#are the people who hadn't played the game okay that the show wasted so much time on characters that ellie and joel don't even get to meet?

[master-of-heroes]

just finished ep 3 and hm.. hmm.. hmm mm.

[snowdropluck204]

Magnetic Force - Spencer Reid x reader (pt 1)

So this is a sort of secret crossover between Criminal Minds and Numb3rs, the reader is going to be based off of Charlie Eppes in that show, but will still be referred to as (y/n)! Enjoy! Xxx

WARNING: This chapter contains mention of rape, death, guns and other weaponry, if you are sensitive to these, you probably shouldn't read this book at all. _______________________________

Third Person pov

The BAU hadn't worked a case this frustrating in a long time. A serial rapist, quite uncommon for what it was, they had a good idea of what profile the guy had, but the last of his victims, was the first one he had killed, so they had to rewrite the profile. This case was difficult on everyone, the rapist had attacked and raped twelve women, now killing his thirteenth. It had taken them this long to get a decent view on his mental state, but now, a wrench had been thrown into the works and they needed reinforcements.

Jason Gideon was stumped, something quite rare for him, he was looking around the room at his team.

JJ was reading through the case file, specifically the newly added victim, Rachel Abbott, most likely trying to figure out what to tell the press. The FBI was getting tips about the rapist for weeks but now that there was a new victim, more specifically a dead one, the tips were becoming too much for anyone, even the FBI, to keep track of.

Morgan was trying to reenact the crime, trying his best to get into the killer's head. Everyone had the same question in their minds, why now? What was so different about Rachel Abbott that the unsub had to kill her? If defiling women's bodies wasn't enough, he branded them too. A final show of possession, a brand, the mark was a ring with four small crosses inside of it, pressed into the neck.

Elle was dead quiet, looking over the files of the victim's family, all of the victims' families... Looking for possible psych matches or clues of the killer's whereabouts.

Reid was, as usual, reading everything. He was taking in the room, the case files, the crime board and photos of the scene, anybody else would have shut their brain down with the amount of information he was flooding into it, but Spencer just sat and observed.

Gideon knew they needed help, but didn't exactly know who to ask. Until it struck him. He stood up, grabbed Hotch by the elbow and led him out of the conference room, a flurry of confused eyes following them. Hotch had been busy looking over people to ask for said help when he had been dragged out of his task.

"(l/n)." Gideon said, a sparkle in his eye and a smile on his face. Hotch looked confused for a moment, until he pulled out a file he had been looking at earlier.

Doctor (y/n) (l/n).

_________________________

The agents walked with purpose through the halls of Georgetown University, they knew who they needed and there wasn't time to waste. There was laughing and cheering as they stepped into a lecture hall, seeing 'Maths for non-mathematicians' written in fun, coloured, block capitals on the chalkboard. They also saw Doctor (y/n) (l/n), teaching the classroom filled with everyday people, not students who went to the school, just people looking to broaden their horizons.

"Okay, most people believe that they can trust their natural instincts, right?" She asked, looking around the room and seeing nodding of heads, her gaze met the stony eyes of Jason Gideon, eyes she hadn't seen in years, he smiled and gave a small wave, she smiled back but continued with her class. "However, maths suggests that our instincts aren't always correct. We're gonna play a little game, I want you all to pretend that we're on a game show," She began, gesturing over to three large cards that she had laid upright, the picture facing away from the crowd.

"And I, am your cheesy game show host," She said with a grin, earning laughter from the room. Gideon could practically hear the cogs turning in the room, the fastest cogs were that of Spencer Reid, who looked intrigued, before figuring it out.

"It's the Monty Hall Problem," He whispered, Gideon and Hotch already placing hands on his shoulders and covering his mouth, before the class for non-mathematicians became taken over by a very real mathematician.

Once (y/n) had finished setting up the cards, she looked back at the class, "Behind one of these cards, is a brand new automobile," She informed, wiggling her fingers at the cards, "And behind the other two, are goats. Yeah, goats, don't ask why, that's just what I wanted to put on the cards!" She declared, laughing with the room. Gideon smiled looking at (y/n), he hadn't seen her in years but could see that she had acclimatised to her position nicely, she had the whole class eating out of the palm of her hand, hanging on every word, including his team.

"Now I need a volunteer," Once again, Hotch and Gideon kept Spencer back from volunteering any information.

"Come on, more of you than that!" She jeered, encouraging others to join in the demonstration. "Julie, why don't you pick one of these cards? Remembering, of course, that the objective is to win the car, not the goat, as cute as I have made them!" She muttered, earning more laughter from the class. The girl from the front of the class, Julie, picked a card, the one in the middle.

Before turning it over, (y/n) asked her class, "Now, what are the chances of that card being the winning card?" At this point, Spencer was silently dying and the team was looking over at him, smiles on their faces at their beloved brainiac.

"One in three." Julie responded with conviction.

"Brilliant, three choices, one car, simple enough right?" (y/n) explained, the class nodding along, "Now, here's where the game takes a turn, I'm gonna reveal to you one of the cards that you didn't choose," Turning one of the cards over to reveal a goat. "Cute isn't he?" (y/n) giggled.

"So, we have one card we know is a goat, two cards left to be revealed. Now, knowing what you know, do you want to switch your choice of card? Or, more importantly, for the purpose of this class, does it matter? Will switching your choice improve your chances of winning?" (y/n) asked the class, genuinely curious to see their side.

Julie looked confused, "Well, no. Because now there's two cards, it's fifty-fifty, right?" She asked, the class mumbling and nodding along with her. Spencer was frantically shaking his head, catching (y/n)'s attention and summoning a loud laugh from her.

"Well, it seems like someone in the back knows the next part of this class," She chuckled, leaving Spencer's face red, beginning to fiddle with his fingers.

(y/n) could already see how uncomfortable he was with this attention, so she moved on. "Seems like many of you agree with Julie, yeah? That's what your instinct tells you, but you'd be wrong." She said, her lips forming a straight line.

"Switching your cards at this point, actually doubles your chances of winning the car," At the volume of confusion, (y/n) gives a light sigh of exhaustion, "Let me explain," She smiled. "Since we started with two goats, it's more likely that your first choice, was in fact, a goat."

Turning the cards to face away from them again, (y/n) asks, "Here, what are the odds of choosing the goats, from all three cards. Two out of three, right. So it's more likely that this is a goat," She said, turning the card that Julie had originally chosen, revealing the goat, "And it's more likely that this one, is the car." She explained, revealing the car was on the card that had yet to be chosen.

"See, switching your choice, gives you a two out of three chance of winning the car, rather than the one of three chance that we all begin with!" (y/n) picks up the card with the car, jokingly making some car noises.

Looking back up at the BAU, she concludes her class, inviting them to make their own Monty Hall scenarios, waiting for them all to leave before turning to the BAU and inviting them closer to her desk.

___________________________

"It's been a while Gideon, how are you?" (y/n) asked, already moving forward to hug the agent, shocking the rest of the team, especially when he reciprocated.

"I've been better Peanut," He whispered at her, before moving back and gesturing to his team. "I believe introductions are necessary." He let the agents take over, wandering over to (y/n)'s desk to do what he was best at, profile.

Looking over at the agents, (y/n) gave a small wave, "Doctor (y/n) (l/n), it's nice to meet you all." She said, her voice dripping over all of them like honey, she had that affect.

First to step forward was a tall agent in a suit and tie, with dark hair, dark eyes and an air of authority. "Agent Hotchner, call me Hotch," He shock her hand briskly before following after Gideon, leaving the younger agents to introductions.

A dark skinned man in a Henley type shirt stepped up next, "Agent Derek Morgan, nice to meet you too," He then gestured to the women standing at the door, one blonde, the other a brunette, both gorgeous and intelligent looking. "Agents Jennifer Jareau and Elle Greenaway," He told the professor, and finally pointed to the lanky man with dark hair and eyes, wearing a cardigan and glasses. "And that is-"

"Reid, uh- Spencer um, Doctor Spencer Reid." The man he was pointing to sort of decided. (y/n) smiled at the man.

"Really?" She asked, almost chuckling, "You don't sound so sure?" She finished, Spender blushed a bright red, the rest of the team chuckling at the woman's teasing.

Gideon walked back over, "Listen, Peanut, we need your help." He began, a sombre feeling enveloping (y/n)'s previously cheerful classroom. (y/n)'s smile faded, stepping back a little.

"Gideon, you know I don't do consultant work anymore... After what happened..." She began, her voice taking on a much more meek sound as she avoided eye contact with the seasoned profiler.

Gideon smiled, his fatherly smile, "I know, but we need you Peanut, you helped the FBI with a lot of cases, what's one more?" He asked softly.

(y/n) looked at Gideon, then at the rest of the team, "This is about the serial rapist, isn't it?" She asked, "In LA?"

Gideon nodded, "We have a fairly comprehensive psych profile, but we still have no idea where to begin searching." He told the mathematician, "We fly out this evening, we want your help." He almost pleaded.

(y/n) sighed, she thought back at the work she had done for the FBI, questioning whether or not she should jump back into it, she sighed, pulling out her phone and calling her TA.

"Lewis? Hi, It's (y/n), I need you to cover classes for me for the next few days... I'm being called away for something... Okay, thanks." She hung up the phone, looking back at Gideon, an unsure look on her face. "You owe me." She murmured, "I'll meet you at the airport tonight, five o'clock, I'll look over the files on the jet, gives me four and half hours to pack what I'll need and prep classes, plus the five hours, give or take fifteen minutes for the flight over..." (y/n) murmured.

Spencer watched as she made the calculations, intrigued, he had never met this woman, anything he knew was based off of her FBI consult file and brief things he'd heard in passing from Gideon, apparently, he was her mentor when she was younger, not for FBI purposes, simply to act as a father figure, they were close, based on the nickname he had given her...

From what Spencer knew, she was a prodigy, similar to himself, no Eidetic memory, but she had an IQ of 182, a PHD in both mathematics and psychology and graduated early from basically every educational establishment. Spencer was hoping this was a person he could get along with, but he was also wary, she had clearly stopped consulting with the FBI for a reason, he wanted to discover why, but also knew that any investigating into her past would violate her trust...

But still... He was curious...

____________________________________________

I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! I know I keep starting and stopping on my series, but writer's block has a serious hold on me right now... Anyway! Love you guys! Xxx

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

Thank god is not just me who mourns the loss of flavor to Emmet's dialogue. I too love how short and choppy his sentences are, to the point, no words wasted, a fantastic contrast to how comparatively wordy Ingo is. Which makes sense, as they're mirrors of each other in many ways! iirc in Japanese Ingo is also very formal while Emmet is much more casual in the way he talks, which I think translated to English pretty well, although obviously some nuance is lost because we don't have different formal levels built in like Japanese does.

I think you captured that well in oop too, as Emmet lacks the level of politeness that Ingo has, and he's a lot more blunt. It's well matched to how you've written Emmet in the first arc too, with his near single-mindedness in finding Ingo, and how it puts characters like Rei and Cyllene at ease. I've always kind of thought that the blunt way he talked, his blatant honesty and confidence without any frills, was what got Cyllene to trust him. She's very similar in that regard, which I think is probably part of what made Rei trust him so fast in turn (well, that and he's a kid who is floundering and desperate to have an Adult take charge and give them direction, especially an adult who showed him kindness and care in the way he righted Rei's rails when he started to panic)

YEAAH YEAH okay i am also glad this is not just like... a me observation. like i don't play ex so i hadn't really looked at the quotes before now and... why did they do that to my man... it feels so wroooong

and re: what you were saying about translations, yeah, maybe the ex voice is the more accurate translation, i. would not really know, but like. rip to japanese players for missing out on emmet's incredible eng bw cadence if it's true. it's simply the far superior version... i'm sorry...

+ the thing abt him having an opposing voice to his brother!! like yeah, imho you REALLY lose that contrast in ex because english just does not have the same kind of obvious registers for formality. the bw dialogue is sooo much better in terms of making a really clear contrast btwn them... and also i know i said it before but the eng bw voice is just like. better? more interesting? it has more Character in it? im tryna sound objective and all here really what i mean is i love it and am obsessed with it.

ANYWAAAY waaah yeah!! like i said idc what they do with emmet in newer games they can pry his bw cadence out of my cold dead hands. and i'm REALLY REALLY GLAD it comes across in oop... i think i've said before that he's one of my fav characters to write bc he is just so unique in the way he talks and just sort of. his character generally. in such a perfect way. he's blunt and direct and incredibly purposeful and. with all of the careful hop-stepping and social maneuvering and mind games going around in pla it is SO fun to write a character who actively refuses to fuck around like that even a little bit. and yeah!! i think it can be both very disarming and very reassuring to people.

like cyllene you are exactly right!! they only spent a very brief time together but i REALLY love the idea of them interacting anyway. cyllene i think is someone who has a very specific way of reading and interpreting others, and to her it just came across so strongly how much emmet meant what he was saying, and how driven and simultaneously caring he was, and. like i said. both disarming and reassuring. i think she likes and trusts him an inadvisable amount already.

[theprinceandthewitch]

@master-of-the-aus

Okay, I'm gonna try to articulate myself as best as I can even though I havent had a good nights sleep in three days AND I only slept for 4 hours last night. But this is just me ranting about the MID romances this show has:

Okay so like, i know you're asking about the most recent episode, but honestly no future episode of TOH can elevate it above MID tier. The things that will always keep it Mid in my eyes are:

Lumity

Huntlow

The weird ass tendency to fuck around and waste time like with that dumbass body swap episode and that budget eating asshole Mr. Tibbles.

A complete lack of forthrightness by NOT trying to condense this story into about two seasons worth of story. Animation is super expensive - not even a studio like Disney will let you suck away their money for something not on brand.

Under utilizing the disability themes when it comes to Luz - specifically how her position as a magicless being in a magical world would effect her negatively. Hunter said, in so many words, that if it wasn't for Belos he would not have had a future on TBI. There's clearly some discrimination against magicless beings that's never really explored, which would have been much more interesting than wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars on a plotless body swap episode and that Mr. Tibbles leech.

I've already talked to death about Lumity. And for Huntlow... well I think it's funny that people are NOW trying to parallel them with Caleb and Evelyn The Wild Witch.

Which doesn't work because it was LUZ who enticed him with magic he hadn't seen before, just like Evelyn did with Caleb. Not only that - it's pretty much confirmed at this point that the Witch Caleb ran away with was a Clawthorn.

You know, the family Luz is heavily associated with because one of the family members is her guardian and mentor. This specific family member also happens to be the most powerful wild witch on The Boiling Isles. So it doesn't make sense that Willow, a girl that is not under the guardianship of a Clawthorn and whose identity isnt heavily associated with wild magic/witches (like Luz is), to be the one who parallels Evelyn. Also it's heavily implied that Caleb ran away with an expecting witch... and that directly parallels to Hunter (aka the grimwalker that looks the most like Caleb) running away with Luz - who is expecting her Palisman to hatch.

LIKE... insanity. Absolute Insanity to even SAY Willow parallels Evelyn. ALSO - Flapjack was Evelyn's Palisman. And who was the first person to introduce Flapjack to Hunter? It sure wasn't Willow!

MOVING ON...

His first positive connection with someone was with LUZ and not Willow. He literally defies the man who gave him everything for Luz - do you know how crazy that is? That Hunter would take on punishment from a man he knows is merciless just for A WILD WITCH? And the majority of this fanbase think it doesn't mean anything. VIOLENCE. NOTHING BUT VIOLENCE IN MY HEART.

They made Luz OOC in Hollow Mind just so Hunter can hide out at the school for a whole week - a whole week without telling any of his friends he was there. I am not sure why this was necessary, no matter how much i ruminate on this point - it just doesn't make any sense to me. Anyways, they do that dumb thing where Hunter knows Willow - a girl he played one game with (and i guess talked to in between the timeframe of ASIAS and Hollow Mind) - better than Gus who has known Willow for years. I could be more forgiving of this if we were actually shown Hunter is good at seeing through illusions and if Gus was actually out of it - but Hunter is not good with illusions because he fell for the Belos illusion AND he couldnt tell if a staircase was real or not.

LIKE... MID... VERY MID. WHY? Why does this show have the most mid romance? Did they put him at the school just so they can have their Huntlow content? Instead of putting him with the Clawthorn sisters - adults who can keep him safe and teach him wild magic (ya know... the subject he's interested in), so he can better defend himself and not rely so heavily on a staff, they put him at the very VERY unsafe location at the school just... so they can have their Huntlow moment i guess?? MURDER AND VIOLENCE.

Literally if Lunter was the endgame pairing this show would have been S tier... I'm also gonna add that if AmWillow was tweaked a bit to where they were a rivals to lovers pairing then this show would have been a masterpiece. Hunter and Luz already have THE set-up for a great enemies to lovers romance.... you just show that same love to AmWillow and you would have got a money maker of a show.

But nOoOoOo we have to deal with the most MID romance options on the list even though Luz and Hunter parallel past lovers who are deeply tied with the main villain... it makes me want to rip apart my drywall with my teeth.

[atsumiye]

um, wrong number?

summary: on a night out, atsumu manages to get his next flings number. written on a flimsy napkin, they scribble a cute “call me” and their number. however, the next morning atsumu realizes the last few digits are smudged. with his superb guessing skills, he manages to guess the last 3 digits….or what he thinks is the 3 digits. so what happens when atsumu texts y/n some raunchy messages? he gets called a pervert.

this is the atsumu route! click here to go to the beginning of the meian route!

masterlist ll twenty five ll twenty six ll epilogue

"Wow, you made this Y/N?" Hinata questions from across the room, swiping through the photos on your phone. A few people had asked to see the designs you got the chance to display, so you offered to show photos that were taken by your boss during the show.

"Yeah! I didn't have much time to get everything into action, and luckily I already had some designs sketched so I needed to work with the sewing team to get things into play." You smiled as you spoke, feeling Atsumu's hand run up and down your back.

The conversations continue jumping from your work, to their upcoming game, and to the new restaurant that opened next to Onigiri Miya.

Atsumu managed to plan a pretty decent party by himself in such a short time span as well. He invited some of his members (mainly the ones you spoke to) and his brother. Knowing you didn't have much time to make any friends after moving back, he made sure the room was filled with people who cared about you and were proud of everything you had accomplished.

He also decorated quite nicely, tulips placed in a vase on the center of his kitchen island, and lots of different foods placed around it. When you had complained that it was too much and way too expensive Atsumu had said "its my job to give ya fun things like this".

You were so grateful for such a wonderful boyfriend, but couldn't help the ache in your heart when the clock hit 7:30 and Meian still hadn't shown up.

Almost as if Atsumu sensed your change in emotion, he wraps his arms around your shoulder pulling you closer to him. Planting a kiss on your temple, he brings his lips closer to your ear to whisper, "Don't worry, he might come later, okay?"

You nod giving him a tight lipped smile, turning back to the group to try and engage in the conversation to distract yourself.

After about 10 minutes you get up to grab some food from the kitchen. "You want anything Tsumu?" you ask as you stand up. He shakes his head and you turn to walk into the kitchen.

Grabbing a snack off of the table, you reach to grab a napkin but before you could, the doorbell rings.

"I'll get it!" You place down your snack as you walk towards the door. Opening the door you are faced with Meian, hands by his side with a small smile on his face.

"Shu..."

"Hi, Y/N. I'm sorry its been a while."

"Its- its okay. I'm so happy to see you Shu." He opens his arms and you waste no time running into them, wrapping your arms around his middle. He tightens his hold against you as your eyes begin to water.

"I was so worried you would never want to see me again." You pull your face up to look at him as he smiles down at you.

"I would be stupid to give up a friend like you. And I promised you didn't I?" He whispers to you.

Just- please just promise me you'll come back once you are ready to be friends again? Hm?" You stick out your hand to hold your pinky up waiting for his to wrap around it.

He takes a deep breath before nodding, sticking his pinky up to wrap it around yours. "I promise."

You dragged Meian into the party, allowing everyone to greet him as you gave Atsumu a big smile, mouthing an 'i love you' to him.

The rest of the night was spent together, your heart full with your favorite people by your side.

chapter twenty six- by your side

riya's notes:

- atsumu bought the same tulips he gave y/n when she got the job

- about 20 minutes of the party was spent with atsumu and osamu arguing

- the bolded part is a flashback :-) meian did in fact promise he would always come back

- pls let me know your thoughts <333

taglist: @satorinnie @speakfrenchbetweenmythighs @tetsuhoes @namyari @tabipleats @iwasunshine @lilith412426 @haikyuuwifu @bakugouswh0r3 @royahllty @its-the-aerieljeane @schleepyflocci @riceballsandanime @lady-tokugawa-of-mikawa @zukoslosthishonor @blueowl51 @meri-soni-meri-tamanna @windkages @unstaaableaf @sakusasimpbot @tsukkinginamo @starylust @crocigator @a-disappointing-teen-author @ysatrap @fuschiguro @sugabeaniee @art-junkie-13 @indaybella99 @blue-berry-pop-tart @jojowantstocry @moi-bunni @hirugachan @notchineseduh @paintedstarres @broken-from-fandoms @internethome @everytimeswift @why-couldnt-it-be @singularly-gifted-witch @kroerms @random-fandom-girl-24 @emcchi @hanabihwa @pansexualproblemchild @keijihajime

[amoristt]

Just a Dare | Nathan Prescott x Reader

@trueloveknifefight asked, Also can I request Nathan asking you out?

here u are! i love writing convos w nathan UGH i adore his character.

as always, replies and reblogs are greatly appreciated1 i check all tags and comments <3

wanna support me for just $3? here's my ko-fi!

The lights were bright, vivid. Almost blinding. They dance LED accents into the reflection of your drink- a dull plastic cup filled to the brim with one part whiskey, zero parts mixer. The taste could bring a tear to your eye but you would be damned to water down such fine alcohol, provided by none other than Nathan Prescott himself.

Music reverberated along the pool rooms walls, laughter and hollers distantly rising with the tempos. Your foot absently tapped to the beat- you were never one for dancing. Never one for parties, either, actually, favoring drinking in the solitude of a small friend group.

If not for Nathan you wouldn't be here at all. Some would say it's a privilege to slip past those heavy doors, entering the dully lit world of the Vortex Club. You mostly just felt like it was all for show. Somehow securing a place among Nathan's friend group, and a good friend at that, it was almost duty to show up. He insisted on it.

So, here you were. Leaning against a wall in a suffocatingly warm, cramped pool room surrounded by a sea of faces you hardly recognized.

That was, until you saw Nathan's face peer through the small break in shifting bodies. You knew him all too well.

Strikingly handsome, equally strikingly pompous. Funny, crude, an absent minded party goer just as much as he was a fireball with racing, incoherent thoughts. A drinker, a druggie. Takes the edge off, he says, but you think he does it to take away his thoughts completely. You felt like his entire life was all edges, never sacred ground.

The poor bastard.

He lures your attention in as he saunters over with squared shoulders, narrowly avoiding spilling his drink when a random student cuts it a little too close. Normally Nathan would make a bigger deal, give him what for, but this time he just shoots the poor kid a menacing glare and grumbles, 'fucking watch it'. He's walking with purpose and intent, you can see it on his face. You must have a target on your forehead as he darts straight over.

When he comes to your side, his own alcohol dripping down the sides of his cup onto his wiry fingers, you raise a brow.

"Something wrong?" You ask, as he takes a spot leaning against the hard wall right next to you.

"Just wondering why you're being so fucking lame over here," He shouts over the music, taking a sip of his drink, grimacing at the taste. "We're all having a good time over at the lounge and you're over here acting like all the other wallflower nobodies."

You roll your eyes with upturning lips. "Maybe I like being a wallflower. I like people watching. I see things no one else does."

"Yeah, okay, fucking weirdo."

"I mean it," You push off the wall and grin. "Look-" You point to a student obviously wasted, drink held high over head while he lets the music take him away. "That guy is clearly trashed- he's having the time of his life. He's gotta be seeing double."

Nathan whistles at his state, taking in the guys goofy smile, half lidded eyes. "I'll bet it's the triplets. I could breathe on him too hard and he'd fall over."

"You should go try it." You tease. He shakes his head and takes another drink.

"Nah, he'll get it himself. Guarantee we'll be dragging him out by his feet by the end of the night." He shrugs. "Or, at least someone will. I sure as fuck ain't staying that long."

You snicker. "What, got a hot date?" Nathan glares at you. "Oh don't tell me," you cup your hands to whisper, a secretive gesture, "homework?"

"Fuck no," He scoffs, and you can just barely see that he's a little more than tipsy now. His pale cheeks dusted with red, the tip of his nose ruby under the harsh lighting. It's also then that you realize he's a little more tense than usual, even despite the drinking. He's standing straight upright, his right hand gripping his cup like a crutch and his left now shoved hastily into his pocket.

He hasn't looked at you dead in the eyes yet.

"So what is it then?" You ask curiously. He shrugs and stares into his cup. You frown. "Bro, are you like, good right now? Do you wanna leave?"

For the first time since he'd wandered over, Nathan looks up at you. His eyes are unreadable, but his composure seems stressed. He shrugs again. Before you can even open your mouth to ask him about his state, he sighs and downs an entire mouthful of burning whiskey. It makes you cringe just watching him.

"Fuck it," He huffs. "Look I got some stupid ass dare to come over here and put the moves on you, okay." He sounds almost annoyed, like it's a hassle for him, or maybe embarrassing. You cross your arms. "I was dared to come over here and try to get you like, to fucking, you know, leave with me, but now that I'm over here I'm starting to think maybe that was a dumbass idea."

"Leave with you?" You say incredulously, a brow already lifting. "You were dared to come over here and try to sleep with me? By our friends?"

"No, no, fuck," Nathan seems agitated now, rushing. "Like a date sorta bullshit. Ask you out." He manages to get it out in almost the worst delivery possible, meanwhile you're just trying to pick out who would put him up to this. Hayden? Victoria?

A laugh forces its way out of you. "Aren't we a little too old for that game?"

Nathan shrugs. "That's what I said but they insisted. Fucking babies. At least make the dare a little more fun than just asking some bitch out. That's like elementary level shit."

Your eyes widen, you scoff. "Excuse me?"

Nathan sputters. "You're not some bitch, I didn't mean to-... Fucks sake, I'm clearly a little drunk right now okay, if you could cut me some fucking slack that'd be awesome."

"Hey man I didn't ask to be a victim of bullying," You tease, and he can't help but laugh. You soften. "Never expected it from you, though of all people. As ironic as that sounds."

"I'm not even bullying you, come on. Don't be a bitch. I even admitted it and everything."

You grin. "Yeah. Gotta say though, I'm a little disappointed."

"Oh what, you wanted to see my moves?" Nathan hums. "You wanted some Prescott action?"

"Shut the hell up." You shove his shoulder, an action that would be a mistake to so many others, but for you, it was welcomed. "I'm disappointed that it was just a dare. I'd probably have said yes if it wasn't. But, oh well."

Nathan doesn't answer for a long moment. First, he stares into his drink, processing. Almost like he hadn't heard that right, or like you were messing with him. It's rare to see Nathan Prescott stunned into a momentary silence. He's thinking, wondering what he should say next. Suspicious that you're just playing with him, hopeful that maybe you aren't.

And, you hadn't been. Truth be told if given the chance you would allow him to take you out for the evening. Show you fancy things, try out something a little more intimate than just laughter and poking fun at classmates together. You enjoyed his presence, looked forward to it at times.

A small part of you had hoped that he felt the same, maybe. Somehow. While grateful that he respected you enough to cut the crap before it even began, you couldn't help but feel a little... Disheartened at the prank. You'd saved your pride by denying him beforehand, but, if it had been genuine...

"So if it wasn't a dare," He began, quietly, barely audible over the booming music overhead. Eyes barely visible in the sea of vibrant lights crashing like waves. "You'd have said yes."

You shrug, trying to play it casual to save your own feelings, just in case. "Probably. I mean, we're already friends. We have fun so it couldn't have been that bad." He nods along to almost every word.

"Well what if we did it anyways." He blurts.

"Did what?"

"Go out tonight. Like, you know ditch this lame ass party and have some real fun."

"You love this lame ass party, and plus," You shake your head in feigned annoyance. "I'm not sleeping with you, Nathan."

He glares at you. "Fucking duh. I'm just saying we can go and hang out somewhere else. This party happens all the fucking time so it's not like we're missing anything."

"But, wouldn't that make me the butt of our friends joke?"

He shrugs. "Fuck em. It was a dumb dare anyways."

"Now it seems like you're trying extra hard to convince me to say yes." You state, and he's frazzled, running lines through his brain to try and save the absolute failure of asking you out. You decide to spare him, take a little leap of faith for yourself. "But, alright. I'm in."

Nathan gapes at you. "You're in?"

"Yeah, why not. I'm not busy right now and if you're not either than," You smile. "Why not. You better wow me though, Prescott. I'm talking a night to remember. Fireworks, dinner by candle light, a serenade. The whole package."

Nathan's eyes light up, but he tries to hide it, rolls those beautiful blues. "Well considering I've had like no fucking time to prepare how about we instead go to the roof and chill out."

You toss the idea around in your head for show. You already knew the answer the moment he asked if you were being serious.

"I mean I guess that would work," You say. "I was looking for fireworks but I suppose that will suffice. Feel free to go tell our buddies their joke may have backfired on them."

Nathan shakes his head. "Nah, don't even bother. They're all drunk and probably don't even remember daring me in the first place."

"Alright then," You push yourself off the wall, feeling your cheeks warm. A flutter takes wing in the base of your chest, your heart picking up just a little faster. You can't stop the smile that graces you as you say, "Lead the way, Prescott."

Nathan does lead the way. He takes your hand into his own, your fingers tracing over his boney knuckles as he drags you through the sea of bodies, out to the school hall and up winding stairs.

You giggle like a child when he struggles to find the correct key on the janitors ring he'd snatched weeks ago just in case, tease him when he almost spills his drink all over himself. Nathan's hands are almost shaking, but you chalk it up to the alcohol. You chalk everything up to the alcohol- his trembling fingers, his red face, a shy, albeit goofy smile resting upon his lovely, angular face.

The night was cool and crisp, a stark contrast to the smoldering heat of the Vortex Party.

He looks amazing out under the stars, and underneath the scope of the vast, black sky dotted with trillions of perfect, twinkling lights, you feel at peace.

Looking at him, you feel like this may be the start of something you'd denied yourself the chance of ever even imagining.

Out there, alone but together, hearing the echoes of music mixed with the livelihood of crickets in the darkness...

it truly was a night to remember.

-----------

Days later, you sit atop your desk, feet tapping rhythmically on your chair, typing away at your phone.

"Love the top," A familiar voice pipes, and you glace up to find Victoria standing before you, books pressed to her chest. She takes in your shirt, a nicely fitted long sleeve with a rather low cut v-neck. "Why haven't I see that one before?"

You shrug and set your phone down. "Never got around to wearing it I guess. Not a big fan of V-necks."

"It fits you," She sets her books down at the table beside you and brushes a hand through her hair, making sure every strand is in line. "I'll have to get one myself."

"You know what, you can have it after today," You say, and she perks up in disbelief. "As a thank you for what happened at the party."

That disbelief soon turned to confusion. "...Meaning?"

"Y'know, making Nathan ask me out. He made a whole huge deal about it- said you guys were drinking and playing Truth or Dare of all things. Gotta say, I was a little surprised."

Victoria's brows knit. "We hardly drank at that party, and I wouldn't be caught dead playing Truth or Dare. That game is for kids."

It almost knocks the wind out of you.

They hadn't even been playing in the first place.

As the teacher walks into the room, the first period bell blaring annoyingly over the speakers, you climb off your desk and prepare for the day, hardly able to contain yourself. It hadn't been a dare, after all.

And, you and Nathan's official second date was merely a day away.

[boxofbadaddiction]

Careless

Fred Weasley x Reader

This story is inspired from a request of my F.R.I.E.N.D.S Themed Prompt List.

Prompts: 13, 19 & 23

"I'm so happy and not at all jealous."/"We had a deep and meaningful relationship/What was their last name?"/"I thought it mattered what I said or when I said it. Then I realised, all that matters is that you make me happier than I ever thought I could be."

Warnings: Swearing. War Scene - blood & injury. Angsty.

Y/n was trouble with a capital T. She was daring, confident, snarky and a massive Quidditch fan. In other words; she were Fred Weasleys perfect woman.

But it's not what you think, they were just friends. Chaotic, hell raising, perfect-for-each-other friends.

With the Twins and y/n around Hogwarts it were remarkable the Castle were still standing. But not for their lack of trying. After an especially careless prank, which left the Gryffindor Common Room with a new window, it's safe to say the threesome were there for one another through thick and thin.

Pranks however, weren't the only area in which Y/n, and Fred for that matter, were careless.

Both had the tendency to be rather frivolous in romantic relationships. It seemed like every other week the pair had a new partner on their arm. George liked to joke that, of all the people left in their age group, the only people they hadn't 'had a round' with were each other. The rumours, jokes or insults to character never bothered them though. They were young and weren't looking for anything serious - so what's the harm in having a little fun? That was y/ns reasoning anyway. It had been Freds as well...in the beginning. Until he were struck with a rather bracing realisation.

The reason why he rushed so fast into new relationships without a care wasn't so much 'for the fun of it' or genuine interest in the other, but denial. He were running and burying his head in the sand, or rather the bedsheets - as it were, to distract himself from the very chilling reality that he was desperately, hopelessly and unequivocally in love with his best friend. With y/n.

So after that particularly bitter pill to swallow, Fred's relations became a means to an end. A means of getting over her. Of finding someone to replace her.

It never worked, of course, because no other girl was her. No one made him laugh or smile like her. Nor did anyone get his heart racing like she did.

He did everything he could to bury his feelings; under piles of work, copious amounts of alcohol and an abundance of meaningless sex, and it genuinely seemed to be working...until the War came.

That walk into the Great Hall after the initial Battle is one Fred would never forget.

The smell; of death and destruction. The way his body ached and longed to rest.

Slowly limping through the destroyed arched doorway, accompanied by Percy - who's shoulders he'd drapped an arm across seeking support. They were talking with one another, throwing around light-hearted brotherly insults here and there, which helped keep Freds mind off the immense pain surging through his leg at the time, small smiles adorning their faces.

That's when they heard it.

A blood curdling scream. One of pure agony.

Their eyes shot directly to the source, on the far side of the room - where all the Weasleys were gathered around a body. A girls.

Arthur was holding tight onto Molly as she sobbed uncontrollably. Ron stood on the outskirts pale and afraid, while Bill and Charlie had a hold of Ginny in attempt to shield her. Fred's gaze flickered to where he saw George had knelt beside the body.

He was gripping one of her hands as his other tried desperately to keep her still on the floor while she writhed and cried out in pain.

She were covered in blood as Madam Pomfrey worked frantically to mend the severe wounds in her abdomen, where shards of debris protruded from her flesh.

The cry had been caused from the extraction of a particularly large shard, of what Fred didn't know.

George was running a tender hand over y/ns head, gently stroking her hair and the sides of her face as he whispered soothing sounds and comforting words in her ear.

Fred didn't know how long he'd stood there, staring in shock, he'd felt petrified - numb to everything but the fear coursing through his veins. Till suddenly his feet were moving.

A first painful step, which nearly crippled him, was followed by an equally sore but determined second. Then a third, and before he knew it he was running. Sprinting as fast as he could regardless of the pain it inflicted, nothing could stop him from reaching her side.

Barging past friends and family members he collapsed on Georges otherside. Eyes raking the ever paling and blood covered woman laid before him. George was shaking as he looked to his brother with tear-filled eyes but Freds stare was unwavering.

Somehow mustering the strength he spoke the only words playing through his mind, "What can I do?" His eyes never left y/ns wound, above which Pomfreys hands hovered as she worked.

"Fred?" Y/n cried through deep breaths, her head turning to the side in an attempt to see him. "I'm here, Sweetheart." He placed a hand to her knee. Her eyes were screwed tight shut as she threw her head back against the hard, cold floor. Tears parted tracks through the thick dust and muck plastered to her cheeks as she clenched her jaw inhaling sharply as the next piece of debris was removed - a relatively small piece in comparison to the earlier one. George continued to soothe his friend as Pomfrey instructed Fred on what to do.

They wished everything had gotten better from there. That after they successfully removed all the debris and stopped the blood from further pouring from her body that she'd been able to recover simply. But news only seemed to get worse once they reached St Mungo's.

She'd fallen into a coma. Y/n had suffered severe internal injuries and the Healers never held out much hope that she'd survive.

Y/n always was full of surprises.

She'd come out of her coma and began showing signs she could yet make a recovery. No one could have possibly anticipated the day healers would begin talk of rehab. They considered it a miracle she were even breathing.

Naturally the Twins were there every step of the way. Especially Fred. There were whole nights, even before she'd regained consciousness, where he'd spend every minute by her bedside. Nights he'd spend working tirelessly in the shops office to perfect ideas they'd concocted to help ease and enhance y/ns physical therapy. Inventions that worked so well Healers from all over were lining up to get their hands on, after seeing how successful y/ns recovery were as a direct result of their products. Hell, most days you couldn't even tell she'd been through a war - her scars the only physical reminder, to the untrained eye.

There were no doubt left in Freds body after that. He loved her with every part of his soul and that was never going to change, and so his involvement in the dating scene became virtually non-existent.

Y/ns on the other hand...well some things don’t change.

She was given a second chance and wasn't about to waste it worrying about what 'could' have happened. Life were too short for that. She did, however, start keeping an eye out for 'Mr/Mrs Right' during her rendezvous'.

Fred tried his hardest to be supportive. Opting rather to love her from the sidelines than risk hurting their relationship by getting his hands dirty and playing the game. After Y/ns most recent conquest however his happy facade may officially be waning.

It was just past sunset in Diagon Alley and so Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, much like all the other stores, were going through their nightly closing routine.

Fred was working through the registers whilst, much to his dismay, George were left to the Twins least favourite chore - cleaning and restocking the store.

That's when the front door burst open.

"Evening, Boys!" Y/n announced happily as she strode into the store. "Fred! I told you to lock the door, lest the riff-raff barge in!" George called jokingly over the railing of the second floor. Fred couldn't help but smile, not looking up from the task at hand "My mistake!". Y/n scowled up at George as she hopped onto the front desk, "Like that could keep me out." Leaning over the counter top she placed a kiss to Freds cheek, "Heya Freddie". He looked to her, instantly finding himself on cloud nine, and leant casually onto the counter to speak with her. "Hey, Lovely. How was your day?" "Oh, I am so glad you asked!" Y/n said beaming as she clapped her palms against her knees, kicking one leg atop the other. "It was fantastic!" "Do tell." George spoke, decending the stair case, "What's 'fantastic's name?" He goaded.

Y/n glared at him playfully, "Think you have me all worked out do you?" "You know we do." Fred interjects. "Can read you like a book, Darling. You've got not secrets from us"

"Especially after our little incident during rehab, when I had to help you in the shower." George added with a teasing brow, this causing y/n to scrunch her nose. "Okay, George, that's talking about it when we agreed never to talk about it!" The Twins laughed at her embarrassed expression. "Anyway, 'fantastic's name is Mason."

Fred swallowed thickly at the news of, yet another, romantic partner but still he suppressed his distaste as he normally would.

The next 30 minutes or so were spent listening to y/ns retelling of how she met, Mason. About how great they made her feel. Fred couldn't help but envy the way the mere thought of them had y/n biting her lip in attempt to suppress a giddy smile. He'd give anything for her to look that way while thinking about him.

Fred had been quiet through most of the conversation, untrusting of his own voice not to give away his utter disdain at the news. Still he smiled when he should and convincingly feigned interested as she spoke. It wasn't until she began talking about her date, tonight, with them that he finally spared himself the heartache and stopped listening.

Later that evening, Fred was trying hard to keep himself occupied with thoughts on anything but the date the love of his life currently found herself on. As George and he just finished their own meal he'd taken to determinately cleaning the dishes piled within their sink - whilst George dried, a small habit the two fell into thanks to years of Molly putting the pair on dish duty after meals.

Unknowingly to Fred, he'd been uncharacteristically quiet for the whole evening. Something his brother had not failed to notice. "So..." he began breaking the long running silence of the night, "y/n seems pretty bent on this new bloke doesn't she?" "Mmm" "Never know this one may even last" George let out a breathy laugh as he prodded Fred's shoulder with his elbow, watching carefully for his reaction.

George wasn't stupid. He knew exactly how Fred felt, well before the night of the battle.

Fred's eyebrows quirked, lips parting as he clicked his jaw, visibly unsettled by his Twins topic of discussion.

"You okay, Freddie?" "Yeah. No, they sound great. Absolutely perfect. He's bloody 'Mr Fantastic'" His voice was laced with attitude and sarcasm as he spoke.

Finishing washing the final glass Fred throws the dish sponge against the back wall of the sink harder than intended in his frustration. "Easy there mate, get you're not happy but don't take your jealousy out on the poor bloody sponge" George picks it up from where it'd landed, mockingly shielding it from his brother with an overly concerned expression. "What are you on about?" Fred sneered defensively, "I'm so happy and not at all jealous."

"Sure you are" George replied with a look which read 'really?' "Yeah no, I get it. I'd be fine too if the girl I fancied was out on a date with some other bloke." He shrugged nonchalantly as he walked back to the living room, lounging comfortably across their sofa.

Fred looked to his brother as if he'd grown another head. "Don't give me that look. We both know I know." George rolled his eyes. "Well then tell me, oh wise and all-knowing Brother" Fred bowed mockingly, "what would you do in my situation?" He walked over with an expectant brow, perching himself of the sofas opposite arm rest.

"Oh, I dunno...maybe confess to the poor girl." "You say that like it's the simplest thing in the world." "It is, Freddie." "No. No it's not, whatever this is it's not simple." "It won't get any easier if you don't try. Here look I'll help you" George sat up eagerly, leaning against the back of the couch. "You be you, I'll be- don't give me that look. I'll be y/n. Tell me what you'd say to her." "This is stupid" Fred rolled his eyes. "Don't be a prat, just...go. I won't judge." "Right, cause that sounds like you." "Fred-" George warned. "Fiiiine!" He groaned which only caused his brother to smile cockily, satisfied he finally got what he wants.

Fred looked at his brother who flicked his hair and batted his eyelashes dramatically. There's no way he can do this looking at him. Rolling his eyes again he looked away with a scoff, contemplating all the things he'd say to y/n if he had the courage to.

"Well?..." "I don't know. I don't know what'd I'd say to her or where to start, I've never thought about it." "Maybe it's time you start thinking about it Freddie." George clapped him on the leg as he stood from his place on the couch.

He were half way to his bedroom before stopping, having just faintly heard the words whispered after him...

"I love her, Georgie." George smiles sadly to himself, only just turning his head he murmurs a reply. "Tell her that."

---

The store was closed for the day and Fred had choose to have a rather uneventful night in, and so he sat on the end of the sofa reading the paper hoping for product inspiration to strike. George on the other hand were getting ready to go out for the night when came a rhythmic knock on the flat door. No need to ask who it were as they let themselves in, per usual.

"Hello, Boys" y/n bounded into the apartment, flopping casually onto their couch with her head in Freds lap.

He lifted the paper into one hand to better see her smiling face looking cheekily back up at him. His own fond and loving smile shown back. "Hey, Freddie" "Hey, Gorgeous." "HELLO, GEORGE?" She shouted listening intently for his response, "YEAH YEAH, Hello freeloader!" He yells back causing her smile to grow.

"You seem awfully happy, have a good day?" Fred asks as he begins to softly run his hands through y/ns hair out of a developed habit from all their late nights at Hogwarts. "Yeah it was good, just went out with Mason. We had a nice time but I'm just happy to be here with you losers." "Losers? How flattering" George calls from his bedroom. "Oh" at the mention of y/ns partner, Fred puts an end to his hands actions. Turning his attention pointedly back to the paper he'd been reading previously. "And how is 'Mr Fantastic'?" He sneers. "Yeah great...I think. I don't know, he sorta got carried away talking about work. Barely got a word in myself." Y/n chuckles fakely. Sensing her pent up reservations Fred can't help but resume his earlier actions, stroking her hair, but still his eyes stay on the page in front of him. Even if he can't seem to read a single word - too focused on the warmth y/ns body provides pressed against his. Wishing this were how he could spend every night, wrapped up on the couch with her in his arms.

"Alright, children!" George emerges from his bedroom, "I'm off. Don't destroy the place while I'm gone." "Oh that's right!" Y/n sits up excitedly to peer over the back of the sofa. "Tonights the big date" she rests her chin atop her arms as they fold over the backrest looking to George as he collects his wallet and keys. "That's right, Dearest." He ruffles her hair as he strides past to the door, "You're not the only one around here who goes out." He winks before leaving, a quick 'behave!' Called over his shoulder.

Y/n lays back down across Freds lap with a warm smile on her lips. "So...what do you wanna do tonight?"

---

Fred was quietly thankful for George being out of the apartment for the night, the quality time spent with y/n were more than he could possibly ask for. It felt like being back in school, when they'd sneak to the Lake or Astronomy tower past curfew.

They were currently sat on the lounge room floor; a bottle of firewiskey and several stolen sweets from George's stash, scattered in front of them.

"I can't believe you just called me a slag!" Fred shouts as y/n laughed loudly. "W-well it's true." She shrugged, speaking through poorly restrained giggles. "Need I remind you of your time spent with Alice?" "Hey! We had a deep, and meaningful relationship." "Oh yeah?" "Yeah!" "What was her last name?" Freds mouth opened in retort before swiftly closing. Eyes blankly scanning the room in search of the answer before realising he didn't have one. He nodded and shrugged in acknowledgement. "Point taken. Not that you're one to judge" he chuckled, taking a swig from the bottle of whiskey before offering it to her. "Also true." Y/n accepted.

"When was the last time you waited until the third date?" "Honestly?" "No. Lie to me." Y/n rolled her eyes at his question. "Katie Bell." "Noooo...in 6th year?" "Yeah. Go on then, when was the last time you didn't just give it up?" "What, 'Honestly'?" "No. Lie to me." Fred threw an every flavour bean at her for the mockery. "Okay...Mr Fantastic." "Noooo..." "yeah." "I don't believe you." "What!? Why?" "Because you're whipped by the bloke! Surprised he even made it to a first date- OW! Hey, chocolate frogs are NOT for throwing!"

Neither were sure how this odd game of confessions began, perhaps somewhere around the half way mark on their bottle of Whiskey, but the embarrassing dirty little secrets they'd begun to reveal to one another had them both in hysterics as a result.

"So, why not?" "I dunno he just...hasn't got me feeling that way, ya know? Like, he's great, and we have a good time together - I guess. But it's not like this" she guestured between herself and Fred, who was listening intently. "I can't seem to relax and just be myself around him. He doesn't get me laughing till it hurts. Or make me feel safe and comfortable." Fred's lips parted slightly at her words, eyes dancing hopefully back and forth between hers which seemed to hold the same emotion his did in that moment. Was it possible she felt the same way?

"Or ya know, something less sappy." She chuckled, taking a drink from the Whiskey bottle and turning away from him. Whatever moment he'd felt was gone, and reality set in with the familiar bitter pill settling in his mouth which he refused to swallow.

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the disappointment that began to creep in. Over her comparison, in wanting someone like him, but in the end, not him. Never him. A sharp breath left him before speaking, "Yeah, well, I ah- I have work in the morning so I'd best call it a night." He avoided eye contact as he stood from his spot on the floor, all joints painfully stiff from the lack of movement.

Y/n was shocked by his abrupt change in attitude. He were no longer smiling, and there was an edge to his voice which wasn't there moments ago.

"Woah, wait...what just happened here? I thought we were having a good time." "We were" y/n stood, taking a tentative step towards him "So, what changed?" "Nothing"

"Fred? Come on, sit back down...please?" She grabbed one of his hands holding it close to her chest as she pouted at him. For a second Fred caught himself smiling at her antics. But only for a second. He shook his head, pulling his hand back from hers and stressfully running it through his hair.

"I can't, love." "Can't what?" Her brows furrowed in confusion. "I just can't sit there and listen to you talk about us; me and him." He snapped looking away from her. "Why? What's that have t-"

"Because I'm fucking in love with you!" Fred shouted, turning back to y/n in anger. "I'm in love with you and sitting there listening to you talk about how I make you feel safe - and how you wish it were him - it's ripping my fucking heart out y/n! But I'm stuck. Because I can't move on but I can't have you. So I just sit here like an idiot, watching you jump from one relationship to another, waiting- hoping that you'll care. I keep hanging onto moments - like right there - thinking there may be the slightest chance you might feel the same way. But you don't. And I can't do it anymore...so don't ask me to."

"Fred-" "I think you should go." "No, Fred I-" "Please! Go."

Y/n stood in place, staring in shock as her body seemed reluctant to move. She were petrified - numb to everything, but the fear swimming within her blood. What would happen if she walked out that door. Would he ever let her back in, or was this it? What if she leaves and loses him forever - and he never knew...

She drew a shaking breath that seemed to give a modicum of control back over her body. Her eyes flickered over the expanse of the boys flat. It were always so cheerful and warm - so why did she feel so cold? Her body trembled as her feet began to move, each step more painful than the last.

As she opened the door every nerve screamed for her to turn back around. Her head turned to the side, mouth falling dry and lips parting to speak though no words came. But the tears did. Rolling sadly down her cheeks as the door sealed shut behind her.

She was gone.

Fred fell to the couch. Any strength that were holding him from the ground disappearing as she did. Slouched over his knees, elbows digging into his thighs whilst he ran his hands through his hair.

He let out a heavy breath, a small relief spreading in his chest from the weight that'd been lifted. But mostly all that came was pain and tears from the heartache he'd tried so hard to shield himself from for all these years.

There's no telling how long he sat there, furiously rubbing at his eyes as the tears refused to stop falling. Not till the familiar crack of apparation reached his ears could he fully hold himself high again. George couldn't see him like this, he wouldn't let him.

With the creaking of the front doors hinges Fred stood, clearing his throat and running a final hand across his puffy, tear stained cheeks. "You're back early, what'd happen you strike out?" He joked, turning only to be met with the equally teary eyes of y/n. Although hers held something else as well - anger. Fred felt cold. What was she doing back here?

"Where do you get the nerve?" She snapped. Freds expression screwed between a mixture of insult and confusion. "Don't you dare, for a second, think you know how I feel." "I do." "No. No you don't! Otherwise you would have realised that I fucking love you too!" "W-what?"

"You think you're the only one? That after all these years together; after all those nights in the Astronomy tower. After all those days you spent by my side as I laid dying in that hospital bed. After all your time spent healing me; that I haven't fallen in love with you?"

"Well...well WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING!?" "WHY DIDN'T YOU!?"

Freds mouth was open but no words were coming. He let out a defeated breath, leaning against the back of the sofa as the weight of everything set in.

"...when?" "I don't know when I fell. Only when I realised. Guess that was the only good thing to come from that evil, pink bitch being around." Y/n chuckled sadly.

"THEN!? you knew then?" "After your first detention. I bandaged your hand and we spent the night together in the common room. You fell asleep in my lap, that's...that's when I knew."

This was all so overwhelming. So much for the quiet night in. Fred stared fixedly at a point on the side wall in thought, lightly shaking his head, unsure of exactly how he felt or what to do. This was everything he'd ever wanted to hear and that scared him a little bit.

"Look, I didn't say anything because you mean too much to me to ever risk jeopardising what we had and I- I could never find the words to..." Y/n swallowed thickly as all emotion caught in her throat. Taking his hand tightly in hers she tried to ground herself within the moment. The action turning Freds gaze back to hers.

"I thought it mattered what I said, or when I said it. Then I realised, all that matters is that you make me happier than I ever thought I could be. I never want to lose that and if you’ll let me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the same way. All you have to do is just tell me; what do you want?"

Fred watched as the tears welled within y/ns eyes the longer she spoke, he wondered how they ever managed to be so goddamn obliviously stupid, that neither realised.

A soft smile crept across his lips as he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "All I've ever wanted...is you." Y/ns whole body relaxed at his words, head falling in relief. Looking back into his eyes she bit her lip to suppress a giddy, lovestruck, smile.

"You've always had me."

[love-fireflysong]

yIt's done. It took me waaaay to long to write this piece out but between June and my computer apparently deciding to kick me in the teeth this month, the fact I made it to 5 full squares completed anyways I will gladly take as a victory! And, just fyi, this WILL be the last piece for this month. I know that there is still another four days left of June, but I am sick and tired of dealing with my keyboard so this is the last fic you're gonna see from me until I get a new laptop hopefully fairly soon. (Unless I decide that I'm desperate enough to try and write things out on my tablet of course...)

Anyways, the First Date trope was specifically requested by @jesus-hotsauce-christmas-cake when I let her know that the one she did guess (road trip) was going to be a second chapter of a twoshot. Which you still might get because I'm very likely going to be sharing the short little summary blurbs I had written down for each trope so people can very easily bully me into writing them anyways if people still wanted to read them. And even though it would be like months and months late, still post them under this bingo board because I can and I had a cool idea for what I was doing with the colours and layout before life decided to say 'NO!' in a very firm voice. (Unless of course the three lovely ladies that came up with this idea in the first place say no obviously)

Rambling over though now I promise. Chocolate Covered Confessions can be read over and AO3 of course, with the full fic also under the readmore as well.

Chocolate Covered Confessions

Trope: First Date Fandom: Until Dawn Characters: Ashley Brown, Chris Hartley Words: 8214 Rating: General (though reader beware there is some almost scandalous hand holding and a couple of scandalously public kisses. You have been warned...) Authors Notes: Oh look, more chrashley fluff. Who da thunk it? Pride month? What pride month? This is just me apparently figuring out how many different ways I can get Chris and Ash to confess their feelings. Because you only read like three of them, I still have another two waiting in the wings. Plus at least three others if you count climbing chrash lol.

Something was...weird. It wasn't something that Ashley could put her finger on just yet, but something was definitely off that was for sure. The problem of course was that she didn't even know where to start looking in the first place, because for the most part her day had been extraordinarily ordinary.

She, Chris, and Josh had planned to go and see a movie Saturday morning a few days back and then hang out the rest of the day. But seeing as they were, you know, best friends that certainly wasn't the issue. Not even close. They always made plans to do stuff like that together. And yeah, okay, so maybe Josh had 'coincidentally' texted them just before the movie started to let them know that something unavoidable had come up and he wasn't going to be able to meet up with them. And when her and Chris had brought up just waiting until a later showing when he was free, he had immediately been quick to affirm that nope, he was going to be busy the whole rest of the day actually. So the two of them could continue with their original plans and they could make it up to him another time.

While certainly suspicious, that wasn't what was wrong though. Josh had been flaking out on their plans more and more, especially when it was plans that took up an entire day. Ashley Brown wasn't stupid. No siree Bob she was not! She knew exactly what Josh was trying to do by leaving her to spend the day with Chris. Alone . And she appreciated it (she really did!), but if Chris was going to make a move then he would have done it ages and ages ago, because she sure as hell wasn't going to do it! Ashley Brown wasn't stupid, but she also wasn't exactly what you would call brave either.

Not that Chris had seemed to notice what Josh was pulling though, he had just sighed and rolled his eyes with a grumbled "fucking typical", and then the two of them had entered the theater to watch the movie. And as per their usual shtick when Josh wasn't there with them, Chris paid for the tickets while she paid for the food and drinks. Or, at least, that was how it normally went. Instead, when she had decided to take a run to the bathroom while he held their spot in the long concession line, she had come back to Chris waiting for her with the pop and popcorn already in hand. After brushing off her flustered apologies, he had explained that shortly after she had left, another cashier had popped on till so the line had gone down in half the time either had expected. And it seemed like a dick move to just wait there until she came back so he had just decided to get the food instead.

She still felt a little guilty about it honestly, even after swearing that she would get both the tickets and food next time.

And, to be completely fair to Josh, he hadn't exactly been missing out on a lot by skipping out on the movie. It wasn't a horror flick (he would never even think of skipping out on that after all) so it wasn't one that he would feel the need to make the two of them watch again with him. Which was more than fine honestly, because if she was to describe the movie in a single word, well, that word would definitely have been 'dreadful'. If she was given a few more words, then she would have easily elaborated and stated that it was 'a boring, plot-hole driven mess, with only extremely over-the-top action scenes and explosions every five minutes to carry any semblance of the extremely loosely written plot'. In other words, she had lost interest in the movie barely half an hour in, and considering that Chris had started scrolling through his phone bored, she wasn't alone in this boat either.

Still, Ashley had resolved herself to sit through this over-budgeted explosion fest if only because movie tickets were horribly expensive. Not to mention the fact that Chris had shelled out money for both the movie and the food. But then he had turned to her, asked if she was as bored to tears as he was, and once he got that confirmation, asked if she wanted to just ditch the movie entirely. And she did—she really, really did—but didn't want Chris to waste the money he had spent more. And then yet another explosion...exploded on screen, and she realized that she was wasting precious hours of her life that could be used to do something more fun and less mind-numbingly boring.

Like watching paint dry. That at least had a semi-cohesive plot.

And so the two of them had walked out, continuing to share the extra buttered popcorn between them (the movie may have been awful, but the popcorn certainly wasn't) as they left the movie theater behind and wandered into the nearby mall. That wasn't the strange thing either. The mall and subsequent window shopping had absolutely been part of their day plans after, even if those had been unexpectedly pushed forward a couple of hours.

Admittedly the art show that the mall was running in one of the empty storefronts was unexpected, but  it had been simply a nice surprise and a great way to kill time. So after paying the $2 entrance fee, the two of them had continued to share the popcorn as they looked at some of the paintings and sculptures that had been on display, giggling childishly at most of them. And okay, so one of the curators had been glaring at them( or rather, at their greasy, butter-covered fingers) the whole time, but that had just been a little rude and insulting. Not strange. And that had stopped almost the moment they had run out of popcorn, Ashley nudging him in the stomach with her elbow as she licked her fingers clean, and the two of them laughing under their breaths at the curator who had looked exceptionally much more at ease once Chris had crumpled the empty bag into a ball.

The rest of their day in the mall had just been spent following the rest of their day's plan, wandering from shop to shop and browsing at all the things that caught their eyes, and then taking a break after a few hours to have a late lunch in the food court. The two of them checked out another couple of stores, these ones to try and get some ideas for Josh's birthday in another month, before moving onto the small arcade on the top floor. As part of their deal and agreement since it had just been Josh and Chris (Ashey not joining the duo until five years later), Chris bought the tokens needed while she scouted out the various games for an empty console and claimed it until he could join her in another couple of minutes.

They spent the next hour in there, trying to beat each other or work together depending on the game in question. They almost never played a game twice before moving onto the next one, in hopes to both try as many games as possible before their self imposed hour ended and to see if they could beat their previous high scores or make it onto the leaderboard in only a single try. But as the hour came to a close, they both made their way over to their final game: one of the racing simulators scattered around the arcade. And as had been done for ten years now, played to determine which of them would be paying for the tokens next time they came.

And once the race ended, with Ashley winning by photo finish for the third time in a row (and celebrating her winning streak by maturely sticking out her tongue and doing an awkward little shimmy dance in the seat while Chris jokingly sulked and pouted), they had finally left the mall altogether and got into Chris's truck. There, he had surprised Ashley with the novel she had been eyeing in the bookstore (or at least, eyeing closer than all the rest she had picked up) and that he had somehow been able to buy without her noticing. And that certainly hadn't been weird, because it had been so exceptionally sweet of him, sweet enough that Ashley had so badly wished that she could thank him properly. But as mentioned before, Ashley Brown was a coward pure and simple, so she had just clutched the book to her chest and beamed at Chris in heartfelt thanks instead.

He may have said something in reply, but Ashley had already settled into the passenger seat and opened to the first page of the book, so she was already long gone. A fact that Chris had anticipated, if the light chuckle he had let out before starting the truck meant anything. And no, Ashley reading a book while Chris drove them to their usual game store across town was not the strange thing either. If Chris hadn't wanted her to read on the drive over and talk to him, then he never would have given her the book now of all times. He would have waited until he had dropped her off home, or not even bought the book in the first place. After over a half a decade of friendship, if anyone knew what would happen after giving Ashley Brown a new book, it was Chris Hartley.

The drive over is done quicker then she had expected, and even then Chris still hadn't let her know that they had arrived until she had finished her chapter. Yes he had certainly teased her about it the entire time, joking about how she would never find someone as understanding of her reading habits then him (he didn't know how right he was, that she didn't want to find anyone else), but the fact that he had just continued to let the music play in the truck and distracted himself on his phone was so unbearably sweet that she decided to let it lie.

The fact that Ashley and Chris hung around in the game shop comparing dice and looking at new books while wincing over the prices for nearly two hours wasn't what was off either. Hell, if anything the fact that they only spent a couple of hours there before leaving was weird! Her, Chris, and Josh could easily spend almost half a day in there flipping through comics and rolling dice to test them out, only leaving because a tired employee was forced to ask them to leave for making too much noise and taking up a table when they weren't playing anything, especially when there was a group that had been waiting for a table for close to an hour now.

Which brought Ashley to where she was right now, sitting at a sticky plastic table under the shade of a cheap umbrella while Chris had run off to get them some ice cream before dropping her off at home. Her new book was open in front of her, the pages crisp white even in the umbrella's shade, but her mind wasn't on the book anymore. A random line had a character mentioning that something had been feeling off all day ever since they woke up ('like everything had been moved three centimeters to the left, so while it all looked normal, nothing felt right anymore'), and Ashley had also realized that hey, wait a second, her day was also feeling just a little wonky too! But no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was. Today had just been a normal day hanging out with Chris after all. They went to see (and bailed) a movie, spent hours hanging out in the mall and at the game store, and now they were each going back home. Nothing unusual had happened, so why did it feel like something hugely monumental had been going on all day?

"Oi. Earth to Ash, you okay in there?"

A light flick to the center of Ashley's forehead has her blink in surprise, and she finds herself back into the present once again. Chris is standing next to her, carefully balancing the two cones in his right hand and his left ready to flick again if needed, and a bemused smile on his face.

"Oh, uh, sorry Chris. Got a little too into the book I think." She closes the book, not wanting to get melting ice cream all over its crisp white pages (and she really hasn't absorbed a single word for nearly ten minutes now), but Chris doesn't hand her the cone just yet.

"Yeah, I'm not buying that," Chris says as he snorts in disbelief. "I know your 'praise be to books' look, and that was not it. That was your 'head full, too many thoughts' look."

"Excuse me? What? I do not have a reading look! Or a thinking look for that matter!"

"Oh you do. You really, really do. Trust me. You may have been staring at that book but there was no way that you were reading, I would bet my own ice cream here on it." Chris brandishes his double chocolate cone at her, then seems to reconsider and switches to show off her own dipped soft serve that he still has yet to actually let her eat. "Actually, you know what? I would eat your dipped monstrosity if I'm wrong."

Ashley sighs, but she can't keep the smile from her face. "It's not that bad this time, oh my god. It's chocolate ice cream dipped in blueberry syrup. This is actually a normal combination for people who go out of their way to order more exciting cones then two scoops of chocolate." She leans forward and places her elbows on the table to support her head in her hands. "But I wanna see you do it anyway, so tell me exactly why you're so convinced that I wasn't reading."

Chris opens his mouth, but immediately closes it a second later, as though he didn't realize exactly what he had signed himself up for here until now. Ashley of course takes it as a sign of victory. "I knew it. So let's see this Chris, I wanna see you eat something that isn't—"

"When you read you get, like, super attentive." Chris's face is pink, and not looking at her but at the book on the table as he bashfully continues. "You become so drawn in to whatever you're reading that you ignore everything going on around you, because all of your attention is now on that book. Pretty sure a bomb could go off right next to you and you wouldn't even notice sometimes. And it's always so easy to tell what's happening in the book when you're reading too, cause your face is always so expressive. Like your eyes get big when something exciting or surprising happens, and when you're really enjoying whatever it is you're reading, you start giggling like a loon."

Ashley is too stunned and, quite frankly, her heart is beating too fast for her to even think of a proper response to that . She manages to squeak out a quiet little "oh, um" but Chris doesn't notice. Not when he's still babbling and not looking at her at all.

"But when you get deep in thought, you're not like that at all. All of your attention goes inward, and everything around you disappears cause all the important stuff is going on inside your head right now. Your mouth falls open just a little, sort of like you're gaping at all the information in front of you. And-and sometimes you'll mouth out what's going on inside your head as you try to fit the pieces of everything together so it's neat and tidy like a puzzle. And even though you have the, like, blankest stare imaginable, it's not empty at all if that makes any sense. Cause your eyes narrow and your forehead scrunches just the tiniest amount so you have a small little wrinkle form like right here—" with his unoccupied hand Chris points at the bridge of his nose right between his eyes "—and it's weirdly, insanely cute? But when you finally figure out the puzzle in your head, your face lights up like a kid on christmas morning and...and..." He lets his words trail off and stops awkwardly there, as though finally realizing exactly what he's been saying this entire time.

His face is almost beet red now, and Ashley is pretty sure hers is too. "Oh, uh, wow. I-I didn't realize you paid any attention to me when I was like that..."

Somehow his face only gets redder, and though he mumbles the words under his breath, Ashley can still make them out. "I'm always paying attention to you."

But not close enough attention it seems, she thinks sadly. If you did then you would have noticed something way more obvious than that. But she doesn't want to embarrass him anymore than he already is (then she already is), and she isn't sure what else she could possibly say that wouldn't be her blurting out that she likes him, so instead she pretends that she hadn't heard a single thing and wordlessly accepts the ice cream that he hands to her, accepting her defeat as she takes a small bite of the blueberry covered chocolate soft serve.

...The blueberry covered chocolate soft serve that he had bought for her. Or, you know, the ice cream he had paid for himself. Just like he had paid for everything today. Kind of like it was almost a, uh, date. Like he had taken her on a date.

Oh .

"Oh boy, let me guess: I was right and your ice cream really is a crime against taste buds?"

Ashley comes crashing back down to reality to see Chris, his face still a little red but the playful smile back on his face as he teased her. And yet, that only makes it worse as she can't help but feel the usual gymnastics routine the butterflies in her stomach perform at that particular smile, only they're a thousand times worse now that's she's realized exactly why today had felt so strange. And she can't help thinking how much everyone else would classify what was just a day hanging out with her best friend as a date. And how much she really, really wished it was one.

"Nope," she unfortunately squeaks out, and clears her throat so she can continue in a more normal tone of voice. "Nope, sorry to disappoint Chris, but the ice cream tastes fine." She takes another bite for proof (and to her credit she's not lying, it tastes more than fine). "Just, uh, realized something funny that's all." And the moment the words leave her mouth she realizes just how badly she's screwed everything up, because there is no way in any world that Chris Hartley is just going to let that comment lie.

"Funny? Oho, well now I'm interested. You mind sharing your glorious epiphany with the rest of the class Miss Brown?"

Taking another small taste of her ice cream, Ashley averts her gaze as she gives what she is kicking herself for is obviously an extremely forced laugh. "Did I say funny? I meant boring, just super boring actually."

"Well now I just want to hear it more."

"No, you don't. Trust me, you really, really don't."

Chris's brows furrow in concern. "Ash? You okay?"

She isn't, of course she isn't. She's now realized exactly what a date with Chris would be like, and it would be exactly like this. With them going to all the same place and doing the same things but she's allowed to hold his hand and kiss him when he does stupid sweet things like buying her the book she's been eyeing and talking about all day. She's never wanted something to be so true so badly in her life. And it's likely this thought in her mind that causes her to blurt out "A date." before she even realizes what she's said.

That only makes the confusion on Chris's face go deeper, which is appropriate considering she's sinking deeper and deeper into her chair in a futile effort to hide or escape as well. "What? Are you saying that you just remember what date it is today? Or that you had something you were supposed to do today instead? I'm not really following you right now Ash..."

This is perfect. It's the perfect excuse, she could laugh and say that she totally forgot what day it was and that she had an essay due pretty soon, or that she was supposed to babysit for a neighbour tonight. Anything really, the sky was quite literally the limit. And instead she just bit her lip and stared at the ice cream melting in her hand before weakly admitting "No, a, uh, date. As in, the romantic kind. I realized that today probably looks like a date to anyone else. Funny, huh?"

She's not sure how Chris would react to that. Maybe a startled laugh, and hand wave as he brushes her off. A scoff as he assures her that this definitely isn't a date, cause they're just friends and that's all they'll ever be. Whatever the reaction she expected, it was certainly not the fumbling for his ice cream as he nearly drops it in his shock, and how absolutely flustered he sounds as he trips over his own tongue. "W-what? I-I-I, uh—I mean, th-this obviously isn't—Who would even—? Wh-what would even give you the idea that we could um, possibly be on a date?"

Ashley shrugs weakly. "Isn't it obvious Chris?" She ignores his even more flustered babbling that no, he absolutely did not see what was so obvious as she continued on, still too nervous to look him in the eyes. "You've kind of paid for everything today."

"I wha—? I mean, no I haven't!"

"You kind of have, Chris. The theater?"

"You know I always pay for the tickets, and it would have just been really rude to make the line even longer!"

"The art show?"

"It was just a couple of toonies! And you saw the face of the worker there, they would have kicked us right out if they'd had to break a twenty. It was just easier."

"Lunch?"

"They-they'd had a special on for a two-person meal at that stall in the food court, and they wouldn't let each of us pay half..." he neglected to point out that Ashley could have easily paid for their lunch, and probably should have, but before she had been able to offer he'd already been swiping his debit card.

"The arcade?"

"Okay, that was my turn to buy the tokens, you know that. That one doesn't even count."

Ashley lifted her eyes from the ice cream to the book that sat menacingly and innocently all at one at the center of the table, it's pristine cover mocking her. "The book?"

"T-that was just a gift! You seemed really into it at the store and friends buy each other gifts all the time—"

There was no describing how soft and nervous her voice got as she asked the question that would put the final nail in the coffin. "The ice cream?"

"I, uh, it was just—um..." Chris let out a breath in a weak chuckle. "Shit, I guess I kind of did, huh?"

Ashley doesn't say anything, and neither does Chris, as the table goes silent. She's bracing herself  for when Chris inevitably shoots her down and confirms that it doesn't matter. That the two of them will never be anything more then friends and that she never should have hoped for anything more and by revealing this she's ruined their friendship for good—

"Hey, uh, Ash?" He sounds so nervous that it immediately takes Ashley out of her anxiety driven thoughts of doom and gloom, but she can't do anything more than just shakily nod to let him continue. "It's, uh, probably like a really, really, really stupid question but—" he takes a nervous breath "—did you want this to be a date?"

Her head immediately shoots up as she stares at him with wide eyes, her breath caught somewhere in her throat where her heart is currently lodged. She frantically rakes her eyes over Chris's face looking for any hint that he's mocking her, or playing some cruel joke on her and her feelings, but all she sees is just nervousness all over a pale, shaking face with what she thinks ( prays ) is a glimmer of undisguised hope. But it's still too much uncertainty, and she's too scared to risk it all on a mere glimmer that she is likely only imagining because she wants it so badly to be real, so she throws the question back at him instead.

"...would you have been opposed if this was actually a date?"

"Nuh uh, I asked you first."

Ashley realizes that he's just as scared at what the answer might be as she is. She wants to tell him, has wanted to tell him for years and years and years. And maybe this is the chance she's been waiting for her whole life. The two of them sitting at a sticky plastic table under the early evening sun, long forgotten ice cream melting in their hands, and she can finally tell him that she's had such a huge crush on him since she was twelve.

"Yeah." The word is less choked out than it is released. Like it's a breath of fresh air and she feels simultaneously lighter and heavier for it. "I-I think I would have liked that. I would have liked that alot."

Chris snaps his gaze up to meet hers, and the glimmer of hope that she had seen earlier has now nearly taken over his face at the disbelieving smile that's threatening to crack his face in two. "Really? I-I mean, uh, I would have been alright with the idea too. More than alright actually."

She can feel her own smile start to nervously match his, and then the first giggle breaks out. His own ecstatic laughter quickly follows her own until the two of them are both giddily laughing at the table, but too embarrassed and bashful to even look at each other now. The giggling abruptly cuts off when Chris lets out a yelp of surprise when he realizes how much of his ice cream has melted onto his hand and Ashley joins him in trying to finish off their ice cream before it's melted entirely. But there's definitely a change in the atmosphere around them now. The contentness and laid back ease that always formed between them whenever they hung out was still there, but there is a charge that hadn't been there before either. An excited anticipation that only surges higher and higher whenever Ashley shyly glances in Chris's direction to find he's looking at her with the same disbelieving smile beaming on his face.

They never say anything more about it as they both finish off the ice cream, but Ashley knows. With that little agreement, the entire day had changed. This wasn't just them hanging out as friends anymore, this was an actual, factual date now, pure and simple. So when Chris hands her a couple of extra napkins to clean herself off, she may have let her fingers brush against his for just a moment. The resulting blush and dumbstruck smile on his face when he cautiously took his hand back so he could clean up the rest of the mess on the table was oh so worth it. And when he returned from his trip to the garbage can and held out his hand as an offer to help her up from the chair, she accepted it readily.

Once she's back on her feet, the two of them drop their eyes to stare at their still clasped hands, realizing that they could easily hold hands the entire short walk back to Chris's truck if they wanted. And she does want that—horribly in fact—but it seems it's still a little too early for either of them to make that teeny tiny but monumental jump to hand holding so they let go awkwardly and slowly, letting their fingers linger against the others before letting go completely. As though giving themselves a taste of what may yet actually come to pass in the (hopefully) very near future.

The short walk back to the truck is filled with both anticipation and dread alike, but unusually silent. Ashley knows it's because she's now a buzzing ball of nervous energy, terrified that saying anything at all will shatter this dream that's apparently coming true before her eyes, but Chris is different. He looks more like he's trying to work up the courage to say or ask something, and is spending all his energy on that alone. So when he reaches out to open up the passenger side door for her, Ashley can feel her heart pick up speed when he stops with his hand on the door handle and looks at her nervously. His mouth opens and shuts a couple of times as he tries to work up the courage to say whatever it is he wants to say, and all she can do is stare at him expectantly as she struggles to hold back an excited smile.

"Hey, Ash, ca—nevermind. It's, it's stupid. Don't worry about it." A second later, he has the door opened for her and the moment she can't see his face, she lets her smile fall crestfallen. But only for a second before a polite one replaces it as thanks when he closes the door for her and continues to his side of the truck. It's fine, she supposes as she buckles herself in, while the two of them have been hanging out all day, it's only been an actual date now for barely ten minutes. And once he drops her off home in just another few short minutes it's going to be over. The fact that she even managed to get this far is franky mind blowing, so expecting anything more from her dreams would just be extremely selfish. She can't have everything she wants all at once, no matter how long she's been waiting for it.

The drive back to her place is also quiet, filled with only the droning of the radio playing in the background. Ashley's returned back to her book, but she knows that Chris knows that she's not absorbing a single word, hasn't turned a single page even. She keeps glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as he nervously taps at the steering wheel, and then tightening his grasp when it looks like he's going to say something, only to return to the nervous tapping when he inevitably backs out at the last second and returns to the frantic pep talk he's likely giving himself. The air that fills the vehicle is heavy and thick with anticipation and it's taking almost everything in Ashley to not start shaking the question out of Chris at every red light they stop at.

But, eventually, they pull up in front of her place and Chris stops the truck. There's a moment where the two of them just sit there, not wanting to leave because leaving means the end, and Ashley schools her face into a cheery smile in an effort to hide as much of the disappointment as she can when she turns to face him and bid him farewell, only to have it fall to confusion when he starts fumbling at his own seatbelt.

"Chris? What are you doing?"

He struggles further at it, frustrated that the buckle's apparently decided that now is the perfect time for it to stick once again. "Trying to get this fucking thing off."

"Yeah, I figured that much. But why are you trying to take it off, you're just gonna leave right away again anyway."

He slows his fumbling as cheeks start darkening in embarrassment. "I, uh, I just thought that was something you were supposed to do after a date, walk them to their door to stay goodnight. I mean, at least I think this is a date now? And, and only if you're okay with it! I can stay in here instead if you don't want me to. I was just hoping..."

The once forced cheery smile on her face is certainly not being forced any longer, if anything she's trying not to show how much the idea of Chris walking her to her door thrills her. "N-no!" Well, so much for trying not to show how desperately she wants that. The startled look he gives her at the unexpected outburst had her trying to control her voice into something less desperate, but considering she doesn't think she's ever going tame the frantic butterflies that have been flapping around non-stop in her stomach ever since the ice cream realization, she's probably doing a terrible job of it. "I-I mean if you want to, it's completely up to you after all..."

"Cool. Cool cool cool. Just, just give me a second." He continues to struggle with his seatbelt buckle, letting out more and more agitated curses escape the longer the thing continues to stick, and Ashley is getting the feeling that if he was able, Chris would have ripped the entire thing straight out of the seat by now. Broken safety laws and ensuing repair costs be damned. The moment he finally manages to unstick the traitorous buckle it's with a cry of victory and relief so exuberant that Ashley finds herself laughing in disbelief and awe that he had wanted to walk her the short ten or so feet to her front door that badly. Thankfully, for both of them, her seatbelt unclicks easily and much more quickly in comparison, only taking another couple of seconds to grab her bag from the footwell and joining him.

The far too short walk up to her door is over before either of them realize it. One second the two of them had been standing awkwardly and nervously by the truck as she fought the urge to reach out and grab his hand, and the next they're standing just as awkwardly and nervously (if not moreso) in front of the front door. Both of them waiting for the other to say or do something to break the tension, but cleanly aware that doing so would signal the very final end of the day, and the date. In fact, just knowing that Chris doesn't want this to end just as badly as her, is what gives her the courage to look at him with a surprisingly heartfelt and soft smile.

"Today was fun."

Chris lifts his eyes from where they had been staring at the dried leaves on the doorstep to match her smile. "Yeah. It was."

"And thanks. For the movie, and everything else." Ashley raises her hand to give the new and still shiny paperback a small wave. "And, you know, the book too. Of course."

"Yeah, it was no problem. Anytime." There's something with how he says the last bit—not really emphasizing it but making it clear all the same that he means 'anytime'—that causes her face to flush giddily as she pulls her lower lip in between her teeth in a weak effort to fight back against the ecstatic smile that forms anyway. And when she sees his eyes lower just a smidge to follow the motion and the way his shoulders stiffen in reaction, Ashley very quickly also finds she's trying (much more successfully) to hold herself  back from just saying 'to hell with it' and throwing her arms around Chris so she can finally kiss him silly and until they're both breathless. But considering that she's too much of a coward to initiate something as innocent as hand holding apparently, there is absolutely no way that something as...as scandalous as kissing him on her doorstep is ever going to happen. Clearly.

And yet, she gives Chris another few seconds to try and work past that blockade in his throat, but when he still can't muster a single word, she decides to just put the both of them out of their misery. Or further into it. It's probably just the same thing really. "I guess I'll see you next time. I'll talk to you later, okay?" She turns away and puts her hand on the doorknob, and tucks the book under her arm so she can dig into her bag for keys, but is stopped when Chris's hand abruptly snakes out and wraps itself firmly around her wrist before she can reach into the bag. And it works—boy does it ever —turning back to him and the hand wrapped around her wrist as excitement just starts to bubble up inside of her.

A second later though, his brain has apparently caught up with the movement he clearly hadn't intended to make, because his face goes beet-red and he's dropped her hand so he can shove both into the pockets of his jeans. He averts his eyes so he's back to staring at the loose gravel and dried leaves under their feet.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine, Chris." Ashley tries to smile softly at him in reassurance, but it's considering she's gripping the doorknob in an almost vice-like grip in anticipation, it's likely far more eager than she would like. "What is it?"

Somehow, his face goes even redder and he blurts out the question so fast that it may as well have been one word. "CanIkissyou?!"

Immediately, Ashley's gaping at him wide-eyed and her mouth open in shock as her heart's beating so fast that she's pretty sure it's ready to burst out of her chest at any moment. "Wha—"

"I-I mean goodnight. Can I kiss you goodnight? That's what people are supposed to do on dates, right? A-a-a-and I think we agreed that this is a date now, or at least I really, really hope we did. Cause I've wanted to go on a date with you for the longest time and-and-and I didn't want Saundra or-or-or any of your neighbours to see cause I know that would just really embarrass you and me but I've been trying to ask you for the past thirty minutes now cause I've wanted to kiss you since forever but I was scared about how you would react cause I really, really, really like you Ash and I just wanna to kiss you so fucking bad right now you have no idea and—"

Ashley would like to believe that she's brave enough to throw her arms around Chris and drag him down into that searing kiss she's been dreaming about forever and ever, but she doesn't. Even with a confession that is everything she's ever wanted to hear and more. That's not to say that she doesn't want to do it—god does she want to do it—but she's so frozen in place from shock that she physically can't. So instead she just continues to gape at him as he (adorably) rambles on and on, and giggles out an elated little "okay".

His nervous rambling stops dead in its tracks, and he finally looks back up at her, nervous relief evident all over his face. "Really? I mean, are you sure? I'd understand if you didn't want to—"

" Chris ."

That immediately shifts the relief to a different kind of nervousness entirely, one of excited disbelief, but even then neither move to actually initiate this promised kiss for several seconds. Instead just staring at each other waiting for the other to be the first to move, Chris with his hands still in his jeans pockets and Ashley glued to the doorknob with her other hand frozen as it hovers over her bag. Finally, Chris is the first to slowly bend down to meet her awkwardly half turned body, and she unsteadily tries to rock herself onto the tips of her toes without losing her balance completely and falling over. And still, they both pause about an inch away from each other's faces, though whether to give the other an out if needed or just to work through the logistics of how to do this exactly without their foreheads or noses smashing into each other or Chris's glasses getting in the way is anyone's guess.

But finally, mainly due to the fact that Ashley can't lean forward anymore without falling completely on her face, Chris closes that final bit of distance and kisses her. It's a nervous brush of the lips really—a quick peck at best —but they jolt back from each other so quickly that the single action may as well have activated some hidden magnetic repel function that neither had been aware of until this moment. Both of them are staring at each other wide-eyed and breathless as the magnitude of what they had both finally managed to accomplish hit them. The kinda-sort confession and the almost hand holding meant absolutely nothing in comparison to this. Those she could have (and would most likely have) brushed off as her reading too much into innocent statements and gestures when she thought over everything that had happened today in the safety of her room later tonight. But this? This was physical proof .

Looking back, Ashley's not sure which of them moved first. One second they had been staring at each other in disbelief, stuck in the same awkward bent and leaning stature from before, and the next it's as if the magnetic attraction between them reverses its flow entirely. Chris is cupping her cheek with one hand as he kisses her in the way she always dreamed he would, his other hand slowly skating across the back of her neck so he can pull her up closer to him. The book that had once been clutched protectively under her arm was completely forgotten about—fallen to the ground with a sharp crunch as it crushed the dried leaves beneath their feet—as her arms wrapped possessively around his shoulders as she props herself as high as the tips her toes will allow her. She can still taste a hint of the chocolate from earlier on his lips, and the small part of her that isn't being blown away by all of this is wondering if he can taste the blueberry and chocolate on hers as well.

She's not sure how long the two of them stood there on her doorstep, kissing for all the world to see, but she does know that they still separate much, much too soon for her liking. Not that they fully separate of course. She may be back on the soles of her feet, but neither of them have removed themselves from the embrace itself. And with the way that Chris is lightly brushing his thumb over her cheekbone as he just stares at her with the same stupidly giddy grin she's got, Ashley would be perfectly fine if they could just stay standing like this forever.

"So..." she starts, and stops to take a moment to giggle when Chris bumps his nose into hers. "I think that was a perfectly acceptable first date if you ask me."

Chris doesn't let go of her when he leans back to consider her, the comically raised eyebrows in shock doing nothing to take away from the absolutely thrilled beam of his smile. " First date? Why Miss Brown, are you perhaps asking me out for a second one already?"

"I mean, if it's not too presumptuous of me, I suppose I am. I-if you're not opposed to it of course." She can't help the way her nervousness starts to bleed through with that last sentence, already panicking that she's somehow completely misread everything that's just happened and that maybe that kiss didn't mean as much to him as it did to her after all.

His next words completely derail those fears entirely. "Of course I'm not, I would love nothing more than to go on a second date with you. Followed by a third and fourth and even a fifth if you have the time for it."

"I mean, I'm a pretty busy girl but I think I can open up as many days in my schedule as it takes if I need to."

Before she knows it, the two of them are leaning in for another kiss when the sound of pot being dropped in the nearby kitchen through the open window jarringly brings them back to reality and the two of them let go of each other red faced and embarrassed. Oh no, how much of this had her mother heard? Or worse, saw? She wants to leave the doorstep (which is rapidly becoming her favourite place in the whole entire world) even less now, but the longer she takes the worse the excited interrogation from Saundra will be so she starts digging back into her bag to try and find her keys once again.

"I'll text you later, okay? And, maybe, we can talk some more about that second date...?"

The reply from Chris is flustered but eager. "Yeah, totally. I-I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Cool. And um, the next one's one me. The date that is. It's only fair after all."

"Yeah, right. Only fair. Totally. And, uh, your book..."

She finally finds her keys from where they had sunk to the bottom of her bag, and looks up at him and the paperback book that had fallen during their, uh, intimate embrace. "Oh! Uh, right. Thanks." She could easily leave it at that, but the last few minutes have made her bold so when she reaches out to take the book back from him, Ashley curls her fingers over his and bounces onto the balls of her feet so she can give him one last kiss on his cheek—almost the corner of his mouth really—before finally stepping back with the book and keys in her hand. "I mean it. Thanks . For everything."

"Yeah. No problem. It was my pleasure."

She lets herself have one last glimpse of the stupefied grin on his face just as he turns to walk just a little unsteadily down the path back to his truck. The only sounds being the leaves crushing underfoot and the jangle of metal as she sticks her keys into the door to finally unlock it. A sound that it quickly interrupted by not only the click of the door unlocking, but a muffled shout.

Alarmed, she turns quickly expecting to see Chris having accidentally shut his coat into the door as he is sometimes known to do when the weather gets colder, but instead watches in elated shock as he continues to keep energetically flapping his arms and fist pumping into the air and screaming what she can vaguely make out as 'yesyesyesyesYESYESYES' over and over again.

Suddenly it hits her. Despite the shy confession over ice cream, and then the much more rushed and rambled one only minutes ago, and followed by the kiss(es) that are still sending her heart into rapid fire, Ashley still hadn't believed what all the evidence had been saying. Chris liked her. He really, really liked her. Possibly as much as she liked him even! This wasn't just a one-off event that would now make things awkward between them for the rest of their lives. This was happening. They'd just had a first(!!!!) date and after Chris had kissed her goodbye, she had asked him out for a second one.

And he had accepted .

Ashley fumbled with the door and the moment she was in the house, slammed the door behind her, not even bothering to lock it. She let her bag fall from her shoulder to the floor with a soft thump and slowly slid down the door until she was sitting against it with her eyes wide and breathless. She ignored the surprised clatter coming from the kitchen as Saundra immediately dropped whatever it was she had been doing in and held up the book so she could stare at the once innocuous cover in amazement.

He had bought her this book and the ice cream because he liked her and he had gladly and excitedly accepted to go out on another date with her. And even more if he had been serious about that third date and beyond line.

And not that either would ever know it, Ashley mirrored Chris at that exact moment by placing her head into her hands and screaming as the built up joy and bliss finally exploded out of her.

[seeuonadarknite]

one of the boys — yandere overhaul x f. reader

apparently woman are looked down upon in the yakuza,, shame on y'all ;( forgive me for my poor smut writing skills, i might write longer smut in the future if y’all want it 😳

warnings: dubcon, stalking, gore (overhaul's quirk), explicit smut.

All it took was a dramatic wardrobe change, a short haircut, extensive vocal practice, and the removal of all of your files to worm your way into the Shie Hassaikai.

That's right, you were a woman that was a part of the Yakuza. It wasn't a simple task on your end; you had to let go of everything you knew in order to live this dangerous life.

You believed it was unfortunate how women were looked down upon in the underground world. It took months of preparations to prepare yourself for this role, not even including your extensive quirk training.

Finally, after months of trying to remove all personal and medical files on yourself, you had successfully managed to fake your identity and wow the Shie Hassaikai with your unique quirk.

You had an informational quirk that allowed you to solve any case within seconds. The only downside to this quirk was how you needed the names of the people involved in the case. Your quirk also didn't give you any sort of super intuition, so you still needed to be on guard most of the time.

This quirk was honestly quite useful when it came down to it, so why did you decide use it in the way that you did? Why not become a hero, or an assistant, or even a villain for that matter? Why give your life away and allow yourself to become a slave to the underground world?

It was simple, really. It was all because of the boss of the Shie Hassaikai; Chisaki Kai. Also known as Overhaul.

This man ridded you of the only parental figure you had in your life. Your father. It was only one year ago when you arrived to an empty house and a note on the counter left by your father. It was a warning, telling you to stay away from the mob boss that went by Chisaki Kai.

Just his name was enough information to use your quirk, allowing you to crack the case in a matter of 5 seconds. He had blown your father up. All because he was beginning to figure out the secrets on who he really was.

This was enough to encourage you to avenge your father, and finish the job. It was a miracle that you were recruited, and no one had further questioned your mysterious backstory.

Well, almost no one.

The mob boss himself had questioned your presence the second you become apart of Shie Hassaikai. Why were your files almost completely nonexistent? Why did you seem so on edge around the other members? Why did you seem so interested in the name of the past leader?

Oh. Oh.

Now he got it. He pieced your suspiciousness and your quirk together. You were trying to get the dirt on him, weren't you? Why else would you willingly join the Yakuza with your useful quirk with open arms?

Two could play at that game, then. Kai began discreetly following you around, keeping tabs on important things like who you talked to, what you did on your phone or laptop, what times you'd leave the vicinity, and other things of the sort. Perhaps he could admit it was getting a little bit obsessive.

But he swore to himself that he was just trying to protect his status and not allow any traitors to get away with anything. That's why he took it upon himself to follow you home one night. He needed to make sure that you weren't spreading information or doing anything suspicious.

But boy, did he not expect to see what he saw through your bedroom window. You had taken your uniform off, along with layers of binding clothing to hide any type of curvature. What really surprised him, was the fact that you had breasts and what looked to be laced panties covering your womanhood.

One would assume that this would infuriate the mob boss, knowing that he had been betrayed and lied to by one of his men. But the tent growing in his pants proved otherwise.

Oh, he would have fun with this one.

—

You had been summoned to the boss's private office. Odd, on normal circumstances if the boss wanted to meet with you, it'd be planned out and in a meeting room. But you had received the order on one of your night shifts by a tall, hooded, masked man.

Shaking off any paranoid thoughts, you gently knocked on the large mahogany door, almost hoping you wouldn't receive an answer. To your dismay, you heard the monotone voice of your boss. "Come in."

As soon as you stepped foot into the office, you almost gasped at the sight before you. His office was huge. It was probably the size of the first floor of your house. Before you could gawk at the nicely furnished office any longer, Kai cleared his throat, successfully gaining your undivided attention.

"Boss! Sorry, it's just that your office is so nice, I've never seen anything l—" Your ramblings were cut short by the masked man before you.

"Quiet. I want you to come here." He curled his gloved finger a few times, indicating that he wanted you to meet him behind his desk.

Okay, now things were getting really weird. You didn't question his orders in fear of getting your body blown into nothing. Reluctantly, you made your way over behind the large, polished desk. As soon as you were standing next to Kai's sitting form, he shot up from his seat and slammed you onto the desk, causing a few items to fall onto the floor.

"Did you really think you could get away with deceiving me like this? Pretending to be a man just to get the dirt on me? Pathetic." Your eyes were as wide as saucers as you trembled in fear. This only caused Kai's pants to tighten around his cock, feeling an immense power trip.

You should've looked into this meeting before you carelessly walked into the clutches of the devil himself. Here you were, getting your uniform quite literally ripped off of your body.

Kai clicked his tongue at the bindings that covered your chest. "Your body must be in constant agony because of that poor binding job." He slipped his gloves off with ease, allowing his quirk to destroy the bindings and free your breasts.

What you didn't notice, was the shocked expression that covered Kai's features. As he touched you, he didn't receive a single hive. He wanted to savor the feeling of your soft skin, knowing it wouldn't have any negative effects on his.

Before you could retaliate, you felt smooth, large hands begin to roughly palm at your breasts. Kai wasted no time and leaned his head down to swirl his tongue around the hardened bud on one of your breasts, while the other one was being fondled and pinched by Kai's hand. You whimpered as his teeth began leaving bite marks all over your soft mounds.

As much as you wanted to scream and shout, you couldn't help but feel a pool begin to form between your legs. He was just so good and seemed to know exactly what he was doing, even if he had never touched a female in such a way.

"Aren't you a little slut? I've barely even touched you and you're already soaking wet." The smug man pulled away from your breasts, opting to slide his hand under your panties. You couldn't help the moans that escaped your lips as he practically shoved a finger inside of you, feeling your tightened cunt squeeze around it.

He grinned, gradually slipping in two more fingers while rubbing your clit with the palm of his hand. It was quite the show for him, seeing you shamelessly grind yourself onto his hand. He could only imagine how you felt around his swelling cock.

And before you knew it, you had been clenching around his fingers and twitching in place, allowing yourself to cum all over his hand.

On any normal circumstances, Kai would find this act utterly repulsive. He would feel the need to scrub his hands until they bled. But for some ungodly reason, he felt the urge to fuck you until you couldn't form coherent words.

Hastily pushing your panties to the side, Kai wasted no time in pulling his lengthy cock out. Before you had the chance to even ask about protection, you felt your insides being stretched by Kai's massive cock.

He didn't even give you a chance to adjust to his length. "O-Overhaul, wait! You're gonna rip me apart at this rate..!" You stuttered, silently cursing yourself out for appearing so pathetic to your superior. Your pitiful attempt at retaliation only caused Kai's thrusts to pick up in speed, rivaling the movements of a wild animal.

You wanted to hate it, you really did. You were allowing yourself to get ravaged by the man that killed your father. But he pleasured you in a way that your mere left hand would never be able to accomplish. It almost felt like his cock was meant to be inside of you.

"Good. I want your body to become accustomed to mine. Only I'll be allowed to fuck you like this." You hadn't even realized he had taken his mask off before he leaned in and attacked your lips with his. Your mouth had moved on its own, as you allowed his tongue to ravage your oral cavity.

After pulling away with a light string of saliva separating the two of you, Kai forcefully folded your legs into your chest. This action allowed him to bury his cock deep inside of you; deep enough to hit your cervix.

Now this had you going. You couldn't even contain yourself as you clenched around his cock, feeling you near your climax. Kai soon interrupted the sound of grunts, moans, and slapping by leaning forward and whispering in your ear.

"I want you to pledge that you'll keep your dirty secret, that you won't let the others know that you're not a sophisticated detective, but dirty little cock slut. Only I'm allowed to fuck you like this. Only I'm allowed to touch you. Come on. Say it!" He grunted, raising his voice towards the end of his command.

"I-I promise not to tell a soul..! You're the only one who knows my secret and the only one allowed to relish in it!" You couldn't believe the words coming out of your mouth. You were basically allowing the man who ruined your life to be the only person in your life that knew your true identity. To be the only person allowed to touch you.

It was wrong in so many ways, but you couldn't help but submit to him. The way his lengthy cock slammed against your cervix was enough to make you fall for his spell.

"Good girl. Good.." He grunted, feeling you clench around him and practically milk the semen right out of him as you also reached your limit. Your moans rivaled with ones of a pornstar's as you felt him release his warm, sticky seed into your womb.

He found himself reluctantly pulling his dick out of the warmth of your hole, almost cringing at the feeling of the cool air as soon as he pulled out. Meanwhile, you were finally beginning to come to your senses and realize how fucked up all of this was. The now masked man simply just sighed, walking away from the desk that you laid atop.

"I'm going off to take a shower. If I come back and you're not changed and cleaned up, there will be further punishments."

This was not how you expected this to play out.

[dakotablackwood]

Silence [Pt. 2]

Part 1, Part 2

Warnings: Unsympathetic Virgil, deception, manipulation, physical pain, bottled feelings, disguised violent threat, murder mention/joke, cursing, insults, hatred, Phonophobia [Fear of loud noises]

Ships: Loceit??? Who knows??? DLMP, other ships TBD

Prologue: It all got to be too much for Deceit sometimes. He's a flawed side, defective, useless. He isn't supposed to have these fears. He isn't supposed to flinch every time he drops something. He isn't supposed to have a panic attack when the dryer at a fast food restaurant is just a little bit too loud. It only gets worse when Virgil decides to mess with him. He thought Virgil would get better after being with the light sides. He didn't think Virgil would do anything to harm him. He couldn't hate Deceit so much that he'd hurt him, right?

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

When he woke up, he almost thought it was all a dream. Well, he hoped it was. As distinct hushed whispers came into focus, he knew it wasn't. If that wasn't enough, the texture of his bed felt….wrong. He didn't want to move, he didn't want to open his eyes, he didn't want to do anything to give the impression he was awake. It made him sick just thinking about the look on their faces. He'd honestly rather spontaneously combust than have to deal with their hatred. They probably thought it was a joke, some tactic to gain their trust. That would be fine, at least they would leave it as that. Maybe it would be better that way. 

Suddenly, a specific comment caught his attention. It was quiet, and he seemed to be the only one who heard it.

"You always screw things up, don't you?" 

Deceit's eyes flew open, and he was sitting up in just a few seconds. He regretted it immediately. Not only had he caught the others' attention, but he was now dizzy with how fast he'd gotten up. His mind blurred and his vision gave out. His body started to sway while he held his head, waiting for it all to stop. 

A hand settled firmly on his upper arm. He couldn't comprehend it until a few seconds later, but when he did, he noticed that it hurt. It burned, really. As the dizziness subsided, he was able to look up and see Virgil, Logan, Patton, and Roman all standing over him. All he could focus on, though, was Virgil's hand over his arm, barely even touching him. 

Deceit had fallen back, landing on his pillow at some point in his dizziness. He hadn't felt it at all, which was weird, but then again he was really dizzy. Normally, he would've cared about the fact that he wasn't in his own room. He would've been appreciative of the attention he was getting, if it weren't for the searing pain of Virgil's hand on his arm. He was so confused. 'How is he doing that? What did I do? What is happening?'

The pain made him bite his tongue, flinching and moving around uncomfortably. 

He opened his mouth to speak, and as soon as he did, Virgil pulled his hand from his arm. Deceit gloved hand went to rub his skin where the side had touched him, "Why- how did you do that?"

Virgil mocked confusion, as if he wasn't speaking to the master of deception, "What do you mean, snake face? Are you already trying to mess with us?" He glared, but to Deceit, it meant 'shut up, no one will believe you'.

Deceit just rolled his eyes, not wanting to play these games. All he wanted was to know why he wasn't in his room anymore and how the hell he got here. He looked at the others, scanning each of their faces. Patton's was concerned, ever loving and caring. Roman's expression displayed uncertainty. Logan's was calm, but his eyes. His eyes showed concern. Genuine concern. 

One of the things Deceit can do is see true emotion through people's eyes. He was able to see how someone truly felt, if they showed it or not.

Even so, he thought even the others could see Logan's emotions if they tried. They were always so strong, but somehow, the others never saw them. They never saw how truly emotional Logan is. It seemed so obvious to Deceit, but the other seemed to have his emotions so covered up that the others just didn't quite notice it. It was so confusing to Deceit. How did they not see it?! He was upset and almost crying, how did no one notice?

It always baffled him how the others could be so smart, so attached to each other, and yet they couldn't notice things like Logan's body stiffening (hurt, upset, angry) or him going silent (ignored, surprised). Deceit noticed these things, yes, but Logan's eyes broke every little external wall he put up for himself. He could have a cold hard expression, but be incredibly hurt or excited. 

He quickly snapped back to life when he heard Patton's voice suddenly, "Deceit, are you….are you okay? Yesterday was rough for you, I imagine." He chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Deceit's eyes were still just slightly red from crying, and he could feel the dried tears on his face. He remembered every detail of last night and flinched, "Perfectly fine, Patton. I've been fine, last night was nothing. It was simply a burst of emotion that I obviously couldn't handle. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave before you all start hating me again. I'd rather not be here for that part." As he stood, he finally took a look at the room he was in. Obviously Patton's, with blue walls decorated with rainbows, kittens, dogs, stars, and every other happy thing you can think of. There was a wall of pictures and memories from Thomas' past. They showcased big accomplishments in their host's life, like when Thomas got an award and when he got the lead role in a school play. 

The room was bright and happy, everything in it was something from Thomas' past that held value. 

Patton's room and Deceit's were very very different in that aspect, despite having the same layout.

Speaking of Patton, the side frowned when he went to leave, "Wait, ki- Deceit!"

At the mention of his 'name', the deceptive side turned to look at the bubbly dad. It didn't hurt that he didn't call him 'kiddo', it didn't, it didn't, it didn't, he wasn't a kid why would it hurt- "Yes, oh so loveable Morality?"

Patton crossed his arms, "Please tell us why you were so upset. We've never seen you cry before, we're just concerned."

He didn't know what bothered him so much about that little statement, but Deceit just hissed in annoyance, "Concerned? Really? Don't even try with that. I don't do anything that important, now go do your job and stop lying to a liar. Honestly Morality, you could've called me stupid to my face and it would've been less insulting." He could taste the lie on his tongue. It was a nice, rich honey-like substance. If it wasn't for the blatant, hurtful lie he would've appreciated the taste. He craves it, and this would've been a victory if it weren't for the pain that came with it. 

"Well, I care king cobra!" Roman said defensively, "I mean, come on! We're not part of a mean person, we can't completely hate you! Have a little faith in us man, we're not that terrible." The prince huffed, looking to the side like an insulted teenager. 

"Yeah, we're not going to like….kill you or anything." Virgil 'agreed', and somehow, no one noticed the sarcasm except Deceit. 

This just made the snake faced side uncomfortable. The way the other's eyes darkened, how Virgil's smirk looked sinister to only him. It all just made him want to throw up.

"Right, well, I'm going to be in my room. While I'm there, try to keep it down for me." Deceit asked casually before sinking out. He didn't feel comfortable anymore, and he didn't need to deal with this right now. As soon as he made it to his room, he groaned and went to go look for his hat.

Now, any other side/person would've thought Deceit's request probably had nothing to do with the reason he was distressed the previous night. However, that little statement had confirmed everything that Logan had hypothesized already. He knew why he was crying, and he knew exactly what that meant. Was he going to tell the others? No.

Now you might be thinking "why not?"

Because, put simply, the others had had enough of his explanations, lectures, and definitions. He didn't think they would understand or care about what it meant either. They would lose interest, ignore him, dismiss his information as invalid.

He really did care about Deceit. He knows more about Deceit than Deceit even knows he knows about. He knows Deceit knows more about him, too. Does he care? No. He actually quite likes how someone can see past his hard exterior. 

Yes, it was hard to be the logical side. It would be harder to do his job, though, if the others hated him. Which was why he felt kind of bad for Deceit in a way. While filming SvS, he had to step in and stop the other. Not because he wanted to be rude- despite how rude it might've came off as to Deceit- but because he knew the others wouldn't listen. He knew the snake side wasn't going to get anywhere, and it was better if it was stopped before the deceptive side felt just as bad as he did when he himself was ignored. It wasn't worth it to keep going, because it would only hurt worse the longer it went on.

He made a mental note to keep the noise level to a minimum.

After a few minutes of silence, he decided enough was enough and that they were wasting time, "We all need to resume our individual work elsewhere. We are not accomplishing anything standing here except for 'effectively' wasting valuable time. If we are done here, we should disperse, as I believe we cannot properly do our part in helping Thomas without moving from this specific spot. I will leave now, and I expect everyone else, excluding Patton, to do the same. This is Patton's room, obviously, so technically he's where he needs to be. Apart from him-" He was cut off by a groan from Roman.

"Alright, alright we get it! We're leaving!" Roman said before sinking out with raised hands.

Virgil just shrugged, leaving silently with a peace sign.

After the last of the two left, Logan sighed and finally sunk out. 

Back in Deceit's room, panic was starting to rise as he searched everywhere for his hat. He just couldn't find it, and he didn't have another one. He was hyperventilating as he checked the floor for the twelfth time, sweaty with fear. It had to be there. It HAD to be there. As he searched, he felt more and more vulnerable and defenseless without his hat. He was searching for hours, having destroyed his room in the process. He was crying again by the end of it, on his knees in the middle of the room. His hair was messed up, his makeup even more messed up than before. He wanted his hat so badly, it was childish. It was so so childish but he NEEDED it. It was his hat for god sake. It was one of the only things that gave him comfort, the only thing beside it being his gloves. He felt stupid, but he also felt so….exposed without that damn hat. Burn anything in his room, sure, he didn't care. The only things he ever cared about was his hat and gloves, so be it if everything else is gone. He was so annoyed, upset, anxious. All he wanted was his hat, was that too much to ask?

Back in Virgil's room, tucked discreetly into a drawer and covered by clothes, was a little black hat. Inside, hidden from the eyes of everyone, was a little embroidery of a two headed snake.

[hamilton-one-shots]

1, 9, 17, 31, 43, 62, 74, 110, 111, 113, 118, 124, 141, 142, 143, 157 Jamilams were john js secretly adopted by the laurens family and they knew his parents who had died when he was very young, he is also magical and stuff but he doesnt like to show it off and he had known for a while but he had to have special permission to tell anyone so he hadn't told thomas and alex but they find out and get upset about it.

(1: “Give me a chance.” 9: “I can’t believe you!” 17: “Are you upset with me?” 31: “I fucked up.” 43: “You’re special to me.” 62: “I want to protect you.” 74: “Of course I remembered!” 110: “You did what?!” 111: “You have… Superpowers?” 113: “Where did all these puppies come from?” 118: “Are you mad at me?” 124: “Take that back!” 141: “Did you hear that?” 142: “It’s just your imagination.” 143: “Just how stupid do you think I am?” 157: “I read your diary.”)

“Please, Henry. He has nobody else. We’re the only chance he has. Nobody else will know about his powers. Imagine how confused or scared he’ll be..” Eleanor looked down at the baby in her arms, watching as he reached up for her.

“I’m too busy to deal with a kid right now. He’ll be too much trouble.”

“I’ll take care of him. You don’t have to do anything, I promise. I’ll take care of him..”

Henry sighed. His wife was too stubborn. “Fine. As long as I don’t have to deal with him, fine.”

Eleanor smiled and went out into the hall, calling the social workers back in and making the adoption final.

As promised, it was her who raised John since he was a kid, having no trouble, even when his powers began to manifest.

A four year old John looked over at the teddy bears for sale and smiled, concentrating and making one float towards him. He giggled as it reached him and hugged it, trying to hide it from his mom as she came back to the cart.

“Johnny? What are you hiding there?”

He giggled and turned it invisible.

“Johnny, show mommy what you have or no ice cream after this.”

John pouted and showed her the teddy bear. “Sowwy…”

She took the bear and kissed his forehead. “You’re not in trouble. Your powers are special, but that doesn’t mean you can use them to get what you want, okay?”

“Okay..”

Eleanor sighed and gave him back the teddy bear. “Just this once, okay? I’ll buy it for you.”

John gasped and hugged him tightly. “Thank you, mama!”

She smiled. John really was a good kid when he wanted to be. But with those powers of his, he could be difficult.

“Come on, Johnny. You have to go to school. You can learn fun things and make friends.”

All twenty of five year old John’s clones crossed their arms, the real one hiding somewhere among them. “No school! I want to stay with mommy and my future sister.”

Eleanor sighed and rubbed her belly. These last few months hadn’t been easy and now, with John starting kindergarten, they would only get that much more difficult. “Please, baby? You’ll learn a lot of things and it’ll make you a better brother.”

“… Really?..”

She smiled. “Yeah. Everyone wants a smart big brother.”

The clones all joined back into one, who went forward and hugged his mom’s legs. “I’ll go to school..”

“Good boy.”

John never meant harm with his powers. He always used them for fun or to get himself out of trouble, but never to hurt another human being. He didn’t understand why nobody else had the same powers as him, but he accepted it as truth and promised his mom that he’d never show them off to strangers. He kept that promise for years and planned on continuing to keep that promise. He planned on keeping every promise he made to his mom when she passed.

“Mama?..” John called timidly as he walked into his mother’s hospital room. He was only eight, his three year old sister waiting with his father. He told him that his mother needed to see him, that maybe he could use his powers for something useful.

“I’m here, baby.. Thank you for coming to see me.” She smiled weakly.

John frowned and went up to her bed, his eyes tearing up. He’d never seen his mother so hurt…

“Don’t cry, Jacky.” She opened her arms and helped him up onto her bed.

“You’re hurt.. I’m going to help.” His hands glowed white as he got ready to heal her, but she took his hands, shaking her head.

“No, John. It’s my time. I’m going to go now.”

“But you can’t… Who’s going to take care of the babies?” That’s how she got so badly hurt, after all. Giving birth to John’s youngest siblings, triplets.

“You are. I’ve taught you everything you needed to know. They’re going to be good babies, just like you were. Everything’s going to be okay now, understand?”

“No..” John began crying, holding onto his mom as tears streamed down his face. “Please, mama… Let me heal you…”

“It’s too late for me, baby. It has been since you got here.. It’s not your fault, okay?”

John nodded, though he wished that she would at least let him try.

“I’m going to go now, okay?.. I’ll see you on the other side.” She kissed the top of his head. “I love you.”

“I love you too..” John choked out, sobbing as her heart slowed to a stop.

Doctors and nurses came into the room, one of them getting John away and taking him out to his dad.

Henry frowned and grabbed John’s shoulder harshly, pulling him close to talk to him where none of the staff could hear. “Those stupid powers and you couldn’t even save your mother? I knew it was a waste adopting you.”

“W-What?..”

“You don’t really think a freak like you came from normal people like us, did you?”

“But… I… Momma?..”

“Not your mom. Your parents were experimented on like the freaks that they were. Like the freak that you are.”

John whimpered as his grip on his shoulder tightened.

“You aren’t going to act like that anymore. You will act normal, unless you want to see your parents sooner.”

What choice did he have? John learned to suppress his powers around people, around everyone, even around his siblings. He didn’t use magic near them, he raised them on his own with hard work. His father didn’t do much for them, they reminded to much of his wife, as he harshly reminded John whenever he asked for help. It was exhausting and stressful and John couldn’t have done it if it hadn’t been for his hideaway.

An unfortunate consequence of his mother’s death was having to leave South Carolina and move to a new, bigger house in New York. It sucked, it always sucked being the new guy, but John did find one upside to it. His closet had a small door hidden away in the corner. It led to the area above the garage, but that’s not what he used it for. He made a space all his own, leaving the real world outside and the magic world inside. He escaped every time he needed a break, time stopping in the real world as he spent hours in his room. It kept him sane.

But he still wished he could tell. He wished he could tell the friends that he made when he moved to New York. He wished he could tell the friends he left back in South Carolina. He wished he could tell his siblings.

And, god, he wished he could tell his loves.

Alexander and Thomas. Maybe it was strange that he had two boyfriends, but it was perfect for him. Perfect for them. They had all met freshman year and were dating for three years since. John was in love with both of them and they were both in love with him as well as each other They were happy together. John just wished he could let them into his magical life.

Of course, three years with them felt magical enough. They even loved his siblings. Naturally, they started the day of their third anniversary, when Henry Sr was coincidentally away for a week, by playing a game of hide and seek with his siblings.

It… It started out normal. The problem was that children were far too curious and far too creative.

John was hiding under his bed when it happened. He was silent, but something still managed to find him, licking his face. “What the..?” He used his phone flashlight and saw the beagle that was in his face. “Where did you some from?..”

But it wasn’t just him. He heard other voices in the house reacting to the same thing.

“Woah, where did all these puppies come from?!”

“There’s so many of them!”

“They’re so cute!”

John moved out from his hiding space, the puppy at his feet, and watched as at least ten puppies attracted his siblings and boyfriends. And the kicker? James was in his closet and Henry Jr was nowhere to be found. “James. Come here.”

James shyly stepped towards him. “I read your diary and opened your little door.”

“Diary?..”

James nodded and gave him his spellbook. “I couldn’t understand your secret code. Are you upset with me?”

John shook his head and flipped through the pages, James unconvinced because of the look on his older brother’s face.

“Are you mad at me, then?”

“No, it’s fine. How much did you read?”

James took the book and showed him which spells he read. Magic realm available to normals and summoning puppies. The two first two things that caught the attention of a couple of ten year old boys.

“And Henry is in that door?..”

“Yeah.”

John went in and brought him out. Of course, there was another batch of puppies around him. “Alright guys, fun’s over. Say goodbye to the puppies. You know dad wouldn’t like this.”

They all pouted, but knew John was right, Alexander and Thomas just looking at him dumbfounded.

“What are you going to do with all of them, hon?” Thomas asked.

“Just trust me. Nothing bad.” He pushed everyone out of his room and made sure three times that all of the puppies were in his room before making them disappear. Once they were gone, he opened his door again and let his siblings back in, erasing their memory of what had happened before bringing his boyfriends in.

“Jack, we need an explanation.”

John tried his best to ignore them and cast the spell. It hurt, but it was necessary.

The rest of the day went smoothly, but the guilt ate at John the entire time.

The next day, they hung out again, staying at Thomas’s house since his parents were gone. Neither of them looked happy when John arrived.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just how stupid do you think we are?” Alexander snapped.

John frowned and took a step back, shocked. “What?”

“You heard me! You have to think we’re idiots to think your little hypnosis trick worked on us. We’re not kids!”

John furrowed his eyebrows, his expression shifting from confusion to shock seconds later. “You remember?..”

“Of course we remember.” Thomas frowned. “Why wouldn’t we?”

“You’re not supposed to..” John looked down at his hands, then back up at them.

“Why not? What’s going on, babe?”

John shook his head. This couldn’t be happening. His hands glowed white and he wiped their memories again. Or, at least, he attempted to. Both of them seemed to be disoriented, but their memories were definitely intact.

“Why do your hands glow like that?!” Thomas asked. “It happened yesterday, too. We forgot it for a bit, but we both remembered it this morning.”

“It’s just your imagination.”

“Bullshit.” Alexander grabbed John’s wrist and showed him his glowing hands. “This is our imaginations?”

John took a deep breath. Okay. This was no time to panic. This was just time… for the truth. “Okay… The truth is… I’m magic.”

Thomas furrowed his eyebrows. “You have… Superpowers?..”

“No, not super. Magic. Those puppies that appeared yesterday? Magic. That memory lapse you guys had? Magic.”

“Oh,” Alexander began sarcastically, “did you hear that, Thomas? All that craziness can be explained with magic. We’re dating freaking Harry Potter.”

“Alex-”

“I can’t believe you! Of all the lies you could’ve chosen, magic is where you go to?!”

John frowned. “It’s not a lie. I know magic, real magic. I can show you, just give me a chance..”

Alexander opened his mouth to yell, stopping as he felt Thomas’s hand weighing down on his shoulder. He groaned and rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

John smiled weakly and his hands glowed for a second, a rabbit manifesting in the white glow. “Tacky, I know. Bunny trick..”

Thomas hesitantly stepped forward and pet the rabbit, shocked to feel its warmth, almost as if he hadn’t been expecting it to be alive. “Wow…”

Alexander joined him, petting the rabbit between the ears. “I fucked up… I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that…”

“No, it’s my fault. You guys are special to me… I wanted to protect you..”

“From what?” Thomas asked, leading John to sit with him and Alexander on the couch.

“Magic is tempting, especially for those who grow up without it. I didn’t want to see you guys corrupted by the power it could bring or ruin our relationship by not doing anything for you guys.” John sat with his Alexander on his left, hand on his leg, and Thomas on his right, arm around his shoulders.

“I promise we won’t ask for a thing, sugar. You’re still our Johnny, the exact same as before.” Thomas pressed a sweet kiss to John’s forehead.

Alexander nodded. “So… Can I ask what you did to us yesterday?..”

John smiled a bit. Nobody ever liked this detail. “I, uh… I tried to erase your memories…”

“You did what?!” Alexander gasped, clutching his head.  

“Just the part with the puppies! I didn’t erase anything important.”

“Easy, kitten. You know Johnny wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Alexander glared lightly at Thomas. “You know I hate that nickname…”

Thomas shrugged. “I don’t know why. You’re feisty like a little kitten. And you’re adorable like one, too.”

“Take that back!” Alexander pouted, proving his point.

“Just sit down, kitten. Come on. Johnny needs both of his boys right now, don’t you?”

John nodded and held his arms open for Alexander. “Come here.”

Alexander tutted, but sat down, leaning against John.

“You guys have to swear that you’ll never tell anyone about this. I’m not even supposed to tell you. But, for some reason, I can’t erase your minds.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“Me neither. It was just weird to learn about.”

“Good. I love you guys so much.” He kissed both of their cheeks as they returned the sentiment. As they laid there, John had a thought. Maybe he couldn’t erase their memories simply because he didn’t want to. Deep down, he didn’t want them to forget. He needed to tell someone and they were perfect. Or, maybe, someone was keeping him from erasing their memories. Someone who loved him and who knew that he needed to tell someone else, like them. Whatever the reason was, John didn’t care. He was happy. His boys were happy, even knowing what he was. That was all that mattered.

[punkscowardschampions]

Rio & Buster

Rio: You owe someone a pint, like Buster: What? Rio: Indie just got back from A & E Rio: Someone broke Drew's nose, apparently Buster: So it was broke? Good Buster: You can have that pint on me Rio: You what now Buster: You heard me Buster: I'm not about to toast myself, maybe next time if I go harder but Buster: If you wanna celebrate, you're welcome Rio: What the fuck, Buster? Buster: What's your problem? You were happy about it a second ago Rio: I'm not crying about it but Rio: why? Buster: Don't act like you need a list Rio: I thought you'd decided to leave it Rio: What changed? Buster: He didn't leave it Buster: Started chatting shit so Rio: When doesn't he? Hardly new Buster: When he's bleeding Buster: He's too busy trying not to cry then, like Rio: For God's sake Buster: What? Buster: You want me to be sorry now? Rio: This isn't funny Rio: I want you to think of an excuse for hitting him 'cos you clearly don't have a real reason you're wanting to share Buster: Oh so you wanna know what he was saying about you, is that it? Buster: 'Cause there's my reason Rio: Yeah, well I assume you don't want to tell Indie, or anyone else that could ask, that Rio: hence we agreed to leave it and him alone Buster: He's not gonna tell anyone that an 18 year old posh boy fucked him up Buster: It's fine Rio: It ain't Rio: there's something you aren't telling me Buster: You mean I ain't Buster: True Buster: But I don't wanna talk about it so unless there's any more you wanna say about Drew Rio: I don't care about him Buster: Good to know Buster: It hasn't been that long since we spoke last, like Buster: Would be awkward if you'd changed your mind that hard Rio: Is there anything I can do? Rio: Without you having to talk, like Buster: I don't know Buster: I'm just trying to have a drink Rio: Fine Rio: well you said you'd buy me one so where are you? Buster: The fam boozer so I'm guessing you're gonna want a raincheck on that Rio: What, you can't be seen with me now? Buster: What like we're best friends who drink together now? Rio: It's not that weird Rio: you just want to avoid the conversation Buster: It can be both Rio: Is Grandad there? Buster: 'Course Buster: So I don't need you sliding into the booth next to me Buster: My head's already wrecked without being that close to you as well Rio: Good Rio: Just tell me what's wrong Buster: There aren't words for it, babe Buster: I don't know what to say Rio: It's not gotta be poetic Rio: take your time but Rio: you're scaring me, like Buster: That's not what I want, I'm sorry Buster: It's just a mess. I am Buster: Chlo hit me up again Rio: It's alright, just let Grandad take you home when he says you've had enough, yeah? Rio: Right, what did she say? Buster: She's saying its not mine now Rio: Oh, babe Rio: It should be illegal to mess with someone's head this much Rio: What the fuck is wrong with her Buster: She don't wanna be associated with me so she's lying Buster: But I can't prove that until she has the kid Rio: Jesus Rio: Be honest, is it because of me? Because, you can change her mind on that Rio: I know I said it was a bad idea but fuck Buster: It's too late to change her mind Buster: You haven't heard the really good part yet Rio: I'm really sorry, Buster Rio: Now I don't have the words Rio: Do I even want to know, what could be the 'good' part of this? Buster: Don't say sorry Buster: None of this is your fault, I wouldn't play her game and I wouldn't have regardless of us being together or not Buster: You don't want to know but I had to hear it so Buster: And we tell each other everything yeah? Buster: She's told James he's the dad Buster: They are together now or some shit I assume Rio: No, it's all her, right Rio: It isn't yours either Rio: but this is fucking Rio: the worst, I didn't think people actually did shit like this outside of bad TV Rio: That would be hilarious if it so clearly wasn't Rio: even he doesn't deserve that, fucking hell Buster: Yeah Buster: Maybe it did happen? I reckoned they hadn't fucked since last Christmas 'cause he hadn't said anything and you know how he likes to chat but maybe it's different with her Buster: Fuck knows why but he likes her Buster: Or maybe he was just off his face too like she said Buster: Or maybe she's just fucking lying to me Rio: That's the fucked thing Rio: you can't trust anything she says Rio: and then she tells you two stories anyway so, is either true, neither, like? Rio: The worst headfuck Buster: Tell me what to do Buster: I can't handle months of this Buster: I don't even know how far gone she is now, like Rio: Does she? Rio: Maybe you talk to her parents? They have to handle this because she isn't Rio: If she's under 18 and under their care, they've got some sway, she can't just do what she wants when she's fucking up this badly Buster: Alright Buster: That's a better idea that anything I'm doing right now Buster: Trying not to cry in this fucking pub Buster: Turned into my fucking sister Rio: Understandable, more than Rio: Do you want me to come get you? Buster: I don't even know what I want Buster: I should be happy shouldn't I? Off the hook Buster: Like I could literally go to America if I want Rio: Because you don't know for sure Rio: all she's given you is more uncertainty and you're not a complete cunt like her so you're not fine not knowing Rio: You wanna do the right thing Buster: I should've hit Drew harder, that's the closest I'm getting to the right thing right now Rio: I think you're right he won't say, Indie didn't have a clue so Rio: don't worry about that Rio: you wanna go punch things? Buster: I'm gonna be sick is what I reckon Buster: Hold on Rio: Better? Buster: I swear she's gonna give me a stomach ulcer like its the fucking 80s Buster: Stressing me the fuck out Buster: I'm not drunk enough for this, I'll never be Rio: Get another drink Rio: I'd like to give you better advice but at this point Rio: that is the best you can do Buster: I've changed my mind, you should come Buster: Be here Rio: Okay, I'll come get you Buster: Stay with me Buster: It's the furthest away from Chelsea cunts we can be Buster: I fucking love this pub Rio: Maybe you enjoy it for a while longer then I'll come, yeah Rio: Don't need the added stress of that do you Buster: You're not stress Rio: I mean the stress of not being us properly, like Buster: We're still us Buster: Remember when we were little, we were always here 'cause our parents were always working Rio: Yeah Rio: Why I'm so good at pool, like Buster: And pulling pints Buster: You loved it, Nance was under a table if she weren't behind me, but you were in your element, like Buster: 2nd home for you and gotta be our 3rd Rio: Naturally, cheers for the stunning CV like, pops Rio: Shit was so simple then Buster: I thought it was so shit at the time, what the fuck did I know Rio: Well, always been a moody bastard Buster: Nah, you've just always been that annoying Rio: Rude Rio: I am a delight and always have been Buster: Whatever you say, babe Buster: Still waiting on you to come here and show me Rio: Just 'cos I was everyone's fave, soz I took your shine Buster: Nobody can say no that face that's all Buster: Same, like Rio: How're you finding the time to still be cute, like? Buster: It comes natural with you, that's what I'm saying Buster: Everyone's fave Rio: Shh Buster: You know exactly what you're doing, looking and being like that Rio: What are you chatting, babe? Buster: That you're perfect Rio: And that's all part of my master plan, is it? 😏 Buster: Yeah Rio: 'Course Rio: well, don't tell Buster: 🤐 obviously Rio: Good, you're not that drunk yet Buster: I'm not drunk Buster: I'm working on it Rio: 😂 Godspeed Buster: Come and join me Buster: I'm gonna keep asking Buster: You're not the only one who can be annoying, like Rio: You wanna awkwardly avoid eye contact that bad? Buster: I want you Rio: Then drink your drinks and I'll come get you Rio: you can't have me in the pub Rio: we can't talk either, which I know is part of the appeal Buster: so sensible Buster: it's hot Rio: Glad you agree, babe Buster: 😏 Rio: Remember, water, yeah? Buster: That's my line, baby Rio: Yeah but it's solid Rio: so take it, like Buster: Don't worry, it's handled Rio: Good boy Buster: Behave Buster: Talking like that to me Rio: 🤐 Buster: Don't act like you don't love it Rio: Obviously but Rio: time and a place isn't there Buster: it can be right now Rio: Nah Buster: Don't you wanna feel good? I do Rio: I know you do baby Rio: You will do again Buster: I hate this. I hate her Rio: Yeah Rio: This is horrible Buster: At least I don't have to tell Nance now Rio: That's true Rio: Any silver lining Buster: Yeah Buster: Dodged that bullet, cheers Chlo Rio: Yeah, enjoy not having her in your face for now Rio: 'til her parents can get this sorted Rio: it doesn't need to be all on you Buster: James of all people Buster: You're really gonna have to kick him off your stream now, he'll need all that cash Rio: Oh God Rio: what a pair Rio: could've gone my whole life without that mental image Buster: I'd almost feel bad for him if he wasn't such a cunt Buster: Don't worry lad I'll resolve this for you Rio: Yeah, wonder how he's feeling rn Rio: if it's even true, like Buster: Hit him up Buster: Sure he'd still love to hear from you, babe Rio: Play 2nd to Chloe again? You're alright Buster: Don't Buster: You never were Rio: I know Rio: just a joke Rio: also not gutted over the loss of James from the dating game, just in case you didn't get that either 😉 Buster: Good Buster: 'Cause from how he made it sound you had the best night of your life Rio: Oh James Rio: not a wistful sigh Rio: 😬 just nah Buster: Thank Christ I know enough about what you do like now to know it's such bullshit and not be jealous Rio: Yeah, that would really be a waste of your time, trust Buster: Been there, done that Rio: Yeah Rio: That feels like forever ago Buster: Yeah? Buster: I'm glad Buster: I really fucking love you Rio: Don't you think? Rio: It isn't really but a lot's happened since Rio: like I love you too Buster: Yeah Buster: Like you said, its one thing after another Rio: Yeah, won't tempt fate by asking what else but you know Rio: gotta be a limit, right? Buster: Regardless I need a holiday and we've just been Rio: Tell me about it Rio: Should've taken Nance up on her offer Buster: It ain't too late for a last minute trip, babe Rio: It is a bit Rio: 🎅 coming Buster: Like he ain't gonna know where to find you Rio: What about the fam tho Buster: I ain't saying you gotta go anywhere, you know he ain't the one bringing you gifts anyway Buster: Sit on my lap and tell me what you want Rio: Babe Rio: You're killing me Buster: Stop fighting it then Buster: I want you and you want me Rio: Not right now, I can't babe, 'cos you're trashed and even if you weren't, you ain't in the best headspace Rio: I'm still come see you if you want Buster: You can change that, you're the only person who can Buster: Give me a good mood Rio: Alright, omw Rio: remember where you are, yeah? Buster: I ain't no amateur remember Rio: Don't forget it, champ Buster: I've got a full 10 rounds left in me, babe Rio: 'Course 😏 Buster: You'll see Rio: Better not Rio: Best behaviour boy Buster: 'Course Rio: Very convincing Buster: Yeah I know Rio: Sure you've got the oscars speech ready, like Buster: I'll do it on the night Buster: Be alright Rio: 😂 Rio: Hot Buster: Like I said, yeah I know Rio: S'alright, I rate cockiness, as it goes so Buster: Glad to hear it, like Rio: What story do you reckon Ro is getting 'bout his busted nose Buster: 😂 Buster: Mugging for that watch he's still wearing on his wrist probably Rio: Forreal Rio: like hold up sis, this ain't adding up Buster: She's the stupidest smart woman I've ever met Rio: Wilful ignorance probably the least blissful but Rio: easier than dealing with the shitstorm I suppose Buster: Yeah Rio: I'd ask him but don't wanna give him any better ideas, get outta this one yourself moron Buster: Don't talk to him Rio: I'm not, he's just chatting shit Buster: About me? Rio: Well yeah, gotta try and save face after you beat him, like I care Buster: Tell me Rio: Not saying anything worth hearing, or getting mad about, don't worry Buster: Everything that comes out of his mouth makes me mad Buster: Don't start keeping secrets for him too Rio: I'm not, if you wanna know then you can but no need to bloody your knuckles over it a 2nd time is all I'm saying Buster: Whatever Rio: Don't be mad, I shouldn't have brought it up Buster: Yeah you should Buster: That's my fucking point Rio: It doesn't bother me Rio: I just ignore him Buster: Don't even fucking start me on that Buster: Seriously Rio: What Rio: what am I meant to do Buster: I'm not talking in circles with you about this Buster: You know the answers already and I'm mad Rio: If I thought there was a better way to deal with it, I'd be doing that so Rio: let's leave it Buster: Whatever Buster: Just keep leaving it for his fucking benefit, yeah? Fine Rio: Not his, everyone else's Buster: Bullshit. Who's it helping but him? Rio: Indie, Ro, their kid Rio: saving the entire fam from the aggro Buster: Nah Buster: They'd be better off knowing Buster: You're saving yourself 'cause you reckon they're gonna think you like it, nothing I can say 'cause I know better and I'm the most selfish cunt going too, but own it Buster: At least to me Buster: No more excuses, like Rio: You really think that's all it is, that I'm that selfish Rio: Fuck off Buster: I reckon it's closest to the truth, yeah Buster: 'Cause chat all you want but you're not saving the fam anything, just stalling and how is that better? Buster: Why would you wanna wait til that baby is old enough to understand or Ro's married? Fuck that Rio: So that's on me now too, yeah? Rio: She's turned a blindeye to worse and we all know it Buster: She ain't turning a blind eye to this though and you know it Buster: She doesn't know Buster: He ain't that stupid and neither is she Rio: There's nothing to know because nothing's going to happen Rio: Despite what you clearly reckon, I won't let it Buster: Fuck off, Rio Buster: Don't twist my words Buster: The intent is there, ain't that bad enough? Rio: What, like I'm special? Rio: Sure he's already cheating on her Rio: sorry I don't wanna be the other woman she can push bullshit blame on Buster: Fuck's sake Buster: She's not gonna blame you Buster: You're family, she loves you, she helped raise you, shut up Rio: Whatever Rio: I know how this goes Buster: No you don't Buster: And if Nance was in your place you wouldn't be saying whatever about it Rio: Well she isn't Rio: and it wouldn't be anyone but me Buster: Don't you dare tell me again that you asked for this Buster: Jesus Christ Rio: I didn't say it Buster: You're thinking it though Buster: That's so fucked Rio: You've said as much right here so don't act like you haven't Rio: or that everyone else won't so yeah, whatever, you're right Buster: I've never meant it though Buster: You do Rio: It's the truth Buster: No it's not Buster: It's so far from the truth Rio: Whatever Rio: I've got nothing more to say about it Buster: Fuck this Buster: I'm going for a walk Rio: Alright Buster: Yeah it will be, I'm not gonna punch anyone on my way out, like Rio: Good to know Buster: Besides, even if I did, it can't be traced back to you in any way this time so Buster: All good Rio: Don't be a prick Buster: Like you said, I can't act like I ain't Rio: When did I even say that Rio: This conversation is ridiculous Buster: 'Cause you're being ridiculous Rio: Me? Rio: Okay Buster: Yeah you Buster: It ain't me Rio: Blame me all you've gotta Buster: I'd be in good company if I did at least Rio: Shut up Buster: No Rio: Thought you were going for a walk Buster: I am Buster: I can walk and talk just as easy as you can tell me to fuck off if that's what you want Rio: Do what you want Rio: just don't fall in the river and drown Buster: Fuck that Buster: I'm not an idiot Rio: I'm just saying Rio: I'm glad you're so passionately anti-drowning Buster: Whatever you say, babe Rio: 🙄 I want you to drown now do I? Rio: Jesus Buster, the drama Buster: I've gotta keep up with this fam somehow, all about that competitive streak, you know Rio: Do what you must Rio: Not in the mood for playing Buster: Go back to texting Drew then Buster: 'Cause he ain't Rio: Don't tempt me Buster: Don't use me as your excuse Rio: Fuck off Rio: If I'm gonna get accused then I may as well do it Buster: Fuck you Buster: If you wanna do it, do it, don't act like it's about me Rio: It isn't about you Rio: I desperately wanna ride Drew, ofc Buster: Shut up Rio: Isn't that what you wanna hear? Buster: Don't Rio: Then why are we having this conversation Buster: 'Cause he wants to fuck you and you don't care Buster: Just fucking care about yourself Rio: Whatever, everybody wants to fuck me Rio: I'm everyone's favourite, yeah? Buster: Stop Buster: It's different and you know it Rio: Really Rio: I don't think we should go there Buster: Whatever Rio: Seriously, glass house, stones, not a good idea Buster: What the fuck Rio: You don't see the irony in that at all Buster: Obviously you do Rio: I'm not blind Buster: Say what you wanna fucking say, Rio, you ain't mute either Rio: I've said it but fine Rio: it's alright when it benefits you but now it ain't 'cos it's him Buster: Seriously Buster: Fuck you Buster: How dare you Rio: It needed to be said Rio: there's no world in which I can make a big fuss about this Drew situation and then out us, it isn't going to work Buster: No it didn't Buster: Don't talk to me Rio: Fine