#anyway he was a gentleman nonetheless and took some pictures with us that i will treasure immensely

[ladybaratheon]

saw george again yesterday at the screening and q&a of the beast and now i know that if he ever winds up on the off-menu or table manners podcasts, it'll be because of my influence 😌

[cherienymphe]

Fine Line (Harry Styles x Reader)

WARNINGS: darkish themes, slight dubious consent, drug use, this is the tamest thing I’ve ever written

! PLEASE DNI IF THIS OFFENDS YOU !

➥ divider by @lootbox​

summary: your friendship with Harry has teetered on the edge of something more for years, the lines blurring until they were hardly visible. Harry has grown tired of this game

~

You could feel his eyes on you.

You could always feel them on you, the heat of his gaze so suffocating in a way that was hard to ignore. You didn’t even have to turn around to see the way his pink lips were pressed together, jaw clenching ever so slightly as the green of his eyes darkened just a tad. You’d witnessed it enough times to picture it as clear as day in your mind. A shudder passed through you, and the handsome blond before you noticed.

He was some lanky fratboy type, a bit too into himself, but a nice distraction nonetheless. The rowdy bar was filled with a seedy crowd of prospects, the pickings slim, and the man before you seemed like the best route to go. You hadn’t even wanted to come out, but Harry had given you some half-assed tale, voice gruff on the other end of the phone, as to why you should when Sarah had suggested the idea. His drummer loved a night out on the town.

It wasn’t shocking to find the brown-haired boy occupied with a fiery-haired model type whose smile seemed a tad bit wide. You had scanned the crowd for any other members of his backup band, but upon failing to find a familiar face, you’d reluctantly made your way to the bar. That was how you’d run into Tyler, the fair-haired man’s eyes lighting up the minute he noticed you. You took a sip out of the drink he’d bought you.

“Cold?” he wondered, and you started to shake your head, but decided against it.

How could you explain to him that your shivers had nothing to do with the temperature but instead the paralyzing gaze of your friend?

“A little,” you replied with a sheepish smile.

Ever the gentleman, or simply a guy who knew how to play the game to get what he wanted, he peeled his own jacket off. You took in the way his shirt clung to him, and as you raised your brows at his exposed arms, you thought to yourself that he wasn’t as lanky as you believed. Maybe the night would prove to be more fruitful than you thought. He’d only just moved to throw it around you when he paused, and even before his dark eyes fell onto something behind you, you knew what had made him stop. That suffocating heat clung to your back, draping over you like a blanket, much like the arm that found its way over your shoulder.

“I didn’t see you come in.”

His chest rumbled with the low timber of his voice as he pulled you against him, his hand coming around to brush his fingers along your exposed collarbone. You fought the urge to roll your eyes, but couldn’t hold back your grimace as the man before you flickered his gaze between you and the brunette at your back. His face fell, and even though you’d still been undecided on whether or not you were going to go home with him, you still mourned the loss of the possibility. 

“Oh...uh-.”

“Oh, hey man. Harry,” your friend introduced himself, and you almost sneered at the way he pretended to only just notice the person you’d been talking to.

He stuck his hand out, but Tyler only responded with a forced smile.

“Nice to meet you,” he tersely said before his gaze fell onto you. “...you too. It was nice talking to you.”

The disappointment in both his eyes and voice was almost enough to make you tell him that the guy behind you wasn’t a boyfriend. Far from it even, but Harry’s deep chuckle stopped you from calling the man back, and you turned to face him with a frown.

“You’re a jerk, you know that?”

You downed the rest of your drink before walking past him, and Harry kept up with your pace, hand coming up to rest on the back of your neck as his stride matched yours.

“...and what have I done?”

“You know what you did,” you complained with a scoff.

“You’ll thank me later, love. That guy looked much too tame for you.”

You could hear the smirk in his voice, and you shook your head.

“I’m going home. I shouldn’t have come out anyway,” you grumbled, and surprise filled you when Harry followed you to the door.

“I guess I’ll be joining you then. Not much worth giving my attention to in there…”

You glanced up at him just as the door of the bar shut behind you, cutting off the noise of customers and drunkards alike.

“The redhead looked interesting enough,” you commented.

He didn’t respond right away, and when you glanced at him again, his eyes were on you.

“Paying much attention to us, were you?”

You shoved him away from you, and his laugh reached your ears.

“Hardly. You were the one who begged me to come out remember? The least you could do is greet me at the door.”

You yelped when Harry wrapped his arms around you, pulling you against him.

“Missed me?”

Now it was your turn to chuckle, and you ignored the way his gaze zeroed in on you, like he was trying to devour you and figure you out all at the same time.

“...and if I said yes?”

He ran his eyes over your face, the green of them a tad brighter from the glow of the moon, a cool breeze ruffling his dark curls.

“Then I’d have to remind you that I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

Unable to hold his gaze, something you’re rarely able to do, you glanced away. Your eyes found the sidewalk as Harry continued his trek, pulling you into his side. The warmth of him seeped through your dress and clung to your skin, like every part of him seemed to do. Your friendship with the former teen band member turned rockstar was very...strange.

You’d met years ago, only months before the release of his first album. You’d been the friend of a friend and had met at some party hosted by someone you couldn’t even name now. You were a different person then. Legs wobbly and brain fuzzy from the many drinks you’d downed, you’d mistaken Harry for your boyfriend. 

The singer had had no desire to correct you as you fisted your hands in his hair, tongue halfway down his throat as he basked in the taste of some fruity drink on it. The lighting at the party had been dim, and you’d only realized your mistake when you were seconds away from shoving your hand down his pants in some bedroom. The empty boudoir had been bathed in light, and you still remembered the way he’d laughed when realization hit you. You were embarrassed as you stumbled into the hallway and downstairs, in search of your boyfriend.

That particular relationship ended up not lasting another week, and the next time you met Harry, it had been a much more formal setting. You’d officially been introduced and could hardly meet Harry’s eye as he shook your hand, a teasing smile on his lips. Despite the interesting start to your friendship, it was one that grew to stand the testament of time. Harry meant the world to you, and you were the first person he’d call when he had too much to drink and needed a place to crash. Your friendship was great…

...if you ignored the tension.

A heavy air had descended over your friendship forever ago, perhaps from the first night you’d met, and it had never seemed to go away. You could never pinpoint what it was or where it stemmed from, but it was there in the way Harry’s fingers tapped along your thigh while he drove. Or the way he’d wrap his arm around your neck when you’d be standing with your friends, nose brushing over your hair every once in a while. Or the way he’d find his way into your bed during the early hours of the morning when he stayed over, burying his face into your neck, sleep claiming him once again.

For so long, your relationship teetered on that line between friends and something more. You’d thought that all friendships were different and this was just how yours was, but eventually you had to admit it to yourself that the lines were blurred. They always had been, and you wondered to yourself how you’d ever begin to unblur them. That was what you wanted right? 

“You mind if I crash at yours t’night? Your pullout is more comfortable than my bed.”

Harry’s voice pulled you from your trance, and you gave him a shaky nod. With a crooked smile, he pulled you closer, burying his nose into your hair as he led you to your apartment. The rest of the walk was quiet, and the silence felt heavy for some reason as you finally walked up the stairs. You guessed that Harry had way more to drink than you did because he wasted no time before heading to take a shower, clearly desperate to get what you guessed was some much needed sleep.

He’d made a habit of leaving clothes over at your place, so finding something to place on the bathroom counter for him was no hard task. The low timbre that was his voice could be heard as he hummed a few notes, and you busied yourself with warming up some leftovers, determined to get the taste of alcohol out of your mouth. You were done eating by the time he came out, and you wondered to yourself why this always happened.

If things between the two of you were tense and bordering the line of something more around your friends, then it was something else entirely when you two were alone. Harry liked to study you, emerald eyes focused on you any chance they got as he gave you his undivided attention. It made you feel like every twitch of your jaw, every frown, every grimace was accounted for. Nothing concerning you got past him.

Harry watched you like a lover.

“There’s plenty more in there,” you told him as he made his way into the kitchen.

“You shouldn’t eat so late,” he chided, and as you glanced at the ‘3:00’ on the microwave, you supposed that he was right.

You shrugged before standing, moving to put your dishes in the sink. You could feel him behind you, and you ignored the way goosebumps broke out over your skin. You weren’t surprised when his arms came around you, the appendages pulling you back into his chest. You glanced down at the ink that covered his arms and swallowed.

“Do you work tomorrow?”

Confusion filled you at his question, but you answered nonetheless.

“No. Why?”

You tilted your head to look at him, eyes widening a bit as you realized your lips were a hair’s width away from each other.

“Niall’s in town. He’s throwing a little get together and wants you to come…”

Something in his eyes gave you pause, and you got the feeling that he didn’t want you to go. Was it because you had a habit of letting go at any party you went to? Or was it because you and Niall got along so well? Almost as well as you and Harry. You resisted the urge to sigh at yourself, telling yourself that you were overthinking it. Maybe Harry didn’t want to go and was looking for an excuse not to.

Unfortunately, you hadn’t seen the blond singer in over a year and missed him too much.

“Sure! Just let me know what time…”

Harry swept his gaze over you, so quickly you thought you’d imagined it, before sending you a tight smile.

“Great.”

He left you, and as you turned back to your dishes and Harry made quick work of pulling out the couch, you couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t think it was so great.

“I miss the blonde.”

That was the first thing you’d said to Niall, and he only laughed before pulling you into a tight hug. He hadn’t been around for nearly a year, but it did nothing to deter people from showing up. You could hardly move through the large apartment without brushing shoulders with someone. Harry had long left you to get something to drink, but you surmised that the brunette got distracted with either a familiar face or a pretty one. Maybe both.

By now you were way more relaxed than you were when you arrived, alcohol coursing through your system as you chatted with Mitch and Charlotte. The guitarist and piano player were catching you up on what you and Harry had missed last night after you left the bar. Something about cheating boyfriends and a fight. You were mid laugh when you glanced over and made eye contact with someone you thought you’d never see again. 

An old flame. Someone whose name you didn’t even want to speak let alone think. You two had never been official or anything, keeping things casual, but the eventual fall out had been messy and certainly wasn’t something you wanted to revisit. His jet black hair looked as neat as ever, bright eyes wide from some fashion drug, no doubt, and you suddenly had the urge to hide yourself away.

“I’ll be right back. Need to use the bathroom,” you told the pair before you.

You excused yourself before they had a chance to reply, making your way down the extensive hallway before depositing yourself in the very last room. You didn’t even know that him and Niall were friends, but you couldn’t blame the Irish singer for his actions. Your fling with the man in there had been lowkey, kept under wraps, so it’s not like Niall would’ve known.

Harry did though, and luckily for you, he was the one that intruded on your solitude.

“There you are,” he drawled, closing the door behind him. “I saw Andy come in...figured I’d find you hiding somewhere.”

You rolled your eyes with a shrug.

“I’m a coward. What else is new?”

You started to stand, but paused when Harry joined you on the bed, reaching into his pocket.

“What are you doing?”

“Well,” he started, pulling out the blunt and a lighter. “I had planned to welcome Niall back properly, but I think you need it more than him.”

You couldn’t hold back the laugh that bubbled in your throat, no attempt to deny his statement. You accepted as he passed it to you, unable to remember the last time you’d gotten high. You didn’t know how many minutes passed like that, the both of you sitting next to each other in silence, but eventually, like always, you felt Harry’s gaze on you. It was warm and pressing, and when you looked up at him, he didn’t bother to look away.

He was never ashamed of getting caught.

“Why do you do that?” you suddenly asked him.

“Do what?” he wondered.

The smirk on his pink lips and the mischievous glint in his eyes told you that he knew exactly what you were talking about, and you told him as such. His smirk simply grew, and when you reached for the blunt, he held it out of reach. You didn’t know what game he was playing at, but he brought it up to his lips instead, and your eyes widened with realization as he neared you. You knew what Harry was going to do, and while you were unsure if you wanted him to, you didn’t make any moves to stop him. You were paralyzed.

The last time you kissed Harry, you could barely remember what it felt like...what he’d felt like. Not this time. His lips met yours, the feel of them soft and tasting faintly of alcohol. For a moment, you forgot that he wasn’t just kissing you, and your eyes fell closed as you basked in the feel of him. Parting your lips, you inhaled the smoke that escaped his own, and your lashes fluttered at the feel. Harry held himself there for a moment, letting you breathe it all in before eventually pulling away.

Your heart was pounding.

There was a grin on his face when his eyes met yours again, and you watched in awe as he stood up, holding out his hand. As you took it, allowing him to pull you to your feet, you wondered to yourself how he did it. How could he be so casual while you were still reeling, feeling like you’d inhaled not only the smoke, but him as well? How could he take your friendship in his hands and dance along the line so well? Getting so close, but never fully crossing it.

It amazed you and terrified you in ways that left your head spinning.

The rest of the party went by without incident, and you and Andy avoided each other like the plague. Or perhaps, he could have been avoiding you. Harry’s constant presence might have contributed to that. Even now, as you relaxed in the backseat with Harry while Niall gave you a ride back to your place, you could recall the feather light touches of Harry’s fingers on your arm, your shoulder, your neck and even your back.

When you finally made it to your apartment, you both waved Niall goodbye, telling him you’d see him tomorrow. Harry, having way more to drink than you did, was a bit unsteady on his feet, but was far from wasted. However, you wondered how true that really was when your back met the wall the minute the door was closed. Harry was closer than he ever was, hands pressed into the wall at your sides, nose brushing over yours.

Too shocked by the position you found yourself in, you merely stared at the brunette. Your lips parted, but no words came out, and his green gaze was drawn to the action. Reminding yourself that you needed to breathe, you did so, heart skipping a beat when your chest brushed against his with the action. There was that look again, like he was trying to devour you and figure you out all at once, and you brushed your tongue over your bottom lip.

“Harry, I think that you’re…”

Your words died on your tongue when Harry’s lips met yours for the second time that night. This wasn’t like your first kiss all those years ago where you were drunk and thought he was your boyfriend. It wasn’t even like the one earlier that only served a purpose to get you a little high. This was a real kiss, one done with the intention of creating butterflies in your stomach and pulling moans from your throat. You didn’t know why Harry was kissing you, and while this uncharted territory scared you and made you want to shrink in on yourself, you couldn’t find the strength to voice your fears.

Harry’s hands were on your neck, fingers grazing the hair at the nape as he tilted your head whichever way he liked. His lips completely covered yours, leading in a way you’d never experienced before. You’d kissed a lot of guys, some of them bad, some of them great, but none like Harry. Every brush of his fingers had you trembling, and a low whine had climbed out of your throat just as your phone rang. 

Startled by the sound, you both jumped apart, and you pressed your hand to your mouth as you stared at him with wide eyes. You were positive that your apprehension and confusion was clear as day in your eyes, but Harry’s heated gaze reflected nothing of the sort. You swallowed at the way they darkened, the hunger in them as they narrowed, almost daring you to answer the call. Against your better judgement, you did just that, and hurriedly brushed past him as your mother started talking on the other end.

You had locked your door that night, and if Harry had tried to give into his usual habit of sleeping in your bed in the early hours of the morning, you were none the wiser. He had been gone when you woke up, and you didn’t even bother to swallow your sigh of relief. You hadn’t been ready to face him, ready to confront the shift in your relationship, and even an entire week later, that hadn’t changed. You’d always been a coward, but now there was no denying it.

You were avoiding Harry.

Most of his texts were only replied to with one or two word answers, and any talk of meeting up was deterred with some half assed excuse you’d come up with. You didn’t know how to navigate this new territory you found yourself in. You didn’t even know if you liked Harry in that way. Of course, someone would be a fool not to, but you’d never been the smartest of the bunch. Your apprehension was because of more than just him being an international heartthrob though.

Harry always behaved in a way that blurred the lines of your friendship. There was a time when you accepted that it was just who he was, but you were forced to rethink that when you noticed that he didn’t behave that way with anyone else. There were a few moments over the years where you wondered if he was just biding his time, teasing you with his intentions, dangling the inevitable in your face time and time again.

It was clear that he’d gotten tired of teasing.

Unfortunately, with Niall in town, you couldn’t avoid the man forever. No matter how much you wanted to, you couldn’t refuse Niall when he’d asked you to come out on one of his last nights. Even though you knew Harry would be there. It was how you found yourself stepping inside of the dark club with a grimace.

Neon lighting lit up the establishment, and you could hardly hear yourself think with how loud the music was. With the daunting crowd before you, it was a miracle that Niall had even spotted you, grabbing your hand and pulling you towards whatever table they’d claimed for the night. He was there. Even with your eyes fixated on your feet, you could feel that suffocating stare that never failed to make your stomach turn.

Only you could never figure out if it was in a good way or bad one.

You slid in across from him, and you finally lifted your eyes to meet his green ones. As usual, he was shameless in his perusal, dark curls resting messily on his head in a way that only he could pull off. He was sipping on a drink he’d bought, head tilted ever so slightly at you as he smirked behind the glass. Unable to hold firm under his scrutiny and judgement, you excused yourself under the guise of getting a drink.

You had to lean against the counter as you made it to the bar, taking a few deep breaths. You thought to yourself that this night was going to be harder than you thought, and with that, you ordered the strongest drink you could think of. The bartender had just walked away when you were startled by the sight of familiar hands pressing into the bar on either side of you. You felt his chest at your back a moment later, and you both sharply inhaled at the same time.

“Why ‘ave you been avoiding me?”

You weren’t surprised that he got straight to the point, so you decided to follow his lead.

“You kissed me,” was your simple response.

He didn’t respond right away, and if possible, you felt him step closer, chest flush against your back now. You felt him lean in, and your skin pricked when his lips grazed your ear.

“Did you not want me to?” he lowly asked.

The question seemed rhetorical in nature, but you answered anyway.

“Yes...no… I don’t know,” you sighed.

Against your better judgement, you turned around in the cage he’d made of himself, and your eyes met his as your back pressed into the bar.

“We’re friends, Harry,” you told him.

His eyes glinted with something that struck fear into you, the corner of his pink lips curving upwards into a mocking smirk.

“We’ve never been friends...and you know it.”

You didn’t respond to his words, to what you had long been denying, and instead you looked to the ground.

“I like what we have,” you murmured. “I don’t know if I want you in that way.”

“Then let me help you find out,” he whispered.

Those words traveled straight to your stomach, and you ignored the heat that flared within you. You turned to grab your drink that the bartender brought, and Harry slowly straightened, releasing you. Without meeting his eyes again, you rushed past him to join your friends. The tense air between you two remained for the rest of the night. Despite how much you wanted to just leave, you didn’t want to disappoint Niall, and so you endured it.

You put up with Harry’s heated and predatory gaze. You endured that mocking look in his eyes, equally scornful smirk on his lips every time your stare met his. Even when you found yourself on the dance floor, his fingers dancing along whatever sliver of skin you’d decided to show. However, if you were being honest, that wasn’t something you forced yourself to endure. The trail of fire that his fingers left in their wake proved that.

Unsurprisingly, you had your limit, and the time came where you couldn’t take anymore.

“I’ll see you soon, alright?” you told Niall, pulling him into a hug.

“You’re no fun anymore. It’s not even 12! I remember when you didn’t even slow down til 4,” he chuckled.

“It’s just one of those days,” you sighed.

He let you go, and you waved everyone goodbye. The only one who didn’t return it was Harry, and you got the feeling that he had no intentions of wishing you a good night.

Not yet.

You took a much needed shower when you got home, and the hot water did the trick of washing your stress away. Even in the confines of your bathroom, you could still feel Harry’s hungry gaze, and you wondered to yourself if this was it. If this was the point of no return for your friendship. Body still buzzing with the after effects of Harry’s presence, you decided to clean up the apartment a bit. When that was done, you cooked a snack, no mind given to how late it was.

It was a little under 2 hours later, nearing 2 in the morning, when there was a knock on your door. Despite the fact that you knew who it was, a sinking feeling in your gut that told you all you needed to know, you still asked.

“It’s Harry,” he drawled, and you noted that he didn’t sound drunk.

You didn’t know if that relieved you or not.

With a sigh, you stood in front of the door for what felt like the longest time. You debated with yourself on whether or not to let him in. Despite the weird limbo the two of you seemed to be in, he was still your friend, and yet… Somehow...you knew… You knew that if you let him in, your friendship would change forever. You didn’t know how you knew, but you just knew. Still, eventually you sighed and reached for the door, telling yourself that such a prediction was not a guarantee. 

Harry’s eyes were clouded with something you couldn’t -or didn’t want to- name as you opened the door. He’d taken off his jacket, and you wondered how the cold didn’t affect his bare arms. Neither one of you said anything as he strode inside, and you quickly turned to face him as you closed the door. You didn’t like the idea of turning your back to him. You pressed yourself to the door as he merely stared at you, a dark curl hanging into his face, and you exhaled.

“I’ll leave some clothes in the bathroom,” you quietly told him as you stepped by.

He didn’t follow, and you were grateful, quickly finding him something to sleep in. He was nearing the bathroom just as you left it, and you folded your arms over your chest as he eyed you.

“You know how to get the couch sorted. See you in the morning?”

His uncharacteristic silence unnerved you, and you fought the urge to squirm under his piercing gaze. He ran his eyes over you, slowly, and you swallowed. Harry’s gaze snapped to the action, eyes tracing your throat before lingering on your lips. Eventually, his eyes met yours again, lips pulling into a humorless crooked smile as he brushed past you, shoulder grazing yours.

“Of course.”

You blinked as the door shut behind you before forcing your feet to move. You shut your bedroom door behind you just as the sound of running water could be heard, and you hadn’t even realized that your fingers were trembling. You turned towards your door, hand hovering over the knob as you remembered what had transpired the last time that he was here. Your heart pounded beneath your chest, and confusion filled you as you mulled over what you may or may not want. Pulling your lip between your teeth, you back away, leaving the door unlocked, and you slipped into bed.

You didn’t know what time it was when you heard the soft click of your door snapping shut. It was hardly loud by any means, but it woke you nonetheless. Blinking a few times, you stared into the darkness before the overwhelming sense of being watched gripped you. Pushing yourself up with your elbows, you took in Harry’s form as he stood at the end of your bed.

“Mind if I crawl in?”

Weeks ago, you would have said yes without hesitation, but now you didn’t know if you minded or not. Even in the dark, you couldn’t escape that paralyzing gaze, and for some reason, you got the sense that Harry wouldn’t leave even if you did mind. At least not right away...not without making you squirm a bit first.

You pulled the covers back, a silent agreement, but you were stunned when Harry merely gripped them and pulled them completely off of the bed and out of your hands. Your eyes widened as he pressed a knee into the mattress, crawling over you, wasting no time before his lips met yours in a heated kiss. You had no time to process what was happening, Harry immediately finding comfort in between your parted legs.

If you thought the kiss before was real, then it was nothing compared to the way he kissed you now. The one before was almost immature in nature, timid in comparison, and it wasn’t hard to pinpoint why. Harry kissed you like a man starved, finally getting what he’d been craving, what he’d gone so long without.

You could hardly move as he had you pinned beneath him, fingers dancing up your legs, taking your t-shirt with them as they went. You finally felt like you could breathe when he dragged his lips down to your jaw, pressing kisses there before shifting his attention to your neck instead. It was insane. With how many guys you’d slept with, none of them came close to making you feel how Harry did. And he was barely laying a finger on you.

You felt him pull at your underwear, a gasp escaping you when he dragged them down your legs. Was this really happening? Was this something you wanted to happen? If you wanted, there was still time to salvage this friendship, to stop things before they truly went too far. Despite your own conflicted feelings on the matter, you opened your mouth to do just that, but Harry’s lips swallowed your words, long fingers finding their way inside of you.

You gasped into his mouth, only just now feeling his rings press into your skin, shudders wracking your frame as he played with you. In and out. That was all you could comprehend, how he moved them within you, curling them with every thrust and every flick of his wrist. Harry groaned as he tasted the inside of your mouth, pulling away to sit up on his knees. You were a squirming mess beneath him, and he pressed his other hand onto your stomach to hold you down when your back lifted from the bed.

Your head was thrown back, mouth parted and eyes focused on your ceiling. Every attempt to swallow down a moan was unsuccessful, and it wasn’t long before his own name started to tumble from your lips. You wrapped one hand around his wrist, nails pressing into his skin as he pushed his fingers into you, the sound of your arousal filling the room. Your other hand wrapped around his arm, holding on as your climax creeped up on you, crescendoing until you were shaking beneath him, feet pressing into the bed while Harry watched you come undone.

You still shook as he withdrew from you, and you watched as he wrapped his lips around his fingers, a low moan escaping at the taste of you. His lashes fluttered closed, like he was savoring it, and when he opened his eyes again, they were the most serious you’d ever seen them. The seconds that followed were a blur.

Your shirt was easily ripped off of you, and Harry’s own clothes soon followed, landing on the floor just as he settled over you again. He took your face into his hands, drinking you in with a look that scared you. It wasn’t just triumph, but it was satisfaction and yearning and possessiveness all rolled into one. It was so similar to how he always looked at you, but it was also so different. You thought that you had seen through him, could read him so well, but this was a rude awakening.

Harry had hid much more than you could have ever imagined.

He kissed you again, pressing his lips against yours so fiercely, you were sure they’d bruise. The cool metal of his rings pressed into your jaw, and he breathed into your lips, his lower half shifting, lifting, just before he flipped you over. A gasp escaped you when the room spun, and you blinked as you adjusted to this new position on your stomach. Harry’s fingers fisted into your hair, lips grazing your neck, and that was all the warning you got.

A choked moan escaped you when he thrust into you, your warm walls welcoming him like he belonged there. Perhaps he did, and perhaps Harry had known that all along. He moaned into your neck, the sound deep and shaky, the vibrations traveling through your heated frame. He held himself there for the longest time, just delighting in the feel of you wrapped around him. You did the same, eyes falling closed at your fullness, at how Harry seemed to stretch you so good.

One hand was still in your hair, the other pressing into your waist as he pulled back until only the tip of him remained before he snapped his hips against you. Your eyes flew open, your gasp bleeding into breathy moans as Harry set an unrelenting pace. Every curve of his hips had your toes curling, and you wondered to yourself why you hadn’t done this sooner. What had you been so afraid of? As Harry pressed kisses to your neck, fingers tightening in your hair, you remembered what you had been so afraid of.

Yes, Harry had always looked at you like a lover, but never like a lover that he was trying to court, that he hoped would be his. He looked at you like he already knew what you tasted like, felt like. Harry looked at you like a lover that was already his. No matter how many men you’d slept with nor how many drunken makeout sessions you’d participated in, Harry always looked at you like you belonged to him.. He touched you like you were his, wrapped you up in his arms, slid in behind you during the early hours of the morning before the sun even rose like you were his.

You feared what would happen when you finally were.

Your hand clutched the pillow, other fingers scraping the sheets as he pushed himself in and out of you. You could hardly speak, let alone keep your eyes open, and you squeezed them shut, fingers tightening on the pillow with every snap of his hips. You bit your lip, embarrassed by the sounds he was drawing out of you, but despite your efforts, soft whimpers found their way into the air.

“You feel so good, pet,” he breathed. “Doing so well…”

You clenched around him at his praise, and his deep chuckle reached your ears.

“You like that, do you?”

Certain that you were drawing blood by now, you released your lip, a shaky sigh escaping you. The sound of skin slapping against skin overshadowed everything else, and you pressed your forehead against the sheets. Harry had you caged beneath him, his other hand leaving your waist and pressing into the mattress beside your head. Your scalp burned from his tight grip, and your core burned even hotter from his thrusts. When you peeled your eyes open again, you were surprised to find your vision blurry, and it was only after you blinked did you take note of the tears kissing your lashes.

Crying during sex was a first for you, but it couldn’t be helped. Harry was fucking you so good, and you wondered how you’d ever go to anyone else. A laugh threatened to bubble in your chest, but all that escaped was another moan. As if Harry would ever let you… The way he touched you, kissed you, fucked you...it made you think that he wasn’t planning to let you go anytime soon.

You could feel your stomach tightening, and you reached back to twist your fingers into his dark curls. He groaned at the action, picking up his pace, and his name slipped from your lips again and again and again. Each time a bit higher than the last, and the coil within you snapped, your core clenching and fluttering around his cock. He stilled against you, dewy chest pressed to your back as he spilled into you, flooding your insides with a low moan.

You weren’t even able to catch your breath before he was maneuvering your head to kiss you. He swallowed what little breath you had left, pulling out of you and rolling you onto your back, never breaking the kiss. Your eyes were barely open when he pulled away, and you moved to chase his lips with your own, missing the feel of them already, but his hands on your face prevented you from doing so.

You stared at each other for what felt like a long time, your lashes fluttering as you gazed into his eyes. Harry’s thumbs brushed circles into your skin, and his eyes glinted with something unknown as his lips pulled into a smirk. With a satisfied chuckle, he leaned down to kiss you again. 

~

tags: @lokislastlove​ @honeychicana​

[stardusttrashed]

Lovestruck

Pairing: Professor Erwin x Fem! Reader, Sasha x Connie 

Word Count: 4K

Part 2

“Have you ever seen a man that good-looking?” You hummed at Sasha’s comment, not even bothering to look up from your screen to see who she was referring to. “I mean, wow! He’s like a greek god or something.” 

Connie rolled his eyes in amusement at his girl’s rambles. “He does have nice eyebrows,” he joined in.

She whipped her head towards Connie with a dumbfounded smile. “Right?! He could probably cut someone with those cheekbones.” 

With a sigh, you looked up from your laptop, finally indulging the two. “Who’s the so-called Greek god,” you asked in an unamused tone. Your eyes followed Sasha’s finger through the fairly empty coffee shop until they landed on a man sitting alone by the window.

Sasha was right, which didn’t often happen unless it involved food. He was intimidatingly perfect, chiseled from his face to his body. The sunlight hung around him like a cloak, providing an angelic glow that shadowed his strong cheekbones and jawline. He leaned casually in the chair, his large frame towering over the plastic structure as his arm rested on the table. His hand loosely held onto the cup in front of him, ever ready to take another sip. His other hand held a book in the air. The book looked small in his hands like it was merely a phone. 

Your breath hitched in your throat as he glanced up from his book, giving you a perfect view of his face. You couldn’t believe your eyes. More accurately, you couldn’t believe the cerulean eyes and incredibly thick eyebrows you saw. “You’re shitting me,” you breathed in disbelief. Sasha and Connie turned to face you with curious expressions. You bit back a girlish smile and shook your head, “it’s nothing.” You shrugged off their unconvinced looks and quickly added, “I just, uh, I used to have him as a teacher.”

Sasha’s eyes practically bulged out of her head at your words, “you’re telling me you had that-” she gestured to the man across the room, “- for a teacher, and I’m just now hearing about this?! How’d you even focus? What’d he teach? Was he always this good-looking? Does he still teach?” Connie opened his mouth to interject, but Sasha cut him off by placing her finger on his lips. “No, I’m going to Mystery inc. this and get to the bottom of this. She’s been withholding valuable information!”

You let out a chuckle and ducked your head in embarrassment. “It’s not that big of a deal,” you trailed off. “It was years ago. He probably doesn’t even remember me.” You tried to sound as carefree as possible despite the butterflies at the thought.

“That’s not what I-” Sasha quickly shut her mouth as another voice joined the conversation. 

“I thought it was you,” a smooth husky voice cut in. You looked up to see the greek god smiling gently at you. His thick eyebrows knitted together nervously when you didn’t reply after a moment. “Y/n, right?”

Your cheek warmed as your name fell from his lips. It fell from his lips so naturally like it belonged there, filling you with an indescribable warmth. “Mr. Smith,” you breathed as a giddy smile formed on your lips. “It’s been a while.” You wet your lips as you not so subtly looked him up and down. He was a lot more muscular now than he was a few years ago. He had practically doubled in size since you last saw him. The rolled-up sleeves of his off-white button-up shirt clung to his arms desperately. A few buttons were left open, allowing you to catch a glimpse of his collarbone. 

Sasha was right. He was nothing short of a greek god. He was enough to make statues envious.

The worry in Erwin’s face dissipated into a dreamy grin, “far too long.” You looked exactly like he remembered you, gorgeous. He cleared his throat as he looked down at the book in his hand. “I was passing by and saw you,” his icy blue eyes met yours. “I was going to ask if you would like to catch up, but I see you’re busy.”

“She’d love to,” Connie quickly answered for you, nudging Sasha under the table. 

“Yeah, don’t worry about us,” Sasha stammered as she rose from her seat. “We had things planned anyway.”

“Right,” you drawled, turning your attention towards the couple that was preparing to leave. 

“Yeah, so we’ll see ya later,” Connie hurriedly responded. His words spilled out like water from a broken dam as he gathered your stuff for you. You opened your mouth to protest, but you knew anything you said would only fall on deaf ears. Connie stood up and walked off hand and hand with Sasha.

You could hear their mischievous giggles until they were finally out of sight. You shook your head with a chuckle before looking back up at Erwin. “Well, Mr. Smith, it looks like you’re in luck. My schedule just so happened to free up.” You shrugged, flashing him a gentle smile, “what a coincidence.” 

“Looks like it was meant for us to catch up,” Erwin remarked with a nervous chuckle. He offered his hand to you, helping you out of your seat. He tucked his book under his arm, freeing his other hand so he could grab your bag for you before handing it to you.

A bashful smile graced your lips at his actions as you mumbled a quiet ‘thank you.’ You had always pictured him as quite a gentleman, but his chivalrous acts melted your heart. You walked by his side quietly until you reached a nearby park. Erwin led you under a tree, stopping you so he could lay his jacket on the ground for you to sit on.

“Hope you’re not trying to impress me, Mr. Smith,” you giggled, sitting down on his suit jacket. Your hands absentmindedly busied themselves, smoothing out the wrinkles in his coat.

“Just doing what feels right.�� He chortled as he sat beside you. “And it’s just Erwin.”

“Alright, just Erwin,” you joked in a silky voice. 

He laughed his first real laugh of the day, the sound coming from deep with his stomach. “Still as witty as ever.” His ocean eyes never left your face once, too stunned to look anywhere else. 

He could still remember the first time he laid eyes on you. You took his breath away from the very beginning. Every part of you intrigued him, from your looks to your brain. The way the sun shined off your melanin skin made you look like nothing short of a goddess in his eyes. The golden highlight was almost too much for him to take. There was a glow about you that he couldn’t find anywhere else no matter how hard he looked. It didn’t matter if you were outside or under the dead fluorescent lights of the classroom, you were a star, demanding attention without ever really trying. 

“Wow,” he breathed quietly after a moment. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

You giggled shyly and rolled your eyes. “Wish I could say the same about you. You look like you could give Chris Evans a run for his money.” You enjoyed the small blush spreading across his cheeks. “I’m serious. The Mr. Smith- er, Erwin I knew wasn’t as,” you trailed off, growing too embarrassed to continue. You looked down at your pants instead, picking at the threads.

Erwin was thankful you stopped yourself from continuing. He didn’t think his cheeks could handle any more compliments from you. Had you continued, he probably would’ve ended up looking like a tomato. “Thank you.” He scratched the back of his neck embarrassedly.

You fought back a cheeky smile as you noticed him timidly look away. Despite his outer appearance, he was a big softie. It was like being next to the big friendly giant. “So, what do you do for a living nowadays? You still a teacher?”

“I am actually, they made me one of the official creative writing professors. It doesn’t leave much free time for writing anymore, but I love it nonetheless.” He smiled wistfully as he watched the people walk past. A few quiet moments passed before he brought his attention back to you. “Y’know, I’ve seen a lot of bright students come and go, but none have been quite as amusing as you.” Erwin bit the inside of his cheek, hoping he wasn’t being too forward. 

You shrugged off his comment, oblivious to their hinting undertone, “we were a good class and your first class. Of course, we’re going to leave an impression on you.”

He hummed thoughtfully in reply as if that wasn’t what he was getting at. “What about you? What’d you end up doing?”

“I guess you can say I took after my favorite teacher and became a writer.” You glanced at him through the corner of your eye, gauging his reaction.

“I was your favorite teacher?” Erwin couldn’t help the bashful smile that forced its way onto his face. 

“Wow,” you dragged out dramatically with a teasing smile. You met Erwin’s steady gaze and playfully pushed his arm. It took every ounce of self-control not to leave your hand resting on his bicep. You pushed the thought aside, choosing to continue to tease him instead. “Someone’s cocky! You aren’t the only teacher I had who wrote.”

“Then who, if I may ask, was it?”

“Just some teacher, you probably wouldn’t know them. Y’know big campus and all.” You shrugged nonchalantly. 

“Right,” Erwin drawled out with an amused smile. “Well, just in case you ever need some help or a writing buddy-,” he fished around in his pockets before pulling his phone out, “-maybe I should give you my number.” His eyes flashed down to his phone. “Just assuming your favorite professor is busy or anything.” 

You chewed on your lip, fighting back a playful smile. “Of course, there’s no such thing as too many connections.” Erwin hummed in response, handing you his phone. Your breath caught in your throat as his fingers gently brushed against yours. 

“Ah,” you exclaimed once you caught sight of the time, “crap! I told him I told Eren I wouldn’t be late again.” You groaned, handing back the phone as you scrambled to your feet. “I’m sorry I have to go,” you sent Erwin an apologetic smile. “It was really nice catching up. We should do it again sometime! Ugh, hopefully, Armin is there to make sure  he doesn’t kill me.”

Erwin opened his mouth to remind you about the phone but decided against it at the last minute. “Be safe,” he called out to you as you ran off. He wasn’t even sure you had heard him, probably too caught up in rushing to hear clearly. His eyes followed your frame until it disappeared in the crowded streets. A disappointed sigh fell from his lips. Letting you leave the second time wasn’t any easier than the first. He thought maybe this time would be different. This time he would have the courage to ask you to stay without any restrictions. 

He chuckled at himself as he stood up and gathered his things. Here he was pitying himself over the fact that you had left again. Yet, fate had brought you together twice already. If he had the chance to see you again, he promised himself that he would let you walk away so easily. After all, they say third times the charm. 

***

“What is it,” Levi asked, earning a quiet hum from Erwin. He took a sip of tea before continuing. “You keep scanning the room like you’re looking for someone,” he noted. “You’ve barely paid attention to any conversation. Plus,” Levi set his cup down before leaning his chin on his hand, “you made us drive thirty minutes to go to a coffee shop even though you have one walking distance from your house. So, what’s so special about this place?” He leaned back in his chair, resting his elbow on the back of it. “Cause apparently, it’s not the coffee.”

Erwin looked down at his still full cup of coffee, which was now lukewarm at best. He chuckled embarrassedly, hoping the sudden warmth he was experiencing was just his imagination. His order was long forgotten, his mind too preoccupied with thoughts of you. “Guess I’ve been caught,” he smiled embarrassedly.

“You’re kidding right,” Sasha yelled at you as you walked through the door. “You left Mr. Perfect without giving him your number.  To go be with Eren?” She looked to Connie with a baffled expression for support. “Am I the only one who sees how stupid that was?”

“Relax already,” you sighed. You had already gotten this speech before over text. You got it repeatedly, actually, at least once every day for the past week. “I know. I wasn’t thinking-.”

“Oh, I know,” she cut you off. “That’s like you having a perfectly juicy steak handed to you, just for you to reject it for a cold chicken nugget.”

“Eren is cute in his own way,” you tried to defend him only to be completely ignored. 

“Well, Armin is more like a steak too, just a little one,” Connie chimed in as he read the menu. 

“True. Wait, no, that’s not the point.” She stopped mid-rant to tell the cashier her order. “The point is she had-.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” You paused to put in your order before following Sasha to your usual table. “I left Erwin to go meet up with Eren, who was fucking late anyways.”

“Yeah, sure, no worries. No need to pitch in or offer; I got it,” Connie grumbled as he paid. He trailed behind you and Sasha, plopping down in his usual spot with a childish huff. 

“Thank you, lovebug,” Sasha cooed, pecking his cheek. “You’re the best, unlike some people.” She glared playfully at you from the corner of her eye. 

You sighed melodramatically, practically rolling your eyes into the back of your head. “How long are you going to hold this over me?”

“She’ll think about the answer to that while you go get our drinks,” Connie answered for her with a devilish smirk. 

“Wow,” you drawled with a feigned hurt expression, “you too, Connie?” You shook your head disappointedly, “can’t trust no one.” You begrudgingly walked over to the counter where three drinks sat. You nearly dropped the cup in your hands as a familiar voice spoke up behind you. 

“Mind if I give you a hand?”  

“Erwin,” you gasp, jumping harder than you’d like. The scalding tea on your skin left little time for you to feel embarrassed. “Ah,” you hissed under your breath as you quickly placed the cup back on the counter. “Fuck.”

“Apologies,” Erwin quickly stepped in beside you, “I didn’t mean to scare you.” Without thinking, he took your hand into his own, cradling it like you were made of glass. His warm hands were nothing in comparison to the rising heat in your cheeks as he gently wiped your hand with a napkin. “I just wanted to say ‘hi,’” he continued in a low bashful voice.

You couldn’t help the soft giggles that tumbled from your lips. There he was, being a big friendly giant again. You looked up at him for the first time, watching the way his brows furrowed with concern. “Well, I’m glad you did.” You gave his hand a grateful squeeze, “wasn’t sure if I’d get to see you again. I definitely need all the help I can get with my new project.”

“I- uh, well,” he stumbled over his words, quickly retracting his hand from yours. He carefully grabbed all three cups. “Where to?” He felt childish getting this flustered over just being around you. The small smile on your face was enough to send his heart into overtime. 

You plucked your cup from his hand, gingerly taking a sip. With a nod, you led him to your table. 

“Took you long en-ah!” Sasha’s eyes bulged out of her head as her eyes landed on the towering figure behind you. “What the hell,” she exclaimed, causing a few curious glances to be cast in her direction. “I- you,” she focused her gaze on you, “how’d you manage to find the greek god again?”

Your eyebrows shot up more in embarrassment than in surprise. Sasha was never once for subtleties, always the most outspoken one of the group. You set your cup down with a sigh. “I’m sorry about her,” you turned to him with an apologetic. “Erwin meet Sasha and Connie-,” you took their cups from his hands and set them on the table, “-Sasha and Connie meet Erwin.”

Connie nodded in acknowledgment, “feel free to sit with us.” You could tell he was trying to play it cool for your sake. Truth be told, Sasha had him just as invested in the man as she was. It probably wasn’t the healthiest, but it damn sure is fun. Who needed reality tv when they could just watch you?

Erwin could feel your hopefully expectant gaze focus on him, yet his eyes remained trained on Connie. Probably to keep him from turning any redder. He was already on the verge of becoming a tomato as it is. “I actually came here with a friend.” 

“Invite him over,” Sasha blurted out. She ignored the way you momentarily glared daggers at her for pushing the subject. “The more, the merrier.”

They both looked like they had turned to putty as Erwin chuckled quietly. If you didn’t know any better you would’ve thought they were the ones with a crush on him. Not that you had a crush on him. You just liked admiring the man and being around him. “Guys-.”

“So this is why you’ve been dragging me here every day,” a cold, unfamiliar voice cut in. His voice alone was enough to send chills down your spine. So much so that you nearly missed that he said Erwin was coming here every day. Even Sasha and Connie straightened up under his presence. “Interesting. Mind if I take a seat?”

You turned to the man, catching his piercing eyes finish looking you up and down. He was shorter and leaner than Erwin, but something about his presence made him seem like the more intimidating of the two. “Y-yeah, sure.” You paused for a while, allowing his words to register in your mind.

“Everyone, meet Levi,” Erwin broke the silence as he took a seat next to you. “Levi, meet Sasha, Connie, and Y/n.” 

“So you’ve been coming here every day,” you blurted out, getting the attention of everyone. You waited for an answer but only received a bashful smile. Your mind was moving a mile a minute. You were sure you were making a bigger deal of this than necessary. 

“Starting to think he doesn’t come here for the drinks,” Levi said smugly, answering for Erwin. “Or maybe I’m just imagining things,” he mumbled into his cup.

You took a seat between Levi and Erwin, your eyes never leaving his frame. 

“Y’know, I like this place a lot,” Sasha chimed in, barely able to hide her cheeky smile. “But I don’t think the scenery is great enough to make me come here every day.”

“I’ve definitely had better coffee,” Connie shrugged. 

“Tea is nothing to brag about either,” Levi agreed despite taking another sip from his cup.

You could feel the embarrassment radiating off of Erwin. With every new playfully dig, it seemed harder to get him to meet your gaze. His ocean eyes landed everywhere but on you. 

“That’s an interesting-looking napkin, huh,” you asked teasingly in a voice only he could hear. He glanced at you through the corner of his eye, a smirk tugging on the corner of his lips.

“Well, the prices are nice, though,” Sasha continued to tease slyly. You glanced over at Sasha with an exasperated glare, which she shrugged off. “So, Levi- was it- how do you know Erwin?”

“You’re loving this aren’t you,” Erwin groaned, finally bringing his eyes up to meet your own. He was enjoying every minute of looking at your playful smile, basking in the welcoming warmth. He shook his head with a chuckle, already knowing your answer from the mischievous glint in your eyes.

“Oh, every minute,” you giggled as you pointed a finger at his rosy cheeks. “Between you being a tomato and finding out Erwin the Greek god Smith came here looking for me-.” 

“Cocky much?” Erwin flashed a dashing smile, “who said I was looking for you?”

You nodded, holding back a laugh. “Oh, right, of course. How silly of me.” You took your phone out with a shrug, “guess there’s no point in asking for your number then.” Erwin opened his mouth as if he was about to protest but quickly closed it.  

“Hey,” Sasha interjected with a huff. “What’s the fun in making fun of you two if y’all just go into your own little la-la lands.” 

“We weren’t,” you stammered before getting cut off by Connie.

“Were. We had a whole conversation, and you two didn’t even notice,” he stated matter of factly with a shrug before his mischievous grin returned to his lips. “At least exchange phone numbers this time.”

You stared at him wide-eyed, far too embarrassed to glare or come up with a retort. Your mouth opened and closed a few times like a gasping fish before you decided to keep your mouth closed with a huff. Just as you were about to change the subject, you noticed Erwin reach for your phone lying on the table. 

“We were actually just getting to that,” Erwin replied with a cocky yet teasing grin. It was like someone flipped a switch on him. He was no longer this huge blushy and shy giant next to you. He exuded confidence but never crossed over into being cocky or egotistical. He took your phone in his hand and handed it to you so you could unlock it. “Y’know before we were interrupted from our ‘la la land’ and all.”

Sasha looked to you with a surprised expression as if asking for confirmation. You weren’t sure which was more shocking to her, that you were actually about to exchange numbers or that Erwin was finally retaliating. You mimicked Connie’s nonchalant shrug from a few moments ago as you unlocked your phone for Erwin. 

Everyone seemed to be on the edge of their seats as Erwin typed in his contact information. Even Levi was visibly intrigued, though he tried to hide under his regular hardened and uninterested expression. Erwin didn’t notice anyone but you, however. All he could feel was your warmth beside him and your gaze locked on his hands. Having your undivided attention made him want to type even slower. 

“Geez, what are you, a turtle? Actually, I think I’ve seen turtles move faster,” you teased with a nervous chuckle. The sudden quiet atmosphere at the table was too much. You felt the need to say something. Was that the best? Probably not.

Erwin laughed a throaty laugh, “someone seems eager.” His eyes flitted up to yours, “guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You were the same way in class. That’s probably why you were one of my favorites. But I feel the need to remind you,” he handed you your phone, “sometimes taking things slow is what makes it fun.”

The way he held your gaze sent your mind into a drunken-like daze. He was intoxicating in every way, completely taking over your mind until all you could think of was you and him. “Dealing with all these writing deadlines might’ve made me forget that.” You leaned closer, resting your chin in your palm. “Maybe I need a demonstration to help jog my memory.”

Erwin looked at you with a lopsided smirk. His eyes trailed down your face, landing on your lips longer than he intended. Every ounce of him wanted to take you up on the suggestion, but he wasn’t sure if you were being serious or just teasing. 

“There you two go again,” Levi interrupted. You quickly sat back in your chair, creating room between you and Erwin. You could faintly make out a small chuckle from Levi. “If you two wanted to be alone, all you had to do was ask.”

“N-no,” you quickly stammered. “It’s not like that.” You couldn’t help the heat rising to your cheeks. “It’s just-,” you glanced at Erwin with a small smile, “-it’s nice seeing one of my favorite teachers again.”

“I sure hope your classroom wasn’t filled with as much sexual tension,” Sasha murmured. 

Erwin raised an eyebrow in confusion. His mouth opened as if he was going to say something, but closed into a tight line. 

“On that note, I should get going.” You quickly rose from your seat, avoiding making eye contact with Erwin. “Got another meeting with Jeager-bomb.” Sasha practically rolled her eyes into the back of her head but kept her mouth shut. At least you got his number before running off again. “Bye, guys! Oh, and it was nice meeting you, Levi.” You finally let your fall on Erwin, who had a somewhat expectant look on his face. “I’ll call you the next time I need help,” you couldn’t fight the girlish smile tugging on your lips.

“I look forward to it.”

[nekowriteshaikyuu]

 - mistletoe with middle blockers -

 𝕥𝕤𝕦𝕜𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕞𝕒 , 𝕜𝕦𝕣𝕠𝕠 , 𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕦 ,

 — slight nsfw, fluff, not proofread

 word count : i’m so lazy to copy and paste so uh..alot u^u

 a/n : it was so difficult having little to no connection at home, but all’s good now ! anyways this was pretty last minute but nonetheless, i hope you guys enjoy this !! decided to create this after impulsively buying the christmas dlc for mystic messenger aksksk. also i tried to write for more than one person so yeah, do give me any feedback so i could improve:) ngl writing kuroos’ is so heartwarming, his one is the best out all three uwu (that’s why is a little longer lolol)  anyways enjoy and merry christmas !! 

—

𝕥𝕤𝕦𝕜𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕞𝕒 𝕜𝕖𝕚

he’s not really into christmas because of the blinding lights that littered everywhere, so he often stays home

his house is no where near festive so you’d hang some decorations every single day you come over.

on christmas itself, you saved the mistletoe last to kind of give off a finishing touch

tsukki would just mock you when you constantly jump to hang the mistletoe by the door, in the end he helped you and sighed because he know what’s coming.

“yaay !!” you threw your hands up in the air, eyeing on the last deco that was put up. tsukki leaned by the door, hands crossed over as he stared blankly on the floor. inching a little closer, you looked at him with your gleaming eyes, hinting him.

“i’m not kissing you.” he said coldly, walking away from the door to the kitchen. you pout as you trail along behind him, begging for even just a peck on the cheek.

“tsukki please ~ it’s christmas !!” your arms cling onto his as you rubbed your head onto it. tsukki wasn’t reacting much but inside, he’s dying by how adorable you were to desperately beg for a kiss. he wouldn’t mind kissing you, but he know very well that the minute his lips touch yours, there’s no way it will end then and there. he sighed as he took a sip of water, slowly getting annoyed by your constant whine and you pulling his sweater.

“stop pulling my shirt.” you eventually let loose before stomping into the room and closing the door shut, the mistletoe dropping to the ground. tsukki slowly made his way back and noticed the fallen mistletoe. picking it up, he opened the door slowly before hanging it back. you sat on the bed, face smooshed into the pillow as you laid completely still. he sighed, before walking up to you, grabbing your wrist and dragging you out.

you groaned, trying to pry from his grip but only for him to tightened it. he stopped by the door, having a moment of thoughts

“you don’t have to do it, i’m not asking anymo-” you couldn’t finish your sentence before tsukki turns to face you, cupping your cheeks and pecking your lips. you stood there, your face burning up and turning red. tsukki pushed his hair backwards before picking you up and throwing you to the bed.

“i knew this was gonna happen, you’re gonna accept it no matter what.” taking his glasses off, he glared down at you, his brows furrowing. 

what a night you could say ~

—

𝕜𝕦𝕣𝕠𝕠 𝕥𝕖𝕥𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕠𝕦

this guy- istg. 

any mistletoe, like any, EVEN THE ONES PLACED INFRONT OF A BUSY MALL, he’d sneakily give you a kiss.

your face will burn like hell but aint gonna lie though you liked it alot

he’ll go out to wrap his arm around your waist and pull you close to him, giving you a very long and passionate kiss

so long sometimes people just awes the both of you and wish you both the best of luck (you’re face will be as red as a tomato by now)

every year, he’d always hand you a gift after kissing below a mistletoe, just to spice things up (what a gentleman uwu)

maybe this year...i guess you could say you’ll never forget this year’s christmas. ever.

walking around the mall with your hand intertwined with your boyfriend’s, it was the most romantic date out of all the dates you’ve went with him. you could have spent your day at his place, binge watching every christmas movie he downloaded online. but he felt a little special and decided to bring you out to see the lights and do some shopping here and there.

you stopped after eyeing on the huge christmas tree deco that was centered at the mall. you pulled out your phone, dragging kuroo in as you snapped pictures of the both of you with the beautifully lit tree as your background. you heart melt as you take short glances to your boyfriend who was smiling as you snapped the pictures. after a few takes, you switched the camera around to take pictures of the lights and your surrounding. you were so engrossed with the atmosphere you weren’t aware of what’s was anticipating upon you.

you felt a hand gripping onto your arm and pulling you back. turning, kuroo only smiled before his eyes looked up. you followed his eyes to see the little plant hanging above the both of you. your cheeks grew red, knowing very well that he’d devour your lips even if you both are in public. kuroo took your phone from your hands, pocketing it into his coat. his hand snaked around your waist, while the other cupped the side of your cheek. his face slowly inched closer to yours, feeling the tip of your noses touching each other. your eyes were shut close as you felt his soft lips colliding with yours. as per usual, the kiss was slow, passionate, filled with love. you could hear couples behind aweing the both of you. a rush of embarrassment started to creep upon you, making you try to pull away from the kiss. it only made kuroo deepened the kiss, his grip around your waist tightening. after a solid seven minutes of endless love, he broke it off, his eyes looking straight into yours. you gave him a weak smile, still slightly embarrassed that this all occurred in public. he tucked your hair that was covering your face, lifting your chin up slightly higher to see your every feature.

“i love, y/n.” he said cheekily. you only lightly punched his chest, before saying it back. he took a step back away from you, pulling a small black box from the inside of his coat. oh my god. is this really happening? is it what you think it is? you watched every move he did, where he got down on one of his knee, slowly opening the box revealing a diamond ring nicely tucked in the sponge placed inside. a swam of people soon crowd around, some with their phones out recording.

“my dearest y/n, spending my high school years with you till this very day has never once been a bore to me. every moment, i cherish it. every memory, i kept it secure within my heart. you are my everything, and for that, i want to create more memories with you, each better than the one before. “ he took the ring out the box, reaching out for your hand.

“y/n, will you marry me ?” you could the lights reflecting from his eyes, his smile never leaving his face. everyone crowding around slowly waited for your respond, some clenching their hands into each other in hopes of this public engagement to be successful. you giggled, a tear shedding from your eyes. you looked at kuroo, stepping a little closer to him, before nodding with a smile pasted on your face.

“i would love to.” the crowd was cheering, applauding as kuroo slipped the ring onto your finger. he got up from his kneel, pulling you in for a hug. you sighed in relief as you bury your face onto his chest.

“god, this is embarrassing !!” you screamed into his chest, bringing him to laugh while caressing your hair. 

hands down, this was the best christmas day ever.

—

𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕒𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕚

honestly, he has never once walk by a mistletoe.

n e v e r

either he avoids it or just pays no attention to it

with that, he doesn’t get why couples kiss in certain locations that has a small plant hanging above them.

you thought you could use this as an advantage to get him to give you a little kiss.

you went to the deco shop and bought a mistletoe, hiding it in your bag as you went back into the dorm he was living in.

you waited for a perfect time before you could pull  it out and kiss him

but i guess not all plans work out, huh ?

“satori !!” you cheered as he opened the front door, his smile growing just as you arrived. he let you in, closing the door behind him before plopping back in bed, reading his weekly shounen jump magazine. now is the perfect time. you quietly took the mistletoe out of your back, tiptoeing you way behind tendou who was busy reading. you held the mistletoe above in between both of you, preparing youself. you cleared your throat loud and clear for tendou to hear, which worked and he turned around.

you inched closer, eyes close as you slowly move closer to tendou to kiss him.

“wakatoshi ?” he said before moving out of your way, making you fall face flat onto his pillow. you groaned, turning to realise wakatoshi was standing at the door. tendou walked up to him, conversing away as you lay on the bed, upset that your plan did not work. you toyed with the mistletoe on your hand, tempting to throw it away. you were downplayed the idea of kissing him. despite dating him for over 5 months now, he never really showed much affection aside from hugs or just head pats.

after a while, ushijima left the dorm after handing tendou a gift. tendou turned to see you in the midst of chucking the mistletoe in the bin, which caught his attention.

“oh ? isn’t that the plant thingy that couples kiss under ?” you were surprised he knew despite not seeing one is real life. he walked over to you, taking it from your hands and observing it. he was mesmerised, fondling with it for a while. he placed ushijima’s gift on the table before resuming to inspect the little ornament.

you started to grow a little annoyed that we was taking too long playing with it. your hands were crossed and one of your knee popped out as you spoke in a very cold manner.

“look, it’s trash, just throw it out.” to your surprised, tendou stretches his arm that was holding the mistletoe up high above, before his lips pecking yours. his sudden action kind of caught you off guard. you could not react fast before he smashed his lips back to yours, a hand snaked around your waste to pull you closer. your hands cupped his cheeks as you slowly melt from the kiss. you’ve anticipated this long enough and now you got it.

tendou broke the kiss, chucking the mistletoe straight into the bin before pushing you down to the bed. he hovered above you, his hands caging you. he lowered his body closer to yours. you shiver slightly which made him grin from your reaction.

“you were hoping for this weren’t you, hmph?” he whispered to your ear. this was a whole new side of tendou you’re experiencing. however, you were rather fond of his more dominant side, instead of his cheerful loud side he portrayed since the beginning of your relationship. 

your noses touch, his lips slightly brushing over yours. he got back up, removing his shirt before tossing it to the ground and caging you back with his hands.

“i guess our christmas is gonna be a wild one, huh?” he giggled before nibbling on your earlobe. 

i’ll let your imagination roam further~

but let’s just say, you were satisfied at the end despite your plan backfiring<3

[azucanela]

Hi i really loved your first date HC❤❤👌 i dont know if your requests are open but if they are could you maybe do the same thing with baby boi kiri ??

FIRST DATE HEADCANNONS + SCENARIOS

[ft. denki kaminari, kirishima ejirou]

bakugo, todoroki, shinsou version

SUMMARY: how did they ask you out? And how’d the date go? Well... 

WORD COUNT: 2.2k

WARNINGS: kissing, pretty pg, corny pick up lines

A/N: im glad you liked it! hope you don’t mind that i added denki bc i wanted to do more than one person lol. also im sorry it took so long!!! i lacked inspiration akjsdlksjkldj

DENKI KAMINARI

SO THIS ONE

so panicked when asking you out like he almost gets bakugo in on it

kirishima suggests super manly stuff like buying you roses but he ends up writing you a little note that says “will you go out with me? check yes or yes.” he’s kinda freaking out lol

he’s genuinely worried you will say no be careful with his heart

anyways he has it passed through the classroom and is highkey worried the note will be intercepted by aizawa but its fine it fine

and then mina gets it 

in all honesty, you probably thought the note was for mina, and if it did involve getting asked out, it was definitely for her

but then mina passes the note to you with a SMIRK

looks like someone couldn’t READ THE R O O M

smh

anyways, when he turns over to face you in the middle of class, basically sweating bullets, you’re kinda like ??? bc what is this mans doing

you look at the note and realize your name is on it like OH, he probably need homework answer lol

then you open it and it says “will you go out with me? check yes or yes.” 

even though he’s a really flirty person, he likes you alot so that persona kinda fades with you since he respects you 

and it also makes him really nervous around you

you’re kinda like :o

and he’s like :,)

so then you laugh a little in your seat and he begins to panic, and then you look over to him and with a lil grin, and after class you come up to him, “how about a study date, im honestly worried about your grades.”

then you kiss him on the cheek

kaminari.exe

hes dead you killed him, nearly passes out

and thats how denki got his first study date! because his crush who liked him back thought he was dumb!

poor bb

the actual study date would probably be in a café or a library

denki probably prefers the library since it would be easier to just make out with you in the isolated and quiet space BUT

you want food so café it is ugh, you don’t know what you’re missing out on.

he gets there first, and he actually brings his textbooks and homework, he’s invested and he wants to impress you so he is going to try his hardest okay

kaminari is internally panicking when he sees you, you do a lil wave and he swears his heart explodes with uwus and WOW you look SO good, he really wants to see you in street clothes more often.

he learns more that day than during his entire time in the hero course at UA. 

naturally, since you two live in the same dorm, he walks you back to your room

and then he comes inside

and then-

anyways he really really really want to kiss you on the first date and totally will if you allow it

you make him drink respect women juice at that café and he leaves a changed man

Denki’s knee was bouncing rapidly as he sat in the café. He’d taken the time this morning to pick out an outfit, and pack his textbooks, along with pens, highlighters, anything you could imagine really. If Y/N wanted a study date, he would try his hardest to make it the best study date possible, though he wasn’t really the best at studying, she’d been right when she’d pointed out his poor grades.

But hey, those grades got him a date, so they weren’t all that bad. 

He’s beginning to regret drinking caffeine as his hand taps against the table anxiously, despite his flirtatious personality, Denki had been on few dates. And he’d been stood up before, that was never fun. Also, it was Y/N, the girl who tried to help him pass all his classes, and shared food with him, and reminded him to do his work. This was important.

He’s about to pull out his phone and text her when the bell at the door of the café rings, his head snapping upwards at the sound to see if its Y/N. Relief floods him when he realizes it is her, a nervous smile finding it’s way onto his face as he waves at her. 

Y/N’s face lights up at the sight of him, and she makes her way over to him with ease, taking a seat across from him as she places her backpack on the floor. Y/N raises a brow, “some came prepared.”

“Yeah well, I’m excited to study.” His eyes meet hers, “with you.”

A small laugh escapes her, and Y/N tilts her head at him curiously, “I’m glad you’re excited.” Her eyes fall on the empty line in the café, “you want something?” 

Denki shakes his head, “no. I’m fine.” 

Y/N hums in response, sitting up to go buy a drink. Before heading over to the cashier, she leans over to him, grinning as she speaks, “calm down, Denki. It’s just a study date.”

“A study date with you.” Comes his response, earning him a flick to the head.

He decides then that Y/N looks very pretty in street clothes, it’s something he wished he’d seen sooner. Her outfit is fairly simple, but she looked beautiful in Denki’s eyes nonetheless. His eyes were trained on hers as she paid the barista, coming back to sit while she waited for her drink. 

Y/N rests her head in her hands, “so. You ready for a crash course in calculus?”

Denki hated school, he wouldn’t deny it. But learning alongside Y/N was far more bearable, and it gave him a sense of normalcy that he craved, seeing as he was incredibly nervous. Though Denki managed to loosen up over time, and now that they were walking back to the dorms, he found himself flirting like normal, “I’m not a photographer, but I could picture you and I together.”

She’s been laughing at the corny pick up lines he’s been using the entire walk home, “really now?” Y/N asks, grinning at him as they walk along the path.

“Yeah, really!” He replies, leaning closer to her, “now. Kiss me if I’m wrong, but dinosaurs still exist right?”

There’s a pause, and Denki wonders if he passed an invisible boundary as he turns to Y/N, only for her to yank him by the collar, bringing his lips to hers. Y/N’s other hand comes to his arm, and Denki is temporarily frozen, though he soon realizes he needs to reciprocate if he wants to keep kissing her.

He really wants to keep kissing her.

Bringing his hands to her waist, Denki pulls her closer, smiling when they pull away and she says, “you were wrong.”

KIRISHIMA EJIROU

THE MANLIEST MAN OF DATES

it’s literally just so much chivalry like kirishima single handedly revived it

chivalry is NOT dead, kirishima just has ALL OF IT

Anyways.

asks you out with the help of our boy baku, gets him to good a meal and puts it in some tupperware,

lol convincing bakugo was the funniest part, and he agreed only because he was like, “what you think my cooking couldn’t get you a date? just you watch!” 

genuinely sees his cooking as a means of bribery

kirishima is grateful because he cannot cook so i hope you can

buys you roses, and approaches you, obviously nervous but keeping his cool

you think he’s gonna ask out bakugo HADHJGDSJHGD

you nudge baku and he gives you a look and is all like, “what the hell, that is all clearly for you.”

y/n.exe

lol kirishima is really sheepish about it he’s all like, “so would you be interested in... i dunno maybe going to dinner or something, as a date?”

embarrased bb

you accept the roses and the food and smile at him like, “sure!”

kirishima is relieved™

your first date is probably just like to the mall, you two get food and shop its nice

tries to pay for everything but he is not todoroki

he is your sugar baby congrats

he likes to watch you shop because you get really excited over really simple things and he does too and its just really adorable

definitely wants a fashion show with you

you’ll probably be like, “i don’t wanna waste your time.”

and then you turn around and kirishima is already holding seven different outfits like, “FASHION SHOW!” because hes manly

he also thinks you look REALLY pretty in all these different outfits like wow

he also has a fashion show and he has no right looking that GOOD in these CLOTHES 

y’all probably have your first kiss here, like you’re trying on clothes and he is hyping you up and you get all soft and he gets off soft and he’s like can i kiss you? and you are like HELL YEHA

opens doors for you, pulls out your chair, gives you his jacket, the KING of being a gentleman 10/10 treats you right

would ask to kiss you and will respect whatever you say when he walks you back to the dorms too

assuming he gets a kiss he’s throwing a party lol

Kirishima smiles as he watches Y/N stare at a skirt, squinting at it as she examines it. It’s cute, she’s cute, and he was ecstatic when she’d agreed to go out with him. The date was simple, just a trip to the mall and lunch in the food court, they’d already eaten, so now Y/N was leading him around the mall as they looked at all the stores.

“Do you think this would look good on me?” She asks, bringing a skirt to her lower half to inspect the look.

He simply takes the skirt and throws it over his arm, which is already holding several other articles of clothing, not that he minds, “I think everything here is gonna look good on you.” Kirishima raises his arm up to gesture towards all the clothing he is carrying as he smiles at her. 

Y/N can’t help it when her cheeks warm and she looks away, “C’mon let’s go to the dressing rooms.” She mumbles, eyes falling on hi, “you sure you don’t want help carrying those?”

Kirishima puffs his chest out a bit at this comment, “I wouldn’t be a very manly boyfriend if I didn’t.” Came his response.

This earns him a raised brow from Y/N as she guides the two of them to the dressing rooms, “boyfriend huh?”

His cheeks flush as red as his hair, “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t-”

“I like it.” Y/N winks as she takes the clothes from his arms and heads into the dressing room, shutting the door behind her and leaving Kirishima in shock.

He had plopped down onto the bench outside the dressing room, earning sympathetic smiles from those who pass by him, though he really doesn’t mind. If he was honest, he liked this. Y/N got excited over the smallest of things and that got him pretty excited as well, her joy was contagious almost. Kirishima was shocked he’d even scored a date with Y/N in the first place, she was in the top of their class, and had a ridiculous amount of friends, and even more admirers it seemed. 

She’d been trying on clothes for quite some time now, exiting only to show him the outfits, not that responses to these outfits ever changed, since she looked beautiful every time. 

Resting his head in his hand, he hears Y/N call out, “you sure you aren’t bored yet?” She’s slipping on a different outfit, a small smirk on her face as she wonders what his reaction could be. 

“No, not at all.” Kirishima replied, shifting in his seat. 

And then Y/N came out of the dressing room, she had chosen the skirt she’d previously show him along with a low cut top that he had not seen her pick.

Oh god.

Kirishima felt his mouth go dry as it gaped open in shock, “how do I look?” Though she clearly knew what he thought, given his reaction, Kirishima couldn’t help but remind himself that it wasn’t manly to stare. 

“Pretty.” Kirishima replies, “really pretty.” He straighten in his seat, offering her a nervous smile as she watches her spin in a circle. “How is someone so beautiful, literally?

Y/N is beaming at him, a small laugh escaping her as she comes to stand in front of him and replies, “I could say the same about you.” Kirishima's face breaks out into a smile and she brings her hands to his shoulders, “thanks for taking me out Kiri.”

He tilts his head curiously at her actions, “thanks for agreeing to got out with me.”

She hums in response, hands coming to his cheeks as she stood between his legs, locking eyes with Kirishima Y/N gives him a small smile, “can I kiss you, Kiri?”

His eyes widen a fraction and he nods rapidly, “definitely.” He mumbles in reply, eyes closing as their lips met. Kirishima allowed his hands to come waist, squeezing her hips as they kissed.

Yeah, he liked this.

A/N: i have zero inspiration and i feel like kirishima is out of character i am sorry akjdhkjshdkjahs 🙃 anyways kirishima looks respectfully

TAGLISTS[lmk if you want to be added or removed via askbox or replies]

BNHA: @shawkneecaps​

[thefracturedmosaic]

Searches Part 2

Mentions: @divergent-lines​

Searches Part 1

The innkeeper rolled a pen between his fingers, his eyes glazed over with boredom. “Plenty of inns in the area. About five in this area, a couple more around the edges in the canal,” he sniffled a little bit. “Couldn’t tell you about the other districts, but they’ve got some too. Now, for your complaint---”

Madivh held a hand up. “Not interested in complaining, kid,” he said, giving the man a short smile. The innkeeper raised an eyebrow, his lips parting as if to refute that he wasn’t a kid. Madivh didn’t give him the chance. “I’m looking for a friend and we got separated. Just, tell me the names,” he trailed off as he withdrew a piece of paper and pen from the innkeeper desk.

He waited. There was only a brief moment of silence before the innkeeper sighed. “Well you got…” 

Madivh walked out with a list of ten different names located around the trade district, and a couple in the Mage and Old Town Districts. If he needed too, he would venture into those areas if he had the time today.

Outside, the sharp chatter of voices and the calling out of goods filled his ears as he closed the door behind him. The light was bright, but easier than yesterday. He settled his hat on his head and moved through the crowd. 

The closest inn wasn’t too far. About a mile north from where he had started. The Inn was secluded between two buildings with a sign of an olive and a mug. Inside was the typical fashion of an inn with sitting places to wait, windows to let in light, and an innkeeper that seemed overly bubbly as she took the coin and key of the person standing by the desk. 

An older gentleman walked by, as Madivh took his spot.

The woman beamed happily. “Good morning, are you looking for a room for tonight? We have,” her gaze flickered behind to a wall of key rings. “Four rooms for a cheap price.”

Madivh smiled, setting his hat on the table “I’m looking for a friend of mine. We had a little bit too much to drink last night you see, and she never came back to our room.” He gave a heavy sigh, and even a quick roll of his eyes. “I’m hoping she rented a room to push the hangover with.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” the woman seemed genuine in her concern. “But privacy is paid for here. Wouldn’t your friend just return when she’s feeling better?”

Madivh paused briefly before laughing. “You see, that’s the funny thing. She’s new to the city. First time being here, I convinced her to come out of her little village some distance away and well, the first night seemed to be more of a kicker than intended. I’m worried that’s all. I don’t think she even remembers the inn we stayed at either. I know you have privacy, but,” He gave a sigh. “Okay, you don’t need to tell me what room she’s in and I won’t stick around, but at least give her this letter…” he fished out of his pocket a sealed letter. “If you have her in your books?”

The woman’s fine, easy features crumbled into an uneasy discomfort between doing her job right and helping a man that was most likely telling the truth. 

“Give me a name, and if I see her I will let you know where you are at. Okay?”

Madivh kept the thin smile to himself and instead managed to pull a bigger one instead. “Fair, fair, anything helps. Meyorin or Silversong.”

She instinctively seemed to open her book, and then promptly froze and slowly closed it. She nodded her head. “If anyone comes in with that name, I’ll make sure to direct them. Where is it that you are staying?”

“Milk and Rose.” He said smoothly before giving an easy nod. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” He added as he turned and made his way back through the door. 

The voices of the city came to life as soon as he stepped over the threshold. A curiosity ran through him before lifting an eyebrow. The runes along the door edges had looked like decorative swirls. Impressive.  

She wouldn’t have stayed there. It would be too hard to keep an ear out. Good place to have a meeting. 

Though there was another reason why he didn’t believe she had been to that inn. The woman's eyes had shown no recognition upon the name. Doesn’t mean she hasn’t used an alias. Madivh looked down at his list in his hand, scratched it off, and then started to the next inn.

An alias would be another day's problem. For now, he had to hope that maybe she had been careless in one aspect. Just to make this a little easier.

The second innkeeper was an aging man who seemed to scoff at the idea of his story, but ended up looking through his books and shaking his head. He hadn’t heard of anyone by that name, so maybe he should check the stocks.

The third innkeeper was a couple in their middle ages. The man was overly chatty and couldn’t help but share in the news around town. You weren’t there at the Old Town during the murder in the bar last night where you? Ah, what a shame, I heard…

They hadn’t heard or seen anyone by Mey’s name or description.

The fourth inn was a little more intriguing. He stared up to the above windows, with a clear sight to the road. This would have been a good location if he was wanting to keep an eye on people walking by. Easy access to the windows from below if shadow-stepping was an option, but, what really drew his eyes on this particular inn was the pile of plants and pots sitting at the corner of the inn in an obvious heap of discard. 

The plants were withered and sulking looking; dead or dying for at least a few days if not maybe a week.

Inside, the lobby was a little more open than the last few. The stairs were easy to spot, and so was the extra hallway leading to what he assumed was more rooms or private rooms, maybe even a kitchen. 

An older gentleman gazed up at him through a pair of glasses and gave him a short nod. “You hear about the rumors or a room?” 

“Neither?” Madivh held back his curiosity of rumors. “I’m looking for a friend.”

The man held up a hand. “Listen, not really interested in your stories or what you're selling. I’ve already had to answer about ten million questions from the guards and the private detectives. If you’re looking for someone they ain’t here. If you want a room, you’ve garnered my attention.”

He didn’t need to fake his amusement. “I’ll be quick. A friend by the name Meyorin or Silversong. She’s an elf with silver hair, amber eyes, short for an elf.”

The man's eyebrow quirked. “Not by that name no. If you’ve lost your friend you should go to the guards, finalize a report, if you're so concerned.”

Madivh gave a soft sigh before nodding. “Thank you,” he said as he once again turned and began heading out the door. 

The rest of the inns were much the same. Each had a variation of the same response. “Haven’t heard anyone by that name or description. Have you tried the guards? Maybe she went home. Have you checked back at the bar, I hear sometimes they’ll keep drunks overnight. I’d check the stocks.” 

The longest part of the job was the walking. Trade district was crowded with buildings and shops, and the sun was high above and people were packed like sardines on the main roads. Alleyways and side-streets became tempting, but with one look, and the way his body felt with quick movements, and the lack of grasping the shadows, he wasn’t exactly feeling like getting stabbed today. 

By the seventh inn, Madivh grabbed something to eat by a local food vendor, some steak on a skewer seasoned well and tasted wonderful. That wasn’t saying much at this point, the apple had tasted wonderful yesterday as well. 

There were two more inns on his list. If he couldn’t find a trace of her in this district, there were about another three more districts with an unknown amount of inns. An all day event. He shoved the thought out of his mind. 

Focus. One district at a time. The sun is still high, there is time to do another district today, and then the other two tomorrow. 

The bell rang as he entered the next inn. Music welcomed him with a loud ruckus, noise of voices and the smell of hot meats and cider. A tug of a frown grabbed him, already, he knew she wouldn’t have stayed here. Too many people, too many eyes to keep watch.

Nonetheless, he walked up to the bar. “You got an innkeeper I can talk to?”

The man shook his head. “Innkeeper doesn’t come in til sundown. Are you looking for a room? I can set you up.” 

Madivh shook his head. “I’m looking for a friend, I was hoping this was the right place. I got a bit lost in the…”

His voice seemed to vanish as shouting rose from off the side. Cheers running through a large crowd by a table. Madivh couldn’t help but glare at them. 

“Sorry mate, didn’t hear you? Say that again?” 

Madivh waved his hand. “I’ll come back later,” He clapped the wood of the bar twice as he pushed away, shouldering his bag a little tighter and started heading back to the door.

“Ya, they are still looking for the attacker, apparently he just disappeared. Went into the inn, straight up into the rooms like he owned the place, stabbed the unlucky elf-bastard”

Madivh slowed his step, his eyes shifting to a pair of armored men with the Stormwind Symbol on their breast. 

“Wasn’t he one of ours?” The other asked. 

“Ya, military druid. Nairus, Jen was all worked up about it when she heard. Apparently he’s helped some of our guys out.”

The other scowled a little before drinking a heavy swallow. 

Nairus? A picture of a green hair kaldorei popped into his mind. His heart picked up a little bit. A doctor would be perfect…

Ah, but he was the reason she died. He scratched at his forehead in the tad of frustration that bubbled. I don’t know if I could…

 “What about the female elf. They found her?”

“Na, the innkeeper doesn’t think she has anything to do with it anyways.”

“She owned the room didn’t she?”

The other waved his friend off. “Doesn’t mean she had anything to do with it. Probably lovers. Unlucky bastard.” He said again. 

“Yeah you're right. With all the plants they found, he was clearly living there.” 

Their conversation lulled for a moment, both taking turns drinking, eyes suddenly alert to those around them.

Madivh moved from the window he’d been staring out, summoned one big breath, and then summoned up the worry and concern he had been feeling this entire time for Mey, for himself. Instead, as he approached the table with the guards, his voice said, “Thank Elune, please I was told to ask the guardsman about a friend of mine. Nairus Amberleaf?” He resisted from placing his hand on the table, just a hint of his self control. Respect.

The two guards went still for a moment. 

One of them narrowed his eyes. “Odd, we were-”

“He’s a friend of mine, I was supposed to meet him a day ago to help him with a sick kid. I got some herbs,” He motioned to his bag, acting as if he would open it, and after a second thought decided he would. As he unlaced the bag, he continued, “But he wasn’t at home and the innkeeper told me something terrible had happened and to go speak to the guards. Didn’t have the right to say you know?  I’ve been so worked up the last hour that..”

“Woah calm down there bud.” One guard held out a hand in motion for him to stop.

Madivh did, eyes still just the hint of panic, hand frozen in his bag.

“Ya. Nairus Amberleaf. He was brought to the cathedral about a week ago.”

A week. He felt his little story was easily going to unwind. 

“A week!” Madivh felt his legs go weak. “I saw him last Wednesday. I had just given him a new plant to try and grow to see..”

The guard grunted, waving him into silence. “We’re off duty, if you want to wait another hour, we’ll escort you, otherwise, just head to the Cathedral yourself. He’s still there.” 

The other, who hadn’t spoken this entire time, gave his friend a long side-look that spoke volumes of his irritation about how he couldn’t stand civilians. 

Madivh stiffened, then bowed his head, his hat almost falling off. “Thank you. Thank you. Here for your trouble.” He pulled out one of his last silver pieces and set it on the table. Their eyes went momentarily wide as Madivh spun himself around heading straight to the door in a half mad dash to get quickly to a friend that was surely dying.

As he slid by a group coming in, he picked up his half jog into a moment's run until he was beyond the windows of the inn. He slowed to a casual walk, a small smile tugging at his lips. 

[masked-buffoon]

Chapter 13: Filled emptiness (Part 2)

Warnings: cursing, angst, mentions of addiction

Author notes: that one is a very long part (around 3k words...). I tried to separate it, but it just wouldn’t fit, so here you go...! I think it’s been too long since we’ve had angst, so, as an author, it is my duty to write some for you XD please enjoy it!

"Kunikida-kun is so annoying~" Dazai whined as we arrived at his place "I did help the two of you~"

"Won't you admit that you could have done so earlier…?" I raised an eyebrow, removing my shoes.

"Well, it isn't wrong that it was funny to see you struggle…~" He chuckled.

"See…?" I sighed "That's why Kunikida is so tired of you…"

"Is that so?" He shrugged it off "I didn't know~"

I gave up trying to reason him. After all, messing around with our coworker was also something I did, although less than Dazai.

Even though it had almost been half a year, I still did not have a place of my own. The money I had started saving was not enough to rent an apartment, after all. For the moment, I thus stayed at my friend's, who had not lent me his bedroom. His place was divided in two rooms; a bedroom and a living one, where he was supposed to eat. I was his guest but he had graciously accepted to make me sleep in the living room… What a perfect gentleman Dazai was… Hopefully, I would soon be able to get my own apartment in the Agency's dormitory and sleep in my own comfortable windowless bedroom instead of waking up everyday because of the daylight.

"What about opening a bottle of sake to celebrate the end of the case?" He suggested.

"I don't want to drink tonight…" I declined "Tomorrow, I have an appointment with Yosano-sensei for my… Detoxification therapy…"

"Oh, I see." He did not insist "Let's just have a quiet evening then~"

"I'd like that." I smiled "By the way, did I tell you Uemura-san would teach me how to cook?"

"You didn't. That's great~"

"That's obviously not to feed you." I huffed "It is so I don't have to eat crab cans my entire life."

"You're mean…~ I do eat instant noodles as well…~"

"I can finally eat properly after all this time, it's not to have a diet based exclusively on junk food." I said simply.

"You might be right after all." He hummed "So, should we order something tonight?"

"... I'm still saving money..." I looked away.

"And I'm already indebted to the cafe beneath the Agency… I suppose that's either instant noodles or crab can tonight~"

He had tricked me again…

After eating frugally yet another evening and taking a relaxing bath, I unfolded the futon I borrowed from Dazai and let myself flop down on the mellow blanket, exhausted. Unexpectedly, my friend lied next to me.

"What are you doing…?" I questioned, eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm too lazy to go to my room…~ Besides, can't I stay with my friend~?"

"You've never done that before…" I noted. Is there a reason for your sudden behaviour?"

"You're wrong…" He chuckled, pulling a book out of nowhere "We've already been in a similar situation… Numerous times…"

"Cancelling my ability doesn't count…" I looked away.

He sighed slightly and casually started flipping through the pages.

"What are you reading? The same book about suicide methods again?" I asked, changing the subject.

"A good book is still good, no matter how many times you've read it~ Should I try committing suicide like this?"

He showed me the weirdest picture; a man sat in a large can, legs above his head. The method was supposed to kill him by eventually ripping his body in half. I stared at Dazai.

"Do you want my approval or my opinion?"

"I already know you won't give me your blessings for my suicide~" He grinned "Just tell me what you think~"

"Well… The chances you die are very low… It looks more like a… Torture method to me…"

"Eh? So it's painful…?!" He exclaimed, dramatically "I'm not trying that then…"

"I hope not…"

I took a book too, a mystery novel, and tried to distract myself from his annoying humming. I wanted to solve the crime before the fictional detective, but hearing Dazai sing next to me did not help me focus. After a moment, I put the book aside, and turned towards him. He had not turned a single page.

"Dazai…"

"What is it, Ogawa…~?"

"Let's get changed. We're going out." I said, standing up.

"Eh? But I've already taken a bath…~" He whined.

"Don't question it."

I should have doubted that this day would be strange, and that he would feel even more bothered by his usual torments. While he was putting his shirt on, I called the Fox.

"Do you know what time it is…?" He grumbled.

"Early enough, since you're awake." I smirked "I need you to find me something important… I need them in an hour…"

When I told him what I wanted, he yelled at me, but it was quick to hang up and avoid his scolding.

"So? Where are we going?" My friend asked me.

"You already know the answer…"

A shadow clouded his face, and he simply nodded. It had already been three years since that tragedy, yet it still seemed as present in our mind. Softly, I opened the door for him and called a taxi. It was dark, outside, a moonless night only enlightened by the stars and the lampposts in the streets. In that part of the world, humans still had the luxury to protect themselves against the monsters of the darkness.

The Fox was waiting for us in front of the cemetery, a bouquet of white lilies in his hands. As he gave them to me, he whispered:

"You owe me one."

I only nodded, and asked that we were left alone. Far from the entrance, under a majestic tree, which branches gently flustered with the wind, laid a single gravestone which bore the name of Dazai's late and most precious friend. When I looked at him, despite the lack of light, I saw he was expressionless. And motionless, too. I took his hands into mine, and placed the bouquet into them with a smile.

"This is important for you… Take all the time you need."

"... Thank you… You remembered…"

"In all honesty, I thought you'd slack off to pay him a visit, today… I'm sorry I was wrong…"

"Don't wait for me and just… Go back…"

I pulled the key to his apartment from my pocket.

"You know, I closed the door earlier. And…"

I placed them in his coat.

"I can't go back if you have them."

"Ogawa, I —"

"I'll be just at the entrance."

Surprisingly, the Fox was still there when I went out of the cemetery. I grinned at him.

"So~ What can I do to repay you for your help~?"

"Aren't you tired, Ogawa-san?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, and crossed my arms.

"What's with the sudden politeness? It's unlike you to be so formal…"

"I thought you might take me more seriously like that."

His face was severe. It was the first time I saw him without a childish expression and, suddenly, he did not seem like a teenager anymore. That reminded me we were the same age.

"Alright. Tired of what, Fox? I'll answer you, just… Drop that "-san"... I'm not used to it from you…" I gave up.

"Sure, I didn't plan to call you that endlessly anyway." He shrugged "Just tell me… How long are you going to pretend you're happy?"

"What are you talking about? My life really has changed for the better. I never thought I'd reach twenty-one years old, in the first place and I can even control my ability…" I sighed "Everyone in the Agency is so friendly, and I'll finally get treated for that damn morphine addiction, how can't I be happy…?"

"Well, since humans are all different, we all have various ways of being happy. Ogawa, I'm afraid your own happiness revolves a bit too much around… Him." He pointed at Dazai with his chin.

My friend was joyously chatting with the tombstone, as though his surroundings had disappeared, and as though I did not exist anymore. In his world, there was space only for him and Odasaku… I smiled slightly.

"You look as though you revealed me the purpose of my existence." I chuckled "I already know that, unfortunately… But he is my precious friend, the one I want to be happy…"

"At the cost of a fulfilled life of your own?"

"Nothing will fill the emptiness in my chest, except for his smile, maybe… I'm touched that you are concerned about me, Fox… But I assure you I am fine."

"What's the point of fighting so hard to earn the right to live, if it is to give it all up to a person who doesn't even see how soaked in blood the heart you give him is…?" He angrily shoved his hands in his pockets "Don't you ever tell me I didn't warn you…"

"I promise I won't." I giggled "You remind me of someone, a man I knew… I think you could call him my friend. Behind his rough facade is hidden a very sensitive poet…~ He usually had the right words to put me back on track…"

"Let me guess… You didn't listen to him at all…?"

"Am I so predictable?" I laughed "You're right, though… I didn't listen to him… So, I became addicted to morphine, then entered the Armed Detective Agency to be with Dazai… I don't regret it, nonetheless."

"I see… So you're the type who doesn't care about advice. That's good to know…" He mumbled "Anyway, let's talk about business."

"Mmh. I do owe you a favour. Do tell me what it is." I said, leaning back on a wall.

"In fact, I've been meaning to make that request to you a moment ago, but that's just the opportunity I needed." He told me, pulling a picture out of the pocket of his jacket "I have a friend. We grew up together, then got separated. I lost my parents and… Forget it. He's now a brilliant chemist, and he wants to open a laboratory in Hokkaido for his research. The government already agreed, but the locals aren't too fond of the project. He's already survived three assassination attempts… Could you protect him, please?"

"Being a bodyguard, eh…?" I took a look at the picture "You know I'm not bad at this kind of job. Well, I'll accept your request. I've been meaning to visit Hokkaido, after all…"

"I know. That's where I told you your sister is…" He remembered "Will it be alright for you?"

"I never said I'd meet her… What is your friend's research about?"

"It's complicated, but I think he's working on a formula to create petrol, you know… Instead of importing it."

"That's a very polluting business… I do understand the locals…" I frowned "I don't want to support him…"

"I know right? It's just… It's been more than five years since our ways have drifted apart… When he reached out to me, I couldn't help agreeing despite being powerless… I thought I could count on you." The Fox rubbed the back of his head.

"Of course you can. I'll handle the case for you. You've done so much to help me, I can't refuse a friend's request either." My lips turned upwards.

"I knew working with a detective was the best…" He snickered.

"That's because you work with the best one." I winked "I'll leave as soon as possible, maybe in a week."

"Oh, you're going to start therapy tomorrow?"

"... How do you know…?"

"You told me you would get treated soon, and I guessed you believed you'd feel better after a week, which is wrong, but I can only support you from afar." He shrugged.

"Why don't you work as a detective, too?" I laughed "I know it's going to be hard… But I'll manage, somehow. I have to… I'm this close to getting rid of that disgusting habit of mine…"

"Is that so?"

I nodded, and shivered. Although it was a summer night, the sudden breeze felt cold, and I tightened my tattered coat around me. My last trench had been ruined by my first case for the Agency and, since, I had only been able to afford an old, second-hand one which had already been well-used. Before buying new clothes, I needed to have my own place. These holes were not a bother to me, anyway…

"It's almost two…" The Fox noticed "If you start your treatment today, you may want to sleep, Ogawa… Otherwise, it'll be unbearable for you."

"Are you worried about me? That's so nice~ You're showing me your soft side today~"

"I've been worried about you since the first day we met…!" He suddenly raised his voice "Even though you were wearing a mask, your hands were so thin, and your clothes looked too big for you. And when you spoke… You would frequently pause to take your breath. You regularly came for the Mafia, and I do worry about my customers. If they die, I can't be paid…"

"... Was I really like that…?" I muttered "Whatever… I'm glad to have such a caring friend~"

"... Are you never going to take me seriously…?"

"I do take you seriously. However, as I said, you need not concern yourself with me. I am and will be fine."

"Idiot…"

It was touching that he cared about me to this extent. Five months ago, when I had come to him again to seek his skills as an informer, I had been such a troublesome customer, I had believed he would never want to work with me again. Thanks to Uemura-san, the Fox had dedicated his time to the cases I managed for the Agency, but, more importantly, we had gotten closer, to the point of becoming friends who playfully teased each other. However, I had never predicted that he would be so concerned about me. He had gone out of his way many times to help me out, going as far as finding Ruriko-chan and giving me, without charging me, all the information he had gathered about her life. I had not considered that I could be a person one could ever care about… It did feel nice, and I was ashamed that I had not, indeed, taken his feelings seriously.

We remained quiet, listening to the peaceful night of Yokohama. My eyes closed, and my ears were filled with sounds of all sorts. Above us, the wind danced in the tree leaves, gently accompanied by the distant song of the sea, which gently undulated under the thick veil of darkness covering the sky. Even Dazai had stopped chatting to silently honour his late friend's memory. The lamppost which enlightened the space around us started flickering, tired and old, before suddenly turning off. We moved towards another one, without a word.

I thought time had stopped, suspended by the beautiful concert nature was offering us, but I noticed I was wrong when I raised my eyes and saw the sky had cleared up, slowly taking its usual blue shade. That day would be a sunny one, I thought when my gaze fell onto the clouds coloured in warm orange watercolour by the rising sun. It was already dawn… We had spent the entire night out, and I had not gotten a single minute of sleep, unlike the Fox, who had succumbed to Morpheus as soon as we had moved to another lamppost. He was still standing, arms crossed and faced down. One could think he simply closed his eyes, but his slow and heavy breathing betrayed him. So, the best informer of Yokohama had the special skill to sleep anywhere, at any moment and in any position… It was a valuable one, yet a weakness he would not want his enemies to know of. This was proof that he trusted me… I could always use this information to tease him.

"... Is it… Already morning…?" He mumbled, sleepily.

"It seems so…"

"He's still not done…?" He frowned "For f*ck's sake, he made you wait the entire night and —"

"It's important to him… That's his late friend's death anniversary, after all…"

"... Aren't you his friend too…? And a living one, on top of that…!"

"Fox, it's enough… I'm tired, I can't bear your shouts so early, this day…" I stopped him.

"Right..  I'm sorry." He shoved his hands in his pocket "Well, do as you wish. I have work, today, so I'll head to my place. Thanks for accepting my request, by the way."

"You're my friend, it's my pleasure." I assured him.

He glanced at me, a strange, indescribable feeling reflecting in his eyes, before turning around and walking away. I could understand why he disapproved that I supported Dazai; any sane person would have already gone back to sleep, after all, and I knew no one who would be able to wait as much as I had. Even so, I felt it was my duty to be with him, from afar, so I could be there when he would be tired and broken by this peculiar night. It had always been my role…

I jumped in surprise when I sensed a coat suddenly covering my shoulders, on top of mine.

"I'm sorry, Ogawa… You must have been so cold… And it is the start of your treatment, too… I'm sorry…" Dazai apologised.

His hands did not leave my shoulders, and I pleasantly felt warmer, simply by being close to him. I smiled, gently.

"It's alright. I promised I would wait for you, after all. Besides, I wasn't alone. The Fox kept me company. He left just a few minutes ago." I told him.

"Is that so…? That's good."

"Yes… Are you ready to go, now?"

"Mmh. I'll go back to my place and slack off as usual~ What about you?"

"I guess I'll come with you. Yosano-sensei said she'd be waiting for me in front of the dormitory anyway." I told him.

"I see… It must be ready then~"

"What is…?" I raised an eyebrow.

"That's a secret~" He chuckled "Let's go~ I want to see the face you're going to make~"

"I'm a tad afraid of what I'll see though…"

"I can't say a thing~" He hummed, putting his hands on his hips.

He would usually put them in his pockets… But…

"Dazai…! Your coat…!" I followed behind him.

"You can keep it, I'm not that cold~"

"It's barely six a.m.…! There is no way you aren't cold…!" I protested.

"I'm not taking it back~"

"Dazai…!"

[kpoptionate]

ateez ⇾ they catch you cheating

[masterlist in bio] 30 january 2020 a/n: i felt good about woo’s so pls at least read his,,,also members under the cut since this is so long oops

warning: implications of sex, vulgar language

s e o n g h w a ♡

he finds it funny, really

the fact that he’d spent so much time focusing on you and you only, had given up so much for you and you just took advantage of him like it was nothing

it’s hilarious to him to look back on how fucking stupid he’d been to ignore the feeling in his gut and try to wait it out in hopes of his suspicions being false

but of course, like everything else, it was too good to be true

he’s been waiting for you to come home for a good few hours now

you haven’t been answering your phone at all and god knows where you are at this hour

and this isn’t the first time either. but seonghwa doesn’t like being by himself, so he always goes back to the dorms during these situations. and you know that

but you don’t know this time he’s decided to wait, to see what’s really going on, if it’s really worth staying and trusting you

when he finally hears the lock of the door clicking, he’s up against the counter in the kitchen with his arms folded over his chest that’s moving heavily up and down

and it only gets worse when he hears not only you giggling, but also another voice he doesn’t recognize

he harshly knocks down a chair on his way into the living room, storming all the way to the man whose neck you’ve attached your lips to, grabbing him by the collar and swinging his fist into his jaw as hard as he can

kicking him a couple more times as he falls to the ground

you’re terrified of what seonghwa’s going to do to him or what he’s going to do to you

but there’s no point. he’s too much of a gentleman to ever lay a hand on you

so all he does is scream and shout at you about how he shouldn’t have stayed, how dumb he was to believe your lies, how he should have been able to see right through you the whole time

and he hopes you’re fucking happy with the douchebag bleeding on the floor and if you want to be with him so much take him and leave, your stuff will be outside in the morning

after you’re gone, it’s hard for him to think. maybe it’s because he’s tired

or he’s completely hopeless from losing the one thing that kept him sane

but is now causing the worst pain he never thought he’d feel

h o n g j o o n g ♡

he’s been too busy with work to notice how distant you’ve become the past few weeks

and maybe it’s his own fault this happened since he hasn’t made time for you

but he’s still hurt and heartbroken and it’s still not a good enough excuse to throw away everything he’s done for you

hongjoong told you he’d be home before you go to bed, but he finds himself caught up in work again, losing track of time

he curses at himself under his breath, haphazardly grabbing his things to get to you as quickly as possible

he wants to make it up to you, he really does

but the idea’s completely thrown out the window as he opens the door to find you on the couch with another man

he stumbles in shock, not sure what to do or say

all you do is give him a small look and stand up slowly, calmly beginning to speak as if you’ve been expecting this to happen

it’s not that hongjoong doesn’t want to hear your explanation, just that he physically can’t

his breathing and heartbeat are too fast to consider safe. his vision begins to blur, but he doesn’t know if it’s from tears or because he’s beginning to feel lightheaded

he loved you. he gave you everything he could for you and you didn’t care

he told you in the beginning time management would be difficult and if it was going to be a problem to talk to him

you stepped on his heart and spit on it like he means nothing to you

he doesn’t realize he’s been screaming or crying until his fist comes in contact with the wall. he also notices you haven’t said anything or tried to justify yourself at all

he shakily turns his head in your direction but your eyes are somewhere else, arms folded over your chest and an almost-guilty look on your face

and he looks at the boy he assumes is the one you’ve been with. he’s practically in the same stance as you, trying not to get caught up in everything

the room feels hot. too hot for hongjoong to stay

so he walks past you and begins to grab some things, thanking himself for never leaving too much at your place

he leaves without another word. he wanted to tell you how much he fucking hates you, but then he’d be lying through his teeth

you don’t deserve to be hated anyway, and he silently wishes you the best because all he’s every wanted is for you to be happy

and if he can’t give it to you, he’s more than satisfied to let you find something else to take his place

y u n h o ♡

maybe he should have listened to the guys all the times they’d told him they’d had a bad feeling about you from the beginning

or maybe he should have just put in a little bit more effort, giving you more than you’d ever wanted

but there’s no point in thinking about that now. it’s too late.

he’ll never be able to describe the feeling of walking in on the love of his life with their legs wrapped around another man’s waist

the man you said was nothing more than a coworker. the constant meet-ups for “work purposes” were clearly just quick fucks behind yunho’s back

he’s angry, sure. that’s a given

but he’s more confused and insecure and broken-down than anything

what did he do wrong? what does this man give you that he doesn’t? did you ever really love him?

tears are already streaming down his cheeks as he screams for the man to get the fuck out of his house

but as soon as he’s gone, yunho goes quiet except for the sobs that escape his throat

he wants to talk. to know what happened when. and he’s willing to give you another chance

he knows he shouldn’t. he doesn’t want to think about what the guys would say about this

but he loves you way too much to ever let you go like this

his feelings for you could rival that of someone who was genuinely obsessed. a stalker, if you were willing to go that far

he’s willing to do anything to keep you by his side. you two can move on together

but when you tell him there’s no moving on, there’s nothing the world has to offer the two of you anymore

he falls to the ground in pieces

he’s crying so hard he barely makes any noise

he can’t breathe. he’s shaking. he wants everything to stop

he begs and begs and begs for you to stay. he can’t live without you

yunho can barely hear your apology as you step around him and walk out in the direction of your new lover, leaving him on the floor alone with his demons

he’d spend the next nights wondering what he did wrong

what he could have done differently to have made you stay

his body is completely drained of energy. every night he limps to the bed, alone, to cry himself to sleep

ever so slightly hoping he doesn’t wake up

y e o s a n g ♡

yeosang is a very attentive man. he should have been able to pick up on all the little things that would have led to this situation

but you’re a very secretive person. good enough to keep it from him for however long this shit has been going on.

it hurts that he found out through a friend. he doesn’t know if it would have been better for him to see it directly, but he’s still glad he didn’t.

wooyoung had pulled him aside a few weeks ago to tell him that he’d seen you kissing someone he didn’t recognize. but yeosang didn’t want to believe it

so he waited it out and paid close attention to your actions. he can’t really tell what’s different, but it doesn’t add up nonetheless

and yeosang is not a confrontational person in the slightest

so when he comes to you with a simultaneously angry and terrified look on his face, you already know you’re in shit

he’s direct and straight to the point. not that you’d expect anything else from him

“are you seeing someone else?”

it doesn’t take a psychologist to recognize the way you tear your gaze away from him and try to hide the pure guilt on your face

you don’t answer. so he repeats his question, but harsher and louder and more aggressive.

“are you fucking cheating on me? fucking answer me, y/n!”

he’s already zoned you out by the time you start spitting apologies from your lips

he doesn’t understand what he did wrong

he took care of you

he dropped everything for you the second you called

he put you before everything

he’s been through absolute hell for you

but you really took that for granted

and the fact that you’ve had the audacity to tell him you love him? you’re a fucking liar

yeosang doesn’t hate many things, but liars definitely top the list

but he’s never really encountered liars like you. nobody’s ever gone that far to rip his heart out and stomp on it

so he doesn’t know what else to do other than run out of the apartment and let his legs carry him as far as they can take him

he doesn’t know where he’s going

he can’t tell if he’s crying or if the cold wind is making his eyes water

but as long as he can get as far away from you as he possibly can, it doesn’t really matter at the moment.

s a n ♡

though san is one of the members to fall the hardest, he’s attentive and mature enough to know when things aren’t going as well as they used to be

he’s noticed you’ve been a bit more distant lately

you’ve been on your phone a lot and have been staying out later

and more often you have excuses to not spend time with him, so of course he already has his suspicions

but he’s been terrified of saying or doing something in fear of being wrong and damaging your trust

until now, a little past two-thirty in the morning when you get a text from a name he’s noticed on your phone before

and you must have not been smart enough to change your passcode, he thinks as he opens the message to find pictures of you he’s never seen even though he’s the only one who should have

his blood begins to boil, but not as much as it would have had he not already figured you’ve been doing things behind his back

he quietly slips out of bed so as not to wake you up, but the action is completely pointless once he picks up your phone and hurls it at the farthest wall as hard as he possibly can, a loud grunt escaping his throat

your body shoots up, confused as to what san is making such noise for

but it clicks when you flick the light on and see san’s stance

his hands are balled into fists so tight his knuckles are white, his face red and scrunched up in anger

there are darkness and betrayal clear in his eyes, almost making you scared of what he’s going to do

there’s a lot of things he wants to do, but all he can is yell and let his emotions out

how he shouldn’t have let this played out so long

how he believed you when you told him you loved him and no one else

he screams for you to get out, but the only direction you move in is towards him in an attempt to convince him to let you stay

all you did was make it worse. you don’t deserve to stay

he picks up the framed picture of the two of you and throws it the same way he did your phone, finally causing you to leave

he doesn’t care if you don’t have your stuff or if he’s sending you on your own in the middle of the night. you don’t matter to him now

you could get hit by a car for all he cares, and he’d think you deserved it

all that matters is that he’s finally gotten everything taken care of and never has to see you again

m i n g i ♡

unless there’s been a fight between the two of you, it’s rare that mingi’s in a bad mood when you’re around him, even if he’s had the literal shittiest day in all of human history

you’re the first person he goes to when he needs someone to lean on or listen to him rant about everything on his mind

you don’t even have to do anything to make him feel better. just the thought of you makes his heart beat faster with pure love and gratefulness that he found you

so it’s really unexpected when you, the sole person he’s willing to give up his life for, do the exact opposite of what you normally do

today wasn’t a particularly stressful one, but he’s still dying to lie in your arms and listen to the soft thumping of your heart right now

he goes to make his way to your shared bedroom, already walking a bit slowly from being so worn out from practice

but all of his movements cease–including his breathing and probably his heartbeat, too–when he takes his first steps into the hallway

there you are, pinned up against the wall by somebody he recognizes to be “just a friend” from a while back

he notices how you scramble away from your partner when you realize he’s standing there, so you do know that what you’re doing is wrong

so why are you still doing it?

he has so many emotions right now he doesn’t even know how he’s feeling

but it absolutely tears him up inside

did you ever really love him? was he just a toy to you?

he’s useless. of course it was too good to be true. nobody could ever love him. he was stupid to think that you shared the same feelings he had for you

the other man’s already left the house by now. i’ll stop by later, he said. it just made the situation worse.

he’s rambling and he’s crying and he’s bumping into things trying to back away from you

don’t fucking touch him. he wants to say it. he tries, but the words get caught between sobs in his throat

it feels almost as if he’s dreaming. it’s what he wants to believe, anyway. so he doesn’t bother stopping you when you wrap your arms around his body and pull his head into your chest, dropping to your knees on the floor where he sits now

he lets you cradle him even though he knows you shouldn’t. he’s so, so confused.

it’s a hard debate in his head, whether or not to leave

he loves you way too much to ever even think of letting you go

maybe, he thinks, there’s a solution. everyone deserves a second chance, right...?

w o o y o u n g ♡

wooyoung is someone who falls in love easily. and when he does, the feelings are extremely strong to where it takes a lot to let go

he forgives and forgives because he loves you so much and he’s given you his entire soul to take care of

but never has he expected you’d crush it just like that

a few hours ago, he texted you to let you know he’s coming home early

he didn’t get a reply, so he assumed you were busy or simply taking a nap

god, how he wishes that were the case

he gently closes the door and sets his bags down before padding to the bedroom, trying to be quiet just in case you’re asleep

it’s only now that he hears sounds that definitely don’t sound like snores

sounds that definitely aren’t coming from you

the feeling of his heartbeat pounding against his ribcage is almost terrifying when met with his hands shaking without rhythm

he prays you’re just watching a video and you’re by yourself and he can just walk in and take care of you

but when he opens the door, he’s greeted with the sight of you on your knees with hands that aren’t his in your hair

he’s flooded with so many emotions—anger, fear, heartbreak—that he doesn’t even notice your partner scrambling to pull his pants up or you walking closer with your hands out, struggling to find an explanation

tears completely blur his vision as he tries to back away from you, not yet knowing what to say or do

but his mind takes over and his voice gets loud, slamming his fist against the doorframe, screaming for the two of you to get out and never come back

he screams and punches his fist against the wall, not caring if you can hear from outside and not stopping until blood is visibly dripping from his knuckles down his forearm

he’s angry at himself for not being so naïve, angry at you for taking advantage of him, angry at god for allowing something so terrible to happen to him

and the anger fizzles into sorrow, and the sorrow fizzes into hopelessness

and all he can do from here is curl against the wall and cry until his head pounds at the tempo of his broken heart

j o n g h o ♡

it all began when you started calling someone’s name in your sleep. a name that wasn’t jongho’s.

he didn’t know who he assumed it to be, but he tried not to think too much of it

he should have, though

the last time he hears you call that name, you’re not asleep

you’re lying on the couch, yes, but you’re just as awake as he is

his first reaction is shocked. this was not what he expected to come home to. hell, he didn’t even know you were gonna be here, let alone cheat on him

his second reaction is angry. he’s fucking pissed at the person whose was sitting between your legs moments ago, a place jongho thought was reserved for him and him only. who is he to think he has the same rights?

then he’s pissed at you. who the fuck do you think you are, letting some stranger go down on you on the same couch you sat with your boyfriend just last night, telling him you loved him?

then he’s pissed at himself. he should have known better. he didn’t see any signs, but he should have picked up on them. they had to have been there

the way his brows furrow and his nose scrunches puts a terrifying expression on his face. you’ve never seen him like this, and it was probably for the best

he tells the man simply to get the fuck out. when he doesn’t do it quick enough, jongho grabs him up by the collar and knocks his fist square into his jaw before practically throwing him out the door and slamming it shut hard enough for a nearby picture to fall off of the wall

his third reaction is denial. he’s shaking when he turns back around to you. he begs you to tell him it’s all a dream. tell him it’s just some sick prank and none of this ever really happened and everything can go back to how it was yesterday

it breaks your heart to see the rivers already streaming endlessly down his cheeks

his last sliver of hope disappears, however, when you only respond with apologies. you can’t even think of an excuse to give him. he would find that funny if he weren’t in this current situation

his final reaction his heartbreak. there’s no going back. how long has this been going on? he wonders. but he doesn’t bother to ask

he turns just enough to be able to punch the wall hard enough to leave a hole before plodding past you to the bedroom, not even sparing a glance at you

“i want all your shit out of here by the time i wake up.” it’s not a suggestion, even with the lack of authority in his voice. he sounds so drained, so helpless, so broken inside.

he doesn’t know why he’s lying in bed. he’s not tired. he can’t sleep

all it does is remind him of you. but it’s a good place to cry, he supposes. locked out from the world. just him, himself, and he. nobody else.

especially not you

[ripley95]

Echoes of Old Embers

Chapter 3

Pairing: F!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko

Rating: T

Chapter length: 2.9K

Story Synopsis:

After surviving the war, one of Shepard’s biggest regrets was rejecting Kaidan at Apollo’s. Fate has a way of bringing Jane and Kaidan back into each other’s lives. A misunderstanding with his family makes Kaidan and Shepard relive old history and question where they stand.

Link to Chapter 1 on AO3

Chapter Synopsis:

Shepard regrets agreeing to go with Kaidan to his family orchard. As she contemplates leaving without Kaidan’s knowledge, she ends up getting caught in an awkward turn of events. Through circumstances beyond her control, she’s left reminiscing about what things used to be like when they were together.

Link to Chapter 3 on AO3

Tumblr Links:

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14

Read the chapter here below the cut:

Shepard woke up to the sunlight slowly creeping in through the room. Soft hues of orange painted the walls with their warmth. It was unfamiliar and enough to make her sit up in a panic, having forgotten where she was. As soon as she sat up, she saw Kaidan still sleeping soundly on the couch across from the foot of her bed. It was enough to make her sudden adrenaline rush subside. It would seem that she had gotten more accustomed to her hospital room than she thought. She was finally free of it, yet subconsciously missing the comforts and stability it provided.

She looked out the window as she allowed her breathing to regulate itself, hoping it would help her calm down more. They were in one of the only highrises that was actually finished at this point, and Kaidan’s apartment was situated near the top. One of the perks of being a Major if Shepard had to guess. Because of that, the view was almost entirely unimpeded. She could see the mountains up to the north, their peaks still tipped with snow. Everything was beginning to be painted in that same orange glow of the sun that was currently hitting the wall.

She couldn’t help but notice grey clouds off in the distance, too. She knew Kaidan would have known better anyway, but it appeared as though he accurately predicted the weather. Even if she could have gotten camping gear without taking it from someone in need, this really wasn’t the best time to be living in the wilderness.

Her breathing had now calmed, so she turned her view to give the apartment a once-over, still not wanting to get up just yet. It was a tiny bachelor setup. The walls were cold and empty, just as she would have expected from the Alliance. Apparently, there was no surplus in the budget to be littering their walls with knick-knacks or cheap art. She had a clear view of the kitchen. The whole living space shared one larger room—the perfect depiction of a bachelor apartment. She wasn’t particularly surprised by that, again, remembering that this was temporary Alliance housing. They relied on efficient use of space, and for someone with Kaidan’s rank, these rooms were typically meant for single person use. It wasn’t exactly homey by any means, but it served its purpose well enough. Though, something about it felt homey to her, despite its cold aesthetic. She figured it probably had to do with the warmth of the sun coming through the window or the fantastic view of nature off in the distance. Part of her couldn’t help but wonder if it might have had more to do with the other body sleeping on the couch across from the foot of her bed.

Her gaze lingered down to Kaidan then. She let out a sigh and plopped her head back down on the pillow, remembering what was in store for her today. That’s right. They would be heading to the orchard later in the morning. The clarity of the situation that came with a good night’s rest suddenly left her feeling unsettled over the prospect.

After spending the evening with him, they both quickly fell back into that place of comradery and comfort with each other. It was as though nothing had changed between them. It was the exact closeness that she had been craving from him for so long now. She had fallen asleep, perfectly content and happy with the day’s events. She was glad that they could have spent so much time together with no responsibilities weighing them down, but the sobering reality of morning left a bitter taste in her mouth.

He showed her around Vancouver and took her to all of the places that were important and meaningful to him growing up here. Sure, half the city was in shambles, but he still managed to bring her to all of the areas that held memories for him. The entire time, she couldn’t help but picture Kaidan as a young boy running around the crowded streets with his family. This whole place was a part of who he was and what turned him into the person that he is now. He even took her to one of his favourite pubs that was still standing, and she finally got to try the lager he was always talking about. As they both suspected, Shepard wasn’t a fan. It had quickly turned into a fun night, all the same, getting a sample of what Kaidan’s life was like here.

It was the first time she could remember genuinely smiling in years. The only other time she could think of was at the party she threw in Anderson’s apartment on the Citadel, but even then, it was weighed down by thoughts of the war. This was different. They didn’t have a care in the world. It was almost a new feeling for her.

By the time they made it back to Kaidan’s room, she was so tired and stiff that she hadn’t even put up a fight at his insistence on giving her the bed. She had quickly gotten dressed in her pyjamas and promptly passed out without so much as saying a goodnight to the man who was gracious enough to give up his sleeping arrangements for her.

Waking up now with a fresh perspective of the previous day’s events made her feel like it was all a little more intimate than she had been expecting. She saw the city through the lens of a man she once loved. All of the places that he took her and the experiences they shared felt reminiscent of something he should be doing with someone special. Guilt consumed her then, making her regret agreeing to go to the orchard with him. She hoped that she hadn’t left him with confused feelings over their relationship like the ones she was currently experiencing. It made her realise just how difficult this week with his family was about to be. It would be unfair to put him through that.

She glanced over to the front door from the comfort and safety of the bed. It wasn’t that far away. She contemplated leaving as she glanced back to Kaidan, who was still as sound asleep as he was before. There was a small recreation centre on the first floor of the building where she could shower and change. She was almost certain she could escape quietly enough without him noticing.

She sat for another moment to mull it over. It would hurt his feelings if she left now, but in the long run, they’d probably both be better off without her complicating their feelings for each other again. If she was honest, it was making it easier for her . She didn’t know if she could make it through a week of being with the Alenkos without breaking down at some point.

That was enough to make up her mind on the matter. She slowly and quietly began to sit up, and as she extended her leg out to hit the floor as quietly as she could, searing pain rushed through her calf and up into her thigh. The same leg that had been shattered after the blast from the Citadel. It needed so much reconstructive surgery that she wasn’t able to walk on it for months, and was still regaining full mobility and muscle mass. It was the majority of the reason she wasn’t fit for active duty yet. She fell back on the bed, hissing out in pain, figuring that they must have overdone it yesterday when they were walking around everywhere.

She heard rustling from the other side of the room almost immediately.

“What?! What is it?” Kaidan asked as he rushed over to her side.

She couldn’t respond, the pain was so bad. She hissed out again as another jolt rushed through her leg.

“Your leg? Muscle cramp?” he asked quickly, having been able to discern that from the way she was grasping at it.

She nodded in confirmation, her eyes screwed together tightly. The bed dipped beside her, and she felt gentle hands over her leg as he helped stretch it out.

“Does that feel any better?”

She nodded quickly and huffed out a “Yeah.”

“Where does it hurt?”

“Back of my thigh,” she forced out, as the pain eased slightly.

He waited for her to relax a bit more before moving to sit between her legs. That finally made her open her eyes to watch what he was doing. He lifted the stiff one gently and rested her calf on his shoulder, running his hands down the smooth expanse of her leg in search of the offending muscle.

As his thumbs started digging into the back of her thigh, she hissed out in pain again.

“I take it, that’s the spot?” he asked, looking concerned.

She nodded in confirmation, not particularly wanting to speak again, but watched him as he worked the muscle. His gaze went directly back to her thigh and his task at hand, ever the gentleman as always, not letting his eyes stray anywhere unseemly.

Meanwhile, the more he massaged her leg, the more relaxed she felt, and the more her own eyes drifted to his bare chest, still as toned as ever, perhaps with a few more scars adorning it now. Probably from the Mako blast right before the beam in London if she had to guess. They weren’t there when she saw him at Huerta after what happened to him on Mars, so they had to be more recent. Already healed over, but recent nonetheless.

She still remembered that day. Sending him back to the Normandy with Liara. Back when she didn’t regret her decision at Apollo’s because she was so sure she was about to be facing certain death. Of course, that hadn’t stopped her from desperately wanting to tell him that she was still in love with him right then and there, but at the time, she was glad for her better judgement. Or maybe it was against her better judgement now that she was alive and well, staring at him square in the chest.

“Is that better?” he asked, and she was mortified to see that he was looking back at her now. She just hoped he didn’t notice how long she’d been ogling him.

She cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah. Thanks.”

He set her leg back down gently to let it rest but didn’t move from his spot. “Does that still happen a lot?”

“No,” she said as she rested her head back against the pillow. “I think we might have just pushed it a bit yesterday.”

“You should have said something, I would have been fine coming back here earlier.”

“I felt fine yesterday. I think I’m still just getting used to having limitations, and I haven’t exactly figured out what they are yet. I haven’t had much of a chance to test it out before now.”

Kaidan nodded at that. It was only her first day out of the hospital yesterday. They probably didn’t allow her to push herself too much outside of physical therapy. She would have expected to go back to her room hurting after a session there, but this was her first time testing out the waters on her own.

“All right,” he said, sounding pleased enough with her answer. “As long as you’re okay now, I guess. I’ll make sure you take things easier at the orchard,” he said as he finally got up.

Oh right… The orchard. So much for her escape plan. She started to sit up before Kaidan stopped her again.

“Hang on. Just stay here. I’m going to get you some water and breakfast so you can let your leg rest for a minute.”

His nurturing attitude was doing nothing to help her already very confusing feelings for him. “That really isn’t necessary,” she called out.

“No, maybe not, but I’m not the one who’s still recovering. I can grab you something to eat, Shepard,” he said with a sly grin.

She let out a barely audible grunt of frustration as she sat up a bit, before relaxing against the headboard to prevent a lecture from him.

She heard dishes clattering lightly and cupboards open and close. She glanced over at him. He put on one of his Alliance issue T-shirts that had been strewn across the back of a kitchen chair after starting a pot of coffee with a grin on his face. He seemed content to just be for the moment. It was a nice look on him. Like the weight of the galaxy wasn’t on his shoulders anymore. Time after war was doing him good. She realised she was staring again, so she tried to distract herself by fidgeting with the hem of her pyjama shorts.

He finished up quickly and brought her a plate of food. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a muffin and banana. He also brought her a cup of coffee and two water bottles and set those down next to her on the nightstand.

“I already know that you’re going to be too stubborn if I told you you’re not allowed to have coffee, but the caffeine will make your leg worse. I want you to finish all of that water to help compensate for it.”

“Yes, sir, Dr. Alenko,” she said with a grin and a mock salute before peeling the banana and taking a bite.

He quickly made his way back into the kitchen and grabbed himself a plate and some coffee of his own before plopping back down on the couch across from her. He stretched out his legs and put his feet up on the bed, that’s how close the furniture was to each other.

Jane couldn’t help but notice the muscles in his legs as he peeled his own banana. She still remembered what it felt like to have those thighs between hers, and was starting to remember how much she missed it. She gulped her food down a little louder than she thought was necessary, and cleared her throat awkwardly. She turned to the window again, hoping that she came off as being more suave than she felt in the moment.

It really was a beautiful view. She just hoped it was nice enough to distract any attention away from her embarrassing behaviour. The sun had a chance to rise a little higher, and the warm orange and pink hues were replaced with the more direct, harsh light of the day already.

They ate in companionable enough silence. She tried to finish her breakfast quickly, as another way to keep her distracted while she kept admiring the view.

“You okay?” she heard from the other side of the room.

Clearly, she was doing a worse job at keeping her cool than she had hoped.

“Hmm?” was all she offered as she glanced back to him, feigning confusion, hoping he wasn’t going to ask her about her odd behaviour.

“Your leg. Is it feeling better yet?”

“Oh,” she said. She had all but forgotten about that at this point. She started stretching it and trying to loosen it up a bit. “It’s still a bit sore, but much better now,” she said, almost surprised at how much better it actually was. It usually would have been hard to walk on for hours after an attack like that. It was kind of him to have done that for her.

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. You’ll get a good chance to rest it today, at least. The skycar ride isn’t too long, but we’ll still be sitting for a while. You should make sure to stretch it at some point after we land, though.”

She nodded at that as she finished off the last bite of her breakfast.

Kaidan got up and walked over to her to take the empty dishes back to the kitchen. As he bent down to take them, his old, familiar scent flooded her senses. He must still use the same soap because it quickly brought back memories of their time together. She remembered seeking those arms out for comfort before hitting Ilos. She remembered huddling herself closer to him, nuzzling her face against his chest and learning that smell for the first time as he held her under the sheets of their first night together, desperately trying to get any sleep they could before going after Saren.

“I took a shower last night after you passed out,” he said, bringing her back to reality. “So it’s all yours now. I can pack everything up, and then as soon as you’re done, we’re free to get out of here.”

“Great,” she managed to get out more clearly than she would have thought possible in the moment and offered him a smile.

She watched him head back into the kitchen with their dishes before she finally managed to get up and grab her stuff. She made her way to the bathroom and started the shower. She huffed out in frustration as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her chance at escape was long gone now, and she was finding it hard to get thoughts of Kaidan out of her head. She went back over to the shower and made sure it was set to cold.

[jawabear]

(6) A Lesson In Want (Maxwell Lord x Reader)

A/N: Welcome to the past. This part is set before and during the very first meeting. Sorry for any mistakes. Hope you enjoy!

Genre: Fluff, angst

Warnings: none, it gets a little sad at the end though, Pedro Pascal comes with his own warning

Summary: To put things simply, its the beginning of the end

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Epilogue

(Y/N) walked back into her room to see a black box at the foot of her bed and a new case file waiting for her on her pillow. She wouldn’t really call it a pillow, more like a slab of stone, that’s what her entire bed felt like but it’s what she had to live with. She reached for the file and read over the name of her next target.

MAXWELL LORD

“Ooh lucky, you get the handsome rich guy again” Mia giggled like a child from over her shoulder. (Y/N) didn’t answer, she remained silent as she skimmed over his information. It had the basics, his name, age, birthday, appearance, height, occupation etc, nothing she hadn’t read before in news articles about him, nothing to dissimilar to a few of her previous targets who also happened to be rich, stuck up, arrogant men. “My target is boring...” Mia pouted “I wanna go after the rich ones”

“It makes no difference if they’re rich or poor, they’re a target so why should it matter?” (Y/N) grumbled to her self as she looked into his dark eyes printed in the picture the was clipped to his file. They were interesting to say the least, dark and intriguing. She could hear Mia talking to her, but it was blurry in her ears, she was getting lost in Maxwell’s gaze, even though it was through a picture.

“-wouldn’t you agree (Y/N)?” Mia laughed. (Y/N) blinked rapidly, pulling herself from her trance and looked over to her friend.

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to a single word you said” (Y/N) told her. She flicked through the pages and saw the list of events that he would be attending, the first one being that night. “I was doing something far more interesting”

“Well, that’s just mean” Mia whined as she folded her arms over her chest like a child. She turned her head from (Y/N), flicking her faded grey hair in her direction before slumping down on her bed, pulling the thin cloth, they would call a blanket, over her body.

“My first scoping is tonight so don’t wait up for me, I don’t know when I’ll be back” (Y/N) called as she stood from her bed and went to the box that had been placed at the foot of her bed, it was expensive looking but (Y/N) already knew what it was, a dress for her to wear. She opened the box and saw a dark blue dress, it was simple, like all of her dresses had ever been, she was in no position to need to stand out in a crowd. In fact she was to do the exact opposite, be seen by no one, only him. And that’s exactly what she planned to do. Everyone else at the Academy was impressed at just how easily she was able to hide in plain sight, she could stand in front of someone and the still probably wouldn’t notice her.

“It’s not like you to have sex on the first night (Y/N)” Mia said as she turned in her bed so she was now facing (Y/N). (Y/N) picked up the dress and walked over to the mirror in their room and held the dress against her body “who are you going as?” Mia asked in reference to her never ending list of covers that all had better lives then she did.

(Y/N) thought for a moment and looked over to the file that rested on her bed “I think I can tell Mr Lord’s type by the look in his eyes. I’ll go as myself”

Mia sat up slightly, shocked at her friend’s words “are you sure (Y/N)? Is that even allowed?”

“Of course it is. It doesn’t matter anyway. We’re ghosts remember? We could give our names to the CIA and they wouldn’t be able to find a damn thing on us” (Y/N) explained “I’ll be fine, it’s not like anyone else will want to talk to me other then him. That is, if all goes to plan”

“When does it not go to plan with you?” Mia questioned with a slight laugh. 

-

She managed to slip into the hall unnoticed, grabbing a drink from the tray of champagne in the doorway before weaving through the crowds. She would never stand in one place, she would take a different route with each circle of the hall that she did, standing in one place gave people a chance to talk to her, if she kept moving no one who bother her, unless she bothered them.

Her eyes scanned to room for Maxwell Lord, she had already memorised his face, and looking around at the mass of people, he wouldn’t be too difficult to pick out. He was a lot younger then the majority of people at that gathering, most of them in their late 50’s early 60’s or older, very few looked younger then that. Aside from a few girls she could spot in the arms of men. She wondered how many of them work in the same place she did.

The Academy was very strict, any woman who worked there was rarely able to mingle with anyone outside their roommate. (Y/N) wouldn’t have care to talk to people anyway, she much preferred to do her job and leave, she didn’t have time for friendship, Mia being the only exception. The Academy is an assassin organisation, unknown for obvious reasons, they take young orphan girls and train them to be master assassins of the richest and worst men in the city. Masters of disguise and seduction, their two greatest weapons. They’re taught that any man will fall to the feet of a beautiful woman if they talk the right way, and of course that what they do. Members of the Academy scratch rich names off one by one, they are told after every assassination that they are one step closer to cleansing the world of greed and corruption. Brainwashed into believing what they are doing is right, being denied any emotions towards a target, being denied any sort of emotion at all really. You can’t kill if you’ll feel guilty afterwards.

And (Y/N) was the best if the best. Aside from Mia, no other girl had met her, but they had heard stories. About how she had never failed a mission, about how strong she is, about how collected she is. Defiantly, she was the one to handle Maxwell Lord.

Ten minuets in to her being amongst the crowd, she spotted him. He was taking to a younger gentleman. Max wore a dark grey suit and a matching tie, he liked to match. For a while, she just stood back and watched him, she didn’t attempt to approach him just yet. He seemed engrossed in the conversation he was having, using hand gestures to emphasise his point. She was fascinated to know what was getting him so flustered. It was almost comedic to watch. But soon the show was over, he had calmed down and taken a large sip of his drink, his eyes moving from the man before him and looked around the room.

She hadn’t meant for him to find her so quickly but she was prepared nonetheless. His eyes seemed to widen slightly when they met hers, he dropped his glass from his lips and stared at her for a moment. She pulled her own glass to her lips and gave him a teasing look before turning into the crowd. She managed to find a quiet place and hoped that he had followed after her.

(Y/N) waited for a few moments and then he appeared. He looked calm and collected as she slowly approached her. “Excuse me” he spoke, his voice smooth and deep, not how she would’ve imagined it but she wasn’t complaining. He held his hand out to her “Maxwell Lord” he introduced.

She gave him a smile and gently shook his hand “(Y/N)” she said.

“Just (Y/N)?” He asked her as he removed his hand from her.

“For now” she said “what was getting you so flustered?” She asked him “made for quite a show”

“Some of these people don’t know how to properly run a business. I was trying to help him but he was adamant he knew exactly what he was doing” Max summarised.

“Ah, I see. And do you know exactly what you are doing?” She asked him.

“What I’ve been doing seems to have done me well so far. So I would say I do”

“Of course. I should’ve known not to ask such a question, the great Maxwell Lord clearly has everything under control. Any one would be lucky to gain advice from him” he couldn’t help but notice a hint of mockery in her voice as she spoke to him.

“Are you mocking me?” He asked her. If anyone else had spoken to him the way she just did, he would’ve destroyed them, but something about her just drew him in further, like he was happy to be mocked her. Her sheer beauty was mocking his very existence.

“Defiantly not” she shook her head “quite the opposite, I was complimenting you” she took a sip of her drink and raised an eye brow at him “surely you are familiar with the term compliment” she teased “I can’t imagine you are unused to hearing them in your position. You must have to shell out quite a fortune to keep the line if kind words flowing your way”

“I’ll have you know Miss (Y/N), any words that come my way, good or bad, are completely free. Unlike most people here tonight I accept criticism, it makes you a better person in my opinion”

“I somehow find that hard to believe. You don’t strike me as a very gracious looser”

“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never lost”

She let out a chuckle as she finished off her drink and rested it in the table behind her. “Well, Mr Lord, seems we both have that in common. But there is always a first time for everything. I have a feeling we may be meeting more often, so, until next time Mr Lord” she gave him a seductive smile and a soft wink before seamlessly disappearing into the crowd.

Max put his own empty glass down and followed after her, he wasn’t prepared to have her slip away so quickly, but even following in her exact footsteps he had lost her. He must’ve looked like an idiot, his head flicking in every direction looking for her but she had vanished. He let out a low growl of frustration and swore to himself in that moment that she was to be his.

(Y/N) lay beside his sleeping figure. He looked so at peace. A few stray pieces of his usual neat blonde hair had fallen from their place. She gently brushed them away from his face. She often thought of their first meeting, she often thought of every meeting after that too. She often thought of him. Everything about him. His soft hair. His beautiful, warm eyes. His voice. His body. The way he touched her, the way he spoke to her, they way he smiled at her. They way he made her feel.

She had to finally admit to herself that she was in love with him, she tried to push it down but the longer she was with him, the more she forgot herself, the more she fell for him. And she didn’t want to stop. She loved the feeling he hand planted inside her. She loved the warmth that spread through her body whenever he looked at her, whenever he touched her. She was in love with him and she knew she shouldn’t be. But she couldn’t help herself. This was the first time she had felt love and it was completely consuming her.

And being with him in that moment certainly didn’t help. His arm loosely around her waist, his mouth hanging slightly open as he let out soft snores. She wanted to snuggle into his chest, wrap both his arms around her and just stay pressed against him until the end of time, but the low buzzing in her ear stopped her from them. The noise from the earpiece signalled that she was to return back. She let out a quiet sigh and slowly slipped out of his hold. She immediately felt cold. She could’ve just slipped back into bed with him and ignored her job but she couldn’t, she wouldn’t be able to.

She was quick to put on her clothes and make a silent escape from his home that she had come to love. She had left him another note, thanking him for helping her relax in the bath and being so open with her about his past love. As she walked down his drive way she glanced back at his house, up into his bedroom window. She didn’t know why, she wasn’t expecting him to be in there, but for some reason she hoped he would be, but he wasn’t.

Once she had returned back to her room she flopped down into her solid mattress, a complete contrast to the comforting softness of Max’s mattress. She longed to be back in his bed, to have the thick covers over he body rather then the stupidly thin blanket she did have. To sink into his feather mattress, rather than be in pain from sleeping in her slab of rock. But mostly to have him beside her.

What she wouldn’t give to be able to just spend one entire night with him, to sleep soundly for once, and then to wake up next to him, to see the sun peek through his curtains and cast its golden light over his body, making him glow like some sort of god from the heavens. She would give anything to have a chance at that. Not that she had much to give. So, for now, she would have to be content in what time she did have in his arms. And god knows she was grateful for it, because she knew he didn’t have much time left. 

23/04/20

[rositxespinosa]

The Words I Never Said

Young!Sirius Black x reader, Young!Remus Lupin x reader

Summary: Reader and her best friend Lily are convinced by James to spend the night with the marauders.

This is my piece for @banditthewriter‘s Ben Barnes Bingo Event! I’ve never been a part of a writing event so I was excited to do this. I wanted to challenge my creative writing skills, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Enjoy!

*Tropes used: Jealousy, Bed sharing*

***

You and your best friend, Lily Evans, were sixth years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now that you were both the age of sixteen, staying up late talking about boys was as common for you as pulling an all-nighter to finish an essay.  During those long nights, Lily would spend most of her breath trying to convince you that she did not have feelings for James Potter, but you knew otherwise. One night, back in fourth year, she confided in you about her feelings for him. That same night you confessed as well. You told her you had feelings for Sirius Black, the notorious player who left every girl he touched broken-hearted. You had always felt guilty for liking him. You knew it was wrong to like a guy like that, but at times you couldn’t help it. Despite his cocky attitude, Sirius has always been kind to you. He greeted you with that charming smile of his every time you were met with one another. He frequently complimented your appearance, and had helped you pass Charms last year by helping you with your homework. Lily warned you that he was only playing nice to get you in his bed. Part of you believed her, the other part didn’t want to. You didn’t want to believe that the boy you started falling for only paid attention to you to get something in return. The thought made your chest ache. 

Since the beginning of last school year, you had grown to be close friends with Remus Lupin, a boy who was friends with James, Sirius, and a short, pudgy faced boy named Peter. You and Lily had known about Remus since you started at Hogwarts, but you kept your distance. Lily didn’t want to be around any of James’s friends. It might give him a reason to be near me, she always said. But soon after Sirius offered to help you with Charms, Remus came into the picture. You quite liked him if you were being honest. He was kind, smart, funny....handsome. He was a true gentleman; and he always had chocolate on hand, which was a plus. You hadn’t told Lily in fear of her freaking out on you, but you couldn’t deny that deep down you had felt something for Remus. It was hard not to. Aside from Lily, he had become your second closest friend. When he wasn’t hanging out with the rest of the marauders; what his closest friends called themselves; the three of you could be seen together. Either in the library studying,  eating chocolate and chatting by the Black Lake, or sitting in the Gryffindor common room, reading aloud to each other by the fire. 

You felt conflicted between your feelings for both Sirius and Remus. You wanted Sirius to look at you the way he looked at the other girls, but maybe you’d just never be good enough. Coming to that realization was difficult for you. You spent many lonely nights crying silently by the fire. Remus had found you one night, and comforted you until your tears stopped falling. That night he did everything in his power to make you smile, and that is where your relationship with him blossomed. From that night on you slowly started to forget about your romantic feelings for Sirius, and decided that being his friend was better than having a broken heart. 

***

Friday evening had rolled around. You and Lily walked into the Great Hall, arms latched at the elbows, discussing your Transfiguration lesson airily. Upon walking up to your table, the two of you sat down on opposites sides, facing each other. Lily was excitedly explaining how she turned a mouse into a teacup when James and the rest of the marauders waltzed in, plopping down in their seats. James of course took it upon himself to sit next to Lily, while Remus sat down next to you, flashing a shy smile as he did so. Sirius sat to the left of Lily, and Peter took a seat quietly next to James. Sirius was sporting an unusual frown. You wanted to ask him what was wrong, but decided against it. He probably got rejected by some girl he wanted to snog, you thought to yourself. The sound of Lily’s voice brought you from your thoughts. 

“What do you want Potter?” Lily asked, already annoyed by his presence. His smirk only seemed to grow wider.

“Well Lils, I have a proposition for you and (Y/n).” Your head shot up at the sound of your name. 

“Well, what is it?” Lily asked, trying but failing to not sound intrigued. You listened intensely, genuinely curious to see what he wanted.

“The rest of the marauders and I,” He motioned to the three boys sitting at the table, “Were wondering if you’d like to sleepover in our dormitory?” He finished speaking and sat in his seat; hopeful eyes staring at Lily’s face. He looked like an over-excited puppy waiting for a treat.

“What?!” Lily looked at him wide-eyed. You turned your head to Remus, who was sat next to you, to see if James was being serious, but he was looking down, the tips of his ears bright pink. You looked from Remus to James, then hesitated before speaking.

“You mean, you want me and Lily to sleep in your room? The boys dormitories?” You asked. This had to be one of his jokes, right? There was no way he was being serious. 

“Yeah, what do you think?” James said with excitement, completely oblivious to how flustered Lily appeared. 

“Absolutely not!” Lily spoke shrilly.

“Ah come on, please Lils? It’ll be fun. It’s just a sleepover.” Lily shook her head stubbornly.

 James spent the next ten minutes trying to convince Lily to say yes, but she refused to even look at him. You caught a glimpse of her reddened cheeks and couldn’t help but smile from behind your hand. 

“What are you smiling at?” You looked at Remus. He was looking at you with those big brown eyes. He was sporting a sweet smile, one that was directed at you.

“Nothing.” You said, trying to hide your smile.

“Do you want to?” You looked at him confused for a moment. “Spend the night with us, that is.” He clarified.

“Oh, well, I don’t know. It does sound like fun, I guess.” You admitted sheepishly. Lily uncovered her flushed face from her hands, looking at you like you were crazy.

“(Y/n)!” She shrieked. 

“It’s okay Lily. I’ll be there too. It’s not such a bad idea.”  You explained calmly. She kept quiet, but you knew by the look on her face you would be having a serious talk with her back in your own dormitory.

Lily  got up and walked off. You stood up to follow, but first you said your goodbyes to Remus, Peter and Sirius, who you nearly forgot was there because of how unusually quiet he was. You walked out of the hall, pulled your bag tighter over your shoulder, and skipped your way up the stone staircase to Gryffindor Tower. 

***

You had eventually convinced Lily that spending one night with the boys wasn’t going to be so bad. She was reluctant at first, but agreed nonetheless that one night wouldn’t kill her. The two of you readied yourselves for bed and headed down to the deserted common room where the boys were waiting. Halfway down the stairs, Lily stopped abruptly, placing a firm grip on your arm.

“Lily, What’s wrong?” You asked. Her face was twisted with uncertainty. You prodded her hand gently to loosen her grip. 

“Lily, “ You started, looking at her sympathetically. “It’s going to be alright. I’ll be there with you. Besides, I know you like James as much as he likes you, despite your attempts to deny it.” She pondered your words for a moment before placing her hand back on your arm, tugging lightly to pull you with her as she took a step back up the stairs.   

“What about Sirius? He’ll be there.” She asked in a hushed whisper. You stared at her, confused. Her question caught you off guard. At your look of confusion, she continued,

“I see how he is with you, you know. I don’t want you to get hurt. Can’t have my best friend getting her heart broken on my watch now can I?” She teased. 

“Lily,” You sighed, “He hasn’t spoken to me all day, not even to make a flirtatious remark!” You paused before continuing. 

‘’He probably gave up trying anyways.” You admitted quietly, looking anywhere but her eyes.

“(Y/n)........” Lily started, looking at you sadly.

“I’ll be fine,” You reassured her with a forced smile. ‘’Besides, Remus will be there, so it won’t be too awkward.” You felt better knowing Remus was going to be there. He always was good at comforting you........

You shook your head quickly and refocused your brain. Lily peered down at her watch and muttered an anxious “let’s go!” before lacing your arms together as the two of you walked down the rest of the stone steps. 

***

You and Lily walked into the common room, arms still laced together. She squeezed your arm. You assumed she had no idea how to respond to the look of adoration in James’s eyes when he looked at her. James stepped forward and politely asked her to come sit down at one of the tables with him. She whipped her head towards you, a look of uncertainty in her green eyes. You nodded at her and gave her a little push forward, unlacing your arms so she could go. Remus stood up from his spot on the couch and nearly sprinted over to where you stood, wrapping you up in a hug. Your wrapped your arms around his middle, inhaling his scent. He smelled like chocolate and firewood.

 From the corner of your eye you could see Peter, who was standing by the fire. Upon arriving, he gave you an Lily an awkward half-smile. Sirius was sitting sideways on the couch, looking disinterested. You pulled away from Remus, who looked down at you, smiling bashfully. The two of you separated and he went to talk to Peter, but not before turning back to give you a more confident smile. Though by the color of his ears, he appeared more flustered than anything. Smiling back at him, you pulled a loose strand of hair behind your ear before breaking eye contact with him and walking towards Sirius. You plopped down on the couch giddily, causing Sirius to look up. A smile was starting to form on his face. 

“Hey Sirius.” You asked. Whether you had feelings for him or not, you wanted to continue to be on good terms with him, which meant conversing in friendly talk, but of course he didn’t get the message. His attention was fully on you. He sat up straighter as if Professor McGonagall was there.

“Hi, love.” He said cheekily. You rolled your eyes and pushed his arm playfully, causing the both of you to laugh. 

“Are you excited for tonight?” He asked. You nodded your head, a big smile spread across your face.

***

The night was spent in the common room; chatting and laughing for hours, playing muggle games like truth or dare, and sending each other out in pairs on secret missions around the castle, without getting caught. You and Remus were paired together to sneak down to the first floor to the kitchens to steal sweets for everyone. Using James’s invisibility cloak, you crept quietly out of Gryffindor Tower and descended down the ever changing stone staircases. It was a difficult task, especially since your face was mere inches away from Remus’s, but it was undoubtedly some of the most fun you’d ever had. 

The two of you arrived back at the tower, peeled off the cloak, and presented the rest of the group with large hand fulls of sweets. James came up to grab some for him and Lily, and Peter practically grabbed Remus in his greedy attempt to get all the sweets for himself. You placed the remaining contents in your hands down on one of the tables in the room. You looked over your shoulder to see Peter stuffing his face with chocolate. You shook your head and laughed. You looked around for Sirius, and found him sat on the floor on top of a cushion, a sour look on his face. You didn’t understand. He was fine when we left. Did something happen when we were gone? You were about to go talk to him when Remus came into view.

“Hey, (Y/n), um, James and Lily suggested we play Uno, and I, uh,  I was wondering if you wanted to be my partner, since we’re playing on teams.” He avoided looking into your eyes, instead he kept them on the floor. You smiled warmly, despite the fact he wasn’t looking.

“I would love to Remus.” His head shot up almost immediately.

“Really?” He asked, looking at you like he expected you to say no.

“Of course, now come on, let’s play.” You grabbed his wrist and pulled him to sit down next to you on the floor. Lily was paired with James, and Sirius with Peter. You, Lily, and Remus were the only ones who knew how to play the game, so you explained to the rest how to play, and continued on. After a long, competitive game, you and Remus were declared the winners. 

****

It was nearly three in the morning when the six of you finally felt exhausted. James was able to sneak you and Lily into the boy’s stairway without being detected. You, James, and Lily were the first to walk into their room. It was a relatively large, circular space, with four poster beds around the room against the walls. You and Lily looked at each other.

“Uh, James?” She asked. She had warmed up to him throughout the night, becoming more comfortable in his presence.

“Yeah?” He had his back facing her, fixing up what you assumed was his bed.

“Where are me and (Y/n) going to sleep?” She looked at him, waiting for an answer. Behind you Peter, Remus, and Sirius bustled into the room. Peter went straight to his bed and crashed. James demeanor changed completely. He stood awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

“Oh uh, well, I sorta, maybe, kinda....,”

“Yeah?” Lily nodded, encouraging him to go on.

“Well, I was sorta thinking we could pair up and have two people in a bed.” He mumbled, his usual confidant facade faltering. Your heart seemed to stop beating. But that would mean.....

“(Y/n), “ Remus gently grabbed your arm and turned you to face him. His face was obviously flushed, which you found quite adorable. “If you want you can sleep with me in my bed, if that’s ok with you.” He asked nervously.

“Okay, that sounds good. Besides, I’m exhausted.” You said between a yawn. Remus smiled and let of a sigh of relief. James got into his bed first, making room for Lily, who looked surprisingly relaxed. Peter was already out cold. Remus guided you over to his bed and starting unmaking it so the two of you could go to sleep. You looked to your right and saw Sirius starting to climb into his bed.

“Sirius,” You whispered, loudly enough to grab his attention. He looked up, a hint of hopefulness in his gray eyes. 

“Have a good night.” You smiled sleepily. 

“You too, (Y/n).”  He turned his gaze back down, getting into bed. 

“Are you ready?” Remus asked, pulling your attention away from Sirius. You nodded, and you and Remus climbed awkwardly into bed, trying to find a comfortable, yet appropriate sleeping position. By the time you feel asleep, you were on your nuzzled into Remus’s side, your legs intertwined with his. He was on his back, his arms draped protectively around your waist. The sound of his heartbeat soothed you to sleep. That night you slept comfortably and peacefully. What you didn’t know, was that not everyone did.

 Sirius lied awake in his bed till the sun started to rise, thinking. He thought about you, and how he wished he were the one to hold you close to him during the night. He felt a dull ache in his chest as a few ashamed tears spilled from the corners of his eyes. He lost you. He never even had the chance to have you, but he knew. You would never look at him the same way you looked at Remus, and it killed him. But he couldn’t blame you, he was the one that was in the wrong. All the time he spent with other girls, unashamedly calling them by your name, could have been spent with you, telling you the three words he’d never had the courage to say;

I love you.

[a19yearoldtryinherbest]

The Maze. [Bill Hader]

     Masterlist

Prompt: OFC and Bill meet on the set of IT, they have a connection but Bill may not be ready to start dating so soon after his divorce. 

Warning: Swearing, a clown, many mirrors.

A/N: The GIF should say “Well, mark me down as scared and horny soft!” but it still kind of works. idk. Also, this is longer than I expected  but tell me if you gals like it like this, prefer shorter or think it would have been better I should’ve split it in two.

Word count: 2637 [I went a bit overboard, maybe?]

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He was sweet, caring and really, really funny, maybe a little awkward but that just made him cuter. At least that was that Amy thought.

The first weeks of shooting she felt a constant a stomach ache from laughing. Bill kept cracking joke after joke and endless impersonations, from Andy to some TV narrator from a true crime show she didn't even know about. Even if she didn't got the references she still found then funny, and quite impressive. He was very talented, she noted.

Sadly all the many distractions he offered made her slightly forget about a few things that were part of her job, like confirm the catering for the fourteenth day of shooting, luckily she could get them to go anyway with a bit more money on top of what was agreed previously. So she made herself put more effort and concentration into her work, and be a little less on set when he was shooting and try to pay him less attention. Luckily the jokes had stopped being so frequent by the second month, he still was a goofball nonetheless.

Andy, the director, and Barbara, his sister and one of the producers, saw that their friend Amy had a think for one of their leads and they decided to play matchmakers by the last weeks of shooting. They knew Bill was fresh out of a divorce so they made sure he was in the dating game, so they sent Jessica and James on a easy mission and they took it, seeing a good match they would make.

— She's cute. — said James, pointing at a skinny blonde girl at the end of the bar. They had been doing that for the past half hour since the rest of the cast had left them alone, Bill would've been gone but since he was the subject of conversation he found it very difficult to find a out. Si Bill did what he'd been doing the last thirty minutes, he looked at the girl and shrugged his shoulders. She was cute but she didn't really catch his eye.

— But she's cutter. — Jessica interrupted before Bill could give a verdict about the other girl. The girl Jessica pointed at was a bit more of Bill's liking, dark headed, wide smile on her face as she celebrated her victory over darts — Oh, she likes her. — he looked at his co-star, a bit confused to what gave that impression and she clarified — You're smiling a bit much sweety. — he rolled his eyes and looked back to the girl and then he realized why she was so much of his liking.

— Oh, shit! — he said, quickly fixing his eye on his drink.

— What? — James asked, looking at Bill confused and a bit worried.

— That's Amy, the production manager. — he took a big chug of his drink, which he didn't do often, or ever.

— No way! — chanted Jessica, accidentally caring the plan nearer to it's fulfillment. They now not only they knew Bill was willing to date but also liked the girl they wanted to set him up with.

— You totally planed this. — he was starting to blush and couldn't help but to hide his face behind his hands and look down.

— I did not! — McAvoy looked at Jessica, asking for a confession — I swear!

— Wait, why would you think it was planned? — James asked.

— Isn't it obvious? — they both looked at him, not understanding what he was talking about — Or at least I thought it was. — he mumbled, baffled they didn't realized — I really like her.

They looked at him a bit surprised, falling into a small silence that Jessica broke by turning around and calling for their work colleagues — Andy, Barbara, Amy! — the three of them turned their attention to the redhead screaming across the bar, stopping their game of darts — Come over! — they did, Andy and Amy throwing the last two darts before grabbing their drinks and starting walking towards the three actors.

— You definitely planned this. — mumbled Bill, finishing his glass of beer.

— I didn't.

Amy, was nervous so she also finished her glass on the way to the bar, however her glass was half full with scotch, so the effect was a bit different — Easy there. — told her Barbara as she softly hissed by the burning on her throat and ordered another one.

She would be a mumbling, blushing, incoherent mess anyway, better blame it on the alcohol, right? — So who won on that game of darts? — Jessica laughed, looking at Amy for an answer.

Amy pointed at Andy, smiling — But only because he cheats.

— Oh! Look who's talking, with the clapping in front of my face when I'm about to throw.

Conversation flowed smoothly but the four matchmakers couldn't make the two talk to each other for other than a side commentary. So they decided to take themselves out of the picture so they would have no option but to talk. The Muschetti siblings decided to go with — Tomorrow we have to start prepping to shoot early. — McAvoy went to take a phone call and never returned, a the same time Chastain revealed she was extremely tired and excused herself. What neither of the cupids realized was the Amy was fairly drunk, except for McAvoy, he realized that and decided that would probably speed up the processes a little.

They both stayed in silence a bit, where Amy sobered up a bit, enough to make a coherent and appropriate comment, maybe even a bit intelligent — I probably shouldn't drive like this.

Bill looked at her, quite surprised to hear her speak, it took him a moment to process what she had just said and when he understood he leaned closer to her, making a "this is very important for us to remember so litsen up" face combined with "I'm a bit drunk and I don't want to fall asleep", which meant eyebrows high up and eyes fighting to stay open — Neither of us should drive like this. We should get an uber. — she nodded and took her phone out — No, I got it. — he said, his phone already on the app — A genta- gentleman should pay for the uber.

She laughed — What a gento- gentel- What a- a you. — she laughed a bit more and laid her head on her arm, suddenly realizing how dizzy she felt — God. — she softly grunted.

— Should be here in a few minutes. — he looked at her, laughing at her scrunched up face — Wanna get some fresh air?

Fresh air helped the dizziness go away and, against all odds, she started to sober up. As they waited for the car she couldn't help but to be almost constantly next him, hugging his arm, looking at his face. It didn't make Bill uncomfortable but it did made really him nervous also a bit guilty, she was drunk, he wouldn't do anything to her in that state, but he enjoyed the way she was touching his arm, looking at his eyes and lips, laughing at his jokes, but he was sure nothing could beat the way her lips felt on his neck when she laid her head on his shoulder on the car. She kept kissing his neck in a slow, soft and intimate way, but he wouldn't take advantage of the inebriated state she seemed to be even if he was a bit drunk, which he was, but he thought he was more conscious than she was.

So he took her to the apartment building they were both renting in. On the elevator she stopped leaning against him so much and looked him dead in the eye — Wh- why aren't you kissing me? — She asked, she was a bit more coherent and sounded less drunk but more tired.

— 'Cause you're drunk. — he answered, looking elsewhere but her eyes.

— You too. — She crossed her arms as if she was about to throw a tantrum but she only pouted slightly. Two stories before her floor she pressed the stop button grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and pulled him into a sloppy (bitch) kiss. He stood almost frozen for the first few seconds until he got a hold of himself and kissed her back. They pushed and pulled for a few seconds, trying to get closer to the other, before she parted away and whispered — I'm not all that drunk. I want this. — she kissed him again and pulled the stop button so the elevator would start again.

Every kiss he laid on her skin that night was sweet and caring and every time she touched him he could feel his chest tingle and burn at the same time.

They stayed up afterwards, talking, joking, laughing and looking into each other's eyes, getting to know each other. The conversation was easy even if it was hard topics they talked about, they seemed to feel the same about almost everything and Bill had thought that scarred him, he wanted to grow old with that woman. He wanted to love and cherish her, and make her laugh until the day he died, but that terrified him.

And even if that night was amazingly sweet the day after was especially bitter. When she woke up he was already dresses, she knew that wasn't a good start.

He told her good morning and when she went in for a kiss he said — I don't think I'm ready to be in a relationship so soon after my divorce. I don't want for this to be a one night thing, and last night was great, but I'm not ready. — and she understood, divorce was a big deal, a nine year long marriage isn't something one would get over just like that. That she could understand, that she could take, what she couldn't understand was the way he kept his distance for the last days of shooting and how he didn't even said goodbye they were at the wrap party and he left earlier.

She tried not to think much about him but he seemed to always have a way to creep back into her mind. Her brain seemed to be decided to find a connection to him and the world to give her one. Surfing through Netflix she seemed to see nothing but his face or the face of someone he was friends with, people keep recommending things to watch were he was in, and then the Emmys came around and he seemed to be everything everyone was talking about. But then she got a break, distracting herself with a new movie she was working on, he still crossed her mind but not in a heart-stopping daydreaming kind of way, it seemed more plausible to move on.

Well, not until the premiere came. The idea of seeing him again kept making her smile in the middle of the day and she felt ridiculous, it had been one night a year ago but his words kept haunting her. Not ready. That implied that maybe he would be later, maybe he would be ready then.

So she tried to look for a great dress but everything seemed too much, too many sequins, too much lace, too bright, too short or way too long. Until she founded the perfect dress a black cocktail dress that left her cleavage and shoulders uncovered and hugged her body perfectly. She felt confident, pretty and comfortable, just like she felt with him.

On the premiere they seemed like to positive sides of different magnets, unable to touch, to find each other and in that time she couldn't think of anything else but that maybe he never reached out because he didn't wanted to,that maybe the "I'm not ready" was just an act or something he said so he wouldn't have to tell her he didn't want to be with her. And, as that idea started to settle in her brain and she wandered by the Derry theme attractions, she started to feel more and more anxious and stupid, thinking of how awkward that encounter would be and how much she had thought about that stupid dress she was wearing.

She looked at her reflection on one of the many mirrors of the mirror house, she contemplated the option of skipping the movie and the party to go home. She didn't feel like watching Bill's face for two hours. As she was about to look for a easy way out she heard a tap on the glass next to her, she turned to see Bill. He was on the other side of the glass, half a smile on his face and one of his hand on his pants' pocket.

Amy looked at him a bit confused as he mouthed "hey" or maybe he said it but she couldn't hear him, and now all she was thinking about was his voice and how much she wanted to hear him talk and laugh. She smiled back with a sweet and soft "hey"

Without saying a word the both started to look for a way to the other, it was a bit difficult, it was a maze full of mirrors and glasses more than once they saw each other but couldn't meet, until a he took a turn and they saw each other, no glass, no impediments.

— Hey. — she said, taking a small step towards him.

— Hey. — he took a bigger step, nearly entering her personal space — Wanna get out of this damned maze before the clown get to us?

Her face changed, now showing her a bit worried — There's a clown?

He laughed softly, nodding — Yeah, and the son of a bitch already got me once.

— Yeah, let's better leave. — she seemed to be in bit more of a rush, gabbing his hand and walking in a bit of an accelerated pace.

She guided him trough the mirrors, checking on every turn for a god damned clown, who's idea was that? Seemed something Andy would think of. But after one turn she was stopped by a mirror, and she stood looking at herself and Bill, how he was standing behind her, still looking out for the clown, her hand holding his, and she turned around, looking at him, waiting for him to look at her. And he did, his blue eyes looking straight into hers, smiling softly as her eyes drifted to his lips, closing in on the distance she then erased.

It felt better than any of them remembered, softer, sweeter, no hesitation or drunkenness. His hands had taken their place on her neck and waist, holding her body close to him, leaving her hands nothing to do but linger over his hips. When the kiss came to an end they moved slowly apart, eyes still closed, as if they were trying to stay in the beautiful dream they had entered together.

He looked at her with a smile that made her blush and look to the side from were they came from, letting her see— Holy shit!— a creepy fucking clown was standing with a evil smile on his face, or at least the reflection of that fucking clown.

Bill, instead of getting scared, busted into laughter as the clown ran to hide, which only made her laugh at herself, leaving them alone with their reflections in a fit of laughter that lasted more than a few minutes.

— That fucking clown. — she muttered, still trying to calm down her laughter, holding her stomach from the belly ache that laughter had gave her.

Bill grabbed her hand, as she had done with his before, and lead her out of that maze, both still laughing ever so often, keeping each other close.

[svtmatokis]

Mingyu Office AU P3

Hi guys! It’s been so long since I last posted and I am so sorry for all the imcompleteness of this blog >< I’ve spent the last few weeks finishing up various Office Au!’s so expect new content for a few days. For now, here is the latest of Mingyu’s office AU. 

*Note to the Jihoon Office AU! readers; That story will be revised in due course. I lost sight of the ending and things went in 24 different directions XD

Plot: You’ve transferred to the Korean division of your company as a high ranking associate but no one but those you have previously worked with know how high you ranked since you’re a firm believer of working your way to the top. Focusing on your career, dating never crossed your mind. That is..until you meet Kim Mingyu, the tall dark and handsome associate who too has never dated but is fairly popular with the girls. Will the two of you end up together? Or will work get in the way again?

Words: 3393

Pairing: Y/N x Mingyu

Genre: Romance/Comedy

_______________________________________________________________

“You are a lifesaver Kim Mingyu” you said as the two of you drove on the city streets of Seoul.

“You’ve been stressing about this meeting for the last few weeks. It’s really no problem at all.” he said and gave you a side glance, “Are you...doing anything after?” 

Raising an eyebrow in question you responded, “The meetings supposed to go for the rest of the day and I just have to go back to the office to drop off the signed paperwork since it’s on the way back to my apartment.” 

“How about… You finish your meeting, we’ll get dinner and then I’ll drive you home? You can leave the paperwork in my car and I’ll bring it up with me tomorrow morning.” he suggested completely taking his chances.

You knew about Mingyu’s high tendency of forgetfulness and was wary, “Are you sure..? I can just take them back to the office and lock them up…” You didn’t even want to lose those documents as they were of high importance. They were to be submitted to Jeonghan for Seungcheol.

“It’s okay, we can take a different route and take a shortcut back to your apartment. I promise I’ll remember the documents if that is what you’re so worried about. I swear or I’ll let Jihoon wack me with his bat he keeps in his cubicle.” Mingyu said holding up his pinky finger and you slowly took it as Mingyu would never willingly put himself in front of Jihoon’s harm. 

“If you’re sure…” you said with uncertainty and Mingyu nodded with a grin. 

“I’ll wait at the cafe across the street and send me a text when you’re done.” he said as he dropped you off at the clients location. 

“Are you craving anything in particular?” he asked shocked that you had agreed to dinner so easily.

“No..I’ll let you decide.” you answered mindlessly as you double checked everything in your bag. “Thanks again Mingyu, you don’t know how much this means to me.” you gave him one of those smiles that made his heart weak and he watched as you exited the car and entered the building.

He silently wished you luck and pumped his fist in victory over the fact that you had agreed to have dinner with n him. It was a lot easier to have you agree than he thought but he was happy nonetheless.  

He went into the cafe and ordered a drink.  Choosing to sit by the window, he looked down at your number and grinned. You gave it to him before you left the car and told him to text you so you could text him when you were done your meeting. 

He looked up and he saw the next person exit  the cafe and he thought the person looked slightly familiar. 

He shook the feeling off and went back to his phone while waiting for your text. 

(Meanwhile)

Yanan walked through the lobby of the Korean office and saw the two people he was looking for. 

“Yo, Jun!” He called out as said person turned around shock evident on his face as the duo made their way over. 

Twenty minutes later, the three were at a bbq restaurant having dinner and catching up. 

“So how long are you here for?” Minghao asked curiously. 

Yanan thought for a moment before responding. “Two weeks? The managers have a conference here and then we’re scheduled to do some sightseeing.”

“Are you planning on catching up with Y/N while you’re here?” Jun asked causing Yanan to choke on his meat. 

After gulping down his water, Yanan gathered himself and cleared his throat. 

“Are you okay?” Minghao asked as he and Jun shared a look. 

“Y/N’s here?” He asked with a shocked/concerned look on his face. 

“You didn’t know?” Jun asked and Yanan shook his head. 

“She fell off the radar ever since she rejected the Senior Associate position.” Yanan explained, “She’s here? Working for the Korea Office?” 

Both men nodded their heads. They figured that you didn’t tell anyone on purpose. They knew you were close with the upper management, especially the VP and it would’ve been easy to let your transfer go unnoticed. Now the question was, why?

“It’s been a while now...someone got fired from Jun’s team and Seungcheol sent in an internal transfer request.” Minghao explained and realization dawned on Yanan’s face and he shook his head. 

‘So the two were closer than they let on’  he thought in his head as he turned to look in the direction of Juns shocked voice.

“No way, is that Mingyu and Y/N?” 

The three looked out the window of the restaurant and saw the two of you walking across the street with ice cream cones in your hands.

“You don’t think they’re on a date do you?” Jun asked looking at Minghao and the other shrugged his shoulders.

“Kyulkyung said that Y/N was running late for a meeting and Mingyu offered to drive her after they ran into each other at a cafe.” he said after receiving a text earlier on. “They probably went for dinner afterwards or something.” 

“Should we go say hi?” Jun wondered and Minghao shook his head as he pointed over to the two of you at Mingyu’s car and him opening the door for you with a bow making you giggle.

“We’ll see her tomorrow at the office” he explained and threw a side glance at Yanan who seemed deep in thought and he also wanted to let Mingyu have his time with you. Things seemed to be going well so far.

All the while, Yanan’s eyes were focussed on you and your supposed co-worker and he couldn’t believe his eyes. When he was offered the promotion, he had no idea that you had been offered it first but accepted it anyways since he had his eyes on it for quite some time but when he noticed that you had stopped coming into the office, he started asking questions but the China head refused to tell him anything saying it was none of his business.  

An Associate had told him that he saw you enter the office of the vice president and when you came out, you were packing your desk and no one saw you after that and soon life at the office went back to normal. One day, the daughter of the China head who came to the office to visit occasionally told him that you turned down the Senior Associate position. 

The only question in his mind was, Why? You were working so hard towards the position and to throw it all away was like a slap in the face to him personally. The two of you were a team but also each other’s confidants but as you got busier, things changed and he noticed you stopped confiding in him like you used to.

Quickly making an excuse, he made his way out of the restaurant and back to his hotel leaving Jun and Minghao to watch after him and fork the bill..

Meanwhile, you and Mingyu were currently sitting in his car in front of your apartment. After your meeting, he had taken you out for dinner and dessert before suggesting a walk in the park. Despite how tired you were after the meeting, it all vanished after spending some time with Mingyu.

“Thank you for everything tonight. You really are a lifesaver.” you said again as you turned to look at him as he unbuckled his seatbelt and made his way to your side of the car to open the door.

“No, thank you for having dinner with me tonight. I had a lot of fun.” he grinned as you blushed. You did too. 

Throughout the night, Mingyu was the perfect gentleman. He had taken you to a nice restaurant where despite trying to argue, he had paid the full bill on top of the ice cream he convinced you to get.  It was nice getting to know him and he often made you laugh with the jokes he cracked here and there. You realized later on that you really enjoyed spending time with him and you didn’t want it to end now.

“Do you maybe...want to come in for some coffee?” you asked making Mingyu’s face conform into shock. “Unless you have to be somewhere then we can always-”

“Coffee sounds great” Mingyu said interrupting your ramble and offered his arm as you lead him towards your apartment.

Mingyu wandered around your apartment as you went to the kitchen to make coffee. He looked at the various picture frames which lined the wall and mantle. Some of them included photos of you, Jun, Minghao and Kyulkyung at various work events prior to their transfer. Some were of you and other co workers but a few other photos caught his attention. They were of you and who he recognized as Yanan, a recently promoted senior associate of the China office.

Noting the body language, it looked like the two of you were close and could’ve have been more then friends but a big part of him hoped he was wrong. Throughout the weeks as he was getting to know you, it turned out that the more he learned about you, the more he found you attractive in so many ways and was waiting for the perfect time to ask you out.

Little did he know, you were slowly starting to feel the same way. You enjoyed having his company, he was funny, cute but you noticed that he knew when to be serious  when it came to work and assignments, which was probably why Jihoon had yet to kill him. You didn’t expect him to say yes when you invited him in but now that he was here, you kind of liked it.

He came to the kitchen to see what you were doing and was amazed to see ice cream and hot chocolate out instead of the intended coffee.

“What are you making?” he asked as you put two scoops of vanilla ice cream into each mug and proceeded to poor the hot chocolate on top of it before finishing it with whipped cream.

“Hot chocolate  and icecream. The best of both worlds.” you answered poking a straw in each cup. 

”Sounds delicious” Mingyu said with a lick of his lips before taking one of the mugs from your outstretched hands.

 “Thank you, you really didn’t have to.” he took a sip of his drink, his face turning into instant delight, “The coffee and your company would’ve been more than enough.” 

Mingyus comment sounded so sincere that you wanted to melt on the counter right there and then. He really had a way with words and when you pair that with his naturally charming attitude, you could see why the girls at the office would swoon so often (you not being one of them).

Noticing your silence Mingyu looked down at you and smiled. “Y/N?”

His voice made you look up at him and suddenly you found yourself blushing at getting caught lost in your thoughts. You looked away embarrassed as Mingyu chuckled.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he asked with a tilt of his head, his grin widening as you pouted slightly. He had never seen you blush like this before and in addition to the pout on your lips,  he found you completely cute and alluring. 

At the office, you were always professional and rarely joked around with the rest unless the occasion called for it and it had only been a handful of times that he had seen you let loose outside of the office with your friends and colleagues but seeing you like this was completely different. You were letting him see a side of you that  maybe only Jun, Minghao and Kyulkyung got to see.

Mingyu put down his cup and used a finger to tilt your chin up to face him while using his other hand to trap you between him and the counter.  The moment your eyes met,  you knew you were in trouble and you found it hard not to get lost in them. 

Your eyes drifted close as Mingyu’s face got closer to yours and just as he was about to touch his lips to yours the ring of your cellphone snapped you out of your trance and you pulled away blushing more then you had before. Did you seriously almost kiss Kim Mingyu?

You gave Mingyu an apologetic look and quickly walked out to the living room to get your phone and noticing it was Jun’s particular tone. 

“Hey Jun” 

“Hey how was the meeting?” he asked casually but there was something that was different about his voice. “Did you seal the deal?” 

“Yep, i’s were dotted and t’s were crossed. I’ll bring it in tomorrow.” you replied wondering if this was the only reason he called.

“Yay, we’re getting paid this week” he cheered on the other end of the line and suddenly his voice took a teasing tone, “I heard that you celebrated early with Mingyu. Is he there now?” he asked and you suddenly found yourself glaring at your phone. How did he know? 

As if reading your mind, Jun added. “Hao and I saw you two while we were having dinner.you have a lot of explaining to do. You have to tell me about your date with Mingyu. Tell me did you guys kiss? Is he still there?” he prodded and you resisted to roll your eyes and looked at Mingyu who shook his head quickly.

“I just got home not too long ago and no he didn’t come in.” you answered as Mingyu made his way out of the kitchen and to the couch and listened to your one sided conversation. “And what do you mean by explaining?”

“Yanan’s in town and he told us that you didn’t tell anyone that you left.” Jun stated with a sigh, “I had a feeling that was the case since NO ONE has touched base on how you’ve been doing since you came over so Hao and I figured you and Luhan were still close and he covered your ass. I mean tracks.”

You were completely unphased by his statement, you knew that Jun and Minghao would figure it out eventually but you didn’t want to say anything just incase the wrong ears heard. You were glad they picked up on it.

“Now the thing is, why are you hiding it the fact that you turned down the S.A position? Everyone knew you were going to get it with or without Luhan’s influence.” Jun continued and you gave Mingyu a side glance and you didn’t want to explain things to Jun while you had company so you faked a yawn.

“I’m really tired from today, I’ll talk to you and Ming tomorrow” you said quickly before hanging up and letting out a breath. So Yanan was in town eh? Well Luhan did say it was between the two of you but given the circumstances…if anyone were to find out it wouldn’t be a big deal either. You were cut from your original contract.

You turned to look at Mingyu who had finished half his drink already and you apologized.

“Jun wanted to confirm that the contract was signed” you explained, “They apparently saw us on our way back from dinner and was wondering why we were celebrating without him.’

Mingyu chuckled, “Typical, he was probably wondering if this contract was going to equal a nice pay cheque” 

“Oooo you good.” you said with a giggle as you sat down next to him and the two of you were soon immersed in conversation about work and common interests that it wasn’t until a reminder popped up on Mingyu’s phone that he saw that it was almost midnight.

Soon the two of you were standing at your door as Mingyu put on his jacket.

“I had a lot of fun tonight.” he said with his boyish grin, knowing that he was about to kiss you earlier made him extremely happy and how he just had to step up his game to win you over. He took your hand in his and placed a gentle kiss on top of it causing you to blush.

“M-me too. Thanks for everything Mingyu. I meant it earlier, I really really appreciate it.” you said with a small smile and leaned up to kiss his cheek but Mingyu being the cheeky person he is turned his face so your  lips met in a gentle kiss causing your eyes to widen.

Mingyu knew that he made a bold move but as he felt you relax into the kiss, he held your hand to his chest so you could feel his heartbeat and his other hand cupped your cheek.

The kiss had completely caught you off guard but after a few moments, your hand that was held to his chest slowly clenched his shirt. His lips were soft and he tasted like chocolate and you felt your eyes drifting close. 

After a few moments Mingyu was the first to pull away and rested his forehead against yours leaving you both breathless.  

“I’ll pick you up before work tomorrow okay?” He whispered as you tried to protest. 

“It’s o-“ but he put a finger to your lips to silence you. 

“I want to.” He said as he gave you one last kiss on the cheek before pulling away fully which made you let go of his shirt. “I’ll see you tomorrow Y/N. Have a good night.”

The moment you shut the door your brain had finally processed what had happened and you found yourself blushing hard while grabbing a pillow to squeal into. You had never had butterflies this strong before and it was all because of one Kim Mingyu. You quickly got Kyulkyung on the phone and told her everything.

Meanwhile, Mingyu sat in his car processing what exactly happened. What possessed him to kiss you suddenly? Outside of the fact that you were acting cute all night,  he had wanted to kiss you for a while now and couldn’t resist. But you had kissed back… it had to mean something right?

Looking at the time, he realized that if he wanted to wake up early enough to get you the next day, he would have to set at least three alarms. 

The next day as promised, Mingyu was waiting for you with coffee in his car as he saw you make your way towards him. 

He got out when he saw you smile and couldn’t help but notice the faint blush you had and was happy that he may have been the cause. 

“Good morning Mingyu” you said as you approached him with a smile. 

“Good morning Y/N, did you sleep well?” He asked ‘Did you dream of me?’

Nodding your head he grinned. He took out a folder from behind his back. “So were you forgetting something last night?” 

You looked at the folder and double checked your bag. Your eyes widened to see the absence of the folder and realized that it was currently in Mingyus hands meaning you left it in his car. 

Mingyu smirked, “you must have had a lot of fun last night to forget something so important. But don’t worry, I have your back.” He winked at you as you tried to reach for the folder but he held it out of reach. 

“Mingyu” You whined trying to reach for the folder again. Darn him and his six foot height “Josh is going to have my head if I don’t turn it in!” You pouted. 

Unable to resist due to your cuteness, Mingyu leaned down and gave you a quick peck on the lips before sliding the folder into your bag. The whole thing caught you off guard and when Mingyu opened the door for you to get into the car, you couldn’t stop the butterflies from going crazy and you got in silently as he closed the door. Licking his lips as he walked to the other side of the car. So you already had your morning coffee eh?.

Unbeknownst to you two, someone had seen your whole interaction and was completely shocked.

[asking-mystic-messenger]

Hi!! So prom season is coming up So I really wanna See MC as a Senior with no date and The RFA + Saeran +V take her to prom but not in Romantic way? A Platonic situation if that suits your fancy ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ I think it’d be really cute and this is my first and Last Senior Prom so I dunno the idea popped up, Plus your head-canons are really great 🥰

Sure and thank you so much anon!

my blog’s been kinda dead for quite some time now, but I thought this was a cute idea. I never did actually go to my senior prom lol. I went to prom as a sophomore and that was like, the only time. 

I hope you enjoy your prom! 

Zen: 

He had plenty of people expressing interest in going with him. Sure some were more direct than others, coming up to him between classes or when he was in the line at lunch. some went as far as to message him on social media or ask through texts, leaving him wondering how they’d found his phone number 

still he declined their offers kindly with a smile and kind excuse, that he had rehearsal for a musical or that he had to rehearse lines

Still, when MC asked him, he found himself saying yes, maybe because they were best friends and maybe because they were both going to be in the school musical that spring together and they could spend the night going over lines if they got bored

He was a complete gentleman, taking MC to dinner before prom and picking them up from home 

when they arrived they both joined the crowd quickly, singing and dancing along to most of the songs and taking the occasional break to sit and talk at one of the tables along the back wall 

they still found plenty of time to take selfies all of which ended up flooding the RFA group chat as well as Zen’s and MC’s social media pages

Yoosung: 

He’d been debating if he even wanted to attend in the first place. Sure it was something most of his classmates had looked forward to for years, but was it really worth it? 

He definitely was insecure about going alone, especially since he knew so many people would have dates. After all, how much fun would it really be to watch other people having fun when he could stay home? at least then he could play LOLOL 

He knew however that MC had been dreaming of the night of their senior prom for years and that they’d yet to be asked out and spend the entire day trying to build up the courage to ask MC to go with him, afraid of how they might take it 

When he did ask he was an absolute stuttering mess making sure to point out that if they could go as friends if MC wanted to do so as well. 

Even though MC did agree to go as friends, he still went through all the motions and came to pick MC up at their house and took them out to dinner before prom to give them both the full experience 

when they did arrive they didn’t actually dance all too much instead they ended up spending time with their friends and talking (and of course taking pictures to remember the night as well 

Jaehee: 

She never really found much interest in prom unlike most of the other girls at school who constantly discussed their plans before and how their outfits should match 

she had a test the Monday afterwards anyway. so surely there was a. better use of her time. 

MC however had a totally different opinion of prom (and of most school functions) and was all but begging her to come. 

The day before prom Jaehee ended up going home from school with MC and they watched their favorite tv shows and listened to music as they got ready 

Neither of them danced very much, but they both talked throughout the night 

Jumin: 

He didn’t necessarily understand the interest most people had with prom and ended up turning away the few that managed to build up the courage that asked him to go with them 

MC however was visibly upset that they had yet to be asked to go to prom with anyone and expressed their frustration to him in class a few days before

He offered to go with them and MC almost burst into tears then and there out of relief, especially knowing that going to prom would probably make Jumin somewhat uncomfortable. 

He came and picked them up in a limo and took them out to a fancy dinner before prom, seeming rather unfazed despite MC’s obvious excitement. 

When a slow song came on he offered to dance with MC

he was not especially good at dancing, but it was fun nonetheless  

Saeyoung: 

He wasted absolutely no time in asking MC to go with him. 

At first they were suspicious, thinking that there was some sort of catch or joke, but Saeyoung was entirely sincere, especially given the fact that their senior prom was space themed

He insisted on taking them out to dinner before prom

this consisted of him bringing them each a can of PhD. Pepper and a bag of chips 

By the time they got there it had already started

They took tons of silly selfies and both danced for awhile, but both ended up getting bored and left early, choosing instead to go and talk outside where it was quieter and they could watch the stars and hear each other talk

Saeran: 

He hated the idea of school dances with a passion 

going alone would be uncomfortable and having to ask someone to go with him would be uncomfortable

even if someone did ask him to go, they’d probably expect something of him and it would turn out to be a terribly uncomfortable situation for them both so he was perfectly content with not going at all 

When MC first asked him to go he refused on principle 

Saeyoung told him later that day however that MC had been upset, stating that they didn’t have anyone to go with and that they didn’t want to go alone 

He definitely felt bad since he hadn’t meant to upset MC but was still very insecure

He ended up asking MC if she wanted to go with him and Saeyoung as friends 

Saeyoung agreed to come with them to act as a buffer in case Saeran panicked or got uncomfortable in any. way with the situation, especially since it was so far out of his comfort zone. 

Saeran absolutely refused to dance 

He did end up being pleasantly surprised by the fact that there were candies on the tables and that there were desserts 

It did end up getting pretty overwhelming after a while and he went outside. 

He was shocked when MC and Saeyoung joined him as well. 

The three of them ended up hanging out outside for most of the night, away from the crowds and loud music 

V: 

He was rather quick to ask MC to come with him when he noticed they were upset about not having anyone to go with 

Before they left for, he took a ton of pictures of MC and him

He, like Jumin, took them to a fancy dinner 

He documented the entire night in pictures which he later gave to MC 

He ended up shocking them when he asked them to dance with him at the end of the nice when a slow song came on, despite the fact that they’d agreed to go as friends 

They both ended up having a lot more fun than either of them actually expected to. 

[ebonyeverstern]

Paradox (Kol)

Kol’s whole body trembled as he watched the video for the nth time. It played on the small screen of what they had called a “laptop”.

Mortals these days with their inventions.

Moving on to the video that played on the screen. It was a woman of [H/C] locks and foxy [E/C] eyes. To Kol, she was the epitome of perfection. To Kol, she was the angel to his devil. To Kol, she was the anchor to his sanity. To Kol, he was hers and she was his.

The woman began to talk, starting off with a smile. She sat on the fountain rim of the compound. 

“Mikaelsons.” 

Kol could see her shaking in spite of her efforts to seem happy.

“First off, I would like to apologize for the fact that I can’t say this to all of you personally. I’m sorry I had to put you through the trouble of learning how to use a laptop.” 

She laughed a little at her attempt to make a joke (it did happen in reality though). One couldn’t see the obvious sadness and pain that she tried to hide if they did not know her so well. 

“I’m going to skip the pleasantries, because if I don’t I swear I’ll end up giving up.”

She abruptly looked up, biting her lip.

Kol immediately recognized this habit of hers. It happened usually when she didn’t want to cry.

“Damn it, I’m not even a quarter through and I’m crying.” Her voice quivered already as she managed to control her tears and simply attempting to smile.

“Okay. Let me start properly.” She took a deep breath before releasing a shaky smile. “There was, or should I say, is a family full of beautiful people. They’re so damn beautiful it should be a crime. I’ve always wished I had some of their genes. Maybe that way I could look half as good as them.” She chuckled.

“Let’s start with the oldest one I know. Elijah.”

“Dear old noble Elijah. Always a gentleman. Always the one for manners. But underneath that noble facade was a man who could devote his soul to anyone but he himself. We never could do anything about it. But it always amazed me how Elijah kept pushing for the redemption of his family, especially Klaus. I won’t delve into the centuries.” She took another deep breath before looking at the camera with glassy eyes.

“Elijah, you are my big brother. The one I can always count on. The one with the strong shoulder if you want to cry, I. Love. You. So. Much. But please, give yourself a break for once. Let Nik go and tend to yourself first. I love that you love your... Our family, but goshdarnit we’ve been waiting for centuries for you to get a life. So now that Hayley is there, don’t let her go, aight? I’ll be watching from the other side. And if you don’t chase Hayley, I swear I’ll come back and haunt your ass until you do.” She smiled lovingly before laughing.

“Now for my hybrid brother Klaus. I love you as well.”

“First things first. I do not give you permission to slaughter anyone. Please don’t. Really. Don’t. No matter who they are, don’t. Consider it as my death wish. Please.” She begged with sincere eyes. 

“Moving on, Nik was always the most deadly one. Even when I didn’t know he was a hybrid, I could always feel this.. sort of.. feeling from him. He was also the most caring, the one with the silliest ideas,” She laughed. “I remember this one sloppy guy hit on me and groped me. Next thing I knew, Nik compelled him to dance on the table tops of the bar. That was one of the funniest memories I’ve had with him. But he was also perhaps the most sensitive.”

“Nik, I know you’re facing a lot of problems, and I’m probably out of my place to say this, but the fact that you’re watching this means I’m de–”

Kol resisted the urge to slam the laptop and throw it against the wall with all his might had it not been playing your beautiful face.

“–ad.” [Y/N] laughed it off. “So it doesn’t matter. Anyway, please try and trust your siblings and don’t ask too much of them. Even as original vampires, they’re still humans with hearts and emotions. As for you trusted ones, I won’t blame Nik if he stakes all of you if you betray him.” She simply shrugged.

“Next up.... Rebekah Mikaelson.”

“There are no words to describe how absolutely freaking perfect Rebekah is. With her golden locks and tan skin and have you seen her body? I have and it’s the embodiment of flawlessness. I won’t deny that I’ve always been jealous of Bekah and that she’s caused me to have insecurities, but I’m happy with and for her nonetheless. She is my sister and my best friend who I won’t exchange the world, the universe, anything for. Same goes for all of you.” She smiled brightly.

“For all of you men planning to hurt her, I will come back from hell and tear off your limbs one my one before dragging you to hell with me.”

“Moving on, dear Bekah, to put things simply, you are the angel of the family. You’re the most affectionate, most human, most motherly and the most flawless woman I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. Those shopping sprees you always took me on? I loved every single moment of them. Not because I come home with a lot of pretty clothes and jewelry, but because those were the times we got to bond the most without the idea of death looming over us. I love you so much.”

“Now, Hope.”

“Hey there you lil’ devil! I’m so sorry Auntie [Y/N] can’t be there for you physically, but always know that I’m there for you by heart and by spirit. Goodness, I sound like an old woman.” She laughed softly. “a few centuries has finally taken toll on me... Anyway, honey, you are the glue for the family. Even if I haven’t seen you yet, I already know you’re gonna be so amazing. It runs in your blood.” She smiled even wider and laughed even more. “One of my biggest regrets right now is the fact that I won’t be able to see you grow up into the spectacular woman you’re meant to be. For that, I’m sorry. So do your aunt a favor and bring home a hot guy alright? Don’t worry, I’m sure Hayley and Bekah will protect him.” She laughed once more.

“Speaking of Hayley, GOSH I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a brave woman aside from Bekah. She’s the type of girl who stays so selfless and courageous even through thick and thin. She’s the epitome of girl power. Hayley is a perfect role model for Hope, aside from Bekah of course. But I’m pretty sure Nik, ‘lijah and Kol wouldn’t like that.”

Kol could sense the slightest crack and pause in her voice when she mentioned his name.

“Hayley, I know that you’re involved in all the Mikaelson drama. But I do encourage you to stay. Because aside from all the awesome once-in-a-lifetime adventures you get to have, ‘lijah will be a mess if you don’t stay.” She laughed. “I’m counting on you to raise Hope well and fit to the social standards of today, ‘kay? I don’t want her being bullied just because she can’t use an Iphone.”

There was a long pause.

“Now, Kol.... Mikaelson.”

“Kol Mikaelson is....” [Y/N] couldn’t even start properly as she burst to tears immediately. She attempted to calm herself down but it only resulted to more tears.

About 2 minutes of the video were spent on [Y/N] calming herself. She ended up with red puffy eyes and a quivering smile.

“Okay. Kol Mikaelson is a hysterical psychopath. He is a playboy, the typical bad boy. The abomination.”

She took a deep shaky breath.

“Kol Mikaelson is the emodiment of imperfect perfection.”

“Kol Mikaelson was, is, and always will be the love of my life.” She took a shaky breath in. “And the most painful thing that I’m experiencing right now is knowing that I’ll have to let him go.” She cried silently in her hands, before staring at the camera with tears running down her face.

“Kol, love, I want you to know that I love you so freaking much. I love you to the stars and back times infinity. You have my heart always and forever. I can’t even bear to think about the fact that I’m never going to see you again without bawling my damn eyes out.”

“I love you so much, that I’m finally letting you go. Nothing hurts more than the idea of you leading a miserable life full of rage and rampage because of me.”

“So I’m giving you an order. After a few months, I want you to pick up a nice girl, flirt with her, and fall for her and live happily with her. I don’t think I need to tell you to make her fall for you as well. Also, be a good uncle to Hope.” She was crying more than ever.

“I’m going to be blunt. Giving you permission hurts like hell. However, like I said, nothing hurts me more than being the cause of your pain.

“So here’s my final message for you Kol. I love you so much. I love you so so much I’m willing to give you up for you to be happy. I love you so so much because you’re so handsome, hot, caring, affectionate, playful and so much more. You’re just perfectly imperfect. I love you because you’re you and there’s nothing I’d want more in the love of my life. Once again, I say it. I love you Kol Mikaelson. I love you. You are my paradox. And I love you.”

“For all of you lot, please, for me and for the sake of the world, don’t break up. You’re family, always and forever right?”

The video ended with a smile. However, there was static before showing a picture of the Mikaelsons with [Y/N] then a picture of [Y/N] with a pregnant Hayley.

"I am [Y/N] [S/N] and I am proudly a part of the Mikaelson family.”

The video ended.

Kol had his head in his hands, tears freely flowing on his face.

“I Love You.” Her words rang through his head.

He felt so much pain and sadness as he sat there. He felt so much regret. Why wasn’t he there for her? Why wasn’t he able to save her?

It had already been a few months, but he was far from emotional instability, much less emotional stability. 

However, he wanted to honor her request. So he stood up, flashed in the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face before wiping it with a towel. He took a deep breath and ran off to Davina with an aching heart.

(This is set immediately a little after Hayley is with the Mikaelsons. So basically, Kol isn’t supposed to be in town yet because.. Well... He’s dead. So basically, this is how it plays out. Reader dies during some sort of attack which I’m not revealing :P so reader actually dies before Kol is revived. When kol is revived, his first on his agenda is to go find reader but turns out reader is dead. So he watches the video over and over again (which he stole for a little while. Even so, Kol was forced to do the stuff he did with Davina because of Esther. So everything plays out as is. I’m sorry if I got the timeline wrong. But this is basically how it played out in my head)

(part 2? Anyone?)

(update: originally the the title was oxymoron but I thought that was the contradictory statement and so I concluded that paradox was the contradictory pair of words so I changed it but turns out I was right all along -.-’ )

[wizardwritings]

Flowers and Inks

Prompt: “I work at a flower shop and you're a tattoo artist from across the street and you always come in here to practice drawing flowers and you're really hot” AU by @aesocias.

Word Count: About 3,900.

Warning(s): Swearing, cheesy flower symbolism, all the fluff.

Author’s Note: Modern AU; Sirius Black x Reader. I’m just going to admit that this isn’t my best work and I’m sorry. But I hope you enjoy, nonetheless! Working on a Remus one next. :)

When you thought of a tattoo artist, what came to mind was a somber, intimidating soul who had no fucks to give.

What you didn’t expect was someone who would stop by your store on opening day with a box of donuts and a teasing smile on his face. But that’s exactly what happened and, ever since then, it wasn’t uncommon for the two of you to share some donuts for breakfast.

A little over two months had passed since you opened up the flower shop and a few times a week, Sirius would come in and ask you to show him a flower to sketch.

“Hi, Sirius,” you sang, shutting your planner with a small smile. “Looking for a new flower to draw?”

“Morning, sunshine,” he replied, pausing when you rolled your eyes at his greeting. “And I am, actually.”

You hummed, making your way around the counter with two water bottles in hand. Tossing one at him, you uncapped your own, taking a small sip.

“Remind me again why you decided you wanted to practice sketching so many flowers.” You capped the water bottle, rocking back on your heels. “Don’t most people just ask for a rose tattoo, anyway?”

Sirius smirked. “Well, why do you carry so many flowers? Don’t most people end up with a bouquet of roses, anyway?”

You coughed out a laugh, folding your arms across your chest. “Because this is a flower shop. And I do my best to sway my customers from their rose-minded ways.”

“Fair enough.” He shared a smile with you, toying with the petals of the flower on the register. “But in all seriousness, I just don’t want to fuck--ah, mess, sorry--up anyone’s request.”

You peered at him intently, trying to hide your giggle at his slip up. When you first met Sirius, you noticed how he always seemed to censor himself around you. Once you finally confronted him about it, he replied by saying you were too angelic to curse around. You, apparently, had this aura of innocence to you that he was afraid to taint.

Of course, you responded by spouting every curse word known to man before Sirius had the chance to place a hand over your mouth, a shocked, yet amused, expression on his face.

Still, he refused to curse freely when he was with you.

“There are just so many flowers that symbolize different things, you know?” he asked, then furrowed his eyebrows with a tilt of his head. “Of course you know; you make flower arrangements for a living.��

“That I do,” you said with a slight grin, playing with the loose label of your water bottle.

After a moment’s breath, Sirius pieced together his train of thought.

“Most of the tattoos of flowers people ask for mean something special to them.” He looked up at you, briefly making eye contact before smiling and looking around. “I want it to look just like they pictured, if not better. That’s the least I could do, I think.”

Letting out a small noise of endearment, you gently bumped his shoulder with yours. “Who knew the big, bad tattoo artist was such a sweetheart?”

“A lot of people, actually,” said Sirius with a pout, standing upright. “It’s a well-known fact that I am a complete gentleman.”

“Whatever you say, Tattoo Boy.”

You walked towards the nursery with Sirius falling into step beside you. Pretending not to notice his sounds protests against his nickname, you opened the greenhouse doors.

“Now, did you have a specific flower in mind? Or an emotion, perhaps?”

“Indignation,” he huffed, still thinking about Tattoo Boy.

“I don’t think we carry a flower that symbolizes indignation at the moment,” you teased, waving at your coworker in the nursery. “But we have something for joy, beauty, happiness--”

“How about love?”

“Love?”

Sirius nodded. “You know, the word that means an intense feeling of affection? Can also be used as a verb--”

“I know what love means,” you paused, “kind of. Do any of us really know what love is? But, anyway-- You want to draw a rose, then?”

He walked down the aisle of flowers, running his fingers gently through the petals. With his arms covered with ink and his body clad in nothing but black clothing, he was quite a sight against his gentle surroundings.

“No, not a rose,” said Sirius. “Are there other flowers that symbolize love? I’m sure a rose can’t be the only one.”

You pursed your lips, looking up at the ceiling as you attempted to recall some flower meanings. “There’s one for slighted love, unrequited love, secret love, loyal love… There’s one that shows someone you love them when you’re too shy to speak the words yourself, there’s--”

“That one.” He met your gaze, the corners of his mouth tilting upwards into a lazy smirk. “The one about shy love.”

Looking away when his stare got too intense, you coughed, walking over to the south-facing wall.

“Peony,” you said simply. “That’s the flower. One of my favorites, actually.”

“You say that about every flower.”

“Every flower deserves the love!”

Sirius laughed, a deep sound vibrating from his chest. When he laughed, he lit up the room; heads would turn just to look for the source of affection. You had always liked that about him.

Wiping your hands on your apron, you pulled out gardening shears. With a small smile on your face, you admired the pink peonies in front of you before clipping on at the stem and handing it to Sirius.

“Other than a bashful sort of love, peonies also symbolize something else,” you said, watching as he took the flower in between his fingers. “In China, where it originated, they call it the ‘King of Flowers’. In a garden, they can thrive even with little care, symbolizing good fortune and prosperity.”

“Seems anything but bashful to me,” Sirius remarked with a slight tilt of his head.

“Right. And that’s what most people associate with peonies.” You shrugged, avoiding his gaze by busying yourself with the flowers. “But, there’s a myth about the origin of peonies that have to do with the more bashful side.”

He didn’t say a word in response, but sat down as he watched you tending to your flowers. After a brief silence, he softly suggested, “Tell me the story.”

“It’s not much of a story, to be honest,” you said, suddenly feeling shy around him. “It’s pretty short and not all that interesting.”

“If you like it, that’s enough for me.”

You felt a small blush creep up on your cheeks. “Right. Well, one day, the god, Apollo, saw this beautiful nymph named Paeonia. He was instantly attracted to her and began flirting.”

Sirius sat with his arm resting on his propped knee, his head facing your direction.

“She was shy, Paeonia. Most nymphs in Greek mythology are--but with the loud, disruptive gods and humans constantly trekking through their homes, you can’t really blame them.”

He chuckled at that, nodding his head in agreement. “No, I guess you can’t.”

You wiped your hand on a clean part of your apron, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “She responded to Apollo’s advances in a timid manner--though that’s not to say she didn’t enjoy them. But a short while after, she noticed the goddess, Aphrodite, watching her encounter with Apollo, a look of blind jealousy on the goddess’ face.”

“Uh-oh,” Sirius chimed when you took a pause. “A jealous goddess never leads to anything good.”

“Exactly.” You shot him a dry smile, feeling your ponytail loosen slightly. “Well, once Paeonia noticed Aphrodite intruding on her personal conversation, she flushed a deep-red. The goddess, who was still fueled by jealousy, turned the nymph into a red peony.”

Sirius let out a silent sound of enlightenment. “Oh.”

“Peonies bloom during the beginning of summer, signaling the start of a new season,” you explained, holding the crown of a flower in the palm of your hand. “During the summer is when dark green foliage is usually most prominent. The colorful pinks and reds of the peonies against the dark background can make your garden look like it’s blushing-- Hence, the bashful love.”

“It all makes sense now,” he claimed, a teasing tone in his voice. When he saw your downcast eyes, he immediately sobered. “Genuinely, though, I liked the story. I think my next tattoo will be of a pink peony.”

You peered down at him, examining his ink-covered arms. They were very toned, muscular arms. Sirius really did look quite handsome… Blinking once, you shook the thought out of your head.

“Would you have space left for another tattoo?” you quipped, eyes trailing down to the small marks of black ink peeking through the collar of his shirt.

He smirked, brushing the dust off his jeans as he stood up. “More than you’d think. Plus, I’d make room for a peony, no matter the size.”

You raised a brow at him in question.

“Because now, whenever I see it, I’ll think of you.”

“Oh.”

Feeling a blush rising to your cheeks, you turned away, pretending to rearrange a small section of flowers. When you heard the ringing laughter coming from Sirius himself, you felt yourself flush a deeper color.

“There’s the deep, peony-pink I wanted to see,” he teased, staring at the side of your face.

“Oh, get stuffed,” you mumbled, putting your shears back into your apron pocket. Clearing your throat, you attempted to changed the topic. “Have you eaten lunch yet?”

Flipping his sketchbook open to a blank page, Sirius pulled out a pencil. “Nah, I was just going to eat later.”

“I figured you’d say that.”

Walking out of the greenhouse, you made your way back inside the store, waving to your coworker at the front desk. In the staff room, you grabbed your lunchbox from the refrigerator, quickly making your way back next to Sirius.

By the time you got to him, he was already working on his sketch, examining the peony you gave him with a gentle touch.

“I made an extra sandwich for you,” you said softly, not wanting to disrupt his work.

You knew Sirius went out of his way to practice these drawings during his lunch break. Once you realized this, you made it your mission to either buy or bring an extra serving for him.

When he heard your words, his hand stopped moving as he slowly shook his head, touched yet incredulous.

“I’m convinced you’re not really human,” stated Sirius, wetting the corner of his lip when you took a seat next to him. “You’re an angel-- You must be.”

Scoffing playfully, you unzipped your lunch pail and handed him a sandwich. “I’m just doing what anyone else would do.”

“I don’t know anyone who else would openly welcome a random stranger with tattoos all over his body into their flower shop, let alone bring him food and free flowers.”

You shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise. “You’re not a random stranger. We split a box of donuts during my grand opening. I think that alone makes us the best of friends.”

Sirius let out a breathy laugh. “Fine. If not an angel, then the human embodiment of sunshine, perhaps.” Taking a bite out of the sandwich you made him, he nudged your shoulder with his. “Well, you’re my sunshine, at least.”

Staring down at your drink, you tried to stop a smile from spreading across your face, turning so your hair would cover your expression.

“I--” You didn’t know how to respond without making a complete fool of yourself.

You were sure he didn’t view you as anything more than a friend-- The owner of the donut shop next door warned you that Sirius flirted with quite a number of ladies. Not that you were to judge, but you figured it was best to not let his advances get to your head.

“Thank you,” is what you settled with, trying to ignore the feeling of Sirius’ eyes on you. Your gaze flitted to the small sketch on his notepad. “How are your drawings coming along?”

“Pretty well,” he said, his face lighting up. “I drew the top view a few times; I think I’ve grown fairly solid at that. I just have to do the side views and different angles, possibly.”

You placed your sandwich on a napkin, wiping your hands on another tissue. “Can I see it?”

“Of course.” Sirius passed you the book, looking intently at your reaction.

Tracing the outline with the tip of your finger, you felt the indents of the markings. “It’s beautiful, as always.”

“Just like someone I know,” he jested, winking at you to let you know he was joking.

“Okay, Sirius,” you drawled. “Just eat your sandwich and enjoy.”

“Sure thing, sunshine.”

You finished the rest of your lunch in a comfortable silence, Sirius occasionally placing his sandwich down to draw the peony. With his shoulder pressing against yours, you found yourself conscious of his warm presence.  

Not that it was bad, you reckoned. It was actually quite nice.

With a slight shake of your head and a hidden smile on your face, you realized you could get used to this.

- - - - -

It was a little over a week later the next time Sirius came in.

You had just finished checking a customer out at the register when you heard the chime of the bells.

“Good morning, sunshine,” greeted Sirius, a sideways grin on his face.

“Morning, Sirius,” you returned, eyes flitting to the clock above the counter. “Even though it’s the afternoon.”

He shrugged. “‘Good afternoon, sunshine’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it, wouldn’t you reckon?”

“I suppose it doesn’t.”

After refilling the cash register with a few rolls of coins, you made your way next to Sirius.

“Did you have a flower in mind for today?” you questioned, rubbing some sanitizer into your hands.

“Not particularly, but--”

At the sound of the chime of bells and obnoxiously heavy breathing, both you and Sirius turned to face the front door.

“Pardon me-- Hi,” an out-of-breath man with glasses panted, pushing his messy hair to the side. “Would I be able to make a custom flower arrangement here?”

Shooting Sirius an apologetic glance that he returned with a dismissive smile, you turned to the customer. “Yes, you may. Do you know which flowers you want in your bouquet?”

“Not really…” he trailed off, gaze wandering around the room before meeting yours. “Do you think you could help?”

“Of course.” You stepped forward, extending a hand. “I’m Y/N, by the way.”

“James.”

You looked toward the presence behind you. “And this is Sirius. He owns the tattoo parlor right across the street.”

“I know,” James said, nodding at you before exchanging a simple handshake and hug with Sirius.

At your confused look, Sirius commented, “I gave him a tattoo a few days ago. Speaking of-- How’s your shoulder holding up, mate?”

“It’s not as red, that’s for sure,” replied James, still looking at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Sirius is actually the one who recommended this place to me.”

You raised a brow. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah!” James beamed, ignoring Sirius’ look of warning. “I told him I wanted to ask this girl, Lily, out in some bold way. Preferably with flowers and all that romantic shit--er, stuff, sorry.”

You both looked at Sirius. James, apologetic, and you, incredulous. Did Sirius really tell a random person not to curse around you before they even met you?

“Anyway, he told me the cute girl that works at the flower shop across the street is the best in the business.”

Blushing, you averted your eyes from both of their gazes. “Um-- Thank you.”

Sensing your discomfort, Sirius gave you a gentle touch on the shoulder. “He’s only joking.”

Your face fell. “Oh.”

Clearing your throat, you grabbed your gloves from behind the counter and placed them in your apron pocket. You looked back at James with a scrap piece of paper and a pencil in hand.

“So, James, what kind of bouquet did you want to give her?” You gestured to the sign in front of you. “Pageant, round, nosegay, cascade--”

“Erm...”

You laughed. “How about you just tell me what exactly you want to say with the flower arrangement?”

With a sheepish grin, James nodded. “That seems easier.”

Walking past Sirius, you gave him a small smile, “You can just browse around and look for a flower to draw. Or, you can follow James and I if you’d like. Maybe you’ll get some inspiration.”

“I think I’ll do that,” said Sirius. “Thanks, Y/N.”

“It’s not a problem.” Catching up to the wandering James, you tapped his shoulder. “Ready to start?”

“Yeah.” He brushed his fingers along the pots. “I was thinking… In the bouquet, maybe I could include a flower for each quality that stands out about her. She may think they’re nothing important, but I want to show her that’s completely wrong.”

You placed a hand over your heart, head tilted to the right as you let out a heartfelt, “Aww. That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”

You tried to ignore Sirius’ snort behind you.

“Thanks,” James said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Okay, well,” you clapped your hands together. “What’s the first thing you like about her?”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Everything she does, she does it to the best of her ability. She’s lively and bright and…”

“Radiant?” you supplied.

“Exactly!”

“Ranunculus.”

“I’m sorry?”

You chuckled. “The flower that symbolizes radiance. Ranunculus.”

“Right! That, then.”

James continued rattling off his favorite qualities about this Lily and as you took notes and showed him the flowers, you couldn’t help but smile the whole time. You had never seen a person care this deeply about someone they’re weren’t even dating.

It was refreshing to know there were still gentlemen out there. Whoever Lily was, you sure hoped she wouldn’t take James for granted.

“For beauty, perhaps you--”

“Wait!” James’ cheeks tinged the slightest pink when he saw your startled expression, mumbling an apology. “I’m sorry. It’s just-- Is the song playing La Vie en Rose?”

You listened to the soft hum of the speakers playing the sound of Louis Armstrong’s’ trumpet before the corners of your mouth turned upwards. “Yes, it is. Are you a fan?”

“Hold me close and hold me fast,” James belted, exaggerating his words as he extended an arm out to you.

Amused, you looked around the shop to see if the other customers were disturbed, but the couple browsing the aisles just shook their heads and smiled.

“C’mon, Y/N! Dance with me.”

“Oh, my gosh.”

You sent Sirius a frantic look, but he just smirked, moving his hips in an exaggerated swaying motion. Begrudgingly, you took James’ hand, following his movements as he attempted to dance to the gentle music.

After spinning around around a few times, you laughed, feeling utterly ridiculous yet surprisingly exhilarated about dancing around in a flower shop to La Vie en Rose.

“Hey, mate, mind if I cut in?”

Your stomach fluttered as James shook his head with a grin, moving out of the way as Sirius took his spot.

When Sirius let his hand rest atop your hip, you felt the heat instantly rise to your cheeks. With James, it was lighthearted and completely platonic-- You know that. But with Sirius, every part of you was on edge. In the absolute best way possible.

“And when you speak angels sing from above,” sang James, his voice no where near as peaceful as Louis Armstrong’s as he waved his arms like a mad conductor.

But you couldn’t help yourselves. This was a song that seemed to charm everyone who listened. As you wrapped your own arms around Sirius’ neck, you all sang, “Everyday words seem to turn into love songs.”

Laughing, you placed your head against Sirius’ chest, hiding your reddened cheeks. The audacity of this whole situation seemed too unreal. It felt as if you were to close your eyes, Audrey Hepburn would be looking down and clapping with a proud expression on her face.

“Give your heart and soul to me, and life will always be...La Vie en Rose,” you heard Sirius hum near your ear as the song came to an end, your head still resting on him.

Looking up, you saw Sirius’ gaze shift from your eyes to your mouth. You found yourself subconsciously following his lead, your eyes focused on the pink of his lips as you swallowed.

If you moved just a little closer, your lips would be on his...

The track changed and you heard the loud clap of hands along with obnoxious cheering. Clearing your throat, you pulled away from Sirius, trying to fight the heat creeping up to your face.

As you turned to James, you felt the butterflies still fluttering in your stomach from your almost kiss--and from then blissful awareness that Sirius’ hand still laid on your hip.

“Well, as fun as that was,” you said with a breathy laugh, “I suppose we should get back to making Lily’s flower arrangement. Hmm, James?”

“I suppose,” he mumbled with a pout, face brightening only when he heard Lily’s name.

After picking a few more flowers, you gave James a slip to write Lily a short note on as you arranged the bouquet. With a big smile and an even bigger hug, James paid for the service, walking out of the shop with a bounce in his step.

“She’s definitely going to say yes!” James called. “Thank you, Y/N. Sixty-fourth time’s the charm!”

Once he was out of an earshot, you gaped at Sirius.

“‘Sixty-fourth time’s the charm’?” you repeated, incredulous. “So, he’s asked her out sixty-three times before?”

The right side of Sirius’ lip tilted up into a half-smile. That damned mouth of his. “It was only fifty-eight when he went into my shop last week.”

You nodded, mildly impressed. “If that’s not persistence, I don’t know what is.”

Watching as Sirius finished up the last of his sketch, your eyes wandered to his tattoos-- The tattoo of a paw print in particular. You wondered what inspired that interesting tattoo.

“Yes?” He met your gaze, amused.

“Nothing. I was just…” You shrugged, gesturing to your tattoo-less body. “I was thinking of getting a tattoo myself, actually.”

Sirius stopped sketching. “Really?”

“I mean-- I was only thinking.” You were suddenly uncomfortable by his intense gaze, placing your focus on the sunflower next to you. “Is it a bad idea?”

He blinked, tapping the back of his pencil on the notepad. “No. Not at all. If you want one, I think that’d be great.”

You smiled. “Really?”

“Really.” Checking the clock for the time, he dusted the palms of his hands on his jeans. “My lunch break’s over now, but-- When do you close today?”

You gave him a curious look. “Eight.”

“I can pick you up around then and we can discuss what design and placement you’re thinking of,” said Sirius in a collected voice. Still, you noticed the slight bounce of his heels as he made the proposition. “We can do it over a late dinner, perhaps.”

Your heart skipped a beat as a slow grin made its way onto your face. “Like a date?”

“If that’s okay with you.” The back of his neck colored red as he ran a hand through his hair. “Unless it’s not, then--”

Planting a small, but firm kiss on Sirius’ cheek, you smiled at him, a blush flooding the both of your cheeks.

“That sounds better than okay,” you laughed, your face still flushed. “That sounds perfect.”

He exhaled, a relieved sort of sigh. With his voice deeper than normal, he rasped, “Great.”

You fist pumped the air as Sirius made his way toward the door, trying to be as subtle as possible.

On his way out, Sirius turned back to look at you, a genuine smile on his face. “I’ll see you on our date, sunshine.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Tattoo Boy.”

Once the door chimed shut, you burrowed your face into your hands, trying to contain your uncontrollable delight. You weren’t sure how this came about, but you thanked all the stars above that it did.

But one thing was for certain. You had a date with Sirius Black. And that was reason enough to smile.

The end! :) I hope this made you smile a few times! xx Fia