#and then she decided she wanted to be called Breezy as a kid

[rukafais]

I think it's important for ppl to know that drizzt's kid, Brie-Zara/Brienelle Zaharina is named the way she is because Catti named her for her dad and Drizzt named her for HIS dad and it's very cute

Cataline,” Catti-brie went on, “though I know not my first surname. It was changed to Catti, and the name Brienne added.” “Brienne, or Briennelle, is the woman’s version of Bruenor,” Dagnabet explained, for a certain dwarf king was not able to speak at that moment. “Catti-brie,” Catti-brie said. “And so I give to you, my dearest friends, Briennelle.” They started to cheer, but Catti-brie stopped them short with an upraised hand. “Brienne in the spirt of that which blessed us, and Zaharina in the hopes of what might be.” Zaknafein nearly fell off his chair. “Zaharina is the feminine of Zaknafein,” Jarlaxle explained. “Brie-Zara, then!”

[emma-is-swaggy-and-epic]

DISCLAIMER THAT THIS IS THE 3RD TIME I'M FUCKING UPLOADED THIS PIECE OF SHIT BECAUSE TUMBLR KEEPS FUCKING UP MY IMAGE LAYOUT WHENEVER I POST IT SO IF THIS SHIT DOES THAT AGAIN I'M NOT GONNA FUCKING FIX IT BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO EMBED ALL THE LINKS TO THE BASES I USED AND WRITE DOWN ALL THE TAGS ALL OVER AGAIN

X / X / X / X / X / X

Ngl it was relatively easy to think of pony names for these characters since i've had the idea to make this for a while so i've had a lot of time to think about it lol

For yuriko: i chose the name "flawless lace" because in her regular form, i specifically chose the name "yuriko" for her because it means "perfect" so i wanted to try and include that aspect into her pony name. Some considered names for her were "perfect storm" and "lily lace" since the "yuri" part of her name means "lily" (though i decided against it bc i remembered that's the name of an actual pony in MLP...) the markings on her legs are meant to sorta mirror the stockings she wears in her usual form

For sprite: i chose the name "baby carrot" simply because that was a actual name i considered for her normal form before i decided on "sprite" (which is kinda funny since a big part of sprite's character is that she likes apples.....a food that is basically as different from carrots as it can get) she is a goat-alicorn hybrid because she's normally a deltarune OC, specifically a fankid of kris and ralsei; with the latter being a prince from the dark who is also a goat monster

For carrie: a big part of her backstory is that she named herself, she's literally a carrot that decided to be human one day (...or pony, in this case) and is trying to fit into civilsation as best she can; so i tried to give them a pony name that sorta fits that, and so i named them "carrot mulch" because i could totally imagine her trying to introduce themself to someone and doing that one trope in movies where the main character doesn't want to share their real name and just looks around the room for things to call themself lol. I also decided to make her a blank-flank since she probably hasn't spent that long a time as a pony and therefore wouldn't have a cutie mark despite appearing fully grown

For makeighlyn i feel like my choices are pretty straight forward, the character is a girls' flash game mascot created by a christian fundamentalist cult who somehow escaped into the real world and now works as a demon slayer so i decided to give her a name and cutie mark that reflects that. The only thing that i feel is worth mentioning is that i find it interest how the amount of pink in her design makes the blue in her hair look a lot darker...either that or i might've accidentally hue-shifted it or something

Choese is another pretty straightforward one, he's a flirty cheese-themed mouseboy so i gave him a heart-shaped cheese cutie mark and named him "gouda squeaks" because he's a fucking rodent. (Sidenote: i love smoked gouda so goddamn much omg)

Lastly for crystalline i decided to make her a breezie since she's normally a fairy and y'know....breezies are just the MLP equivalent to fairies....i also decided to name her "fee-fee breezie" since breezies usually have really cutesy names in the show (some of them straight up have references to their species in their names), the "fee-fee" part of her name is short for "feelings" since crystalline is an emotion fairy

Y'know when i first created crystalline back when i was like, 10 i was going through a phase where i just VIOLENTLY hated things for no reason (specifically things from MLP such as the vampire fruit bats, flurry heart and the manta hawk from the IDW comics) to the point that i would make them out of polymer clay JUST so i can make my pony toys kill them (i was a weird kid, needless to say) one of these things being the breezies....so ngl i feel like the fact that i made crystalline a breezie is really fucking ironic lol

[queenofonions]

What's In a Name?

Summary: Hermione and Ron discuss baby names.

The air was warm and breezy on that Sunday evening at the Burrow. Most of the family were still inside chattering and laughing after enjoying the feast lovingly prepared by Molly Weasley.

Hermione and Ron decided to take some time for themselves out in the quiet garden behind the house. They cuddled together on the padded garden swing under an arbor of climbing pink roses that hung heavy in full bloom and perfumed the air with their rich floral scent.

Ron took a handkerchief out of his pocket and neatly Transfigured it into a lightweight throw and then slung it around Hermione’s shoulders. She leaned back against his chest and he wound his arms around her waist, smoothing a palm over her rounded belly.

“What about ‘Apollonia?’” Ron suggested.

Hermione snorted softly and nudged him with her elbow. They still hadn’t settled on a name for their unborn daughter and for the past week her husband had been suggesting more and more outlandish girl names, originating from every corner of the world – and if she wasn’t mistaken, this time it was Greece.

“Sephronia?”

Hermione wrinkled her nose and hummed negatively.

“Petronella?”

Hermione giggled and shook her head, “Seriously, Ron.”

“Eulalia?”

Hermione sat up a bit and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “And spend her entire life spelling it out for people?”

Ron considered that and conceded, “Good point.” He kissed her temple and hugged her back against him.

Muffled shouts of joy and groans of despair from inside the house reached their ears. Charlie was visiting from Romania and challenging everyone to beat him at a Muggle game he had recently learned called arm-wrestling. Ginny’s distinctive whoop of triumph followed and Hermione and Ron both shook with silent laughter at her apparent victory.

They swayed slowly back and forth, watching the fading colors of sunset, until a stray breeze blew a petal down from above their heads to land on Hermione’s cheek. She plucked it from her skin and rubbed it between her fingertips for a few moments; the silky texture made her smile.

“I remember the first time we sat out here, under these roses,” Hermione began.

Ron hummed against her temple. “After the Battle, yeah. Dad stayed at Hogwarts to… sort things out for Fred. Mum brought almost every else here. Well, all the kids, anyway.”

“Gathered all the chicks, made enough food for three armies,” Hermione smiled warmly. “When the crowd and the noise got too much, you brought me out here. Held me under these roses.”

He tightened his arms around her, much as he did then. “Kissed you, too.” She could hear the smile in his voice and turned her face up to once again accept the soft press of his lips on hers.

She pulled back and met his eyes. “It was the first time I’d felt safe, truly safe, for the longest time. Like I could finally breathe again.”

Ron swallowed hard and pressed his forehead to hers. "I knew it that night, you know? That I couldn't be without you. I wanted to hold you like that for the rest of my life."

Hermione stroked his cheek and kissed him again. "You asked me to marry you under these roses."

Ron snorted softly, "I managed to wait a year, but I didn't even have a bloody ring for you."

Hermione pinched his chin, "Ridiculous man. You had something better: an old wizarding tradition of sealing an engagement pact in blood. You taught me a new spell - it was absolutely perfect."

Ron lips turned up in a wry grin. "Dad gave me the idea. He had done the same with Mum. They still have tiny scars on their palms."

"We pricked each other's thumbs with a thorn and made our promise."

"You wore a rose in your hair at our wedding. Bloody gorgeous, you were."

They both jumped when they felt a sudden kick from Hermione's belly.

Hermione laughed and patted the spot, "Yes, darling, we mustn't leave you out of this. We were here on Ginny's birthday, sitting under these roses eating cake when the owl came from Dr Lux and confirmed the test results."

“Nearly passed out, didn’t I?”

Hermione huffed in amusement and leaned back against him, “Recovered quickly enough to spin me around and almost vomit up the cake, is what you did.”

They fell silent and linked their fingers over her belly, where their little one was merrily wriggling around.

“What about ‘Rose?’” Ron spoke after a while, his voice low and slightly rough in her ear.

Hermione swallowed against a thick lump in her throat and nodded, “Rose.”

Please Like and Comment on AO3

(pen name Xedra on AO3)

[valsnonsense]

Peaches Murray

"Cheers I mean!! Thank you all for coming!!! Can I get you anything?? Are you having fun?? Are you good?? Are you drunk?? Okay, good! Okay, great~"

Parents: Brandy Murray and Bruce Murray

Siblings: Bruce Jr. (Elder Brother), Cove (Elder Brother), Freddy (Elder Brother), Windy (Elder Brother), Rainy (Elder Brother), Coral (Elder Brother), Reef (Elder Brother), Sandy (Elder Brother), Sunny (Elder Brother), Cloudy (Elder Brother), Shelly (Elder Brother), Wave (Elder Brother), La Breezy (Elder Sister)

Age: 25

Pronouns: She/They

Sexuality: Pansexual

Genre: Pop

Voice Claim: Rochelle Diamante

The surprise youngest of Bruce and Brandy, Peaches is upbeat, happy-go-lucky, loud, with no sense of personal space whatsoever. Peaches loves to party, sing, dance, drink, and gossip with her cousins about all the crazy drama that happens.

Peaches wasn't expected, but a welcome surprise to Bruce and Brandy. They were more shocked that she was Troll sized, unlike her older siblings. Peaches was a taaaad spoiled and coddled cuz of it, especially growing up around such larger creatures.

Peaches works as a comedian in Trollstopia, hosting parties and tellings jokes for all to hear. She LOVES to make people laugh and see them happy, and will go out of her way to cheer Trolls up if she sees them down or upset.

Peaches is very close with her family and a total daddy's girl. She loved having siblings so much bigger than her, meant she could hop on their heads and never walk anywhere herself! As a kid, she'd often nap in Brandy's hair.

Music wise, Peaches is a pop Troll through and through. She loves how upbeat and wild the music can be, and will often perform songs after a comedy show.

Peaches currently resides in Trollstopia, and lives with her cousin, Fern.

Fun Facts!

- Peaches is currently dating a Remix Troll named Mirage. Remix Trolls are very rare, and often feared for their frightening appearance, but Peaches just thinks he's the bees knees!

- Peaches moved out when she turned 20, wanting to move to Trollstopia and perform there. LOTS of tears from Papa Bruce when she left (Branch sends him frequent updates on how she's doing)

- Peaches is closest with her cousin, Rosebud. Since they're so close in age, the two basically grew up together. Peaches is the only one who can call Rosebud, Rosie.

- When relaxing, Peaches can be found covorting around town with her cousins Rosebud and Fern. The three love gossiping and talking smack about passerbys for fun.

AND THATS PEACHES!!! I wanted to make a Bruce and Brandy kid, despite them already having like 13 kids. So I just decided to make one anyway, but make her a Troll! Don't be fooled by her super sweet appearance, she can be a total jackass when she wants to be lol

Since Bruce and Brandy's are mostly unamed, I tried to keep the beach/sea theme for their names. Tho different designs and names will be featured in the family portrait cuzicantdesignforshitlol (not-canon to this AU)

Voice Example: Queen Bee (Rochelle Diamante)

[lyrikan]

🔮 | Watching the sunset with your new boyfriend! (Rayman) | Gender-neutral

(Plot: 6:32PM, on a Sunday. You and Rayman was sitting on a hill watching the sunset. It was a very long day, and it was nice to spend some time with your brand new boyfriend. Feeling the breezy air hit your face felt nice for once.)

(Recap: You’ve started to have a growing feeling for Rayman. It had came out of no where, you guys have been awfully close, too close to the point you couldn’t call it “platonic” anymore. Rayman on the other hand was still a bit clueless, though he had started to have a light blush on his face when being too close with you. The last time he had dated somebody was Ly, but that was a long time ago and she’s out the picture now.

His friends has been starting to suspect what has been going on, yet you two always denied it. Barbara was the only one who spoke out about it to you, and tried to help you. But you denied.. It wasn’t till one day Rayman took an actual good look at you and realized how fine you really looked. But it wasn’t just your looks.. your sweet personality, the way you care about others, that snappy side of yours. It was all adding up that he finally figured out why he’s been acting so OFF around you.

He was too shy to come forward, telling the situation to Globox, Since he already had a wife (.. and WAYY too many kids.) Globox had gave Rayman advice about the whole situation and what he should do. Thus, leading Rayman too… stand outside your window with a boombox that played Sexbomb, trying to serenade you. Yeah.. it was cheesy, but you said hell yeah and that was the start of your loving relationship.)

You were sitting down on a grassy hill, watching the sun, it was so pretty.. so orange.. as it beamed up into your eyes. The clouds hovering over the sun felt so unreal.. It was perfect.

You looked over at Rayman, he was looking around watching everything gracefully move around, the leaves falling.. the clouds moving, the vines rocking back and forth from the breeze.

Y/N | “ Are you enjoying the sunset?.. “

You said, softly smiling as you looked into his eyes..

Rayman | “ Whuh— Huh? Oh.. yeah, I am.. it’s the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen yet.. “

He replied, rubbing the back of his head smiling back at you.

Y/N | “ It’s been a while since I’ve watched one.. probably the best one .. y’know, since everything is all pretty.. The wind really makes everything better. “

Rayman decided to try and flirt with you, if it’s incredibly cheesy, ignore it.. I mean it’s been a while since he dated somebody. He doesn’t know any better..

His white gloved hand softly caresses your own, as he looked you in the eyes, all you see is his snout though, but it didn’t change anything about how you are feeling in the moment.

Rayman | “ The sunset may be the perfect view for you at the moment, but in my eyes, you’re my perfect view right now, my love. “

He’d look at you with half-lidded eyes and a stupid grin on his face. I mean.. he tried, it’s the thought that counts.

You smile and kissed his nose in return, you can feel butterflies in your stomach, it made you feel happy. And made him feel happy as well, feeling flattered of the gesture you did.

Y/N | “ I would’ve never thought that we would get together.. But, I’m glad we did.. “

Y/N | “ Yknow.. after all those battles that we’ve encountered along our way… I think it was worth it.. I wouldn’t want to be with anybody but you. “

You said, facing towards him, he immediately gets embarrassed, but he agreed silently. Letting out a quiet whimper at the touch of your hands touching his suddenly.

Rayman | “ J-jeez.. I’m not usually a sucker like this for when it comes to affection.. but.. whoowee.. that was.. really.. sweet. “

Y/N | “ I dunno.. I.. guess I have just grown a huge bond with you this past week.. it feels nice to past the “friend” boundary.. “

“ its like.. I feel safer now with you. “

Those words made Rayman’s heart dropped. He’s always for some reason wanted you to say that.. He loved when you were yourself without being judged.. He loved a lot.. to hear you say that made him smile again.

Rayman | “ Eheh.. well.. I um.. always try my best to make you feel comfortable. “

Rayman took a look back at the sky.. Golden hour.. it was so… PERFECT! What a great coincidence .. You two were on a romantic date watching the sky.

Rayman | “ Wow.. so.. pretty. Have ya ever seen anythin’ like this before? “

He turned to look at you, deep down inside you knew you have, but decided to make him feel special.

Y/N | “ Not at all.. I guess it was meant to be huh? ”

Rayman | “ I guess so! Wait, lemme grab my camera! I want to remember this special moment with’ya forever! “

He took out a camera out his pocket, taking a picture. Before looking at you.. placing it on the ground, turning his whole body to face you.

You really knocked his socks off taking him to this place.. it was so wonderful.. he really enjoyed it.. Leaning in to kiss you, his first brave move.. (Besides serenading you,) As you leaned in to kiss him back, kissing each other in the romantic environment. Red lums surrounding you two slowly.

(This is my first time making a story, if you have any ideas please tell me and I’ll make it! :3 )

[bamnamuu]

ONE TICKET, PLEASE ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ S.JY

1. i see him in my dreams

warnings: swearing, threatening to push people out of cars

(not proof read)

We have orientation today. It's nothing special mostly just ‘blah blah blah’ , they split us up into groups the games and ticket people are with yeonjun and then everyone else is with soobin, I believe I wasn't exactly paying attention, how could I Jake was standing like six feet away from me, he looked better than I remember. I'm lost in my own daydream until beomgyu speaks up beside me. 

‘’ y/n?’’ 

‘’Humh’’ I turned to face him. 

‘’ I just said I'm gonna head over to heesung’’ he said. 

‘’ .. Good luck!’’ I said with a smile. 

‘’ why, we’re just looking around the park?’’ he was 

‘’cause you're going to be with kai!’’ smiling as I was turning away, I hear him mutter something under his breath. My group had left me, so I had to run to catch up. Bumping into lily, we started talking. It's all nice and breezy until we reach our destination. The ticket booth,

‘’Do you think they'll drag me back here if I start running?’’ 

‘’ They might not but, I would’’

‘’ lil I heard that one summer, two girls were working and they got locked in and died!’’

‘’Did Taehyun tell you that one too?’’

‘’Yeah, unfortunately, he also called me a lobster!’’ I finished my sentence and face lily, she was making a face like she was trying to hold in her laugh, before completely breaking. 

Too much time passes and we have gone over the basics like ‘take money give a ticket and repeat’, pretty simple, its that hard, but it’s extremely hot luckily yeonjun left the booth door open so we get some wind, then they bring out the yellow uniforms and send us on our way.

‘’ Oh I forgot about the mic’s, there are two on and off buttons, one for in the booth, one for outside. It's better to just leave the outside one at all times!’’  yeonjun said as he re-entered the booth and showed us how to use the mics before kicking us out and locking the booth. 

‘’ where's soob?’’ lily said as we caught up with Beomgyu and yunjin.

‘’ he has to stay back and do important work things’’ Yunjin brings her hands up to make air quotations. 

‘’ soo who wants to get boba?’’ lily shrieks in my ear, and everyone starts running back to the gyus' car.

Beomgyu had agreed to drive all of us besides kai to work. I don’t know why our huening kai is an angel, with saying that Beomgyu threatened to push me out of the moving car.

‘’ beomgyu can we not threaten our friends first thing in the morning?’’

‘’yunjin it's 11:00 am, also no I will threaten my friends when they're wrong’’ he's glaring at me through the rearview mirror i can feel it, but i decide I don't care, cause I'm in a sharpie-smelling car with my friends, also if he does push me out of the car i will make him pay my hospital bills, i move up in my seat and grab the aux chord that attached to gyus phone and play music until we make to our destination and start work. 

Taehyun's tips have been working, or at least his last one, because I haven't been able to think all day. It's that busy, but where our booth is located, I get to see a small view of Jake and Beomgyu handing out mini fishing poles to kids, but that fun is ruined when the glare of the sun blocks my view. Lily and I have been crushing the shit out of our jobs and only been a couple of days. As I handed a ticket to the last person in line, I look to Lily. 

‘’I'm gonna go on break now, Do you think you can handle this beast all by yourself?’’ pointing at the empty line, she tells me she's all good and to enjoy the wind, and I leave. I take my time walking to the staff lounge since there’s a nice cold breeze, passing beomgyu’s booth, and a bunch of screaming kids i get to the door and sit down on one of the bright green chairs, while putting my headphones on i hear someone enter the room, looking up from my phone i see jake staring at me.

“y/n right?”

masterlist

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authors note 🗒️: soooo chapter one is done !! this is my first story so if it’s bad that’s why 🫶 jake pov next time 🙀

<3

Synopsis: Y/N and her friends all wind up working at the same amusement park for the entire summer. It just so happens that her longtime crush, Jake Sim, is working at the same park with his friends. Unfortunately for Jake, his ex-girlfriend Yoona has planned to make her way back into his life, so his friends bring up the idea of having a fake girlfriend so that Yoona will leave him alone, and his eyes just so happen to land on the girl in the ticketing booth.

tag list 🏷️ @mrchweeee

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[johnsbleu]

Hold My Hand: John Wick x Reader Chapter 159

warnings: nsfw, john's pov at the beginning hmh masterlist

Buying another shop was a great idea at first, but it’s been a real hassle these past few weeks. Nothing seems to be going right, the security system goes off at least once a week, someone can’t figure out how to make returns or run the machine, and that always means that I’m running into the city to figure it out. I’m getting a little stressed out, but I’m trying my best to keep it under wraps since I don’t want Y/N to get upset as well. I just don’t want her to get stressed out. She doesn’t need this stress on top of being a new mom.

I had to run into the shop since there was someone there trying to return something and the new girl didn’t know how to do it. I asked if there was someone there to help but Naomi, who used to work at the shop in Mill Neck, was off today. I didn’t want to bother her on her day off, so I decided to just head out there myself while the girls stayed home.

Since I’m in New York City, I decide to stop off at a bakery that Y/N loves and pick up some treats for her and Ronan. I pull up in front of the shop as someone backs out of a spot, and I quickly pull in and take it. A spot right in front of the bakery is rare, so I won’t pass it up.

As I enter the bakery, the sweet smell of freshly baked goods fills my nostrils. The display case is full of various pastries and bread, making it difficult for me to choose what to get for the girls. I finally settle on a few things, and even get a baguette, still warm from the oven. The cozy atmosphere of the bakery makes me want to stay a little longer, but I remember that Y/N is waiting for me at home. With my purchases in hand, I head back to my car, eager to see Y/N and Ronan.

__

**

Since John had to run into the city, you called up Tess and asked if she wanted to go for a walk at the nature preserve that’s about 15 minutes away. You packed up the kids and dogs, then you headed out to it with her for a late morning walk.

It was nice to spend some time outside since it’s sunny and breezy today, and you even let Ronan put her feet in the little stream that runs through the preserve. The dogs enjoyed splashing in the water and running around too, but now they stink. Bleu will definitely need a bath later tonight. Luckily since it’s warm, you can do it in the backyard rather than in the house.

After spending a few hours at the nature preserve, you dropped Tess off at home, then you headed to the grocery store to pick up something to make for dinner tonight. You don’t know if John is home yet but if he doesn’t get home until later, you want to have dinner waiting for him since you know he probably hasn’t eaten since breakfast this morning.

You pull into the driveway and see John’s car parked, so you know that he’s home. You sit up a little to see that Ronan is still asleep in her car seat, so you get out of the car and get her so you can put her in her room before you come back for the groceries.

Half expecting John to be there to greet you, you’re a little bummed when you walk into the kitchen and find it empty. You furrow your brow when you hear the house so quiet until you see John asleep on the couch, and a smile spreads across your face when you see his long legs across the couch and his dark hair covering his face a little.

You tiptoe past him and head up to Ronan’s room to put her down for her nap, then you head back to the car for the rest of the groceries. As quietly as you can, you get them out of the crunchy brown sacks and put everything away, then you take off your shoes and tiptoe past John and up to Ronan’s room with your phone, iPad, and Ronan’s bag. She’ll be waking up in the next 20 minutes, so you’ll want to keep her occupied in her room until John is awake.

Exhaling quietly, you sit down in the rocker and curl up as you scroll through your phone. You tilt your head back against the chair and feel your eyes growing heavy, and before you can even stop it, you fall asleep.

__

It’s nearing 6 PM now, and John is still asleep on the couch. You thought he’d be awake by now, but he’s not. He’s obviously really tired, but you can’t stay cooped up in Ronan’s room much longer. You’re both getting hungry.

“Okay, we need to be quiet because daddy is sleeping,” you whisper to Ronan and put your finger on your mouth,“Yeah, shh. Daddy is sleeping.”

You open the door and immediately spot John on the couch, and you grimace as you quietly walk down the stairs. You freeze when you step on the creaky floorboard and look over at John to see him still sleeping. Ronan spots him and squeals loudly and calls out for him, and you quickly run into the kitchen and poke your head out to see he hasn’t moved.

“Is he dead?” you say, then you put Ronan in her highchair and give her a few pieces of cereal before you head back into the living room to check on John. You kneel down next to him and see his chest rising and falling as he breathes, and you feel relief wash over you.

Since you’ll be making dinner soon and making noise, you want John to go up to your room if he needs to keep resting. You don’t want to disturb him though.

You hesitate every time you reach out to touch his chest to wake him up, but you finally give in and rub his chest a few times before he stretches out and rubs his hands over his face.

“Hi, baby. I just want you to know I’m going to make dinner soon, so you should go upstairs and get some rest.” you whisper to him as he looks over at you, and you smile softly at him, “Go get some rest upstairs.”

“I’m okay,” he says as he reaches out to touch your cheek, then he rolls onto his side and smiles at you before he closes his eyes again.

You lean over to kiss his forehead, then you get up and head into the kitchen since he’s okay with you making noise while you make dinner. Ronan has eaten the pieces of cereal you’ve given her, so you get her out and allow her to go into the living room to see her daddy. Her little giggles cause a smile to spread across your face since you know John’s probably scooped her up and is snuggling her now.

On the counter is a pastel pink colored box that you hadn’t noticed earlier, and you open it and smile when you see a dozen different pastries inside. You look at the box and smile when you see it’s the bakery that you love in New York City, and you feel your heart flutter knowing John was sweet enough to stop by and get something for you.

__

Dinner was good but quiet. John still seems so tired. He cleared his plate and helped you clean up the kitchen, but he didn’t say much. He got the table cleaned off and Ronan’s highchair, then he sat down with her on the couch to read a book to her. You were expecting him to fall asleep while he read it but he made it through.

You’re just now getting Ronan ready for bed and John is still in the rocking chair just staring at the floor.

“Hey,” you smile at him when he looks at you, “Say goodnight to her so you can head to bed.”

John looks at you and nods his head, then he gets up and walk over to kiss Ronan goodnight. He hugs her tight in his arms and puckers his lips for a kiss, then he hands her back to you. You smile as you look at him, but you know he can see the worry in your eyes. He’s being quiet and withdrawn, and he’s not the type of person to take naps during the day, so this is all so weird.

“Hey, peach…” he calls out, and you turn around, “You’re coming to bed after, right?”

“Yeah, of course.” you nod, then you cock up your brow, “Will you be awake?”

John laughs, nodding, “I will be.”

“Okay, we’ll see.” you tease, then you close your eyes and rub Ronan’s back to coax her to sleep.

__

As you come around the corner, you see John sitting up in bed as he watches TV. He smiles and perks up more, then he waves you over to him, pulling you up to straddle his waist so he can give you a huge hug and kiss. You melt against his lips as you kiss him, then you snuggle into his arms.

“Mm, definitely missed this today.” he whispers, and you nod your head.

The two of you hold each other for a few minutes, then you press a kiss to his lips and walk over to get changed into some pajamas. You pull out a tank top and some shorts since it’s pretty warm tonight, then you get changed and put your hair into a bun before you crawl back in bed with John.

He’s been so quiet and tired tonight, and you’re starting to wonder if maybe he’s coming down with the flu or something.

You reach up and place your hand on his forehead, which causes him to look at you in confusion. You sit up more and press your cheek to his forehead, then you sit down and shrug.

“You don’t have the flu.”

“I’m not sick,” he laughs, reaching for your hand.

You inhale deeply and sigh, “Well, what’s going on?”

“Just…tired today. That’s all.” he says, holding your gaze, “I didn’t sleep that great last night.”

“Yeah, it was really hot in here last night.” you nod, laying down next to him, “I won’t lay all over you tonight.”

John laughs as he pulls you closer, “I don’t care if I sweat to death, I need you to lay with me.”

You sit up to turn on the fan next to your bed, then you move back to John and kiss him before you lay with your head on his chest. You draw circles on his skin for a few moments, then you tilt your head back to look at him.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

John nods, “I am.”

He’s lying to you. He’s lying. You can tell. You know him. He’s lying.

“Okay.” you smile softly at him, then you lean up to kiss him as he intertwines his fingers with yours. You roll onto your back as he continues kissing you, then you laugh when he leans down and peppers your neck in feather-light kisses that cause you to shiver.

Cupping his face, you hold his gaze for a few moments, then you kiss him again before you both move back so you can lay on his chest. John exhales softly as you rub his chest, then after a few moments, you look up to see him asleep again.

You reach over for the remote to turn off the TV, then you press a soft kiss to his cheek, “Goodnight, baby.”

__

Inhaling deeply, you squeeze your eyes shut and feel John pressing kisses to your cheek as he rubs your back. You finally open your eyes to look at him, and he smiles as he rubs his thumb over your cheek.

“I gotta run into the city.”

“Why?”

John sighs, “They just need some extra help out there today. I’m not sure when I’ll be home, but I’ll call you in a little bit to let you know what’s going on.”

You sit up and rest on your elbows, then you look over to check the time on the clock on John’s nightstand. 7:12. You look back at John and nod your head as you lean over to kiss him goodbye.

“Wait…” you pull him back for another kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you, peach.” he whispers, then he kisses your forehead. “I just got Ronan up and fed, so she’s just in her pack ‘n play.”

You nod as you sit up and take John’s hand, then you walk with him downstairs to the living room where Ronan is playing with some toys. You spot the steaming cup of coffee on the table and the cinnamon roll next to it on a plate, and you look over at John and smile.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll call you in a little bit.” he whispers, and you nod your head. He walks over to Ronan and smiles, “Be good for mom.”

Ronan reaches up for John as he leans down to kiss her, then she plops back on her butt to play with her toys. You sit down on the couch and pull your knees close to your chest as John walks out the front door and gets in his car. You rest your chin on your knee and watch as he backs out of the driveway, then you sigh and continue staring out the window.

__

John is lying. He’s lying about being fine. But you know he’s only doing it to protect your feelings. For the past few weeks, he’s been called out to the Manhattan shop several times during the week, and you know it’s starting to catch up to him. He’s missing out on spending time with Ronan, so you know he’s incredibly bummed out.

You’ve decided to show up there and surprise him, so hopefully it goes well.

It’s been weeks since you last visited the Manhattan shop and John has hired more people since then, so you don’t know them like you do with the shop in Mill Neck. You find it funny when they greet you at the door as if you’re just a customer.

“Hi! Welcome to Next Chapter. Can I help you find anything?”

You smile at girl behind the counter, “Just looking for my husband.”

“Oh…” she slouches a little and stammers, “Well, I…I don’t know who he is, so I can’t really help you.”

Naomi comes around the corner and smiles, “Mrs. Wick! Hi.”

“Hi,” you hug her and look around, “The shop looks nice.”

The poor girl behind the counter puts her hand over her mouth as her face turns red, “I am so sorry. I didn’t realize that you were…”

“It’s okay,” you laugh as you reach out to shake her hand, “I actually haven’t been out here much, so that’s my fault. I’m Y/N.”

“Maya,” she says as she shakes your hand.

You smile at her, “Seriously, don’t feel bad. It really is my fault. I should be coming out here more often.”

Naomi walks over to help someone when they come in, and you smile at Maya before you head downstairs to the office. As soon as you get to the bottom of the stairs, you see John with his head down and his phone pressed to his ear.

“Why aren’t you answering?” he says under his breath, then he looks at his phone and presses it to his ear again.

You feel your phone vibrating in your purse and realize he’s trying to get a hold of you, which makes you smile. How cute is he?

“Hi,” you say softly, and John looks up at you, “Are you trying to call me?”

John perks up as he nods, “Yeah, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I can leave.” you point over your shoulder and shrug, “I mean, if you don’t want me to be here.”

“Stop!” he shakes his head, laughing, “But why did you come all the way out here?”

You smile as you watch him get up to hug you, “I came to be with you.”

John wraps his arms around you tight and holds you as he leans back against the desk. You lean against his chest and hug him, and you feel him tighten his grip on you when you try to move.

“What’s going on, John? Talk to me.”

John exhales and finally loosens his grip on you as you lean back, “I’ve been really stressed out these past few weeks. Something comes up constantly here and I have to come out here and deal with it. I didn’t think it would be so stressful.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want you to get stressed out too,” he whispers, wiping away the tear on your cheek, “See?”

You reach up and place his hand on your cheek, “I’m crying because you’re stressing and going through this alone. That’s not what a marriage is, John. We do this together. We bought the shop. This isn’t your problem alone.”

“I know, I just didn’t want you to get stressed out.” he whispers, and you tilt your head and hold his gaze as he starts to laugh. “I know, I should have just told you.”

“What happened to Team Wick, huh?” you jokingly shove his shoulder before you wrap your arms around his waist and hug him again. “You don’t have to be stressed out and suffer through this stuff alone. Not anymore. Not since I’m here. You’re my partner in crime, babe. It’s you and me.”

John nods as he leans back against the desk, then he sits on it and pulls you between his legs, sliding his hands into your back pockets, “I miss you and Ronan so much. I feel like I’m missing out on everything.”

“Well,” you exhale as you look at him, “I got her all packed up for college and she’s moving out this weekend.”

“Stop,” John laughs, then he shakes his head.

You reach back for John’s hands and intertwine your fingers with his, “You honestly haven’t missed out on much. She’s doing all the same things.”

“Still shitting her pants?” he asks, and you nod and laugh when he playfully groans, “Damn.”

“Yup, still pooping her pants. I gave her a bath the other night and she shit herself during it. You missed that.”

John laughs, “Glad I missed that.”

“I’m sure.”

John is quiet for a few moments, then he looks at you and blinks a few times before he looks down at your hands, “Do you think she misses me?”

Taking a deep breath, you hold his gaze and shrug as you tear up, “I don’t know how to answer that.”

“What does that mean?”

You wipe the tears on your face, “If I say no, you’ll be bummed. If I say yes, you’ll feel even worse. You’ll feel like shit no matter how I answer.”

John leans his forehead against yours and sighs, “I need to figure out this shit here. I can’t keep leaving you two.”

You cup his face and nod, “Let me help.”

Letting go of you, John walks over and sits down at his desk, then he gets out some papers while you pull up a chair next to him. He looks over at you and smiles, then he pulls your chair closer to him with incredibly sexy effortlessness.

“I got a ton of new books that came in, I need to organize those and get them out on the shelves. The security system is shit, so I need to cancel that and get someone out here today to set up a new one, so I’ve been looking up some places.” he says, and you nod as you lean closer to look at his laptop.

“What do you need me to do?”

John takes a deep breath and looks at you, and you cock up your brow since you know he wasn’t going to give you something to do. You came here to help, so he better find something for you to do.

“I’m here to help. It’s my shop too.”

John nods, then he looks around his desk, “The apartment upstairs is still up for rent, but I haven’t really had any offers on it. I’m not sure people really want to live and work in the same place.”

You nod, then you point upstairs, “How about Maya?”

“She was just hired a few weeks ago, but I overheard her talking to Naomi about it.”

“Well,” you get up and shrug, “Then I’ll go ask her.”

Heading upstairs, you smile when you walk past a few customers, then you finally spot Maya helping an older gentleman find a book. You wait a few moments for her to look over at you, and you smile at her when she does.

“Excuse me…” you say softly, “Can I speak with you downstairs when you get a moment?”

The color drains from Maya’s face, “Of course.”

“Whenever you have a moment. No rush.” you smile softly, then you head back down to John and see him on the phone.

“Yeah, today would be perfect.” he nods, and you sit down, “Yeah, thank you. Bye.”

You look at him and raise your eyebrows, “They’re coming?”

“Should be here by 2.” he says, looking down at his watch before he looks at you, “Talk to Maya?”

“She was with someone, so I just asked her to come down when she’s free.”

John chuckles, “Probably gave her a heart attack in the process.”

“She felt so bad because she thought I was a customer when I came in.” you say as you laugh, then you get up and grab a box of books and look through them, “It’s my fault since I don’t come in here much.”

“No, it’s my fault.” he says, and you look over at him, “It’s my fault because I never ask if you want to come with.”

You furrow your brow as you laugh, “I’m fully capable of driving here myself. Don’t take the blame.”

John gets up from his desk and walks over to wrap his arms around your waist, “Is Ro with your mom?”

“Tess,” you say, looking over your shoulder. “I just dropped her off there since she was closer.”

“Makes sense.” he buries his face in the crook of your neck and exhales, “Do you think my girls would want to go out on a date with me tonight?”

You smile as you look at him, “I think they would like that very much.”

John smiles softly, then he leans over to kiss you before he lets go, “Oh, hey, Maya.”

“Hi,” she says as she wrings her hands, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

You laugh as you brush it off, then you gesture for her to sit down as you walk over to sit with John, “So, how do you like the shop?”

“I like it a lot. It’s got the right vibes.” she says, and John laughs quietly. “It’s nice. Not too busy, but not too quiet that I get bored.”

“Yeah, that’s how I feel about the shop back home.” you nod, then you look at John, “It’s quiet but not too quiet, but our shop in Mill Neck has a different feel to it. More like a small town bookshop, where as here it has a little more…of a sophisticated vibe to it, you know? We still try to bring some of that homey feel to it though with the couches and chairs.”

Maya nods, “I can see that.”

“So, John mentioned that he overheard you talking to Naomi about the apartment upstairs…”

“Yeah, I just asked what was up there.” Maya says as her eyes grow as wide as buttons, “Is…is that a problem?”

You laugh as you reach out to touch her hand, “No! Oh my god, no. I’m so sorry if I’ve given you the impression that you’re in trouble.”

John laughs, “You’re scaring her.”

“I am so sorry!” you put your hands over your face and laugh, “Literally not my intention. I’m just trying to be as professional as John always is. He’s so much better at it.”

“We’re asking because it’s for rent,” John says, and you sit back and nod your head. “If you’re interested in it, we’d be more than happy to show you around.”

Maya smiles a little, “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s a one bedroom, but it’s not bad for a single person.” John says, then he shrugs and looks at you. “It came with the shop when we bought it, and we thought it would be good for an employee, as long as they don’t mind living where they work.”

“Uh,” Maya chuckles a little, “I mean, it depends on rent, of course.”

John nods, “We could work something out.”

Maya nods her head, “I think it would be so freaking cool to live here.”

“You’d have a great view,” you say as she smiles, “You’d be close to work! That’s a bonus.”

“Can I take the day to think about it?”

John nods, “Of course. There’s no rush.”

“Do you want me to show you the apartment?” you ask, and Maya clasps her hands and nods. You look over at John and reach for the keys, then you wait for Maya to get out of the office before you lean down to kiss him, “Be right back.”

“Hate to go see...wait…” he laughs as he shakes his head, “Hate to see you go…”

You smirk as you look at him, “Jonathan Wick, are you flustered?”

John leans over to make sure Maya isn’t near, then he reaches out and spanks you, “These shorts…”

You laugh as you lean over to kiss him, then you wink before you head upstairs with Maya. The two of you head to the back of the shop where there’s a door that leads upstairs, and you unlock it and gesture for her to go first. The stairwell is cramped, so you quickly head up to the apartment door and unlock it.

“You got your kitchen here, bathroom here, living room, and the bedroom. Great view from the window,” you say as you walk into the empty apartment. “You can paint it whatever you want, hang whatever you want.”

The living room is big and spacious and the windows are large, so there’s plenty of natural light that comes in. The dark exposed ceiling gives the illusion that room is taller than it really is, but it also leaves the room feeling a little more modern.

Maya nods as a smile spreads across her face, then she walks around and looks at everything, “It’s really cute. Bigger than I thought.”

“Yeah, the bedroom is quite big.” you nod, leaning back against the kitchen counter.

“Oh, uh, I have a cat and a dog.” she says, looking at you, “Can I have pets here?”

You nod, “Of course. I have a dog at home who I couldn’t live without, so I would never tell you no. And trust me, John would never tell you no either. Bleu is everything to that man. So, yes, you can definitely have pets.”

Maya laughs, “Thanks, they’re my babies.”

“Completely understand.” you nod, then you smile at her, “Take all the time you need, Maya. We’re in no rush. And if you decide this isn’t right for you, that’s okay too.”

“Thanks. I just want to talk to my dad about it.” she says, shrugging, “He gives good advice.”

You smile, “You’re very lucky to have that.”

Maya walks past you and heads back down to the shop, and you lock up and make your way downstairs to the office again, finding John still going through papers at the desk.

“So, did she like it?”

“She did. I forgot how big that place actually is. I guess I remember it just being a studio.” you say, furrowing your brow, “I don’t know what I was thinking. But yes, she liked it and said she wants to speak with her dad first because he gives good advice.”

John chuckles, then he leans over to kiss you a few times, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you whisper, holding his hand, “What else do you need help with?”

“Uh, just those two boxes over there. The books need to be divided up by genre so we can put them out.”

You nod as you get up, “I’m on it. Is that it?”

“Yeah, I think that’s pretty much everything.”

“See how much easier everything is when you just let your wife handle it.” you joke, and John lets out a laugh as he nods.

A knock on the door causes you to look over your shoulder, and you look over at John as he gets up and shakes hands with who you assume is the guy from the security company.

John touches the lower part of your back, then he kisses your cheek, “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” you nod, then you smile at him as he leaves.

__

John still wants to take you and Ronan out on a date tonight, so you left the shop and headed home to shower and get ready. You know that you won’t be going anywhere fancy for dinner since Ronan will be tagging along, but you still want to change into something else. Maybe a nice summer dress.

You set a few dresses out on your bed, then you stand back and look at them as Ronan waddles over to the bed.

“What dress should momma wear?” you ask, and Ronan scrunches up her face and looks at you, “Yeah, which one? That one? Okay.”

You take the powder blue dress that Ronan pointed at and put it on, then you turn around to fix it in the mirror as you look at yourself. The dress falls just a little above your knee, so you’ll have to keep that in mind if Ronan runs off during dinner. It’s probably not the best thing to wear since she’s quite the little runner lately, but you feel good in it and you might even get a few lingering looks from John.

Since he’s been working so much these past few weeks, you haven’t really had much time alone. You’ve had enough time alone for a quickie here and there, but the two of you always love to lay in bed and talk, and John always loves to take his time with you--you’re definitely not complaining about that. You’re hoping that maybe tonight you two can spend some time together after your date.

“Alright,” you reach down for Ronan and pick her up, “Let’s get you ready, bug.”

Walking to Ronan’s room, you kiss her cheek over and over, then you set her down in the middle of the floor before you go through her closet to find a dress for her. You find a cute romper that has little peaches all over it, and you kneel down and check Ronan’s diaper before you put the romper on her. You get the peach colored headband, then you put it on and smile as you look at her.

“Oh, bug, you’re so beautiful!”

You perk up when you hear the front door open, so you lift Ronan up and walk out to see John coming in the front door with two bouquets of flowers.

“Hi, daddy!”

John smiles as you come down the stairs, “Look at my beautiful girls.”

Ronan bounces in your arms and waves at John as she calls out for her dada, and you laugh as you walk over to him so he can kiss her.

“These are for you, little lady.” he says, handing her the bouquet of light pink carnations and baby’s breath.

“Oh, these are so beautiful!” you say as you take them, then you hold them up to her nose so she can smell them, “Smell. Mmm.”

John laughs when Ronan tries to bite one of the flowers, “No, baby, you smell them. Like this…”

You smile when John demonstrates for Ronan how to smell a flower, then you hoist her up, “We better get these into some water.”

“Oh, and these are for you, miss.” John holds up the other flowers and smiles, “Flowers for my dates who both look so pretty.”

You blush as you look at him, “Thank you. Ro picked out my dress.”

“I’m going to shower. I’ll be ready in 30 minutes.” he whispers, and you nod as he leans over to kiss you. “You look beautiful, baby.”

You let Ronan down and listen to her little feet as she follows behind you to the kitchen. She clings to your leg and drools all over it, then she reaches for the handle on the cabinet and pulls on it, rocking back and forth until she falls on her butt. You let out a small laugh when she gets up and waddles off to find something else to do instead since she can’t get in the cabinet with the safety locks.

After getting the flowers in some vases, you leave them on the counter and head out to find Ronan chewing on the TV remote. Thankfully you clean it regularly since she tends to chew on it whenever it’s around. You’re pretty sure she likes it because she likes the way the rubber buttons feel on her gums.

“You and this dang remote,” you laugh, then you grab a teething toy, “Here.”

Ronan takes it from you, then she waddles around the living room and over to Bleu. She sits down next to him and leans her head against his belly, and you smile as you sit down on the couch and wait for John.

__

You’re making a funny noise and making Ronan laugh until she’s wheezing with laughter, and almost everyone in the diner is looking over to watch. You blow raspberries in the crook of Ronan’s neck and smiles when she squeals.

“Okay, okay,” you laugh, setting her in your lap, “Momma will stop.”

John laughs as he reaches for your hand, “You two…”

“What?”

“I just love you two so much.”

You tilt your head a little and smile softly, “We love you too!”

John presses a kiss to the back of your hand and looks down at Ronan as she chews on your other hand, and he laughs a little, “She’s chewing on everything.”

“She was chewing on my leg earlier.” you say, then you wiggle finger over Ronan’s lips and laughs when she tries to chew on it, “I think she’s teething again, so…”

John grimaces a little, “At least we know what to do now.”

Ronan stands up in your lap and claps her hands, then she reaches over for John. He sits up a little and takes her, then he hold tight to her when she stands up in the booth next to him.

You prop your head up on your fist and watch Ronan grin at her daddy, and you laugh when she leans over with her mouth wide open to kiss him. John scrunches up his face a little and wipes away the spit she’s left on his cheek, then he kisses her.

John and Ronan share an inseparable bond, yet they never exclude you. Despite Ronan being a baby, she ensures that you feel included--it’s such a weird way to put it, but a testament to her deep affection for you and John. She always wants you and John, and she is always craving the attention and affection from you both, which of course you two are never upset about giving her.

“When we get home, do you want to spend some time in the pool?” you ask, and John nods his head. “It’s pretty warm tonight.”

“Well, let’s head out now. That way Ro can swim with us for a bit before she goes to bed.” John suggests, then he gets some money and tucks it behind a cup as you get up and fix your dress. You clap your hands and take Ronan when she leans over for you, then you wait for John to get up before you walk with him to the front door.

“Hey,” John whispers as you stand at the car, “Maybe mom and dad can have some hot tub time?”

“Oh, absolutely.” you smile, then you smirk when John perks up.

__

Ronan had so much fun with you and John in the pool but she got tired not long after. You brought her upstairs and put her down for the night, then you headed back to the pool and hopped in with John before you both moved to the hot tub with some wine.

“Oh, I meant to tell you earlier, Maya asked if we could meet with her dad this weekend to discuss the apartment.” John says, and you nod your head, “I figured we could discuss it and talk about the lease.”

“Sounds good to me,” you say as you close your eyes and feel the warm water relaxing your body. You frown when the jets turn off, then you look over at John, “The timer ran out.”

John laughs as he walks over to turn the jets back on, then he stands in front of you and smiles, leaning down to kiss you a few times. You cup his face to keep him from moving away from you, and he reaches down and lifts you up as the two of you kiss. He sits down with you in his lap, then he pulls the string on your swimsuit top and pulls it off of you.

“Fuck…” he whispers as he looks at your chest, then he leans down and sucks on your nipple, closing his eyes and humming loudly, “Put your feet up here.”

You furrow your brow when John suggests you stand up in front of him on the bench, then you nod when you realize why he wants that. He unties the side of your bottoms, then he pulls them off and tosses them aside before he licks his lips and leans up to bury his face between your legs. You lean over and hold onto the side of the hot tub, then you laugh a little.

“I know you want this, but this is such an awkward--” you squeeze your eyes shut and moan loudly as John sucks on your clit. You look down at John and bite your lip, “Holy shit…”

“You were saying…”

You chuckle softly as you tilt your head back, then meet his gaze before stepping away from the bench and leaning against his chest for a passionate kiss. Keeping your lips locked onto his, he rises to remove his swim trunks while you trail your hands up and down his torso before slipping them beneath the water’s surface to stroke him intimately. As he grasps at your ass, you moan in pleasure into each other's mouths until finally settling into his lap where you let out soft moans of ecstasy as you feel him brush against your inner thighs.

After adjusting your position several times, you eventually slide down the length of him as your eyes roll shut. His hands are irresistibly drawn to your thighs, gliding upwards until they rest firmly on your ass. With rapt attention, he guides the rhythm of you on top of him.

“Oh, fuck, John,” you whine as you tilt your head back, then you look at him, “Fuck, I’ve missed you.”

John places his right hand on the back of your neck and pulls you closer, “I’ve missed you too.”

You close your eyes and moan softly as John leans up to suck on your neck, and you roll your hips faster, chasing the pleasure. His hand slides down to your breast where he pinches and twists your nipple, then he sucks on it and wraps his arms around you tight before you both look at each other.

“Take your time,” you whisper, nodding your head and cupping his face, “Take your time with me.”

“Absolutely.”

__

You brought Ronan along to meet with Maya and her dad to act as a…buffer. John can be intimidating, but he’s not as intimidating when he’s holding his baby girl. Hopefully when Maya’s dad sees John with Ronan, he’ll understand that John is the same as him: a dad who just really loves his daughter and wants what’s best for her.

You’re currently in the apartment with Ronan, and you’re kneeling down by the window with her as she looks out and points at every car on the street. John ran to get some sandwiches for the two of you since you both completely forgot to eat lunch, but he should be back soon.

“Hello?” Maya pokes her head in and smiles, “Hi.”

“Hey, come in.” you get up and fix your jeans as you walk over to meet her dad.

Maya walks over and gestures to her dad, “This is my dad.”

“Hi,” you reach out and shake his hand, “I’m Y/N.”

“William,” he nods, then he puts his hands on his waist and nods as he looks around the living room, already inspecting it.

Very much a protective dad.

“Oh, I’m not sure you’ve met her yet, this is Ronan,” you say, reaching down to pick her up, “Can you say hi, baby?”

Maya smiles when Ronan waves at her, then she laughs, “She looks just like John.”

“It’s the eyes,” John says as he walks in, then he sets the bag down and walks over to shake hands with William, and they immediately begin talking about the apartment.

You bounce Ronan in your arms a few times, then you laugh when she leans over for Maya to hold her. Maya cautiously takes her from you and holds her, then she sits down on the floor. You sit down with them and get a few of Ronan’s toys, and you smile when she holds them up to show Maya.

“How old is she?”

“Just turned 9 months,” you say, tickling Ronan’s belly. “She just started walking, so she’s kind of in love with walking around right now. Every where I go, I just hear her little feet right behind me.”

Maya laughs, “That’s cute.”

“She’d get so frustrated when John and I would be a few feet away talking and she’d just cry because she couldn’t get to us. She started crawling early and walking too. We’re fully convinced she’s a genius, but it’s most likely because she just tries to keep up with us.” you say, then you look over at John as he hands William the lease he came up with last night. He glances at you for a moment, and you smile at him before you look back at Ronan, “She just loves her daddy so much.”

Ronan gets up and wobbles a little, then she walks over to John and clings to his jeans before he reaches down and picks her up. She reaches up and scratches her fingers over his beard as he tries his hardest to keep a straight face, and you and Maya both laugh.

“Maya,” William looks at her and waves her over, so the two of you both get up and walk over to the counter. “Mr. Wick has come up with a lease for you.”

“I just figured a three month lease would be best. Say in three months, you no longer wish to live here or even work here,” John shrugs as he looks at her, “This way you’re not tied down for six months or longer.”

Maya nods, then she looks at her dad, “And the rent is okay?”

“Rent is…the cheapest you’re going to get in Manhattan, especially with a place this big and nice.” he says, then he laughs, “Kind of feel bad for how cheap it is.”

“Well, just because we’ve lowered the rent doesn’t mean anything. Anytime you need repairs or anything, don’t hesitate to call us. We’ll call someone and get them out here to fix it.” you say, and John nods, “And we’ll pay for it. We own this place, and John and I went back and forth for about a month over what to do with it. We certainly don’t need it since we have a home in Mill Neck, so we figured why not rent it out to someone?”

Maya perks up as she looks at her dad, “So you like it?”

“I do,” William nods and looks around, “It’s a nice place.”

John hoists Ronan up a little, “We got a new security system as well, so she’s safe here.”

You smile as you look at John, then you rub his back a little before intertwining your fingers with his. He lets go to wrap his arm around your shoulder, then he pulls you closer and kisses the top of your head while Maya and William walk around to discuss everything.

Ronan kicks her legs to be put down, then she waddles after Maya as you laugh. Maya looks down when Ronan clings to her leg, and John lets out a small laugh when she reaches up to be held.

“Grace better be careful. I think Ro is finding a few favorite.” John says, and you laugh as you move to stand in front of him. He looks over the top of your head at William, then he looks at you, “Lunch in the park after?”

You nod your head as you lean up to kiss his cheek, “Yeah.”

“And I’m right here for work too.” Maya whispers, and her dad nods. “I really like this place, dad. And Mr. and Mrs. Wick are really, really nice to me.”

William nods, then he wraps his arm around her shoulder, “If this is what you want…”

“I do.” she nods, and he leans down to kiss her cheek.

You smile when they walk back over to you to sign the lease, and you open the cupboard and pull out the purple gift bag, “I had a feeling you’d say yes, so I got you a housewarming gift. If I was a single girl, I’d take the place too.”

Maya laughs as she pulls out the little potted plant and the candle you bought for her, then she hugs you, “Thank you.”

John takes the papers after they’ve signed them, then he hands Maya a set of keys, “There you go. Welcome home.”

“I have an apartment!” Maya laughs.

“The only thing we ask is no crazy parties since the shop is downstairs,” John says, and Maya laughs as she nods. “That’s pretty much it. Oh, and if you have anything in particular that you want, such as a certain couch and desk, just let us know and we’ll pick it up for you.”

William shakes his head as he laughs, “She’s got plenty of stuff at home.”

Ronan throws her toy to the floor and laughs as it skids over to your feet, then she walks over and reaches up for you.

“We’ll get out of your hair. You can move in whenever you want.” John says, then he shakes William’s hand, “I promise she’ll be safe here. I know how protective we can get about our kids, especially our daughters. You have my word.”

You feel your heart flutter a little as John looks over at Ronan in your arms, then you walk over and hug Maya, “I can’t wait to see how you decorate the place. Paint and do whatever you want in here!”

“Yeah, I’m really excited for that part.” she smiles, then she waves at Ronan, “Bye.”

“Say bye, Ro.” you wave, and Ronan waves at Maya as you walk to the door.

John grabs the bag from the counter, then he walks down the stairs with you to the shop. It’s open today but things were taken care of--thankfully. You walk through the shop and smile at some customers, then you wave at Naomi before heading out to the street where your car is parked out front.

“Definitely gonna need the stroller.” you say, hoisting Ronan up more, “I’m a little weakling or she’s just getting so much bigger.”

John laughs as he gets it from the trunk, then he kisses Ronan’s cheek as he puts her in it. You stuff your purse in the bottom, then you wrap your arm around John’s bicep and lock the car before walking across the street to the park.

“So, I have a question,” John says, and you look up at him, “If you were single, you’d want to live out here?”

“Well, no. I love Mill Neck.” you say, shrugging. “I don’t want to live here. There’s too many people and it’s never quiet. I don’t even like coming into the city when I’m alone. It makes me so, so, so anxious. I only ever come out here when I’m with you or if I’m coming out here to see you.”

John nods, “What if when you first moved here, you found this shop and it was looking to hire and rent an apartment out, would you have taken it?”

“Maybe, I guess. I don’t know. Part of me wants to say yes.”

“We wouldn’t have met then,” he says, and you look up at him again, “We wouldn’t have met if you had moved here.”

You shake your head as you laugh, “I don’t believe that. I think you and I would meet no matter what. No matter where in New York I was living, you and I would meet.”

“You really think that?”

“We were meant to meet so that we could have this beautiful little girl,” you say, nodding your head, “Whether we met because Bleu ran up to me at the mailbox or we both hailed the same taxi, we would have met.”

John smiles, “Yeah.”

“I was literally outside of the museum while you were inside fucking shit up. You think that wasn’t fate?” you laugh, and John smiles wider. “We might have just missed one another once or twice but it wasn’t the right time until September 5th.”

“Best day of my life.” John smiles, pulling you closer to his side.

You tilt your head back and smile at him, “We were destined to meet and fall in love because without one another, we wouldn’t have Ronan. Ronan wouldn’t be who she is if you weren’t her dad.”

John smiles as he leans down to kiss you, “I love you so much, you know that?”

“Do you know that I love you so much?” you ask, and John nods his head before leaning down to kiss you.

Ronan squeals loudly as you and John kiss, and you laugh against his lips and look down at her as she waves at random people. You smile as you look at some little kids waving at her, then you look back at John.

“Best thing we ever did,” he whispers, and you nod your head as he cups your face, “Best thing I ever did: meeting you.”

“Stop!” you laugh as you put your hand over your face, “You’ll make me cry.”

You feel a sense of comfort and safety in his embrace, like nothing else in the world really matters. His touch is gentle yet firm, and you can't help but smile at the warmth he brings to your heart. As you pull away from him, John looks into your eyes and whispers words of love that make your heart skip a beat, and a smile spreads across your face. You realize how lucky you are to have him in your life, and you vow to cherish every moment with him. The memory of this embrace will stay with you forever, a reminder of the love that surrounds you.

__

taglist: @sakurachan-9 @beingnerdyissupercool @tnu-ree @ruby-octo Lemme know if u want to be added!

[sullustangin]

Fluffy February Day 9: Breezy

Fandom: SWTOR

Rating: PG

Pairing:  the meet-cute between OC Consular and Rass Ordo; established Theron Shan/Smuggler and Akaavi Spar/Mako (mentioned)

Time:  immediately after 7.2

Words: 1252

~~

Rass Ordo sat with Torian of Clan Cadera, watching the morning at Odessen pick up speed. Mandalore had needed additional medical treatment after her fight with Heta Kol, and the Captain was the only faction leader Shae Vizla trusted.

“She is aruetyc, but she understands,” Mandalore had explained to Jek and Rass, once.  On the Spirit of Vengeance, Rass had gotten to see Captain Corolastor in action. Then, the Captain’s choices on Ruhnok had sealed Rass’s trust in her as well. 

( …he might have been a little infatuated with her until her husband showed up to scour the Vengeance for clues.  Then Rass learned that anything he might have classified as “flirting” was nothing compared to what she said to Theron.  He was thankful for his helmet that day.)

Now, with the stories Torian had about her and the lost Grand Champion, Rass could see why Shae threw her lot in with a smuggler over any other government:  Captain Corolastor always delivered.  

“You ever think of getting with a non-Mandalorian?  If she or he promised to let the kids be raised in the Way?” Rass asked Torian.  He didn’t ask because of a specific person.  It was… other things.  And those things only grew more obvious the more he spent time on Odessen, not strictly among other Mandalorians.

Torian was unflappable. “When I was younger.  You know Akaavi of Clan Spar’s partner, Mako?”

“Yeah.”  

Torian’s expression had only shifted by a millimeter, but on a stoic like him –

“Sheesh.  Really?”

“No hard feelings,” Torian reassured him.  “But… they have decided not to raise ade.  Spar is content to let the Clan name die with her while serving the greater Mandalorian family.  She is… embittered by what other clans have done.”  

Torian’s hair was ruffled by the breeze.  “I should be. But I am not.  Now with the usurper dragging my Clan’s name around the galaxy again –”  

Then Torian frowned, deep and terrible, and Rass finally had an inkling of all the anger and rage the guy had in there.  But Torian was disciplined – had to have been, to survive this long – and he tamped it down.  “I’m caught between two lines of fire.  No one respectable would have or help care for my ade, but if I looked for someone outside, I would just prove Clan Cadera’s unworthiness – lack of quality.”  

“I could have set you up with my sister Layla, if she was still around.  Layla was the best – she would have seen you and not your old man -- ”

The words trailed off, and the two men fell silent, not exactly comfortably.

And that had started Rass’s mental perambulations about who was going to put up with him and his nonsense.  

Rass Ordo knew he was cute, but more like puppy dog cute, as Lane had put it.  He could always count on her for an honest assessment.  Especially after he’d taken a swing – and a hard miss. And Lane seemed to take a bizarre sense of satisfaction out of that – getting him to chase and then ask and then dead cold stop.  

Jekiah was old enough – or almost old enough – to be his father.  Him asking about how to ‘y’know’ was a conversation he didn’t want to have.  Because Rass didn’t need THAT conversation – that was old news, thank his ancestors.  (And he was grateful that the encounters were good enough to be unremarkable but not so awesome that he set too high a bar for himself in the future.)

Jek went home to his family and their ade when he could.  He fought the war, while his riduur trained them to fight. Once the youngest was done, then they’d all return to fight alongside Jek.  Such responsibilities were taken seriously and solemnly –

And it was a good love story for a Mando, for the Ordo Clan, like those that came before him.  

He watched Jek work the job, do it so well… and always keep the holo comm open in case a call came from the covert.  He always looked so … sad when he went to bed alone, without his riduur, because duty called.

He wanted what Jek had, but…not the weight that went with it.

See, that was Rass’s problem.  He liked to tease.  He hadn’t lost his ability to joke and get the job done.  For a lot of people in the Clans, that was a sign of immaturity.  Maybe it was.  But Rass didn’t see why the grindy parts of Resol’nare…had to be a grind.  Yeah, he could understand how his joking could be seen as indirect and not polite by other Mandalorians.

Layla would have been his go-to for advice in this area; they were closer in age, and she understood his… quirks.

Rass missed her a lot. She had so much potential – more than him, he thought.  

~~

Torian decided to spare both of them any continued misery.  “Cantina is open – food?”

“Yeah.”  As oblivious as Rass seemed to be to other social cues, the invitation to eat was never turned down; it’d be rude to do so.

Rass and Torian were heading into the main base as a shuttle came in for a landing.  What stopped them was both Captain Eva Corolastor and Operations Manager (and spymaster) Theron Shan going out to greet it.  

“What’s that about?” Rass asked the slightly older man.

“Other end of the holocron investigation.  Jetii and dar’Jetii trying to figure out Malgus’ plans,” Torian explained in brief.  

He lost Rass’s attention as a massive gust of wind had blown the cloak of the Jetii right over her face.  She took the situation in good humor – she was the one laughing first.

Torian recognized the sound: Fria Whitcord, liaison between the Jedi Order and the Alliance and “cultural immersion specialist” as the Jetii called her.  She … managed to freshen every room she was in – like a nice breeze.  

Not as blustery as the winds today.  

Fria was briikase and dral. Even the dar’Jetii Beniko cracked a smile.  Once the wind died down, Fria tugged down her cloak to greet Eva and Theron properly, both of them smiling at their old friend.

They’d all known each other on Yavin 4, and as time went on, they all seemed to find each other here on Odessen.  Torian knew that made Eva extremely happy

Torian saw Rass’s head tilt. Uh oh.  

Theron and Lana were discussing something behind Eva and Fria, who were talking animatedly about where a young Jedi could hide herself in the galaxy.  

Before Torian could stop him, Rass had planted himself in front of Eva and Fria.  “Hi.”

Before Eva could say anything, Fria had done her job as a cultural immersion specialist: she’d seen the armor, checked the height, recalibrated her stance.  She was giving a perfectly respectful greeting to a Mandalorian.  

Rass was osik at interpreting these things when they came from a non-Mando  –

“Greetings.  You must be Rass Ordo.”

“Uh-huh.”                                            

Torian made eye contact with Eva – mission abort, mission abort, bail, bail, bail.  

But it was too late. “We were going to the cantina – would you and Torian----?”  She was unceasingly polite,

“YES.”

Poor lady.  Didn’t know what she was getting into.

As Torian trailed behind the pair – Fria was talking, and Rass was nodding incessantly, staring at her – he overheard Theron and Eva.

“That’s not going to end well.”

“Oh, let them enjoy it while it lasts.”

Then Rass walked right off the edge of the steps into the cantina and ate the floor.

“…I concede your point. Rass might have to put his helmet on to survive this.”

Theron sighed.  Torian chuckled then helped Fria haul Rass off the floor. 

~~

A/N:  I have always believed that the steps into and out of the Odessen Cantina are an OSHA violation.

@fluffyfebruary @ermingarden @starlightcleric @ayresis @bluephoenix1347

@shynmighty and @queen-scribbles for the Rass Ordo love. 

[purplesimmer455]

Okay, I feel a little guilty doing this because I love Megan and Tess but I turned the throwback into a random Alternate Universe situation of what if Iseul did end up with Megan cause they're so cute together too. 😳😄

What if when Megan postponed her wedding to Amira, Iseul had gone to confess her feelings? And she'd told Megan she loved her, and Megan confessed she felt the same and she'd actually told Amira a day ago she couldn't marry her and was about to go after Iseul to tell her she loved her too when Iseul showed up.

So in the AU, they had talked all night about the future, and Iseul asked Megan if she was she'd be comfortable with not having kids, because Iseul was firm on that although she wouldn't mind being married maybe one day. Megan had mulled it over, and decided that she'd be okay with it, as long as she had a bunch of niblings and such and could be an auntie, and Iseul had smiled. "Done. I have a niece named Cece who's so cute and sweet and funny, you'll love her. Plus my brother and his wife are planning to have a second kid too, and I told them the name Cameron seems nice, so it's like if they're male, or female, or nonbinary or anything it could suit them and they can be called Cam/Cammy." Megan nodded, smiling, and Iseul went on. "You know, Cece already told us she's going to marry a princess, prince, and knight one day. Min Jun was so surprised when she said it, but he laughed and said she could do that once she was a grown up like him." Megan had laughed, saying she'd randomly come out to her parents in a similar way. They were watching a Disney movie when she was 8, and she said she wanted to marry a princess or girl knight not a prince/boy knight, and her parents said "Okay, but when you're older." Iseul had smiled. "My parents were supportive too, they just keep saying I should date a girl who likes reading and books so they can bond with her, they're very sweet and nerdy and bookworm-ish." Megan smiled. "Well, they're in luck because I love books. Also Cameron's a great name, and I'd love to be an auntie to Cece and any future babies." Iseul nodded, and she'd kissed Megan for a while. Iseul wasn't much for poetry, but kissing Megan felt like the first breezy warm spring day after a sludgy and cold gray winter. Megan then got up and took Iseul's hand, leading her into her bedroom and they'd woohooed, which Iseul felt like after all that time apart also felt amazing and she vowed not to let Megan get away this time. A month later, Iseul bought a simple but pretty topaz blue ring and proposed to Megan, which she accepted.

Now, they'd gotten married in a small courthouse ceremony. It wasn't fancy but it had been perfect, with Megan’s parents, Iseul's parents, brother, sister-in-law, and nieces. Cece was happy to have another auntie and kept whispering to her mom that auntie Megan's dress was really pretty and became shy when Megan stopped to talk with her after the ceremony, and Cam who was only a few months old at the time, was mostly just sleeping and eating and looking around like where the heck am I? Megan wore a simple but pretty white mini dress while Iseul wore a matching suit. Then they had had a reception at the Kang's house with close family and friends, including Megan’s college friends Kajol and Zara. They’d headed back to Iseul’s apartment that night, and Iseul had kissed her before smiling and picking Megan up, carrying her to their room as Megan laughed. “You’re already in cavesim mode, huh?” She joked. “Yup, I want to woohoo you right now, Mrs. Kang.” Iseul said, smiling as she placed Megan down onto their bed. “I do too, Mrs. Liao.” Megan teased back before kissing Iseul again.

Megan kissed Iseul's cheek, and smiled at her wife in the (AU) present day. Hey Mrs. Kang-Liao." She said flirtatiously. "Hey Mrs. Kang-Liao." Iseul said back as she smiled. She and Megan had hyphenated their names, and Iseul who previously panicked about taking another sim's name, now loved to introduce herself as Mrs. Kang-Liao. She liked the idea of being Megan’s wife, even though her brother and sister-in-law teased her playfully for being so moon eyed and unable to stop looking at Megan. "So, are we going to Windenburg or Selvadorada?" Megan asked. They had decided not to have immediate honeymoon, and now that Megan had time off her job at a local literature magazine, and Iseul worked as a freelance photographer, so they could take off for two weeks. "Windenburg. Don't get me wrong Selvadorada is beautiful, but Windenburg is too and I have a friend who can rent us a cottage for not too much." Iseul leaned in and said just so Megan could hear. "It's very private, and away from other cottages, has its own pond that's just for our use, so we could be together in every room and woohoo outside too..." She trailed off, smiling as Megan blushed. "Windenburg it is." Megan said. “I love you, Megs.” Iseul said, and Megan smiled. “I love you too, Is.” She said.

[indulgnces]

interview. | timeline. | wanted. | pinterest. | navi.

name: carmen rivera

card: the chariot

birthday: october 1986 (36 - scorpio!)

birthplace: miami, florida

current residence: brooklyn, new york

gender: cis woman // she/her

occupation: art dealer

face: summer bishil

character inspo: robin buckley (s3 only! of stranger things), jonathan byers (stranger things), love quinn (you), katherine pierce (tvd), cady heron (mean girls), margaery tyrell (game of thrones), beth harmon (queen's gambit), audrey hope (gossip girl hbo).

from the mun: hi guys! I go by jess, and I’m really excited to be here! this is my first group in a year, and in that time tumblr decided to fuck around with its whole ass interface so (upside smiley), we're on a learning curve rn with that. but otherwise, I’m still really excited to be here and to plot! I’ll post a plot call on discord later, but also wanted to state one here that if you’re up for plotting and wanna plot with my girl, feel free to give this a like and I’ll hit you up! (:

growing up.

born in miami, florida to her single mother, leticia "lettie" rivera. they were a very happy family, if not at all rich or stable. lettie was a young single mom who had a penchant for two things: moving, and falling in love. as such, throughout carmen's childhood, the riveras never stayed in one place for more than two years.

as a child, carmen didn't mind because lettie did a wonderful job of depicting their travels as "chasing adventures," romancing their travels as a grand roadtrip the two were embarking on as they traveled across the nation. in reality, they moved because lettie faced one two many heartbreaks, not enough heartbreaks, or she heard of a betty paying job somewhere else.

a key way that lettie romanced their situation was through art. art could be found anywhere, created by anyone (*cough* it was a free medium! *cough*) and was a perfect form of self-expression and a great source of entertainment. as such, lettie and carmen bonded over all the different art they came across in every city they went (very much like gilmore girls' lorelai & rory's shared love of film)

all good things must come to an end, however, and carmen was disillusioned by their way of life after lettie got involved with a rich man and carmen was placed in a rich school for a year, full of rich, snobby kids who had nothing nice to say about carmen or her mother, and were quick to point out everything weird and different about their way of life. disillusioned, she couldn't help but begin to see the faults as well. slowly, she recognized that she was going to end up just like her mother if she didn't stop idolizing her and start taking shit more seriously, and so carmen's behavior shifted.

with a new determination, carmen made it a goal to not end up like her mother. that goal had two major objectives: a college degree and a good career. as her family continued to move from place to place, carmen stopped prioritizing making friends and relationships, and instead put her effort into making better grades and saving money. her breezy, mirthful personality morphed as she got older, giving way to a snarky, aloof demeanor.

carmen convinced lettie to settle for her last two years of high school, so in the summer of 2003, the riveras came and stayed in angelwoods. carmen ended up staying for college just because it was the most convenient option for her. lettie left town soon after carmen moved into her dorm.

oh and during high school school she worked two part time jobs - nights at the movie theater during the week, and the day shift at the local community rec center.

so!! small town reputation before college: say hello to the floozy mother and her unapproachable daughter everyone!!

college.

if carmen tried to keep to herself in high school, she did the exact opposite in college. she was an art history major with intentions to be an art dealer

that meant she needed connections baby!

anyone from a financially well-off family, with an interest in art/a family who had an interest in art, or on a clear financially successful path themselves were all people carmen very much got to know during college.

listen, is she a gold digger? no. more like gold detector. her future career depended on having a network of people to invest in future galleries or buy future art pieces from her future clients. it depended on her getting her foot in the door by getting jobs in galleries and being invited to galas and curator events. that can't happen if all her friends are poor like her!!

anyways, college was a pivotal time for her because in pursuit of fostering good connections, getting invites, and getting job opportunities, carmen found out she was not as.... morally righteous? as she thought she was

aka she screwed people over (literally and figuratively) to get to where she is today

and tbh, outside of a few ruined relationships here and there, it was all pretty worth it because she did develop a lot of good connections in college, leading to her getting a job at an up-and-coming gallery in denver out of college.

but like, oof, the personal cost to do that. not great, not great.

but that's not really an issue because she's off to denver so she doesn't have to think about any of that! you do what you gotta do to get where you wanna be, babes!

oh also, she worked as an RA (a bad one lol she only did it for the free housing) and at the university art gallery during college.

so let's talk small town college reputation: to the general public, there were RUMORS because omg it was probably so weird to see her switch up from being like antisocial poor new girl in high school to suddenly showing up to like kinda-definitely-out-of-her-class events, schmoozing and speaking more than she ever did before.

post college.

so she goes to denver! spends a year at the gallery and it's great, but she ends up moving to chicago after getting a better job opportunity there.

spends 6 years in the art world in chicago, builds an increasingly bigger and better network of artists and buyers, gains more skill working at different galleries and with different private buyers, curates a couple shows herself even before she's off again in 2015, this time to the big big leagues: nyc!

in a couple years, she was able to secure herself a very nice, financially stable job working as an art dealer for an investor conglomerate, finding pieces for their individual private collections while also working as the dealer for their well known art gallery in brooklyn. it's a cushy position, better than anything she's had in her previous years, and she's feeling really good about where she's ended up.

and of course it's then that she gets the invitation for her college reunion and is like - well shit.

personality.

positive: driven, adaptable, independent, persistent, witty, ambitious, thoughtful, jaunty, passionate

negative: aloof, selfish, ruthless, desperate, fickle, snarky, impulsive, biting, disloyal

not a heartless bitch. she thinks she is, but she is not. she grew up very carefree and curious, indulging in the imaginative world her mother spun for her, and she'll always be a creative, wide-eyed girl at heart. but once she realized that indulging in that lifestyle, with her circumstances, would only lead her to an insignificant life like her mother's, she put that side of her to bed.

she is determined, but not necessarily a planner - she's not thinking twelves steps ahead with a plan a and plan b and plan c - she has one plan: succeed, and she's adapted herself however she's needed to see that plan to fruition.

an optimist turned realist.

she is creative and intelligent (street smarts more so than book), but also biting and defensive, more reactive than she'd like to be.

embodies control but craves the freedom of her youth. longs for meaningful connections but has never learned how to properly maintain long-term relationships

and that's carmen! I did not proofread so I apologize for any typos! same goes for the wanted page, which I'm about to draw your attention to now: her wanted page is updated with a lot of jumping off points for plot connections if you wanna give that a look! if you're interested in plotting, you can like this or react to the plotting call in the discord and I'll reach out to plot!

interview. | timeline. | wanted. | pinterest. | navi.

[pamzn]

😈😈 i'm here again to ruin you lol kidding kidding or not 👀👀👀 i gotta tell you I'm LOVING this series too much EVEN with the "baby angst" as you might call it.

*spoilers below the cut*

Monday passes quickly, the biggest event being that your wifi finally gets installed.

lol we are so basic, they things that make us happy

You shrug. “Nothing to tell. He hasn’t even been home today. But I think it’ll be fine. I have a feeling we’ll just each… do our own thing.”

interesting...they both said it

“Can’t,” he says apologetically. “I have plans with someone later.”

🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 "i don't hate him, i don't hate him, i don't hate him, i don't hate him"

“Ah,” you say. “Use protection.” You unbuckle as he scrunches his face at you.

:(((( no baby

“I’ll text you, I have to go look at my schedule,” you admit. You shut the door and wave goodbye, heading inside. You don’t say love you in goodbye; you never do when you know he’s leaving your company for another girl’s. As if, with this one silly little rule in your own brain, you can punish him for it, when in reality there’s no way he even notices. 

i'm a mess 😭😭😭 like poor thing, i wanna hug her so bad, like she's the most delicate, precious little thing in the world. I mean you can't make someone love you but damn :(((((( this is NOT baby angst

When you reach your building and sling off your backpack to hunt for your keys, you decide to stay on the steps for a minute. The sun is shining but it’s breezy, and it’s really pleasant. You pull out a notebook and some paper and start to draft what you might turn in.

it makes me want to go outside lol

You’re still considering this - as well as already thinking about how you’ll need at least one but probably two more short pieces like this for the assignment - when someone stops in front of you, their silhouette blocking the sun and casting you in a sudden shadow.

“You locked out?” a deep voice asks.

You look up (and up, and up) to find Namjoon peering at you, concern on his face.

OH MY GOD! movie scene right here

Inside the apartment, Namjoon drops his keys on the counter and heads for his bedroom door. Over his shoulder, he calls, “Have a good night.”

W-What!? dude TALK TO HER FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

But, it seems Namjoon means what he says. He disappears into his room, leaving his door open just about three inches, and he doesn’t come out again for the rest of the afternoon.

When you turn out the kitchen and living room lights, close to midnight, and head to bed, he’s still typing away in there, the room still cast in black and blue.

i want to push her inside LOL

“Do you not sleep?” you ask, before realizing how bratty you sound. “I just mean, you were still up when I went to bed, and now you’re up before me.”

SO CARING 🥹🥹🥹 KISS HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I get why he is so whipped I NEED JOONIE'S POV HERE write it down Jo!!! lol

Luckily, he smiles at this, a bit sheepishly. “Not as much as I should,” he admits. “I got… I was working on something last night, so I was up later than I meant to be. I’d love to sleep in today - trust me - but I have to be on campus in–” he glances at his watch, “--twenty minutes.”

working on something…very cryptic

“Sure,” you shrug. “I hope you like it.” You glance at the clock and murmur to yourself that you need to get going. “See you later,” you call over your shoulder as you leave. As you turn to give this goodbye, you see him watching you go with a small smile on his face, mostly hidden behind his large hand, fingers pressing against his mouth.

“Edna St. Vincent Millay,” you tell him, mind already whirring, thinking ahead to which works would fit your thesis. “I was thinking of coming from a feminist angle… how she was so progressive for her time, how she pushed boundaries as a woman and as a writer.”

she's giving me "10 things i hate about you" vibes

Kris sits up, eyes widening. “Wait, Namjoon? You’re living with Kim Namjoon? The TA?”

🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵 the what!!!!!!????

“Probably only one,” Kris echoes in agreement. “And he’s beautiful. I honestly blame him for almost failing Medieval Lit last year. I was too distracted.”

i mean...

You can’t help it, you crack up. “You failed Medieval Lit because you tried to take it on top of a full courseload,” you object. “And you tried to write your final paper about The Legend of Zelda.”

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

“What could be new?” you ask, the lie dripping from you. “We were best friends last year - we’re best friends now.”

:((((((( is this baby angst for you?

“You know,” they say slowly, “he was at a party I was at the other night. With a girl.”

UGH I WANNA PUNCH HIM, I know that they are friends but it fucking hurts!!!

“Uh,” Namjoon says, taking one step closer, “are you… okay?”

yaaassss, come closer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Namjoon makes an understanding and sympathetic noise. “Can I do anything for you?” he asks after a minute, sounding a little ill at ease. “Does anything usually help? Do you need to go back to sleep or something?”

cuddles, we need cuddles, that would help A LOT

“You take these?” he asks, pushing his glasses back into place as you peer at the name.

“Not at that dose,” you laugh. “What are you, an elephant?”

A HOT ELEPHANT🥵🥵🥵

He scoffs lightly. “Of course not. I never use them all. I get about one bad migraine every six months, that’s all.”

[4:37 PM] You: :( why are you so nice

BOYFIE🥺🥺🥺💕

[4:39 PM] You: took it from Death Mode to a dull pounding

POV POV POV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4:41 PM] You: just said (typed) the word ‘pounding’ to my roommate

LMAO!!!!

[5:24 PM] Kris: #TeamDimples

fuck yes!!! team dimples and open doors!!!!!!

[6:08 PM] You: sorry, i ate, namjoon ordered us takeout

[6:09 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: ah. okay.

wait, is he mad? really???

“Oh,” you say. “Okay. Well, he should have invited all of you guys. I mean, you don’t need to be invited, you live here. I just, um, I wanted to make sure it was okay with you? To have people over tonight?”

why is it so difficult to interact!? please, kiss!!! goddamnit lol

[5:05 PM] Namjoon: i mean you all know i love taehyung…

but i want his girl lol. Just say it joonie

[5:15 PM] Hobi: that won’t hurt your roomie’s feelings???

YES! LISTEN TO HOBI!!!!

It’s an entire hour later than he finally feels like maybe he can slip away. Taehyung finally showed up about half an hour ago, three girls slipping through the front door behind him. Namjoon can’t help it - his eyes fly to your face, watching for a reaction. If you’re upset, you don’t show it, instead hurrying to show them around, pointing out where to grab drinks and where the bathrooms are located. 

OH BUT I AM UPSET AND IT IS SHOWING

[10:03 PM] You: did you… leave??

:(((( BABYGIRL

“She wanted you to hang out, you dick,” he says. 

“No, dude,” Hobi insists, peeking over Namjoon’s other shoulder, giving him a perfect angel and devil scenario. “You are, in fact, an asshole. She’s definitely upset that you left.”

Namjoon growls in frustration, shimmying his shoulders to knock his menaces loose. “I don’t want to talk about Y/N. Let’s talk about something else.”

OH.....👀👀👀👀

“The roomies,” Hobi supplies. “The odd couple.”

i love Hobi so much lol

“Her ‘thing’ being Taehyung, right?” Hobi asks innocently. 

"innocently" yeah right LMAO

“He is,” Namjoon tells them. “How she looks at him, and how he looks at her… it isn’t the same. It just isn’t there for him. I won’t presume to know how he feels, but it seems like he’s just enjoying the benefits of her company until she figures out that it won’t go anywhere. If that ever even happens.”

“Maybe she just needs someone to snap her out of it,” Hobi says thoughtfully. 

dude LOL i can't 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 yes SOMEONE

Honestly, he agrees with Yoongi. It is sad - even from the outside, even from the limited interaction you’ve had, he can see the stars in your eyes when you look at your best friend. And he can see the disappointment that swims there when Taehyung, just by existing, lets you down, over and over again, day after day.

JO STOP!!!! YOU ARE A MEANIE! OC IS A VERY DELICATE FLOWER :(( ARE YOU ENJOYING IT? LOL

II. My Devotion's Been an Ocean || KNJ

(banner by @/itaeewon)

Title: My Feet to Follow, and My Heart to Hold (Masterpost)

Rating: NSFW - minors dni

Genre: college!au, roomie!au, angst, s2l, the absolute slowest of burns

Pairing: Namjoon x female reader, unrequited Taehyung x reader

Beta'd by @/kookstempo @/casuallyimagining and @/toikiii - thank you endlessly!

Summary: You know a lot about the many types of love thanks to Kim Taehyung. You love him as the only person you see as “family”, you love him as your very best friend, and you love him as the beautiful, funny man he’s become. But when a twist of fate during your senior year has you rooming with his good friend Kim Namjoon, you just might find that you have plenty left to learn about love. 

Lesson One: there are such things as a right way and a wrong way to love and to be loved.

//

You and Namjoon get used to living together.

Section Warnings: language, drinking, pov switch to Namjoon at the end

WC: 7k

The world is mine: blue hill, still silver lake, Broad field, bright flower, and the long white road A gateless garden, and an open path: My feet to follow, and my heart to hold. - Journey | Edna St. Vincent Millay

Monday August 31

Monday passes quickly, the biggest event being that your wifi finally gets installed. You don’t see Namjoon all day - his room is empty when you get out of bed. You spend most of your day lazing around in sweatpants, enjoying having high-speed internet at your fingertips again.

Although there aren’t classes due to the federal holiday, the cafeteria on campus is open since the administration knew most students would have moved in over the weekend. You could walk there - your apartment to the student center is a shorter walk than the student center to your furthest class - but Taehyung offers to drive you. Laziness, and a few minutes of time alone in his car, win over practicality. 

Once you’ve made your plates and commandeered a small table near the back of the caf, Taehyung asks you, “So, how’s roomie life?”

You shrug. “Nothing to tell. He hasn’t even been home today. But I think it’ll be fine. I have a feeling we’ll just each… do our own thing.”

Taehyung nods. “That’s better than big drama. Do you remember Jungkook’s roommate last year?”

Your eyes widen. “Oh, god, the toilet paper hoarder.” 

Jungkook’s university-assigned roommate had indeed hoarded every extra roll of toilet paper in a secret location, meaning that if a roll ever got used up by anyone who wasn’t him, they could never find the new rolls to put out, even if they’d bought the replacements. Not only had Jungkook had to buy and then hide his own replacements, you and Taehyung had gone over and tried to help him search around for the hoard while his roommate was out, to no luck. 

Taehyung snorts into his plate. “Man, that kid was weird. JayKay’s so lucky we had room for him this year.” 

“I haven’t seen the place yet,” you point out. “Any major decor changes?”

Taehyung laughs again. “Just Jungkook’s punching bag. I swear, Jimin’s gonna break his wrist playing around with it.”

“Unlike you and your perfect form.” You roll your eyes.

“Hey,” he says defensively, pointing a finger at you. “When I’m goofing around, I don’t hit it hard enough to hurt myself.”

When you’re done eating, you walk back to Taehyung’s car. It takes literal minutes to get back to your brick building, and he idles at the curb.

“You want to hang out for a while?” you ask, hopeful. “We got the wifi installed today, we could watch a show?”

“Can’t,” he says apologetically. “I have plans with someone later.”

Plans with someone. That was Taehyung-speak for a date, or maybe “date” was the wrong word. Regardless, it meant he was seeing a girl later, getting something from her that he wasn’t getting from you.

“Ah,” you say. “Use protection.” You unbuckle as he scrunches his face at you.

“Don’t be gross,” he grouses. 

“You know I have no choice,” you tell him solemnly as you climb out of the car. You pause, resting your head on the top of the doorframe, peering at him. “Good luck in class tomorrow. Text me if you want to eat or anything.”

“Yeah,” he says, nodding, already thinking ahead to his schedule. “Lunch around one?”

“I’ll text you, I have to go look at my schedule,” you admit. You shut the door and wave goodbye, heading inside. You don’t say love you in goodbye; you never do when you know he’s leaving your company for another girl’s. As if, with this one silly little rule in your own brain, you can punish him for it, when in reality there’s no way he even notices. 

Namjoon still isn’t home, so the apartment is silent and empty. You decide to devote your evening to prepping - both physically and emotionally - to start class tomorrow. You check your schedule, organize your books, make sure your laptop is charging. You get in bed early just out of sheer boredom. Around eleven pm as you’re scrolling around mindlessly on your phone, you finally hear keys in the lock, the thump as the door shuts again, Namjoon’s footsteps approach his own bedroom. You wonder absently where he was for fourteen hours. 

It occurs to you that you know nothing about his personal life beyond that he’s a grad student. You don’t even know his concentration of study. 

You wonder if you should go out to say hi, maybe under the pretense of getting a drink. Then you hear the sound of his door shut, and minutes later the boiler kicks on as his shower demands hot water. So, you stay put, turning out your light and setting your alarm for morning.

Friday September 4th

Your classes go well. The first week is always the professors going through the syllabus and outlining their expectations, anyway. Today, your morning class seems like it will be interesting, but tough; you’ve had this professor before and she’s a notoriously hard grader. You’d done okay with her the year before, though. Your second class, after lunch, is better. It’s a poetry course, which is your concentration, and you’ve had this professor - Professor Jemisen - twice already. He’s pretty laid-back, an easy grader, but you always find his lecture topics and assigned readings to be really interesting. 

He also gives homework on the first week, which most of your professors don’t: an assigned reading and reflection for the first poet on the syllabus, plus a prompt to write your own, pulling inspiration from that poet’s choices in style, rhyme scheme, and use of imagery. You’ve already got an idea as you walk out of class and head in the direction of your new building - this particular poet used a lot of nautical imagery, ships and captains, and the ocean itself was always very nearly a character of its own. 

You think as you walk, inspired by the lecture fresh in your head, toying with some ocean imagery and how you could stitch it into a turn of phrase. When you reach your building and sling off your backpack to hunt for your keys, you decide to stay on the steps for a minute. The sun is shining but it’s breezy, and it’s really pleasant. You pull out a notebook and some paper and start to draft what you might turn in.

Pulling pulling pulling, each 

cresting wave a daunting hill.

Who would try to fight the tide,

the dark, the depth, the chill?

My devotion’s been an ocean.

I fear it always will.

One thing that the deep sea is:

it’s never still.

You frown at it, pen between your teeth. You like the idea of the shorter final line, but the flow is off. You’re still considering this - as well as already thinking about how you’ll need at least one but probably two more short pieces like this for the assignment - when someone stops in front of you, their silhouette blocking the sun and casting you in a sudden shadow.

“You locked out?” a deep voice asks.

You look up (and up, and up) to find Namjoon peering at you, concern on his face.

“Oh,” you say stupidly. For some reason, you feel embarrassed, like you’ve been caught doing something silly, as if doing homework outside during nice weather was something strange and secret, and not completely normal. “I was working on an assignment. The sun - it was nice out here. I’m not locked out.”

“Gotcha,” he says easily, fishing in his pockets for his own keys. You struggle to stand, knees a little achy after using them as a table for the last half hour or so, closing up your notebook. You might as well go inside, now. You aren’t going to write anymore at this point, anyway.

You follow Namjoon upstairs, trying to find a good distance to put between you: you don’t want to be right on his heels, nor do you want him to have to hold the door for you for an awkward amount of time if you’re too far back. 

Inside the apartment, Namjoon drops his keys on the counter and heads for his bedroom door. Over his shoulder, he calls, “Have a good night.”

A good night? The sun isn’t even setting yet. 

But, it seems Namjoon means what he says. He disappears into his room, leaving his door open just about three inches, and he doesn’t come out again for the rest of the afternoon.

You stay in the living room through the afternoon, preferring to do Professor Jemisen’s poetry reading by the large, living room windows. You can hear Namjoon doing whatever in his room - the clacking of keys for minutes at a time, bumps and clacks as his wheeled desk chair moves and taps the table as he shifts in it, occasionally his footsteps as he crosses the room towards his attached bathroom. Sometimes you hear him mutter a curse, bang once on the desk with - you presume - a fist. 

You wonder idly what he’s doing - gaming, maybe? - as you finish your homework. You submit your assignment. The sun sets. You cook an easy one-pan dinner. You wash up the dishes you made while cooking, you put the leftovers in the fridge. You go shower and wash your hair, emerge back into the living room in your pajamas, and heat up some water for chamomile tea. 

Namjoon’s door hasn’t moved at all, still open just enough for you to be able to tell that he hasn’t turned on any of the lamps even though it’s gotten dark; the only light from the room flickers blue and white, a tv or computer screen. The same sounds filter through the small gap as you let your tea steep - the chair, the keyboard, Namjoon’s low voice as he mutters to himself, something rhythmic and lilting, before the typing starts again.

When you turn out the kitchen and living room lights, close to midnight, and head to bed, he’s still typing away in there, the room still cast in black and blue.

Wednesday September 9

You’re surprised to find him in the kitchen Wednesday morning. You come out of your room at a clip, pretty ready to head over to campus - you’re just trying to find your wallet. 

Namjoon is sitting at the breakfast bar, a mug of steaming black coffee in front of him, scrolling on his phone.

“Hey,” he says, sounding a little surprised to see you, too.

“Do you not sleep?” you ask, before realizing how bratty you sound. “I just mean, you were still up when I went to bed, and now you’re up before me.”

Luckily, he smiles at this, a bit sheepishly. “Not as much as I should,” he admits. “I got… I was working on something last night, so I was up later than I meant to be. I’d love to sleep in today - trust me - but I have to be on campus in–” he glances at his watch, “--twenty minutes.”

“Me too,” you say, starting to hunt around the living room. “But I can’t find my wallet.”

“Is it this one?” he asks, pointing to the counter near the spot that you’ve both wordlessly designated as the place to drop your keys. 

“Yes,” you say, sighing with relief. You slide your wallet into your bookbag and zip it back up. You pat your pockets, checking - phone, keys, yes. “Are you walking over? Want me to wait for you?”

He considers this for a second. “No, go ahead,” he decides. “I need to get a few things organized first, I don’t want to hold you up.”

“Okay,” you say easily, hiking your backpack up a little higher on your back. “By the way, I won’t be around tonight, I have work. If you want the leftovers from what I cooked last night, feel free. They’ll go bad after today.”

Now Namjoon looks really surprised - his eyebrows jump and everything. “Really? Wow, thanks. I appreciate it.”

“Sure,” you shrug. “I hope you like it.” You glance at the clock and murmur to yourself that you need to get going. “See you later,” you call over your shoulder as you leave. As you turn to give this goodbye, you see him watching you go with a small smile on his face, mostly hidden behind his large hand, fingers pressing against his mouth.

–

You have your senior thesis class on Wednesdays - it’s a double, with a break for lunch in the middle, and it’s with Professor Jemisen again.

“Two days in a row, huh?” he asks you as you pass his desk. You give him a quick smile and pick a desk near the middle of the room. As class starts, he outlines how the thesis will work - an intensive study and analysis of one or two poets’ works, as well as your own portfolio project. 

“We’ll spend the first half each week working on the anthology study,” he tells the room, scanning the crowd of sleepy seniors to make sure everyone is listening. “After we break for lunch, we’ll spend the second half workshopping your portfolios. It’s going to be a lot of work, and you’re going to need to be ready to go each Wednesday. If you’ve made it this far half-assing it, I’m warning you today that it won’t get you to pass your thesis. I’d like to remind you that you must pass Senior Thesis in order to graduate.”

He spends the rest of the morning session going over some options for the anthology study, showing examples of previous students’ final thesis projects to model what he’s looking for. 

By the time he flips the lights back on and you all stagger back to life, slowly shifting to pick up backpacks and shoulder bags, rising unsteadily from your chairs, your head is spinning. You could walk across campus to the student center and get real lunch, but this particular academic building has a coffee shop and a fast-food area. You opt for french fries and a juice, finding a few girls you’re familiar with and joining their table.

“This sounds like it’s going to be a lot of work,” one of them, a girl named Gloria, laments. You’ve had a few poetry courses with her over the last three years; she’s a talented poet, good at using a biting, precise syntax. 

“I know,” you agree, twisting the top off your juice. “Any ideas whose anthology you might use?”

She hums, eyes far away, mentally flipping through poets she likes enough to type twenty-five pages about. “Not sure yet,” she finally admits. “You?”

“No,” you lie. Professor Jemisen had said there would be no repeats - if someone else picked a poet, no one else could choose them. You already knew exactly who you wanted, and you didn’t want to lose your chance. In fact, you leave the lunch break early to go stake your claim.

“Can I go ahead and put in my choice?” you ask Professor Jemisen as you re-enter the room, about twenty minutes before the second block is scheduled to start.

He frowns good-naturedly. “You don’t want to think about it a little? I’m not going to let you change in the middle.”

You shake your head, sure. “No, I know who I want.”

Professor Jemisen nods somewhat absently, looking around the scattered papers on the table before him. He finds what he’s looking for and lifts it, reaching to take the pen from behind his ear. 

“Okay,” he says, finding your name on the roster. “Let me have it.”

“Edna St. Vincent Millay,” you tell him, mind already whirring, thinking ahead to which works would fit your thesis. “I was thinking of coming from a feminist angle… how she was so progressive for her time, how she pushed boundaries as a woman and as a writer.”

Professor Jemisen nods slowly, considering this. “That sounds promising. I look forward to seeing what you come up with, Y/N.”

Pleased, you take your seat, pulling up your school email and catching up on a few things while you wait for class to start again. 

–

You actually like your part-time job at the on-campus bookstore. The busy season can be a little exhausting - those first few days when it seems like the entire campus comes at the same time to get their required reading. But after the initial rush each semester, it’s a pretty laid back job. Since this is your third year there, your boss trusts you with a little more responsibility, which is how you ended up getting the closing shift twice a week.

Almost no one comes in after regular dinner hours, which means once you’ve done a quick sweep through to make sure nothing got put away in the wrong spot and the items that need restocked are handled you can just sit around behind the counter and talk shit with your coworker, Kris. Kris started with you last year, and you get along well.

“Do anything fun over the summer?” you ask absently, leaning back in your chair and crossing your legs, happy to be seated for a little while. Outside the store’s high windows, it’s dark. The lighting in the store is relatively dim, giving you a cozy, sequestered feeling.

“Went with my parents on vacation,” Kris tells you. “Barely survived.”

“Yikes,” you say. 

“How about you? Any family trips?” they ask.

“Nah,” you say easily. “Just hung out with Taehyung, the usual. The biggest event from my summer was Penny bailing on the apartment with me.”

Kris makes a grumpy noise. “I wish I could afford it,” they complain. “I would have loved to help you out and live off campus.”

“That would have been fun,” you smile. “We would’ve made trouble.”

Kris cackles, a deepy, throaty sound. “We would have. The roommate is okay, though?”

You shrug. “Yeah, Namjoon’s really nice. He’s clean and quiet, so I really can’t complain.”

Kris sits up, eyes widening. “Wait, Namjoon? You’re living with Kim Namjoon? The TA?”

You hesitate. “Is he a TA? I’m not sure.”

They wave a hand at you. “It has to be the same,” they say insistently. “How many Kim Namjoon’s can there be on a campus this size?”

“Probably only one,” you admit. 

“Probably only one,” Kris echoes in agreement. “And he’s beautiful. I honestly blame him for almost failing Medieval Lit last year. I was too distracted.”

You can’t help it, you crack up. “You failed Medieval Lit because you tried to take it on top of a full courseload,” you object. “And you tried to write your final paper about The Legend of Zelda.”

“I had solid evidence for my thesis!” Kris balks loudly. You’re laughing so hard you’re nearly crying, remembering how strongly you’d tried to help them focus on a better topic for that paper. Kris doesn’t listen to reason - not even when it comes from you. “And I’m telling you - it’s because I was staring at his gorgeous dimples instead of listening to the lecture!”

Gorgeous dimples? You haven’t noticed. To be fair, you’ve barely interacted with your new roommate; not a lot of chances to see him smile.

“How do you find all these beautiful men?” Kris laments, tugging at their purple hair in emotional distress. “It is truly unfair.”

You laugh; Kris spent much of last year bemoaning how much time you got to spend with Taehyung - and by proxy, Jungkook and Jimin. Kris had a collective crush on the whole bunch, starting from when they shared Freshman Seminar with Jungkook. 

“They find me,” you shrug. “And you know I’m blind to the beauty, anyway.” Well, that was almost all the way true. There was one exception.

“You know,” Kris says thoughtfully, “they really don’t hang out with other girls. You’re the only one.”

“That’s not true,” you object. “Have you seen those idiots at a party? They’re like magnets. It’s almost gross how easy it is for them.”

“I don’t mean at parties, I mean in their circle,” Kris explains. “You’re the only one they let into the group.”

You consider this, weighing the validity of it, searching for reasons. “I think it’s because they all know -”

Kris cuts you off, eyes glinting with mischief. “They all know that you’re so in love with Taehyung that you won’t bother the rest of them?”

You know they’re teasing and that they mean no harm, but it stings a little. You let out a quick laugh, trying to cover it. “I was going to say they all know that Taehyung and I are a package deal,” you say, the words tasting like arsenic on your tongue. “But maybe you’re more right.”

Kris seems to hear the change in your tone, and their gaze softens a little. “Anything new with that?” they ask delicately.

Anything new. You consider for a moment the version of the story that Kris knows: the close friendship, the feelings you have. How does it look from the outside? Can they see the situation with more clarity than you? You’re afraid to ask, afraid to give the question any attention.

“What could be new?” you ask, the lie dripping from you. “We were best friends last year - we’re best friends now.”

Kris gives you a side-eye good enough to be a viral meme. You ignore them, turning away gladly when the bell over the door dings. A grubby-looking freshman comes in and stands before the spinning rack with your electronic accessories - knock-off airpods, charging cables, usb drives. He grumpily sorts through the chargers and grabs one, slapping it down on the counter in front of you.

You ring him up silently and he leaves after paying. Kris is still watching you, and you dread turning around.

“You know,” they say slowly, “he was at a party I was at the other night. With a girl.”

You force yourself to shrug. “Taehyung dates. We aren’t together - he’s allowed. We’re just friends.”

They look at you evenly, then purse their lips and visibly decide to drop it. “Okay,” they say lightly. “If you say so.”

“I say so,” you mutter, deciding to go check the stock room for absolutely nothing, just to walk away.

When you get home, sometime after nine-thirty, Namjoon’s door is shut - a little sliver of that same blue light slipping underneath the crack below the door. Your leftovers are gone from the fridge, the container washed and put away.

Thursday September 10th

Thursday brings heavy rain - the all-day kind, the kind whose noise permeates the whole day, greeting you as you struggle to consciousness in your bed, adding steady percussion to the quiet music you turn on. The kind that makes you turn on lamps in broad daylight, the darkness outside making it that much harder to stay awake.

The kind that brings a barometric pressure headache, just for you.

[12:02 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: This is Taehyung, looking for signs of life [12:02 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: anyone in there? Hellooooo? [12:04 PM] You: shhhhhh why are you being so loud??? [12:05 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: ohh she’s got a weather headache [12:06 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: :( [12:07 PM] You: i want to push my thumbs through my eyeballs [12:09 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: you have such a way with words [12:14 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: you take anything for it? [12:15 PM] You: left the prescription stuff at lin’s house [12:15 PM] You: like an idiot 🤡 [12:17 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: ugh i’m sry [12:18 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: hope it passes quickly [12:19 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: lemme know if you feel good enough to come to dinner at the caf w me later

You don’t answer, pressing your head back into the darkness of the couch cushion beneath you. The pressure across your browline is nearly unbearable. You had managed to get up and get dressed, drinking a mug of coffee out of sheer desperation, before collapsing onto the couch. You set an alarm on your phone for when you need to leave for class and pray that just resting and closing your eyes until then will help, at all.

You don’t know how much later it is when you hear the front door open and close. You hear a muted thump as Namjoon (you assume) drops his bag in the entryway, then his footsteps tracing through the kitchen. The fridge opens, closes with a click, and then the footsteps approach. 

They pause somewhere in your vicinity. 

You can almost feel the unspoken alarm. It must look bad - you aren’t even laying down, just slumped sideways from a sitting position, body twisted to hide your face from any source of light. You raise one pitiful hand and wave. 

“Hi,” you say, not sure he can hear you through the couch cushion.

“Uh,” Namjoon says, taking one step closer, “are you… okay?”

“Relatively,” you say, rolling your head to squint at him through one eye. The soothing yellow lamplight seems stabbing, and you squint a little harder, trying to block it out. “I get bad headaches sometimes when it’s like -.” You wave a hand at the windows. Rain pounds against them, happy to finish your sentence for you.

Namjoon makes an understanding and sympathetic noise. “Can I do anything for you?” he asks after a minute, sounding a little ill at ease. “Does anything usually help? Do you need to go back to sleep or something?”

“I have class at two,” you grumble. “I don’t want to skip this early in the year. And yeah, I used to have a prescription for these kinds of days, but I guess I forgot to pack them.”

Namjoon disappears into his room, midconversation, which confuses you so much that you actually make yourself sit up, your head spinning from the change in position. You see the light shift in his room - he must have turned on the bathroom light. You can hear the rummaging of items, the rolling clatter of pills in bottles. He returns with a white bottle in hand, holding it out for you to read the label.

“You take these?” he asks, pushing his glasses back into place as you peer at the name.

“Not at that dose,” you laugh. “What are you, an elephant?”

He frowns playfully, pretends to pull the bottle away. “Well, I’m not going to share if you’re going to call me names,” he teases. “You think a half would be okay?”

“You don’t mind?” you check.

He scoffs lightly. “Of course not. I never use them all. I get about one bad migraine every six months, that’s all.”

“You’re a literal life-saver,” you tell him. He gives you a gentle smile, and you notice - really notice - those dimples Kris mentioned. 

They are cute. Damn.

He places half a pill on the table before you, screwing the cap back onto the bottle as he walks into the kitchen.

“Oh,” you call after him, feeling a little like you should stop him. “Hey, I can get my own…. drink,” you finish lamely as he sets a cup of water next to the pill. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he says, something warm in his voice, and then disappears into his bedroom again. 

You’re staring absently at his empty, open doorway as you take the medicine. He’s a mystery, this roommate of yours. There are probably lots of sides to him that you haven’t seen yet, many things you haven’t discovered about him. But you decide, right there, that he’s nice. 

–

[1:41 PM] You: i left my headache meds in your bathroom :(

[1:59 PM] Lin: oh noooooo

[2:02 PM] You: :( can you mail them? is that legal? Lol

[2:17 PM] Lin: i’ll find out 

–

[4:36 PM] Namjoon: did it help??

[4:37 PM] You: :( why are you so nice

[4:39 PM] You: took it from Death Mode to a dull pounding 

[4:43 PM] Namjoon: i’m really glad

[4:44 PM] Namjoon: i was going to order smth for dinner in a bit - you want in?

[4:47 PM] You: oh yes pls

[4:49 PM] Namjoon: Ondubu Menu.pdf

–

[4:41 PM] You: just said (typed) the word ‘pounding’ to my roommate

[4:42 PM] You: can i die now???????

[4:42 PM] Kris: lmfaooooooooooo i love you

[4:43 PM] Kris: the context, i BEG

[4:45 PM] You: i mean very unsexy context lol 

[4:46 PM] You: was in regards to the HEADACHE FROM HELL >:(

[4:47 PM] Kris: let’s work on sexying up the context 

[4:48 PM] You: bye 🚶‍♀️

[4:49 PM] Kris: #TeamNamjoon

[5:24 PM] You: #TeamYN 

[5:24 PM] Kris: #TeamDimples

[5:25 PM] You: we’re done here

–

[6:06 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: dinner at the caf? want me to come pick u up?

[6:08 PM] You: sorry, i ate, namjoon ordered us takeout

[6:09 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: ah. okay.

[6:12 PM] You: come over later?

[6:13 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: headache?

[6:14 PM] You: all better :) come over?

[6:19 PM] You: tete... please?

[6:20 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: yeah

[6:21 PM] Tae Bear 🧸: yeah i will

–

“I’m glad you feel better,” Taehyung tells you from his end of the couch. 

“Me. Too.” You wiggle your feet against his ribs. “It was truly terrible this morning.”

You’re on opposite sides of the couch, as usual, one blanket thrown over your legs. You balance your laptop on your thighs, trying to work on some homework. Taehyung scrolls through his phone. 

“I was thinking, you guys should have people over this weekend,” he muses, not taking his eyes off his screen.

“Like a party?” you clarify, still typing. 

“Mhm,” he nods. “A housewarming?”

You laugh a little. “That’s kind of last minute, Tae. You offering to help buy all the snacks and drinks? And clean?”

He meets your eyes long enough to make sure you see him roll his. “You don’t need help,” he grouses. 

You sigh, hating that you don’t hate the idea. “Could we keep it kind of lowkey?” you ask, as if you wouldn’t be the host, and thus in charge of these decisions.

“Just the guys?” Taehyung suggests, sounding a little hopeful now that it seems like you’re cracking. 

“Yeah,” you nod. “Jungkook, Jimin… maybe the others? I don’t remember all of their names.” You mean Namjoon’s friends, the ones who had helped him move in.

“I’ll ask the groupchat,” Taehyung promises.

Friday September 11th

In the end, Taehyung gets confirmation from Jimin, Jin, and Jungkook - the others seem more like maybes. Although you’d asked to keep it small, you feel the need to diversify a little, and you extend the guest list to include Kris, plus Gloria and a few more of the girls from your classes.

Of course, needing to maintain a positive roomie experience, you make sure you ask Namjoon if it’s okay. In the morning, you wait a while after you hear his shower run to make sure he’s properly awake, and then knock on his door.

“Yeah?” he calls, sounding a little distracted.

“Namjoon?” you ask, nudging his door just a little. Yeah isn’t the same as come in, necessarily. “I wanted to ask you something.”

He’s sitting at his desk, his back to you. At your words, he reaches up to pop out his airpods, and clicks to minimize the screen he had up - what looks like a word doc, from your vantage point in the doorway. 

“Okay?” he says, stretching his long legs towards you, leaning back in his swivel-chair. 

“Did Taehyung talk to you about tonight?” you venture.

“Tonight?”

Why are you nervous? 

“Yeah,” you say. “He had an idea to have your whole group come hang here, like a little housewarming thing? He said he’d text you all.”

Namjoon glances at his phone, as if to corroborate your story, but doesn’t turn the screen on to actually check for the text. “I didn’t see it,” he admits. 

“Oh,” you say. “Okay. Well, he should have invited all of you guys. I mean, you don’t need to be invited, you live here. I just, um, I wanted to make sure it was okay with you? To have people over tonight?”

You watch it on his face as he understands that you’re asking for roomie permission. He sits back up, already starting to swivel back around to his screen, nodding easily. “Yeah, of course. Thanks for asking first.”

You frown at his back; you hadn’t really felt like the conversation was over, but he’s already pressing his airpods back in with his thumbs, feet tapping with the bass.

“O-kay,” you say, backing out of his room. You have a date with a vacuum cleaner before your living room fills with people. On your way to the closet where the vacuum lives, you text Taehyung, begging him to make a liquor run for you.

–

The truth is Namjoon forgets what you asked him about twenty seconds after you leave his room. He gets back to work, trying to get back into the flow he’d had before you knocked. He doesn’t hear you leave for class, doesn’t think about it again when he leaves for his own an hour later. 

[4:49 PM] Namjoon: bar tonight?

[4:50 PM] Yoongi: did we not…already have plans with you tonight?

[4:51 PM] Hobi: no, we did

[4:53 PM] Namjoon: we did? idr. can the plans be bar at 8:30?

[4:55 PM] Hobi: you’d rather do that??

[4:57 PM] Namjoon: than what?

[5:00 PM] Yoongi: we were supposed to go to your place?

[5:01 PM] Yoongi: taehyung texted us yesterday

[5:03 PM] Namjoon: oh yeah

[5:05 PM] Namjoon: i mean you all know i love taehyung…

[5:06 PM] Hobi: but…..

[5:07 PM] Namjoon: but do i want to sit around my living room with a bunch of undergrads tonight?

[5:08 PM] Yoongi: i get the feeling the answer to that is ‘no’

[5:10 PM] Namjoon: so, i repeat. bar? 8:30?

[5:10 PM] Yoongi: 👍👍

[5:15 PM] Hobi: that won’t hurt your roomie’s feelings???

[5:16 PM] Namjoon: she’ll be fine

Still, when 8:30 rolls around and Namjoon notices you bustling around the living room like a crazy person, he feels a stab of guilt in his stomach. Resigned, he asks, “Can I do anything to help you get ready?”

“Taehyung is supposed to be helping me get ready,” you grumble, as you line up a bowl of chips next to a smaller bowl of popcorn. “But is he here helping? Despite this being his idea?”

“That feels rhetorical,” Namjoon observes. You shoot him a look. 

There’s a knock at the door, which saves him from your wrath, he thinks. As he watches you hurry to the door, wiping your hands once on your jeans out of nervousness, he knows he can’t leave - not yet. Silently damning both his conscience and his mother for raising him to have one, he texts the guys that he’s running late. Then, he reaches over and pops the top off one of the beers you’ve set out.

He might as well, right? 

It’s an entire hour later than he finally feels like maybe he can slip away. Taehyung finally showed up about half an hour ago, three girls slipping through the front door behind him. Namjoon can’t help it - his eyes fly to your face, watching for a reaction. If you’re upset, you don’t show it, instead hurrying to show them around, pointing out where to grab drinks and where the bathrooms are located. 

When Jungkook and Jin arrive - clearly having pregamed - Namjoon rises, inching his way closer to the door. Someone with a mop of bright purple hair comes through the door with Jimin, and the volume in the room triples instantaneously. 

Now’s my chance, he thinks, and glances your way to see if he'll make it out unnoticed.

Would it not be easier to say, ‘hey, Y/N, this was fun, but I have plans with Yoongi’? He wonders. Probably, but that would potentially result in seeing the hurt look on your face, and he’s trying to avoid that. 

On the couch, you sit close to Taehyung, legs touching, his arm over your shoulders. You’re laughing maniacally at something, using his torso to hold yourself up as you cackle, eyes squeezed shut. He looks down at you, smile large and boxy, laughing along. 

Namjoon grabs his keys and slinks out the door. 

“Look who decided to show up to the gathering that he planned,” Yoongi drawls when Namjoon finally slides onto the barstool beside him. Hobi gives him a sheepish look, one that says sorry about him… but also, he’s right. 

“I felt bad leaving,” Namjoon explains. “No one was there yet, and then I wanted to finish the beer I opened…”

“Mhm,” Yoongi intones, and Namjoon almost asks him what that’s supposed to mean, but decides to let it go. 

They talk over a pitcher of beer, Hobi filling them in on how auditions for his dance team are going, Yoongi on his current classes. 

Namjoon’s phone buzzes against his leg and he slips it out of his pocket far enough to see your name on his screen. 

[10:03 PM] You: did you… leave??

[10:04 PM] Namjoon: yeah

[10:06 PM] You: it wasn’t bc of us right? I thought you said this was ok???

[10:07 PM] Namjoon: no it wasn’t. just not really my scene. have fun though

[10:10 PM] You: ah ok. i just assumed since some of ur crew are here you’d join us

Yoongi’s chin is practically on Namjoon’s shoulder as he peeks at his screen. 

“She wanted you to hang out, you dick,” he says. 

Namjoon balks, shaking his head. “She’s just trying to keep the peace. Doesn’t want drama with her roommate.”

“No, dude,” Hobi insists, peeking over Namjoon’s other shoulder, giving him a perfect angel and devil scenario. “You are, in fact, an asshole. She’s definitely upset that you left.”

Namjoon growls in frustration, shimmying his shoulders to knock his menaces loose. “I don’t want to talk about Y/N. Let’s talk about something else.”

From either side of him, Yoongi and Hobi exchange a knowing look. 

“What?” Namjoon demands. 

The shared look now incorporates some eyebrow movement. Then, cool as a cucumber, Yoongi leans back in his seat, takes a long pull from his beer glass. “So,” he says, so casual, “how are things with you two, anyway?”

“What you two?” Namjoon counters. 

“The roomies,” Hobi supplies. “The odd couple.”

“We are very not a couple,” Namjoon says flatly, irritation simmering. 

“But seriously,” Yoongi pushes. “How is it?”

“It’s fine,” he says, a defensive edge in his voice. He pauses, tries for a second to get his act together. “As far as roommates go, she’s good. Keeps the shared areas clean, isn’t noisy. She’s not rude or anything.” He shrugs, hoping this will be enough to get the jackals off his scent. 

“That’s good,” Hobi says, nodding. “Do you talk or anything?”

“Nope,” Namjoon says, which is true. “We just kind of do our own thing.” 

“Her ‘thing’ being Taehyung, right?” Hobi asks innocently. 

Namjoon shakes his head. “I don’t think anything’s actually going on there. To her dismay, it seems.”

“I wonder why,” Yoongi muses. When the others look at him in confusion, he explains, “I mean, why nothing’s going on. It seems like they’re attached at the hip. What’s missing? What’s stopping them?”

“He is,” Namjoon tells them. “How she looks at him, and how he looks at her… it isn’t the same. It just isn’t there for him. I won’t presume to know how he feels, but it seems like he’s just enjoying the benefits of her company until she figures out that it won’t go anywhere. If that ever even happens.”

He hadn’t realized he had an opinion about this until the words are out of his mouth.

“Kind of sad,” Yoongi remarks, pouring himself another beer. 

“Maybe she just needs someone to snap her out of it,” Hobi says thoughtfully. 

“Maybe,” Namjoon agrees, and changes the topic as smoothly as he can.

Honestly, he agrees with Yoongi. It is sad - even from the outside, even from the limited interaction you’ve had, he can see the stars in your eyes when you look at your best friend. And he can see the disappointment that swims there when Taehyung, just by existing, lets you down, over and over again, day after day.

Maybe you do just need a distraction, someone new to divert your attention. But Namjoon can easily see that it’ll be an uphill battle for whatever poor soul tries that route, and he doesn’t feel like he has the emotional energy for it. He’s been there and done that before, and he doesn’t like to repeat mistakes.

No matter how cute and funny he might find you.

He hurries to drown that thought in another pint of beer. 

Thank you so much for reading!!! Let me know what you think!!! Theories? Questions?? Keysmashes???

Section III will post on Friday, January 27th - hope to see you there!

[fan-fantasies]

Stolen Goods

A/N: dedicated to breezy for being my best friend and putting up with my bullshit since we were 5 years old ❤️ I’m absolutely in love with this piece and I hope you guys love it to! Part two is already written so just let me know when you guys want it 😏

Pairing: Eddie x reader

Warnings: 80s version of nudes, fingering, swearing, tension out the ass

Summary: You take a liking to your friend’s weird friend. Even more so you take a liking to teasing him.

Part two

“Please come! All you have to do is sit there!” Your best friend pleaded with you.

“I highly doubt that,” you scoffed.

(y/n), pleaseeeeee. I’ll owe you big time,” Bri said.

“Ugh, fine. But you do owe me!”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She screamed as she pulled you into a hug.

You had just agreed to sit in as a sub at her DnD club meeting or campaign, whatever she called it.

You would consider yourself a nerd, just not the type to play that game. You could often be found in the library studying or in a comic book store, which is initially how you became friends with Bri.

She had tried to convert you into her satanic club, just kidding of course, but the game confused you and you had no patience to learn.

She really enjoyed being in the Hellfire Club and you were glad it made her happy. She talked so highly of the guys in it and even said you’d probably take a liking to the leader, Eddie. You’d seen him around school, and heard him of course, but you never understood why she thought you’d like him. You didn’t have a problem with him like everyone else seemed to but you also didn’t understand why he thought so highly of himself either. Maybe that was it- his “better than the bullshit” attitude.

You didn’t think anyone was better than anyone else or above the bullshit. It was high school- it was all bullshit.

The day went by rather quickly and you soon found yourself standing outside the theater room with Bri.

“You ready?” She asked. You thought for a moment before turning on your heel and walking away. But Bri was quick and grabbed your arm, dragging you into the room.

“Hey Bri. Who’s your weird friend?” Eddie asked.

“I’m the weird friend? That’s rich coming from you,” you scoffed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked, folding his arms across his chest.

“Use your big-boy brain and figure it out,” you replied. Bri just shook her head and sighed.

“I don’t know why I thought this would be a good idea,” she mumbled to herself. The rest of the guys were just staring between you and Eddie, scared to say anything.

“Sit down. You’re a level one princess,” Eddie smirked.

“And you’re a five star douche. What’s that have to do with anything?” You shot back.

You could tell Eddie was getting frustrated which made you happy. He had no reason to judge you right off the bat so you decided to piss him off as much as possible.

“Please, for the love of gods, just sit down!” Bri whispered to you.

“I’m so glad I tagged along. I’m already having so much fun,” you told her. She just groaned and sat you down in a chair behind her. You smirked at Eddie who was giving you a death stare.

You mostly just watched the game, having to roll the dice a few times. You still didn’t understand it but you could see the appeal. The biggest thing that caught you by surprise was just how passionate Eddie was about the game, and just how attractive you found him as the dungeon master. You’d never admit that to anyone, of course, but now you could see why Bri thought you might like him.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Dustin screamed.

“Language, young man,” you scolded jokingly.

“(Y/N), you’re our last hope. You have to roll a nat 20 or else we lose,” Mike told you.

“That should be easy. Just have to roll for one singular number. On a twenty sided die!” You yelled. Eddie chuckled from across the board.

“I look forward to your defeat, m’lady,” he said.

“I look forward to you shutting the fuck up,” you mumbled.

“Language!” Dustin yelled.

“Bite me.”

“Gladly,” he purred. You just laughed and told him to blow on the die. Everyone watched with intensity as you threw the die down the table.

“Yes!!! We won!!” They all screamed. They hugged you happily as Eddie finished out his dramatic scene.

“Not too shabby for a level one,” he said, coming over afterward. “Maybe you should bring your weird friend more often, Bri.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Munson?” You asked sarcastically. He leaned on the table and dipped his head closer to yours.

“Yeah, I just might.”

His warm breath against your skin made goosebumps break out all over your body. You couldn’t hide the shiver that ran through you.

“Do you wanna head out?” Bri asked. You just nodded as Eddie looked at you wish a wolfish grin.

•the next day•

“Hey, princess,” Eddie said, slinging an arm around you in the lunch line. “Come join us.”

“No thanks. I eat in the library,” you said.

“Nope, not today. Today you feast with Hellfire,” he said dramatically.

He pulled you over to the table and Bri looked confused. You went to sit next to her but Eddie stopped you.

“Nope, you sit beside the smartest, toughest, and coolest master-“

“Masturbator, got it,” you said, sitting next to his seat. Dustin spewed milk from his nose and Jeff choked on a piece of chicken. Bri just laid her head onto her hands and sighed.

“Fucking kill me now.”

Eddie scowled at you but still took his rightful seat at the head of the table. You fell into easy conversation with the group and you actually found yourself enjoying it. Eddie waited until you had a mouthful of soda to lean over and whisper in your ear, quiet enough so only you would hear.

“So you think about me masturbating?”

You spit your drink out all over the table and down your shirt.

“Fuck!”

“You okay?” Bri asked. You dabbed are the stain setting into your top and tried to clean the table in front of you.

“I’m fine,” you grumbled. “Eddie, may I have a word outside?”

“Anything for you, m’lady,” he said with a smirk.

You drug him from the cafeteria to an empty classroom down the hall. You pushed him inside and closed the door, shutting the blind of the window.

“I didn’t take you as a girl who spit,” he laughed. You turned around and glared at him.

“Take your shirt off.”

“Excuse me?”

“Are we doing this or what? Take your shirt off,” you said, pulling at the hem of your own top, lifting it enough to show him some skin.

“Oh shit. Fuck. Um, yeah, we can do this. Shit.” He fumbled to get his jacket off but he did and then off came his hellfire shirt. His torso was littered with tattoos and you took a second to admire him.

“Even better than I imagined,” you said.

“Your turn, baby,” he said, taking a step toward you. You matched his own step forward, and just when he closed his eyes to lean in and kiss you, you snatched his shirt from him and ran to the door.

“Guys are so fucking dumb,” you laughed. His eyes shot open and he was too stunned to move.

“Seriously? Give it back!” He said.

“Absolutely not. Did you think I was wearing this mess for the rest of the day? Fat chance,” you smirked. “Oh and Eddie? I definitely don’t spit.”

And with that, you walked out the door and to the bathroom, leaving a very horny and angry Eddie behind.

Eddie threw on his jacket and zipped up the front. He trudged from the room and back to the cafeteria.

“Gareth, do you still have that extra shirt I gave you a while ago?” He asked.

“Yeah it should still be in my locker…why?”

“I need it,” Eddie mumbled.

“Sure, no problem, man.”

“Do I even wanna know?” Bri sighed.

“I’m gonna show that little princess who’s boss,” he growled.

Bri met you outside after classes got out.

“Is that Eddie’s shirt? (Y/N), what’s going on?” She asked.

“He made me spit my soda all over my shirt so he gave me his,” you shrugged.

“He gave it to you?”

“I may have taken it… it’s a long story!”

“You guys are gonna be the death of me. And probably each other,” she sighed, hopping in your car.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” you chuckled.

The next morning, Eddie was waiting by his van for you to pull in. As soon as you parked, he was opening up your door.

“Why thank you, kind sir,” you joked.

“I want my shirt back.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Someone please kill me,” Bri groaned from the passenger seat. “I’ll see you guys later. Please don’t kill each other.”

“Why won’t you give it back?” He asked, blocking you from going any further.

“Because it’s comfortable,” you shrugged.

“But it’s mine.”

“It’s mine now. I actually wore it to bed last night, it was nice.”

“Jesus Christ, just give it back! I’m sure it doesn’t go with whatever stupid pajama bottoms you wear.”

“Who said I wear bottoms?” You asked. His mouth instantly snapped shut and you smiled. “See you later!”

Once again, he was left horny and angry at the thought of you wearing nothing but his Hellfire shirt.

You didn’t see Eddie for the rest of the day, so you figured you’d give him a little present the next time you saw him. That happened to be at lunch the following day which was perfect.

You folded up his shirt and walked up behind him. You snaked your arms around him and placed the shirt in his lap, making him jump.

“Glad you finally came to your senses,” he said, leaning into your touch ever so slightly. He took a big gulp of juice just as you leaned down.

“Unfold it,” you whispered. He did as you said and his juice was immediately sprayed all over the table.

“Woah, dude!”

“Jesus, Eddie!”

“Enjoy,” you whispered.

Eddie snatched the Polaroid of you, posed in a mirror, in nothing but his Hellfire shirt with your ass on full display, and quickly shoved it in his pocket so no one else would see.

You pecked his cheek and walked off, acting like nothing happened. He wanted to get up and chase after you, but the growing bulge in the front of his pants prevented that.

He did his best to calm himself down by the end of lunch so he could hunt you down and ask you just what the fuck you were doing. Unfortunately for him, you figured he was going to come after you so you went straight to your next class. You did your best to race to your car after school, but Eddie cut his last class just to stake you out.

Your keys had just entered the lock when you were pressed against the door. You new immediately by the smell of his cologne that Eddie had found you. You tried your best to hide your smirk when you turned to face him. He had his hellfire shirt slung over his shoulder for safe keeping.

“Hey, Eddie. Funny meeting you here,” you said. He had you caged between his arms and you couldn’t help but squirm under his gaze.

“Do you think you’re funny?” He asked.

“Fucking hilarious, actually,” you answered. His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared with anger.

“You’re gonna get yourself into trouble, (y/n),” he said.

“Oh is that so?” You chuckled. “I’m counting on it.”

His body was pressed to yours and you were certain he could feel your heart pounding against your rib cage.

“I don’t think you know what you’re asking for, sweetheart.”

“I wouldn’t ask for much- wouldn’t want to be disappointed after all.”

“I’m gonna fucking ruin you,” he whispered.

“Absolutely not! You’re not fucking in the school parking lot and certainly not in my ride home!” Bri yelled, walking up behind you. She threw her bag in the backseat and got into the passenger side.

“I’ll see you around, Eds.” You winked before pushing him off of you and opening your door. “Oh, wait! One more thing.”

You snatched the shirt from his shoulder and quickly closed your door before he could do anything.

“Are you serious?” He yelled as you sped away. “I hate her. I hate her so much.”

About halfway home, Bri finally broke the silence.

“Sooooo what’s going on between you and Eddie?”

“What do you mean? I’m just having some fun pissing him off,” you laughed.

“I know you and I know when you pick on someone it means you like them. And boy have you teased the hell out of him,” she said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you mumbled.

“Listen, I think you two would be good together and I don’t want you getting in your own way. And don’t say you wouldn’t!” She argued.

Her words played in your head for the rest of the drive. Did you really like Eddie or were you just having fun? You knew the answer but you didn’t want to admit it to yourself.

You spent your Saturday night alone in your room like the party animal you were. Your parents turned in early but you decided to stay up and break open the newest addition to your comic collection.

Halfway through, you thought you heard something at your window. You waited and heard it again. You looked out and saw Eddie waving you down. He pointed at your front door and you shook your head no. He picked up a large rock and held it up like he was going to throw it. You threw your hands up and flipped him off before quietly running downstairs to the front door. He was already waiting on the front steps when you opened it.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” You asked.

“Did you think I was gonna let you get away with stealing my shirt a second time? Where is it?” He asked.

“Be quiet! My parents are asleep!” You whisper-yelled. “I’ll give it back on Monday; go away.”

You went to close the door but he stopped it. The way his rings shimmered in the moonlight made you shiver.

“Give it back.”

“No.”

“Now.”

“Fuck you.”

“I wish you would!” He finally snapped.

Your eyes widened and you had the biggest smirk on your face.

“Is that so, Munson?” You asked.

“Like you don’t want the same,” he scoffed. He pushed the door open wider and let himself in, pressing you against the wall in your foyer.

“Well aren’t we being presumptuous,” you chuckled. “And I have a dictionary if you need to look that up.”

“God, I hate you.”

Before you knew what was happening, his mouth was on yours in an angry kiss of tongue and teeth. He bit down on your bottom lip and it made you hiss.

His hand slid easily into your panties as you wrapped your arms around his neck to steady yourself. He wasted no time in plunging his fingers between your folds and rubbing harsh circles on your clit. The sensation made you squirm but he had you held firmly against the wall.

He changed his pace and movements and pleasure was suddenly all you could think about. He was sucking hickies all across your neck but you didn’t care enough to stop him.

He slid two fingers into you with ease, pumping them until his rings nudged your clit. You did your best to stifle your moans, not wanting your parents to wake up. You thanked the heavens that the lights were off and no one looking from the outside would be able to see what a mess he was making you.

“Not so much to say now. Huh, sweetheart?” He laughed.

You tried to think of a witty comeback but all you managed to do was whimper his name. You clenched down on his fingers and he knew you were close.

“Are you gonna cum for me, baby?” He asked.

“Y-yes, Eddie,” you moaned. A few more strokes from his hand and you’d be coming undone. Only right before you could finish, he stopped completely and pulled his hand from your panties. “Wh- no!”

“Sh sh sh, wouldn’t want mommy and daddy coming down to see what the noise is, now do we?” He asked with a smirk.

He brought his fingers to his lips and sucked them clean. You were almost embarrassed by how his fingers glistened.

“That’s it? Are you serious?!”

“As a heart attack, baby. Not fun, is it?” He walked back out onto the porch and turned around. “I want my shirt back on Monday.”

He left you on your doorstep, horny and angry. If he thought that he was getting the upper hand, he was so incredibly wrong. You went back to your room to do two things. 1. Finish what he started and 2. Plot how to take down Eddie Munson.

Part Two

——————————

Taglist:

@thebookbakery @dootys @lily-sinclair-2006 @mrsdarcyinlovewithbuckybarnes @munsaniac @rafecameronswhore @tiredwritersworld @mellomadness

It would mean the world to me if you could reblog this and hype it up. I really enjoyed writing it 🥺

[yoongisleftearring]

P U S H + P U L L

-> in which you are trying to survive college life but seem to have a thorn in your side in the form of Seo Changbin. After years of hating each other can you decide to remain civil with the handsome rapper? (let's just hope he doesn't come across that private thirst account you have for him)

━━━━

pairing: student!changbin x student!reader

featuring: stray kids, feat. random idols

genre: sm au, crack, fluff, slight angst

status: completed!

Warnings: Cursing, attempted assault in part 23, some mature themes

A/n: Did I create this story to simp over changbin? quite possibly. But, never mind that, we're keeping it light and breezy with this smau, I hope you enjoy reading !!

━━━━

profiles: y/n's crew

profiles: changbin's crew

part one: cause of death: Kim Seungmin

part two: his ego needs a break

part three: I lied

part four: it all makes sense now

part five: don't be too hasty

part six: I said what I said Bang

part seven: oh. nevermind.

part eight: you two know each other?

part nine: it's called an icebreaker :)

part ten: she stole my man

part eleven: can it, Binnie

part twelve: Deja Vu

part thirteen: Something to say?

part fourteen: Hulk Hogan

part fifteen: mom and dad are fighting

part sixteen: the feeling is mutual

part seventeen: Hwang, you menace

part eighteen: will you ever?

part nineteen: SHIP

part twenty: That man is unhinged

part twenty-one: not to simp or anything but

part twenty-two: weak-willed

part twenty-three: I'm here now

part twenty-four: Did you want me to sleep with you?

part twenty-five: are you seeing what I'm seeing?

part twenty-six: he hates me

part twenty-seven: less questions more intervention

part twenty-eight: justin bieber wannabe

part twenty-nine: regret

part thirty: I think we should break up

part thirty-one: sorry, I had him first

part thirty-two: FAM

━━━━

[starrrlights]

Did I mention?

Movie : descendants

Pairing : prince Ben x gn reader

Warnings :

Summary : you and Ben are going/ are on a date, and Ben does something that surprises you

A/n : for the story, it's your birthday. And if that triggers you, I'm sorry. This is a song fic and it's 'did I mention' from descendants, just pretend the song is slow or go on Spotify and do that while reading this 😃😊(this is pretty long, ngl)

You and Ben are seniors/about to graduate for the sake for the end of the story

F/c means favorite color

F/s means favorite show

F/fs means favorite flowers

…………………………….……………………....

It was a breezy spring day at Auradon. Boys and girls chatting and laughing, walking up and down the halls. The tourney team practicing for the tourney game next week on the field. Kids sneaking around, playing around and pranking each other. The sun shining brighter then ever, without a cloud in the sky. Flowers blooming and birds chirping. You thought that no day will ever be better then this. And you couldn't agree more.

You have a date today with Ben. And you are pretty excited. Cuz it's your birthday. And Ben said he had something planned for you.

'i wonder what it is?'

You thought l, walking down the halls to your locker, to pick up a few books for 4 hour science.

…

You closed your locker and flinch when you see a presents besides you. You quickly turn your head to the figure. To only find out, it's Ben.

"I'm sorry y/n, did I scare you?" Looking apologetic, he lift's his hand and rubs your shoulder.

You laugh it off. "Kinda, but it's ok. I didn't realize you were there". Smiling, you shift your hand into his and start walking over to your 4th hour class.

…

You walk in your dorm room to see doug and evie on the couch, doing a project for science, that you still had to do.

' I should probably start on that tomorrow '. You were about to head to your bed when Evie called for you.

"oh! hey y/n, happy birthday!" She says, getting up and hugging you. "Thank you". You smiled and let go. You wave bye and head to your share of your room.

(You can pick eather Doug or Evie as your roommate, Idc which one 😊)

Setting your bag down, you go to your closet to pick out an outfit for later. 'Should I go for the (f/c) or (2 f/c)?' you thought, deciding which color dress/shirt you should wear for the date later that evening.

You decided on the (f/c) on and went to change in the bathroom.

15 minutes later,(if not faster or slower) you were ready. You showered, (did or did not) styled your hair and (if you do) putted on makeup. You stood in front of the bathroom mirror, admiring yourself. (If you do that) and made sure everything was ok. (Which it was).

You got out of the bathroom and smiled brightly. You only had a half an hour before the date but you couldn't contain to yourself, you were excited. You decided to go on Netflix and watch (f/s).

(highly recommend tmnt or mlp 😃)

Time flew fast and you heard a knock at the door. You got up and opened it. Not to your surprise, it was Ben.

"hey, I got you these, happy birthday". He said, handing you 2 presents, heart shaped chocolate and a bouquet of (f/fs). You smile and you look back at Ben.

"thank you, hun". Pressing a kiss on his cheek, you walk away to set to stuff down. While very carefully, stealing a piece of chocolate from the chocolate heart shaped box.

" you know this isn't valentines day, right?" You joked, gesturing to the heart shaped box and flowers.

"everyday is valentines day when I'm with you." You cringed slightly to the cheesy remark. Ben walks over and hugs you from behind.

"happy birthday". You smile at his words.

"Thank you."

"your welcome." You two stay in silence untill Ben grabs your hand, twirling you and stopping. Kissing your cheek after words. You quietly laugh at his actions and kiss him on the lips. (ngl, I hate it when people kiss in movies)

"come on, where did you want to take me again?" You tilt your head, looking for an answer. He grins.

…

"Careful, careful, and we're here!"

Ben unfolds your blindfold, that he had put on you. You put a hand above your eyes and blink a few times to get used to the light. And when you did, the scenery was beautiful.

"wow… Ben this is beautiful, where did you find it?"

There was a small structure surrounded by water. Flowers and plants grew everywhere beautifully. Trees grew tall and flower petals fell down every breeze. (Basically mal and Ben's first date spot but better)

You amire the setting, not noticing Ben setting up a little picnic under the structure. (Idk what it's called)

Ben hugs you from behind and you slightly jump to the unexpected movement.

"sorry" he whispers, hugging you tighter.

"it's ok" you say, turning around and hugging him back. You hear soft music playing from the radio. Automatically, you rest your head on his shoulder. He kisses the side of your head. And he starts to sing with the beat of the music.

"Did I mention that I'm in love with ?"

"And did I mention there's nothing I can do"

"And did I happen to say?I dream of you everyday.But let me shout it out loud!"

"if that's okay ay ay"

"If that's okay. Hey!"

"it's okay".

"I met this girl that rocked my world like it's never been rocked"

He twirls you and dips you. Causing you to laugh.

"And now I'm living just for her and I won't never stop. I never thought that it could happen to a guy like me, but now look at what you've done. you got me down on my knees."

You stand in shock as Ben starts to slowly bend down and pull something out of his jacket pocket.

"Because my love for you is ridiculous. I never knew, That it could be like this, my love for you is ridiculous"

"My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S"

"It's Ridiculous, Just Ridiculous!"

"And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss"

"Well did I mention that I'm in love with you, and did I mention there's nothing I can do."

"And did I happen to say? I dream of you everyday. But let me shout it out loud, if that's okay ay ay. (Yeah!) If that's okay."

"I gotta know which way to go, c'mon gimme a sign"

He pulls out a ring box and opens it up to show a beautiful engagement ring. You gasp.

"You gotta show me that you're only ever gonna be mine, don't want to go another minute livin' without you. Cause if your heart just isn't in it, I don't know what I'd do"

You start to tear up and listen to the rest of the musical number.

"Because my love for you is ridiculous. I never knew that it could be like this."

"My love for you is ridiculous, My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!"

"It's Ridiculous! Just Ridiculous!"

"And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss, c'mon now!"

"Alright, alright, because my love for you is ridiculous, I never knew that it could be like this."

"My love for you is ridiculous. My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!"

"It's Ridiculous! Just Ridiculous!"

"And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss~"

You are nearly let out a sob as he looks in your eyes and smile.

" y/n l/n, would you make me the happiest king, and marry me?"

He looked at you, hoping for an answer. But all you could make out was;

"yes".

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

The Eggfam Sitcom Pitch

The Parent:

Dr Ivo Robotnik | Eggman - evil villain supreme and creator of about one-shit billion robot children. The robots that have more sentience consider him their dad and are very protective of him despite his varying levels of niceness to them. He does have a soft spot for them, whether or not he shows it, though he mainly focuses on capturing Sonic the Hedgehog, local mobian hero.

The Children:

Metal Sonic  - insists he is the oldest because he was built first, even though he’s mentally a teenager and we’re pretty sure Coconuts was created first anyway, but we don’t like to argue with him. He’s partially nonverbal, very stubborn, and competitive as hell. The only one Bokkun listens to, somehow, as well as the only one not unnerved in the slightest by Tails Doll. I think his inner narration should be heard throughout the show like Scrubs.

Scratch and Grounder - twin robots, designed respectively after a chicken and a god-only-knows. Scratch is the more take-charge of the two while Grounder is the more dim-witted. They argue all the time with each other and with everyone else. Because they never get any reactions from Metal Sonic, they believe that they don’t bother him. They do. Very much.

Coconuts - small little angry monkey, perpetual disappointment of the family. You know Garry/Jerry from Parks and Rec? That’s his role in the show. He’s mentally the oldest/most responsible and also the most frustrated due to the aforementioned JerryMandering. The focus of the most of Bokkun’s pranks.

Metal Knuckles - more of a quiet loner than the others, and unlike the rest, has the ability to think before they act. They’re not as concerned with getting Eggman’s approval, instead just trying to do their job as best they can. Due to these traits, they’re the least likely to get pulled in wacky shenanigans. They still will, just not as often as everyone else. They use they/them pronouns now because I said so.

Decoe and Bocoe - two humanoid bodyguard robots. Of the pair, Decoe is smarter, though they both have a lot of ignorance in regards to social smarts. Both of them are clumsy but friendly, and a constant annoyance to Metal Sonic.

Bokkun - the ultimate “spoiled youngest child” archetype. Bokkun has the mentality of a 6-8yo in the most annoying way possible. She is a messenger robot mainly but tends to end her messages by blowing something up. She also is obsessed with sweets and pranks and constantly teases the other bots to the point where they keep trying to fight her (with the exception of Metal Sonic, as the two of them seem to tolerate each other). However, they can also be a HUGE crybaby and have quite the temper. She uses she/they pronouns now because I said so.

Orbot and Cubot - another pair of robots with a very clear smart/dumb dichotomy. Orbot is much more calm and collected, while Cubot is quite random and often malfunctions. The two of them, unlike the other bots, don’t have a sibling dynamic and instead have more of an “obliviously blissful married couple” vibe. So they’re less siblings of Metal Sonic and his squad and more the weird uncles who somehow get into just as much chaos.

Tails Doll - nobody is sure what Tails Doll is or where it came from or what it can do. At this point we’re not even sure if Robotnik created it. Tails Doll never speaks, only stares into the middle-distance. If you look directly at it, you will either hear pure white noise or very ominous music. We do not know how it can fly or operate, especially since we don’t think it has any mechanics inside. It does what it wants and nobody can stop it. Its pronouns are unknown to us mere mortals so you can just call them by anything.

Belle - the youngest of the Robotnik fam. She was built during Eggman’s “Mr Tinkerer” phase, and thus is very sweet, polite and gentle, with a disposition towards goodness, making her a huge outcast among the Robotnik Lab. Most of the time she’s trying to live with the Sonic Squad™ but due to shenanigans she often ends up kidnapped and thus stuck in a room with her siblings who try to teach her how to behave evilly before these stupid hedgehogs can irreversibly correct her moral code. She’s got the awkward, confused new kid vibe.

The Disowned Children:

Breezie - one of Eggman’s oldest bots, and the first one who permanently rebelled. She was an assassin-bot, but now she runs a talkshow and has a pretty stable life with Junior. The two of them stay out of everyone’s crap most of the time, minding their own business, but sometimes they’ll stop over for holidays because they love drama and wanna see what happens.

Junior - another one of Eggman’s “lost” bots, he was designed to be Eggman’s son, only to decide that Sonic was cooler. He’s now a construction worker helping to repair damage that is mostly caused by his creator. He lives with Breezie and while they stay out of everyone’s way most of the time, the two of them are suckers for drama so they’ll show up every now and again just to throw Eggman off his rhythm.

E123 OMEGA - the most dangerous of Eggman’s lost bots, Omega will stop at nothing short of destroying every Robotnik creation to prove that he is superior. He lives with Team Dark, the weird cousins who are tentatively on Sonic’s side, though he will not hesitate to murder anything in front of his eyes. Everyone loves him.

and finally...... the new boyfriend:

Dr Starline - shows up to help Eggman create a Zombot virus and immediately attracts the ire of all of the lab children despite not really doing anything to them. They don’t like that Eggman is paying attention to someone else and will stop at nothing to bring him down. And probably kill him.

tell me you wouldnt watch this show. it’d be the funniest thing

[ratcatcher0325]

Nobody’s Fool (Chapter #25)

Second half of my Christmas gift to you all! Make sure to read Chapter #24 if you haven’t already! Ooh.  Here’s Chapter #25. Things are getting ROUGH. Travis reveals more to Penn. 

Previous: Chapter #24

Next: Chapter #26

CW: Adult language, adult themes, dehumanization ________________________________________

NOBODY'S FOOL

Chapter #25: Veritas

Word Count: 1,156  Read Time: Approx. 9 mins

[Penn's POV]

I soon found myself at a, to quote everyone’s favorite new interloper, “shitty hole in the wall” bar with a large outdoor patio. The weather was beautiful, I wished she was here. We sat outside, at a picnic table squeezed into the far corner, private, a quiet place for us, mainly me, to lick our wounds. Travis had the smart idea of placing me on the inner iron railing of the fence, so that I could sit eye level with everyone.

Travis had settled in to my immediate left, his shoulder so close I could grab the fabric of his shirt without having to lean too far. He pressed his back against the same fence. Dani was in her element, getting us drinks and becoming the self-appointed mother of the group. Riley sat on the opposite corner of the table to my right, joint in hand, leg bouncing up and down as he puffed smoke into the warm, breezy night air.

Soon, Dani returned with a whole tray of drinks, shots, whatever. Travis placed a shot glass on the rail beside me and I gratefully refilled my flask from the contents within. We drank and mumbled a few words. It was amazing to me how much one person’s presence had upset the balance of our little family. I had never seen any of us behave like this… we were all usually so tight knit and care free.

A couple more drinks now, and Travis and I were alone. I hadn’t exactly tracked where the other two drifted off, but I didn’t mind the privacy. The more I drank, the more I could feel this gaping hole in my chest, this full body ache…. I guess that’s why it was called heartbreak. It fucking hurt.

Travis had remained almost non-verbal this whole time, sipping his drink, staring at the gravel below his feet. Now he sucked in a breath and started speaking, staring straight ahead. “Penn… fuck. I’m, I’m sorry you went through that tonight. What a shitty way to find out….” A long pause, I mumbled a thank you. We drank.

“Can I confess something to you?” He turned over his shoulder to look at me.

“Of course,” I managed a weak smile. He shifted in his seat, clearing his throat. Travis was the sort of person who was always so upbeat, positive and fun-loving that when he got quiet and serious it was clear he was really quite upset. I sensed that he was feeling quite vulnerable and exposed.

“I… uh, I was in love with her too. For a long, long time. I’ve known her since we were, like, 12. It’s, um…. It hurts, man. I get it. It’s… hard.” My face flushed hot. How long had he known, I wondered? Had I really been that obvious? Probably. How stupid. God, I was such a pathetic little idiot. I collapsed against the back of the fence. Sipping scotch and saying nothing.

He cleared his throat. “So, the deal is, about a year and a half ago, she was still with the band, on tour. And, um, she was… well, she’d gotten pregnant… by… him.” Woah. Fuck. What? I felt like my whole body had been dumped in a vat of acid. My skin from head to toe was on fire. Why was he telling me this?

“They hadn’t been dating all that long, about a year. She never wanted children. She’s been pretty certain about that, even when we were both just kids back in middle school. But, when he found out, he tried to convince her to keep it. He told her how much he wanted a family. He made plenty of money so she wouldn’t have to worry… I remember she told me all of this one night, crying, caught between her wants and his. Anyway… she decided to keep it. For him. And then, when we were on tour… she, uh…. Well, she miscarried. It was awful. He blames us. He blames life on the road, the band, he holds us personally responsible. It wasn’t our fault in any way, of course. These things just happen sometimes. She took good care of herself, we supported her. But…. Once that happened… and it’s funny, I can remember the night clearly. It’s like she flipped on a dime. She had just finished telling us that she thought finishing out the tour would be good for her, a distraction. Then she stayed up on the phone with him all night, I’m talking 7 hours. And, suddenly, the next morning she told us she’d decided to quit. That touring wasn’t good for her health. That she was going to stay put in Seattle, where he was.” Wow. I didn’t know what to say.

“So, see, that’s, uh, well... why we don’t like him. It feels like at every turn, she’s manipulated by him into doing what he wants her to. I think he’s made her feel extremely guilty. She feels beholden to him. To make him happy. I know it doesn’t feel like it right now… but she’s a good fucking person, man. And she doesn’t wanna hurt anybody. But that’s her downfall, sometimes, see? Because she’s always giving herself away to others… sacrificing her dreams for others’ happiness… well, you end up in a pretty bad way….You should’ve seen her onstage, Penn. She really had the potential to make it. She was fucking good. Like you. And…. Getting her back out on the road, I’ve never seen her happier. You’re good for her, man. You bring out this light in her we haven’t seen in over two years.” I blushed hard. He meant every word from the bottom of his heart.

“I just wish she’d open her eyes… you know? She shouldn’t have to change herself to be this person he wants her to be. She should be able to be herself. But… that’s just it, none of us can make her do a goddamn thing. We all think the world of her. And we try to respect whatever decision she makes. If she chooses him, she chooses him….” That hole in my chest threatened to swallow me whole. Fuck, I was so in love with her. I pulled my knees up to my chest.

“For what it’s worth, I think she liked you back… wether she was ready to admit that to herself or not.” I didn’t know wether that helped or hurt. I ran my hands through my hair, taking a drink. “So… there you have it. The full picture of what we’re dealing with here.” He raised his eyebrows and offered his glass for a toast. I clinked with him and downed all of what was left in my flask.

The alcohol poured through my veins like some salacious poison. “Fuck.”

That’s all I could figure out to say.

“Yup. Sounds about right, man.” Travis knocked his drink back too.