a snort. “Me? Like him? Jiwoo, love, he makes my college life a lot less bearable. My petty ass won’t even let that go by, either. There’s no way I like that asshole.”

Okay, maybe you liked him a little bit.

It would be hard not to like a guy who stops in the middle of a walk just to pet some dogs he saw on the way. It would be hard to ignore the way he smiles whenever you see him with his friends. It was most definitely hard to pretend like your heart wasn’t racing at all when your drunk roommate, also known as your enemy, snuggled closer to you on your way to the couch.

“Seungcheol.” A groan. Try again.

“Seungcheol.” Same response. What is this bitch on?

“Choi Seungcheol.” A loud whine escapes his lips. “How much did you drink? You reek.”

“Just a lil’ bit,” he hiccuped, swaying back and forth on his feet. “We were having so much fun I didn’t even notice the time!”

You softly threw him onto the couch as he started to flail his arms. You rush to the kitchen to get him a glass of water. He throws his arms around the pillows and tightly squeezes them as he starts babbling nonsense you couldn’t quite make out. You hear something along the lines of peaches, weird foods they tried, and someone jumping into the pool. You smiled. They always were such a rowdy bunch. All 13 of them. You would know. They trashed your room once and ate your leftover ice cream.

“You look pretty.” You snorted, covering your mouth with your free hand. “You look just like my roomie, you know. They’re like-” A hiccup interrupts him. “They’re the prettiest person I’ve ever seen,” he slurred.

“Oh? Is that so?” You make him sit up properly and hand the cup over to him. “Here, drink some of this.”

He gulps down the water. “You're really kind, too! Ah, just like Y/n~ But they have a little- no, no- a huge temper.” Oh, wow. The audacity. He giggles and you suppress the urge to smile. Failing, you laugh along with him, shaking your head.

“Come on, let’s get you to your room, you ass,” you say, slinging an arm around him to try and get him up. “Why are you so damn heavy?”

“Because of my love~ for Y/n~!”

“Why are you cheesy when you’re drunk-”

You finally arrive at his room, which took a lot longer than expected because of dragging a very intoxicated Seungcheol around who would not stop trying to cuddle you. You struggle to open his door, ignoring the loud beating of your heart. Wanting to go back to sleep as quickly as possible, you let him crawl onto his own bed, turning around to leave.”

“Get some sleep.”

A hand wraps around your wrist, preventing you from leaving. He pulls you closer. You lose your balance. Oh look, now you're on top of him. You hold your breath. You try to push yourself away from him but to no avail. You were trapped.

“Where’s my goodnight kiss?” He croaked out, quickly leaning up to peck you on the lips.

“You kissed?!”

“Shh! Joo, not so loud!” Your eyes darted around the area, several heads turned to look your and Jiwoo’s way. “Everyone’s looking at us. I don’t even know what to say, Joo. I haven’t seen him at all for the past few days.” “You haven’t seen him or you’re avoiding him?” She raised a skeptical brow at you, popping some food in her mouth. She points one of her chopsticks at you with a big grin that makes you want to hide in a hole and never come out. “I think… you’re just avoiding him.”

“Well, what are you supposed to do when-” you lower your volume, casting your eyes to the ground. “I’m not finishing that sentence. Argh!” You hide your face in your hands, Jiwoo’s thrilled laughter coming from beside you.

You spent the following week trying to evade Seungcheol’s presence. You’ve been getting out of the dorm far earlier than you used to and he could never catch you anywhere. He seemed more than eager to talk to you nowadays, usually looking for you in the hallways or trying to spot a glimpse of you in your favorite spots. The library, the boba place, outside your classes. Nothing. It always seemed like you were one step faster than he was, one second too late for him.

He went around the campus grounds one last time. He even asked his friends if he’s seen you to which they replied with skeptical looks for fair reasons. He even tried to ask your friend, Jiwoo, to no avail. He retreats back to the dorm in defeat. His shoulders slumped over as he fished the keys out of his pocket. The door clicks and he becomes visibly confused. He still has his keys in his hand. The door opens wide and Seungcheol yelps, faced with none other than the roommate he was looking for.

Without thinking, he grabs a hold of your wrist as you go to shut the door on him. You snap yourself out of your thoughts from that night. "You're coming with me."

"What the fuck?" You tug your wrist back. His grip only tightens. "Yah! What the hell do you think you're doing?! I'm going to miss the next episode of-"

"Mmm, don't really care."

"Tch." You look down, suddenly ashamed of your get-up. He opens his car door for you. "Did Jiwoo put you up to this?"

Seungcheol smiles. Your heart... Did it skip a beat? Woah. Maybe he actually doesn't look too bad when he's not being a dick to you. Maybe he actually, dare you say it, looks cute when the two of you aren't at each other's throats every 5 seconds. You reluctantly get in, buckling your seatbelt while you wait for him to start up the car.

You look out the window, appreciating the beauty of the night. It's serene. It was still pretty bright with all the lights and buildings yet it looked beautiful. You opted not to speak to Seungcheol for the rest of the drive. You still didn't even know why he dragged you out of your room. You don't even know why you actually got in his car.

Realization hits you.

You're in his car. Seungcheol's car. You willingly got into Seungcheol's car. A small gasp leaves your lips, calling his attention.

"Is something wrong?"

You look at him. "Uh, no... No, I'm fine." The car suddenly holts, snapping you out of your daze. 7/11. Your eyebrows furrow. What?

"You dragged me out of my room... to go to 7/11? This late at night?" you asked, disbelief laced in your tone. He only chuckles at you, getting out of the car while leaving you bewildered and still strapped to your seat.

"Technically, it's like morning but sure." You unbuckle the seatbelt and step out, the cold breeze hitting your skin. Right, you still looked like a mess in the middle of a crisis. "I owe you ice cream since Soonyoung couldn't control himself the other day."

You narrow your eyes at him, suspicious of why he decided to be nice to you today. Before you could open your mouth to speak, he interrupts you, "This is just so you won't bitch about your lost ice cream."

"Hey!" you huff, crossing your arms over your chest. He picks up a few items and checks them out, you follow behind him like a lost puppy. "I thought we were just getting ice cream... why are you-"

"Can you just enjoy this quiet we have right now?" That made you shut up for the rest of the night. Not really. You started complaining about the cold a few minutes later while he laughed at your misery.

"Your fault for not bringing a coat, idiot."

"You fuckin- You dragged me out here!" you exclaimed, exasperated. "The audacity of this bitch, I swear."

Now sitting outside the 7/11, you rub your arms in a feeble attempt to warm yourself up. Not much luck. He slams a cup of instant ramen in front of you. You jumped slightly at the noise and he sent you a sheepish grin. "Enjoy, loser." You stick your tongue out at him yet pick up the cup nonetheless.

A sizzle breaks the silence between the both of you. He has a cheeky grin plastered all over his face as he teases you with the sight of the can of beer. He tosses one in your direction. You caught it, thankfully. You take a sip after opening it, letting out a content sigh. You searched your brain for something to say to fill the silence. It wasn't exactly everyday you get to sit quietly under the night sky on a school night with your worst enemy.

“I...uh... also wanted to apologize if I weirded you out while I was shit-faced drunk that one time. I didn’t- the words… they just slipped out,” he says.

“That’s it?” you ask. “You don’t remember anything else?”

Seungcheol shakes his head. “I don’t remember anything other than babbling nonsense. Why? Did I do something?” Your cheeks flare up, memories flooding back in that you’ve tried so hard to avoid. He stops and looks at you, noticing how you wouldn’t look him in the eye. Your eyes were trained on something else, your cheeks burning crimson. He blinks once, twice, trying to recollect the events of that night. All he remembers was you pissed and greeting him at the door, muttering some embarrassing shit, and being dropped onto his bed. Everything else was a blur.

“We should… Let’s get going. It’s getting really late,” you say, turning your head so you’d stop staring. The two of you finish up your ramen and drinks, heading back to Seungcheol’s car after discarding the trash.

On the way home, he recalls a few memories. The day you first met, the time you embarrassed him in front of the whole 8th grade, the time he gave you an oreo cookie filled with toothpaste. A good trip down memory lane later, the two of you were laughing obnoxiously in the wee hours of the morning. The laughter dies down as Seungcheol unlocks your dorm door.

“Come to think of it, why are we enemies again? We didn’t really do too much to hate each other,” you say, removing your shoes by the door.

“Do we hate each other?” You shrug. He laughs. “Why don’t we start over then? We’re not too different, apparently.”

“Yeah. Sure, why not?”

He sticks out his hand. “Hi, I’m Seungcheol.”

You gaze lingers on it for a few seconds. You never thought you’d be doing this ever. You look up at him and back at his hand. There’s a chance you’ll regret your next move but you doubt you will.

With a simple, soft kiss, everything felt like it changed yet stayed the same. The feeling of his lips on yours felt like a simple gift from the universe as a sorry for everything the two of you went through together. Seungcheol was frozen in his spot, eyes fluttering shut as he slowly pulled you closer. His memories start getting clearer. He slowly pieces together what happened that night. You pull away with a grin, completely red in the face.

“Hi, I’m Y/n. Seungcheol’s worst nightmare.”

“Is that what I get for making you suffer in silence when I couldn’t remember anything?”

“Oh, so you remember now? Damn, you really are old.”

“We’re the same age!”

“To answer your question, yes. Yes, it is.”

For the second time that night, you kissed.

[writeroutoftime]

baby makes three

(gif created by me)

pairing: colin bridgerton x fem!reader (this is for the 3 anons who wanted to see a similar situation with colin being a father!)

summary: snapshots of colin throughout your pregnancy with your first child 

warnings: pregnancy 

words: 1.7k 

a/n: this is the story that kept disappearing in my drafts, but it has reappeared, which is why I’m posting 2 stories back to back! 😂anyway, this is such a sweet thought, and I adored writing it! hopefully it doesn’t seem too choppy, I just thought it would be interesting to write little snippets of colin and yourself preparing to be parents! (as well as some fluff once the baby is born!) anyway, please let me know what you think, and have a lovely day! 

oOoOo

the announcement 

“You’re what?” 

“Pregnant, Colin.” you repeated, unable to keep the smile off your face. “And you’re going to be the most wonderful father!” 

Immediately, Colin’s face morphed from one of disbelief to pure joy in a matter of seconds before he shot forward and wrapped you up in his arms. His laughter and lightheartedness was infectious, and your heart swelled at his reactions. A gasp of surprise left your lips as he spun your around before setting you back down and placing a chaste kiss against your lips. 

Growing up in the Bridgerton family, Colin always knew that he wanted a large family of his own one day. The day he had met you, he knew you were the one for him, and from that day he had imagined starting a family with you. Now, those dreams were coming to fruition, and neither of you could be happier. 

Once recovered, Colin quickly got down on his knees and lovingly placed a kiss to your covered stomach, staring up at you with intense love and devotion in his eyes. You reached down and carded your hand through his thick, chestnut locks, thinking how lucky you were to have someone like Colin in your life. 

“Hello, little bean.” he whispered sweetly. “I cannot wait to meet you, so you just stay safe and keep growing in there until it’s time.” Colin instructed, pulling a laugh from your lips. 

“Little bean?” you questioned the nickname for your unborn child. 

Colin shrugged with a sheepish smile. “Well, we don’t know if we are to have a son or a daughter, so I shall call our precious gift ‘little bean’ for the time being.” he explained as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.  

“Well this little bean and myself love you dearly, Colin.” you praised, smiling down at your husband. 

“And I, the both of you.” he vowed, offering your stomach one more kiss before standing up, unable to keep his lips away from yours. 

5 months 

Colin beamed as he watched you walk into the drawing room and sat down, admiring the glow that you seemed to radiate. The months were passing quickly, and now that there was a visible bump it made your situation feel all the more real. Of course, you had received so much love and support from not only Colin, but the rest of his family, especially the women who had already experienced a pregnancy of their own. It warmed your heart to know you were not alone in this endeavor. 

“Oh!” you suddenly gasped, quickly setting your teacup down and rubbing your stomach where you felt a slight discomfort. 

“Is everything alright, love?” Colin asked as he rushed to your side. “Do we need to call for the doctor? My mother?” he listed, worry glazing over his eyes as he hovered, waiting for your instruction. 

The movement repeated and with your hand rested over your bump, you smiled, realizing what had just happened. “No, no, everything is perfect.” you whispered, lost in wonder and awe. 

“Then what is it?” Colin inquired, still concerned and needing answers. 

Wordlessly, you grabbed his hand and rested it on your stomach, moving it around for a few seconds before pressing down. Colin was about to protest further until he felt the same sensation you did just moments before and his eyes widened at the spot his hand rested on. His eyes then flicked up to meet yours, and neither of you could contain the joy you felt. 

“That’s our little bean in there.” he whispered, voice shaky and eyes misty. 

“That it is.” you whispered, not wanting to disrupt the moment, though you let out a small giggle when you felt the baby kick again. 

“She’s going to be just as beautiful as her mother.” he said. 

“She?” you questioned. “What happened to little bean?” 

“Oh, she’s still our little bean, but I just have a hunch that we’re going to have a daughter to love and spoil.” Colin said, pulling you into your side and soothingly rubbing his hand up and down your bump, and that is where the two of you stayed for the rest of the afternoon. 

8 months 

The further along in your pregnancy you were, the more you found it difficult to sleep, tossing and turning as your child constantly kicked against your stomach. Luckily, Colin was always there to help you and even stayed awake with you on those restless nights. However, one night when sleep was achieved quite easily, you found yourself awakening to Colin’s soft voice. It only took a moment to realize he was talking to your baby, so you kept your eyes closed and your breath even, not wanting to interrupt the moment. 

“I can’t wait until I can hold you in my arms, little bean.” he whispered to your belly, hand supporting his one hand while the other ever so gently rested on your stomach. “You’re mother and I cannot wait for you to be in our lives, and you’re going to be so spoiled between your mother and I and all your aunts and uncles.” 

It was difficult to hold in a laugh as you imagined Colin’s words to be true. The two of you were eager to start your family, and the rest of the Bridgerton clan always enthusiastically welcomed another niece or nephew to dote upon. 

“Speaking of your mother,” Colin continued. “we are so lucky that she is in our lives. I know that this has been difficult for her, but you have been blessed with the best mother. We’ll both have to love and appreciate her as much as possible.” 

By that point, it was exceedingly difficult to keep your act up as you felt tears prickle at the corner of your eyes. How were you so lucky to have such a caring and attentive man like Colin in your life? It seemed as though your baby had been listening and agreed with Colin because right after he spoke, another sharp kick could be felt. 

“Are you giving your mother trouble, little bean?” he asked, brows furrowed as he awaited another kick. “What did I just say about being kind to your mother? It is not nice to kick her that hard, especially at night.” he reprimanded in the gentlest voice. “Even if she is pretending to be asleep.” he added with a smug grin, looking up to meet your eyes. 

Sheepishly, you looked down at your husband. “How did you know I was awake?” you asked, curious as to what it was that gave you away. 

“I could feel your small laugh earlier on.” he admitted, and shifted his body so that he was face to face with you instead of your stomach. “But I truly meant every word I spoke.” he whispered, leaning down to press a soft kiss against your lips. 

When you pulled away, you couldn’t stop the tears that ran down your cheeks, moved by the love Colin always gave you. “I’m so lucky to be doing this with you by my side. You are going to be the best father, Colin.” you told him, your voice watery but sincere. 

Colin gently brushed away your tears and kissed the spots where tear tracks had been left behind as he entwined your hand with his. “I think I am the lucky one, love.” he countered, and curled into your side for the rest of the night. 

birth 

The moment you went into labor, Colin was there to hold your hand while sending out for the midwife and doctor as well as his mother. When the doctor tried to shove him out of the room, Colin held his ground and demanded that he be allowed to stay by his wife’s side; he was not about to leave you to fend for yourself at this hour. Hesitantly, the doctor granted his request, and you sighed a breath of relief, as Violet smiled to herself at the sight, her heart warmed at how dedicated the two of you were to each other. 

Hours later, filled with blood, sweat, and tears, you were propped up in your bed, gently holding your daughter in your arms. It was a tender scene between yourself, Colin, and y/d/n. Colin held you in arms and kissed the top of your head while gently stroking his daughter’s cheek with his thumb. It felt surreal that you child was now here and that your family had grown to three. 

“She’s beautiful.” you said, voice barely above a whisper, unable to tear your eyes from your daughter. 

“Just like her mother.” Colin responded, squeezing you a bit tighter. “Thank you, y/n.” he suddenly said, causing you to look up at him. 

“Whatever for?” you asked. 

Colin took a moment to collect his thoughts before he spoke. “For starting our family, for being so strong to support our daughter until she was ready to meet us, for making me so incredibly happy every single day.” he listed over, each one more passionate than the last. 

It was already an emotional day, and you didn’t think your heart could feel any more full, but as usual, Colin found a way to prove you wrong. “I love you so much.” you told him, and he leant his head down to rest against yours as the two of you spent the next couple hours admiring the newest addition to your family. 

Later that night, Colin found that he could not sleep, the excitement and adrenaline of the previous day’s events still coursing through his veins. Carefully, he untangled himself from your embrace and padded over to the bassinet in the corner of your room where your daughter slept. He knelt down next to her and simply watched as she slept her first night. A few minutes later, your daughter opened her eyes and met Colin’s gaze. 

“Hello there, little bean.” he whispered, not wanting to frighten her or wake you up. “I just want to let you know that I love you so, so much, and I’m always going to be here to protect you.” Colin promised as he offered a finger for your daughter to grab a hold of with her tiny hand, ready for everything the future would bring. 

oOoOo

tagging: @dreaming-about-fanfictions​, @elennox03