#because I needed it to be high enough that they could brew coffee lmao

[pushing500]

Our (soon to be Arwell's) newest recruit, a faun named Ibter, needs to be converted away from all that nature-loving, "save the planet" nonsense and learn to believe in our superior ways of ocean-polluting, robot-building badassery.

Our path MUST be the right path if Kwahu can pull off a ✨masterful✨ conversion with a social skill of, like... two, I think? Maybe three?

Oh, dear... Alistair is highly vulnerable to solar flares, so he's going to endure a Victorian-lady-style fainting spell until this passes. It's alright. He'll be okay.

Mechi, babe, I'm so glad you're in a good mood, but we don't even have a kitchen in this colony. Also, the android could use a hand?? Read the room.

I get that you're a reclusive asshole, but c'mon, man, you like Alistair.

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[iamanartichoke]

Fic prompt: If you feel like doing another hurt/comfort with Mobius, I would love a version of that end scene where Loki's freaking out but it actually is our Mobius. So Mobius listens to everything Loki has to say, and then they just kind of...take a breath, I suppose, before whatever they're going to do to fight Kang - perhaps Loki gets some tea, and/or an actual meal, a little sleep maybe (has he eaten since that cake on the train or slept since that brief nap in ep 2??), or whatever comfort-y stuff you want - I just need that sweet fic healing lmao.

@scintillatingshortgirl19 Thank you for the prompt and I hope you like it! <3

Summary: Takes place at the end of episode 6, where instead of saying "Who are you?" Mobius knows Loki and they pick up from where they left off in the void. Word Count: 1956 Author’s notes: I'm not feeling super confident with these prompts, so please don't judge me bear with me as I dust off my little writer-brain gears and try to find my footing with these new characters and characterizations.

Completed prompts.

*

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Mobius is saying, holding his hands up, but Loki can’t stop talking. The words are spilling from him; he’s tripping over them, and from the look on Mobius’s face Loki knows he’s not making sense, but still, he can’t stop.

“He’s set on war,” Loki babbles. “We need to prepare, Mobius.”

“Hang on.” When Loki pauses to take a breath, Mobius reaches out and places his hands on Loki’s shoulders. It’s almost comical, the way he needs to reach, as Loki towers over him. Yet Loki feels very small, too, and doesn’t protest the contact. “You’re speaking faster than my brain can process words. Breathe, okay? Start at the beginning.”

Loki doesn’t know when the beginning was. It could have been the moment he’d leapt up and grabbed Sylvie’s arm before she could land a fatal blow to their enemy; it could have been all those days (or months, or hours, Loki has no idea; time, for him, has completely ceased to exist) ago that he’d landed in a Midgardian desert and the TVA immediately swarmed upon him.

“You’re not understanding me.” Frustration colors Loki’s tone. “There’s no time to stop; he’s - they’re - coming.”

“You’re right, I’m not understanding you.” Mobius lets go of Loki’s shoulders and rubs the back of his neck. “I want to, but you gotta slow down and fill me in, okay?”

“Maybe we should take him somewhere,” says B-15. Loki had barely noticed her but now he steps back, his gaze flicking from her to Mobius, taking in the confusion on both of their faces.

“You don’t look so good,” B-15 adds, taking in Loki’s appearance. He must be a sight, he realizes; his hair is matted and tangled and he feels grimy, his skin caked with so much dirt and blood from injuries he doesn’t remember getting.

But, what difference does it make? Loki turns back to Mobius, desperate. “Mobius, listen to me. Sylvie and I -”

“Come on.” Mobius cuts him off. He moves in, taking one of Loki’s arms. “You can tell me everything, okay, Loki? I just need you to calm down and to come with me, preferably before you pass out. Hauling around a five hundred pound demigod wasn’t on my to-do list today.”

Loki bites back a sharp retort. He’s vaguely aware of B-15 taking his other arm, and it’s only once Loki’s shoulders slump and he allows himself to be led away from the shelves that the exhaustion hits him. He’s been running high on adrenaline for hours, and now that he’s moving slowly, supported on either side, all of that energy seems to drain from him at once. His knees buckle.

“Careful,” Mobius says. Were it not for him and B-15 holding him up, Loki is certain he would have collapsed. He squeezes his eyes shut and focuses on placing one foot in front of the other, not caring where they’re going. The archives, the time theater, one place is the same as another.

They move through halls that are bustling with activity, minutemen running and disembodied voices crackling over speakers. They don’t know it’s pointless, no amount of hunters in the field will matter or make a difference.

He thinks he says so, or perhaps he just imagines he does. Neither Mobius nor B-15 acknowledge him, at any rate; they only keep moving and after awhile, they arrive at the dormitories, where Loki has not been since the first day Mobius brought him here as an official TVA employee.

“Why are we here?” Loki asks, confused.

“So you can get a shower and a change of clothes,” Mobius says simply, “and then we can have some coffee and you can tell me what happened after the void.”

Loki sighs, and then nods, resisting the urge to insist that everything else could wait (until when?), because Mobius isn’t understanding the precariousness of the situation, but he knows it won’t do any good.

“Fine,” he says instead, giving up. The sooner he does what Mobius asks, the sooner Mobius will listen.

He’d not realized just how badly he needed that shower and change of clothes until he’s scrubbed the dirt and blood from his skin and allowed the hot water to beat over his sore muscles and rapidly-forming bruises. For lack of anything else to wear, he puts on a clean suit, fastening the cuffs firmly around his wrists and buttoning the collar up to his neck.

He’s sick of this outfit; he never wants to see it again but, without his magic, he has no other choice.

In the dormitory kitchen, Mobius is brewing a pot of coffee. He looks up when Loki walks in, and his mouth quirks in a half smile. “Better,” he says, “but you could still probably use some sleep and a meal.”

“Stop fussing,” Loki snaps, irritated with Mobius’s sudden desire to hover over him like a governess hovering over a petulant child who won’t eat his peas. “I hate coffee, by the way.”

“You’ve never had my coffee,” Mobius retorts, sounding unbothered. “Just sit down, okay? You still look like hell, is my point. When’s the last time anyone fussed over you, anyway?”

Loki makes a scoffing noise as he drops down into a chair at one of the small kitchen tables. “I’m sure my mother did at some point, I don’t remember.” Actually, he remembers very well that it was always his mother who looked after him when he was sick or tired or lonely, until he’d grown too old to allow himself to seek her out for comfort.

But he doesn’t want to think of his mother, who is lost to him and perhaps lost to the real Loki as well, the sacred timeline’s Loki, if enough time has progressed and Malekith has indeed run her through with a sword and left her bleeding out on the palace floor.

Loki shudders as he thinks of it, remembering the sight of his mother’s lifeless body projected onto a screen. He’d been helpless to stop it, utterly powerless, just as ultimately he’d been powerless to stop Sylvie.

His mother, dead. Sylvie, lost to him. The timeline destroyed - the end of everything. The weight of it all crashes over him; had he not already been sitting, the sheer despair of it would have brought him to his knees.

Loki drops his head into his hands instead, thinking back to Mobius’s words that first day: you were born to cause pain and suffering and death.

In retrospect, Loki knows that Mobius was merely fighting dirty, using whatever words necessary to break Loki down - the ends justify the means, and all that - but he wasn’t goddamn wrong.

How could Loki have ever believed, even for a second, that he could possibly change?

We write our own destinies now, he’d told that creepy little clock hologram, and she’d smirked, seen right through the words because they were rubbish and they both knew it.

Good luck with that.

Loki doesn’t realize he’s crying until Mobius sets down a steaming mug of coffee in front of him. He lifts his head and rubs tiredly at his tear-stained cheeks, unable to meet Mobius’s gaze as Mobius sits down across from him with his own mug.

“Here,” Mobius adds, reaching into his inside blazer pocket. He pulls out a slim, red candy stick wrapped in plastic and hands that to Loki as well.

Loki stares at it. “What is this?”

“Something better than grapes or nuts,” Mobius says dryly. “It’s a Twizzler. Popular Earth candy. I’d say don’t tell anyone I’ve stashed a bunch, but …” He trails off and shrugs, glancing around at the kitchen with forced amusement. “Doesn’t really matter anymore, does it?”

He pulls out a second Twizzler and unwraps the plastic, then bites into the candy. Loki watches him for a moment, and then imitates him. “Gross,” he says, after he’s taken a bite. It’s a very bland candy, with texture not unlike rubber. “Think I prefer grapes.”

“Well, maybe Twizzlers are an acquired taste,” says Mobius.

Loki finishes the Twizzler anyway, and then takes a sip of coffee. He does usually dislike coffee, but either he’s hungrier than he’d realized or Mobius has a gift, because this cup is actually quite good.

“Okay, now let’s go back to the beginning,” Mobius prompts, after a silence. He drums his fingertips against the table. “What happened? I’m assuming you were able to enchant the murder cloud?”

All of the words that had been spilling from Loki’s lips before, so desperate to be released, now get stuck somewhere in his throat. He wraps his hands around his mug and takes another sip of coffee, wondering idly how long it had been since he’d actually had something warm to drink. Or eat, for that matter. The train on Lamentis, perhaps. A moment ago, a lifetime ago.

“We did,” he finally says. Despite the coffee, a chill breaks out over his skin and he sets the mug down, choosing to fold his arms as if to fold into himself for warmth. “We made it past Alioth and found him - the one who’s responsible for all of this.”

Just like that, the words are no longer stuck. Loki pours out the entire story, starting from when he and Sylvie had crossed the threshold into the citadel and ending with his own tumble back through the tempad’s portal into the TVA.

But he omits the kiss, only mentioning that Sylvie had distracted him to get the upper hand. He’ll never speak of it - either that Sylvie had used his feelings for her in order to betray him, or that he’d fallen for it (of course he’d fallen for it; for a few seconds there, he’d let himself believe - but, it doesn’t matter, it wasn’t real, and there are bigger problems now).

“She closed the portal before I could get back through it,” Loki says. He notices that he’s twisting his fingers together so tightly that his knuckles are turning white. He forces himself to stop. “I can only imagine she finished the job after that because, well.” He barks a laugh that sounds, even to his own ears, broken and pathetic. He used to be so good at maintaining a cool, calm facade but it, like so many other things, had been steadily breaking apart, piece by piece. There is very little left to guard the scared little ice runt who trembles at the core.

“Look at the timeline,” he adds; he laughs again and rubs his eyes against a fresh wave of tears.

For a long time, neither of them say anything. Loki finishes his coffee and Mobius eats two more Twizzlers before another word is spoken.

“So we lost.” Mobius’s voice is hollow. “We lost before we could begin to fight.”

“I’m sorry.”

Mobius shrugs. He runs a hand over his short, gray hair before letting out a laugh of his own. “He Who Remains,” he repeats, more to himself than to Loki.

Loki allows a beat to pass. “We have to try to fix it, Mobius.” The only way to ease the weight of his guilt, Loki knows, is if he goes back and tries to make it right - or to die trying.

“How are we supposed to do that?” It’s Mobius’s turn to rub his eyes. His shoulders slump and for a moment, he looks very tired. Older. Loki studies him and wonders, fleetingly, if the real Mobius is someone’s father. “I don’t even know where to begin, Loki.”

“I might.” Loki straightens. Deep down, beneath the anguish, a seed of determination has taken hold and he focuses on that; a lifeline. “But you’ll need to trust me.”

[lilhawkeye3]

Black Coffee & Sugary Sweets - Part 3

Rating: T |||| Word Count: ~1k |||| The Mandalorian Café AU |||| AO3 Link

Summary: “Paint Sketch me like one of your French girls boys, Jack Bri”

A/N: Paz is thicc & Bri has noticed and that’s all you need to know for this chapter lmao

Masterlist

On slow days, Bri pulls out her sketch pad from under the counter and adds a new doodle to the hand-bound pages. Sometimes she’d use one of her newly-made pastries as her model, other times, she’d try to quietly sketch one of the patrons as they sat at their seats, drinking their morning brew.

Today though, she does her best to draw from memory. Paz’s smile is easy for her to do, drawing the rounded curve of his lips and crinkles at the corner of his eyes. The shape of his eyes though gave her grief, and she’d already erased and started over again three times. She taps the eraser end of her pencil against her temple and sighed heavily. Maybe he was just too pretty to put to paper?

“I could pose for you if that’d be easier.”

This time, Bri does shriek and reel backwards at Paz’s sudden appearance, but his hand shoots out quickly and grips her forearm to keep her upright. Her eyes widen and she looks up to find herself staring into his dark eyes.

His initial teasing grin fades as he took in her startled appearance. “Bri?”

“Ahhh... yeah?” She responds, voice rising high as her brain tries to catch up to what’s going on. “I mean, yes! Yes, I’d like that. Very much.”

“Wait, really?” Paz’s brows rise dramatically, but he tries quickly to recover, bringing his free hand up to rub sheepishly at his jaw. “Just let me know when.”

Bri feels her face grow warm at his obvious willingness. “Well, it is slow this morning… You could pull up a bar chair to the counter and sit here?” She offers, trying to seem nonchalant. Paz watches her carefully for a moment before dipping his head in a nod. The deviation of his gaze finally has him realize he was still holding her arm, and he lets go with a rush of apologies that Bri easily accepts. The sudden absence of his touch has her missing his warmth as he goes to move one of the tall stools. In the meantime, she focuses on fixing Paz’s usual drink, and tries to ignore the way her hands are trembling in anticipation.

It settles her nerves when she sees Paz’s hands shaking as much as hers when she hands over his black coffee with an unhealthy amount of sugar.

He asks her questions about her hobby as she picks up her pencil again and gets to work. It has Bri fighting to keep from bouncing in her excitement at his genuine interest in her art. His eyes hold a curious spark as he watches her in her element, scratching the graphite in precise lines as it slowly forms the shape of his face.

It’s hard to stay focused though when Bri keeps peeking up through her lashes to find her model trying to not be caught staring at her. She wonders if this is what art feels like, to be beheld and revered with such open awe and wonder.

His voice is a soothing soundtrack as she loses herself in her art, tongue peeking between her teeth as she hones her precise skills to make her immortalization of him look as perfect as possible. She paused when needed in order to service the few customers that did show up that morning, and it caused her to swell with pride when they all commented positively on her rendition of Paz.

Of course, his opinion would be most important, but so far she’s been blocking his line of sight in order to keep her finished sketch a complete surprise.

It’s only at the end, when Bri’s preparing to doodle a symbol by his name, that she draws a blank. She’s learned a lot about him in the past hour: he has a kitten named Blue that he adopted and is the main feature of his phone camera roll, he goes hiking in his free time and is trying a new trail this weekend, he’s trying to teach himself to play guitar solely with Youtube videos because he’s “not a good singer,” something to which Bri is highly doubtful of but she encourages his learning all the same.

But… none of that feels right. She’s pretty sure none of that is the reason that the universe decided to drop him into her lap.

“Hey, Paz?”

He’d been looking out the store front windows, watching the morning work crowd scurry by to their posts, but he turns towards her easily with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Why did you start coming here?” Bri asks, obvious confusion clear in her voice. She hopes it doesn’t sound like an attack– she’s just genuinely curious at this point.

Paz rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “Did I never mention?”

“My best guess is ‘leather jacket model.’”

His laugh is quite honestly her favorite sound. “I’m a construction worker; I supervise a site nearby.” He glances down as an afterthought, tugging on the open collar of his jacket. “This was a gift from a friend who works with me actually, but I’ll let them know it was a good one.”

Bri bites her lip and hopes the heat rising to her cheeks isn’t enough to give away what she’s about to say. “They should get you a matching set of leather pants next time to accentuate your features.”

Seeing his eyes go wide in response was completely worth the risk, and Bri doubles over in laughter at the way his mouth falls open in shock. A slow, hopeful smile spreads across his face.

“Two can play at that game,” he warns, and she knows he’s giving her an out.

Instead, she crosses her arms on the countertop and leans forward. “Always more fun than playing solo.”

He leaves a few minutes later in a rush, racing to make it to his shift on time after having stayed longer than he originally planned. Bri’s a bit glad she hadn’t finished the sketch by then, because now she has a chance to add some color to it before tomorrow morning.

It’s a lively yet mischievous dance they’re waltzing, not trying to trip each other up, but rather seeing if they can get each other to stumble briefly and grab on tighter. In fact, she feels a bit like a peacock, putting on her best and most colorful show in order to attract a mate.

...though, she considered after some thought, that made her and Paz two birds of a feather!

[sneezefiction]

can I request a hc with “I told you not to fall in love with me.” for akaashi? I enjoyed the sleepover writing so much!!! also,, can you turn it into an angst to fluff bc,,I cry easily and maybe a timeskip with the relationship? thank u 👁👅👁

Akaashi x reader - scenario

prompt: “I told you not to fall in love with me.”

a/n: i legit retyped this whole thing 3 times with different story lines each time lmao. no idea why i couldn’t decide on something ahh. i’m sorry if it isn’t exactly what you were anticipating (couldn’t turn it into a hc, had to do a scenario,) but this is how i interpreted it! thank you so much for reading and requesting!! <3333 kind of an angst to fluff situation

warnings: suggests nsfw in the beginning

wc: 1710

---

A mistake.

It was a huge, thoughtless mistake.

I mean, what did you think would happen?

That one night with Akaashi would be easy to forget? That, after liking him for months, you would just stop caring? That your touch starved body would immediately go back to normal after having his hands all over you?

You still feel the ghost of his fingertips trailing over your skin… and you shiver.

“Don’t go falling in love with me.” He’d murmured, jokingly, his words followed by a light chuckle. 

You just joined him with a short, breathy laugh in response, splayed out on his bed, exhausted.

Oh, the irony.

---

It’s morning after, and a golden glow stirs you out of your sleep. The soreness in your legs and the unfamiliar scent of someone else’s home overwhelms your senses. You’re still in his bed, your body still intertwined with Akaashi’s. His eyebrows are furrowed, his breathing is steady. He’s still in a deep sleep.

So pretty… you think as you study his features.

It’s what you’ve wanted… just not under the right circumstance. Even though you know it’s probably a bad idea, you decide to not leave right away.

Instead, you resolve to fix breakfast for the two of you. Under the best of circumstances, you’ll chat. Maybe laugh a little?

Slipping out of his sheets, you carefully pull on a white tee shirt and shorts, making your way out of the room, try not to knock into anything.

The kitchen, now visible in the early morning daylight, is neat and tidy, nothing out of place. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s efficient and it’s just so… him.

As you’re making pancakes and bacon (you found ingredients in the pantry and bacon in the fridge,) you hear soft footsteps.

“What... are you doing here?” He questions sleepily. The confusion is apparent on his face… he’d clearly expected you to run off right when you woke up.

“Oh, sorry… I just thought I’d make you breakfast. There’s coffee brewing right now.” You speak quietly, not wanting to reveal your embarrassment. 

Ah, that’s right… you weren’t supposed to be here. You overstepped an unspoken boundary.

He just hums, taking a seat at his kitchen table right across from where you’re cooking. He’d had his assumptions about you… he knew you had liked him in the past, but he hadn’t predicted the possibility of you staying throughout the morning. His foresight ended when last night began.

A mistake, now, on his part.

And he grew steadily more uncomfortable.

It’s not that he doesn’t want you around… but he hadn’t planned on you knowing him. He had boundaries for a reason. Standards and space to keep people away from him.

A habit he’d developed subconsciously throughout the years to protect himself.

Yet, you were still here. In his kitchen, at his house, with his number… making breakfast for him.

All this after a long night of exploration. Body-to-body contact. Physical interaction with someone, admittedly very beautiful, that he hasn’t had in a long time.

It’s too close for comfort.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure we’re on the same page right now…” He starts.

You turn around, realizing the conversation you’re about to have… isn’t going to be very fun.

“Y/n, I told you I’m not used to these things. Don’t get me wrong… you’re kind for making me breakfast and I genuinely enjoyed last night… but I didn’t sign up for a relationship.” He states bluntly, trying to combat the creeping feeling of guilt in his stomach.

There’s something else there too, but he can’t quite figure out what the emotion is.

Your eyes are getting a little teary, but you manage to hold back any tears of embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry… I just, I don’t know, I thought maybe you would see me differently? I, uhm… I really like you. A lot.” You try to compose yourself, but your hands become shaky so you grab onto the countertop. 

“I told you not to fall in love with me.” He reminds you of his playful words from last night, but it sounds far more serious this time. “I don’t know what you were expecting from me, but I’m not interested in this continuing.” He tries to reason, noticing the redness appearing slowly on your face.

“I hate to break it to you, Akaashi, but that’s not exactly how emotions work. For most people at least.” You crack a small smile, but it won’t fool Akaashi… and it’s definitely not fooling you.

And a tear betrays you, slipping down your cheek to the tip of your chin, onto the floor below.

Once one leaves your eye, the others decide to follow. Your dove-white shirt now wet and covered in tear stains. 

How humiliating. Thinking that something as stupid as sleeping with Akaashi would produce some semblance of feelings in him. That somehow you would be adequate enough for him in one night that he could see some relationship with you in the future.

Yes, it was a huge mistake.

On both sides.

So you head home, leaving him in the wake of your emotions and him stuck in his thoughts, processing why he’d allowed this to happen.

The room feels empty without you in it.

Why is that? And why does he feel so bad about it? He didn’t do anything wrong. Or did he?

Why does he want to call you right now? Why does he suddenly need to explain himself? He has no reason to. You never asked him to…

He buries his head in his hands for a few minutes then decides on a shower. That should wash away whatever pit he’s feeling in his stomach right now.

But the feeling lingers.

And it chooses to nag at him for months, with no end in sight.

---

Time passed and college is more or less overtaking your life. The end of the semester leaves you overwhelmed and burnt out. So yeah, you’re contemplating, once again, why you went to college in the first place. 

However, without the distraction of school, you probably would still be ruminating on last semester’s heartbreaker of an issue.

The workload allowed you to let go of any hope for Akaashi returning feeling or reaching out.

Numbing something isn’t always the best way to get rid of your feelings, but you can’t help but think they wouldn’t have gone away without some mental diversion.

Your expectations were too high and it was best for you to burn that bridge. Or whatever was left to burn anyway.

But fate likes to play cruel tricks and you seem to be its target for the day.

As you leave your dorm, a wave of familiarity washes over you.

That smell… that cologne. It’s a sharp slap to the face.

You finally make it out of the thick, painful realization that Akaashi isn’t going to be a part of your life anymore… and your mind draws you right back in.

But it isn’t just the cologne. No.

The familiar features, physical and vocal, decided to rejoin you as well.

The universe had the audacity to place him on the walkway up to your dorm room.

You attempt to slink past him, turning your face hoping that he hadn’t already seen you, but you simply aren’t fast enough.

“It’s been a while, y/n.” He states.

Your heart drops and you slowly turn around, body stiff.

“Why are you here?” It sounds more like an accusation than a question. Oops.

“Well, maybe it’s because we go to the same school?” He chuckles, but straightens himself up.

“Yeah… well I’ve gotta run. I’m late for, um, things.” You reply, trying to get yourself out of an increasingly awkward situation.

Akaashi takes a step forward and gently, but firmly, grasps your jacket’s sleeve.

“Hold on.” He orders, then softens the command with a, “Please.”

“I actually came here to- ehem, apologize.” He looks you straight in the eye.

He seems genuine, his hurt translating through his eyes.

“You didn’t deserve what I did to you.” He admits, “I knew you’d liked me… and I- I was selfish.”

He reads your face, noting the look of exhausted grief in your expression.

In a way, he had used you. He knew you felt something for him… and inadvertently took advantage of it. Not wanting strings attached, not caring (in the moment) that it might hurt you, and not communicating his intentions.

“A friend of yours finally told me where you lived, so I ran over here to let you know that I am, truly, so sorry.”

Your eyes are misty again… why am I like this.

You give a gentle smile, trying to ease the tension in the air.

“Akaashi, it’s okay. It was a mistake. Things like this happen all the time.” You do your best to console the boy, the one who’s still gripping your jacket. Even though it’s really you who needs a hug right now.

“I’m gonna head-on, but I hope you feel better, okay? Don’t go overthinking things.” You tease, gently. It’s the best you can do.

But he doesn’t let go.

“I want to talk with you.” He states, this time with a tone of interest, not pleading. Asking.

“What do you mean?” You ask, genuinely confused. You feel yourself getting warm and it’s not the layers you’re wearing.

His unoccupied hand makes its way to the back of his head. “Like… on a date. Or just out somewhere.”

The directness shocks you. Why now? Why not then? Should you even trus-

“I understand if you don’t trust me. You’re right… that night was a mistake. But you aren’t.”

He’s flushed, but it’s crystal clear that he’s being honest. He let’s go of your jacket.

“I think I can trust you, y/n. I want to make it up to you… get to know you better. For the right reasons.”

You contemplate it, making him wait for a moment, allowing several, long seconds to pass.

Yes, he caused pain.

But there are two pieces to any problem. Person A and person B.

You’ve been given second chances all your life… from jobs, to relational mistakes, to breakups. Forgiveness is one of the most powerful forces. 

And you figure person B could use a second chance. 

“Then let’s start slow.” You decide and reach out a hand with a mischievous glint in your eyes, letting your humor shine through for a moment.

“Hi, I’m y/n.”

He reaches his own hand out to yours, but instead of shaking it, intertwines his fingers with yours, in a sense, sealing the deal.

“Hi, y/n, I’m Akaashi.” He reintroduces himself with a small, but glowing smile.

[writing-in-april]

The Key

Llewyn Davis x Female Reader

Summary: Reader gives Llewyn a special gift on Valentine’s Day

A/N: Happy Valentine’s Day guys (especially to @spencers-dria) This is for @aellynera and is for the Valentine’s Day fic exchange organized by the lovely @sergeantkane!!! Thanks for organizing this I love fic swaps!! This is the first time I’ve ever written for Llewyn so fingers crossed lmao 😂 Also consider this a bonus for my 1000 follower celebration! The other fic will be out later tonight! Thanks for reading and requests are open!

Warnings: uhhh- just one sexual innuendo- I think that’s it!

Main Masterlist Word count: 1.5k

I set a package on my coffee table, small enough to fit in the palm of my hand wrapped in matte red wrapping paper. It was the last stop in a series of clues I had laid out for Llewyn on Valentine’s Day.

After I was satisfied with the placement of everything around my apartment I sat at my kitchen table waiting patiently with a cup of coffee for Llewyn to wake up. The early morning light started to beam its way through my curtains as I sipped on the steaming liquid and thought about how we had gotten to this point.

When I spotted a man sitting outside in the blistering cold last winter with not nearly enough layers to combat the weather I had to reach out to help. I had known that if I had left him there there was a high chance he would’ve died from exposure that night from how much it had dropped in temperature.

I remembered how tired he looked, almost like it was yesterday. I remembered basically working all night to unthaw him, even though I didn't even know his name. After I had learned a little about Llewyn after his lips were no longer blue I immediately offered my apartment as a place of rest for him.

It took months of convincing him that he was not a burden to get him to stay at my apartment on a more permanent basis. He still wouldn’t totally accept the help I had been giving for a long time. He wouldn’t even sleep in the guest bedroom I had in the apartment and insisted on sleeping on the couch. I had decided at the time that I had lost that battle with him and let him sleep on my lumpy couch, at least he wasn’t out in the cold.

I couldn’t tell anyone when exactly the relationship between the two of us shifted to something more. But, I could remember the night I had decided to act on my feelings that had been brewing for quite some time. I remembered it like it was yesterday too, it was one of the days Llewyn was being stubborn about accepting help from me. The only reason he had come over that night was because there were no other couches available for him to sleep on, and the rain outside had been far too heavy for him to justify sleeping in the cold again. He came to my place with a hesitant knock as if he was afraid I would refuse him, even though I had never done it before.

I wanted to berate him for not coming to me first and letting himself potentially get sick from walking in the rain house to house. It had reminded me too much of the first day I had found him in the cold, lips blue and practically inches from death.

Llewyn traipsing in from my bedroom broke me out of my reminiscing. He looked so good in the mornings, with his curls wild from last night’s activities and only a pair of boxers slung around his hips.

“Good Morning, Angel.” His deep voice in the morning sent shivers down your spine, in a good way.

I repeated the pleasantry back to him while he leaned forward to kiss my forehead, then asking him, “Do you know what today is?”

“No? Did I miss something important” He looked frantic, running his hands through his messy inky curls and scratching his scruff awkwardly.

“It’s Valentine’s Day.” I wasn’t surprised that he had forgotten the holiday, he hadn’t had someone properly take care of him in so long.

“Oh… I don't-“ He started to stammer before I cut him off with some reassurance.

“Don’t say sorry for not being able to get me anything, we’ve talked about this.” His shoulders slumped forward at my words, looking a little sad. Though I had assured him many times that the fact that he couldn’t shower me with gifts didn’t bother me and that I just wanted him he still couldn’t help but feel bad. I leaned up from my chair and pressed my own kiss to his forehead, stopping a moment to inhale his scent before continuing, “Angel, I just want to treat you today. There’s no need to apologize for something that’s out of your control and I don’t need anything I just want you.”

“I don't need anything either.” He immediately rebutted, causing me to sigh a little and bring my hand up to stroke his beautiful hair. “You might not need these things, but I want to give them to you.”

“Ok…”

His confirmation had me immediately hopping up from my chair and giving him instructions to find all of his gifts. I had decided to do a small little scavenger hunt, hiding all the gifts in what seemed to be plain sight. Everytime he got a little bit closer to one I’d tell him whether he was warm or cold.

“Cold.” I giggled out when he started to become convinced that I had hidden something in one of my flower pots.  He fake sighed in annoyance, he had already found the first gift, which was easy to find. It had been hidden in the cabinet and was fancy ground coffee that I knew he’d love whenever he needed a pick me up in the morning.

“Warm.” I said as he was making his way over to the loveseat that sat in the corner. He looked around the area for a while until he actually sat in the chair, which coincidentally was where the gift was hidden. “Hot, you are piping hot!”

He laughed a little and finally rooted around the love seat to try and find where I had hidden the gift. Once he finally found the gift that was underneath the seat he immediately opened the box, which held a new coat and a new pair of boots. I could tell that he knew they were expensive, way more so than the coffee.

“Thank you, I’m s-

“Nope! Remember no sorry’s!” I cut him off and pressed a kiss to his cheek, “Now onto your last gift!”

He stood up to go hunting for the last gift, but not before pressing a bruising kiss to my lips and thanking me for the first two presents a few more times. I slapped his ass after a minute and told him to hurry up so he could have his morning cup of joe before I had to go to work, which prompted him to start looking for the last gift.

“Hot.” I spoke simply as he walked over to the coffee table. He was much quicker at finding this gift compared to the last.

When he finally reached the coffee table where the last gift was I could tell he wanted to insist that he didn’t need anything else. But, instead of letting him say it I reassured him again before asking him to open the red wrapped gift.

He tore the paper gently as if he didn’t want to ruin the paper even though it was just plain wrapping, he was always so gentle. Uncovering the small black box that held his surprise made his hands shake a little, I knew he thought this would be another gift that he would feel he didn’t deserve. But, in my opinion this gift was a long time coming.

When he opened the box he gasped once he realized what the little black box held, a shiny silver key. One that matched the key I used to get into the apartment. There was a key that Llewyn already used when he wanted to come over and I wasn’t home, one that was hidden above my door frame. This held a different meaning though, by the look on Llewyn’s face and the tears in his eyes he knew what it meant too. He enveloped me into a suffocating hug that I’d never dream of wanting to escape, burying his face into my shoulder and dampening my shirt with the tears.

We just stood in silence in our embrace for a few minutes before I spoke softly while rubbing his back, “This is my apartment, but I want it to be yours too.”

“Why?” His question was muffled into my shoulder, but I could still hear the shakiness in his voice.

“You know why.” The hidden meaning in my words weren’t lost to Llewyn, he knew exactly what I was saying. We had never spoken the words out loud to each other, only dancing around what we both knew was true. I knew Llewyn was scared, even though I had never done anything to hurt him so many people had done so in the past. So, I didn’t mind waiting to confess my love to him, just as long as he knew how much I cared about him.

“I love you.” He spoke meekly as if after all of this, he was still instinctively afraid of rejection. I’d make sure to never give Llewyn more reasons to fear love, I would love him back with all my heart. I pressed a chaste kiss onto his lips before making sure to return the sentiment,

“I know, I love you too.” And, I knew that he’d use his new key too.

——

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@shotarosleftpinky @oreogutz @90spumkin

Llewyn Davis:

[flatsuke]

let me drown in you

Summary: A joke gift from Ota and Baba makes MC discover things about herself that she'd scarcely considered before. To her surprise, she also discovers things about her stoic fiancé.

or, Eisuke Gets Pegged, the fic.

Genre:  Romance, SMUT

Pairing:  Eisuke/MC

Word Count: 4275

a/n: I finally did it. this is filthy, filthy self-indulgence lmao. After months of not writing, I’ve returned with this filth and I sincerely hope you enjoy it lmao

Disclaimer: Please don’t read this if you’re uncomfortable with pegging.

AO3 Link

She was going to kill Ota and Baba.

Staring at MC was the stupid boxed package marked “FRAGILE” in big red letters. She’d thought it was the tea set her mother promised to send back from Japan, but upon opening the box, she was dead wrong.

Inside the box was a distinctly phallic object she surmised was a dildo, and from the looks of it, a high-quality silicone one, too. To her horror, the package also came with a leather harness and a terrifyingly extensive assortment of bottles she was sure was lube.

She’d castrate Ota and Baba for sure.

In the recesses of her mind, she remembered snippets of a conversation earlier that week that involved Ota, Baba, and a not-so-modest amount of alcohol.

“What, so you really think Eisuke would be okay with anything you ask?” Ota said. “Like, anything-anything?”

“M’yeah,” she replied, as if speaking a universal truth despite her inebriation.

“Really now?” Baba’s eyes were twinkling, but she didn’t notice the mischief brewing in them. “He liked the blindfold from our little bet, didn’t he?”

“Mm-hm. Maybe—hic—more than that, too.”

She foolishly thought they’d ignore her drunken babbling like they always did, but of course, they wouldn’t let anything remotely embarrassing slide, especially if it involved Eisuke. God knows those two would always find some way to prod at her and Eisuke’s sex life. The silicone cock in front of her was proof of that.

Shit. She had to get rid of the package before Eisuke got back. It wasn’t as if he’d welcome the sight anyway. The mere implication of Eisuke giving up his control was unheard of.

Liar, a smaller, more impish part of her said. Remember the blindfold.

The blindfold. She’d never forget that night for as long as she lived. The sight of the all-powerful Eisuke Ichinomiya squirming under her—blindfolded—and begging her to let him cum. She rode him till dawn that night, and the sound of her name spilling from his lips like a mantra would always send a hot stab of lust down her spine and god, the idea of being the one inside him—

“I’m home.” His bored voice and the automated beep of their suite door interrupted her thoughts.

Oh, no, no, no. The package was still in on top of the coffee table, and it was only a matter of seconds until he turned around and looked inside the damn thing.

“Welcome home, Eisuke,” she said, lifting the box as casually as she could manage. “I was just on my way to throw this out.”

“And what’s that?” He gestured to the box.

“It’s…well…nothing important.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. Years as a trained businessman meant lying to him was futile, and as transparent as she was, he’d see through her immediately.

“You’re being awfully suspicious,” he said, taking a step closer to her. “What, are those photos of your ex?”

“No! Just—it’s nothing, just let me throw this out, okay?”

Apparently, he wasn’t having it, and her shorter frame was no match for his deft hands swiping the box away from her.

Oh, god, she thought. This is where it all ends.

He stared at the contents with the same unreadable expression he had whenever he gauged his opponents. Her embarrassment morphed into dread when his blank reaction didn’t change the more he looked into the box.

Teasing her would’ve been better than whatever this silent assessment was.

“…Explain.”

God, just bury me alive right now.

“I—I swear, it’s not what you think. Ota and Baba thought it’d be funny to send this over as a joke, and I don’t really see any use for it so—”

“So you don’t want to use it?”

She was expecting him to have her toss out the box because as far as she knew, he’d go on a tirade about “not needing anything but himself” to get her off. In the years they were dating (and now engaged), he’d never once brought up the use of sex toys in the bedroom.

All she could do now was gape at him.

“…What?”

“I’m asking if you want to use it or not.” His eyes were fixed on her with that uncomfortably probing gaze he had whenever he wanted her to be completely honest with him—not that it took much effort on his part, anyway. Damn her honesty.

“…It’s not that I don’t want to use it—it’s just, you know…”

Oh, maybe he’d be disgusted if he knew she wanted to fuck him in earnest. He’d probably cringe at the thought of having someone else inside him, making a mess out of him. There’s no way he’d think of her the same way if he knew she wanted to have her way with him, from the plush softness of his lips, to the curve of his—

“…I don’t know if you’re okay with the idea of—” she said, taking a deep breath, “—me wanting to use it…on you.”

This was it. She’d just let it out in the open, and now he’d be grossed out by the fantasies she’d kept buried in all this time, and he’d be so revolted by her that he’d never want to lay with her again and—

“Ah, god, just forget I said that…” she groaned as she covered her face, not willing to look at him. “Please pretend this never happened.”

“MC.” He didn’t sound angry at her admission. If anything, his tone sounded far gentler than she was expecting. Nonetheless, she didn’t want to take the risk and see the inevitable disappointment on his face.

“Listen, I’d take it all back if I could, so—”

“MC.” His voice was firm as he said her name. She felt him pull her hands away from her face. “Look at me.”

There wasn’t anything on his face that indicated his disgust. Rather, his expression seemed softer than it usually was. His gaze was still intense, but instead of his usual searching glare, his stare was thoughtful.

“Do you really have that little faith in me?”

Did she?

She loved Eisuke with all her being, and she’d do anything to make sure they were both happy—that was an undeniable fact. They’d been through so much together the past few years that she knew nothing could ever break their relationship. Hell, she was kidnapped, drowned, drugged, poisoned, nearly murdered, and none of that did anything to deter her feelings for him.

But sometimes, she still felt like the same scared person she was when she first met him. Always afraid of what other people thought of her, of what he thought of her.

“I assumed you’d, um, hate the idea, so I never really brought it up…”

Even as she fiddled with the two engagement rings on her finger, she was still afraid. He didn’t miss the subtle action as his eyebrows furrowed.

“I’m not someone who gets rattled easily. I already told you before that you never have to hold back with me.”

“I thought most men didn’t like getting…you know.”

“You should know by now that I’m not ‘most men,’” he said while smirking at her. “When I said I was up for anything you wanted, I meant it. Besides, I clearly remember you enjoying the night you blindfolded me.”

Of course she did. Seeing him so debauched at her hands sent her on a high she didn’t know she was capable of having.

“…Anyway, I’m just glad you’re not upset or anything.”

“Why would I be? It just means you want me so badly that you’d want to fuck me instead. I’d never be mad about that.”

She flushed at his casual vulgarity. His bluntness always caught her off guard, and she didn’t know how he could keep a straight face at the idea of her pegging him to high heaven.

“Eisuke!”

“Good to know your reactions don’t lie.” He let out a slight laugh before continuing. “Just let me know when you’re up for it.”

She didn’t know if she’d ever be ready for how he’d always blindside her with his frankness. Still, seeing him so amenable to her wants made her insides shudder with anticipation. Her earlier inhibitions were unfounded; he wouldn’t shy away from her anytime soon, and for that, she was grateful.

“Of course, Eisuke.”

--

It took a few days of mental preparation to get to this point, but she felt like she was finally ready.

They immediately headed for the bedroom once they’d finished their dinner and bath, and with the fervor Eisuke currently kissed her with, she was surprised at the enthusiasm he had.

Not that he was ever apathetic about sex—he initiated about ninety-five percent of the time—but seeing him so eager to let he do what she wanted made tonight feel different.

“Time to take these off, don’t you think?” He said, gesturing to the clothes they still wore. She held back a whine when he pulled back to strip himself.

Eisuke slowly unbuttoned his pajama shirt, and she stared at the show he willingly gave her.

He was always unfairly beautiful. In the dim light of their room, he looked almost ethereal, like he was only human and not some otherworldly being just because the universe missed a beat. No matter how well-tailored his suits were, they always hid how toned his physique really was—right now, only she could see the way the dip of his collarbones led to his firm chest, or the way the ridges of his muscles formed around his stomach.

At times, she’d stop to ask herself if it was okay for her to have all this to herself.

You’re still not good enough for him, a part of her said.

But he’s yours and yours alone, said another part of her.

“I can’t be the only one naked here.” His voice shook her out of her thoughts.

She took the time to strip as well, gingerly pulling her chemise over her shoulders. Even in the dim lighting, she could still feel his heated gaze on her.

Once she was fully nude, he didn’t waste any time pulling her close to him. They grappled as they kissed, nearly wrestling as their desperation threatened to overcome everything else. Like a dance they’d done so many times before, Eisuke let her push him down the bed, letting her take the lead.

She’d straddled him before, but knowing what was coming next sent a shot of lust straight to her core.

“Do what you want to me,” he all but growled at her.

In response, she stroked his cock in with the pace she knew he liked. He was already hard when she gripped him, and she could feel the precum drip from the head. Of course, he was never one to receive without giving, so he reached for her breasts, playing with her nipples until they pebbled from his ministrations.

She supposed that summed up their relationship in a nutshell. They both hated the idea of receiving anything without giving something in return. In turn, they’d do anything to make sure they reciprocated each other as much as possible.

Perhaps they were more similar than she thought.

He bucked into her hand when she pumped him from the base up, and just as he shuddered the same shudder that indicated his undoing, he stopped her.

“That’s—that’s enough of that,” he said, still panting from her handjob. “Time for the main event.”

“Of course.”

She pulled back and got the harness from the nightstand and fastened it around her thighs and ass. The dildo was next, and she fastened it to the harness with the metal clasps. Not once did Eisuke break eye contact with her, and she could’ve sworn she heard his breath hitch the moment she finished putting the dildo on.

She grabbed a bottle of lube from the nightstand before she climbed back into bed to kneel between his legs.

“I’ll start with my fingers. Just…you know…tell me if you want me to stop.”

He stared at her, as if challenging her to stop. Cocky as always.

“You seem like you know a lot about all this,” he said. The unspoken ‘have you done this with anyone else before’ was laced in there.

“I may have…read about it a lot in my free time.” Her cheeks burned at the plain admission that she’d been thinking about this for so goddamn long. “I just want you to feel good, Eisuke. I don’t want to hurt you.”

She’d never forgive herself if she hurt him in pursuit of her own pleasure.

“You could never hurt me,” he said, completely serious. “But alright, I’ll tell you if it’s too much.”

She bent down to give his cock a kiss before applying the lube on her fingers. He tensed when her kisses traveled down to his pelvic area. That only reminded her of the anxiousness bubbling in her the past few days.

“I’m about to put my finger in,” she said. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Was he nervous? Embarrassed? It was always hard to tell with her stoic fiancé. The man was an incomprehensible enigma when he wanted to be. Then again, she’d never known him to be the hesitant type.

Only one way to go but forward, then.

With one hand slowly pumping his cock, she pressed an oiled finger to his hole, which made him jerk involuntarily as he sucked in a sharp breath.

“Does it hurt? I’ll stop if it does.”

“No—no, just keep going.” He looked back at her as she pet the ring of muscle. “It just feels…strange.”

“Bad-strange?”

“No…just different-strange.” He was always weirdly honest during sex.

From the looks of it, Eisuke didn’t seem to have considerable experience down there, yet he still agreed to her humor her idiosyncrasies. The fact that they even got this far astounded her, especially as the dildo hung between her legs.

She licked her lips. She’d make sure he felt good, the same way he always did for her.

In a swift motion, she took his cock into her mouth and sucked. His hips jerked again, and she took that as a sign of pleasure. From where she knelt, she could tell he was struggling not to screw it all, grab her head, and fuck her mouth with wild abandon—not that she’d mind.

Nevertheless, there was a silent agreement that tonight was about her, and Eisuke Ichinomiya never broke his promises.

She took him even deeper down her throat when she gently pushed a finger inside him. His breathing quickened, and she pushed inside just a tad harder.

“Are you—are you in?” The composure he had earlier was slowly wearing off, if the way he was gripping the sheets was any indication.

“Yeah.”

“…Continue.”

She moved her finger inside, setting a slow rhythm for both of them to get used to.

“Tell me if I’ve found—” she paused for a bit, realizing she was going in this blindly, “the spot.”

“No,” he replied. So there was a spot. She wondered if hitting that spot would feel the same, similar to when he hit hers.

She supposed being breached for the first time was going to be mildly uncomfortable for anyone, even for Eisuke. In high school, she’d lost her virginity to her first boyfriend, and looking back on it now, she didn’t feel particularly good—they were just two teenagers trying to figure out where the hell things were supposed to go. During those days, she realized that touching herself felt eons better than having her ex guess where her hole was. She knew just where exactly to stroke, to touch, and that made her nights a little less dissatisfying.

Hm. If she applied the same rationale she used on herself on Eisuke—curling her finger upward, using a consistent motion—

“Fuck!” Eisuke’s whole body shook, and he looked down at her in a panic. “Do that—hah—again.”

The pride of making him shudder in pleasure from fingering his ass hit her all at once, and with a renewed vigor, she repeated the motion.

He bit his bottom lip as she did so, and she could tell he was still trying to keep some semblance of control by holding his voice back. She’d have to up the ante.

She pulled her finger out, put more lube on her hand, and pushed two fingers inside.

He moaned immediately at the contact, and from her place, she watched in awe as he writhed and squirmed in place. They’d had sex more times than she could count, and she couldn’t recall ever hearing him moan. Pants, yes. Grunts, absolutely. Moans were new, and now she found herself understanding why he’d always encourage her screams in bed.

“Does it feel good, Eisuke?” she asked sweetly, repeating the same question he’d asked her so many times before.

He was never big on verbal confirmation, but his resounding groan put a smile on her face.

One more finger, and she just knew he was close, especially with how his hips were jerking upwards.

But no, she couldn’t have him finish just yet. This was only the beginning. With the way his eyes were focused on hers, she knew he understood.

She removed her fingers from him, and applied the lubricant generously—this time, on the dildo. He watched her intently, and she could just smell the combined anticipation and lust coming from him in waves. She lined the tip with his hole, but didn’t push it inside yet.

“I know I said this earlier, but if you ever get uncomfortable…tell me to stop.”

“How considerate,” he snorted, “coming from someone about to fuck me senseless.”

From years of experience, there was only one thing that could shut him up.

Moving forward, she pressed their lips together and let their tongues sloppily meet. As she did so, she pushed the dildo inside, making him squeal (he’d never admit it, but she heard it loud and clear) into her mouth.

The wet and enticingly lewd noise coming from the dildo in his ass encouraged her to keep going.

“Oh—oh god,” Eisuke gasped, calling out a for a deity she knew he didn’t even believe in.

She continued with a slow pace, especially considering how bigger the toy was compared to her fingers. Her hips thrust against him with that same, uniform pace as he laid on the sheets, his mouth open wide.

She remembered how he paced himself whenever he’d pound into her. Copying Eisuke’s motions, she stopped for a moment—and when he looked up at her in indignation at the absence of the friction, she took advantage of that split second to give him a particularly brutal thrust.

“Ah, fuck—" he choked, not even trying to restrain himself anymore. Her lips curled at the sight of her fiancé below her.

This she could used to. Seeing him utterly debased at her hands sent a hot flash of lust to her gut. Only she was privy to this rarity—his legs were shamelessly spread, his eyes were rolled backwards, and his drool dripped down his mouth—

No wonder he liked being in control.

At any point during this whole ordeal, he could have flipped them both over. He had the strength to do it; he was taller than her by almost a foot, and he was fit enough to match even Soryu’s athleticism. But he didn’t.

He let her do as she pleased with him, and she felt her fondness for him bloom tenfold.

“Tell me you like this,” she said, leaning forward to breathe in his ear.

Eisuke glowered at her, summoning the last vestiges of faux-resistance he had left in him. “D-don’t ask me questions you already know the answer to,” he managed.

She narrowed her eyes at him, noticing the red flush of his heavy cock. It stood proud against his stomach, leaking on the ridges of his muscles. Her gaze moved down to the spot where his hole was stretched tightly around the thickness of the toy. His signature words from before played in her mind.

Your body doesn’t lie, he’d always tell her.

Neither does yours, she echoed back.

She increased the pace of her thrusts, and she knew she hit that spot when his moans turned into whimpers. His entire body shuddered at the sheer anticipation of his undoing.

“…Eisuke,” she said.

“What—"

“You’re doing so well.” She felt him jolt at that.

Eisuke whined and shook against her merciless pounding, but he still found the energy to look back at her. He was past the point of scowling now, his eyes shiny with unshed tears and his lips parted for her. Beneath the absolute depravity of it all, there was a tenderness he tried to hide. But she caught it all the same.

“Eisuke,” she repeated his name with all the warmth she could muster, “I love you.”

That had always been his undoing, and today was no different. Despite how aloof he made himself out to be, he’d always come undone whenever she’d say those three words. It was almost like a secret only they knew—that she held his only weakness and that he enjoyed it.

Eisuke let out one last groan of her name as his entire body spasmed at the force of her words. His cock spilled between them, covering them both with his seed. She’d never seen him cum his hard before, and as she jerked him through his orgasm, his heavy breathing slowed down.

Drained, she pulled out of him, unfastened her harness, and slumped next to him. Eisuke still heaved slightly from the tremors of his intense orgasm, but he wrapped his arms around her the moment he felt her beside him.

It was customary for them to cuddle after sex—provided, neither of them passed out first—and she found that this was her favorite part. Having his arms around her waist as he nuzzled between her breasts was a warm kind of intimacy she’d never tire of. She was sure he felt the same way.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, silently listening to the thumps of their heartbeats move in sync.

“MC,” Eisuke said, finally breaking the silence. “Since I did what you asked, can you do me a favor?”

“Okay. What is it?”

He pulled back to stare at her, smirking as he did so.

“Sit on my face.”

She blinked at him twice. “Um, right now?”

“Yes,” he whispered to her ear, sending another shiver up her body. “It’s only fair I do the same for you.”

She should’ve known than to underestimate his seemingly neverending libido. Letting out a resigned laugh, she moved to position herself to straddle him, making sure both her knees were on both sides of his head.

“God, MC,” he breathed, eyes zeroing in on her glistening cunt, “you’re so wet.”

“…No need for the running commentary.” Her cheeks blazed with heat.

“Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed after what you just did?”

“Hey, now, I—"

She couldn’t finish her sentence when she felt his hands grip her hips to pull her down to his face.

“Eisuke—ah—”

His tongue slipped immediately into her slit, and she rode his mouth, feeling the waves of pleasure emanate from her core.

Whenever he ate her out, he sometimes took his time, making sure she almost reached her peak and stopping right before she clenched on his tongue. Other nights, he ate her out with the fervor of a starving man, desperate to burn the taste of her slick to his memory

Tonight seemed to be leaning towards the latter.

Eisuke sucked on her clit, using his tongue to make small circles on the bundle of nerves. He was a far cry from the man she’d just fucked into submission earlier; this Eisuke was merciless and didn’t stop his ministrations, not even when she could already feel the coil within herself tighten.

“Close…I’m close,” she gasped.

A few more licks and one last suckle, and she pressed herself even further against his face. Her pussy clenched around his tongue, and she absently remembered the soundproof walls of their suite meant she could scream as loud as she pleased.

She felt hot pleasure throb within her and pour onto his face. Eisuke, not one to slow down, lapped up the slick like it was his last meal. In her fuck-dazed mind, she could vaguely feel a jolt, followed by something warm and wet behind her, but she paid it no mind.

Exhausted, she pulled away and laid herself next to him, nuzzling his neck.

Beside her, Eisuke was silent, taking in the intimacy of the moment. Her leg moved to wrap around him when she felt the sticky warmth on his stomach. The gears slowly turned in her head.

“Did you just…” The seed on his stomach was still hot, and considering the sudden jerk she’d felt earlier as she climaxed, was it possible that he—untouched—

“Don’t ask,” he murmured back, his arm moving to cover the blush on his face.

She’d long suspected he got off to her pleasure, and his reaction only proved her right.

Oh, Eisuke, she thought. You don’t have to hide that from me.

At that moment, she felt nothing but pure, unadulterated affection for him. With a smile on her face, she pulled him into her arms, hoping he could feel the same warmth he gave her.

[highfivecalum]

Currents {Surfer!CH}

a/n: ok so this was supposed to be like surfer!calum but uhhh i kind of forgot that whole plot as i was writing it lmao? there’s some, like beachy themes and mentions of surfing, and i didn’t want to change the moodboard because it’s kind of relevant, but it’s not like, all about surfing. but i still hope y’all enjoy this 17k random cute calum content hehehe happy reading :)!!! (also if this flops let’s pretend it didn’t happen because i haven’ written in like months) ~~~

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Currents: A body of water or air moving in a definite direction. 

Summary: Needing a change and needing to get away from her over-controlling mother, Joey moves across the world to live with her cousin in Australia, where she meets mysterious surfer boy, Calum.

***

“Joey!” Her head snapped up from her phone, a smile making its way onto her tired face at the sight of her cousin that she hadn’t seen in way too many years. Elise, Joey’s cousin who was only four years older than her, was nice enough to let her escape her life in Seattle, and stay with her in Australia for however long she pleased. “You look exhausted.”

“Yeah.” Joey laughed, pulling away from their hug, smiling down at her shorter, but older and gorgeous, cousin. She missed having her cousin around. Elise having left the city to move to Australia after meeting and falling in love with a man who was from there, Joey rarely got to see her her favorite, and only cousin on her mother’s side. “Fifteen hour flight will do that to you.”

“Right, right.” Elise hummed, picking up the three bags that Joey brought, and nodded her head in the direction of where her car was parked, still on with her hazard lights flashing. She knew they couldn’t stand there any longer and chat due to the crazy traffic that the busy airport brought. “Let’s getcha home!”

The drive from the airport to Elise’s house in the small city just outside of Sydney was only twenty minutes away, and for that Joey was thankful. All she wanted to do was take a shower to wash off the airplane smell and grime, put on her favorite t-shirt, and crawl into bed. She knew that getting used to the time difference, and sleeping off the jet lag, would take more time than she wanted it to, but, she had all the time in the world to sleep and adapt to her new, temporary home.

“So,” Elise tapped on the steering wheel and glanced at her cousin, smiling at the way she was looking at her surroundings in awe. She had never been to Australia before, and Elise remembered her reaction was the exact same the first time she visited. “How long are you planning on staying?”

Joey puffed out a breath of air and readjusted herself, turning to lean against the window of the bright yellow Jeep that Elise was driving, and pulled her legs to her chest. She twisted her lips from side to side, not knowing the answer to give Elise, since she didn’t even know herself. “No clue. Not forever, obviously, but just long enough for my mom to realize that what she’s pushing me to do is what she wants, not me.”

“Still pushing the whole lawyer thing, huh?”

“She won’t give it up.” Joey rolled her eyes. Even the mere thought of her mother pissed her the hell off. She loved her mother dearly, she really did, but she couldn’t stand the pressure and all the pushing her mother was doing. “I mean, I’m twenty-two years old, for God’s sake. I think it’s a little too late to go to law school.”

Elise giggled, nodding her head in agreement. “How is your mom? I haven’t talked to her in months.”

“Fine, I guess. Just the same neurotic, control freak, mother Jill.”

“Well, now you got me; fun, laid back, favorite cousin, Elise.”

Joey laughed, shaking her head in amusement, but still smiling at the thought of being in a new city, with her favorite cousin who lived two minutes away from the beach, thousands and thousands away from her mother.

***

The Australian sun shining through Joey’s curtain-less windows was a pleasant change from the gloomy and rainy Seattle sky that she was used to. Letting out a high pitched squeal as she stretched her tired and sore body, Joey stared up at her ceiling in complete happiness. She had been sleeping on and off for nearly a week, trying to get used to the time change and rid herself of jet lag. It seemed to be working, considering Joey felt much better that morning than all of the others.

“She’s alive!” Elise clapped her hands at the sight of a tired looking, bed-headed Joey in nothing but her oversized t-shirt that stopped mid thigh. “I was just about to go upstairs and make sure you were still breathing.”

“Not to worry. I’m all rested up now.” Joey assured her, sliding into one of the wooden chairs at the dining table, crossing her arms on the table and resting her head on them. She hummed happily, contently, at the feeling of the sun beaming down on her and the smell of bacon cooking and coffee brewing. “So,” Joey got up to pour herself a cup of coffee. “What are we doing today?”

Elise laughed, flipping the bacon over and spun around, resting her back against the counter to look at Joey. “Whatever you wanna do,” Elise winked. “We could grab some lunch and go to the beach?” Joey nodded her head in agreement, wanting nothing more than to explore her new town. “But, do you mind if my boyfriend comes with? He’s been out of town teaching surfing lessons and I told him we could hang out.”

Joey’s ears perked up at the sound of meeting Elise’s boyfriend she had heard so much about. “That’s fine.” Joey finished her coffee and put the cup in the sink. “I’ll go get ready then!” 

Joey skipped up the stairs and happily pranced to her bedroom that she loved so much. Seafoam green walls with yellow, pink, and blue objects and accent pieces to match it, a huge window taking up a whole wall, and her own small, but personal, bathroom. 

After her much needed shower, Joey let her dirty blonde hair air dry, keeping it natural in loose waves, applied her daily light amount of makeup, and dressed herself in a yellow bikini with a white, flowing cover up on top. 

She felt a bit exposed, with her bikini showing through her coverup, but Elise assured her that nobody would be staring, it was normal for people to walk around in just swimwear. That was one thing, out of many, that Joey would have to get used to. 

***

“Are we day drinking?” Joey asked as her eyes looked through the menu that Elise had already memorized, having been there a million times. The menu was endless and Joey really wasn’t sure what she was in the mood to eat. 

Elise scoffed out a laugh, Ashton’s high pitched giggle following after hers. On both of their days off they enjoyed drinking and spending time at the beach. “Is that even a question? Of course we are.” 

They ordered their respective drinks and food and made small talk while they waited for their food to be served. Clearing his throat, Ashton leaned forward and laced his fingers together. “So, Joey, tell me about yourself.” 

“Erm, what do you want to know?” Joey laughed nervously. She wasn’t sure why she was nervous, really, it was just her cousin’s boyfriend, after all. But that question always put her on edge.

“The basics.” Ashton shrugged. Joey went on to tell Ashton about herself; why she moved away, how long she was planning on staying, and so forth. 

“I’m currently job hunting,” Joey puffed out her cheeks. Job hunting was one of her least favorite things, ever. It took way too long and was way too stressful and was never promising. “El said she isn’t charging me rent, but I feel bad, so I want to pitch in and help out.”

“Oh, really? Well, I own the surf shop down the street and I’m looking for some new people to work. I have a few guys workin’ for me, but they’re more focused on the surf instructor side of the shop, so I’m in need of a cashier.” Ashton told her and Joey quirked an eyebrow. “If you’re interested, you have the job.”

“Seriously? You’ll give me a job? Just like that?”

“Why not?” Ashton shrugged. “You’re Elise’s cousin, I trust my judgement, and you.”

Joey grinned happily, clinking her glass against Ashton’s, her new boss, and felt a weight lifted off of her shoulders. She finally had a job, after a week of living there, and all she could think about was how things were finally starting to look up. 

***

Joey was nervous, to say the least, as she walked into Ashton’s shop, Surf and Co. A basic name, she thought, but that’s exactly what it was - surfing equipment, swimwear, towels, and everything else that is a beach essential. 

“Joey, hey!” Ashton waved her over to the counter where the cash register and another guy were standing. Another very attractive guy. “This is Luke,” Joey looked at him, taking in his bright blue eyes, blonde curly hair, and tanned skin. “He’ll be training you. He’s a great friend and a good teacher.”

Oh, God. Joey thought. She was already nervous for her first day and now this ridiculously attractive surfer was training her? Her body felt like it was on fire and it wasn’t just from the sun that was shining through the large window to her left. 

“Nice to meet ya, Joey,” Luke extended his hand for her to shake and she did so politely, and nervously. His smile was bright and pretty and it had Joey smiling back easily.

“Yeah, you too, Luke.”

Ashton excused himself, going to his office in the back of the store to finish some paperwork and payroll, leaving Luke to show Joey the ropes of the store. 

Joey had worked in retail before in Seattle, so she learned quite quickly how to work the register which Luke was thankful for, since it gave them time to chill out and get to know each other better, since it was a slow Monday afternoon. The store didn’t usually pick up until after three when people were starting to get off work.

“Have you made any friends yet?” Luke asked, spinning around in the wooden stool that was behind the counter. 

“Erm, not really.” Joey laughed sadly, with a small shrug. “I mean I haven’t really had time, you know? With trying to get adjusted to everything, unpacking, and trying to find a job, I’ve been a bit busy.”

Luke modded his head in understanding. “Well, at least you have Elise, right?” Joey hummed in agreement, a small smile pulling at her lips at the thought of her cousin. “She has a lot of friends, including me and the rest of the guys, so I’m sure you’ll be meeting new people soon. But, in the meantime, you can hang out with me.” Luke flashed her a beautifully blinding smile, showing off his pearly whites. 

Joey smiled at how nice and thoughtful Luke was being, even though she didn’t know who the hell the ‘rest of the guys’ were, but she was sure she would find out soon enough. 

***

The party that Elise had talked Joey into going to was in full swing. Ashton’s house was packed full of people, only three of them that Joey knew, but the alcohol was helping her let loose and her anxiety dissipated with each sip she took, even though the liquor burned her throat. 

A sudden elbow to her back had Joey spinning around to see who was behind her, though she was sure it wasn’t anybody she knew, but was surprised to see Luke. “Oh, hey.” Joey laughed. 

“Joey, hi!” Luke pulled her into a side hug, slinging his arm over her shoulder, Joey happily reciprocating the hug. He smelled like booze, which was to be expected, and she sure she did, too. “Havin’ fun?”

“I guess so,” Joey shrugged. “Don’t really know anybody here, though. And I’m not sure where Elise ran off to.”

“Well,” Luke dropped his arm, taking Joey’s hand in his, pulling her along with him. “Let’s go change that!” Joey really appreciated how friendly and welcoming Luke was being, considering she was the new girl in a town where everybody knew everybody, and he could be spending his time doing anything else. “Guys, this is Joey!”

Two guys, sitting around the fire, looked up at the sound of Luke’s voice, one of them smiling up at the girl that Luke was introducing, the other’s face stoic, never changing. 

“Nice t’meet you, Joey! I’m Michael.” He stood up, shaking her hand happily, Michael grinned at her. He, too, like every other male in Australia, it seemed, was also quite cute with a contagious smile. “You’re Elise’s cousin, right?”

“That’s right.” Joey smiled at him. “Nice to meet you, too.”

“This is Calum,” Luke pointed in the other guys' direction, Joey’s eyes following his long finger, gaze landing on the most gorgeous looking man she had ever seen, even in the darkness, she could see his face just fine from the flames from the bonfire. “You’ll be seein’ a lot of them.”

“Nice to meet you,” Joey extended her hand out to Calum as he approached her and Luke, but much to her surprise, and disappointment, all he offered her was a purse of his lips and a head nod, walking directly past her and inside the sliding doors. 

“Um,” Joey frowned. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Nah,” Luke sighed sadly. “That’s just Calum, distant and non-approachable. He’s a bit closed off around new people, but you’ll get used to him in due time, no worries.”

Luke was reassuring, kind of, but Joey still didn’t like the feeling of being brushed off by a guy who she didn’t know, and who didn’t know her. 

***

Calum couldn’t stop staring at her from across the kitchen. And he hated himself for it. “I thought you said that Joey is Elise’s cousin?” Calum asked Luke as the two of them leaned against Ashton’s kitchen counter. 

“She is.” Luke confirmed with the nod of his head. 

“So, Joey is a she?” Calum frowned, his eyes never leaving Joey, who was standing in the living room laughing at something Ashton and Michael were saying. 

“You sound disappointed.” Luke said, his voice full of amusement. 

“I just thought we would be gettin’ another dude around here to hang out with. Not-“

“A pretty girl?” Luke smirked, bumping Calum’s shoulder with his own, receiving an elbow to the ribs. Pretty was an understatement, Calum thought.

But, Calum knew that Luke was right. Joey was attractive, gorgeous even, with already slightly tanned skin, light colored, but not blonde hair, and a few tattoos scattered on her body. Even in the dim lighting, Calum could so clearly see how bright and pretty her green eyes were. 

“What’s your deal with her? You didn’t even say hi to her, you totally stiffed her, dude.” Luke frowned down at his barely shorter friend. Luke liked Joey so far, only knowing her for a few days, but he liked her vibe and her personality. He didn’t understand why, without Calum even knowing her, didn’t. 

Calum simply shrugged, pushing himself off the counter to walk away from Luke and busy himself with the other people he knew in the house, those people not being his friends, who were surrounding Joey and listening to her animatedly tell a story, with Elise joining in every so often. 

Calum was going to stay far away from her. Or at least try to. 

***

“That’s so amazing,” Joey sighed in amazement as she watched the dozens of people effortlessly surfing the waves, Elise and her friends included. She never thought she would be living on a beach, but she loved every second of it, even if it was only the second and a half week of her being there. “I wish I could be that good at something.”

“Why can’t you be?” Michael asked, looking at her behind his shaded eyes. The two of them, the only two in the group of friends that didn’t know how to surf, were sitting on the huge beach towel laid out on the sand, listening to music, and sipping Corona. 

“I have no skills,” Joey admitted with a laugh. “I especially have no skills when it comes to being in the water, you know, like, water sports.”

“You and me both.” Michael snorted. “I’ve lived here my whole life and all my friends can surf or wakeboard, and here I am, talentless and jealous.” Michael didn’t really mind, he would rather sit and do nothing and watch his talented friends, than put the time and energy into learning something new. Laziness was something he and Joey had in common.

“We should take lessons,” Joey suggested with a cheeky smile. She bumped his shoulder with his, prompting him to look at her and crack a smile. “I’ll do it if you do it.”

“Seriously?” Michael laughed, not even being able to picture himself sitting, let alone standing and riding, on a surfboard. And, really, Michael was just too lazy. He wasn’t ashamed to admit it. “I would probably break my neck, so I’m gonna have to pass on that, Joey.”

“Pass on what?” Elise panted as she jogged up to the pair, shoving her board into the sand and collapsing down on the towel with Ashton, Luke, and Calum following her shortly after. 

“Surfing lessons,” Joey hummed happily, her head thrown back, her hair brushing the towel below her, letting the sun bake her skin. 

“You totally should!” Luke exclaimed excitedly. He would have offered to teach her, but he didn’t have enough time on his hands. “I’d give you lessons, but I’m booked for a few months, so is Ash.”

“It’s oka-“

“Calum’s not,” Ashton interrupted her quickly, kicking Calum’s foot with his own, a smirk on his face. 

“I’m not what?” Calum looked up from his phone, with furrowed eyebrows, clearly confused and clearly paying no attention to the conversation at hand. Joey wasn’t surprised, really, the two times she had been around him he had totally ignored her.  

“Booked for surfing lessons.”

“Oh,” Calum nodded. “Yeah, ‘m always open to taking new clients. Who are we talkin’ about?” 

“Joey,” Luke smiled knowingly. He wanted the two of them to get to know each other better, wanted Calum to befriend her like he and the rest of the guys did so easily, and he knew that Calum was trying to keep his distance. But why? Luke didn’t know. And he was determined to change that.

Calum let out a heavy sigh, locking eyes with Joey who was directly across from him, biting his lower lip at the nervous expression on her face. “Fine.” Calum knew he couldn’t get out of it, and neither could Joey. 

***

“Hey,” Joey stood up, wiping the sand off of her bikini bottom clad butt, smiling nervously at Calum. He didn’t look too pleased to be there and Joey knew that he was doing this against his will. “Thanks for doing this.”

“Whatever.” Calum rolled his eyes, dropping his board to the sand and pulling the wax out of the pocket of his swim trunks to wax his board. “Let’s just get this over with, yeah?”

Joey frowned, but mumbled a quiet okay and followed Calum’s lead and started waxing the board that Elise had lent to her for the day. She knew that once she got the hang of it, if she ever did, she would go out and buy her own board, but the spare one that Elise had would do for now. 

After learning the basics of how to stand, where to stand, and how to work the board, Calum stretched his gorgeous body, that Joey couldn’t keep her eyes off of, and looked at her expectantly. He looked bored.

“You wanna get in the water today or wait until next time?”

“Um,” Joey bit her lip. She wasn’t sure if she was ready, but she was going to pull the trigger, and she was burning hot under the blazing sun.  “Today?”

“You’re going to surf in that?” Calum nodded to her body and the black string bikini she had on. He had his wetsuit in the trunk of his car, always being prepared, but he figured that Joey, who had never surfed before, didn’t own one yet. But she could easily go to the store and pick one up for herself.

Joey looked down at herself, frowned, and looked back up at Calum. Tilting her head in confusion, Joey asked him, “What’s wrong with this?”

Calum laughed, though there wasn’t a hint of humor in it, and shook his head. Jesus, Ashton, Calum thought. “Leave it to Ashton to hire a clueless girl, who knows absolutely nothing about surfing, to work at a surf shop.” 

Narrowing her eyes at him, Joey crossed her arms across her chest and tilted her head to the side, glaring at him, though he was paying no attention to her. “Why don’t you like me?”

“I don’t know you, Joey.” 

“Yeah and you won’t ever get to know me if you avoid me every time we hang out.”

“Alright, let’s get one thing straight,” Calum stood up straight, eyeing her down. “We don’t hang out,” he motioned between the two of them. “You hang out with your cousin, who is dating my best friend, who I hang out with all the time. If it were up to me, we wouldn’t ever be hanging out and I would not be giving you lessons today. For free.”

“Then why are you?”

“Because Ashton and Elise would be pissed at me if I didn’t. Understand?”

“Yeah, I understand,” Joey shook her head angrily. Picking up her purse, she fished a few twenties out of her wallet and threw them in Calum’s direction, paying him for the lessons and the time wasted, even though she didn’t have to. “I understand that you’re a dick. Thanks for the lesson.”

“I don’t need your money! It’s free!” Calum yelled after her, cupping his hands around his face, as she stormed away as best as she could in her flip flops in the sand, forgetting about and leaving Elise’s spare board behind. Calum could handle getting that home to her. 

Turning around, Joey continued to walk, backwards this time, and yelled back at him, with her middle fingers up in the air. “I don’t want to owe you any favors, asshole!”

***

The Australian heat is something that Joey will never get used to. After living in Seattle for over ten years, and rarely ever going on vacations, sun was a rare thing in her life. And she loved it. 

The loud splashing into the pool had her peeling her eyes open to see Michael on Luke’s shoulders and Elise on Ashton’s, playing a game of chicken in the in ground pool in the backyard of Elise and Joey’s house. 

The lazy, but content smile on Joey’s diminished when she saw Calum walk out of the sliding doors that led out to the backyard and pool. He was invited, of course he was, but Elise was unsure if he was actually going to come, and Joey really hoped he wouldn’t. But, of course, he showed up. Two hours late. 

“Cal! You’re finally here!” Michael shouted, paying more attention to Calum than to the game, and Elise took it as her chance to push his shoulders as hard as she could and knock him into the pool. “Fuck!” Michael’s cursing was the last thing to be heard before he fell backwards into the pool. 

Ashton and Elise cheered in victory about their win as Calum made himself comfortable on one of the vacant pool chairs. Joey got up to throw away her empty beer bottle, opening her mouth to offer to get anyone a drink, when Luke came barreling toward her, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. “Luke!” Joey squealed. “Put me down!”

She pounded her small fists against his butt, making him giggle, and he returned the favor, smacking his very large hand, against her scantily bikini bottom clad butt. Not too hard, but enough to make it jiggle slightly and enough for Calum not to be able to tear his eyes off of them.

Calum watched as Luke spun Joey around, playfully smacking her butt every few seconds, causing a feeling that Calum didn’t like in the pit of his stomach. It wasn’t anger, it wasn’t annoyance, he knew that, and he really hoped it wasn’t unwarranted jealousy. 

“You ready, Joey?” Joey could almost hear the mischief in Luke’s voice.

“Ready for what?” She exclaimed, not getting an answer from Luke, as he was already running and jumping into the water, submerging them both. “Luke!” Her voice rang throughout the backyard as she wiped her face clean of pool water. “You’re such a dick!”

Splashing her in the face, Luke smirked deviously, mumbling a quiet, “not as dick of a dick as Calum,” into Joey’s ear before swimming away from her. 

She almost regretted running her mouth about Calum to Luke, Ashton, and Elise while they were all at the shop, but she needed to get it off her chest before she exploded. She just didn’t understand why he hated her so much without even knowing her. 

Joey rolled her eyes but silently agreed before pushing herself out of the water. Calum’s eyes were on Joey as she wrung her hair out, her half naked body due to her very small bikini, glistening with a combination of water, sweat, and tanning oil. He had to force himself to look away from her once their eyes met. He didn’t want to stop looking at her. 

He may not have liked her, but he had to admit that she was surely a sight to be seen. Even a blind person could see that.

***

It pissed Joey off to no end how attractive she thought Calum was. His looks mixed with his accent and his tough, don’t give a shit, demeanor, was something that she found way too attractive. But his attitude towards her? A complete turn off. 

“You’re staring,” Luke leaned over to whisper into Joey’s ear. Although it wasn’t quite whispering considering they were in a loud, crowded bar with music thumping. “Again.”

“Shut up,” Joey grumbled and sipped her Jack and Coke, practically having to tear her eyes away from Calum. “It’s just not fair,” she sighed dramatically. Luke raised his eyebrows, prompting Joey to continue. “He’s so attractive but he’s such a dickhead to me for no Goddamn reason!”

Luke snorted, finishing his drink that he had been nursing, since he was voted to be the designated driver of the night. “He’ll get past it, trust me.” Luke stood up, leaving a sloppy kiss on her cheek. “How could he not like you? You’re great, Joe.”

The corners of her lips turned up and she nodded as a thank you as she now finished her drink. She, too, got up to get another drink, but Luke stopped her since he was on his way to the bathroom, he offered to get her her next drink, which she appreciated. She wasn’t in the mood to stand and wait for ten minutes to get a drink. 

Looking away from Luke, Joey and Calum’s eyes met, and she pursed her lips, and unsurprisingly, his face held no reaction. What else could she have expected? She didn’t think he would ever warm up to her. And she hated that feeling. 

***

“Why is that your name?” Calum asked, finally breaking the silence between them for the first time since they got on their boards and paddled into the water, which had been almost over an hour.

“I’m sorry?” Joey furrowed her eyebrows. 

“Your name - it’s a dude’s name.”

Joey scoffed out a laugh and shook her head, running her fingers through the still water. There hadn’t been many good waves that day, so Calum and Joey floated on their boards in silence while they waited. “It’s actually Josephine. I’ve hated it since I could say it, so I’ve always gone by Joey.”

“Why did you move here?” She looked over at Calum again, looking so perfect and natural on his surfboard, and sighed. Was he really trying to make small talk? 

“Are you asking because you’re genuinely curious or you’re just bored of the silence?”

Calum shrugged. “Little bit of both, I guess.”

That surprised Joey. Calum had never taken an interest in her life and she really didn’t think he ever would, but she didn’t mind. She appreciated it, really. And she was deathly bored of sitting in the water without speaking. 

“My mother is an overbearing control freak who tries to plan my every move,” Joey spit out without hesitation, shaking her head distastefully at the thought of her mother. “She’s been pushing me to go to law school since I was thirteen and never gave up. Finally, a few months ago, I told her I didn’t want to and I told her I needed to get away from her and from the city. A twenty minute phone call with Elise later and now I’m here.”

Calum opted to stay quiet and simply nod his head. He couldn’t imagine how stressful it was for Joey to grow up with so much pressure on her. His upbringing was much different with his parents letting him choose his own career path, letting him choose to do whatever it was he wanted to do, with their support. 

“Sounds like shit.” Was all Calum had to say. Joey couldn’t help but laugh and nod her head in agreement. Calum watched her look out at the water, the sun glistening down on her and the ocean. As his eyes trailed down her body, they caught sight of a tattoo he hadn’t noticed before. It was a date of some sort in Roman numerals. “What’s that tattoo mean?”

Joey looked down at her ribs, tracing the date lightly, a sad smile on her face that Calum could clearly see. “The date my father died.”

Calum’s lips made an O shape and he suddenly felt bad for asking and prying into her personal life. He hadn’t ever asked her personal questions before, so he really didn’t know anything about her. It was weird, for Calum, to hear Joey open up to him. 

“Hey,” Joey looked up at the sound of his voice and followed the nod of his head, looking in front of them to finally see a wave forming. “That’s all you.”

Joey swallowed the nervous lump in her throat, but pushed her anxiety to the side and paddled forward. She did everything Calum had taught her in the three lessons they’ve had, not many, but enough for her to grasp the concept of how to catch and ride a wave. Maybe not well, but she could get the job done.

The lessons paid off as Joey successfully caught and rode the wave, her excited squeals of excitement and clapping had Calum smiling at her smile and happiness against his will. He watched as she dropped into the water, popping back up just seconds later, and swam over to where Calum was sitting on his own board. Their smiles mirrored each other’s. 

“Hell yeah!” Calum held his hand up for a high-five which Joey happily gave him and she tried to paddle away, but couldn’t get any further as Calum wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her closer to him. “That was amazing, really. For your first time catching a wave - I’m impressed.”

“Thanks, Calum.” Joey blushed, but couldn’t help but smile widely, showing off her pretty and perfect teeth. “All thanks to you.”

“Please,” Calum scoffed. “You’ve got natural talent.”

Joey rolled her eyes but smiled at the man in front of her, who, for once, was being nice to her. It was a weird, one-eighty, change for the two of them to be talking and laughing together, but they both welcomed it.

The moment was perfect, really. With Joey and Calum’s faces only inches away, the sound of waves crashing, and the sight of the sun setting behind Joey and in front of Calum, it was the perfect moment, Calum thought. And he didn’t want it to slip away. 

Before he could process it, Calum’s lips were on Joey’s and before Joey could think about what she was doing, she was kissing him back. Calum couldn’t find it in himself to stop kissing her, not until he felt her hands in his hair, prompting him to pull away. 

Their breaths were heavy and their chests panting. “We, uh,” Calum’s breath fanned over Joey’s lips and her eyes fluttered shut, hoping he would press his against hers one more time. “We should get going before it gets dark out.”

With that, Calum pulled away, paddling towards the shore, leaving Joey more confused than ever. 

***

“Dude,” Elise snapped in Joey’s face, knocking her out of her daydream. Joey looked up from her nails and the chipped polish she had absentmindedly been picking at and raised her eyebrows at her cousin in question. “What is with you? You’ve been acting weird lately.”

“Ugh,” Joey threw her head back in exasperation. She had debated telling Elise about her and Calum’s weird kiss in the ocean, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to spill the beans when it really wasn’t that big of a deal. “Calum, um,” Joey cleared her throat anxiously. “I- Calum kissed me.”

“What?” Elise nearly spit her coffee out on the concrete below them. The two of them were sitting outside at the small table in the corner of their backyard, in the shade but could still feel like the sun on them, and it was nice, but the conversation about to take place was not nice. “I’m sorry - he what?”

“After I caught a wave, he seemed so happy and proud of me and I guess we got caught up in the moment and he kissed me.” Joey explained more in depth. “And then he swam away and acted like nothing happened!”

“Well, have you talked to him about it?”

Joey made a bored face. As if she had talked to him. Even if she did try to speak to him about it, she was sure he wouldn’t give her the time of day. “Yeah, right. I haven’t seen him since and I don’t have his phone number, so,” Joey trailed off in annoyance. 

“Want me to talk to him?”

“God no,” Joey shook her head quickly. She didn’t want anybody else to get involved. It was her and Calum’s mess, so they had to sort it out themselves, as civil adults. “I’ll deal with it. Eventually.”

Which was going to be hard, because Joey really didn’t think Calum could act like an adult, let alone a civil one. 

***

After the bar, Calum walked back to Elise’s with her and Ashton, and stayed for another drink, chatting and laughing with them in the kitchen. They all had a good buzz from being out, and Calum was in an even better mood since Joey was too tired to go out, so she was glued to Elise’s side like she always was. He hadn’t seen or spoken to her since their weird kiss, that he, regretfully, initiated, and he wasn’t looking forward to seeing her. 

“Alright,” Calum chugged down the rest of his beer and stood up from the stool that was at the marble island, and shrugged his jacket back on. It was getting late and he didn’t want to be walking home too late, even though his house was only a ten minute walk away. “I’m outta here. See you guys later.”

“Get home safe! Love you!” Elise and Ashton yelled as he let himself out through the sliding doors that led to the backyard and a walkway directly to his own house.

He stopped in his tracks, unlit cigarette between his lips and lighter in hand, when he saw Joey, curled up under a blanket, a hoodie that he was pretty sure was his that Elise stole from him, with the hood up and weed leaf socks on her feet. Why she was outside? He had no clue. It was nice out, sure, but she had a perfectly fine bed inside just a few feet away. 

He saw the empty glass of wine on the ground next to her, as he slowly and quietly approached her sleeping body. She looked peaceful, and adorable, as she slept, which Calum hated to admit, and he didn’t want to wake her up, but it was half past one in the morning, and he didn’t want to leave her out there in the dark and with the mosquitos. 

“Hey,” Calum, crouched down to lightly shake Joey’s body, watching her stir and open her eyes, looking around in confusion. She clearly wasn’t planning on sleeping outside for the night. “Why’re you asleep out here?”

“Hmm,” Joey hummed tiredly and closed her eyes again, cuddling into herself more with her knees pulled up to her chest. Even though she was outside on a lawn chair, she was too comfy to get up. “Spider in my room. Couldn’t find it to kill it.”

Calum snorted. Typical, he thought. “C’mon, let‘s get you inside, yeah?” 

“Can’t get up.” 

“Jesus,” Calum huffed and pocketed his long forgotten, and much needed, cigarette, and stood up to his full height, taking the blanket off of her and draping it over his shoulder, effortlessly picking her up bridal style, and made his way inside. Joey was quite small, barely over one hundred and ten pounds and shorter than Calum, most people were, so carrying her was easy and effortless for him. 

Toeing her bedroom door open, Calum flicked the light switch on causing Joey to groan and hide her face in his chest. He fucking hated now nice and natural it felt. 

He had never been in her room before, didn’t have a reason to, so he looked around as he settled Joey in her bed. He had been in the room before, of course, but not since Joey made it her own. Fairy lights were hung above her bed and candles were scattered everywhere, and her bed sheets were bright white with flowers on them, unlike the boring gray ones Elise used to have on the bed. 

It seemed to fit her, Calum thought, and he caught himself smiling at the picture on her nightstand, of her and Elise when they were younger. “Wait,” Calum was stopped from walking any further, his plans on leaving Joey to sleep long forgotten as the grip she had on his wrist loosened. “Stay. Please.”

Calum was hesitant, one because Joey was nearly in a full slumber, and two because he was a little bit more than tipsy and the offer sounded way too appealing. Going against his better judgment, Calum sighed heavily and took a seat on the other side of her bed, his shoes on the floor next to him, and his body above the blankets, not under like Joey was. 

He couldn’t fall asleep, with her right next to him and her perfume in his nose, that was for damn sure. So he sat there, wide awake, staring at the ceiling. And before Joey could wake up, Calum was gone. He wasn’t sure what he regretted more; staying the night or leaving before she woke up.

***

The little bell above the door rang throughout the shop, and Joey locked and put her phone in the drawer to her left, wanting to look professional while she greeted the new customer. “Welcome to Surf and C-“ Joey’s words died on her tongue as she made eye contact with her mother, who she hadn’t seen in over a month. “Mom?”

“Josephine.” Jill smiled, though it was clearly fake, and looked around the shop. Her nose scrunched up at the sight of her daughter behind the counter, wearing a bathing suit with a see thru shirt and jean shorts on, her flip flops on the floor below her as she sat criss cross applesauce on the stool. 

“Wh-what are you doing here?” Joey was shocked, to say the least. The last time she saw or spoke to her mother, they were screaming at each other and saying things neither of them meant, and would soon regret. 

“I came to see how you were doing, sweetie.” Jill rested her arms on the counter across from Joey. Joey swallowed nervously, knowing full well that her mother would have nothing good to say. “Seems like you’re doing worse than you were in Seattle.”

“Mom-“

“You could have had it all, Josephine! A good, stable, job in a law firm, not a beach shop, and a nice man in your life. What do you have here?” Jill held her arms up, motioning to the empty store she was working in. “You have nothing going for you here. Have you even met anyone you can foresee a future with?”

“Did you really travel eight thousand miles to come lecture me?” Joey asked, completely ignoring the questions her mother was asking her and the disapproval in her voice. Joey wasn’t having it. 

“I came to bring you home.”

“I’m not coming home, mom.”

“Josephine-“

“No! I’m not leaving here. Not yet.” Joey stood her ground, standing up to her mother for only the second, or third, time in her life. “You want me to leave, you want me to go to law school, you want me to find a husband. You. It has always been about you! I’m a grown woman, I’m done listening to you and your bullshit.”

Joey’s voice cracked and her eyes and nose stung and she knew she was about to start crying. Not tears of sadness, but of anger and frustration. She couldn’t stand her mother and the need for her to be perfect. Joey would never be perfect. 

“You want me to be this perfect daughter and guess what? I’m not! I’m not the daughter you want me to be and I never will be. Not as long as I’m around you.”

“Fine,” Jill rubbed her gloss covered lips together and picked up her purse from the chair next to her. Joey’s eyes were filled with unshed tears. “I just want you to know that if you do change your mind and come back to Seattle, you don’t have a place in my home anymore.”

The tears finally fell. “I don’t want one.” With that, Jill turned on her heel and stormed out of the shop, no goodbyes, no I love you’s, nothing, and Joey couldn’t find it in her to care, really. 

Once the door was shut, Joey hid her face in her hands and let the tears fall. She wasn’t sobbing, her shoulders weren’t shaking and there weren’t any loud sobs leaving her mouth, just a few tears that she shouldn’t have even been shedding over her mother. 

“Uh, hey.” At the sound of Calum’s voice, Joey’s head snapped up. Of course he was there - the last person she wanted to see. She hastily wiped at her cheeks and avoided all eye contact with him. “You okay?”

“How long have you been here?”

“Long enough.” Calum smiled innocently. “That sounded rough.”

Joey scoffed. “No shit.”

Joey wasn’t sure what she was expecting. Maybe a half ass “I’m sorry” from Calum that he didn’t entirely mean, or total silence, but sure as hell not a hug from him. It was foreign, hugging him. They had never been so close together, despite their kiss and him laying in her bed with her - both of which they acted like didn’t happen. 

“I know I don’t know the situation, but you shouldn’t let her get to you like that, yeah?” Calum mumbled, his cheek pressed against the top of Joey’s head. This is the closest, and longest, they had ever been touching each other. “I know I obviously didn’t know you in Seattle, but you seem happy here, from what I can tell. You shouldn’t let her show up here out of nowhere and fuck up your mood.”

Joey sniffled and nodded her head, her hair rubbing against Calum’s bare chest due to his wetsuit being unzipped and only hanging around his hips. “You’re right,” Joey’s voice was quiet and she figured that the goosebumps that rose on Calum’s skin were from the cold air, not her breath. “Thanks, Calum.”

“Am I interrupting something?” Luke appeared out of nowhere with a smirk on his face, and Calum, quickly and sadly, pulled away from their hug. It was too short for Calum’s liking and he found himself wanting to hold her for longer, to make her feel better after getting berated from her mother. He had no clue where these unexpected feelings came from and he didn’t want anyone to know about them. Not Luke, not Michael, not Ashton, and especially not Joey or Elise.

“Just tryin’ to cheer your friend up so she stops complaining.” Calum brushed him off, trying to act like he didn’t actually care about Joey or her feelings, which wasn’t true. Clapping him on the shoulder, Calum grabbed his surfboard and exited the shop, leaving Luke confused and Joey with an even bigger frown on her face. 

Why the fuck was he so confusing?

***

“Oh, fuck.” Calum cursed under his breath as he watched another, cocky and selfish, surfer swim up on Joey and take her wave right out from under her. There were some competitive surfers in their town, it wasn’t a secret, but Calum was hoping to avoid them while he and Joey were in the water. Calum knew that Joey wasn’t really ready to go up against any other surfers, wasn’t as strong, and he was worried about what would happen. 

It was unexpected and Joey hadn’t even seen the much bigger and better surfer swimming up next to her, too focused on trying to surf the wave she knew she could catch. Caught off guard, a guttural scream left her lips, catching the attention of Calum and the rest of the few surfers scattered around the beach. Calum was instantly alert, ignoring everything else around him as he watched Joey’s body fly through the air.

Her body hit the water, hard, her head smacking against her board and the impact from the huge wave and the pressure of the water splitting her board in half. “Fuck,” Calum cursed again as he paddled towards her, trying to see if he could spot her, but could only see one half of her board, the waves too hard and too big to be able to see her just yet. “C’mon, Joey.” Calum nervously cracked his knuckles.

The waves kept coming at her, the cord of her board still attached to her ankle and stuck in the coral that cut her leg up, and as the seconds passed, Calum grew more and more anxious. She had been under water far too long for his liking, so, ripping off his own cord, Calum dove into the water to find her. 

The salt water stung his eyes, but that was the least of his worries, all he could think about was Joey and making sure she was okay, and it wasn’t too late. He found her seconds later, eyes closed and her body floating in her own blood, and he was beyond thankful that sharks in the water they were in were rare. 

The next few seconds were a blur to Calum. He didn’t even remember pulling her out of the water and putting her on his board, quickly but safely paddling them out of the water and to the sand and screaming at the lifeguard to call an ambulance. He checked her pulse on her wrist and neck and panicked. He thanked God that Ashton made him take a CPR class in order for him to be a surf instructor, and went to work on Joey right away, trying to get her back to consciousness. 

“Come on, Joe. Don’t fuckin’ die on me.” Calum grunted, pressing his lips to hers and pushing on her chest. His panic and anxiety and worry dissipated, just the smallest amount, as Joey’s eyes fluttered open and she was sputtering water out of her mouth as she slowly sat up, coughing up all the salt water that invaded her lungs. “Oh, thank God.” Calum wrapped his arms around her, holding her head in his hands as it rested against his chest to steady her weak body. 

She was panting, tears in her burning eyes, her mouth dry, and her throat raw. She couldn’t speak, it seemed she didn’t know how. All she could focus on was Calum’s warm, bare chest against her cheek, his hands running up and down her back, and the sounds of sirens getting closer and closer. 

“Come on,” Calum helped her weak body to her feet and wrapped his arm around her waist. Her legs were wobbly and her left ankle had a deep, bleeding cut, so Calum tried to be as gentle as possible, “Let’s get you checked out, yeah?”

She sat on the edge of the ambulance, shivering, teeth chattering, and her usually pretty pink lips turning blue. The medic asked a series of questions and Joey simply shook her head yes or no, not being able to find her voice just yet, too in shock from everything that had just happened. 

“We’re going to take you to the hospital to get you checked out for a concussion and to stitch up your leg, miss. Is that okay?”

“Um, y-yeah.” Joey nodded her head, finally opening her mouth to talk, taking a deep breath from the oxygen mask that was covering her mouth and nose before removing it from her face. “That’s fine.”

“Do you have an emergency contact?” Joey shook her head no. “Is there anyone you want me to call?”

Ashton and Elise were out of town for the week for their anniversary and really, Joey couldn’t think of anyone else to call. Her mind was completely blank. It felt like it was full of sand and saltwater. “I’ll follow you there, yeah?”

Her gaze snapped up from her shaky hands to Calum, who was draping a light flannel over her half naked body, subsiding her shaking just a tiny bit. Joey almost forgot that Calum was even there, but how could she? He had just saved her life. 

“O-okay.” Joey rasped and Calum left a quick kiss on her forehead before the medics shut the doors behind them and took off to the hospital. 

Calum looked over his shoulder, seeing Colton, the guy who so carelessly knocked over and nearly killed Joey, laughing with his friends in the water, acting as if he didn’t almost just take a girl's life. Calum debated on paddling back out in the water to confront him about it, which would no doubt lead to a fight of some sort, but he figured that Joey and her wellbeing was more important, and he would leave talking to Colton for a different day. 

***

Joey hated hospitals. The last time she was in one she lost her father and she hadn’t been back to one since - a whole four years. She avoided them at all costs, but with a huge gash on her leg and a possible concussion, she knew she had to go with the medics. She would have rather driven there with Calum, but the medics told her that going with them was the best and most safe option, so she didn’t argue. She didn’t have the energy to argue.

“Hey,” Calum’a voice was quiet, knowing that Joey’s head was in pain and she still hadn’t fully recovered from the scary accident. Calum rubbed her bare thigh comfortingly, although he wasn’t sure how comforting it was, and lightly squeezed it. “You okay?”

“I think so,” Joey smiled tiredly. She was exhausted and her whole entire body felt heavy and weak, apparently almost dying takes a lot out of you. She played with the much longer sleeves of Calum’s flannel she still had on, opting to not wear the ugly hospital gown and sighed tiredly. “Thanks for saving my life.”

Calum couldn’t help but laugh as he scuffed his shoes against the linoleum floor. A small, careless shrug pulled at his shoulders. “Course.”

“Ma’am?” Joey and Calum both looked to their to see the doctor approaching them with a clipboard consisting of medical instructions to follow and her discharge papers. “You’re good to go now, but I recommend having someone stay with you for the first night just to make sure you’re okay and monitored. Is there anyone you can call to stay with you? Do you live alone?”

“I, uh, I-I live with my cousin but she’s out of town until Monday night.” Joey cleared her scratchy throat. “And I-I don’t know who else-“ 

“I can,” Calum interrupted. He figured he was going to have to drive her home anyway, and he definitely didn’t want her to be alone after what happened, and he had no other plans for his day, so he wanted to help as much as he could. “I mean, if that’s okay with you.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to inconvenience you, Calum.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Calum chuckled incredulously. If this had happened a month ago, Calum wouldn’t hesitate to just drop her off and leave her to fend for herself, but Calum, even though he didn’t want to admit it, cared about Joey. “You almost just died, Joe, I want to help you. It’s the least I can do.”

“You just saved my life, Calum. You’ve helped enough.”

“You’re not gonna win this argument, love.” Calum smiled sweetly at her. “Sign the papers so we can get you home, yeah?” The unexpected pet name had Joey’s very pale cheeks heating up and Calum mentally shaking his head at himself. Love? Where the hell did that come from? 

Joey nodded her head and scribbled her signature on the papers before handing them back to the doctor and hopped down from the hospital bed. They offered her a wheelchair to take out to the car, but Calum waved them off and patted his back for Joey to jump onto, which she did so easily. 

The drive was silent, until Joey nervously spoke up as she applied chapstick to her now pink, no longer blue, but chapped lips. “Can we, uh, can we not tell Elise about this yet?”

“What? You don’t want to tell her?”

“Just - just not today, okay? It’s her and Ashton’s anniversary and I don’t wanna ruin it, you know? I’ll call her and tell her tomorrow.”

“Alright, yeah.” Calum nodded in agreement. “We’ll wait.”

Joey sighed in relief and smiled in Calum’s direction, the car falling silent one more until they arrived at Joey’s house. She walked in easily, not needing Calum’s help any longer, but he kept his hand on her lower back just in case. 

“I’m gonna go shower and wash the salt water, near death, and hospital off of me.” Joey said, making her way to her room to shower. She was exhausted and all she wanted to do was lay down, but Joey knew that taking a shower would make her feel somewhat better. “Make yourself at home.”

***

“Can I tell you something?” Calum spoke, interrupting the content silence that lingered between them. They had been sitting on the couch in Joey’s living room after she had taken her much needed shower, binge watching Schitt’s Creek on Netflix. Joey and Calum were on either side of the couch, Joey with her back against the arm and her feet resting on Calum’s lap across the couch. 

“Mhmm.” Joey mumbled tiredly. The medicine she had taken and all the events of the day had taken a major toll on her and her eyelids were feeling way too heavy. 

“I was so scared I was gonna lose you today.” Joey’s eyes slowly went from the TV to Calum, who avoided eye contact with her, only looking at his hands that were resting on her ankles, his fingers lightly tapping them. “I-I really thought you were gonna die on me.” Calum chuckled sadly. 

“Well, I’m glad you don’t hate me enough to let me die.” Joey grinned at him lazily and he finally met her eyes. They both had small blushes on their cheeks, admitting it was hard for Calum, and it was even weirder for Joey to hear. 

“I don’t hate you.” Calum furrowed his eyebrows. 

Joey scoffed, rolling her eyes at him. “Right. I’m sure.”

“I don’t!” Calum exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. He hated that Joey thought he hated her. “I’m serious, I don’t hate you. I’m warming up to you more and more everyday.”

“You really have an ass backwards way of showing it, Calum.” Joey joked, but there was a sad smile on her face that Calum didn’t miss. 

He knew he was a dick to her when they first met, and for a while after that, and he knew that she didn’t deserve it. Hell, she had done nothing wrong, he had no reason to treat her like such shit. It was hard for him to admit it to himself, but he found himself liking her the more he was around her. 

“C’mere,” Calum patted the cushion next to him and Joey slowly crawled over to him, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her chin atop them. The longer he looked at her the bigger his smile was. Before he could stop himself, he found himself, after thinking it for so long, blurting out and telling her, “You’re gorgeous.”

Licking her lips, Joey pulled them between her teeth to hide her smile. “So are you.” Joey wasn’t embarrassed to admit it. 

“Oh, yeah?” Calum’s eyes lit up.

Joey rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder lightly, her body leaning into his closer than she intended to, but neither of them minded. “Don’t act like you don’t know you’re attractive, Calum.”

Their lips were close, so fucking close, and Calum couldn’t take it any longer. He was consumed by her. “‘M gonna kiss you now.”

Joey couldn’t help but smile. “Okay.” 

And that’s all it took for Calum to smash his lips against hers, gripping her hips and pulling her onto his lap. Without warning, Calum stood up, making an unexpected squeal leave Joey’s lips and he blindly walked them to her bedroom. His lips found her jaw and neck and Joey moaned quietly and Calum swore it was his new favorite sound, but he wanted to hear them louder. 

Their clothes were off in a split second, leaving Joey laying on her bed in just her cheeky panties and Calum in his tight boxers. He leaned up from her lips, biting down on his lower one hard at the sight of her almost completely bare for him. 

“So fuckin’ pretty.” Calum’s fingers ghosted over Joey’s skin, goosebumps covering her skin and he smirked, he already loved the way she reacted to his touch. His hands found the band of her panties, tugging them down without a second thought and threw them behind him carelessly. “Fuck,” Calum ran his fingers up and down her heat. “So wet for me.”

“Calum,” Joey whined, bucking her hips into his touch. “Do something.”

She was breathless, chest heaving and sweat already coating her skin, and Calum knew he couldn’t tease her, couldn’t deny her, so he dove right in, connecting his lips to her clit, sucking and licking, moaning against her. 

Joey’s fingers tangled in his curly hair, pulling and tugging, moaning loudly as she threw her head back into her pillows. It had been long, way too long, since she had been sexually intimate with anyone, so she was embarrassed when she was coming undone against Calum’s mouth so quickly as his fingers worked inside of her.

“Need t’feel you.” Calum mumbled against her lips as he worked on taking his boxers off. He hadn’t thought about a condom, that was honestly the last thing on his mind, and he prayed that Joey, or Elise, had them somewhere in their house. “Condom.”

Joey shook her head, their lips parting for just a second as she panted. “Birth control.”

Calum swore she was going to be the death of him.

***

“I can’t believe you didn’t call me!” Elise said, frustratingly running her hands down her face. She and Joey were in the kitchen, sitting at the island, discussing Joey’s accident and Joey felt like a child getting reprimanded by her mother. 

“I’m sorry, El! I just didn’t want you to- wait,” Joey narrowed her eyes at Elise, noticing the new, huge, diamond ring that adorned her ring finger. “What,” Joey took Elise’s hand in hers. “The hell is that?”

“Oh, uh,” Elise laughed nervously and took her hand back, twisting the ring around her finger, smiling at the memory of Ashton getting down on one knee just three nights prior and asking her to marry him. It didn’t feel real. “Ash - he proposed.”

“What?” Joey exclaimed happily, the smile taking over her face, completing forgetting about their small argument about Joey not telling Elise about her near death experience. Joey jumped on her cousin, giving her a bone crushing hug filled with happiness. “How could you not tell me this?!”

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Elise shrugged, acting nonchalant, but inside she felt like her body was going to erupt from butterflies and happiness. It had been five years since they met and she knew they would end up getting married, but she didn’t expect it so soon. “We’re having dinner tomorrow night here and we’re inviting everyone, we wanted to tell everyone at the same time.”

“Ah! This is so exciting!” Joey was unbelievably happy for Elise and Ashton, she knew how in love they were, and she couldn’t wait for them to make their love official. 

“Thank you,” Elise giggled, squeezing Joey’s body lightly before releasing her from their long hug. “But we’re still not done talking about your accident. And about you and Calum.” Joey sighed, but knew she was not getting out of either conversation. 

***

“What’s this dinner all about?” Michael asked as everyone sat around the long outdoor table on their porch. It was the perfect night out, with it being around eighty degrees with a light breeze, it was the perfect night for a nice, friendly dinner. 

“Maybe they just wanted to do something nice,” Luke shrugged as he sipped his beer. They all were instructed to bring their bathing suits, too, if they wanted to swim after dinner, and almost everyone did, minus Michael’s girlfriend who could only stay for dinner. “We haven’t gotten together in a while. I think it’s nice.”

“Okay, guys!” Elise clapped her hands together, gaining everybody’s attention, with Ashton by her side with his arm draped around her shoulders. She had her hand hidden behind her so nobody would notice the sparkling diamond on her finger. “I know you guys are wondering why we invited you over, and we want to-”

“We’re getting married!” Ashton interrupted her, not wanting to wait any longer. He held up Elise’s hand to show off the impressive ring he had saved up for for so long purchased, and nearly everybody shot up from their seats to gush about it and admire the ring. 

“You don’t seem all that surprised,” Calum mumbled into her ear, causing involuntary goosebumps to rise on her skin. Calum wanted to give the couple their space as everybody else crowded them to give them hugs and congratulations. 

“I already knew,” Joey shrugged innocently with a small smirk on her face. She wanted to tell Calum, or anybody, she really did, since she was awful at keeping big surprises and news like that a secret, but she knew she couldn’t. Neither Elise or Ashton wanted anybody else to know. “I saw the ring when she got home.” 

“Hm,” Calum hummed, pressing his lips to her exposed shoulder, due to her spaghetti strapped dress she had on. Calum couldn’t keep his eyes off of her since he walked inside of her and Elise’s house. The white, silk dress she wore that exposed all of her legs, back, and arms, made her look incredibly sexy. “Love is just in the air tonight, huh?”

“I suppose it is.” 

Nobody really knew what was going on with Calum and Joey, they didn’t even really know what was going on with them, all they knew was that they were immensely attracted to each other, and they knew there were some feelings there, but they didn’t know the extent of it, and everybody knew better than to ask. 

Their lips met and the kiss was light and quick, but everybody saw it, and the smirk that took over Luke’s face was hard to miss. He knew that something would eventually happen between them, he could just feel it in his bones, but he didn’t want to push anything between them. Luke knew, in due time, that they would realize the attraction and the feelings they had for one another was undeniable. 

***

“So,” Luke nudged Joey’s shoulder with his own as they sat next to each other by the side of the pool. Joey didn’t want to get into the pool, so she opted for sitting with her legs dangling in them with Luke next to her, his jeans pushed up to his knees since he didn’t bring anything to swim in. “You and Cal, huh?” Joey just simply shrugged, a smile taking over his face as she sipped her Sangria that she and Elise made through her straw. Luke rolled his eyes, not happy with the lack of words from Joey. “What’s going on with you two?”

“Honestly?” Joey looked at Luke. “I’ve got no clue, Luke.” 

“He likes you,” Luke stated simply. “I can tell by the way he looks at you. He hasn’t looked at anyone like that since his first girlfriend broke his heart.”

Joey furrowed her eyebrows, not having a clue about Calum’s past relationships, or past anything, really. She was interested, of course she was, but she wasn’t going to pry and she wasn’t going to force Luke to tell her. If Calum wanted her to know, he would tell her, simple as that.

Calum swam up to them, shaking his wet hair in their direction, splashing little bits of water over Joey and Luke. His hands found her calves under the water and gave them a light squeeze. “Watcha two talkin’ about?”

“Just how sexy you look swimming,” Luke winked at him, causing Joey to giggle into her drink and shake her head at the two best friends. Calum rolled his eyes, but ignored Luke, turning his attention to Joey. 

“You gettin’ in?” Joey shook her head no, not quite in the mood to get her freshly washed hair and perfectly done makeup messed up. And she didn’t feel like walking all the way up to her bedroom to change into a bathing suit. “Hm,” Calum hummed, pressing his lips to her thigh. “Think I’m gonna change that.”

“What do you-”

Joey squealed as Calum gripped her hips and pulled her from the side of the pool, fully into the pool with him. Her dress rode up above her hips, exposing the fact that she was wearing no underwear, thankful that it was dark and the water was covering them. “Calum, what the hell!” Joey wrapped her legs around his waist.

“You’re not wearin’ any underwear, are you?” He could feel the skin on skin and felt himself hardening at the thought of Joey being completely bare under her dress. She never failed to surprise him.

“Why don’t you find out?” Joey tilted her head challengingly and Calum bit his lip, sexually and in frustration at how easily Joey turned him on. It was driving him insane. Ever since the night they had mind-blowing sex, all Calum could think about was Joey.

“Hm, I think I just might.” In a matter of seconds, Calum had them out of the pool, he still holding Joey and her legs still wrapped around Calum’s waist, thankful that her ass wasn’t exposed to all of her friends that were in her backyard. “See you guys later!” Calum shouted to his friends, ignoring the hoops and hollers they received. 

Neither Joey nor Calum cared that their friends knew exactly what they were going upstairs to do.

***

“Why couldn’t you have asked Elise to come with you?” Calum complained to Joey as the two of them looked through dresses in a higher end boutique shop in the middle of town.

They were, or Joey was, shopping for a dress for Elise and Ashton’s engagement party that was coming up in just a little over a week. It had been a month since Ashton and Elise announced their engagement and it’s been crazy ever since. 

“She’s too busy planning the party.” Joey hummed as she sifted through the dresses, not finding any she liked, and if she did like them, they didn’t have her size or were way overpriced. She was almost close to giving up. 

“How ‘bout this one?” Calum picked a random one off the rack, holding it up by the hanger to show Joey. 

It was a pink, mid thigh, flowing, backless dress with a halter top that tied behind the neck. Joey’s eyes lit up at the dress that she had failed to see and took it from Calum’s hand. It was her size, surprisingly, and it wasn’t too costly. 

“I love it.” Joey grinned at him. 

“Well, go try it on!” Calum turned her around by her shoulders and ushered her to the fitting rooms where she happily stripped down and tried to the dress on. 

She came out shortly after, holding the top to her chest, spinning around, asking Calum, “Tie me up?”

“Gladly,” Calum smirked, thinking of all the other ways he could tie her up, as he moved her hair to one side of her neck and carefully and securely tied it. Spinning around, Joey looked at Calum expectantly, who was looking at her with wide eyes and a goofy smile on his face. “Gorgeous.”

“Yeah?” Joey blushed. 

“Always,” Calum held his hand out for her to take and raised it above both of their heads. “Spin for me.” Joey did so happily, a quiet giggle leaving her lips as Calum twirled her around a few times before pulling her into his chest. “It’s a winner.” He mumbled against their connected lips. 

“You sure? Because I can always try-“

Their cute moment was interrupted by a familiar voice that Calum hoped he wouldn’t ever have to hear again. “Calum?” They pulled apart just a tiny bit, with Joey’s hands still around his neck and Calum’s around her waist. 

Stood before them was the devil herself, also known as Calum’s first and only, ex-girlfriend. His grip tightened on Joey’s hips, only slightly, but she felt it. “Ava, hey.” He was unhappy and uncomfortable, Joey could tell instantly. 

“Uh, how are you?”

Calum had to repress his scoff. “Fine. You?”

“Good, good.” She nodded her head and looked between the couple in front of her. Calum’s arm was now slung over Joey’s shoulders and her arms were awkwardly crossed against her chest. She could feel the girl judging her. “Who’s this?”

“My girlfriend - Joey.” 

Joey’s head snapped up to look at Calum in surprise. It was the first time he had ever called her his girlfriend before, so she was extremely caught off guard, but not disappointed. She had been waiting to hear those words leave his lips for weeks now. She couldn’t hide the smile on her face. “Hi,” she waved awkwardly. 

“Joe, this is Ava, my ex.”

Joey had heard only one thing about Calum’s ex-girlfriend, and that was from Luke, and she didn’t push Calum to tell her, and she didn’t mind the thought of him having an ex-girlfriend, she had ex-boyfriend’s herself. But standing in front of her, a gorgeous model looking girl, Joey was feeling just a little bit insecure. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Joey said sweetly, even though it wasn’t nice, not in the slightest. 

“Likewise,” Ava’s smile was fake and Calum could tell, but he wasn’t going to start something pointless by mentioning it. “So, what are you two out shopping for?”

Seriously? Calum wanted to scream. She really couldn’t have just left it at that? She had to try and spark up a pointless and meaningless conversation? Calum wanted to run away the moment he saw her.

“Ash and Elise are getting married. Shopping for engagement party dresses for Joey.”

“Oh?” Ava’s eyes widened in surprise at the news of her old friends getting engaged, and soon married. “You know Elise and Ashton?” She turned her attention to Joey. 

“Elise is my cousin,” Joey nodded her head, and told her condescendingly, “So, yeah, I know them.” 

Calum bit back his laugh and smiled at Joey’s attitude, but silently applauded her for it. He knew she didn’t want to be standing there talking to his ex-girlfriend just as much as he didn’t. “Well,” Joey cleared her throat. “I’m gonna go change back into my clothes and then we can go, yeah?” 

“Yeah,” Calum smiled, pressing a quick kiss to her lips as she retreated into the fitting room, leaving Calum and Ava to catch up, or whatever it was that Ava wanted from Calum. 

“She’s pretty.” Ava nodded her head in Joey’s direction. 

“She is, innit she?” Calum smiled. “And nice. And honest. A lot of things you weren’t.”

“Calum,” Ava shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry. For everything.”

He pursed his lips, clearly not believing any of the words that came out of her mouth. Ever since she broke his heart, he hadn’t believed anything. “Sure you are.”

The curtain swung open and Joey stepped out, dressed in her normal street wear, her purse hanging on her shoulder, and the hanger dangling on her finger. “Ready to go?” Joey smiled up at Calum. 

“Here,” Calum fished his credit card out of his wallet and handed it to Joey. “You go pay. I’ll catch up.”

“What? Cal, no.” Joey shook her head, not accepting the card that Calum was holding out for her. The dress wasn’t too expensive, really, just a little over fifty dollars and she could afford it. She appreciated Calum’s offer, but didn’t want to take it. “You’re not paying for this.”

Rolling his eyes, Calum easily shoved his card into the front pocket of Joey’s jean shorts, looped his fingers through her belt loops, and pecked her lips. “Don’t argue, baby. I’m payin’.” Joey rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless and made her way to the counter. Calum’s eyes followed his non-official-official girlfriend as she made her way to the cash register and smiled, but it turned into a scowl when he remembered Ava was standing in front of him, watching him watch Joey. “You have anything else to say before I walk away from you? For the last time?”

Ava shook her head sadly. “You look really happy, Calum.”

“I am.” Calum didn’t hesitate to confirm. 

“Well, I’m glad.” Ava rested a hand on his shoulder, making Calum almost flinch. Joey saw out of the corner of her eye and even though she could tell that Calum was uncomfortable, she felt uneasy, jealous. She hated it. “Give Elise and Ashton my love.”

“Yeah,” Calum exhaled a humorless laugh. As if. “I won’t be doing that.”

With that, Calum walked away from his ex-girlfriend who broke his heart, and over to his new girlfriend, who mended it back together. 

***

“So, ex-girlfriend, eh?” Joey finally brought up the dreaded conversation. She spun around in the small stool behind the front desk at Surf and Co., working the slow night shift that Ashton scheduled her with Calum keeping her company. 

“Canada, eh?” Calum smiled innocently, receiving an unamused look from Joey, who had finally stopped spinning. It had been five hours since they ran into Ava at the store and Joey was itching to say something and Calum knew it. “Right, sorry.” Calum knew they had to discuss it. “Yeah, Ava, ex-girlfriend.”

“What, uh, what happened?” Calum sighed heavily, twisting the rings on his fingers nervously, trying to figure out a way to start the story he was dreading on telling. “Luke mentioned something about her-”

“Luke told you?” Calum’s head snapped up.

“N-no! He just mentioned an ex-girlfriend that hurt you, but that’s all.” Joey assured him. She didn’t want Calum to be mad at Luke for mentioning anything to her about it, she just thought it might make things easier. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Cal.”

“No, no. I should. You deserve to know.” Calum rounded the register, leaning against the counter next to Joey, spinning her around so she was facing him now. He smiled down at her, just the sight of her pretty face making his light up. “She was new in town a few years ago and I kind of, like took her in, much like you and Luke. But, instead of becoming just friends like the two of you, we-”

“Fell in love?” Joey mumbled.

“Yeah.” Calum scoffed. “I introduced her to everyone; all my friends, Elise, everyone. And she and one of my friends, Peter, hit it off well. A little too well. But I was happy about it, you know? Thought they were just friends. Until I found them in bed together. My bed.”

“Calum-”

“Instead of growing a pair of balls and breaking up with me, she took the cowards way out and cheated on me, so I broke up with her.” Calum frowned at the memory, but it didn’t make him as sad as it once did. He was completely over it, but the memory still stung. “She broke my heart.” He laughed sadly. 

“I’m sorry, Cal.” Taking his hands in hers, Joey gave them a reassuring squeeze, and bent down to kiss them. “Is that why you didn’t like me at first?” Joey hesitantly asked. “Because I was another new girl in town?”

Calum hadn’t ever even thought that could be a reason he disliked her so much, but thinking about it now, it all made sense. He didn’t want another new girl to come into his town and his life and turn it upside again just like Ava did. But he knew, with everything in his heart, that Joey would never do anything like that to him.

***

The annoying, incessant, vibrating of Calum’s phone had Joey putting her curling iron down and crossing his room to silence it. “Cal,” Joey shouted his hearing, receiving a mumbled ‘yeah’, from his bedroom. “Your phone is blowing up.”

“Who is it?”

“Uh,” Joey furrowed her eyebrows. “Number Isn't saved, but it says, ‘it was so nice to see you last night, Calum. I’m sorry about the kiss.’” Joey’s confusion could be heard through her tone of voice as she continued to read the text. “Kiss? What the hell, Calum?”

“Shit,” Calum cursed, hopping on one foot as he tried to put his dress shoe on the other. They were getting ready for the engagement party and Calum couldn’t have picked a worse time for Joey to find out what happened the night before. “I was going to-”

“Who the fuck is this?”

“Uh,” Calum nervously scratched his growing stubble. “It’s- it’s Ava.”

Spinning around, Joey held Calum’s phone in her hands with raised eyebrows and wide eyes. She could not believe what she was hearing. And she couldn’t believe how fucking casual Calum was acting about it. “I’m sorry, what? When were you with Ava? I thought you were with the guys last night.”

“I-I was, I swear I was!” Calum approached her, resting his hands on her shoulders to give them a reassuring squeeze, but Joey wasn’t reassured, not at all. “I bumped into her at the bar and she wanted to buy me a drink as an I’m sorry sort of thing, I guess? So then I bought her one to make it even and we talked for a few minutes and-and then she kissed me.”

Inhaling a deep breath, Joey took a step back from Calum, watching as his arms fell to his sides, and licked her teeth angrily. She was going to try to keep her cool and not explode, since it was Ava who kissed Calum, and not the other way around, but still, seriously? This couldn’t have happened on a worse day.

“Were you planning on telling me this?”

“Yes! Course I was, Joey.” Calum ran a hand through his perfectly done hair that Joey worked so hard on, fucking it up in the process, and nervously licked his lips. He didn’t want her to think he was a liar. “I just wanted to wait until after the party. I didn’t want to ruin tonight for you. For us.”

“Well, you should have thought that plan through,” Joey laughed sadly, shoving Calum’s phone in his hands as she picked her small clutch up from his bedside table. “I’m gonna go. I’ll see you at the party.”

Calum let her leave without another word, knowing that fighting her or trying to make her stay would just make matters worse, and although this wasn’t how the night was supposed to start, although they were supposed to arrive to the party together, Calum knew that wasn’t going to happen. 

***

“Now, a speech from the maid of honor!” Elise spoke happily into the mic, prompting Joey to stand up on wobbly legs and smile as she took the microphone from her cousin. She looked beautiful, but she always did, Joey thought. 

Calum watched his girlfriend with a small smile on his face as Joey nervously licked her lips and cleared her throat before giving her speech that she had barely prepared beforehand. “Elise,” Joey smiled down at her cousin. “Ashton,” Joey smiled at her soon to be cousin-in-law. “I’m so happy for the two of you. I never thought that I would be here, living in the prettiest town I could ever dream of living in, with the two of you and the new friends you’ve introduced me to, but I’m so happy to be celebrating this with you guys. I’m gonna keep this short, because if I keep talking I know I’ll start crying,” Joey laughed awkwardly. “But I just want to say I’m so, incredibly, happy for you two and I hope to, one day, find love like yours.” Joey sniffled quietly. “I love you, both.”

Joey finished her speech with a cheers and everyone held their glasses up, cheering along, and gulped down their drinks. Joey sat back down in her seat that was next to Calum, and felt his hand on her thigh, and as much as she wanted to shake it off, she couldn’t find it in herself to. She was still mad at him, but he looked so handsome, she couldn’t stand it.

“Can we dance, please?” Calum’s voice was full of desperation and when Joey finally looked at him, his beautiful brown, puppy dog eyes and pouty lips, her resolve crumbled. “Please, baby?” Calum whispered.

Joey stood up abruptly, looking down at Calum expectantly. “Well? Are you coming?” 

Calum wasted no time standing up and following Joey to the makeshift dance floor that wasn’t there when they first arrived, but Michael and Crystal transformed it into one. A slow song started playing and they swayed back and forth silently, but Calum’s hands on her waist were practically burning her skin. 

“I’m sorry, Joey.” Calum mumbled. He didn’t want to ruin the moment, but he wasn’t sure if he would get her one on one the rest of the night. He needed to explain how sorry he was. He knew what it felt like to be lied to and he never wanted Joey to feel that way. “I-I didn’t wanna lie to you, but I didn’t know how to tell you what happened.”

“Up front would have been nice.” 

“I know, Joey. But I just didn’t know how to-”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Joey interrupted Calum, scoffing out a humorless laugh at the person who just walked into the venue where the party was being held. There stood Ava, in all her pretty glory, looking way better than Joey did. “Your girlfriend is here.”

With that, Joey spun on her heeled shoes and stormed through the crowd to where the private bathrooms were. She gripped the sides of the sink until her knuckles turned white. The tears that pricked Joey’s eyes were unwarranted and she wanted to kick herself for letting this bother her so much.

The soft knock at the door a few minutes later had no effect on Joey. She kept her stance, kept her hands on the sink, and kept the tears falling out of her stinging eyes. “Joey?” Calum’s voice was heard through the door. “I know you’re in there.”

Joey failed to lock the door behind her, so Calum let himself in, hoping that it actually was Joey in the bathroom and not somebody else. He was relieved when he saw that it indeed was her, but his worry came back tenfold when he saw her glossy and red eyes through the bathroom mirror.

“How’s your girlfriend?” Joey stood straight and spun around to lean against the sink, crossing her arms across her chest, tilting her head to the side. She was trying to use her sarcasm and sass to cover the fact that she was upset, even though she knew she was being immature. It was her defense mechanism. 

“She’s right in front of me,” Calum took cautious steps towards her and rested his hands on her hips. He frowned down at her sad face and wanted to put a smile on it. She was too pretty to frown, Calum thought. “And she’s obviously upset with me.”

“You’re right,” Joey nodded her head in confirmation. “She is.”

“I told her to fuck off.” 

“Why the hell was she here in the first place, Calum?”

“It doesn’t matter why, Joe. She’s gone. She’s out of the picture, for good, I promise.” Calum’s hands ran up her hips to her sides, cupping her face to tilt it up so he could meet her eyes. They were less red and less glossy now, which he was thankful for. “And even if she keeps comin’ around,” Joey raised her eyebrows, unimpressed. “Which she won’t. I’ve only got eyes for you. Only want you.”

“I just-” Joey shook her head sadly. “I hate feeling like I have to compete with her, Calum. She’s-she’s so pretty and you loved her and-”

“Alright, no.” Calum shut her up before she could finish. “I’m gonna stop you right there. She doesn’t even compare to you, Joe. You’re gorgeous and beautiful and she doesn’t even compare to you, okay?”

“Okay,” Joey mumbled, but Calum could hear the underlying uncertainty and the insecurity laced in her voice. 

“I’ll show you just how much.” 

A squeal left Joey’s mouth as Calum hoisted her up onto the sink, parting her legs so he could stand between them and attached his lips to hers in a heated kiss. Their hands blindly worked on each other - Joey undoing Calum’s pants and shoving them down his legs and Calum’s pushing Joey’s thin and lace panties to the side. She was already wet, which wasn’t unexpected, and Calum was already semi-hard, so there wasn’t much more to take care of before Calum was slipping his length inside of Joey. 

“Oh, fuck.” Joey moaned against Calum’s lips as he rocked in and out of her. They tried to be as quiet as they could, considering there were people not even twenty feet away from them, but it was nearly impossible with how good they were making each other feel. 

They swallowed each others moans, panting and groaning into each other’s mouths and skin and Calum worked relentlessly until he felt Joey clench around him, prompting both his and her orgasm. Their moans and breaths were in sync as they came down from their highs and caught their breaths.

“That prove to you just how much I want you?” Calum mumbled against Joey’s bare shoulder due to the halter top of her dress and she laughed, with only little humor in it. 

Pushing Calum away from her, Joey adjusted her thong and jumped down from the sink. “You’re gonna have to work a lot harder than that, Hood.” With one pat to the chest, Joey rounded him and left him lonely in the bathroom with his pants around his ankles.

Calum stood there stunned with an unbelieving chuckle leaving his mouth. Joey left him speechless, more than once, but he was going to do whatever he could, work as hard as he could to prove to her that she was the only one for him.

***

“I can’t believe you’re moving out,” Joey pouted as she helped Elise pack the last of her stuff. She knew that with Elise and Ashton being engaged now that she would be moving out, but Joey wasn’t ready to live by herself, she never had before. “I’m gonna be so lonely.”

“Please,” Elise scoffed at her cousin’s dramatics. “I’ll be less than fifteen minutes away,” Elise reminded her, but it didn’t ease her sadness. Joey had never lived alone before. She always lived with her mother or a friend or boyfriend, never by herself. “And you can always call Calum and he’ll come over in a second.”

“Yeah.” Joey mumbled, unsurely as she taped the last box shut and rested her arms on it. The thought of Calum made her feel uneasy, considering they hadn’t really seen much of each other since the engagement party. They would hang out with friends as a group, but hadn’t one on one. “I think he’s mad at me.” Joey furrowed her eyebrows.

“Why would he be mad at you? He’s the one who kissed his ex-girlfriend.”

“She kissed him,” Joey reminded Elise. “But he’s just been avoiding me I think,” Joey frowned. “Like, he hasn’t wanted to hang out just us two, you know? And he’s barely been responding to my texts. I know he’s busy with surf lessons and has been with the guys, I just-” she shook her head, confusion written all over her face. “I think ever since seeing Ava, he’s changed his mind and he doesn’t actually want to be with me.”

“You’re being paranoid. Calum is crazy about you,” Elise assured her with a light squeeze to her hand. Elise knew Calum and she knew that he felt more for Joey than he ever did for Ava. It was obvious. “Just talk to him, yeah?”

***

The emptiness and the quiet of the house made Joey a bit uneasy. Sure, she had spent the night multiple times in her house by herself, but knowing that Elise was gone and not living with her anymore made it feel different and she didn’t enjoy it. 

Joey: Can you come over?

Joey sent the text to Calum after much debate, almost asking Luke to come over and keep her company over her own boyfriend. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous to ask Calum to come over.

Calum: Course, love. Everything okay?

Joey: Just lonely

Calum read the text and didn’t bother changing out of his sweatpants and sweatshirt, just slipping a pair of shoes on and grabbing his car keys. He could have easily walked the ten minutes, but he was feeling lazy and wanted to get to Joey as quickly as he could. He didn’t want her to feel lonely, especially since she had him.

Joey had told Calum that the front door was unlocked, so he let himself in without bothering to knock or ring the doorbell, and his heart swelled at the sight of Joey curled up on the couch, tucked under a blanket in his hoodie, looking as cute as cozy as ever. 

“Hey, Joe.” Calum’s voice was quiet, not wanting to disturb her little bubble of peace, but when she heard his voice, her tired looking face lit up and she was holding her arms out to him, making grabby hands as she continued to lay down. He laughed at how childish, but cute, she looked and collapsed on top of her lightly. 

Joey’s arms wrapped around his neck and his slid under her back to squeeze her close to him. He wasn’t sure what was wrong, why she seemed upset and off, and he wasn’t going to push her to tell him, but he was still going to ask.

“What’s wrong, baby?” 

Sighing heavily, Joey ran her fingers through Calum’s messy curls and debated on telling him. It was stupid, childish, she thought. “It’s stupid.”

“Doesn’t sound stupid,” Calum lifted his head up from where it was hiding in the crook of Joey’s neck and placed a light kiss on her lips. “If something is upsetting you, no matter how small, ‘s not stupid.”

“I just,” Joey pushed herself up on her elbows so she was leaning against the arm of her couch and Calum rested himself above her on his elbows, his chin just barely resting on her stomach as he looked up at her. “I feel like ever since you saw Ava, and since she kissed you, you-you haven’t wanted to be with me as much.”

Joey avoided all eye contact with Calum as she picked her nail polish nervously. She didn’t want to see Calum’s reaction to her embarrassing confession and really didn’t want him to see the insecurity on her face, so she missed the deep frown that was on his. He hated that she felt that way.

“Baby,” Calum mumbled sadly and took her hands in his so she would stop picking at her nails, knowing it was her nervous habit, and kissed the tops of her hands lightly. “I don’t want you thinkin’ that.” 

Sitting up completely, Calum pulled Joey onto his lap and grunted as he adjusted the two of them more comfortably. Her head was held in Calum’s hands, with him tucking her hair behind her ears and watching her watch him.

“Seeing Ava just brought back bad memories, you know? And I just - the feeling of her hurting me so badly came back full force and I didn’t - I don’t ever want to feel that way again,” Calum shook his head. “I don’t want to get my heartbroken by somebody I love again.”

“Calum, I-” Joey spoke up before she processed all of his words, stopping short, and leaning back just slightly with wide eyes. “Wait,” Joey reached up to grip Calum’s wrist. “Somebody you love?” 

“Shit, I-” Calum ran a nervous hand through his hair. “I-I didn’t mean,” Calum stumbled over his words and Joey patiently waited for him to finish. She wanted to hear what he was trying to say. “I didn’t want to tell you like that.”

Joey’s voice was barely over a whisper, but she couldn’t help the smile that covered her face. “You love me?”

Calum loved that she was smiling. He was a nervous fucking wreck, honestly. He wasn’t sure if he loved her loved her, but he knew he liked her a whole fucking lot, and he could definitely see himself loving her. “I think so, yeah.” Calum finally smiled. “How’s that make you feel?”

“Makes me feel pretty damn special.”

***

“You comin’?” Calum asked Joey as he finished waxing his board, preparing it for the water. Elise, Ashton, and Luke were all already in the water waiting for Calum and Joey to join them. 

“Um,” Joey looked out at the big waves that were forming and felt nerves prick her. She hadn’t been on a surfboard since the day she nearly died. She had been in the ocean and the pool, but was too afraid to get on a board. “I’m gonna sit this one out. I’m tired.”

Calum could sense her nervousness and frowned as he bent down again to be face to face and level with her. Everyone else was already in the water, meaning if he was to join them, Joey would be let on the sand by herself, since Michael told Ashton he would pick up a shift at Surf and Co, and Calum didn’t want to leave his girlfriend on the beach by herself.

“You sure, Joe?” Calum moved her baby hairs that didn’t fit in her bun out of her face and smiled at how pretty her eyes looked with the sun shining down. “You just tired or are you scared to get in again?”

“Calum, I-” Joey licked her lips and shook her head in embarrassment. She didn’t want to admit that she was, indeed, terrified to get back on a board after what happened. It had been nearly a month since it happened, but she could still feel an anxious pit in the bottom of her stomach at the thought of standing on a board again. “It’s kind of embarrassing, but yeah,” Joey nodded her head in confirmation. “I’m terrified.”

“Baby, no,” Calum rested himself on his knees in between her legs and ducked his head down to make eyes with her. “It’s not embarrassing. You almost died, Joe, that’s some scary shit. I would be scared if I were you, too.” Calum placed a reassuring kiss to her lips and felt her smile against his. “I’ll sit here with you so you’re not alone, yeah?”

“No, no. Go out with them.” Joey shooed him away and he grinned, kissing her one last time, before standing up and picking up his board to race into the water with the rest of the group.

Honestly, Joey didn’t mind sitting on the sand by herself. She enjoyed watching her cousin and their friends surf and do their thing, she almost preferred to sit and watch over actually surfing, since she wasn’t the best at it, and she was convinced she would be scarred for life ever since she almost died. But she was content. 

She was knocked out of her daydream when a volleyball rolled onto her towel and hit her foot lightly. She looked around, seeing a volleyball net nearly twenty feet away from her, and a guy jogging over to her. She picked it up and held it out for the guy to take, not bothering to stand up.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he panted and crouched down, bending his knees to retrieve the ball from Joey’s hands. She just smiled and simply shook her head, not bothering with a conversation with the guy. “You new around here? I don’t recognize you.”

“Uh, yeah, kind of.” Joey furrowed her eyebrows. “I’ve lived here for a few months.” 

“I’m surprised I haven’t noticed you before,” he looked her up and down, even though she was sitting down and leaning against a cooler, and shamelessly checked her out, not even trying to be discrete. “A gorgeous girl like you shouldn’t go unnoticed by anyone.”

Joey rolled her lips into her mouth, trying to suppress her laugh at the shitty attempt as a pick-up line. “Well, thank you.”

“Anytime,” he winked at her and she nearly groaned out loud. She saw the guys and Elise approaching them from the water and hoped that Calum, or any of them, would nicely tell him to get lost. “I never got your name.”

“That’s because she didn’t give it to you, Colton.” Calum grunted as he shoved his board into the sand next to the guy, Colton, that was shamelessly hitting on Joey. He stood up to his full height, still a few inches shorter than Calum, and dropped the volleyball on the sand next to his feet. “What are you doing bothering her?”

“I’m just having a conversation with her, Hood.” Colton shrugged and smirked at him cockily. Colton looked down at Joey, who was only paying attention to Calum and how angry, but sexy, he looked. “Seemed like she was enjoying it.”

“Seems like she wasn’t,” Calum took another step closer. “So, leave my girlfriend alone and fuck off.” Another step. Joey could tell that the guys behind him would pounce and back him up if a fight ensued. “And while you’re at it, apologize to her for almost killing her.”

Colton scoffed. “Fuck are you talking about?”

“The girl you knocked off her board last month when you were being a cocky asshole and surfed up on her wave?” Calum tilted his head to the side, watching it click in Colton’s brain that Joey was the girl he nearly killed. “Yeah, that girl? My girlfriend. So I suggest you apologize or walk the fuck away, Colton.”

Colton bent down and picked the volleyball up, not bothering to look at Joey or apologize to her before he stalked away, leaving Calum staring at him with his hands clenched into fists. Joey knew the only way he would calm down is if she told him to. 

Standing up, Joey pulled her bikini bottom out of her butt to rid herself of her wedgie from sitting down for so long, and stood in front of Calum, running her hands up his stomach to rest on his shoulders, and his eyes instantly went from Colton down to Joey.

“You good, Cal?” Calum looked back up to see Colton standing there staring at the couple, and Calum smirked, gripping the back of her thighs to lift her up and wrap her legs around his waist. “Cal!” Joey squealed at the sudden movement and laughed against his mouth as he pressed their lips together.

“I’m fuckin’ great, sugar.” Calum grinned against her lips and spun her around, the loud giggle leaving her lips made his grin widen. 

How Joey could turn Calum’s mood from complete and absolute shit and anger from seeming like the happiest person in the world was beyond him. It was crazy, really, but he welcomed it with open arms, and with her in his.

***

“What’s got you so happy?” Luke nudged Calum’s shoulder with his own, holding his near empty beer by the neck as they sat in the semi-crowded bar. The group hadn’t been out to a bar in a while, since before Ashton and Elise announced their engagement, so they were enjoying their night out. “You’re grinnin’ like a damn fool.”

“How could I not be happy when I have a girlfriend that looks like her?” Calum pointed his beer bottle in the direction where Joey and Elise were playing a game of pool, not taking it seriously at all, and laughing and messing around with each other. “Don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.”

“I can tell,” Luke nodded his head with a smile. He was extremely happy for his best friend and as he watched Calum watch Joey lose against Elise in pool, he couldn’t help but shake his head in disbelief, never having seen Calum so happy around somebody before. “You got lucky.”

“Luckiest guy in here,” Calum clinked his bottle against Luke’s and made eyes with Joey, who grinned widely and waved him over across the bar. Forgetting all about his half empty beer and Luke, Calum got up and crossed the bar, wrapping his arms around Joey’s waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. “You wanna get outta here?”

“I thought you would never ask,” Joey sighed dramatically, hanging her pool stick up, and the two of them left without bothering saying goodbye to their friends. They walked hand in hand down the street, Calum twirling his tipsy girlfriend as they walked and grinning at her infectious smile. “Let’s go swimming!” Joey skipped backwards down the sand with her heels in her hand and her arms out as she spun around and ran towards the water.

“It’s dark out, baby.” Calum laughed, but toed his shoes off and shed his shirt and pants, watching as Joey did the same thing. “Gonna be weird creatures in there.”

“You scared, Hood?” Joey challenged, reaching behind her to unclasp her bra, leaving her completely naked in front of Calum underneath the moonlight. Calum’s mouth watered at the sight of her and watched her teeth clamp down on her lower lip as he, too, was now naked in front of her. 

They swam around, splashing each other and giggling against each others lips, and Calum finally pulled her body into his, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist and her arms around his neck. “I think I just realized something,” Joey hummed against his shoulder.

“What’s that?” Calum squeezed her hips.

There was no nervousness or hesitance in her voice while she spoke, her words were confident and full of sureness when she told Calum, “I love you.” She spoke as if it was the most casual thing, but instead her heart was pounding and she was scared, only for a minute, that Calum wasn’t going to say it back.

“I love you a whole fuckin’ lot, Joey.”

Their smiles were so big, so genuine, that their faces hurt and they knew, right there in that moment, that they couldn’t be any happier even if they tried. 

Just as they looked up at the night sky, a shooting star flew by and they didn’t have to wish for anything because they both had what they wanted - each other.

***

Taglist: @singt0mecalum @lockthisheartinchains @babyurart @cheyenne-in-wonderland @youmaycallmemrshemmings @cantbehandled-ever​ @gosh-im-short​ @cakesunflower​ @novacanecalum​ @cosmocalum​ @emma070900​ @asht0ns-world​ @blahehblah​ @inlovehoodx​ @softboycal​ @ashtoniwir​

[kirishwima]

can you please do a headcannon with the rfa that’s dating an insecure mc? i’m sorry my english isn’t very good

Your english is fine lovely! I’m also not a native speaker, so im sorry if i make mistakes sometimes ^^”

YOOSUNG:

* Honestly…he’s just as insecure as MC. He tries to hide it, tries to act tough and will argue with Zen when he teases him, but his facade couldn’t be farther from the truth-he’s scared, constantly worrying over his looks, the way he speaks, his intelligence, everything is a struggle and it often feels like he’ll never be good enough, neither to himself nor to others.

* Yet MC accepts him as he is-they love him unconditionally, have been there for him even when he kept using them as a substitute for Rika-they helped him see his wrongs and make them right, helped him become a better man. So to know that MC doesn’t see themselves as the amazing, wonderful person they are, it hurts him to his very core.

* He’ll remind MC constantly of how much he loves them, will praise them over every little thing-because to him it’s not compliments, it’s facts. MC is amazing, and that’s that. 

* Sometimes he’ll catch MC making self-depracating jokes; “I don’t even know why you’re dating me” they’d laugh, and Yoosung-oh boy, Yoosung’s furious. 

* “Do you hear yourself? Why date you? Because you’re wonderful! You’re an amazing, beautiful person, you’ve helped me through the hardest times of my life, you’ve been there for me no matter what-I want to be there for you too! You have such a kind soul, you love so much and so strongly and I-I love you just as much. So please-” he rubbed furiously at his eyes, bidding the tears gathering to go away, “Please don’t undermine the love I have for you. Don’t undermine yourself.”

* He’d spend every day of his life reminding MC of their worth, and that’s that.

ZEN:

* He’s a confident person. No, that might actually be an understatement-he’s what some would call a narcissist, albeit a high-functioning one-while he objectively knows his appearance is envy-worthy, he also knows his faults, and isn’t afraid to admit them. He knows he’s not good with technology. He’s honest to a fault, and quick to anger, but he doesn’t deem those as faults-they’re just part of who he is, for better or for worse.

* MC envies this confidence, this intimate way in which Zen both knows and accepts himself as he is, only working to better himself as a challenge from him to him, not for the gaze of anyone else. How could MC ever be like that? Would a time come where they too could confidently stand by his side, not nit-picking every single flaw in their looks, their personality, their entire existence?

* Zen’s fans aren’t all that helping in the situation either-after going public with their relationship, MC can’t help but constantly look through news articles, looking at what fans and reporters have to say about them, taking every single negative comment and locking it up in their heart, letting it infest with them until it rots-refusing to shine a light on the positive comments, the one that talk about how happy Zen looks with MC, how sweet their own smile is or how gentle their eyes are.

* Zen isn’t a fool, and he’s not blind-of course he knows MC isn’t the most confident person, and that they constantly judge their worth based on the perception of others. He tries to help them as much as he can without making it too obvious, will hold them tight when reporters stop them during a date to conduct an interview, will kiss their neck and compliment them until his mouth runs dry.

* MC appreciates it, they really do-but they’re always scared, so scared Zen will eventually realise he’s better off without them. They know, rationally, that Zen cares deeply for them, that he loves them as they are-as impossible as it seems, but this unwarranted worry never goes away, eating its way through their gut and into their lungs, making them lose their breath at the thought.

* “Do you realise how beautiful you are?” Zen asks one night, the apartment dark and quiet minus for the hustle of the city outside. He’s trailing his fingers alonside MC’s side, stopping at every hollow of ribs, pushing his fingertips on bumps and scars. “I’m not just talking about the way you look, as much as I love that too. I’m talking about this” he says as he pokes a finger to their chest, relishing in the silent laugh MC lets out as his fingers tickle them “and everything that happens in there. I love your laugh, your humor is impeccable, I love your kindness, your patience, how much you love to help others-you’re beautiful. Please don’t forget that.”

* And well, it’s hard to forget-even if it takes a long time to believe in Zen’s words, MC will always keep them to heart, remember them every time they try to bring themself down-they’re beautiful. No matter what.

JAEHEE:

* You’d think she’s very confident at first glance, and well, that’s partly true-she’s confident, in the sense that she doesn’t really care. She’s okay with the way she looks, though she’ll get bouts of worries from time to time, probing and poking at her face and body in front of the mirror, but soon it’d pass, and she’s back to normal, content with the way she is.

* it’s hard to wrap her head around MC’s worries and insecurities most of the time. She can’t understand just why MC feels so bad with themselves, not when to her they were a saving grace-taking her from the hectic worriesome state she was seen and bringing her most well-hidden dreams to the surface, making them true.

* She’ll watch MC interact with customers, how they’ll hum whilst making coffee and she’ll smile to herself, soft and sweet and falling in love all over again. How someone like them could not be confident is something she could never understand.

* She tries to help motivate MC, will lean her head on MC’s shoulder and wrap her arms around her waist from the back as MC brews coffee, whispering bashful ‘i love you’s and praises to their skin. When talking with customers she’ll frequently slip in a word of affection towards MC, praising them for their hard work and dedication-even if MC isn’t there to hear it, she just wants the world to know how amazing they are!!

* Sometimes MC gets really down, insultin every little thing about themselves. Jaehee was never that good with words and expressing her emotions upfront-so instead she did what she knows best. She wrote a report. Yes, a report, along with a whole power point presentation, explaining each and every point of why she loves MC, with facts, proof and evidence. Whenever MC talks badly about themself, Jaehee simply pulls up the powerpoint, puts her glasses back on and asks MC to take a seat on the couch, pulling up her laptop and begining to talk about each point until MC is too shy to let her continue.

* No one disses the person Baehee loves, not even themselves.

JUMIN:

* Jumin is confident. That’s it, it’s a fact. He’s grown up learning how to poise himself, has been given constant praise to the point where he hated it, but he knows his pros and cons, and will never let anyone else’s opinion alter his own, especially not when it comes from people who aren’t even close to him.

* So honestly...unless MC straight up talks to Jumin about their insecurities, he’ll never get it. Of course he’ll notice when MC looks away when he compliments them, or how they seem a nervous wreck when out with him at social gatherings, but he figured it’s just them being bashful, not that it’s because they don’t believe his words or feel insecure around him.

* He only realises when they’re lounging together on the couch, a wine in hand and Elizabeth the 3d on MC’s lap. MC watched the way in which Jumin sat-his back straight, his profile picture-perfect, confidence in his every movement. They ran their hands through Elizabeth’s fur, looking down at her in contemplation.

* “How do you do it?” They asked and Jumin turned to face them with a soft frown of confusion. “You just...whatever you do, you do it so confidently. Like, you know what you want and how to get it and that’s it, and you-you ended up with me, who’s too nervous to even look people in the eye when talking. How do we-are you okay with this? With me?” 

* Their words were jambled, worry pooling in their stomach as Jumin’s eyes widened, his mouth ajar. “You-is this how you feel?” he asked. He tried to school his expression into something more neutral, put his wine glass back down to turn and hold MCs hands in his.

* “I love you. There’s no logic in love, and even if there was, there’s nothing about you I could not love. Your kindness, your smile, you’re smart yet modest, you’re just...to me you’re impeccable. I hate to think that you never realised all these yourself, MC, you’re wonderful. I need you to believe that you are.”

* He vowed to himself to never let MC forget it from then on. Every morning he’ll wake them with a kiss, listing at least one thing about MC he’s grateful for before starting their day. He’d do this day after day, until MC started to believe it themself.

SEVEN/SAEYOUNG/LUCIEL:

* Lmao he’s literally an insecure k i n g. Before meeting MC, before falling in love with them, he’d be unable to list a single thing he likes about himself. He’s too much of this, too little of that, every time he looked to the mirror it’d be a war zone, his face reminding him too much of things he’d rather just forget.

* Yet MC helped him so much. Little by little, they helped him learn to accept himself as he is, to allow his heart to open and gain a little bit of confidence. He’s learnt to at the very least feel neutral when looking in the mirror, starting to accept hsi existence as just that-another human being in the world.

* Yet he knows, he knows that as much confidence as MC is trying to help him build, the less they have themselves. He’s no idiot, he’s been there, of course he knows the tell-tale signs of it-the self depracaitng jokes, the way they look in the mirror when they walk past, how they roll their eyes at his compliments.

* “You know me, I’m your resident klutz” MC started once, after a glass slipped from their hands and broke at their feet. They started cleaning it up, telling Seven to stay away since he wasn’t wearing any shoes or slippers. “Just a big ol’ idiot here to fuck things up and make life all that much harder for everyone-” they continued, laughing yet their hands were trembling.

* “Of course I can’t even hold a freaking glass correctly, why would I anyway I’m such a-”

* “Stop.”

* Seven didn’t care for the glass shards at this point. He walked to kneel across MC, wrapping his hands around theirs. “Do you hear yourself? What you’re saying is stupid, and some deep hidden part of you knows it. You’re brilliant. Stop looking at me like that, you know it’s true. You are” He smiled small and soft, drawing circles on their hand with his thumb. “No regular person could’ve gone through what you did and come out of it even stronger. You’re amazing, you’re kind no matter what you-I love you. I want you to see yourself like I see you, even if it’s cliche as hell.”

* He leaned over the broken glass, kissing MC soft and gentle. “So stop with these jokes. Start appreciating yourself, please. For me.”

* MC didn’t know if they could. But they’d try. For Saeyoung, they’d try.

-Send me mystic messenger headcanons/scenarios for characters’ reactions!-

[purplesurveys]

1162

What is the youngest age you can remember back to? I was 3 and I had just woken up in a Winnie the Pooh tent with my sister, who was 1 at the time. Our parents let us go ‘camping,’ which was really nothing more than a tiny tent set up on the floor in their room.

What sports are you trying out for this year? Wakeboarding and rock climbing.

Did you wear your hair in a ponytail today? Yeah it was in a ponytail for the whole day as it helps me focus better at work. I’ve kept the ponytail on even though it’s 11 in the evening right now, but now it’s because it would be too warm with my hair down.

Who do you have on speed dial? Nobody. I’m not sure how to do that with my phone, and even if I knew how to I don’t know if there’d be anyone I’d want to put on speed dial.

What colors do you like to paint your toenails? I never do anything with my toenails except clip them.

Would it be cool to learn how to DJ at a club? Sure!

Where are you going to be three hours from now? It would be 2 AM by then but I highly doubt I’d be asleep by then. I just bought all 7 of the BTS Cold Brew Americano bottles (yep, so much happened while I was gone and I am apparently an Army now...) so I’m drinking from one of them tonight; and they are strong as fuuuuuuuck.

What job would you NEVER take, even as a last resort? Anything related to sex work. Not that I’m against it, but it’s just not for me.

If you broke your computer, would you be able to fix it on your own? Only if it’s something a hard reboot could easily fix haha. If it’s beyond that, I don’t think so.

If someone looked in your closet, how would they judge your style? That I need to update my wardrobe. Most of them were trendy at some point, but not so much these days. They would probably comment that I need to add more colors as well.

What was the shittiest hotel you’ve ever stayed at and why? I’m not sure we’ve stayed somewhere I absolutely hated. I know my dad hated our first hotel in Palawan since the whole vibe of the room felt cheap, the bedsheets looked kinda tacky, and the power went out at night, but that’s also just the luxury liner executive in him. Since I don’t really travel just to stay all day in our hotels, I personally haven’t had any experience where I was like, “never again.”

Have you ever gone on a boat and been sick the whole time? No; I get seasick but I can handle it. It’s carsickness I have a problem with.

Did you get a good sleep last night? Not really. My sleep actually felt very shallow and it really felt like I had been up all night even though I’m pretty sure fell asleep by around midnight. Anyway, I’m getting a 3-day weekend since it’s a national holiday tomorrow, so at least I have a lot of time to catch up on much-needed sleep.

What is the weather like outside? It’s pretty chilly and I feel a few breezes every now and then, but it’s not enough. I’m not sweating, but I also need to have my hair up in a bun because otherwise I’d be too warm. Phone says 27ºC.

If someone makes a spelling or grammar mistake, do you ignore or correct? Mostly ignore. I only ever correct if it’s me who made the mistake by accident.

Do oversized sunglasses actually look good on you? I’ve never tried putting any on, so I wouldn’t know.

What is the most overrated thing in the world? Milk tea. It’s great and delicious I like having my own occasionally, but it’s seriously nothing life-changing.

Have you heard any completely untrue rumors about yourself lately? No. I’d feel sorry for someone who would still be making up rumors in their 20s.

What is one word to describe your room? Progress. It’s come a long way since the breakup.

Have you ever kept something from the wild as a pet? Not in the sense that we caught it ourselves from the wild, but there was one time my sister won a baby chick at a fair when we were super young and we had him for a few days. We tried our best to care for him, but we just weren’t equipped and knowledgeable with what baby chicks need so he didn’t last too long.

Do your parents try to plan out your future for you? No, and I’m glad they aren’t the stereotypical Filipino/Asian parents that dictate how I should be living my life. My mom will sometimes let a comment like “get a boyfriend already” slip through, but she also knows I don’t have the patience for remarks like that so she doesn’t bring it up most of the time.

Do you think that surveys are a huge waste of time? I personally don’t think so. Any activity that helps me relax and gather my thoughts isn’t something I’d call a waste of time.

Are you wearing a hoodie today? No. I would hate to be wearing a hoodie right now lmao, I’d be too miserable in the heat.

Did you sleep alone the last two nights? Yes.

You’re single, right? Yups.

How long was your last phone conversation you had? It lasted like 10 seconds because when I picked up, their signal was very choppy and his voice wasn’t getting through at all.

Who was it with? A delivery rider who sent me a package that Bea apparently arranged for me :’) It has all my favorite Korean snacks and goodies and she even included a cup sleeve of Jin from BTS cos she knows he’s my favorite :(((((

What was it about? Like I said, I never got to talk to him on the phone because his signal was poor, though he probably called to ask for directions. He eventually got to my house.

Excited for anything? Binge-watching Run BTS and Bon Voyage all weekend, and digging into the Frankie’s order I got for delivery tonight.

Got laid last night, didn’t you? Nope.

Do you have drama in your life? Kind of at the moment, but it’s something I couldn’t give less of a shit about so I’m not even getting into it lmao. What’s something you really want right now, be honest? To be able to get out of the house and get my cafe visits on weekends back.

As of this minute, what is going through your mind? That these instant noodles I’m eating are really spicy.

Have you laughed until you cried? Many times.

What are you listening to right now? I can hear a neighbor’s dog barking every now and then and a few airconditioners in the neighborhood whirring.

What color are your shoes? I’m not wearing any right now, but most of my shoes are white anyway.

Can you crack your neck? Nope.

What is the last thing you drank? I took a sip from my banana milk right after I had a forkful of my noodles. Too spicy hahaha.

Where would I have found you last night at 11pm? I was cuddling with Kimi in bed while watching Bon Voyage.

What’s your plans for next Friday? So, tomorrow? Just watch a shit ton of BTS videos since they’re my latest obsession.

Does anyone hate you? Possibly.

Would it be hard seeing someone else kiss the person you like? Erm, don’t really like anyone at the moment. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now? No.

Could you go out in public looking like you do now? Probably to the nearest McDonald’s or 7-Eleven, but I wouldn’t go out to the mall altogether with what I’m wearing.

Who will you be sleeping with tonight? Just meeee.

Is there anyone you wouldn’t mind punching in the face now? Not in particular.

What do you have pierced? Just the ears. < Same.

Do you know anyone that smokes weed? A few people.

Where is the person you want right now? I’m not into anyone.

Are you too forgiving? I’m not forgiving in the first place.

Will this weekend be a good one? Continued from last night. I’m just glad I’ll get to relax for three days, but I don’t have any big plans for the weekend that would make it something exciting.

What is your favorite thing about being sick? I don’t think being sick is particularly fun, even if it means skipping school or work...

Have you ever done something you told yourself you wouldn’t do? Many times, which is why I’ve stopped using the phrase, “I’ll never do X.” I always end up doing whatever the thing is at some point.

Are there any people who don’t like you? It’s possible, but I don’t care.

The boy/girl you truly care about needs you at 3am, would you go? Only for my best friends, and maybe close family members. If you had to get a piercing right now, what would it be? I would get a nose stud or maybe a lip ring.

Do you have any bruises on you? Yeah I have one on my thigh. As usual, I have no idea where it came from.

Are you ticklish? Everywhere.

Ever liked someone who treated you like crap? Yes.

Who do you like right now? BTS? Lmao

What’s the largest age difference between yourself and someone you’ve dated? A month and a half.

Are you gonna get high later? Nope. I know Andi’s always gonna be around as my ~supplier~ if I ever wanna try it out, but I have no plans to any time soon.

What was the first thing you said when you woke up today? That I wanna take a shower.

Do you blow dry your hair? Only for special occasions when I immediately need my hair styled in a certain way.

Do you look decent when you wake up? Some days, I think so.

Have you ever liked someone older then you? I mean they’re all celebrities, but yeah.

Is it hard to make you laugh? Not at all, I like to laugh.

How late did you stay up last night? Around 3 AM because I was watching Bon Voyage, and also memorizing BTS fanchants hahahahaha HELP

Which is worse for you: being hot, or being cold? I fucking hate being hot.

How many drugs have you done in the last three days? Just the caffeine in my coffee and nicotine in my vape.

[shibalen]

1/2! Hi! could I have a male romantic hq matchup if thats ok? w a dark box + a jewellery box pls! I'm 5'5, she/her w long dark brown hair w the front half of my right side dyed white, green eyes + tan skin! I'm super bubbly, loud, naturally v flirty + my love language is physical touch! I LOVE working out + I'm a HUGE foodie. I'm stubborn + impulsive, luv rain/storms, coffee + PDA. I'm emotional, confident, bold, giggly, energetic + observant! I ramble but I'm a gd listener + v playful!

2/2 im v playful + luv teasing! I'm spontaneous, optimistic, passionate + ambitious but I tend to overwork myself. I'm empathetic + love comforting others, it takes a lot to make me super angry too! I'm pretty straight forward - I try my best to be upfront about my feelings! I LOVE autumn/winter, cooking, BOBA + outdoors (but also love cosy nights at home) I really value honesty + loyalty. my ideal type is someone tall, protective + doesn't mind physical touch! (I also luv late night adventures)

Sorry I ran out of characters but I just wanted to say thank you so much in advance! I literally had notifications on so I didn't miss your matchups being open lmao <3 a nickname incase u need it is Ains btw!

♡︎ matchup for @hvnlydmn

hello, dear! aww, i'm so happy you think my matchups are something worth not missing. thank you for requesting, hopefully you enjoy this!

haikyuu: i match you with . . .

osamu miya !!

• under that calm exterior Osamu is competitive and has a small wild streak in him. you would do good in bringing out that side of him more often with your extroverted nature !!

• he finds your boldness and passion endearing and will help you keep your feet grounded in cases your impulsive tendancies might cause trouble for you.

• while your external demeanours differ, you hold the same core values which is incredibly important. like you, Osamu prefers being honest and will understand your point of view even though he might have a different opinion.

• that being said, you're both extremely patient and heated arguments take place only once in a blue moon. even then you manage to work out your differences quite fast.

• maybe it's because of your profile pic but i get the feeling you were a fan of Atsumu first, being part of the cheering squad in high school.

• you had no problem approaching either of the twins despite their popularity. they liked your confidence and energy so quickly accepted you.

• at first you wanted Osamu to help you get closer to Atsumu, but oops, along the way you two ended up falling for the other instead ! your personalities complimented each other, plus you had lots of common interests !

• i love how your first impression dynamic is the fun ray of sunshine x the quiet chill one even though y'all can be equally chaotic and observant ♡︎

• Osamu puts action over words and likes showing you his affection through small, casual touches as you go about your day. locking your fingers, putting his arm around your waist or shoulders, caresses of your cheek/head/hands.

• also, giving you massages after a tough day !! it's sweet and intimate while you can talk about anything and everything, or say nothing at all ♡( ◡‿◡ )

• insists being the one to brew you coffee. he knows his coffee is the best and it's what you deserve.

• playful teasing 23/7 (including snack breaks) just saying. having a brother like Atsumu has had its effects.

• Atsumu and you sometimes gang up and lovingly bully him. don't worry though, even against the two of you Samu can stand his ground (or be petty and give you a cold shoulder to tease you even more).

• though if someone else starts crossing the line while they're teasing you, Osamu will lowkey throw hands. he won't make a scene but anyone with the guts to brother you should be prepared to face pain the consequences.

• your dates often consist of visiting new restaurants/food booths, home-cooked dinner dates or picnics + hiking. sometimes he'll join working out with you.

❦︎ darkbox, timeskip

• it started with the little things: missed calls, skipped dinners, forgotten good-mornings. with Osamu busy with the restaurant and you having your hands full with your own job, your schedules only seemed to drift further apart.

• but then the words you exchanged irl became less frequent and finally the physical touch between you faded nearly into nonexistence because you hardly even saw each other.

• it was like a ticking time bomb. Osamu and you were aware of it but neither of you knew how to stop it.

• though you talked through messages and calls it just wasn't the same. stressed and worried, you did your best to remain calm, however this only made things worse.

• to you, it felt as though Osamu didn't care about your relationship anymore since he always looked and sounded the same, ever so nonchalant. yet in truth he was trying his hardest to look composed so you wouldn't worry.

• in the end, you both saw it best to take a 'break' until your careers became stable again. the saddest part: you did it for the other though neither of you wanted to.

• to forget your depression you became more involved in your work than before, up to the point of overworking yourself.

• meanwhile, Osamu, too, drowned himself in exhaustion. no matter how stoic he appeared it was clear he was all but focused. he kept wondering if you were okay, eating properly, getting enough sleep, or even if you wanted to start seeing someone else.

• worries if you'd rather have broken up with him for good because he wasn't good enough.

• thank goodness Atsumu, being the better and smarter twin™, called his brother out on his bs. too bad Osamu was a stubborn bastard and took forever to realise he loved you too much to be taking some 'pause' from you.

• his blood ran cold and his heart dropped to his stomach, however, when you weren't answering any calls or texts for days. you always answered him after a day at most.

• gosh, he was so anxious something had happened to you that he cancelled everything to rush to your place.

• it turned out you were taking a a week off from the world after too much work and getting sick. all well and good but the boy almost stumbled to his knees from the relief.

• instead, being himself, he just went: "stupid. ya really have a talent for getting yourself into situations like these."

• but thankfully you knew what he meant and how to comfort him. obviously you both fessed up that despite the problems you didn't want to be apart from each other again.

• from that incident onwards you agreed to always openly talk about your feelings. even if it meant being a little selfish, you knew the other would always be there for you ♡︎

𑁍 jewellery box

— favourite memory with you:

after a loss at an important game, you were the one to cheer him up. it was mid-autumn so the nature was filled with colours. you invited him out to rake leaves and jump into the heaps. Osamu thought it was ridiculous at first but couldn't help but smile at your sweet attempts to help him. you weren't together yet back then but it was definitely the moment he realised he felt something stronger for you than friendship ♡︎

— favourite activity to do together:

cooking and taste-testing! it's just so domestic. he gets to cook and spend quality time with you—what could be better? also, image standing in front of a stove, just cooking, when he comes up to you from behind, quietly wraps his arms around your waist and nuzzles your neck.

— favourite place to kiss you:

your forehead and neck. he jokes you're too short for him to reach your lips when he actually just loves the intimacy of it, same with your neck.

— favourite nicknames to call you by:

short-stack, plum, Ains. just your own nickname or something silly/teasing. he doesn't think having a nickname is that important.

— favourite thing about you:

how empathetic and understanding you are. many have gotten the wrong impression of him of being aloof before, so he loves you for caring to look further than meets the eye. not only with him but everyone else as well.

runner up: Kotarō Bokuto

this is my first time writing the extra additions so feedback is warmly welcome. remember to take care ♡︎

[t0ngue-tech]

Everything Means Nothing Without You

“Namjoon adjusted himself to bring his legs out from underneath the table to you had enough room to maneuver your arms. You stood right in between his knees as you delicately wrapped the silk underneath the collar of his shirt and tied it just right then tucked it behind his vest.

‘Well, well, sir. You’re looking quite dapper.’ You complimented.”

↠ slow burn, arranged marriage AU, friends-to-lovers AU ↞

word count: 3.8k

↠ series ↞

A/N: ah yes, i have arrived with another series LMAO SUE ME. i hope you don’t mind lol. enjoy huhu.

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“Mr. Namjoon, I rearranged your schedule for this afternoon.”

“Thank you.”

“The following associates are still waiting for you to forward the building plans.”

“Please kindly tell them that they will be receiving the documents by five oclock.”

“Of course and dinner has been pushed back to eight instead, the location still needs to be decided.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Oh, and sir?”

“Yes, Mr. Jae?”

“Have a good day.”

It was the same pattern every single day.

Kim Namjoon would wake up at seven in the morning to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and pastries rising from downstairs of his home. There would always be classical music playing softly just as he exits his bedroom after taking care of himself in the bathroom. As soon as he reaches the bottom of the stairs, two of the housemaids were on either side of the banister waiting to greet him.

“Good morning, sir.”

“Good morning.”

His place at the table was already set with his morning coffee ready; a splash of milk and two teaspoons of sugar. Breakfast always varied, but whenever pastries were prepared, he always had two chocolate danishes and a butter croissant. Namjoon would spend an hour eating and going over any instructions his father left for him on his business associated tablet. At this point, his assistant would walk through the corridor to fill him in with any other details Namjoon’s father may have missed in the documents.

This morning routine barely ever changed and just like any other aspect in his life, Namjoon just dealt with it.

Kim Namjoon was the next successor in Kim Corporation. His father, the president of the business, owned restaurants, supermarkets, and now with Namjoon working his way up in the business, music stores were now in the works. Kim Seokjin, Namjoon’s older brother, was in charge of multiple restaurants and had just recently opened up a restaurant of his own.

It was absolutely exhausting following Seokjin around like a lost puppy in the business world, but Seokjin encouraged him to express himself and make a name for himself rather than having their father decide everything for them. Namjoon knew what he meant, which was why he convinced his father to be open to owning music stores. Still unsure if Namjoon truly understood what he meant, Seokjin supported him nonetheless.

Despite being the son of the chairman who owned multiple business chains, receiving a degree in business was mandatory in their family. Their father could have easily taught them everything himself, but college was a must.

Namjoon had classes at a university from eleven in the morning to four in the afternoon with a one hour break between his third and fourth class. Going to class was just another routine that he went along with because it was what his father wanted and it was his duty to listen to his father. 

“Hey, Namjoon. My dad wanted me to congratulate you on securing the bag on a location for a music store.” Min Yoongi, a long time friend, joined him during his break.

“Thanks, Yoongi. Give him my regards, but things aren’t really set in stone yet.”

Yoongi waved a hand in front of his face. “Stone, shmone. The developers are pretty much going to approve since it’s coming from Kim Corp.”

‘Coming from Kim Corp.’ A free one-way ticket.

“Anyway, you busy later? I’ve been wanting to try out your brother’s restaurant.”

“Sorry, I have dinner reservations at eight.” Namjoon replied flatly.

“Oh, so your dad finally found you a willing bride?”

As old school as it sounded, Namjoon’s father was keen on arranged marriages. He believed in knowing what was best for his sons, the business, and the future ahead of them in terms of family and class. 

Seokjin was arranged to marry Bae Irene, whose family owned a law firm, and the two got married last spring. They lived together with Namjoon in a Kim family home and as corny as it was, their marriage was as sweet as can be despite being arranged. They were extremely compatible and gag-worthy-in-love, but Namjoon really liked Irene, she always treated him kindly and with respect.

Namjoon thought it was a waste of time. Why would he take out multiple hours of his day to go on dates with some girl his father picked out for him? It all seemed to be tiring. Being single was his best bet, but his father thought otherwise.

“Definitely not. Just dinner.” Namjoon shut his laptop. “I’ll text you when I’m free so we can go to the restaurant. I have to go to class.”

Swift, chic, and to the point.

Hours ticked on and Namjoon was now in his office of the main corporation building in a joined conference call with his father and another developer. Apparently things were smooth sailing and Namjoon needn’t worry about having his proposal rejected. This was how things usually went and it wasn’t a surprise. His father made such a name for himself that many businesses were eager to be working alongside Kim Corp.

“Did you forward the building plan?”

“Yes, father. I just sent them.” Namjoon touched the trinkets around his desk and spun a pen between his fingers.

“Perfect. Mr. Choi, we are delighted to do business with you.”

“Likewise sir. I’ll be taking my leave. Good day sir, Mr. Namjoon.” Mr. Choi spoke.

“Goodbye, sir.”

The line clicked dead and Namjoon sucked in a deep breath. He stared at his laptop screen barely reading the documents he promised himself to be familiar with. His eyes trailed from the screen, to his name placard, to a framed photograph of a sixteen year old Namjoon and his mother. He reminisced how his mother used to bring him snacks up to his room while he did schoolwork and talked about her day. She always made sure her sons had at least a few minutes of break time between any sort of work because she knew how hectic their father made their schedules. She reminded both Seokjin and Namjoon to relax before they overworked themselves to the grave at such a young age.

If only she followed her own advice.

“I hope you’re proud of me mother.”

Namjoon’s phone lit up on his desk.

“Hm?”

↠↞

“Next week?! I need the fabric by this weekend.”

“I know, Ms. y/n. Before you have a bird, I instructed them that you would take your business elsewhere if you don’t get it by Friday.”

“Thank you so much, Hye Jin. You know I hate acting that way, but Minzy is coming back from Paris on Sunday evening and I need her to approve the fabric and design herself.”

“It’s tough being a designer, but you’re doing great, y/n. Don’t be afraid to put your foot down. It’s your brand, honey. You’re in charge.”

“Thank you and you can leave for now, I’ll call you if anything comes up.”

The only reason why mornings were always so difficult for you was because you cherished sleep more than anything. You did love drinking a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, but the process of dragging yourself out of bed and exerting energy always pained you.

Mornings were never easy, but you enjoyed having your breakfast on the gazebo when the weather was right. You loved partaking in conversation with your family’s gardener and you always encouraged the other house workers to join you for a meal, but they usually declined due to their duties and you respected their decision.

Being the daughter of a famous beautician and a designer of high-end boutiques was always an adventure. Your mother found solace in trying out new hairstyles on you and dying your hair from time to time while your father always gives you access to new clothing he was going to release when the seasons rolled in. While you followed your father’s footsteps, your brother, Jung Hoseok, was your mother’s apprentice. Your parents never pressured you or Hoseok to follow in their footsteps, it just came naturally to the both of you.

Life was a roller coaster of traveling and fashion shows and you enjoyed every second of it no matter how stressed out it made you.

“Hey, you’re really not going to your classes today?” Hoseok walked up the steps of the gazebo with his fading red hair tousled in all sorts of directions.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Mom and dad are still in Milan, so they don’t have to know.” You offered him some of your breakfast, belgian waffles with an assortment of fruit. “Plus, I have a lot to do for your wedding.”

Your parents didn’t want to control either of your lives, but if there was something they had to control it was an arranged marriage. Your grandmother, your mother’s mother, was raised in that manner which was then passed down to your mother who was constantly encouraged (more like pressured) to raise both you and Hoseok the same way.

Five months ago, Hoseok became engaged to Gong Minzy who was a model for high end brands. Your father introduced them after a fashion show and they instantly clicked. Minzy also came from a family of money and reputation so her parents were more than happy to allow her to marry someone with a reputation like Hoseok.

You really loved Minzy for your brother. She always brought out the best in him and she also modeled any experimental design pieces you created. Due to how close you were with Minzy, she had personally asked you to design her wedding dress, the maid of honor and bride’s maids’ dresses. It was a huge honor. There was no way you could say no.

“Thank you again, by the way. Minzy is really elated that you agreed to do this for her.” Hoseok ruffled your hair.

“It’s my pleasure, dude.” You took a peek at your phone. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have silk samples I have to look at at the office.”

Unlike Hoseok, marriage was nowhere near your agenda. It wasn’t because you weren’t interested, but because you were pretty much married to your job and the last guy you went on a date on was a huge pervert. You didn’t have time for disgusting creeps. Your entire focus was on your well being.

Some of the employees were confused as to why you were in the office which you begged them not to say anything to your parents. Entering your office, your assistant, Hye Jin, was already laying out the silk fabric samples for you to take a look at. The fabric was for the ties of Hoseok and his groomsmen’s suits. He never asked you to do it, but it was a small wedding gift that you wanted to give him.

“Is this from the Italy shipment?” You fingered through the small stack of fabric.

“Yes and this,” Hye Jin laid out a sleek box with a deep royal blue tie tucked inside. “This is the sample design.”

Excellent, excellent.

You gently slipped it out of the box and carefully examined every stitch and fold of the tie. Hoseok was your dear brother and he deserves the best so you needed to make sure everything was perfect.

“Okay, I need this to be sampled on someone.” You carefully folded the tie back into the box. “Hye Jin, can you send a text from my phone. Let him know to meet me at our sushi restaurant, he’ll know what I mean.”

“Consider it sent.”

You were so indulged in sketching out the wedding dresses that you almost lost track of time; fortunately Hye Jin was a punctual person so she made sure she had your evening outfit ready for you on the couch in your office. Instead of a loose t-shirt and saggy mom-style jeans, you were now dressed in a pencil skirt and long sleeved blouse that flares out at your wrist.

The sushi restaurant was a high class place you frequented so you recognized a lot of the patrons inside once you walked in. They all greeted you politely as you made your way to one of the private sections. Waiting in one of the sections was a certain ashy-blue haired fellow who you could easily pick out of a line up if you were just given the shape of his shoulders. It was none other than--

“Hey Namu, sorry, I got caught up with my work.” You slid into the seat across from him and took a good look at his outfit. You instructed him to wear a light gray suit with a matching vest and a white button down shirt beneath. “Nice, you’re wearing everything down to a T.”

“It’s no problem. I took the liberty of ordering your favorites, so our food should be out soon.” Namjoon explained cooly.

You scrunch your nose. “You don’t have to talk all proper around me, you know? We went over this.”

He chuckled and flicked a few locks of his hairs out of his face. “Sorry, force of habit. Anyway, may I see the tie?”

“Nope, after dinner. If our food is coming out soon, I don’t want any uni or spicy mayo on it even if it’s just a sample.”

Namjoon didn’t protest. He humbly agreed to your decision and his politeness was something that bothered you since the two of you were in high school. Both Seokjin and Namjoon were childhood friends to you and Hoseok because your fathers were friends since college. Growing up as kids, it was natural to fight and play all the time but he changed when Namjoon turned sixteen. The both of you were just months apart in age and you always wondered why he stopped picking on you or gave you any sort of attitude. He later explained to you that it was because of how he was raised to act more proper as he got older and you thought that if you prodded at him a little while going through the motions of your high school years then maybe he would feel comfortable in acting more like a friend than a robot. It did make a small change in him, but he always still reverted back to his usual attitude.

You spoke to Namjoon about your brother’s wedding as he was one of Hoseok’s groomsmen and you expressed the stress you were dealing with because although your main worry was being a designer for the wedding, you were also working side by side with the wedding planner. This gave you a lot more work than you actually planned, but it was going to be rewarding at the end.

“Seokjin said he’s willing to do the catering or cooking for the wedding. It’s the least he could do.” Namjoon poured you another cup of tea.

“That’s so sweet. I’ll be sure to pass down the message to Hoseok. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled.”

“Well, how about you? Anymore creepy guys your parents have lined up for you?”

You laughed knowing that Namjoon wasn’t trying to insult you or anything. This was him being comfortable around you. It was a rare sight to witness so you soaked up the moment whenever it presented itself.

“Ugh, no. I absolutely don’t have enough time for that, but I have a feeling that when my parents get back, they’re going to give me a phone number of someone they met during the fashion show or some big meeting.” You scoffed.

Namjoon chuckled as he signed the receipt, paying for the meal. “Most girls would be excited for marriage and spending the rest of their lives with the one they love.”

“Yeah, but I’m not most girls, Mr. Kim.”

“I know that far too well.” Namjoon raised his cup and clinked it against yours. “Ah, y/n, the tie.”

You tanked your tea, completely forgetting how hot it was, and reached into your purse. Even if the tie was a prototype, you were still nervous showcasing it to Namjoon. You spent a lot of time being nitpicky about the design—it was a damn tie, but it had to be the perfect tie.

“Allow me.” You gestured.

Namjoon adjusted himself to bring his legs out from underneath the table to you had enough room to maneuver your arms. You stood right in between his knees as you delicately wrapped the silk underneath the collar of his shirt and tied it just right then tucked it behind his vest.

“Well, well, sir. You’re looking quite dapper.” You complimented.

Namjoon smiled then looked down at his chest. “Thank you. May I see it properly?”

You gave him room to stand before taking a head-to-toe photo of him on your phone. He examined the photo and hummed contentedly.

“You’re sure this is just a sample?” He questioned.

You laughed and straightened out the fabric against his chest. “I’m sure. I still have to finalize the fabric. This particular fabric is no good for long term use and I want all of the groomsmen and my brother to use it normally rather than just for the wedding.”

Thank goodness the design looked decent on the chosen colors and thank goodness Namjoon was always available to be one of your male dress up dolls. You stepped back to take one more look at him and nodded your head.

“How about you keep this tie for keepsakes, Joon? I’m changing my label once I get all of the ties and dresses finalized, so this is the only item in the world with this label.” You plucked the tie out and pointed at a small cotton tag that had “Yours.” embroidered in cursive. “I was thinking of changing out the cursive to a typewriter kind of font and making the base color black instead of white.”

Namjoon touched the silk and thumbed the tiny tag that you pointed out. “Thank you. I’ll gladly accept this. I’ll be sure to return the favor.”

He flashed you a warm grin that made you wish you could take a picture of. This expression was rare and just like a lot of his less serious emotions, you soaked it all in. 

“There’s no need, Joonie. We haven’t seen each other in a while, so I guess it’s also an apology for being so busy.” You brushed off his shoulders and straightened out his tie once more.

“I also apologize. I guess work and school keeps getting in the way.” Namjoon stroked your hair. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

↠↞

“Let’s have dinner again soon, okay?”

Namjoon opened your car door and gave you a tight hug before helping you settle inside.

“Of course. I’ll text you when I’m free. We can go to the steakhouse in the hills.” He shut your door and waited for you to roll down your window. “Drive safe.”

Just like that, you drove out of the parking lot and Namjoon let out a long sigh.

I guess that’s two dinners I have to fit into my schedule at some point.

The drive home felt a lot shorter than usual and it made him wish he took the long way home because it meant being away from any work related duties. He wanted the world to stop for a second to take a breather. It seemed like no matter what, he couldn’t escape the grimy clutches of work. Even during his dinner with you, the conversation ended up leading towards his floor plans of his music store. A break seemed like a dream that he couldn’t grasp with his own fingers.

Pulling into the driveway, there was a plain black sedan parked out front and it only meant one thing.

“Ah, Namjoon. Welcome home. Join us for tea.”

Sitting in the living room was Irene, Seokjin, and none other than their father.

“Good evening. I apologize, I already had some during dinner. Please excuse me.” 

He quickly said his greetings to a few of the housemaids that were on his way to his room and flopped down onto his bed once he reached his destination.

Floor plans, item arrangements, item shipments, mock proposal for business, notes for economics, dinner with yoongi and y/n.

Namjoon’s hands flew to his face. He could already hear his mother’s voice nagging at him to take a vacation somewhere. Oh, how he wished he could erase his schedule at the snap of his fingers, but that only existed in a realm inside his mind.

He sat up and strode across his room to take a look at himself in the mirror. If it wasn’t for Irene’s holy grail skincare recommendations he would be looking like a 50 year old man. His eyes traveled to the tie you gifted him and again, he let out a sigh.

Your schedule and hardships weren’t a secret to Namjoon. You usually vented to him about everything that’s anything and even with the weight of the world on your shoulders, you still managed to smile. Your personality was completely different from his and he was a bit envious. While he moped around and kept to himself most of the time, you usually walked with a pep in your step and smiled as if you just won the lottery. It was appalling how you could easily make the decision to drop whatever you were doing to take a spontaneous two hour drive and have coffee at a random coffee shop. 

Your personality clashed with his in a positive way. You encouraged him to put himself first and you always made time to have dinner with him whenever you had the chance because it meant distracting him from work. Taking personal breaks was barely ever an option, but he always agreed whenever you asked for his company. This was why his friendship with you was incredibly important. He appreciated you to the highest degree. You made him feel human. 

Three knocks were heard from his door. “It’s open.”

“Namjoon, I’m taking my leave.”

Namjoon turned and made eye contact with his father. There wasn’t any bad blood between them, but there was always something in the air whenever Namjoon was alone with him. It’s been that way since his mother passed away so it was pretty much normal.

“Okay. Drive safe, father.”

His father stood there for a few seconds and took a step to leave, but turned back. “Did you have dinner with a client?”

“No, I was with y/n.” Namjoon answered.

“Oh, y/n.” His father nodded his head slowly. “Are her parents back from their trip?”

“She mentioned that they were taking a detour to New York after Milan, so they’re probably going to be back next week Thursday or Friday.”

Again, his father nodded his head and drummed his fingers along the door frame.

“Alright, don’t forget your meeting with Mr. Choi at your chosen location after your classes tomorrow. Good night.”

Namjoon slumped his shoulders forward and ran a hand through his hair after his father closed his door. Another thing was added to his to-do list.

“Good night, father.” 

It was never going to end, was it?

-

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♡ rae jagi

[bagels-and-seagulls]

lmao would you do 45 from that list?

Matteo makes it through the weekend with two pots of the strongest coffee God could brew before 9AM, lots and lots of youtube vine compilations, and the sheer force of will. He thinks at one point he might have lost a kid when he was so overly caffeinated at the park that he may or may not have hallucinated an alligator coming up and swallowing one of them whole before walking off, but he has all four now. So no one really has to know that he wandered around the park, a kid holding onto each hand and one on his back, yelling Jacob’s name and praying to god he wasn’t going to have to call Jonas and tell him he misplaced his oldest. 

“Uncle Matteo, can we have chocolate chips, too?” Emma asked with wide eyes and a smile that he knows doesn’t work on Hanna. He knows because she told him over drinks one night that her daughter has the biggest eyes in the world, and she hasn’t fallen for them once, motherly instincts or something like that. He also knows that Emma knows he falls for them every time. 

“I don’t know if I have any,” he lies through the skin of his teeth. By the way she smiles at him, he’s pretty sure she knows he’s fibbing. 

“Will you check?” 

Matteo sighs, knowing he’s a weak man, and then yawns. “If you go get your brothers up. Your parents should be here soon to pick you guys up, and they need to be ready.” 

“Is Uncle David going to be here for breakfast?” 

Matteo looked over his shoulder at the clock. “Uh, he might be. His train gets here soon, too.” 

“Maybe Mama and Papa are on the same train as him!” 

“Yeah, maybe,” he said, knowing that David was coming from Hamburg, and Jonas and Hanna were coming up from Munich and therefore had no chance of being on the same train, arriving at the same hour. But he also knows that shooting children down is something only assholes do. “Go get your brothers. Breakfast is almost ready.” 

Emma skipped out of the kitchen, and Matteo downed the rest of his coffee mug, now cold, and didn’t look for any chocolate chips. He yawned again and flipped some more pancakes. He went to the fridge to get out some jam and butter. 

“Hello?” He heard from the entryway before the thumping of all four kids running to the door. 

“Uncle David!” 

“Hello! How are you guys? Did you have a fun weekend with Uncle Matteo?” David sauntered into the kitchen, holding Lukas one his hip, and looking far too good for someone who got on an early morning train and then took a bus to get home because there was no way Matteo was going to get four children ready enough to go to the train station to pick up his dashingly beautiful boyfriend. His hands were starting to shake, and he suddenly really regretted the fifth cup of coffee. 

“Yeah, it was fun,” Lukas replied. “We went to the park.” 

“You went to the park? What did you do?” 

“Played footie.” 

“That’s fun. Did you win?” 

Lukas shook his head and pointed down to Jacob and Noah. David scrunched his nose, and tapped Lukas’ on his before setting him down. Matteo had to stop watching once one of the pancakes started to smoke. 

“Come sit at the table. Breakfast is ready,” Matteo said, and all the kids scattered over to the table, filling their plates high with food that Matteo knew they weren’t going to finish. He stayed over by the stove, making sure it was all off and threw some of the dishes in the sink to soak the batter off. 

David slid up to him, pressing him up to the counter with a hand hot on his hip. “Hey,” he said quietly, and the look he gave him reminded Matteo that he’d been gone all weekend, all weekend that he had been corralling four children around the city without him. And wow, David looked good. It really wasn’t fair.  “How are you?” 

“I’m exhausted,” Matteo responded honestly, dropping his head onto his shoulder, and David laughed. He kissed him on the forehead, and the kids at the table squealed out eek. Matteo had to remind himself that he couldn’t flip off children. 

The buzzer went off, and they squealed again, this time more out of excitement to see their parents than disgust, seeing their uncles show any amount of affection because god forbid adults kiss or anything. “I’ll get it,” David said, squeezing Matteo’s hip, and Matteo went back to soaking the dishes, shoving a pancake in his mouth. 

“Papa!” 

“My children! I missed you guys!” 

Jonas and Hanna were ushered into the kitchen by David, and the kids jumped up and out of their seats in seconds. Lukas hugged at Hanna’s knees, and Jonas leaned down to be attacked by the other three all crawling over his back. He pressed over-exaggerated kisses to each other their heads with loud smacking noises.

“Do you guys have all your things?” Hanna asked. “We’re going to go home now and let Uncle Matteo and Uncle David enjoy the rest of their day in quiet.” She followed them as they drug her into the guest room they were staying at. 

“How’d it go, man?” Jonas asked, stretching up, and reaching out to give Matteo a hug. 

“You’re getting a vasectomy,” Matteo said, seriously, thinking about the next time Hanna and Jonas wanted to go on a romantic getaway, and Matteo was going to have to shuffle these kids around Berlin, trying to make sure they kept all their fingers and toes. Jonas laughed. “That’s final,” he added. 

“Is this a good time to tell you we’re expecting another one?” 

“I’m going to fucking kill you.” 

[eldritchsurveys]

647.

Do you play Pokemon Go? If so, what level are you and who’s your buddy? >> No, but Sparrow does. I think it’s pretty neat, I’m just not motivated by the things that playing Pokémon with any regularity requires you to be motivated by (and I’m definitely not motivated by any of it enough to go outside for it). Do you ever sit indoors and wear sunglasses or a hat? >> I’ve worn sunglasses indoors, because indoor lighting can be particularly harsh. And I’ll put my hoodie on with the hood up if my head is cold. Are you putting off doing something right now? If so, what is it? >> No, I’m waiting for a download to be done so I can do what I want to do. What’s the most daring thing you have ever done? >> *shrug* Do you know how to read animals’ behaviour? >> I have a vague understanding of the behaviour of most common housepets. It’d be more in-depth if, you know, I cared more.

What would be something that made you think less of a person you just met? >> Unabashed bigotry.

Are you like me and hoard notebooks and pens? >> No. Do you like playing video games? If so, what do you usually play? >> I do. I play MMOs a lot now -- World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2 and ESO, particularly -- but my original favourite kind of game is the single-player narrative/character-driven RPG (like what Bioware became popular for). I am also very good at Guitar Hero. Are you sitting in front of or by a window? What can you see out there? >> I’m by a window. It looks out onto the parking lot and the rest of the apartment complex. Are there any coasters on your table? If so, do they have text or pictures? >> We have coasters kind of... strewn about the apartment. I’m the only one who uses them with any regularity, though. There’s one with a raven on it and one with a sugar skull on it on my desk. I think the other sugar skull ones are on the coffee table, if not just... lost to the black hole that sometimes spawns and devours things we could have sworn was just [wherever]. Have you ever sewn a garment? >> No, but I’ve mended and customised garments. Why do you take surveys on Bzoink? >> I don’t, I take them from bzoink and post them here. Do you have a song playing in your head right now, too? >> No. Do you ever dance to the song playing in your head? >> I don’t think I usually do that. How are you environmentally friendly? Or do you just not care? >> I don’t consider myself “environmentally friendly”. I’ve not made much of an effort to be, so I assume I’m as environmentally unfriendly as your average modern-era consumer. I have the ability to care, but right now I don’t have much willpower to, especially since if we’re honest, most of what’s immediately going awry with the various ecologies of the world isn’t my doing, per se, and nothing I did differently would stop it from happening. Back in 2004, were you into that The Sims story craze? >> I don’t even know what that was. How long have you had an online presence for? >> I’ve been online in some form since the turn of the millennium. Don’t you hate it when people answer to surveys with one word answers? >> I fail to see what that has to do with me. I only read certain people’s survey answers anyway. I don’t have time to be reading everyone’s surveys and getting mad about how the fuck they’re taking it, lmao. When paying for things, do you prefer NFC payments or cash? >> I don’t know what NFC payments are. I usually use a debit card. Isn’t it cool how we can google anything, anywhere we are, in seconds? >> It’s very cool. It has its downsides like literally everything, but it’s still very cool and I make great use of it daily. Or do you just never google anything and just ask others to do it for you? >> I’m definitely the type to plug whatever little thing I’m curious about into a search engine. I remember one time back in the NY days there was this ongoing argument between Sigma and Vlad about how Sigma would always google whenever someone had an idle curiosity and Sigma could never understand why Vlad thought that was a bad thing. (Vlad is/was just... remarkably old-fashioned, for whatever reason, and thinks that we’re all slowly going stupid because we don’t have to look things up in encyclopaedias anymore or... whatever. I never really understood her point of view.) If you got a chance to go to space, would you? >> Yes, absolutely, if I was cleared for space travel. Which, let’s be honest, I probably wouldn’t be. Ever watched a cat or a dog sleep and run/twitch in their sleep? >> Yeah. Have you ever had an “adults’ toy”? If so, how often do/did you use it? >> I’ve had one in the past, out of curiosity, but I only used it once. It became a bathroom decoration instead. As cool as they are in theory, toys just... don’t do it for me, for several reasons. Do you read erotic stories or watch porn? (No, 50 Shades doesn’t count) >> 50 Shades absolutely counts, since it’s an erotic story. Shut up. Anyway, yes, I read erotic stories and watch porn sometimes. Do you do your own nails or do you pay for someone to do them? >> I don’t do anything with them, most of the time. Are there any plants in the room you’re in? >> Yeah, there’s a spider plant. Have you ever cold brewed tea or coffee? >> No. What’s something we do every day but they don’t depict in movies? >> *shrug* Do you enjoy travelling? >> Eh. I used to enjoy it a lot more than I do now, but now my sensory issues tend to get in the way of my enjoyment more often than I’d like. Where’s the most beautiful place you’ve been to so far? >> *shrug* What’s something cool about the city/town you live in? >> Hm.

Which body part do you think you touch the most throughout the day? >> I don’t know. What’s your highest level of education? >> I graduated high school. If you were to open a business, what kind of business would it be? >> --- What’s the most important thing in any kind of relationship? >> Don’t ask me. What do you do when you have an itch in a spot you can’t reach? >> Use an object or a wall corner. If you wear lipstick, what’s your favourite colour to wear? >> Plum. Is your style feminine, masculine or somewhere in the middle? >> Somewhere in the middle, I’d imagine, but listing towards masculine. Do you usually carry a backpack, a shoulder bag or something else? >> I carry a backpack or a tote bag most of the time. Have you ever made your own jewelry? If so, what have you made? >> No. Do you wear glasses? >> No. If so, have you ever tried to fix them when they’ve broken? >> --- Have you ever made a friend online who lives in another country? >> Yeah. Are there a lot of dragonflies around your house? >> I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dragonfly around here. I like dragonflies and there’s one flying around the parking lot. >> Sweet, I also like dragonflies but I don’t think this is their preferred environment. Have you ever seen two dragonflies mating? >> Yeah, the first time I saw it I was like 11 and I was transfixed, lmfao. What smell brings back a memory for you? >> *shrug* What’s the best foreign film (and not made in Hollywood) that you’ve seen? >> Oh, I don’t know. What’s a song you just can’t stand? >> *shrug* In your ideal profession, would you need a work uniform? >> I don’t have an ideal profession, but if I did, I’d assume being able to dress comfortably would be one of the criteria for it.

[imagineredwood]

Request: “One based on the song ‘Make you smile’ by Elle King with Juice.

Pairing: Juice Ortiz/female reader 

Warnings: mention of weight and confidence, learning to love and be loved, some insecurity and acceptance 

Word Count: 1,057

***I’m posting this and then going cutting off for the night because first, my computer restarted itself and I lost my work for the other story, now with the update, it says that the internet is not allowed to connect to my blog on Tumblr or any other blog directly for that matter. Now my drafts are loading and loading and not saving. I’ve had enough of technology so thank you and goodnight lmao***

I like what you do and I like that you keep doin' it Your eyes look mighty fine I really think I'm losin' it Oh oh oh Oh oh oh

Juice danced around the clubhouse with you, arm around your waist as you rested your head on his chest and slowly swayed to the slow song. He always was such a gentleman. He always took the care to spend time with you, look after you, make it a point that you knew he cared about you. But it wasn’t until this morning that he had finally asked you the question that made the butterflied that swam around in your tummy take flight. 

Would you be my Old Lady?

It was simple, direct, spoken over a bagel and orange juice, his eyes wild with anxiety. What if you said no? What if you liked him but not that much. What if you didn't want that kind of commitment right now? Everything was rushing through his head and finally, he’s just come out with it similar in style to high schoolers at the dance. He’d be shocked and also elated when you’d said yes, reaching across the table to pull him in for a kiss that he feverishly returned. 

Pretty boy, don't be shy Like all your bad ideas Ain't this a nice surprise to find a man so dear Oh oh oh Oh oh oh

So now here you were, later that night, wrapped in his arms as you slow danced at the clubhouse party. Your smile was bright as he looked down at you, adoration in his eyes and you had to admit it felt nice. 

It had taken a while for you to come to terms with your size and build confidence. It hadn’t always been easy for you to put yourself out there and live without a care in the world, but once you had, nothing but good things had come to you, the best of which being Juice. Your confidence gave you a glow that caught his eye from a mile away and once he’s sat down with you over a coffee, he’s learned that the only thing more radiant and beautiful than your appearance was the love and care that you carried. 

He wasn’t used to the attention and affection, and it had scared him in the beginning. He’d gotten attached quickly, feelings brewing and soon enough he’d accepted it. He liked you. Then he realized it was more than that. You treated him well, accepted him, encouraged him. In return he’d given you the same, accepting you and seeing you for who you were as a person. You made him feel like you were proud to know him, proud to care for him. You were proud to be his and have him be yours and that was something new, and entirely welcomed.

Say you'll be my baby and I'll be your girl and You can have this heart of mine, 'Cause I would walk a thousand miles Just to make you smile

Your size wasn’t a factor for him. It was a part of who you were. It wasn’t an exception, it was an inclusion of the beautiful woman that he’d gotten to known and consequently develop feelings for, more and more each day. So now here you were, the Son and his Old Lady, slowly dancing in the middle of the clubhouse feeling as if you were the only two people in the world, because in that moment you were. The feeling of your head resting against his chest, the warmth and love radiating from you, paired with the love and protection that came from Juice, the both of you swayed in harmony, just enjoying the company of the other and how easy it was for the other to make you smile. 

You taste like sugar mints and cigarettes and beer I used to hate this town but I'll stay because you're here Oh oh oh Oh oh oh

He was different than what you were used to. He was sweet and rough and goofy and rugged and strong and weak and...perfect. Before you’d stuck around in Charming, for what you weren’t sure. It was a small town, not much happened. There wasn’t much room to grow. People who wanted to grow had to move, go somewhere else and spread their wings and it was the reason that you had always hated it. Hated how stagnant it could be, how nothing ever seemed to change. Yet now here you were, ever grateful that you’d stuck it out and not left all those times the thought had crossed your mind. Now Charming was a little brighter and the thought of leaving hadn’t crossed your mind in a while. He made you happy, and you made him happy. You both fed each other emotionally and were there to pick the other up when they needed it. 

All them skinny girls are bitter and reserved If you want a lot of love then I'm just what you deserve Oh oh oh Oh oh oh

You couldn’t help the chuckle that came from you as you opened your eyes and saw a couple of the Croweaters, off in the corner sulking and brooding alone while you danced with Juice, your man. The same ones that had called you fat, the same ones that had said you’d only ever be a friend, the ones that said you would never become an Old Lady. They sat fuming as you waltzed around enveloped in the love of Juice, knowing that maybe if they had been a little nicer, worked harder to make sure their inside was as pretty as their outside, that one of the Sons would consider them too. That was a battle they had to fight on their own though and you let the vicious insults they’d directed your way over the years melt away, consumed by the love you had for Juice. 

Say you'll be my baby and I'll be your girl and You can have this heart of mine, 'Cause I would walk a thousand miles If you say you'll be my baby, I will be your girl and You can have this heart of mine, 'Cause I would walk a thousand miles Just to make you smile Just to make you smile

[nightglider124]

A Present for Ava <3

Omg, I am shit because this is three days late asdfghjkl i got busy and was trying to get this done for you gurl and finally, we’re here XD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY RIDE OR DIE; BEST BESTIE A GAL COULD HAVE, @fireflyxrebel !!!!  Tis belated but at least I wished it on your actual bday lmao!

I hope you had an amazeballs birthday because if anyone deserves it; it is you, Ava. I hope you stuffed your face with cake and all the good stuff because if you can’t on your birthday, when can you??

You is my actual fave around these parts and so, I wrote you a little BBRae somethin-something which I hope you like. I am unused to writing them as a main so hopefully this is a oneshot where I’ve hopefully done them justice? I don’t know, I just pray you like it XD.

Sorry it took so long gurl but again, happy birthday and I hope it was kick-ass. Ily! <3 <3 <3

Snow

A bitter chill clung to the wisps of the wind in the night as darkness shrouded the city with the exception of a few blinking lights dotted amongst buildings, houses and skyscrapers. Jump was quietly winding down for yet another winter evening; not quite silent yet but slowly working its way towards the tranquility of midnight.

The tower was mostly unlit, save for a window or two on the higher levels. A dim glow washed over the walls of Ops, creating composure with a volume to match.

His mouth hung open, just a fraction as he trained his deep, forest green eyes on the TV screen before them. The man on screen dressed from head to toe in black garments followed behind the unsuspecting woman, slyly pulling a blade from inside his jacket, ready to strike at any given moment.

Gar tilted his head, attention on the predictable scene of the horror movie that they’d decided to throw on since there were none of the others around to squabble over what to watch.

There was a shift in movement from beside him and he briefly glanced over at his violet haired beauty, her dark eyes cast down at the novel in her hands. Gar quirked a small smile and his chest gave a thud, his heart skipping a beat like it always did when he looked at her; really looked at her and saw Raven for the enchantress she truly was.

Although, he’d likely get a smack for ever uttering something so cheesy but that didn’t stop him from thinking it to himself.

“You’re staring again...” She murmured, raising an eyebrow but not yet removing her focus from the words on the pages of her book.

Gar grinned, his fang poking out from beneath his lip. He nudged her shoulder and leaned in, dropping a kiss to her pale cheek.

Raven refused to let the blush that was threatening to spill onto her china like skin, from spreading like the wildfire it was. She already felt the heat rising but swallowed discreetly, stubbornly quelling the effect that grin had on her.

“I have a pretty sight to stare at.” He told her, waggling his eyebrows in her direction, “Can’t blame me; it’s technically your fault.”

She bit down on the inside of her cheek and really tried to maintain that air of nonchalance that she played so well but knew, deep down, her resolve was slipping.

Slowly, a small smirk appeared against her cupid bow lips, “Idiot.”

He blew a kiss at her, “You love it.”

Raven smiled, a happy gleam in her eyes as she shook her head at her boyfriend’s antics. Gar matched her expression and turned to nuzzle her neck, just enough to draw a deliciously startled gasp from her.

He pulled away, that look of achievement on his face which Raven offered a mock glare to. Gar’s high pitched chuckle met her ears and she shuddered, always questioning how he managed to give her feelings like these.

“This is an okay horror movie, y’know.” Gar commented, folding his arms over his chest as he resumed his watchful eye on the TV.

Raven nodded, finishing the sentence she was on before she closed the book with a soft thud and carefully placed it upon the coffee table. She sat back and instinctively leaned in towards Gar who immediately draped his arm over the back of the sofa, creating the perfect crevice to snuggle up into if she so wished but he never pushed. He gave the option and allowed her to make that choice.

Raven was still an enigma, even after knowing her for so long and even dating her for the past 3 years. However, he knew there was an abundance more than met the eye. Sometimes she craved affection and touch and attention; it was rarer but he couldn’t deny that he loved when she found herself needing that from him. Other times, she would stay distant with a few small smiles thrown his way but in that quiet way of hers that he still loved.

She rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes on the screen now too.

“Is it another typical slasher?” She asked in a monotone,

“No...”

“Oh?”

“Okay, it is but it’s really good!” He squeaked, turning to beam at her.

Raven playfully rolled her eyes but gave him a ghost of a smile before she shook her head. He was such a child sometimes; a happy little puppy, getting excited over the little things but she knew, in her heart of hearts, she wouldn’t trade him for anything.

“If you say so.” Raven mused,

“I do say so but...” He glanced at her, that pleading look that she was almost certain he had co conspired to create with Starfire. They both used it when they really wanted something, “We can still watch Elf after, right?”

She smirked, “I thought you were all for horror?”

“I am but... it’s only a week til Christmas and I wanna get all festive, Rae.” He explained,

One week until Christmas and for once, Gar was completely prepared. He’d bought all his gifts and even wrapped them with Starfire’s help of course; she loved this time of year and always took the responsibility of wrapping presents wherever she was given permission.

His girlfriend’s presents were inevitably what he set out to buy first. He’d bought her the regular stuff he knew she liked and enjoyed receiving; new novels, candles, herbal tea gift sets; all of those types of gifts, she asked for.

But, he’d managed to be sneaky this year and buy her something she wouldn’t be expecting. In recent years, she’d let her hair grow long, past her shoulders to the point she had it as long as Starfire’s had been back when they were merely teenagers.

So, in accordance, he had stumbled across a gothic boutique in central Jump which sold combs. Gar had found a matching pair of obsidian hair combs with small raven detailing on them. They had a slight shimmer to them but not enough where she would be put off; at least he hoped she wouldn’t be.

Upon seeing them, Gar knew he had to have them for her and he was praying that she loved them.

He had some confidence in his soul though; showing them to the surrogate sister of his heart proved comforting. She’d squealed and practically bounced on the spot.

Raven blinked at him but nodded, “We can watch it but if you try making me the spaghetti and maple syrup thing he makes in the movie again, I will burn the disc.”

He flashed that toothy grin of his, “I make no promises. He’s onto something with that recipe.”

She pulled a face of utter disgust, considering the first time he tried to do that which ended with Raven subsequently agreeing and gagging only seconds later. It tasted horrific and she was a terrible liar so she couldn’t even tell him it was good to spare his feelings.

Gar had merely chuckled and kissed her temple, already at the kettle, brewing a nice cup of steaming earl grey to rid her of the bad taste his concoction has left in her mouth.

Still, it was a funny memory to think back on.

Raven smiled quietly to herself as his eyes found the TV screen again, her hand resting just over his heart. She closed her eyes, letting the rhythmic thumping soothe her.

The changeling exhaled in content and leaned back against the couch cushions, enjoying the time being spent alone together. It was nice to live in a house with the team, even after all this time but sometimes, a night alone for just the two of them is all they really craved.

Cyborg and Bee had been down in the garage for a solid few hours, working on upgrades for the T-Car that Vic had insisted his baby needed if she was to survive missions throughout the harsh winter weather.

But, Gar had assumed the ‘working’ had stopped a while ago if the soft jazz music drifting up from the ground floor was anything to go by.

Dick and Starfire were in bed, having managed to get Mar’i down for her bedtime early for once. She was bursting with excitable energy so it made nightly routines difficult when all she wanted to do was float and play with her family and toys.

They’d claimed they were going to sleep but Gar could hazard a guess at what they were more likely doing within their bedroom. They didn’t get much time for themselves as a couple either now, with their little bundle of joy around.

A single moment of peace and quiet for them was utter bliss and Dick and Starfire tried hard to make the most of those moments so the shape shifter couldn’t really blame the parents if they were trying to connect in that way.

As the couple lounged together on the sofa in comfortable silence, a startling gasp from Gar roused Raven from her lethargic position against him. She bolted upright, snapping her head to him,

“What? What’s wrong?” She fretted, her eyes sweeping over him to check.

His face was not one of fear or of panic however; it was one of barely concealed glee.

“Rae! Look!” He hissed, jumping to his feet and scurrying over to the gigantic windows adorning the back wall of the main room. He pointed outside and she had to squint, not having a clue what he was babbling about.

“What?” She asked, pulling her cloak around her as she stood up.

“It’s snowing!” He breathed, his emerald eyes sparkling with exhilaration,

“So?” Raven shrugged,

“Like a lot! It’s gonna settle fast!”

“Again... so what?”

“Raaae!” He whined, rolling his eyes at her not connecting the dots with that beautiful brain of hers.

“What, Gar?”

“We have to go out in it!” He squeaked,

Raven’s eyes went wide and she flinched beneath her cloak, “What?! Are you insane? It’s 2am. We’ll catch our deaths.”

He turned to look at her, smirking as he wriggled his eyebrows, “I’m sure you can heal us before it gets to that, babe.”

Raven blushed at the pet name, as she always tended to but she folded her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes, “Gar-”

“Please, Rae? Snow is my favorite and it’s never like this in the mornings! It’s all slushy or iced over and no fun.”

She watched him, that buzzing aura, similar to that of childlike wonder being the only energy she could currently feel. It washed over her; calmed her emotions and allowed her to be more relaxed in what he was suggesting.

Her silly boy was an oddity and a rarity.

Raven chewed her lip before she shook her head and sighed, “10 minutes on the roof and then we come back inside. Got it?”

“Definitely!” Gar vowed, snatching her hand and pulling her along for the ride as he bounded out of the main room in the direction of the stairs leading to the roof.

When they reached the top of the staircase, Gar threw open the metal door whilst Raven watched with dry amusement as his expression softened into one of pure awe.

As a particularly frozen gust of wind passed by them, Raven tugged her cloak around her body so tight; her fingers went a light shade of white. Garfield, on the other hand, hopped out onto the fresh, powdered snow that lay across the rooftop like a blanket, leaving a trail of sneaker imprints.

He turned around in a circle and stuck his tongue out, trying to taste the falling snowflakes. That boyish grin of his was plastered across his lips, looking extremely satisfied each time he heard the snow crunch beneath his own feet.

“Look at all the snow, Rae!” He chirped, crouching down to leave an indent of his hand print in the bed of snow.

“Mhm. It’s great. And cold. Can we go back inside now?” She asked, tonelessly,

Gar rolled his eyes at her before he jogged back to where she still stood in the doorway. He smirked and wriggled his fingers at her,

“C’mon… y’know you want to.”

She pulled a face, “I really don’t.”

“Please? Just for a while and then we’ll go inside. I promise.” He glanced at his wrist to mimic a watch, “You said 10 minutes, remember?”

“Gar, it’s freezing…” She muttered, kicking some snow away from the door.

“I can warm you up.” He replied in a smooth guy voice,

She gave him a look but couldn’t help the corners of her lips quirking upwards into a smile.

Gar beamed and gently tugged on her hand, “That’s my Rae.”

She sighed and followed him out onto the roof, glancing down at her boots that were already covered with snow.  Raven inwardly cursed at the things she did for this boy of hers; 2am and here she was, standing on the roof of the tower with him, just to play in the snow.

“Why are you so amazed by this, Gar?” She wondered aloud as she noticed him bent over and rolling up the body of a snowman, “You’ve seen snow plenty of times.”

“I know…” He chuckled, “And I always get this excited; just none of you ever see it. I know the guys would make fun if they did but… this time of year… I don’t know… acting like a kid and getting excited over the little things… it just seems right, y’know?”

Raven watched him, feeling the drop in his euphoria as he continued talking.

“I know it’s stupid but… well, none of us really had a normal childhood so I guess… I kinda try to make up for it now, like freaking out over snow… I know I probably don’t- Oof!” He was cut off as a snowball hit him on the shoulder, the snow splattering over the rest of his arm, the already melted thing dribbling down his skin.

He flinched, completely off guard and spun around to see his smirking empath, already holding another snowball encased in her magic. She raised an eyebrow, “Well, we now have 8 minutes. I suppose you better make the most of it.”

A slow, wide grin spread over his lips and he furrowed his eyebrows in determination, “Aw, you’re so going down, babe!”

“Uh huh. We’ll see.” She remarked, letting the snowball fly as he ducked to start building up his own artillery.

They continued the snow assault on one another, quiet laughter bubbling up into the night sky as they chased each other across the frosted roof. Raven didn’t even notice that they had been out there for 30 minutes rather than her stern 10 until Gar sniffled and sneezed several times in a row.

Pausing, she dropped her snowball to the ground and frowned at him with worry shining in her eyes. He snuffed and rubbed his nose as she stalked closer to him.

He offered her a smile and shrugged, “I’m good-”

“No you’re not.”

“Rae, I swear; I’m fine!” He squeaked, not wanting to end their fun in the snow; he loved so much when she allowed herself to be free and just enjoy herself, no matter how silly or kid like the activity was.

She allowed her hand to glow a periwinkle blue and pressed it to his chest, silencing him.

Raven clicked her tongue and her brows knitted together, “You’re getting sick.”

“Rae-“

“You should have grabbed a coat.”

He laughed as she grabbed his shoulders and turned him towards the door, “Raven-“

“C’mon… we’ve been out here way longer than 10 minutes anyway.” She told him,

Gar clicked his fingers, “Aww, I hoped you wouldn’t notice.” He mumbled, whilst Raven rolled her eyes at him and led him down the stairs, closing the roof door behind her.

The changeling continued to sniffle and scrub at his red tipped nose as they made their way back down into the main room. As they crossed the threshold, they froze at the sight of another person in the kitchen.

“What’re you guys doing?” Dick asked, his blue eyes narrowed at them in utter bewilderment,

He stood by the counter wearing a pair of sweats and a white t-shirt with a glass of water in hand.

“Uh…” Raven thought for an answer but came up empty so Gar saved them with the truth.

Taking her hand in his own, Gar grinned at their friend and leader, “It snowed, dude!”

Dick briefly glanced over at the windows, noticing the thick snowflakes falling and sticking to the glass before melting and rolling down the panes.

“Oh yeah… so it has…” He noted, “So, you were playing in the snow?”

Gar rubbed the back of his head, “Yeah!”

Dick chuckled and took a sip of water, shaking his head at their antics. Gar shuffled his feet and looked like he was about to brush it aside and make a joke out of himself.

Raven, however, was quicker to comment, “It’s... actually really fun.”

The dark haired vigilante raised an eyebrow at her whilst Gar looked incredulously at her; not believing she had actually said that.

“I thought you hated the snow, Raven.” Dick pointed out,

She shrugged and gazed at Gar, “It helps you to feel calm and carefree; like being a kid again.”

The shape shifter felt a warmth spread across his chest where his heart lay, his stomach fluttering and he was reminded of one of the many reasons he fell in love with Raven.

She liked to tease and make fun of him but when she knew it was something close to his heart or something that ran deeper, she made a point of supporting him, no matter how minor a thing it was.

“Hm... never really looked at it that way.” Dick replied, stifling a yawn,

Gar smiled and gently pressed his lips to Raven’s cheek, making her blush a faint pink.

“Actually, Dick... I was hoping that maybe tomorrow... I could take Mar’i out to play in the snow? Y’know since... she hasn’t really experienced it yet... I thought she might be all amazed over it.”

Dick paused and pulled his drink away from his lips, considering before he nodded and smiled softly at his friend, “Sure, Gar.” He paused and eyed the green jokester’s lack of outerwear, “Just... make sure she is warm. She’s too little to be going out there without a coat on.”

Gar chuckled sheepishly whilst Raven furrowed her eyebrows, “Too little? You know she’s temperature resilient like Star, right?”

“Obviously but I still don’t like chancing her getting cold.” Dick retorted, in his ‘dad’ voice,

Grinning, Gar pouted, “Aw, papa Dick so worried.”

Dick rolled his eyes and put his now empty glass back into the basin on the counter, “Obviously. She’s my daughter, after all.”

Raven quirked a tiny smile, “Mhm... we know.”

Their leader shook his head and passed them, kissing Raven’s forehead and high fiving Gar as he moved, “Night guys. See you in the morning.”

“Night, Dick.” The couple replied in unison,

Gar watched Raven out of the corner of his eye for a long moment before he gently took her hands in his,

“Thanks for that, Rae.” He murmured,

“Thanks for what?” She asked, her eyes flicking from his jade ones to his lips,

“Being onside with the child, carefree thing...”

She gifted him with one of her rare, serene and signature Raven smiles,

“Snow has never really been important to me... but if it’s important to you...” She trailed off, lifting her chin slightly more,

Gar smirked and leaned down, brushing his nose against hers before pressing his forehead to hers. Raven closed her eyes and exhaled calmly before her eyes snapped open again,

“If you sneeze on me right now-” She was cut off by Gar’s throaty chuckle,

“Guess you better kiss me before that happens then, huh?”

“Why-”

He wrinkled his nose, “Uh oh, I feel a tickle-”

Instantly, he was silenced as Raven pressed her lips to his, allowing them to mold perfectly with Gar’s. Heat sparked through them, shooting along nerve endings and electrifying the calmness between them.

His hands found her waist whilst her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingertips brushing against the line of Gar’s jaw and eliciting fire in the wake of where she touched.

Gar pulled back and sucked in a gasp, that flicker of excitement in his eyes. Raven smiled and leaned her forehead against his once again,

“I’m still cold.” She muttered,

“Oh-“

“So... why not follow through with that comment earlier about warming me up?” She breathed, her cheeks flushing red with her suggestion.

Gar blinked at her for a moment before he broke into a wide grin, “I can do that!” He squeaked, already taking her by the hand and leading her out of the main room.

As they moved, Gar realized that as much fun as the snow outside was, being inside with Raven was where he wanted to be. Always.

[aggresivelyfriendly]

~Who Names The Colors~

Chapter 9-This Is Not A Pipe (The Treachery of Images)

Hello my lovelies!!! Is everybody sending up good vibes that we get another amazing outfit and bounce in Hotlanta? I know I am! Give it to us Good Harry, we want it all night!

This fic has an age gap, she’s over 40, he’s just over 20. If you do not like this, I’m not offended. If you are intrigued, and like art, or UST, or juicy plotlines of deep POV-read on!

I could not do this, especially not as well(lmao), without my babes @nocontrolforlouis, @bleedinglove4h, and @dirtystyles-who is wonder at the banners that so beautifully adorn each chapter!

“Where are you?” Jo texted Ethan again.

“Mom, it’s handled, get ready.” She got an unreasonable 15 minutes later while she paced her bathroom and checked on what Zoe might be destroying several times. She had convinced herself that this was a very important situation and Ethan had said he was coming home. Audrey was busy and it’s not one of Colin’s appointed visitation times, so she knew not to ask him. Plus, after that comment about her ass in her yoga pants over two weeks ago, Jo had no interest in inviting him into her life, let alone her dating life.

Jo needed someone she could trust because Zoe was a threenager if she ever saw one.

 That little girl was full of opinions she couldn’t quite express and that huge influx of hormones she was getting about now, that Jo had heard was unmet in females again until puberty, made her full of feelings. Zoe insisted on expressing all of them loudly. She was a handful right now, even for Jo. Ethan may have had days like this, but the blur of parenting in her chaotic early 20’s had dulled the memory. Or, thankfully, her challenging child came when she was more prepared for her. In any case, her pint sized wonder had an attitude to outmatch a cast member on Made in Chelsea and was just as unreasonable.

Zoe also needed constant supervision at the moment. Jo was currently in the practice of knowing where she was in their house at all times and what weapons of minor destruction were at her disposal too. This had been brewing for some time, but it had become necessary for a normal sense of peace of mind starting about a week ago.

Jo had been working on grading her 2nd year technique submissions while watching her Sunday roast and decidedly not thinking about the shape of Harry’s lips or ass or how he had surpassed her in his technique and innovation as an artist and how she admired him, when she realized that she didn’t really know where her three year old was in the house at the moment. More worryingly, she had not heard a high pitched peep, let alone a squeal in too long. Jo dropped the iPad she had collected her submission’s on, including the piece Harry had sent after their frustrating meeting the other day, the one she mentally referred to as “Jo in the moon” and made her way to the play area. It was empty of life though the trail of destruction was clear. Jo cleared up five toys, as she tried to do in every room Zoe had wrecked, before checking her bedroom, again bereft, and the bathroom, also clear. 

She heard a chatter in her own bathroom then and wanted to freeze. The other day she had found that Zoe had billy goat-ed her way on to the counter from the toilet back and had crossed to the medicine cabinet where Jo safely kept her razor, or so She thought. This time the razor was not the problem. Instead, Zoe had found her way to the medicine cabinet and other trouble. In an effort to make herself feel better about being a woman in charge of her own destiny who made choices that were best for her, even if not what she wanted, Jo had recently sprung for the Ruby Woo Lippy instead of the Rimmel #1 she usually purchased.

So, of course, Zoe had found it and painted herself with it. The red stick had gone a long way, Jo imagined she could have had it for years, because there was enough of it to cover Zoe from her knees to her collarbones and beyond, including cold straight horizontal lines for eyebrows like she was Anger in Inside Out. Her daughter had taken one look from her place on the ruined bath mat, seen Jo’s incensed face, a less animated personification of anger and tried to run to hug off her mum’s rage. Jo, like any good mother in her best work clothes, stiff armed her like an American football player, and stripped herself before depositing a crying and sorry Zoe into a bath.

Jo had immediately called her friend Cidra with a glass of wine in hand. She could see her daughter was safe, but was far enough away to just watch. Jo needed to find the funny in the situation, as soon as possible, and Cidra would help. Because it was funny, Jo knew, even when it was your lipstick and your bath mat and your child. Cidra had laughed her ass off for minutes and convinced Jo to take pictures of the remnants of the waxy red dye all over Zoe. She had also declared that Jo desperately needed a night out, and “some dick to wind you down, god you are wound up tighter than my mother in law’s arsehole.” This and the 10 minutes since disaster had Jo laughing to.

It remained funny when Zoe’s chest and especially her eyebrows where red for better than a week.

For all these reasons, Jo wanted a trustworthy babysitter to watch her baby while she went on this blind date.

Jo had a date. She’d finally let Cidra do her work.

Her first since Colin had charmed his way into her diary, then heart, then bed. She was fairly certain that order was important. Had the sex come before the feelings, she may have taken a pass. And then it would only be awkward when they ran into each other at university functions, not Tuesdays and every other weekend.

So, this date. Jo was trying her best to be excited. But, her motives were totally suspect. She was going out with William, Or Wills, as Cidra called him, because she needed to meet a man more of an adequate age. Somebody that checked the same bracket as her on those bloody questionnaire’s one filled out too often. Not because she wanted to necessarily. The dinner would be fine, especially if he paid. But she might be at the age where the free-ish meal was not worth it.

To make any of this wishful dating work, she needed a trustworthy babysitter though. And luckily, her boy was supposed to be home. But he was very late. Jo was just about to go see what Zoe was into, when her toddler ran into her bathroom with her tiny collectibles in her right fist, and the bunny Harry had sent to her for Easter with Ethan in the other. Zoe’s name was embroidered on the ear. Jo smiled and then bit her lip. She would not be endeared by that man. That boy, she mentally reminded herself, because he was sooo young. And even though he acted like more of a man than the supposed one she had exchanged wedding vows with, especially the last time she had seen him, he was still too young. Point blank and period.

Well, not the last time she had seen him. Several days ago, a few hours before she had finally texted Cidra to take her up on the great guy she had for her, Jo had seen Harry on campus. And he had been a sight. His hair was a little ramshackle, could use a wash, as it was speckled with paint and not a little greasy, still she wanted to touch it. He was also wearing the craziest flower button down, it was a Hawaiian shirt, but more vivid, and his ripped knee skinny jeans and Chelsea boots. His outfit was eye catching, but the thing that Jo could not look away from was his company at the school coffee shop. He sat with a sweet faced blonde of his own age who looked quite smitten. Jo felt like an interloper when she found a small alcove to stand in to watch them. Harry had gotten up to grab their coffees and she got tender and catty when she saw the girl bite her lip and watch him walk to the counter. Then giggle.

Was he on a date? It looked like a date. The part that bothered her the most was that she was decidedly bothered. Harry should be on a date with a girl from school, he should be smiling like he was when he gently brought her coffee back to her, and of course the blonde was smiling and a little shy. Because this was still a new arena to both of them, unlike Jo, who had definitely dated, was now divorced and jaded.

Not so jaded that she stopped herself from calling Cidra. Or from wearing the daring trouser boot combination. The slim fitting trousers were new, but the over the knee boots were an impulse buy on the internet when she was sad about turning 41. It had been over a year and they had never made it onto her body. The blousy white wrap top felt silky against her skin and the bralette was her own sexy secret. Because she needed a confidence boost going into this thing. And, well, she frankly usually forewent underpants, so lingerie had to be special to be worn much at all. Though she did see the necessity of a bra. Especially when Ethan hit 12 and told her she was to wear one at all times. She did have a boy, it made sense. She made a face at that memory while she kept getting ready, the sound of her curling iron ticking on and on until it hit temperature ringing in her ear. Her hair felt smooth and wrapped around the barrel lightly while she prepared herself and tried to look at her progress across her head, not her bitten lip or furrowed brow. Jo put her hair up in to a full ponytail with swooping side pieces, smoked out her eye a little and threw on a nude Lippy.

It would do, she decided while looking in the mirror. Now she just needed her son, who had once again answered a text with his own version of chill mom. Zoe was playing at her feet now too, she’d snuck in silently and Jo almost stepped on her little hand. That child was way to stealthy. Either Jo was in her head worse that she thought, or she was going to be in even bigger trouble when that kid decided to be sneaky on purpose.

She made her way to the fridge to have some water to calm herself down and thought she heard a knock at the back door. That was curious, the only person who knocked was, “Harry?” She gaped at him when she got the door. He looked good, if out of place, with his hair down around his shoulders and an old Rolling Stones tee and his signature jeans. Dammit, this was gonna be awkward. Ethan had better be right behind him. “What’re you doing here?”

Harry looked her up and down and narrowed his brow. “Ethan got a date he’s been hoping for, said you needed a hand. And I said I’d lend it. I figured that Colin skipped out on you. Then thought maybe we could paint a little.” He looked her over and her skin heralded his eyes progress by getting all excited, the hair follicles standing at attention wherever his eyes landed. “But, you don’t look like you have university business.”

Jo felt miffed for a minute, there was nothing wrong with her outfit. She supposed it was inappropriate for school stuff, but it fit well and she liked it.

Harry smirked then, “oh! I know where you are off to-Girl’s night??” His smiled hopefully and she didn’t return it. His face fell a little then and his wide eyes looked so hopeful that she almost lied to him. Almost.

“Um, that sounds like more fun, but, no, I, well” spit it out she thought, he’s not your boyfriend, you only kissed the once, and he went out too. “I was set up by a friend.”

His face truly fell then, and his lips thinned into a line, like the one they had crossed. “Like a date.” It wasn’t a question.

Jo guiltily nodded and was ready to shove her fist in her mouth when Harry looked at his booted feet then gave her a false grin and changed the subject, “where’s my girl then?”

“Um, she was in my bathroom. Let me get her. I didn’t really write out any instructions, cuz I thought Ethan was watching her.” And he should know how to take care of her, he was a grown man.

“That’s alright, Miss Jo. I got her.” His back was to her, and he sounded tired, then he seemed to realize he shouldn’t be going into her bedroom and the doorbell rang. Did jo send Harry to the door, where her date he seemed to be bothered by was-or to her messy bathroom where she was sure there was a bra or two on the floor?

“Would you mind answering the door, and I’ll go make sure Zoe hasn’t painted herself with lipstick, again.” Oh that drew the dimples. “I’ll show you the picture I took so it could be funny, as opposed to rage inducing.”

“Please.” He nodded politely and Jo hated it.

Zoe was playing in her make up, but luckily it was the brushes, she looked a little messy, but cute.

“Guess who’s here bub?” She asked with extra enthusiasm.

“Tan!” Dammit-Jo had told her to soon. She’d have to ask Harry if her son was coming home after his hot date. She wanted to be pissed about him sending Harry and making it awkward, but she couldn’t. How was Ethan to know that she and his best mate were doing a tango around each other?

“Not Tan, bub! Hopefully soon, but today you get to hang out with Harry.” Jo sat her down before she fell from wiggling around so much.

And Zoe took a couple seconds to grieve the absence of her brother before launching herself like a disturbed bottle of coke at “Arry!”

Who stood with his arms crossed and his brow narrowed. The perfect shape and color of his lips was hidden by the straight line he had thinned them into. Beside him was who she had to assume was William.

He was about the same size as Harry, perhaps a little more robust in frame. He had a clean, classic haircut with a touch of curl in the dark blonde locks. His eyes were a milk chocolate brown and best of all, he had a full groomed beard. Had you asked Jo to describe her type of guy, and Cidra had, he would be it. No wonder Cidra was so keen to get them out together.

“Arry!” Zoe was happily at his feet and he thawed a touch to reach down and pick her up.

“Hey bug! What do you want to play tonight?” He tried for the level of enthusiasm he usually gave her. Jo could hear the false note in it, like she was a producer with headphones on and everybody else could be distracted by the backing vocals.

“Puppets!” Zoe raised her hands up and Harry looked bewildered for just second. He looked at Jo and she smiled at him. She wouldn’t have described Harry when asked her type then, but now she might, lanky and tall with long hair and beautiful olive skin and deep dimples and green, green eyes. Maybe she couldn’t even dream him up until she saw him grown into himself.

“She saw a puppet show at the library, so I got her a few and we’ve been using her kitchen set as a stage. Stuck a blanket over it.” Harry laughed at her description and he looked so beautiful.

A throat cleared and Jo remembered why Harry was here in the first place. She turned to her date. “Sorry, I’m unforgivably rude!! Jo Smith” she extended her hand. He took it and pulled her in a bit, keeping his arm across his stomach, so she had to enter his space bubble.

“William Sullivan, people call me Will, or brave ones, Sully. I bet you are a brave one! Cidra has been talking about you for ages and she told not a lie!” And he smiled appreciatively and his accent, maybe Belfast, was lovely, and he was handsome and just a bit younger than her, maybe 3 years, and perfect.

But Jo found she was fighting with herself to keep her eyes on her date and not watch Harry to see how he was feeling.

This was a good idea. She needed to go on a date with somebody her own age, in the same life stage. Not someone so young. Harry may make a great babysitter, but it would be totally unfair to thrust him into any kind of parenting role. Jo had been a parent at Harry’s age, you missed out on a lot. She would not take that from him, especially for a child not his own.

She was also miles ahead of herself. Harry was seeing a sweet faced undergrad and she was going on a lovely date with a very handsome man.

They had only kissed once.

Her eyes cut to Harry. He was looking at Zoe, but his face was a little red. He returned her gaze then and Jo wanted to be 3 inches tall. Felt it. That was the least charitable look he had ever given her.

“Are you ready, then? Need to grab a bag or anything?”

“Oh, sorry,” Jo was still looking at Harry while she said it, but she was answering both of their questions. ‘Sorry’ she mouthed again at Harry and he bit his lip and nodded.

Jo turned with an excuse me and grabbed her bag.

Dinner was lovely, it was.

William was lovely, he was.

He was educated and cerebral, but in no way pretentious. He had a working knowledge of art and even had been to a Jenny Seville exhibition Jo wanted to see herself. But the minute she thought of Seville’s art she thought of the way the flesh of Harry’s women looked, how he created some kind of meld between landscape and flesh and all of it seemed to be in motion, alive.

He made her feel alive. Her bones sing and hair scream and skin dance.

William sat across from her and he was more adequate in every department. He was of a certain age, she wouldn’t feel like she was cheating him of some experiences and forcing others upon him. There was no ethical questions surrounding him. Jo would not get fired it she was caught with William. Not unless she fucked him in front of her classes. Also, she wasn’t his advisor. There were so many inequalities between them. Harry was her protege, for fuck’s sake. That made her chuckle, but it must have been well timed, because William smiled like he was encouraged and she felt guilty but continued to let her mind wander. She may have introduced Harry to his inner artist, but he was light years ahead of her now. He could make a career of his talent. And she believed he would.

Last but not least, in fact most, was Ethan. How does one tell your barely grown son you are dating his best mate?

You don’t.

And if it was just a sexual thing, not worth it. Sex was lovely, but most certainly not worth upsetting her son over. Certainly no sex she had ever had. She looked across the table to William’s wide eyes and raised brows and knew she had missed a question.

“I’m sorry, what?” She blushed.

“Would you like desert? We could share?"he raised one brow.

Her distraction was totally unacceptable and Jo should say yes and cozy up to the perfectly lovely man. "Actually, I’m really sorry to say this, but I’m feeling unwell. I’m gonna head out, call an Uber.”

“Oh, no. Absolutely not. I’ll get the check and get you home.” He looked around for their server and Jo almost hurrahed aloud when the lady was nearby. Her heels were burning to go. She was already formulating her excuse for why this wasn’t going to work.

The drive home was silent, William put on a playlist from his phone and she really liked every song that came on. Even found herself singing along to the “The Freshman”. William joined her and she smiled, maybe they could try this again and she would feel something for him and her focus could come back to reality. Maybe?

Harry probably didn’t even know that song.

Once outside her home, she didn’t have the chance to get her door open, because Will moved like lightening to get it for her and he took her hand to walk her to the front of her house.

“Jo, can I call you in a couple months?” He asked when they got the the covered step at her door.

“Huh?” Jo thought for sure she would be turning down another date or basically shaking hands and parting ways. She was amazed that wasn’t the conclusion after her inattention.

“Cidra told me about your divorce. And, well I’ve been there myself, so I guessed we would see how it went before we tried to do it again. I’d like to take you out again. But only when you are ready.” His eyebrow on the left was raised.

He was lovely, dammit. Jo bit her lip and nodded. “Please call me in a few months, hopefully I’ll be in a place where I can appreciate how wonderful you are.”

Will smiled at that and she felt better about basically ignoring him their whole date. Jo let him assume it was her ex husband and not her babysitter causing the wandering mind.

He leaned in then and kissed her cheek and she returned the gesture and turned to open her door. She watched him get in his car and then closed the door, put on the latch and leaned against it with her eyes closed to gather herself before going to relieve Harry. She wasn’t sure what she would say to him. Or how awkward their exchange would be.

When her eyes opened and he was right in front of her with a hurricane face she clutched her chest. “Jesus, Harry, you scared me!” She whispered, because Zoe had better be asleep.

“Sorry,” he said with the cruelest smile Jo had ever seen on his face. It twisted and turned across his pretty mouth like churning clouds. “Did I interrupt your reverie?”

“My what?” Jo was lost.

“Looked like you were thinking on the kiss your suitable man gave you.” Suitable- that was a spot on word. Harry’s voice was a rumble of thunder when you didn’t see the lightening strike.

Jo pulled a face at him. “Not that it’s your business,” she moved around him to hang her purse and bag on the coat rack. And turned to stare at him with some weather of her own. Hands on hips, “but I didn’t kiss him.”

Harry scoffed then and walked back into the studio, throwing a “whatever Jo, I saw you.”

Jo went after him. No way was he getting away with being a little immature shit about this. “Listen, Harry, I get that this was awkward, I had no intention of you witnessing my date like I had to witness yours—”

“What date? I haven’t been on a date?”

“The one in the coffeehouse with the sweet blonde thing who looked right chuffed to be getting coffee with you.” He was facing her and she realized his shirt was half buttoned and he was holding his coat ready to go, and that he had been painting. His shirt had speckles of gold.

“Liz?” Harry looked puzzled.

“I don’t need to know her name!” Jo stamped her foot.

“Well I know his! And I watched him kiss you, since you lied about it.”

“Were you watching me?” Jo drew her chin back in question.

Harry looked heavenward. “Of fucking course I was watching you. I’m always bloody watching you! For any sign you want me! But I saw how you were with him! Could he have run to your door any faster?”

“Don’t mock him for being a gentleman!” Jo was livid.

“I’ll mock him if I want! And you don’t think I’d be a gentleman to you? I have been a gentlemen to you. Trying to let you call all the shots. I’d be whatever you wanted except what you think you need!” He was almost shouting and Jo shushed him.

“And what do I think I need?” Jo whisper yelled.

“Somebody older! Which I can’t be! But, Jo, you could be out with him still and instead you are hear yelling with m—”

“Well! That’s because I fucking want you instead, isn’t it!”

At that, the lightening struck right between them and the electricity closed the circuit and Harry had her face in his hands and her mouth on his and was picking her up to lay her on the canvas on her studio floor.