#and then realizing she lives with them and this just means more third wheeling

[yandere-sins]

Hi! I saw the request that involved the poly trio of the yan! Ghost, the darling and darlings best friend (reader) and it honestly just scratched my brain perfectly.

So if it's alr, I was wondering if it would work with Konig? I know he isn't really one for sharing in the slightest, but perhaps if he found himself vaugly fond of us, as while I'd imagine the darling being a ballsy, hothead- we'd be quiet and meek like in the Ghost fic and perhaps that while darling was definitely the center of attention, that reader was easier to deal with because of no kicking or screaming or hateful words and he'd perhaps just occasionally give us a pat or seek attention from us when things were rougher than usual with darling?

Perhaps this prompt would be darling went after Konig's gun or smth a bit ago and maybe he's currently fuming and darling is locked in a bathroom or smth and we maybe attempt to be the peacekeeper and try to smooth things over? (Not because we want to be nice, but because we know it's better when Konig and darling are calm rather than there being screaming and violence) and we try to meekly approach and convince him to calm down some? Sorry if this didn't make much sense and I really like your writing!

Thank you for requesting!! I hope I came close to your idea! ^-^

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You flinched when the bathroom door was slammed shut, almost slipping from the carrot you were cutting, but luckily, the knife missed your fingers. The screaming and fighting had finally ceased, but you didn't know who won this time as you continued to prepare dinner. However, the answer was easily determined as König stepped out of the hallway and into the living room, the fabric mask on his head moving as he shook his head.

"Scheiße," he muttered, and you put down the knife, knowing the sound would agitate him more. Scheiße meant shit, you knew that by now. He wasn't happy, it seemed. The knife made a soft clink! as you laid it flat on the countertop and he whipped around towards you, both of you startling like two deers in the headlights, and you muttered a soft, "Sorry..." while you two tried to gauge each other's intentions.

It wasn't like your captor was really terrible to you. Indifferent suited your relationship best, and you liked it that way, hating it when the attention was on you. His attention had proven to be obsessive, violent at best, from what you witnessed. It was a relief that the focus was more on your best friend than you. It was her that he was concerned about, her that he wanted. And you were just a means to an end for your friend to like him more. Their third-wheeling pet, basically, even though it was an awful situation for both your friend and you.

For a while, no one said anything. The situation was tense enough that your nervous babbling might have made him explode. König never touched you, never hurt you in the ways he did to your best friend. Subjectively, she was much worse off than you were. Still, you could never know when that giant of a man would finally snap, and you didn't want to be within his reach at that moment.

"I just..." he started, heaving another deep sigh and gripping his forehead. With his weird mask on, he looked comically like a killer from a movie, but you realized early that he wasn't that hard to read even without seeing his face. "She grabbed the gun, okay?! Why would she do that! It's dangerous! She could have gotten hurt!"

Nodding, you played along. Of course, you knew why your friend grabbed the gun, but you chose not to tell him. On this planet, you were the last person that wanted to upset him—your friend did that well enough. It hadn't been her first attempt at getting rid of him. She was righteous to the core, fuelled by courage and almost stupidly confident in what she was doing. You admired her for it, considering you were the one always close to knives yet too afraid to even use them.

You could never be her. It was just too scary to think about.

"I don't get it..." König grumbled, grabbing his wrists and anxiously twisting them in his grip. For someone confident enough to capture two people and lock them in his apartment in a make-shift family situation, you came to realize his anxiety was pretty terrible. He seemed a little happier when you all sat down to eat together or watch a movie. Still, usually, he was a nervous, pacing wreck who got desperate when your friend refused him any kindness.

But on the other hand, you had all the time in the world to observe. You noticed every fidgeting of his hands, even underneath the table. You caught all the badly-hidden attempts to flirt with your friend and how she simply didn't notice. By now, you could even tell if he was frowning or smiling underneath the shirt, just from the look in his eyes. It was the best you could do in this situation, but it helped, occasionally.

He looked downright scary now. You didn't like him when he was a soft-spoken fool in love, but it was worse like this. Just how were you supposed to act? How could you not make yourself a target while also helping your friend, who probably banged and locked the door behind her in an attempt to get away from him? The hide-and-seek the two often played when things got rough almost always ended in either a broken door or your friend starving herself for days while you had to deal with an irate kidnapper. If possible, you wanted to avoid that.

"It's... it's really dangerous."

"Right?! I've told her, I—"

König stopped mid-pace and slowly, suspiciously, turned around, his sentence coming to an abrupt halt. Even laid in shadows, you saw his eyes widen, then narrow, his invisible eyebrows raising in surprise before they furrowed. His sudden doubt was no surprise—you had never agreed with him before. And although he seemed like one sometimes, he wasn't as much of a fool as it might appear. Even if you were just the pet, the extra—a side character in a story that did not involve you, you had never tried interfering before, always too scared to be the next target on either's hit list. Tensions were high, and maybe it wasn't the right moment to play devil's advocate. But maybe there was some kind of role in this play. Maybe you could change the story after all.

"I think she was just so scared; she didn't think about herself getting hurt."

"What..." he gulped, still not so sure if he should entertain this conversation with you. However, his curiosity won over. "What is she scared of?"

You felt the thin ice you were treading with your intervention crack beneath your bare feet. You! was the obvious answer to König's question. She's scared of you, idiot!

But you wouldn't say it. Wouldn't put either of you captives into this position of angering him deliberately.

"B-Burglars," you stuttered out, the first best thing that came to mind. Stupid, fucking stupid. The front door itself was locked better than Fort Knox. This was the highest building of a highrise. How was anyone going to break into here?

And yet, König stilled. He didn't move an inch, although his eyes seemed to fixate on you, and you felt the sweat pearl on your face. He knew it was a lie; he must have known that it was a really, really bad lie, too.

"Are you also scared of burglars?" he asked all of a sudden, and you froze, not expecting the question. This could have been the point where König decided that you were a useless accessory, and you wouldn't have been surprised if he had just picked you up and thrown you against a wall to end your existence.

Perhaps your fear had driven you mad.

"Y-Yes?" you breathed out, sounding like a question rather than the obvious statement you should have made. "Are you?"

Biting your tongue, you watched as König crossed his arms. His shoulders fell, his posture growing less tense and more thoughtful as he looked up at the ceiling that he almost hit with his head. It wasn't before long that you heard the long drag of his breath before he sighed, letting his head fall forward. There were two short jerks of his head downwards, almost like a nod to himself, and then he looked up. Really looked at you. He only needed three steps with his long legs to cross the distance between you and him, and you tumbled back in fear, leaving the knife on the kitchen counter like a dumbass.

That's it, you thought. That's how it ends.

"You go for their weak points," König mumbled, gesturing towards his stomach. "When it's obvious that it's a man, you kick him right here."

Pointing his hands downwards, your eyes made an instinctual glance before you caught yourself, immediately avoiding looking at your captor's crotch for more than the millisecond you already had.

"Verstanden?"

That meant, "Understood?" You were learning German bit by bit. You gave a short nod, and it made König hum in approval.

"Gut." (That meant "good.")

"Now, for a woman, you can do that, but it won't be as effective. You should—wait, I'll show you."

You flinched as König raised his hand, his palm settling at the back of your head. There was so much confusion about the sudden self-defense he spoke of, but when he grabbed a handful of hair, you winced out of pure fear, although the grip wasn't strong at all. When he guided your body and head forward, you did as you were instructed, with absolutely no resistance now that you were at his mercy. He could probably snap your neck just by yanking your head hard if he wanted, so there was nothing you could do but follow.

"You grab the woman and kick her leg-" he tapped the tip of his foot against your shin to demonstrate, "-and when she loses balance, you slam her head into a surface. Downwards is more effective, but a wall will do."

With more gentleness than you thought he could muster, he forced your head forward, almost close enough to hit the kitchen counter. You whimpered as you feared for a moment that he'd actually give you a demonstration of what he was telling you.

"And not like that," König explained, tapping your forehead on the solid surface. "But like this."

And then, out of nowhere, he yanked your hair back, and you had not even one second to catch your breath before he drove your head forward again with such skilled fluidity that your life flashed before your eyes.

It was like all your senses had given out from shock, but the pain that you expected never came. The back of your scalp was a little itchy and agitated from the pulling, but you expected your head to be smashed in would hurt a bit more than just the feeling of him tugging at your hair.

Slowly, you opened an eye, trying to see what had happened. When your sight adjusted, you saw the marbled countertop just inches away from you. Reaching up, you grabbed the edge with both your hands, making the situation more real as you realized nothing had happened. You didn't hit the counter, and you didn't die.

Your knees began to wobble as tears filled your eyes. This was terrible, the situation was one nightmare after another. But you were so thankful to still be alive. König's body shifted closer to yours as he leaned forward, his hand still locked in your hair. "Verstanden? Don't be forgiving. It's you or the burglar, and they won't show you or your friend any mercy. You need to know how to protect her."

You gave a slight, faint nod as his fingers unwound from your hair, although his touch lingered. Awkwardly, he stroked down your shuffled hair twice, patting you lightly between your shoulders as you wouldn't move from your bowed position.

"Good. You're a good learner. Next time, I'll bring you a training partner to practice."

Much to your own surprise, you managed to give a short hum in reply before your knees finally broke away beneath the stress, and you sunk to the ground. It scared König almost as much as you, but you barely noticed his fussing until he picked you up, a squeal escaping you as you were lifted even higher than the kitchen counter was.

"Mein Gott, you are both so frail! Why do you two always refuse to eat meals when you are that easy to pick up? You'll surely get kidnapped one day; that's why good food is so wichtig."

With your heart pounding out of your chest, it was hard to keep up your broken understanding of the German language. He exclaimed something sounding like my god, and from his wording, the phrase he used sounded almost important—was that what the other word meant?

The irony of him thinking you could get kidnapped passed you by with the shock.

König settled you down on the living room sofa, and you breathed a sigh of relief as his arms vanished, the immediate danger in your life moving away, only to stand barely a breath away from you, arms akimbo as he mustered you from high above. You tugged in your legs, hugging them to your chest in an attempt to feel any sense of security.

What should you do now? How could you continue being a good friend while also saving your own life?

You learned a few things that evening—mainly how to defend yourself. Learned it from the man you wish you could protect against. Your friend was bold and rebellious, but you, too, had it in you to make a change. König was crazy out of love for her, but he wasn't as ruthless as you thought him to be. You'd even go as far as to say he was overprotective and a bit paranoid, which played right into your hands.

"Are..." you scrambled, your throat dried out from screams you didn't know you held back, every word you wanted to say scratching along it like his fingers had against your scalp. "Are we... wichtig? To you?"

There was a painful silence for a few seconds, and you only dared one glance upwards at his face, his eyes returning to being unreadable.

"Of course you are! You two are the most important things in my life— I mean... Your... your friend is the most important person to me, but you are wichtig, too! You are, you... well, du bist du, and that's good!"

You were stunned as you listened to him blabber on as if embarrassed. And no second later that König said his piece, he stomped off, seemingly agitated. You heard him knock twice on the bathroom door, calling for your friend to come out and have dinner with you. The next thing was the unlocking and slamming of another door, followed by many locks being put in place on the outside.

Du bist du, the sentence slowly registered in your mind. You are you, and that was all you were to him, but for some reason, it felt good. Comforting. You are you, and that's good. The words kept repeating in your mind. It was vague, but given how König seemed to be a vague person, this was better than being no one, right?

You heard the creaking of a door before tiny, barely audible taps closed in on the living room. Your friend didn't look much better than you must have after the whole ordeal, but her gaze was filled with confusion and sparks of awe.

"What did you do?" she asked you. "You made him leave us here?"

"I don't know," you mumbled, touching the back of your sore scalp. "I told him you took a gun because you were scared of burglars, and he showed me how to defend myself, and I don't know what happened then; it was all so fast."

"Oh my god..." your friend whispered. "That is the chance! Now, we can find a way to get out or get help! Come on!"

She dashed back into the hallway before you could even agree to her plans. But all your courage, all the fight you had when you tried to mingle into their affairs, seemed to have left you. You may have learned a lot that evening, but it also made you realize you knew something she didn't.

You two were important to König. One way or another.

Even if it meant teaching you how to defeat someone, even if it meant putting himself in danger, König was keen to use all the tools he had to protect what was important to him. However, you were no fool to think he'd let you get too comfortable with the strength and tools he was giving you. Because the truth was something only he and you were sure of now:

You'd never defeat him.

[exhuastedpigeon]

kiss him once for me

705 spec / 935 words / also on ao3

Eddie was perfectly happy and accepting about Buck’s sexuality when Buck came out to him. In fact, he liked to think he was the ideal picture of a best friend when Buck had told him. Nothing changed between them after Buck told him, or more accurately, nothing bad changed. They’re actually closer than ever. Buck has been happier and seems more comfortable in his skin in the last three weeks than Eddie’s ever seen him.

So, nothing changes between them. Or at least, nothing changes until he sees Buck and Tommy kiss for the first time.

It wasn’t even a particularly steamy kiss. It was just a soft press of lips together. Eddie wasn’t sure why he had such a visceral reaction to such a chaste kiss - maybe it was the way Buck’s eyes had fluttered shut at the contact or maybe it was his soft smile after.

Or maybe it’s because of something Eddie isn’t ready to look too closely at. Not while he was sitting in Buck’s living room with Buck and Tommy sitting less than five feet away from him.

His first reaction when he sees it is to punch something, maybe a wall? Something that’ll really hurt. Almost as soon as the thought crosses his mind he realized how not normal that instinct was and he wants to punch himself for having it.

His second reaction is to run. They’re at Buck’s loft. He knows it would take him eight steps to get from the living room to the counter where he tossed his keys when he got here, leaving them in their usual spot, like they belonged there. It would only be six steps from there to the door. Twenty-one to the elevator or twenty-three to the stairs.

He can’t seem to fight the instinct to run for long. He gives it three minutes, until the next commercial break in the game they’re watching, before he pulls his phone out.

“Oh shit.”

“Is everything okay?” Buck’s voice is laced with concert and Eddie will feel guilty about that later, right now he just needs to go .

Eddie gets up from the armchair and forces his body to relax, turning his feet and legs to jello before looking at Buck and Tommy on Buck’s new couch, the one he picked out with Natalia and clearly doesn’t like. He seems pretty comfortable on it now though.

“Pepa isn’t feeling well, she asked if could grab Chris early,” Eddie lies easily. He knows it’s an easily believable lie because Tommy just nods in understanding, but Buck doesn’t look like he’s buying it.

“Bummer man,” Tommy says and he sounds like he means it. Like Eddie being here third wheeling isn’t putting a damper on their night at all. And Eddie knows he isn’t. He knows they want him here too, but he just - he needs to leave.

“I’ll -I’ll walk you out,” Buck says, moving to stand. As he shifts Tommy’s arm falls off of his shoulders. Something in Eddie’s chest purrs in satisfaction at their loss of contact. He grabs hold of the chains of whatever monster has suddenly burst into life on his chest, trying to reign in his feelings at least until he’s alone.

“Nah man, pretty sure I could find my way out of this place blind by this point,” Eddie smiles at them, at Buck, and tries to look natural.

This one must land a little better, because Buck smiles back, big and bright. Tommy probably smiles too, but Eddie only has eyes for Buck.

“Why don’t you bring Chris here, it’s boys night,” Buck says and Eddie knows in his bones that the invite isn’t just genuine, but that Buck really wants that. He wants Chris to join them. He wants their little family unit together.

“No, I think I’ll just leave you two to have some uh - alone time,” Eddie’s made it the eight steps to his keys by now and he gets the final six steps to the door. Almost home free.

Then there’s Buck next to him, giving Eddie a quick hug. Eddie has no idea how he missed Buck moving off of the couch.

“Text when you get home.”

“Yeah, always,” Eddie says with a nod. “See you on Thursday for basketball Tommy. Can’t let Garcia and Harper get an ego.”

“See you,” Tommy calls back and Eddie opens the door, stepping backward through it, like he can’t make his body turn away from Buck. Like he’s drawn to him like a moth is drawn to a flame.

“Bye Buck,” Eddie’s voice is too soft when he says it. He knows it as soon as he speaks because Buck’s eyes get all soft on him.

“Bye Eddie.”

He makes it the twenty-one steps to the elevator and then the fifty-six to the guest spot in Buck’s parking lot.

The monster in his chest purrs again with the knowledge that he was there first. That he’s the one who got the guest spot and he’s the one who made Buck laugh so hard that he snorted beer out of his nose before Tommy even made it over after his shift.

Eddie takes a breath, then another. It’s ten minutes before he feels ready to drive, his entire body made of jello.

He knows he’s not homophobic. He’s not, he never has been, so that’s not why he reacted that way. He’s not homophobic, but he’s worried he might be in love with his best friend.

Eddie doesn’t drive to Pepa’s. He’s on his way to Hen and Karen’s before he realizes where he’s going.

Read on ao3

[mostlymaddie]

Good Friends

John B and Sarah help out a good friend (18+)

hanging out with sarah and john b felt weird at first; being without the entire group of pogues made you feel anxious about being a third wheel. however, they always made sure you felt included, in more ways than one.

it’d almost become a weekly thing at this point, every friday afternoon you, sarah, and john b spent time relaxing and drinking in her hot tub. even with john b and sarah positioned at the opposite side of the hot tub as you, the occasional feet and legs brushing against each other sent small shocks through your body.

“hey john b, do you mind refilling drinks? y/n’s running a little low.” glancing down at your champagne glass you realized sarah was right, you’d nonchalantly been sipping away at your drink and didn’t notice you’d nearly finished it. “sure babe” as john b stood up you try to divert your attention from the water running down his chest and pooling at the waistband of his swim trunks. it wouldn’t be the first time you had borderline inappropriate thoughts about john b or sarah for that matter. it seemed as if the environment always provided these thoughts with the opportunity to enter your mind, whether it was john b tightly grabbing you by your hips to move you closer to him in crowded places, sarah’s friendly cheek kisses becoming pecks on the lips when she drank a little too much, or you walking in on them having morning sex after they “accidentally” forgot about inviting you over the night before. it was almost as if like they wanted you to think about them in a more sexualized manner, but that would be crazy…right?

john b grabs the glass from your hands, steps out of the hot tub, and disappears into the house. sarah’s gaze follows him until she can no longer see him, her eyes fall back onto you and slowly trail down your body. a smile appears on her face, “see, i told you that bikini would fit perfectly! you were worried for nothing.” earlier in the week sarah took you shopping for a new swimsuit, she claimed that you needed a new one in order to get the perfect tan, “a body this pretty needs a nice tan to match” the trip resulted in sarah running her hands all over your tits and ass, which shamefully went straight to your clit, and buying you a strapless bikini top and a pair of thongs bottoms to match.

“no i know, i just thought it was a little tight” you glance down at your tits which are slightly spilling out from your top. “that’s how it’s supposed to fit, really, you look sexy” sarah constantly gave you compliments in the form of telling you how hot you looked or how good your ass looked in shorts she lent you. if not for her commitment to john b, you’d think she was attracted to you. “wanna hear something funny?” sarah’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts. “sure, yeah.”

“so you know how you’re a virgin right?” your cheeks felt hot and you whipped your head around to see if john b was coming back. “oh- no sweetheart i didn’t mean to embarrass you. and it’s really not a big deal, i think it’s sweet that you’re still a virgin!” still reeling from how bluntly sarah began the conversation, you nod your head “yeah…”

“i just wanted to show you something.” sarah moves to the control panel of the jacuzzi and increases the intensity of the jets. “do you know how easy it is to cum using pool jets?” sarah’s outlandish question causes you to choke on air “sarah that’s too personal!” she shakes her head and smiles “oh no it’s not! we’re friends and good friends don’t let their friends live life without orgasms.” she moves closer to you, her body heat seems hotter than water surrounding you. “i just want you to feel good… that’s all i ever want.” something about the way sarah looks deep into your eyes makes you want to do whatever she says, no questions asked. maybe that’s why she gets everything she wants. “come ‘ere, stand up and let me show you something.” you maintain eye contact with sarah and rise to your knees, she grabs your hips gently and turns you toward the jet that was previously aimed at your back. “scoot a little closer babe” in an instant you feel the best you ever have in your life “oh-ohhh!”

sarah’s lips come closer to the edge of your ear as she pushes your bikini-covered clit closer to the jet “that’s a good girl, you’re doing so good.” your breathing becomes heavier and it’s harder and harder to catch your breath. her body stays strong as you lean back against her for support, if it hadn't been for her you would have fallen back into the water. your eyes flutter shut when her lips start trailing open-mouth kisses down your neck. “you’re so gorgeous, do you know that? i’ve been thinking about this since the day we met. i never knew how it would happen but i knew eventually i’d have you. i’ve always- no, we’ve always thought about what it would finally be like to take care of you the way you deserve.”

that last sentence seemed to be a keyword or a trigger for john b to finally reappear after being absent for the last 15 minutes. if it weren’t for sarah’s mini confession you’d think it would be outrageous to suggest they planned this. if your mind wasn’t occupied by the feeling of a high powered jet on your clit and sarah’s hands unclasping your top to play with your tits, you’d probably play back every interaction you’ve had with the couple and their possible ulterior motives, but there’s no time for that. “how are my girls doing?” john b’s voice almost breaks you out of the spell, just enough to open your eyes and see him walking towards you. his hands grab the side of your face and tilts your head towards him, “sarah’s making you feel good yeah?” you whimper and nod your head yes. “sar? why don’t we make her feel better?”

her left hand lets go of your boob and cups your pussy through your bikini bottoms, her index finger hooks around the front of your panties and exposes your bare clit to the jet “oh my god- please!” john b still holds your head in his hands and leans down to kiss you. it’s different from the kisses sarah left on your neck, it’s focused and intense. the jet — sarah’s fingers pinching your nipples — and john b’s tongue combined finally lead you to an orgasm. sarah’s voice filters through your left ear, “oh look baby she’s cumming, we just gave our pretty girl her first orgasm.”

[soloroomies]

lifemate (Chapter 6/ Sakusa x f!reader)

summary: the night of your wedding and the month after word count. 2.5k cw. marriage pact au, fluff, suggestive a/n. if you want to be added to the taglist, please just send me ask!♡ and... i love cutie patootie kiyoomi •ᴗ• Masterlist

Your wedding has finally come to an end. The guests are saying their goodbyes to you and Kiyoomi. Most of the wedding guests are family and friends, although there are also some of your coworkers and Kiyoomi's teammates from MSBY and the national volleyball team. The only ones staying at the hotel are you, Kiyoomi, and both of your parents.

Before heading home, Komori, who also served as Kiyoomi’s groomsman, comes over to bid farewell. He raises both hands and exclaims, “You guys!” Then, he half-whispers, “I’m so happy you both decided to do this. Just go with the flow, eventually, everything will fall into place.” You furrow your brows, not quite understanding his words. “What??” you ask. But he brushes you off, “Anyway! Does this mean our meetups will be me third wheeling you both?!” You roll your eyes at this. Komori grins, “I’ll just invite my wife along!” Kiyoomi responds, “Of course, you can do that.” Komori cheers, “Woohoo!” You exchange glances with Kiyoomi and mouth to him, “I think he’s drunk.” Kiyoomi scoffs at that.

Next, Tami comes up to you both, hugging you and offering her congratulations. “You look so beautiful, I’m fucking crying, you know?!” she says. You laugh and thank her. She then turns to Kiyoomi, “Treat her right, okay?” emphasizing the word ‘treat’ while winking. You groan, “Stop, will you?!” She chuckles and hands you what seems to be a goody bag. As you observe it, you realize it’s a gift. You hug her once more. Tami adds, “Please open it and give me an honest review!” You squint your eyes at her words but then thank her again before she leaves.

After saying goodbye to a few more guests, the last ones are your bridesmaids. You thank them profusely and the four of you share a group hug before they finally leave. Now, it’s just you, Kiyoomi, and your parents.

Kiyoomi’s mother approaches you. “Take a good rest, okay? Both of you.” she smiles and squeezes Kiyoomi’s hand. Then, she turns to you and gently caresses the side of your head. “Okay?” she asks again. Kiyoomi nods. You smile reassuringly and answer, “Okay.” You look behind his mom and notice that both of your parents and Kiyoomi’s father are still sitting at the dinner table, waving their hands. You take Kiyoomi’s hand and approach them to excuse yourselves, which they nod enthusiastically. 

You and Kiyoomi will have a room together. For obvious reason. So, you head to your room together, carrying the wedding gifts you received. 

You step inside your hotel room, a spacious suite with a large living room. Your suitcases are already there. The living room is decorated with soft, warm lighting from the lamps, and rose petals are scattered around, giving it a romantic ambiance. You slip out of your heels and groan, feeling the relief in your feet. Kiyoomi follows behind you.

As you enter the room, you notice the rose petals on the bed and giggle. Kiyoomi looks at you quizzically. “What?” he asks. 

“Nothing. This is just so cute,” you reply, smiling at him.

He hesitates before saying, “You can take the room. I’ll just sleep on the couch.”

You respond quickly, “Don’t be ridiculous!” You don’t want to make him sleep on the couch. There’s no harm in sleeping together on the bed. Unless… is it a problem for him? Leaning on the door, you ask, “Omi, is there a problem? The couch is too small for you. It’s better if I’m the one who sleeps there.”

Kiyoomi looks uncomfortable. “Please don’t. It’s just…” He seems hesitant, so you wait for him to continue. “I just never share a bed with anyone.”

You raise your eyebrows in surprise. “What? I thought you used to have sleepovers with Komori?”

Kiyoomi scratches his head, looking slightly embarrassed. “Uh, he kinda just sleeps in the other room.”

Okay. So, he really values his personal space. You sigh. “Okay, I’ll take the couch then.”

Kiyoomi shakes his head. “No. Please. I’ll take it.”

You insist, “Omi, seriously, look at that couch. It’s small. There’s no way you could sleep comfortably there!” 

The two of you argue for a few minutes until Kiyoomi finally sighs in resignation. “Okay. Let’s just sleep on the bed.”

You’re silent for a moment, not wanting to overstep his boundaries. “Omi, I don’t know. I don’t want to force you to do something you’re not comfortable with.”

Kiyoomi gently takes your hand. “No, please. Let’s just sleep on the bed.”  His touch is reassuring, and you both walk inside the room. 

After that, you start to remove your makeup and change into your pajamas—a silky short-sleeve button-up and matching shorts. You wait your turn to use the bathroom to brush your teeth, wash your face, and apply skincare. A few moments later, Kiyoomi is done. Your eyes widen when you see him shirtless, wearing only his black shorts for sleep. Damn, his body is really the embodiment of years playing volleyball. You quickly look away, not wanting him to catch you ogling. 

“Oh. You’re done,” you say, your voice cracking slightly, making you want to slap your face.

“Yeah,” he answers.

When you come out of the bathroom, you thank God to see that he has put on a shirt. Before sleeping, you suggest opening the wedding gifts together in the living room, and he agrees. Most of the wedding gifts are small and cute home decor items, like candles and picture frames. You stack the gifts on the table, then glance at Kiyoomi, who is reading a note from one of the gifts with furrowed brows. 

You take a look at the gift and are surprised to see a white piece of lacy lingerie. Quickly snatching the box from his lap, you notice the bag. Of course, it’s Tami’s gift. Kiyoomi looks at you with a confused expression. 

“Can I see the note?” you ask.

He hands you the note obediently. It reads, ‘have fun strutting your stuff in this lingerie! pls give me a review of how he reacts!! xoxo’

You cover your face, feeling your cheeks heat up. “I’m sorry. She’s always like that.”

Kiyoomi just stares at you. Shit. His lack of response leaves you flustered and unsure of what to say next.

After that embarassing moment, you finish unpacking the last box and head to the bed. As you lay down and take your side of the bed, you feel a tad bit awkward, never having been in this position with him before. You glance at Kiyoomi, who is lying on his back with both hands on his stomach, staring at the ceiling. Your eyes catch the glint of the wedding ring on his finger, reminding you of a question you've been meaning to ask.

"Hey," you say softly.

He turns his head towards you. "Hm?"

"I've been wondering, when did you buy the ring?"

"Huh?" he responds, sounding slightly confused.

"The wedding ring that you gave me when we were planning this last month."

"Oh. I think around New Year's," he replies.

"Like, exactly on the 1st of January?" you ask, curious.

He hums in confirmation.

"Don’t tell me you bought it as soon as the reminder you set appeared?" you laugh incredulously.

"I did, actually," he admits.

You laugh, "You’re really something else."

"What if I’d been dating someone else?" you tease him.

"No, you weren’t," he says with certainty.

"What? Don’t be so sure! You don’t know!" you start to playfully kick him, annoyed at his confidence.

"I do know for sure. I asked Komori. That’s when I told him about our plan," he reveals.

You recall Komori inquiring about your love life when Kiyoomi wasn't around. You chuckle at his response and glance at the ring on his finger. "Can I see that?"

He notices you looking at his ring and moves closer, extending his hand to you. You compare his ring with yours, seeing how perfectly they match.

"These rings are beautiful," you say, admiring the way they catch the moonlight streaming in through the open curtains.

"You know, I kinda miss your mom. It’s been a while since we saw each other," you mention, turning your head to him and catching him already looking at you.

"I know, she always asks about you. She really likes you," Kiyoomi replies.

"And you never told me that she asks about me." You squint your eyes at him playfully.

He actually smiles, "Yeah, sorry about that."

After a bit more conversation, you both start to feel sleepy. You roll onto your respective sides of the bed, having some distance in between. Only to find both of you sleeping so close to each other in the morning. 

It’s been about a month since your marriage, and all of your belongings have been moved to Kiyoomi's apartment. You have a room for yourself, bigger than your previous one. Apart from moving out, one of the striking changes you feel is how people react to you. The news of your marriage has spread, and you can see it on social media. Not fond of being the center of attention, you made your Instagram private, avoiding unknown comments on your posts. At work, people from different divisions also try to peek into your room, whisper as you pass by, or stare at you for too long in the elevator. It’s a bit unsettling, but you know it’ll pass.

Despite the external commotion, adjusting to life with Kiyoomi has been pleasant. Living with him feels like having the best roommate you could ask for, making you sometimes forget that you're actually married to him. Every morning, you wake up around the same time. His apartment has two bathrooms, so there’s never a problem there. True to his nature, Kiyoomi is exceptionally clean and diligent in keeping the apartment tidy. While you’re not messy, you’re definitely not as meticulous as he is. His cleaning skills are a welcomed part of the chore division.

You take on most of the cooking, though not all the time. Occasionally, you both decide to order takeout. The idea of you cooking is mostly because you want healthier food consumed for both of you. You always ask about his diet plan and adjust the meals accordingly, constantly seeking his honest feedback. So far, there have been no complaints; he finishes everything on his plate.

Sundays are your designated grocery shopping day for the month. The arrangement for who pays for groceries has been completely ignored by Kiyoomi. Despite your attempts to take turns paying, he insists on covering the cost, leading to arguments at the cashier if you don't back down.

You’ve also let go of all your side jobs, giving you more free time than you’ve ever had. Kiyoomi, on the other hand, has been busy with his schedule. The volleyball season is nearing, and he’s been practicing a lot and also doing a few interviews with his team.

Tonight is Friday night, and you’re sitting in the living room, reading a novel recommended by a friend but haven’t read it until now because you used to be so hectic with work. Dinner is already prepared, and you’re feeling relaxed when you hear the apartment door open, signaling Kiyoomi's return.

"Hey," you greet him with a smile as he walks in.

"Hey," he replies hoarsely. Upon closer inspection, you notice that he looks paler than usual, his cheeks are flushed, and he seems more exhausted than ever. You immediately get up and approach him as he heads to the kitchen to wash his hands.

"Are you okay?" you ask with concern.

"I'm fine, just a bit of a cough," he replies, but you observe his forehead glistening with sweat despite the chill in the room. Instinctively, you press your hand to his cheek, making his eyes widen.

"No, you’re not. You’re burning, Omi," you say firmly.

"I can’t be sick; tomorrow is a practice match," he frowns, looking frustrated with himself.

"But you can’t be playing like this," you counter. "Let's get you more comfortable."

You guide him to the couch, feeling the heat radiating from his body. Heading back to the kitchen, you prepare some tea with honey and lemon, knowing the soothing warmth always helps when you are sick. While the kettle boils, you grab a bottle of water and bring it to him. "You need to stay hydrated," you reminded him gently, helping him take a few sips. Back in the kitchen, you scoop the food you made earlier. Luckily, you made fish soup. It will feel nice for his sore throat.

Returning with the tea and a couple of fever-reducing tablets, you instruct, "Here, drink this and take these." He complies, too tired to argue, and you watch as he slowly sips the warm liquid, the steam rising to soothe his congested sinuses. 

You sit beside him, holding his hand and gently rubbing circles on his skin with your thumb. "Please, just rest, okay? If you’re lucky, you could be healthy by Monday. But if you keep forcing yourself, this could get worse." He just stares weakly at you, saying nothing.

As the night wears on, you take him to his room. Realizing you’ve never been inside his room before, you take in the tidy, mostly plain decor with black as the dominant color and a few brown accents. Volleyball gear is organized in the corner, and his desk holds pictures of his winning moments in matches, including a photo of you, him, and Komori at your high school graduation. You smile at the memory.

You make sure the blankets are adjusted properly as he mumbles, "I need to get better," frustration clear in his voice.

"You'll get there. Just rest now. Your body needs time to heal," you reassure him.

He mumbles something you can’t quite hear, so you ask, "Hm?"

"I want to practice," he repeats. You giggle at his stubbornness, noting that he’s more talkative than usual, likely due to the fever. He continues, "I want to practice and train, paying attention and succeeding until the day I play my last game."

You realize how dedicated Kiyoomi is to his work, which explains why he is one of the best volleyball players in the country. You’ve always admired his dedication and felt proud of his progress since the day you met him. Feeling a surge of warm emotion, you take his hand and gently run your fingers through his hair.

"Omi, you’ll get better. Accidents happen no matter how well you prepare; there’ll always be something unexpected," you say softly. He stares at you weakly as you continue, "Please, just rest for now. Let me take care of you, and let’s hope the fever will subside soon."

He closes his eyes as you run your hand through his hair. Then, he squeezes your hand and says, "Okay."

"Okay," you echo, smiling at him. "I’m always so proud of you, Omi," you add, your voice filled with sincerity. You both hold hands and stare at each other for a while. Until you say, "I’ll let you sleep. I put the water here." You get up, pressing your hand one last time to his forehead to check his fever. He nods at you in acknowledgment.

In the morning after you wake up, the first thing you do is check on him. Tiptoeing into his room, you feel relieved and glad to see that his fever has started to subside, and his breathing seems more relaxed.

Taglist: @wolffmaiden @yunskook

[j-onedrabbles]

Just a heads up this is kinda sad (unfortunately a friend of mine was in a similar situation). It's alright if you don't wanna write it, I just thought l'd ask be of how talented you are🤭🩵. Poly skz + reader, or just Minsung or Hyunlix if you want, totally up to you. Reader relatively new to the relationship and is trying their best to be the best partner to all parties, but doesn't feel like it's being returned. They feel like skz (or whichever ship you choose is) too into each other and not them, like the shiny new toy isn't exciting anymore. One night, after everyone goes to sleep, reader gets their things and leaves without saying anything. If you're not comfortable with writing it, that's ok!🩵

✧   PAIRING: HYUNJIN X GN!READER X FELIX ✧   CW: ANGST, FLUFF IF YOU SQUINT, FEELINGS OF NOT BEING LOVED, THIRD WHEEL MENTIONS, SHORT BLURB, OPEN ENDING ✧   WC: 0.5K ✧   NOTE: you think im talented 🥹🩵🩵 and im so sorry your friend went through that. i had an old cosplay friend who was in a situation like that as well so i’d hear about it a bit

     Y/n tried. They tried as hard as they could in the relationship. But entering an already established relationship was hard. Starting to date two people who already had a history together felt, weird? Almost like, sometimes you were intruding on the other two in the relaetionship.

     The start of it was great. Y/n had met Hyunjin first and the two hit it off and he had mentioned them to Felix. Meeting Felix was a nice warm fuzzy feeling the moment he smiled at them. After a few months, the two boys asked Y/n out. Promising equal love. But three-way love was difficult.

     Because of work, Hyunjin and Felix both spent a lot more time together than Y/n with just one of them. It was a little unfair, maybe a lot.They still showed Y/n the same amount of love they gave each other, good morning kisses, cuddling all the time, sleeping together, etc. But that didn’t stop those thoughts from coming in.

      Maybe it was just all just one-sided to begin with. The two men were happy well before Y/n entered the picture; even though they both tried their hardest to wash the worries they had away. But all they did was give them words. Words that started to barely mean anything. Yeah, they were busy, but it just felt like Y/n was left out. Kisses, hugs, and cuddles weren’t enough anymore.

     The two didn’t really need them, right? Would they even notice if Y/n left? Would they even care?

     The thoughts swirled in their head for a week. It was when the two came home from a rough day at the company and just said good night Y/n figured it was time to go. They didn’t say anything, just texted a friend asking to stay with them for a few days. Once they agreed, she quietly grabbed as much as she could fit in a small bag while the two were passed out in each others arms.

     It hurt to look at the couple laying in the threes shared bed all by themselves, but when you don’t feel the same love you put out, you get out before you hurt yourself more. Y/n wiped a stray tear from under their eye and tip-toed out of the room. They closed the door and headed out of the home. Y/n took one look around the living area, not praying that one of them wakes up and walks out of the room asking where they were going, but making sure they had everything.

     Y/n sighed and closed the door, locking it and heading down to their car. The realization came once they got to their friends place. Crying on their coach till almost two or three in the morning. There weren’t enough words to describe that pain of being promised shared love and only receiving it when it was new and fun— if there was even words to describe that pain.

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[gabessquishytum]

Human au/Immortal throuple idea!

Hob and Dream are best friends but Hob has a secret. He has been in love with Dream his whole life. But as far as he knows, Dream is only interested in women.

In fact, when Hob meets Calliope in a college course, develops a crush and invites her out for drinks, he sees the exact moment Dream falls in love with her. He watches it happen and feels his heart break again. Because Calliope is amazing. hob already knows it. But what can he offer either of them?

So Hob encourages Dream and Calliope to date, and pretends it’s fine. Dream has had flings before but this time, Hob knows it is serious. Still he hangs out with them all the time. More than he should, but Hob can’t ever turn them down when they invite him out. Their other friends joke about Hob being their constant third wheel.

After a year, Dream proposes and Hob helps throw them an engagement party. And Dream and Calliope both jokingly fight over who gets Hob as their best man. They share.

But Hob is at his limit. He had tried to quiet his heart but it’s just too painful to be so in love. And as long as he is in their lives, he knows he will never get over them. So quietly, Hob puts in an application for a grad program in the states, as far away as he can get. He doesn’t have the heart to tell them, not when they’re so excited for their future. He doesn’t want to ruin their happiness.

The day of the wedding, hob is heartbroken but so happy to see them happy. He means every word of his speech, where he tells the crowd how well matched they are, and how they are his best friends. He hugs them goodbye. Even if they don’t know it’s goodbye forever, he tries to memorize those last moments. And then as Dream and Calliope depart for their honeymoon in Greece, Hob shuts the door in his packed up apartment and hops on a plane.

Dream and Calliope don’t hear from Hob on their trip—but they assume he wants to give him space. But when they get back, they find a letter from Hob waiting. Hob tells them he has loved Dream for years but he knows his feelings aren’t returned. He tells them that he is not angry and that he knows Calliope will make Dream so happy. He admits that he loves Calliope too. He tells them to take care of each other but that he needs to move on and he is sorry but this is the only way he could think to do it. If he saw them he knows they would have been able to talk him out of it.

Dream falls to pieces. He calls Hob over and over but Hob has changed his number. He has deleted his social media. Hob doesn’t want to be found. Calliope is stunned by her own heartbreak. And she’s never seen Dream like this.

Their first year of marriage is rocky. Without Hob’s joyfulness Dream drags Calliope into depressive spirals. Without his gentleness, they grate on each other’s nerves. They realize how much Hob had been the glue that helped them work. Their sex feels more like fighting for dominance than making love. Calliope is sure Dream resents her for Hob’s leaving. And sometimes he spits at her that she is right, he does. It’s clear something is missing. Now they realize not only have they lost Hob, they’re on the verge of losing each other.

Calliope, because she is a queen, finally sits Dream down to talk about Hob. He tends to fly into a rage or collapse into sadness at the mention of Hob’s name these days. But she makes him talk to her about him. About their friendship. And slowly they realize that not only did they depend on Hob, but they might have been in love with him too.

So there is only one thing to do. They have to track Hob down and convince him to give them a chance. But how will they find him when he is determined not to be found? And if they find him, what if he has already moved on?

Oh I love it!!! 3 dumbasses is the only thing better than 2 dumbasses.

I'm imagining that they rally all their friends and family to try and track Hob down. Calliope's sisters put out feelers around Europe, Death contacts all of her colleagues in the medical field, and Delirium has the amazing idea to get in touch with their brother Destruction (now know as Ollie) who also disappeared at one point and knows the best places to go to track Hob down. With a plan of action and hope in their hearts, Dream and Calliope's relationship actually settles into something more like it used to be. They feel united and they finally start to comfort each other instead of fighting.

Ollie's work pays off and he tracks Hob down studying for his PhD and living in the middle of bumfuck, nowhere. He's changed his name and even altered his appearance slightly - long hair tied back in a ponytail, beard sleek and neat around his jaw. Ollie sends the information to Dream and he and Calliope are on the first flight out to the nearest airport.

Hob is... not mad that they tracked him down. He's fucking lonely and he misses his two best friends, and he's not sure if he made the right decision. Never getting to see them hurts even more than seeing them in love. When they show up on the doorstep on his trailer he's so relieved he could cry.

Calliope smacks him on the chest, hard enough to make him stumble, and she says a lot of thing that mainly boil down to "I'm so mad that you didn't even give us a CHANCE to love you." And Dream is all teary eyes and trembling lips, holding onto Hob’s sleeve like he's going to just disappear into thin air. Eventually they all go inside, and Hob makes tea. Just like he always used to.

Dream and Calliope get on either side of Hob and twine themselves around him like vines on a trellis. They need his support and strength to allow them to grow. And they feel awful that they never even realised just how important he was. He should have been an equal partner in their relationship from the very beginning. And now they have him back, they're both practically trembling with want. They need to show him that they want him to come back and be with them always!

Meanwhile Hob is just trying to work out if this is just a wonderful dream come true... or if his two loves are really crowding him up against the wall and kissing every inch of him they can reach?!

[high-queen-of-exy]

hey, just wondering if you had any kevin headcanons that you wouldn’t mind sharing :))

I've got a lot, might have minor TSC spoilers though, proceed with caution

The most oblivious fool to ever exist

I've always hc him as autistic, and I stand by that. He's the most peer reviewed autistic person I know.

If it's not exy, the Trojans, Andrew and Neil, or alcohol he doesn't notice

Meaning he doesn't know how Jean feels about him at all

I don't think they could ever be friends unless they addressed it though

His first crush besides Thea was Jeremy, Thea always kids that Jeremy is Kevin's "hall pass" even tho they aren't monogamous in the traditional way

Also, Thea and him aren't monogamous.

Kevin is aroflux and bisexual and I don't think he truly knew what either of those words meant until after he went pro.

He is like a oblivious third wheel to Neil and Andrew for the rest of their lives, like he just walks into their home whenever he pleases.

He's allergic to cats but he loves Neil and Andrew's cats too much to stay away.

The first time Jean and Kevin go on court against each other, they get into a fight on the court. It's the first and only time Jean got into a fight while being a Trojan.

Thea called them to scold them afterwards.

However, when they play on the USA team, they get along significantly better. (They don't want to be scolded by Thea again)

Thea and Kevin try to have hobbies, Thea thought it'd help them.

Which is how they have a few paintings on their walls, a electric keyboard that Kevin learned to play 2 songs on before quitting, and Andrew and Neil got some very ugly mugs because Thea refused to keep them and Kevin didn't want to throw them out.

I don't think they'd have kids, not on purpose, especially not with Thea's career, she wouldn't give that up.

They might have one oops kid, who they'd love dearly, but oh my goodness would Kevin be panicking the whole goddamned time.

Thea also seems therapy, after Kevin kinda insists, because unlearning some of the raven things that she didn't realize where a problem was necessary for their relationship..

The summer after Kevin tells Wymack he's his dad, Wymack tries to do a lot of father-son bonding things.

Abby tries to discourage the stupider ones.

Kevin doesn't mind them though.

He gets very close with Dan her last year.

He keeps in touch with her more than anyone but Neil and Andrew.

His favorite food is sushi, but it took him forever to try it because he was convinced he'd hate it.

He's a deceptively picky eater.

And that's all I've got off the top of my head, have a nice day!!!

[ad-hawkeye]

incoming live blogging of my reread of alkaid's solitary light route for azure island. ough my god. it's so good.

“you enjoy any song i sing” followed by alkaid immediately being like oh shit what if she doesnt believe me and she thinks i’m just--

love the ominous singer third wheeling in this scene. keep it up king.

alkaid giving her his coat. ugh. weak for that trope dont @ me.

him realizing mc is scared of the singing man just bc her hand tensed up.

wordless understanding in looking and nodding at each other. god. shoot me.

hehe the radio show makes its return. mc’s mother how we missed ye…

wordless communication just by touching mc’s palm. her immediately knowing what alkaid was saying with that action. i hate couples i hate couples i hate cou

“alkaid looks at me patiently, making no attempt to press me into giving an answer - whether or not i tell him is entirely up to me” vibrates. vibrates

“can you come to my room…? “…?”

“i dont want to hide anything from alkaid” followed by mc just. explaining everything about her mother. and he just listens. and only caresses the back of her hand when she gets upset speaking.

“don’t be too hard on yourself. it’s not your fault.” that’s rich coming from mr. guilt himself! very sweet though HAHA

also alkaid being so moved by mc’s story that he spends the whole entire night gathering information from books, the police station, and his mother… then writing notes about ALL of it. just so he can try to get to the bottom of the matter.

“if you are unable to read them clearly, please let me know” okay so mr astronomy has bad handwriting? sounds typical for a stem major HAHA

alkaid telling mc what he learned from his mother about how she had been to pettman island before and how she knew about the weird phenomena.

“forget about the lighthouse. there is something more important” jump cut to mc’s room with that 'something more important' being that alkaid needs to rest. this feels exactly like alkaid’s travel event 2 where alkaid says he needs help with something urgent and that 'something urgent' being helping mc get over her art block.

touching his eyelashes is back on the menu boys!!! i love how alkaid is just. used to it by now. how often has mc done this since te2.

brushing a lock of hair behind someone’s ear is another favorite trope of mine. im going to kill alkaid for this (affectionately)

alkaid waking up the moment mc approaches him, obviously about to leave. he had a feeling mc would try to investigate shit on her own.

“between lovers, there should be no secrets” returns from white day! so cute! i also love how these two can just be totally open without any fear of judgement. even if it means telling alkaid upfront that she wants to go alone. instead of immediately getting upset, alkaid just listens to her. and wordlessly understands that he’s at high risk if he were to join.

“keep in touch with me while you’re away. and stay safe. don’t take risks” is the chad’s version of “i love you” dont @ me.

[findafight]

I’m gonna admit, the whole “Robin and Steve share a girlfriend” thing kind of came to me when I was imagining how Steve and Vickie would get along.

As many people (I think including you?) have pointed out they have pretty much the same sense of humour, and seem to enjoy the same movies.

I see Steve being a “third wheel” on a lot of Robin and Vickie’s dates, in part because of rides and in part to make certain situations look less date-y. Or look more like one of the girls is third-wheeling by holding hands, doing the hand to the small of the back thing. Which sometimes leads to situations where Robin is kind of puppeteering Steve; “Steve, look at Vickie, she’s so cold! I can’t believe you’re not offering her your coat - what kind of boyfriend are you?”

(This comes back to bite her in the my ass a couple times when Steve will loudly announce “Robin, I cannot believe you’re just going to take the slice without offering it to Vickie, what kind of boyfriend are you?”, allowing Vickie to turn the puppy eyes on Robin.

He has done this a couple times in front of the kids, which they all find weird, but also assume it to be either one of Steve and Robin’s *deeply* unfunny inside jokes or part of an argument on the road to the realisation that they are in fact in deep denial about 1. Being in love and 2. That they have gone down a Super Mario pipe, skipped over all the interesting parts of romance and landed in their “old married couple” phase)

It’s all very confusing for Vickie. Like, she gets a kiss on the cheek from Steve so Robin can kiss her on the other cheek under the guise of making fun of the sappy couple - or else she gets a kiss from Robin and Steve gives her a kiss on the cheek to actually make fun of them. But she also gets forehead kisses from Steve to say hello and goodbye - which he doesn’t think is a big deal. He does that to Robin all the time - it would probably be rude to leave Vickie out, right? Or make her feel weird, left out. Things are not helped by the fact that Robin sometimes expresses her love via Steve. If Vickie’s upset, she’ll hug her, but she’ll also make Steve hug her, because he gives the *best* hugs!

Like, yeah, they’re a soul cut in half or whatever, but seriously - is this some kind of test? Does Steve think that she’s going to chest on Robin and is trying to prove it? Has Robin put him up to this because she thinks Vickie needs/wants wooing by *both* a girl and a boy? (She’s recently come out to her younger sister as “bisexual” and one of her questions was “so can you only have threesomes now?” Vickie is *going through it*, folks!)

Eventually she sits them down to try and talk it out, because this morning she woke up wearing a mix of both their clothes and she has some important assignments coming up at school, guys, SHE CANNOT KEEP LIVING LIKE THIS!

(There is a moment of silence as both Robin and Steve both fight to repress the urge to yell at each other that *this* is what that girl Janet that dumped Steve the other week was talking about!)

All hail Vickie, the bisexual who won *and* continued o be a disaster. no one is doing it like her!

omg sooooo good anon. I love this. VIckie is fighting for her life trying to decipher what is going on in her own relationship. is she dating Steve? is she not dating him? is she only dating robin? or both of them? Robin and Steve are weird she knew this going in but this is a bit much, right? and had to sit down for a minute because yes she woke up with Steve's shirt on and robins pants but the she saw Steve wearing her own sweater and robin wearing Steve's pants and so what does this mean? what are they doing? does she want anything to actually change?? (the answer to that she knows is no. She just wants clarity!and also is realizing that yes Steve does give the best hugs but part of that is that is Robin is there too. She's also realizing maybe kissing Steve and holding his hand is something she'd be down for more often!! help her!!)

and if she is also dating Steve she's going to have to live through the mortification of maybe telling her sister, and explaining that just because she's bisexual the throuple situation is NOT an essential part of that it just kinda happened by accident without any of the three of them noticing. and. who wants to admit that let alone to a little sister who Will Not Let It Go? poor vickie....

No one is doing it like Vickie and Stobin is not helping the situation At. All.

[astrobei]

byler 22 for the touch prompts??

22 for touch prompts: falling asleep on the other's shoulder (+ bonus mini soundtrack that i listened to on repeat while writing this)

“Remind me again,” Mike says, as Will climbs into the passenger side of the car, “why we have to go to this thing today?”

Will gives him a look. Or his best attempt at a look anyway. He’s ninety percent sure they fall too flat to ever be effective, or Mike would have stopped saying stupid shit years ago. “This thing?” He struggles with the seatbelt for a moment before it finally clicks into place. “You mean your sister’s wedding? To my brother?”

Mike pulls a face. “If you want to get into the semantics,” he mumbles, adjusting the rearview mirror, and Will laughs.

“You’re ridiculous. It’s their wedding, Mike.”

“Rude to get married on a Saturday night,” Mike says, as if every wedding in the history of the world ever hasn’t taken place on a Saturday night. “Maybe some of us had things to do.”

“Yeah? What did you have going on?” Will asks, smoothing down the lapel of his suit. This jacket is a lint magnet like nothing he’s ever seen before, and he plucks a little piece of it away. “Hot date?”

Mike wiggles his eyebrows, and Will realizes immediately that this was the wrong thing to say. “Yeah,” Mike chirps, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “You.”

Despite himself, Will feels his cheeks turn red. It’s stupid, because he quite literally handed Mike the opportunity to say this on a silver platter, and it’s more dumb than any sort of flirtatious, except the unfortunate truth of dating Mike Wheeler is that he doesn’t even have to try and actually flirt to get Will blushing like a teenage girl. “I had that coming,” he admits, and Mike grins even harder than before. “And we didn’t have a date tonight.”

“We did! We were going to–”

“We can order pizza and watch TV when we get back, Mike,” Will chides, and, when Mike’s lower lip turns downward in something reminiscent of a pout, “this is Nancy’s wedding.”

“I was never Nancy’s favorite sibling,” Mike says noncommittally, releasing the parking brake, “she won’t even notice if I’m not there,” which one, is not true because Mike makes up about a third of Nancy’s bridal party so she will most definitely notice if he goes AWOL. And second, this is also not true because Will knows that Holly is currently in the throes of teenage angst, and Mike is still working on the angst but he’s moved on from the teenager part, at least, which is definitely earning him some points in Nancy’s book. So at worst, he’s tied with Holly. At least for the next couple of years.

And Will knows he’s not being serious anyway. For all of the fuss he’s kicking up, he knows Mike is happy for them. Will checks the backseat to make sure he put the presents in the car earlier that afternoon, and says, laughing, “Cold feet? It’s not even your wedding, Mike.”

“I know,” Mike moans, falling forward until his forehead hits the top of the steering wheel. “And it’s exciting! I’m happy for them! And your brother too, and I know your mom and Hop are so pumped, and– it’s just that I’m not so pumped about spending the evening with my family.”

Will suddenly feels very, very stupid. Jesus, he hadn’t even thought about that– about Mike’s parents being there, and his nana, the one that his mom had totally guilted Nancy into inviting because she might not live long enough to see Mike and Holly get married, Nancy, just let her have this. Which was kind of a depressing enough thought on its own, Will thinks, even without the entire conversation that had followed, the one he’d overheard Mike have on the phone in the living room, loud and frustrated before he’d slammed the phone down on the receiver hard enough for Will to hear it from their bedroom.

“I’m sorry,” he breathes out, then rests a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “Don’t listen to them, okay, Mike? Just– hang out with us instead. I know Dustin’s been dying to break out his new dance moves.”

Mike cracks a tentative smile, then turns his face slightly so that one side of it is illuminated by the glow of the street lamps outside. “I’m scared he’s going to get driven away in a stretcher,” Mike admits, and Will grins. 

“Yeah, probably. It’ll be a good distraction, at least. I’ll tell him to take one for the team.”

Mike nods once, but he doesn’t look convinced. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Will hesitates, then drops his hand to Mike’s and slots their fingers together. “Hey,” he says quietly. “Look at me.”

Mike looks up the rest of the way. He looks incredible tonight, which is something Will’s been thinking ever since they’d started getting ready an hour ago, and at least half of the reason it took him so long was because he’d been totally distracted the whole time. Maybe Will is just biased, which is a little true, sure, but Mike should definitely wear suits more– and he’s officially taking it upon himself to make sure that Mike wears suits more– because suddenly he’s tempted to take Mike up on his offer of becoming a runaway best man and going back inside and collapsing on the couch and kissing him stupid into the early hours of the morning.

“What?” Mike is saying, eyebrows twisting a little self-consciously. “You’re looking at me funny.”

“You just look really nice,” Will says simply, and then, because that comes nowhere close to how good Mike looks in a tie, “no, actually, you look– wow.”

Mike’s lips twitch, but he looks a little pleased. “Wow? Really?”

“You’ve rendered me speechless,” Will nods rapidly, and Mike’s shy smile breaks into something more genuine. “You– look at you, I mean– I can’t even– wow.”

“Will,” Mike says, drawing out the single syllable until it feels big enough to fill up the whole car. “Okay, I look nice! You can stop playing it up now.” 

His cheeks are turning red, slowly, visible even in the dim lighting of the street lamps through the windows, because it’s early fall and it’s started to get dark ridiculously early in the day. It feels like a victory, getting Mike flustered, even after a year of dating. Will smiles to himself. 

“I’m not,” Will says, then leans in across the console. “Come here. I’ll prove it.”

“You’ll–” Mike gets out, eyes going wide in surprise, “–has anyone ever told you that you’re–”

Whatever it was that people may or may not have told Will is apparently a mystery that will die with the universe, because Will never finds out. He kisses Mike with one hand still holding his, threads a hand through his hair and cups his jaw. Soft. Slow. Unhurried, even though they should have left ten minutes ago and they’re going to be cutting it real close– Will can’t be bothered to rush.

Mike hums low in the back of his throat, pleased, and shifts closer. He’s pushing himself up over the console, a hand ghosting the side of Will’s neck, when–

Beeeeep.

“What–” Will jerks backwards, startled, and Mike immediately lets go of his hand. “Did you just–”

Mike rubs his elbow and moves further away from the wheel. “I got a little distracted,” he laughs, but the tension has ebbed from his shoulders a little and his eyes are creasing up at the corners, so Will considers this a mission success, thank you. “We should probably go?”

“Good idea,” Will says, then reaches over to smooth out a stray tuft of Mike’s hair that was– he thinks, a little proud of himself– definitely not out of place before. “And hey,” he adds, before Mike can take the car out of park. “Seriously. Ignore your parents. It’s not their wedding, okay, it’s Nancy’s. And Jonathan’s. And they both want us there. Together.”

Mike’s lips press together into a thin, determined line. “You’re right,” he nods, “I know, it’s just–”

“I know,” Will echoes, and Mike shoots him a grateful smile. “Now let’s go, or we really will miss the ceremony.”

—-

They don’t miss the ceremony, which is good, because having both the best man and the– whatever Mike was– would probably not be a good look for anyone involved.

“I can’t believe you cried,” Dustin says, after the toasts are done and the speeches are given and everyone’s been supplied with enough champagne to go a little loose and maybe a little tear-happy.

Mike scowls across the table at him. “I didn’t cry,” he insists, which is kind of pointless because Will had been watching him the whole time he’d been standing up there, shuffling his feet awkwardly in place at his designated spot in between Holly and Robin Buckley, and he’d definitely cried. Just a little, but he had.

“You did,” El chimes in primly, plucking at her shrimp cocktail. “I saw.”

“Thanks, El,” Mike mutters, sinking back in his chair a little and crossing his arms. “It’s– the vows were very emotional, okay, you’d have to be made of total stone to not tear up!”

“I didn’t cry,” Lucas announces, which is a fucking lie, by the way. Will saw him dabbing at his eyes in the bathroom on the way here.

“I think it’s sweet,” he says, instead of throwing Lucas to the dogs like he maybe should have. He flashes Mike a grin, leans over in his chair to bridge the space between them and squeezes his hand, once. “They were very sappy vows, to be fair.”

Mike blinks up at him from where he’s slumped down to somewhere around shoulder height. “You didn’t cry.”

“Oh, I did,” Will assures him. “I just cried in the back with Jonathan while he was getting ready.”

“Really?” Mike perks right up. “You did?”

“Yes,” Will laughs, “and I can’t believe you’re happy about it,” and then Mike grins so wide that Will can’t help but lean in the rest of the way and press a quick kiss to Mike’s cheek.

“You two are disgusting,” Lucas says, and he’s maybe one strike away from Will speaking up about the bathroom incident after all.

“Maybe so,” Mike relents, looking properly cheered up now. “What about it?”

Mike’s grip on Will’s hand never falters. Will feels himself turn warmer with every slow pass of Mike’s thumb over his knuckles, even with their hands tucked under the tablecloth and out of view. And it isn’t from the champagne. He’s had just the one glass with dinner, which is nothing, so it must be something else that’s making him feel like this. Something–

“You okay?” Mike murmurs as his thumb pauses, briefly, on the back of Will’s hand. “You got kind of quiet out of nowhere,” and yeah, there it is.

“I meant it,” Will says, lowering his voice so their friends can’t hear them from across the table. “What I said in the car, I mean. You look beautiful.”

It’s a little amusing just how fast Mike can turn such a violent shade of red. “You can’t just say that,” he splutters. “Give a guy some warning, Jesus, Will–”

“Mm, no,” Will decides smugly, watching the red creep down the collar of Mike’s carefully starched dress shirt. Then, because the soft lighting of the venue and the way Mike’s hair has started to fall free around his face is doing something funny to his chest and stomach, Will nods to the dance floor and says, “You wanna?”

Mike hesitates, looking over his shoulder. “Dance?”

Will shrugs, then looks over to where Jonathan and Nancy are trying– and failing, quite hilariously and miserably– at a dance of their own. “I mean, it’s a wedding, and people dance at weddings. Not that either of us are good at it, but it might be fun to try?”

Mike chews nervously at his lower lip and nudges Will’s foot with his own. “I don’t know,” he admits. “My mom was eyeing me earlier and I was totally avoiding her by hiding out over here but I feel like the dance floor is fair game for a–” he waves his hands around, “pseudo-confrontation. Nancy’s only three years older than you, blah, blah. When are you going to settle down, blah, blah. Even though I’m here with my boyfriend, which apparently doesn’t count for shit, and–” Mike sighs dejectedly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring the mood down, it’s just– I was having such a good day, too.”

Will squeezes Mike’s leg, just above the knee. “You were having a good day? Really? Even though your hot date got canceled?”

“Well,” Mike rolls his eyes. “My sister got married, and now my hot date is all dressed up and sweet-talking me, so I think this is even better than pizza on the couch.” He pauses, contemplating. “Actually, scratch that. It’s not. But it’s a close second,” Mike adds, then grins and picks Will’s hand up again. “Dance– later, maybe? I’m really enjoying this for right now.”

“Of course. Anything you want,” Will smiles, as the music in the background softens into something more mellow. He pulls his chair up so that it’s flush with Mike’s, their thighs pressed up together in one line, and passes Mike a flute of champagne from the table. “You might want to drink this, though, because your mom looks like she might be heading over here any second.”

“Thanks,” Mike groans, then knocks the whole thing back in one go.

—-

Will knows that a big fancy flashy wedding isn’t really Jonathan’s style, and he didn’t think it was Nancy’s either. Which is why he was surprised to get an invite to an event at all, because he’d honestly sort of thought they’d make a courthouse affair of it and then have everyone over for dinner or something. They’d been engaged for, like, three years, because it was career stuff and then more career stuff and then a couple months of long distance while Jonathan was doing some photojournalism thing in London, and Will had figured at some point that they’d get so tired of being engaged that they’d show up the next day with papers from City Hall and that would be that.

Apparently, though, in a not-so-surprising turn of events, Nancy Wheeler takes to event planning like a moth to flame, and Jonathan was immediately dragged along for the ride. He didn’t seem too upset about it, though, when Will had asked. “It’s Nancy,” he shrugged, like that explained everything. And maybe it did, because not too long after that, Will started dating Mike and everything immediately clicked.

Which is maybe the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to him. For anyone else, Will would not even entertain the thought of fussing over seating arrangements, and he’s certain he only knows, like, five types of flowers– if pink and red roses count as two different types. It’s Nancy, Jonathan had said, and Will hadn’t gotten it then but he does now.

Mike’s hand twitches on Will’s bicep, fingers clutching once at the fabric of his shirt. Will’s suit jacket lies abandoned on the chair behind them. Mike had leaned over maybe half an hour ago to rest his head on Will’s shoulder, as it got later in the night and guests started slowly trickling out of the room. And then, maybe fifteen or so minutes ago, his breathing had evened out, fingers slackening in their grip against his arm, and Will doesn’t know how the hell Mike can fall asleep in a room that’s filled with so much noise, but he can’t help but find it endearing– wholly, completely, embarrassingly endearing.

And he gets it, he does. It’s Mike, he thinks, chest flooding with warmth in a strange, hollowed-out way, like there’s nothing left inside him except this feeling. It’s Mike. It’s Mike. It’s–

“Hey, hon,” comes a voice behind him, and Will startles, just a little, then immediately relaxes.

“Oh, hey mom,” he whispers, and Mike’s hand twitches lightly against his arm again. Joyce gives him an amused look, glancing down at Mike, then back at Will.

“Did he fall asleep?” she asks, pulling up a chair next to them. “I’ll be quiet, don’t worry.”

Will feels himself smile before he actually realizes he’s doing it. “Yeah,” he snorts softly, “but I have no idea how.”

As if roused by some sixth sense, like he knew they were talking about him, Mike stirs, lifting his head off of Will’s shoulder and blinking blearily. “What–”

“Shh,” Will says, and Joyce bites back a smile. “Go back to sleep.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Mike says, and then yawns loud and conspicuously. “Shit– I’ve just been so tired this week, sorry, Will–”

“Don’t be,” he says immediately, even though his shoulder and arm are starting to fall asleep, just a little. Will drops a kiss to the top of Mike’s head, and feels him start to smile into his shoulder before stiffening, a little self-consciously, and glancing up at Joyce.

“Um–”

“Oh,” his mom waves a hand, “don’t mind me. You two are so sweet. You remind me of Nancy and Jonathan after they started dating. Jonathan would turn so red, but maybe not as red as you’re turning right now, Will–”

“Mom!”

“Red?” Mike perks up, and then, “Oh you are turning red!”

“Shut up,” Will mumbles, but he’s sure it’s not convincing in the slightest. “Did you come over here just to embarrass me?”

Joyce puts two hands up in the air like hey, don’t look at me. “I was just going to let you know that Hop and I are taking off,” she says, eyes sparkling. “He has the early shift tomorrow, but Mike, now that I’ve caught you– your speech was wonderful. Really. Jim was tearing up and he told me to never let you find out but I figured you’d want to know.”

Mike blinks. He still looks a little out of it, still a little red from sleep or the champagne from earlier, but he smiles, sudden and pleased. “Really?”

“Don’t tell him I told you,” Joyce grins conspiratorially. “But yes. It was very sweet.”

“Thanks Mrs. Byers,” Mike says, the words stretching into another yawn, quieter this time. He groans lightly, then pushes himself off of Will’s shoulder and sits back up.

Will peers over at him. “Are you tired? You want to head back?”

Mike rubs at his eyes with both hands, blinks a few times in rapid succession, then shakes his head like he’s trying to shake the sleep out of his body, like it’s a physical thing. “No,” he smiles, and it’s a little bit tired, but he looks happy. “No, not yet.”

“Okay,” Will whispers, and he’s probably grinning like an idiot, but he can’t help it. That’s the common denominator here, between every interaction he ever has with Mike– that he’s so happy that he just can’t help it. “You still want to get pizza on the way back?”

“God, yes please,” Mike groans in relief. “Um. No offense, but wedding food is just– like what the hell, man, I’m starving. That was nothing.”

“Pizza it is,” Will agreed easily, mentally making a pros and cons list of getting a large and having leftovers or saving money and going for a medium. “Pepperoni?”

“Anything goes,” Mike is saying, and then Joyce clears her throat.

“Well,” she says, snapping her purse shut and smiling. “Hop and I are heading out but– oh, drive safe you two. Eat a slice for me, actually, I’ve been craving pizza all week.”

“Bye, mom,” Will smiles, craning his neck upwards as she plants a kiss on top of his head.

“You too,” she says to Mike, who barely has time to blink in surprise before his mom is dropping a kiss on his forehead. She rests a hand on his shoulder briefly as she smiles and says, “I’d welcome you to the family, Mike, but you’ve been a part of it for years already.”

“I– bye, Mrs. Byers,” Mike says faintly, eyes wide, as Joyce waves goodbye. He turns back to Will. “Part of the family? Really?”

“It’s what you get for dating your best friend,” Will murmurs, glancing out over the rapidly emptying room before tugging on Mike’s arm until he falls into him with a small, startled noise. “You get smothered by my mom.”

“I wouldn’t call it smothering,” Mike laughs, eyes darting down to Will’s mouth. He swallows, and says, softly, “Plus, I like your family. No complaints from me.”

Will hums, soft. “I’m sorry about– you know. How did that go?”

“Nancy said she survived mom and dad with minimal damage,” Mike laughs drily. “And nana too. And I managed to avoid them long enough that they didn’t have a chance to ambush me, so.”

“Good,” Will says, kissing Mike softly on the corner of his mouth, then again, right over the curve of his cupid’s bow. He’s a little warm, a little loose and pliant from sleep, and he moves easily, tucking a finger into the loop of Will’s tie and pulling him in closer. Their knees bump against each other under the tablecloth, chair legs scraping gently across the polished floor as Will leans forward. “I’m glad,” Will says into the kiss, and Mike smiles.

“Me too,” Mike whispers, tucking his hands into Will’s hair and pulling away, just barely. “Because now they’re gone and all of our annoying cursory invite relatives are gone and it’s just you and me– and Nancy, and Jonathan, and El and Lucas and– whatever. I think I owe you a dance.”

There’s something slow and melodic playing as Nancy and Jonathan make the last of their rounds, most of the tables empty and the dance floor cleared out. Will grins, kisses Mike one more time for good measure, then stands up. “Okay,” he agrees, “but I’m leading.”

“I don’t think it makes a difference, because neither of us can–”

“I’m leading,” Will says again, and Mike chuckles, shaking his head.

“Yeah, sure. Lead the way, Will.”

[thegodcomplcx]

Sometimes I think Moffat did ship Eleven and Amy more because he seems smart enough as a writer/good at writing chemistry that he could’ve written Amy choosing Rory more smoothly. It could’ve easily has the first few episodes of series 5 be Amy and Eleven having fun but the minute Rory steps in the TARDIS eleven is the third wheel and the shadow of her having already grown up is around . Amy and Rory could’ve been written as super in love while still having Amy just be scared from abandonment issues and attached to Eleven as a result.

Instead we got this weird attitude on everyone’s sides. Amy treats Rory like a puppy but marries him because she doesn’t want the puppy to die, Rory has contempt for Amy’s choices, and Eleven wishes Rory wasn’t around but still has to choose for Amy to live with him. I know Moffat likes writing teasing dynamics but he managed to do that with so much more affection with Amy/Eleven, Twelve/Clara, Twelve/River. Even friendship wise with Twelve/Bill.

I’m just saying Amy and Rory seem like the weirdest writing Moffat has done and I can’t even blame his sitcom like writing for that because he’s done better with everyone else

my opinion about whether or not romantic 11amy was written to be taken seriously or if it was written just for laughs and views has swung DRAMATICALLY in favor of the former given the release of douglas is cancelled. i mean. look at it.

but even before that i would have said that i don't think it really matters what the intention with them was bcos that doesn't change the impact of what made it's way onscreen.

HAVING SAID THAT...the writers must have realized really early on that amy and rory being together is deeply, deeply uninteresting. i mean rory is barely a character in s5, he's only in like 50% of the episodes, and i would argue that amy's choice is the only time that the writers actually try to treat their relationship seriously and not as a punchline. (read my meta on amy's choice and how it doesn't even achieve this purpose. like thematically.)

even in the wedding its not even about rory like at all. it's still about amy's connection to the doctor (and she's still trying to get in his pants. at her own wedding. in front of the groom and god and everyone)

i would argue that s5-7A is an elevenamy will they/won't they and that rory's only purpose is to be "the husband" which is why he's such a nothingburger character. (i think the only time he proves to be a meaningful contrast to the doctor in a way that doesn't walk all over amy's character is in the god complex. but we don't have to talk about that rn). moffat is basically writing a drama. he's setting up a bunch of things so that we will keep tuning in, and one of them is the question of "who will amy choose"

i mean. fucking babygate. s5 makes it obvious that amy has romantic feelings for the doctor. they could have chosen to end it with the wedding, but you jump into s6 and its like woah okay. amy is babytrapping the doctor. and this makes complete sense for both their characters. and then the god complex happens and it's this natural ending point for eleven and amy. and once again the writers say no. amy actually still can't give him up.

which is why amy can never make an choice until her very last episode, bcos that would ruin the suspense. and we know that despite all the set up, amy can never choose the doctor because this defies the structure of the show. (she's so doomed by the narrative) so they really backed themselves into a corner with amyrory. if their relationship is actually good then rory might as well not exist. if their relationship is frequently unstable, it risks becoming like. obviously bad and obviously inferior to the OTHER romantic dynamic amy is involved in. they chanced the odds and they fucking lost because 11amy continues to be one of the most compelling things i've ever seen in my life.

[sillypuppetsposts]

Can we have some headcanons of how Frank Frankly would act if them were a suitor of yours (that is, of the reader)? please and thank you

a/n ;; OHH,,, FIRST REQUEST *breakdances* also please, i’m assuming reader is meant to be masc or enby presenting since frank is gay ^^ Because i am feeling enby atm since I am gender-fluid! Also, Y/n is described as being a lively and happy person,, :)

tw / cw (?) ;; swearing (they curse at wally a couple of times), marriage (OMG COMMITMENT😰😰), wally being a little shit! :) plus, (maybe) some horror and arg elements so be cautious! also mentions and hcs of poly frank x eddie x reader :3

BEFORE DATING OR BECOMING YOUR SUITOR!

Tsundere alert!!!!

Anyways, they aren’t as affectionate as the other puppets. But, that’s okay! You know they’re your friend, and they love you and your other friends as well.

Little did you know…

Frank was more confused when they were feeling these strange feelings, they would get red in the face whenever you complimented them or gave them gifts of any sort. And they would sweat and get flustered when you would hug them or slightly touch hands.

As You know, they are the grumpiest neighbor. So, someone acting super affectionate towards them (besides Eddie and Julie) made them feel so, special.. <3

They go to Eddie first, asking him why they feel this way. But, Eddie is kinda… oblivious to attempts at this stuff, so he just thinks your being extremely kind to Frank. So, our Eddie pookie was not too much help 😭

So, they go to Julie. And, Oh, she tells them what they’re feeling alright.

“Wait. You feel strange around y/n? How?” | “You get butterflies in your-oh. OH! OH MY GOSH FRANK! YOU LIKE Y/N!!!” “Of course I do, Y/n’s my friend?” “… Frank, I mean you like them, romantically.” “oh. oh.. OH!”

So yeah, that’s how they figured out they liked you.

And, now they are definitely planning to court you… because of course they are.

“Hello, Y/n. Would you like to go butterfly watching with me?” “Oh! I would love to, Frank!!”

They plan this out, he asks you to go butterfly watching with you, and ask you about courting you.

(Which, may I add, Is so stinking cute like wtf where can I find a love life like this..I have no maidens erm… ☹️)

So, when you guys were walking towards a small hill a little bit away from the neighborhood. They decide they’ll ask you on the hill.

So, when. you reached the top they waited for you to be distracted, and got on a knee and… well, courted you.

It was adorable and you were blushing when you realized what was going on.

AFTER YOU START DATING OR BECOMING YOUR SUITOR <3

Oh goodness.

Cutest couple ever! Like everyone thinks you two are adorable!

Everyone thinks it’s cute because your guy’s trope is basically opposites attract!

Wally being a little shit, and third wheeling, but distracting you and Frank gets annoyed 😭

“what do you even see in him?” —frank, questioning your friendship with Wally. “He makes me laugh :)” — You, who thinks he’s a silly guy

CATCHING AND STUDYING BUTTERFLIES TOGETHER!!!! THOSE ARE YOUR GUYS’ DATES!!!!

You like to play office with them and Julie

They don’t like it because Julie always kicks down their desk after they go bankrupt 😭😭

you sleep in the middle of frank and eddie because if you don’t you end up falling off the bed because eddie is a rowdy sleeper

“how did you end up on the ground, dear?” -frank, worried “i rolled off” - you, who got fucking pushed off the bed when eddie was having a dream

when you, julie and frank were catching butterflies on a hill, they tripped, and rolled down like a tube, so when julie started to sprint on all 4s, you hopped on her back and acted like a cowboy trying fetch a stray sheep…

Frank is still traumatized about that til this day…

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Opinion  Lifelong lessons in coping with fear and humiliation

Age and time usually offer us the gift of learning to take ourselves a lot less seriously.

By Anne Lamott

+

As a woman of faith and cranky optimism, I am usually afraid of only a dozen or so things at any given time, which is a major improvement since childhood. I was the single most scared child on Earth in the 1950s. For instance, I was habitually afraid of being murdered while I slept, so I’d practice looking dead. Then the murderer would peek in my room and think, Hmmm, no one to kill in here; the little girl is already dead.

I don’t do that anymore (very often).

Now I am mostly afraid of my son and grandchild dying before me, beside which all other fears pale. I do worry about falling and breaking my hip. Gravity is a killer. I am, as we speak, on a long airplane flight, hearing a loud mechanical rattle, such as what a wing might make as it works itself off toward freedom. Also, I fear inheriting my mother’s Alzheimer’s, my father’s brain cancer, snakes, the election and the guy behind me coughing.

Maybe worst of all, I have to get my driver’s license renewed fairly soon, which means I have to take the written test. I would rather go to my periodontist and let her do the deep gum planing that she seems to enjoy. Even five years ago when I last went to the DMV to renew my license, I was full of dithery fear, bumbling around like Mr. Magoo on crack cocaine looking for the right counter. To my astonishment, I passed the test.

But now, only five years later, I have to do it again. It’s so wrong.

I notice a difference now: Back then, fear felt like a swamp inside, with Burmese pythons swimming around, patiently, so I sloshed through the DMV. With age, it is more shadowy, a sneaky menace. Ahh — gotcha! — and I’ve learned to quiet it one fright at a time.

They say that babies are born cute so that their fathers won’t eat them, and I think a similar thing takes place when we age. As we look older and somewhat more frail, we have a last chance to coax forth compassion and kindness from the world. As we surrender to the reality that, as we age, most of the systems of body and mind start to go on the fritz, we invite humility into our lives. There is no greater strength.

I am definitely running out of time, and I have (mostly) made peace with that.

When I was a child, one of the most important events of the year was the county fair. My friends and I would go on all the carnival rides and eat all the carnival food. But around 10 p.m., someone would notice the time. We’d have only an hour until our parents arrived. Suddenly we had a new clarity of purpose. We stopped wanting to ride the Gravitron or eat more cotton candy. We wanted to get one more funnel cake and then head for the Ferris wheel. This is what aging feels like. You suddenly realize you’ve got one hour left at the fair, and you get serious about how you are going to live.

Twenty-five years ago, my then-9-year-old son inadvertently helped me see the way: I was racing to an appearance at a theater on the docks of San Francisco Bay, holding a purse, a coffee, a batch of papers and my latest book, and trying to get Sam to hurry up behind me. Suddenly, some pages blew away toward some bored cormorants on the pilings. Sam caught them and then glared at me. “Mom,” he said, “you’re carrying too much, and you’re going too fast.”

You get away with this manic, burdened way of living for the first two-thirds of life, but as you transition to the third third, you start to wonder whether this pattern argues a wasted life. You slow down. You start to actually be here for your life. What a concept.

After all the losses, disappointments and deaths that every older person has experienced, we usually discover how life miraculously goes on, reshapes itself toward homeostasis and more grace than we could have imagined. We learn to look beyond our dire imaginings and trust that this miracle might just happen again. I once heard someone say that hope is faith with a track record.

Take this morning. Something humiliating happened to me professionally. It was not ideal, as I was nearly 3,000 miles and many days away from home.

I felt a kind of cold, vibrating sheet metal fear. It was way too early to wake my husband and close friends back in California. What to do? How to get through the morning, let alone my godforsaken life?

I cried for a moment, then fluffed up the despair with some rage and plans for revenge, which is the Christian way. This steadied me.

Then I remembered something: Deep breath! Oh, right — breathe. Get outside and look up. I dressed and raced out.

The morning’s icy blue sky told me that even though it was very, very cold, the blue was burnished by the sun and was an invitation. More warmth and light was on the way. I usually love the mysticism of clouds more than what I sometimes call the sky’s tyrannical blue, but some days you just can’t beat the brightest blue.

George Saunders said that what he’s learning as he ages into retirement is that “kindness is the only non-delusional response to everything.” I stroked my shoulder like the best mom, who knew how to keep the little patient comfortable.

Next, an overly large, gloriously unhealthy breakfast. Sometimes you need to lift off and fly, but sometimes you need ballast.

Back inside, no longer gasping like a fish on the dock, I picked up the 200-pound phone and risked waking my husband. He was apoplectic on my behalf and then helped me with my plans for vengeance — snake attack, of course, and hemorrhoids. Next I called my Jesuit friend Tom Weston. He said I had to arrange for a burnt offering at my next destination, to appease the ancient Canaanite gods. (They love barbecue.) Also, that the god of his understanding is very willing to help Protestants, most of the time.

His love made me a bit teary, but I found myself laughing with him.

Age and time usually offer us the gift of learning to take ourselves a lot less seriously. We smile ruefully at ourselves more often. And laughter is the Dippity-Do of the spiritual life, jiggly at first and then holding us firmly. The wiggle and jiggle play with your toxic internal attempts to control life, loosening the membrane between you and the moment, you and the ocean, you and your armored intellectual head; you and me. The hold held me like a rock.

[crazyk-imagine]

Befriending the Lamberts Headcanon

A/N: This is a long one people but a good one *insert finger guns here* lol

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

- You and Josh have been friends since you were kids, just before you both started school

- Your mom became friends with Lorraine when she noticed she too was a single parent

- He was very hesitant to let you in even though you’ve known each other for years as you two started growing up (around age seven, he became more aware of his gift and you wanting to be friends)

- Lorraine never verbally said it but she was grateful for you (along with Elise)

- You were there when he showed himself the way out

- It took you a bit before you pieced it together but eventually you did and did all you could to help

- Your mom gave any insight she could to help, she too experienced this and found herself calling for Carl’s help just before you were born

- You helped Josh when things got tough after

- You begged them to let you tell him, but Lorraine and your mother said no every time

- Then came your internal battle, his demons may have been put on hold but that didn’t mean you were protected

- A whole summer when you two were fifteen was the first time you spent a part, unfortunately, for the better

- You came back into his life, and it felt like you were a new person

- Fast forward to college, he meets his new favorite girl as he teasingly told you when he came back to the dorm late one night

- You were not upset by any means, although you did wish Renai had a cute sister because she’s not bad looking (something you told him when he asked if you knew her)

- Before they got married, you were always the voice of reason giving them the others perspective

- You were aware of being the third wheel because you'd often make yourself scarce before they realized they needed time to themselves

- Renai loved you the more you guys talked and never felt threatened by you or about her and Josh’s relationship

- When they announced they were getting married and pregnant, you were always willing to help around the house and (in the future) with the kids since you were around so often

- Of course, you were their aunt and godmother (to all kids)

- The first few years of their marriage, you weren't around as often, letting them settle into this new stage of their lives, giving you more opportunities to meet your girlfriend

- She wasn’t a fan of the kids or how close you were to the couple and you two broke up

- After that you kind of became the kids go to babysitter (even though all of them consider you their other mother)

- They loved you so much and always included you in their hobbies or drawings

- Your mom and Lorraine teased about you being a third parent to the kids to which you’d tell them it was because no one wanted to procreate with you (they’d point out Dalton who’d just called you mama or mom two to further plead their case)

- You were with Dalton when he first interacted with the demon

You grabbed his arm and kept him close when the door to the attic opened. "We're not going in there."

"The doors open."

"That's not an invitation. That is something asking to harm you."

"But what if it's something nice?"

"Let's not take that chance and go back down where your parents are."

He stands up, pushing you off him. "I'm going with or without you."

You try to grab him but fail as he runs past you. "Why are kids so terrible at listening?"

You follow him, barely in time for him to fall and run towards him only for him to start screaming.

- The couple was disappointed with you but never verbally told you

- You could tell though and not just because of your thoughts haunting you

- You slowly started to push yourself away from the family and they didn’t notice until Lorraine pointed it out

- Things got worse from there, your mother passed, and no one had a clue

- At least until Carl got a call from Elise

- They had to call Elise who then reached out to you

- You knock on the door and are greeted by his mother

"It's been too long," she pulls you in for a hug. "I'm sorry we have to meet again because of this."

“I don’t know why I’m here,” you tell her.

“You know why.”

“What’s happened?”

“She never left and Dalton- my poor baby-”

You furrow your brows, “what’s happened? I thought Dalton was, okay?”

“A lot has happened since you were here.”

You scoff, “no kidding.”

- The sight of Elise brings you to a pause, sending a chill down your spin.

- You still don’t know what happened that night but don’t have any regrets about helping them

- You just wish you didn’t have to go back

- Renai pulls you to the side, making sure you’re okay and can do this

- Then Lorraine came over to check in on you because she knows what’s gone on with you when Josh was a kid

- No one knew you also had gained something being as close with your best friend as you did, you were lucky to have help when it came to controlling it

- It wasn’t easy, but you all found a way out and moved past this for a bit, until Lorraine passed, and it was time for Dalton to go off to college and it feels like the whole thing started over again

[fics-by-em]

Amorous Facades - Chapter Five

A wild night out leaves the lives of Jamie Tartt and Ophelia Adams more intertwined than they ever would have imagined.

Will their decision to try and use the situation to their advantage work out in their favour or will they realize that they should have cut their losses when they had the chance?

———-

previous chapter

———-

I miss you. Are you going to be mad at me forever or can we go for a drink soon and talk about this?

Lia read the message from Katie so many times that it was burned into her brain. At first, she’d been relieved that Katie had reached out, but after reading over her words a few times, she found herself growing annoyed. There was no apology for her behaviour. There was no admission that she should have handled things differently or assurance that she believed what Lia had said about Daniel. She just seemed to expect Lia to magically get over it without putting in any effort to fix things and that wasn’t going to happen.

But Lia missed her too.

Katie was her best friend and had been for years. They told each other everything and spent almost all their free time together. Mike used to joke that he was more like a third wheel when the three of them hung out than she was because Katie and Lia were like two peas in a pod. She didn’t want their friendship to be over so suddenly and she was willing to give Katie a chance to make things right. So, she answered her politely and they made plans to meet up that evening for drinks, with their boyfriends in tow so Mike and Katie could get to know Jamie after they smoothed things over.

Luckily, Jamie had agreed to accompany her. 

After their big performance the other night, things had settled back to normal. Lia woke up the morning after with a clear head - almost as if she’d snapped out of whatever spell Jamie had cast over her the night before - and she felt silly for letting herself get swept up in the moment. It was clear to her that she’d been single for far too long and obviously she missed the comfort and romance of being in a relationship. That’s what she was falling for during the celebrations after the match, not Jamie in particular. At least, that’s what she was telling herself and repeating in her head like some kind of mantra.

She was a little nervous about how she would feel after spending another night pretending to be madly in love with him, but she was ready to learn from her mistakes and keep her guard a little higher. Her determination did little to ease her apprehension about the situation though and her nervous energy had her showing up at Nelson Road Stadium a little earlier than planned. The pitch was empty so she assumed that training was over and a quick text to Jamie confirmed her suspicions, but he informed her that he was just going to shower and change with an assurance that he wouldn’t take long.

Feeling a little out of place, she wandered down the hallway and looked at all the posters and display cases in an attempt to look busy. She was just about to settle on one of the couches by the door to mindlessly scroll through her phone until Jamie appeared when a voice behind her had her jumping with a startle and spinning around.

“Hiya,” Keeley smiled, giggling as Lia put a hand on her chest as if to calm her now racing heart. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just surprised to see you here, are you meeting Jamie?”

“Yeah, I am,” Lia nodded, relieved to have some company while she waited. “I’m a little bit early, but we’re going to meet my friend when he’s done training.”

“Your friend? Would that be the one who wasn’t so pleased about your relationship with Jamie?”

The way her eyes narrowed into a look that could only be described as suspicious told Lia that she already knew the answer to that question, but she confirmed it anyway.

“That’s the one,” she sighed. “Apparently she misses me and wants to talk things over. I’m dragging Jamie along to show them he’s not so bad so hopefully he’s on his best behaviour.”

“He can be very charming when he wants to be,” she assured her before a smirk slid onto her face. “And you two make a very convincing couple. Like, can we talk about that kiss the other night? It was one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen!”

Lia felt a blush rise up in her cheeks as she thought back to their rather intense public display of affection, but she fought through the embarrassment to roll her eyes.

“Oh, please, it was just a kiss.”

“That was not just a kiss,” she insisted. “It was sexy as fuck!”

“Maybe,” Lia shrugged. “But it was all just pretend, right? Anyone can make a kiss look real if they want to, actors do it all the time.”

“But you and Jamie aren’t actors,” Keeley pointed out. “Jamie’s definitely not, he can’t lie for shit.”

“He must be better than you think because I promise you that it was all just an act.”

“There must have been a spark between you both though, right?” Keeley pushed. “Because that night when you met and decided to get married a few hours later wasn’t just an act, was it?”

“I was far too drunk to remember anything about what that was,” Lia smiled, hoping to soften the interrogation. “But Jamie Tartt isn’t interested in me as anything more than a ticket to redeeming his reputation or maybe - if I’m lucky - as a friend.”

As soon as Lia saw the flicker of mischief in Keeley’s eye, she realized how her phrasing could be interpreted even before her next question was out of her mouth.

“Well, are you interested in him?”

Lia hesitated. After the night they’d spent pretending to be madly in love, it was a complicated question to answer and while she was hopeful that a friendship was blossoming with Keeley, she didn’t know her all that well and knew that realistically her loyalty still probably lay with Jamie.

“I don’t even really know him,” she answered as honestly as she could. “And he’s Jamie Tartt. I think he’s a little bit out of my league.”

“He chose to marry you, didn’t he?” Keeley reminded her. “Clearly he doesn’t think so. You might as well have a little fun while you’re keeping up appearances, doesn’t have to mean anything.”

The suggestion had another smile sliding onto Lia’s face and an amused giggle slipping from her lips because if Keeley really knew her at all, she would know how ridiculous that suggestion really was.

“Meaningless isn’t something I do very well,” she admitted. “I know it’s probably old-fashioned and lame, but I’m more into relationships than anything casual.”

“It’s not lame! It’s sweet and romantic and probably a very wise choice!”

The sincerity in Keeley’s voice and the lack of condescension was refreshing. She’d been called a prude far more often than she’d care to admit by women who had different approaches to dating than she did and it was always something that got under her skin. It wasn’t like she was waiting until marriage - she’d lost her virginity years ago - and she never judged anyone who chose to embrace a more casual dating life, but she just preferred to wait until she’d found a connection with someone before taking that step.

“Something tells me that Jamie would disagree,” Lia mused. “So I think it’s safer if we just keep things friendly. It would be too hard for me to get through this arrangement if I made a move and Jamie turned me down and it would be even worse if something happened between us and Jamie tossed me aside after.”

“I think you might need to give Jamie a little more credit,” Keeley advised her, her voice soft and reassuring. “He has a bigger heart than he wants people to think and he might surprise you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lia nodded, mulling over her words before a smile slid onto her face and she changed the subject. “You’re really good at this whole advice thing. I think you might be in the wrong career.”

“Thanks, babe! I always thought I'd be a good therapist.” Keeley grinned proudly. “So, how are you feeling about seeing this friend of yours again?”

The question made Lia cringe as she thought about the night ahead of her and she sighed as she filled Keeley in a bit more about the situation and her apprehensions for her little reunion. Again, Keeley provided the perfect mix of a sympathetic ear and excellent advice and while Lia’s nerves weren’t entirely quelled by the time the players started trickling out of the locker room, she was comforted by the fact that with Keeley around she might not be left entirely friendless no matter how the evening panned out.

The conversation moved on to Keeley’s plans for the evening as they greeted the players who were heading out the door they were standing beside until Jamie strutted down the hallway with his trademark swagger.

“Hiya, you alright?” He greeted them, nodding at Keeley as he glanced around to see how many people were nearby before sliding his arm around Lia’s waist and pressing a kiss against the side of her head. “You look nice.”

“Thanks,” Lia smiled, leaning into his touch as if they were a real loved up couple. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, whenever you are.”

They said a quick goodbye to Keeley with Lia promising to fill her in on how the evening went at a lunch date in the near future before heading out the door.

——

Jamie knew that something was wrong as soon as they left Nelson Road.

He was aware that he didn’t know Lia well enough to be an expert on her behaviour, but he was fairly certain that it would have been obvious to anyone that she was anxious. The tension in her body and the fact that she barely commented on anything he said as he told her about his day and grumbled about Roy Kent was more than enough to rouse his suspicions. 

At first, he thought that it might have been his behaviour the other night that was making her apprehensive and he felt a flash of annoyance. He’d just been doing what they’d agreed to do. He was willing to admit that he might have gone a bit above and beyond when he realized that it stroked his ego everytime a simple gesture like pulling out her chair or keeping her drink topped up earned him a flash of her admittedly beautiful smile and he did enjoy the jealous glances from his single teammates every time he stole a kiss. But he hadn’t done anything that didn’t fall under the umbrella of pretending to be in a relationship which was exactly what she’d agreed to and what she’d asked him to do again that night.

However, as he let his frustration about what he presumed to be the problem simmer and grow until he tried to pull his hand away from hers in a huff, he was surprised when he felt her tighten her grip to keep their fingers intertwined. He softened - his irritation almost immediately washing away - as he realized that perhaps he was letting his imagination get him unnecessarily worked up and in a stroke of rare maturity, he decided to stop making assumptions.

“You alright?” He asked when they were just a few short blocks away from their destination. “You haven’t said much.”

“I’m okay.” She glanced up at him as she spoke and the worried look on her face didn’t do much to reassure him. “I’m just a little nervous, I’m not sure how this is all going to go. But I really appreciate you coming with me.”

“It’s what any good husband would do,” he joked, relieved when it earned him a hint of a smile. “And you did it for me the other day.”

“But your teammates were all lovely and so welcoming, I’m not sure I’ll be able to say the same about Mike and Katie after how our last conversation went.”

She nervously chewed on her lip and Jamie felt a flash of annoyance on her behalf that these people who were supposedly her closest friends were making her feel such anxiety.

“I’m a big boy,” he assured her. “I can handle a little attitude from your friends.”

“But you shouldn’t have to,” Lia insisted before clarifying. “You won’t have to. If they’re being awful, we’re leaving right away.”

Her words were said with conviction despite the shake in her voice and Jamie had to admit that her protectiveness was quite cute, but there was an ache of something that felt like guilt in his chest as he thought about their fake relationship - that was mostly for his benefit - potentially ruining her friendship.

“What did she say anyway?” He asked. “When she messaged you earlier, did she apologize?”

“No, she just said that she missed me and she wanted to talk about it and get to know you,” Lia admitted. “I doubt I’ll ever get a real apology, she tends to infer things like that more than actually say it.”

“Oh,” Jamie scoffed. “So she doesn’t believe in accountability?”

He knew it was hypocritical coming from him, but he’d taken Keeley’s words to heart all those months ago and it was something he was growing to be very aware of. Now that he truly saw the importance of it, he didn’t like the idea of Lia letting her friend get away with anything less.

“I guess not,” Lia shrugged. “But we all have things to work on, you know that.”

As offensive as her words could have been, there was no malice in her tone. She was simply stating a fact and reminding Jamie that people making assumptions about him was precisely what he was trying to change and he nodded as they reached the door of the pub. He watched as she took a deep breath to steady herself before leading him inside. It was busy - packed with the after work crowd - but after a brief scan of the room, Lia led him towards a table at the back. He was grateful for their discretion - whether it was deliberate or not - because he had a feeling that getting attention from any Richmond fans wouldn’t do him many favours when it came to impressing Lia’s friends and he pasted on the most charming smile he could muster as they reached the booth they were sitting in.

In a move that seemed to surprise Lia as much as it surprised him, Katie leapt up from her seat as soon as she saw them and threw her arms around her.

“I missed you so much,” Katie said as she squeezed her tight. “This last week has been so rough.”

Jamie resisted the urge to scoff at that claim considering any suffering the last week had been due to her own actions, but luckily before he had the chance to say anything that might cause any trouble, Katie’s boyfriend stood up as well and held out his hand for Jamie to shake.

“Well, if it isn’t Jamie Tartt,” he grinned. “I saw the pictures, but it was so hard to imagine Lia with a footballer that I didn’t believe it.”

“Yeah, well, it’s true,” Jamie chuckled. “I’m lucky to have her.”

“I won’t argue with that,” Mike smirked and while it was clearly a dig at Jamie and he felt a flash of annoyance, Mike continued before Jamie could shoot off any comebacks. “I’m Mike, it’s great to finally meet you.”

“Yeah, you too.”

It was clear that neither of them really meant it, but Jamie was relieved that so far Lia’s friends had been civil.

“C’mon,” Mike nodded towards the bar. “Let’s get the first round, give those two a little time to catch up. I think they have a few things to discuss.”

Jamie agreed and after quickly asking Katie and Lia what they wanted to drink, they headed to the bar. He paid - even though he had a sneaking suspicion that it was expected and one of the reasons Mike had asked him to go with him to order - but even after their drinks came, they stayed leaning against the bar. Mike peppered Jamie with questions about football and Jamie happily answered, but he kept his eyes focused on the table that they walked away from.

Lia was tense - it was obvious even from across the room that her guard was up - but it took a surprisingly short amount of time for the frown on her face to shift into a smile and it wasn’t long after that for her to start laughing and giggling with her old friend. He felt a flicker of disappointment that she hadn’t put up more of a fuss - demanded a little more grovelling - but he knew that he didn’t know all of the details or much about their friendship other than the fact that Katie didn’t seem like a particularly good best friend. Things were never black and white and Lia seemed like a smart girl so he trusted that she would handle the situation appropriately.

Once it seemed like a peace treaty had been drawn, they headed back over to the table and Lia flashed him a reassuring smile as he sat down next to her.

“I was just telling Katie about the day we met, when you came into the bookstore to buy a present for your mom.” He remembered the story that they’d agreed on, but only vaguely since he hadn’t had to think about it since the first discussion about their situation and he forced out what he hoped would look like a fond smile as he tried to hide his panic. As if she could see right through him, Lia continued and bought him a little more time. “He was so stubborn and insisted he didn’t need any help every time I asked, but he looked so cute with his eyebrows all furrowed in confusion as he kept checking the title of the book on his phone so I kept pestering him until he let me help him find it.”

There were a lot of things that Lia’s friends probably knew about her that he didn’t. He was sure that it would have been very easy for them to ask him a question that caught him off guard and proved that they weren’t really a couple. But Jamie was well trained at succeeding in high pressure situations and just hoped that he’d been paying enough attention to the details she’d dropped during their conversations over the last week for him to be convincing.

“I would have found it eventually,” he insisted before flashing her a smirk before he added, “But it’s hard to resist when a pretty girl begs to help you.”

He noticed a faint blush rising in her cheeks as she playfully rolled her eyes.

“I think saying that I begged is a slight exaggeration.”

“You pretty much just said it yourself,” he teased with a shrug. “And then because I’m such a gentleman, I offered to stay and help stock the shelves with some big order that she was putting away as a thank you. We got talking and the rest is history.”

“That’s actually quite sweet,” Katie admitted. “I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t have told anyone if you didn’t want me to.”

Lia opened her mouth to explain, but Jamie cut in.

“That’s on me,” he insisted. “After all the drama of leaving Man City and that stupid television show I went on, I was worried about the press. I didn’t want Lia getting harassed or attacked, I didn’t want any chaos that might scare her away.”

“But now you think it’s fine to throw her to the wolves by forcing her to pretend to be married to you?”

There was something very passive aggressive about the sweetness of her tone in combination with the harshness of her words, but it was Lia’s turn to jump in before Jamie could defend himself.

“He’s not forcing me to do anything, Katie. I told you, I’m doing it because I want to.”

“And to be honest, I’ve realized that no one really cares about me as much as I thought,” Jamie admitted, forcing down his temper as he chose to believe that her friend’s words were coming from a place of protectiveness more than judgement. “People like that I’m married, but we’re not being chased down by paparazzi and I don’t think anyone’s bothered Lia at all since we made the announcement.”

Lia nodded in agreement and reached out to squeeze his hand where it rested on the table by his pint glass in a show of solidarity and after watching them carefully for a moment, Katie let out a sigh of defeat as she sipped her drink.

“Well, I still think the whole arrangement is a little suspect,” she warned them. “But you do seem quite happy together so I can try to be more supportive.”

The smile that slid onto Lia’s face was more genuine than any that Jamie had seen since the start of their little arrangement and the relief she felt was visible as the tension in her body seemed to disappear in an instant. Jamie still felt like he had to be on guard considering their clear scrutiny of him, but knowing Lia felt more at ease did help him relax and he was hopeful that the evening might be slightly less painful than he’d anticipated.

However, he was very wrong.

At first, everything was going well. Lia seemed happy and laid back as she laughed and joked with Katie and they regaled Jamie with tales of their adventures over the years. She was tactile and affectionate - leaning against his arm or intertwining her fingers with his and lifting his hand up to press a kiss against his skin - and Jamie found himself quite happy to indulge. Even if it was just an act, it was nice to feel wanted and he found himself once again struggling not to get carried away despite how much he enjoyed the way her cheeks grew pink every time he stole a cheeky little kiss.

But when they were about halfway through their second round, he felt Lia tense up beside him. Every ounce of anxiety that had been radiating from her on their walk to the pub was back in full force and the look of horror on her face when he glanced over to see if she was okay was enough to have a panic rising in him as well. He flicked his eyes towards Katie to see if her reaction provided any more information, but the sheepish way she was suddenly avoiding eye contact as she sipped her drink didn’t offer much explanation so he followed Lia’s gaze until he saw a man walking towards their table.

“Katie,” Lia practically growled. “Why is Daniel here?”

The name alone sent a flash of annoyance through Jamie as he instantly sat up a little straighter and wrapped his arm around Lia to pull her closer to his side. He felt a flicker of pride as she leaned into the embrace as she stared expectantly at her friend, waiting for an answer.

“Don’t be mad, okay?” Katie uselessly pleaded. “He felt bad about the other night. He said it was just a misunderstanding and he wanted to make things right.”

“It’s not just the other night,” Lia hissed. “It’s a consistent pattern of behaviour that’s been going on for too long for an apology to mean anything!”

The pride that Jamie felt at the way Lia defended herself surprised him. She’d shown him during their first meeting about their faux relationship that she had no problem standing up for herself when she felt like she was backed into a corner, but she also struck him as someone who had a hard time standing up to the people she cared about. Calling her a pushover seemed a tad harsh, but it didn’t seem to be hard to pull on her heartstrings and coerce her into cooperation. Katie’s reaction only solidified his assumptions.

“I know, but he insisted and it would help Mike if you two made peace.”

Mike seemed oblivious to the conversation as he stood up to greet his friend, but Lia was clearly still seething.

“What did you tell him?” She questioned. “What does he know about me and Jamie?”

“Nothing,” Katie shrugged. “Just whatever was reported in the news. You told me not to tell anyone the truth and Mike and I kept our promise.”

“Oh, thanks, your loyalty is astounding.”

Her sarcasm was clear and despite the hurt that flooded Katie’s face, Mike returned to his seat with Daniel squeezing into the booth beside him before she could challenge Lia’s remark.

“Jamie,” Mike started. “This is my best friend, Daniel. Daniel, this is Jamie Tartt.”

“We met the other night.” The words were casual, but there was a snark in Daniel’s voice that Jamie found unsettling, especially as he added. “But it’s nice to formally meet you.”

“Yeah, you too.”

He tried to sound nonchalant, but he could hear the scoff in his own voice and knew that he was definitely coming off more as a disgruntled partner. He didn’t particularly care though, especially when Daniel tried to explain away his actions.

“I’m sorry about what happened, I had no idea that you were together or I wouldn’t have tried anything.”

“It’s not me you should be apologizing to,” Jamie insisted, genuinely taken aback by the way the man across from him spoke to him instead of Lia. “I’m not the one you have an issue with.” 

“Well, I’m sorry to both of you,” Daniel clarified, earning a scoff from Lia. “I didn’t mean to step on any toes.”

Jamie slowly nodded, knowing it wasn’t his place to accept or deny any apology that was being made, but an awkwardness crept over the table as Lia simply sipped her drink and refused to comment. Mike quickly jumped in to steer the conversation to other things, but there was a lingering tension as Katie’s eyes were practically pleading for Lia to forgive her and Lia kept her head down and nuzzled closer into Jamie’s arm as if she was trying to make herself as small as possible. Jamie leaned down to press a kiss against the top of her head and while it was for show - an act of solidarity to prove their relationship to the group sitting across from them - he hoped that she could take some comfort from it as well. 

When another twenty minutes passed with complete silence from Lia, Jamie was just about to suggest they head home when Lia’s lack of engagement apparently caught Daniel’s attention as well.

“I’m sorry,” he chuckled as he shook his head. “But I don’t buy it.”

His words caught Lia’s attention as they were clearly directed at her, but when she seemed too surprised to comment, Jamie jumped in to help.

“Don’t buy what, mate?”

“You two,” Daniel clarified. “Your whole relationship. All the times that Lia turned me down, she never once mentioned that it was because she was seeing someone else.”

“Because I didn’t think it was relevant,” Lia informed him, finally finding her voice. “I didn’t reject you because I had a boyfriend or because I was married, I rejected you because I didn’t and never will want to go out with you and that should be enough for you to respect my answer without needing to know there’s another man involved.”

It was a valid argument and Jamie was proud of the confidence in Lia’s voice, but it only seemed to aggravate Daniel even more.

“I don’t buy that either,” he insisted before turning his attention towards Jamie. “I hate to tell you this, mate, but the only reason I was so persistent is because of the signals she was giving me.”

“Oh my god,” Lia said through a laugh of disbelief. “What are you on about? What signals?”

“There were loads.”

Daniel’s comeback was weak and lacking in evidence, but Jamie felt Lia freeze as Mike spoke up in his friend’s defense.

“He’s not wrong,” he admitted. “I’ve seen the way you look at him, Lia.”

“Like I’m repulsed by him and praying he won’t try to touch me again?” Again, there was no doubt in her voice, but her insistence earned nothing more than an eye roll from the men across from them. So, Lia tried a different tactic. “C’mon, Katie. You know that what they’re saying isn’t true. I’ve been complaining about Daniel since the day I met him. Have you ever thought that I wanted to be with him?”

“I dunno,” Katie shrugged, playing with the straw in her drink as she was suddenly unable to look Lia in the eye. “I always kinda thought your protests were, like, playful and flirty. Like maybe you just wanted him to chase you a little bit.”

The look on Lia’s face as she tried to process her friend’s words could only be described as one of shock and devastation, but her stunned silence just gave Daniel time to chime in again as he smirked at Jamie.

“See? I’m sorry, mate. I wouldn’t have been trying to get with your girl if I knew she was taken, but she didn’t do much to deter me,” he shrugged. “You might wanna keep an eye on her, especially around your teammates.”

Jamie felt a flash of anger at what he was insinuating and he was grateful that the weight of Lia clinging to his arm stopped him from doing something he’d regret - like punching the asshole across from him in the face.

“Shut the fuck up,” he growled. “If what I saw the other night is anything to go by then Lia’s done plenty to deter you. It’s not her fault you’re too fucking thick to understand when a woman tells you she’s not interested.”

Daniel rolled his eyes again as a murmured ‘whatever’ slipped from his lips, but Jamie was distracted as Lia grabbed his hand and gently squeezed it to get his attention.

“Can we please leave?”

“Of course, babe,” Jamie nodded, tossing back the rest of his pint before sliding out of the booth. “Let’s go.”

Lia quickly scurried out after him and they headed for the door without even bothering to say goodbye.

——

The taxi ride back to Jamie’s house was silent. 

He could feel the sadness washing off of Lia in waves, but she kept her head turned as she looked out the window and Jamie wasn’t sure what he could say to offer her any comfort. When it came to relationships, he was good at all the fun stuff - like attending parties or events and, of course, the sex - but the emotional side of things had always been harder for him to master. The fact that they weren’t really in a relationship and he actually knew very little about Lia made it even harder for him to know how to handle the situation.

He spent most of the drive agonizing over what to do, but in the end he figured the risk of saying something that would make her feel worse was too high and decided to just let her come to him if she wanted to.

But the silence continued when they got home.

Lia headed straight upstairs and he heard the sound of the shower as he went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He waited to see if she would eventually appear as he scrolled through the social media on his phone, but when almost an hour had passed with no sign of her, he went up to their room as well. He saw her already curled up under the blankets and assumed she was asleep, but when he crawled into bed next to her, he was surprised when she rolled over to face him.

“Jamie?”

Her voice was quiet, but it echoed around the quiet room.

“Yeah?”

“I never gave Daniel any signals,” she insisted. “I promise, I didn’t.”

The desperate pleading tone to her voice caught him off guard, but he simply shrugged.

“You don’t need to promise me anything,” he reminded her. “We’re not really married, it’s none of my business.”

“I know,” Lia choked out, her voice breaking. “I just really need someone to believe me.”

Even through the darkness, Jamie knew she was crying. He could feel the bed shift as her shoulders shook with the quiet sobs that fell from her lips, but again, he found himself at a loss for what to do. After a moment of awkwardly laying there, racking his brain for a solution, Jamie let out a sigh as he reached out towards her.

“C’mere.”

It came out as more of a demand than a request, but Lia hesitated as she sniffled out a quiet, “What?”

“C’mere, let me give you a cuddle.”

“Oh,” Lia sniffled again. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Sounds like you need it,” he argued. “And let’s not pretend that I don’t feel you peeling yourself off of me every morning when you think I’m asleep.”

Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Lia was a very snuggly sleeper. Almost every night she ended up wrapped around Jamie, but he hadn’t mentioned it after her embarrassment that first morning and was relieved when the wink that accompanied his words in that moment earned a teary giggle as she did as he asked and scooched closer until he could wrap his arms around her.

“Thank you,” she murmured against his chest. “For this and for everything else you did for me tonight, standing up to Daniel and putting up with my friends.”

“They shouldn't be your friends after tonight,” Jamie huffed. “That Daniel is a knob and your friends are shit for not listening to you.”

“I know,” Lia sighed. “I don’t want anything to do with them, at least until I get some kind of apology. What they did tonight was humiliating.”

“Don’t worry about it, they’re just a bunch of pricks. And Lia?” He paused until she hummed questioningly in response before he continued. “I do believe you.”

He felt her drape her arm around his waist to squeeze him affectionately and he leaned down to press a kiss against the top of her head. It was a gesture he made almost more out of habit than anything romantic, but as a silence settled around them and he held her close until he felt her breathing shift and he knew she was asleep, he had to admit that the line between pretend and the reality of his slowly growing feelings was starting to seem a bit blurred.

----

chapter six

[djeterg19]

Chapter 17 no work but lots of developments!

We start off at a Thai bbq restaurant. Thongthai brought he 5 year old brother and everyone thinks he's the cutest. The news is covering the case they just closed. Phaya is putting food on Tharn's plate and Yai notices how flirty they are being. Phaya announces they are dating. Everyone asks if he's serious or if it's April fools and how long. The Captain smugly says she knew. She sensed it from day one. If anyone gives them trouble, she says she'll give them demerits until they don't have any time off .

Phaya says they are lucky that they knew right away they wanted to be exclusive. Tharn is embarrassed. Khem notices and teases him when his face turns red. Singh congratulates him. Yai keeps giving them looks. When they go to leave for the night, Yai asks Tharn to come back with him. Tharn says he was going to go with Phaya but Yai is worried. Phaya tells him he won't break Tharn's heart. Tharn punches Yai's arm and says how can they not be serious. Yai is worried that Phaya's father won't allow them to be together. Phaya says not to worry he'll handle it. Tharn asks Yai to stop making a scene.

After they leave, Phaya asks how long Tharn has known Yai. Tharn says they've known each other since grade four or five. That they are basically brothers and Yai was there for him when his father died. They get to Phaya's grandmas house. Tharn asks how to behave. Phaya tells him to be himself.

His grandmother asks Tharn to come close to see him better. She looks between them and says it must be destiny. Phaya is worried but she assures him that no matter how far apart they are it doesn't matter if they are destined. She pulls out a golden ring of Tharn and says it's a family heirloom. It's carved with a saying: with love I own...eternally for you. Grandma says to consider it an engagement ring. Tharn and Grandma become fast friends making Phaya feel like a third wheel. She gets tired and goes to bed.

Phaya asks about the ring asking if he's accepting the proposal. Tharn says he can't refuse a gift from an elder. Phaya says if he's keeping the ring he must accept his proposal. Tharn says they just started dating. Phaya retorts they have known each other a long time. Tharn thinks it's because they met as children. Phaya means their past lives and thinks of the different versions Tharn has been: a woman, a man, a girl, a boy, a dog, and a bird. Phaya says if he wants to know Tharn will have to force it out of his mouth with Tharn's mouth.

Tharn leans is close enough for their noses to touch and says: dream on, asshole. So Phaya grabs him by the nape of his neck and kisses him deeply. It ends with a bite of his lips and Tharn wrapped in his arms. Tharn starts to curse him out and kisses him back. Wraps his arms around Phaya's neck and presses their bodies together. Phaya moves them to the bed where they continue kissing.

When they separate, Tharn says he forced him with kisses so spill his guts. Phaya didn't answer right away and pulls Tharn to lay on his chest. Phaya eventually says they've known each other since their past lives. Tharn asks if he's joking and Phaya says he's completely serious. Tharn asks how their past was and Phaya says Tharn loved him and did everything for him. Phaya says he never did anything for Tharn and didn't realize he loved him until he had already lost him. Phaya is lying there with tears in his eyes. Tharn snuggled into his chest and wonders of Phaya saw his past and felt lost.

Phaya says: I lost you in my past lives, but in this life, I'll never let you go

Tharn says how could he lose him? He's right here. He's not going anywhere. They kiss again and Phaya tells him he's making it hard to control himself. Tharn isn't ready for more so they just kiss and cuddle some more.

Tharn says he needs to sleep at his own place the next night. There wasn't much work so it was a light day. Tharn went home and Chalotorn shows up saying they have an appointment. Tharn apologizes for forgetting and asks if they can do the appointment in his apartment. Chalotorn asks why he hasn't seen Tharn in days. Tharn tells him he started a relationship with Phaya. He smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes and asks if they can get started. Tharn lies on his couch and closes his eyes. Chalotorn's eyes change to red and he pulls out a gemstone and mumbles something and places it on Tharn's forehead which he doesn't notice as he's under a spell.

We flash forward three months. Phaya took Tharn to meet Darawan. Tharn was nervous at first but they become friends quickly. Still nothing exciting happening at work. Phaya takes Tharn to his house once a week but they rarely meet his family. This time it's planned so they can announce they are dating. His sister already knew as she's friends with Dao. She almost blurts out that she replaced the book that Phaya borrowed that was originally Chalotorn's. Phaya bribes her into not saying anything. In the middle of dinner, Tharn gets a call from his grandmother to tell him his mom is sick. Very sick and may not live another month.

Phaya takes Tharn home. Tharn apologizes that he couldn't stay for dinner with his parents. Phaya says forget it and let him know to tell him if he needs anything. Phaya takes Tharn to the airport and sees him off.