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bloatedandalone04 · 2 months ago

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To The One I Love - Part 7

Series Masterlist

➪in which you and tyler try to get back into a normal routine, and he shows you just how much fun you and he had together before your accident - in the form of past streams.

PSA: strongly suggested to read the warnings before proceeding.

WC; 3.6k | Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

Tyler was right, he got maybe four hours of sleep and spent most of his night tossing and turning.

When it was seven in the morning, Tyler gave up entirely and retreated to the living room to wait until you woke up. He flipped through channel after channel, nothing really catching his interest long enough to commit to it, and he did that for two hours straight. He dozed off a couple times, but he was still nowhere near well rested by the time you opened the bedroom door and stepped out into the hall at nine in the morning. “Hey,” he said as soon as he saw you, and he sat up as you slowly made your way over to the couch with the throw blanket from the bed wrapped around you.

“Hi,” you said back as you climbed over the armrest instead of walking around the back of the couch.

Tyler held back a grin, because you did that every single time you sat down on the couch, and he was happy that at least a few things hadn’t changed. “How did you sleep?”

“Okay,” you answered and rubbed at your eyes with your hands. “That bed is pretty comfortable. Way better than the one at the hospital.”

“I told you,” he laughed, glancing back at the TV screen as some ad for RAM began playing. When your eyes became fixated on the TV as well, Tyler looked back over at you. “How’s your head?”

You tear your eyes away from the screen and drop your hands onto your lap. “It’s okay,” you said quietly. “I looked at the stitches in the mirror and I nearly fainted. I should probably not do that again.”

Tyler’s heart fell at that and he shifted a bit. “Yeah, definitely don’t do that anymore,” he agreed, not knowing what he would do if you did faint and injure yourself even more. “You didn’t take your pill yet, did you?”

You shook your head and leaned back on the couch. “No, not yet. I figured I should probably eat something with it,”

“Good idea,” Tyler hummed, handing you the remote as he pushed himself off the couch and made his way to the kitchen. The open concept allowed him to keep an eye on you as he worked on making breakfast, and he often found himself checking on you more than he should.

If he really tried, he could almost let himself believe that this was just another Saturday morning, with you catching up on the latest news while he made french toast and bacon.

He had no idea how much he would end up longing for days like those again.

“You’re still gonna show me some of your streams later, right?” You called out as you put on some home decorating show. “You said you would.”

Tyler laughed under his breath as he walked back into the living room. “And I will,” he said as he handed you a glass of orange juice before making his way back to the kitchen. “But they’re our streams, babe.”

You lifted yourself up and looked at him from over the back of the couch. “I’m in them, too?”

“Yeah,” he answered as he got a plate down from the cupboard. “What, you thought you weren’t my partner anymore?” He teased as he put the food onto the plate.

“No, I…” you trailed off and didn’t continue when he handed you the plate and turned to walk down the hallway. “You’re not eating with me?”

Tyler paused and grinned at the hint of a whine in your voice. “I’m gettin’ your meds,” he clarified and you visibly relaxed.

“Oh,” you mumbled, sitting back down in a more comfortable position. “Right, I knew that.”

“Uh huh,”

He left you on the couch while he went into your bedroom, and his heart swelled a bit when he noticed that you had made the bed up before you left the room. You were supposed to be resting and letting him do all the work, yet he wasn’t annoyed or frustrated with you for not doing that. He was just hopelessly in love with you.

“You didn’t need to make the bed,” he said when he entered the living room again. “You’re supposed to be takin’ it easy.”

You gave him a look as you bit into a piece of bacon. “I think I can handle pulling a sheet up,” you said back, your voice a bit muffled as you chewed.

Tyler shook his head again and set a pill onto the coffee table before making a second plate and sitting next to you. “Will you ever just let me handle things and not be a smartass about it?” He teased and you shrugged as you set your plate aside and took the pill.

“No, because I feel useless enough as it is,” you answer as you lean back against the armrest and drape your legs over his thighs. “And I wanted to do something productive while I still had the energy to do so before I took my meds and became tired all over again.”

Tyler smiled over at you, his skin heating up at having at least a part of you touching him. “You’re not useless,” he said, using your calves as a makeshift table for his plate. “You’re hurt, and that’s a damn good excuse for you to not strain yourself. And when you get tired, I’ll show you some of the streams. How does that sound?”

“Good,” you grin over at him and cross your arms over your chest. “That sounds really good.”

About a half hour later, your meds kicked in and you were left feeling groggy and a bit grumpy as you propped your legs up on the coffee table and waited for Tyler to come back with his IPad.

Oh, yeah. You were also feeling clingy, because as soon as he sat down next to you again, you shifted closer to him and cuddled against his side. And Tyler loved every second of it.

You pressed your cheek against his bicep as he pulled up one of the earlier streams you and he ever did, where it was literally just you, Tyler, Boone and two cameras; one on his dashboard, and the other attached to the roof of his truck.

The first few videos you and he made were honestly pretty painful to watch since neither of you were really experienced with everything at that time, and luckily he had known Boone for a few years at that point, and he helped Tyler form a small group of storm chasers, and helped him upgrade all his equipment.

“Oh, God,” you moaned as you moved closer to him. “That’s me? What the hell am I wearing?”

Tyler looked down at the screen and felt his lips curve upwards as he took in the shirt you were wearing in the video. “That’s your DIY Tornado Wrangler shirt,” he answered. “You went out and bought a fabric marker, then went into my drawer and took one of my white shirts and wrote on it. I still don’t know why you didn’t just buy a shirt, but it was so long ago, I don’t even care anymore.”

You groaned and buried your face against his side. “Why did I even do that? That’s so lame,”

Tyler scoffed and looked down at you. “Lame? Baby, you’re the whole reason we have actual shirts now. Someone saw it and asked for us to start sellin’ ‘em, and nearly every adrenaline junkie in Oklahoma has one now,”

You don’t say anything as you lift your head and give him a wide eyed look before glancing back at the screen. “There’s no way I’m that important,”

“You’re the most important person in my life,” Tyler instantly answered, and you shut up after that for the most part as he showed you any video you wanted to see.

The last one you watched was a more recent one, and the stream ended with you and Tyler sharing a deep but chaste kiss. You were blushing by the time Tyler set the IPad down and turned to look at you, and he smirked at the pink tint on your face. “Wow, we have no shame,” you mumbled as you looked away.

Tyler laughed, moving to stand up. “Yeah, you somehow managed to only pick one out of the many streams we have that end like that, babe,” he said and you blushed even more before sitting up quickly.

“Where are you going?” You asked as if you believed he was planning on leaving you alone for more than a minute.

“I’m just putting this on charge in case you want to watch more later,” he said and smiled at the way you visibly relaxed. He walked around the couch and pressed a soft kiss to the top of your head, his eyes instinctively flickering towards your stitches before he made his way to the guest room and plugged his IPad in.

He was only away from you for about thirty seconds, but it might as well have been thirty minutes, because the second he walked back into the living room, you were reaching for him.

Tyler sat back down next to you, draping his arm around your shoulders as you pressed yourself against his side. “Tell me another memory of us,” you murmured, reaching for his hand. “Any one you want.”

He hummed and leaned back on the couch, tilting his head back as he thought of what to tell you about. “How about the time you planned a surprise party for my twenty second birthday, then accidentally told me about it?”

A hint of pink flashed across your face again as you laughed. “Um…yeah, that sounds like me,” you mumbled, “Wow, that’s embarrassing.”

Tyler grinned as he nodded. “Yeah, you were pretty embarrassed about it back then too, but it was cute. You spent weeks planning this big surprise, and then you accidentally told me about it the day before. I wanted to laugh, but you ended up cryin’, so I had to hold back,” he added as you played with his fingers. “You looked so sad, I spent the next hour holdin’ you, and I ended up testin’ out my actin’ skills the next day at the party so I didn’t give away the fact that I already knew about the surprise.”

You smiled and looked up at him. “I’m such a baby,”

“You’re not a baby,” he said, bringing your hand up to his lips and pressing a few kisses to your knuckles. “You’re just emotional, you always have been, and it’s one of the reasons I’m head over heels for you. You wear your heart on your sleeve, babe.”

You nodded and shuffled closer to him. You were clearly in a mood for physical touch right now, and Tyler would be a fool to deny you of that. “You’re sweet, Ty. And I know, I know, you’re only like this with me, but I know you’ve always been sweet. That’s one thing I didn’t forget,”

Tyler’s grin softens as he pulls you closer to his side. “Maybe,” he murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of your head, then you were falling asleep against him, and his couple hours of sleep finally caught up to him as he tilted his head back and tightened his hold on you as his own eyes drifted close.

That’s how the next few days went.

Tyler would toss and turn in the guest bed while you slept down the hall from him, then he’d wake up and make you breakfast, make sure you took your pill, then spend a good couple hours on the couch with you as he showed you more streams or told you another story about your relationship.

While your memory was still a mess, you were beginning to look more and more comfortable at home, and he had a sneaking suspicion that you rather liked being around him as you couldn’t seem to stay away from him, and he loved it. It was like nothing happened, and the feeling of normalcy was definitely needed as Tyler felt like his heart was whole again, even if he was barely holding on at times.

You were laying on the couch, your head on his lap as Tyler ran his fingers through your hair. Your stitches were looking better now that they’ve had time to breathe, and the wound itself was less red and puffy.

“Tell me about…” you trail off as you shift on the couch. “Oh, tell me about our first night in this house. Like, what did we do the night we moved in?”

A small smirk formed on Tyler’s lips as he brushed your hair out of your face. “How ‘bout I tell you about the second night instead?”

Your brows furrowed and you propped your legs up on the armrest of the couch. “Why? What’s wrong with the first night?”

“Oh, nothin’...but it also left nothin’ to the imagination, babe,” he answered and you blushed before nodding.

“Okay, yeah. Tell me about the second night instead,”

Tyler laughed as he paused the movement of his fingers. “Alright,” he agreed. “Our second day here was spent mostly unpackin’, but towards the evenin’, you and I decided to have a break, so we went out onto the back deck, and we didn’t have any furniture out there yet, so you and I sat down on the steps and we watched the sun go down behind the trees. We talked just like this the whole time, like we were still gettin’ to know each other, even though we know everythin’ about one another.”

You smiled and let out a quiet hum. “Every minute with you seems perfect, Ty,” you mumbled, “I almost want to think you’re lying to me and trying to make it sound like we had the perfect relationship.”

Tyler ran his knuckles along your jaw, grinning at the way you leaned into his touch. “We did,” he murmured, then added, “We still do.”

Nodding slowly, you sat up on the couch and turned to face him. “I hope so,” you said so quietly, Tyler almost didn’t hear you.

Almost.

“You and I are fine, babe,” he assured you, reaching over to tuck your hair behind your ear. “Even though there’s not much in this pretty head of yours right now, I know we’re gonna be just fine. I promise.”

The grateful smile you gave him made his heart swoon, and he knew that no matter how many years have passed and will pass, you’ll always be able to make him feel this way. Like how he did when he first fell in love with you.

“Okay,” you mumbled, leaning into his touch. “I guess I have no choice but to believe you.” Your voice was teasing, and he was helpless to stop the faint blush that formed on his face.

It had been a week since Tyler brought you home from the hospital, and your memory still wasn’t back. It wasn’t really showing much of a hint that it was on its way back, but Tyler was still hopeful.

In the meantime, he’s more than fine with creating more memories with you while you carefully try to coax the old ones to return.

You were officially off your pain meds as of last night, and your head was looking a lot better than it did a week ago, and in about another week or so, you’d be able to get the stitches removed.

After a bit of pestering from you, Tyler finally caved and let you come with him to get groceries. It didn’t take much, because the house was running low on food before your injury, and he hadn’t left your side since, so he was definitely working with scraps at this point and needed to go get actual food.

It was good for you to get out of the house, too. You already seemed like you were completely comfortable in it again, and that made Tyler beyond happy.

He let you push the cart since you were still a bit shaky, and he was a close step behind you as he let you go down any aisle you wanted. A few kids stared at your stitched up cut and cringed as you walked by them, but you just smiled at them while Tyler reminded himself that they were kids and that they didn’t know any better.

He nearly bumped into you when you stopped and reached for something on the shelf. “What about these?” You asked with a sweet smile as you turned to face him, your hand gripping a box of Oreo cookies. “Sugar might help my head, right? That’s what everyone says, right?”

Tyler laughed quietly and shook his head, knowing how much of a sweet tooth you are. It was pretty much a miracle that you’ve gone a week and a half without so much as a bite of anything sugary. That doesn’t mean you haven’t been dropping subtle hints throughout the week, this one was just flat out obvious though. “Baby, the only thing these are gonna do is give you a sugar rush. Nice try though,” he said as he took the box from you.

You stuck out your lip and pouted at him, and he wanted to kiss you so badly. It had been over a week since he gave you anything more than a hug and a kiss on your forehead, but he was letting you control the pace of things. Even if it was slowly making him touch-starved. “But my head is fine,” you say and he gives you a look. “Okay, my head will be fine, the doctor said so. And what if I promise to save them until after I get my stitches out?”

Tyler raises an eyebrow and gives you a skeptical look. “Uh huh, I know your tricks. You’ll pull that box out of the bag as soon as we get home and eat every single one,” he teased and you blushed a bit before laughing.

“You have no faith in me,” you scoff, draping your arms over the handle of the cart as you look between his eyes and the box in his hands.

Tyler grinned, shaking his head. “Of course I don’t. You have zero control when it comes to cookies. These won’t last five minutes,”

You smile at him and open your mouth to respond, but then you go quiet. At your sudden silence, Tyler looked up from the cookies and focused his attention back on you.

“Baby? You still with me?” He asked with a soft laugh, but you suddenly seemed distant as you looked over his shoulder. “Hey, you okay? I was just kiddin’, babe.”

You nodded slowly, and then Tyler noticed that your gaze was fixated on something behind him. “Yeah,” you mumbled, leaning back on the cart. “Sorry…sorry.”

Tyler shook his head, tossing the box into the cart before moving closer to you. “Don’t be sorry, baby, just tell me what’s wrong,” he murmured, reaching up to take your chin in between his index finger and thumb. Once he knew that you were alright, he glanced over his shoulder to try and see what you were looking at.

You hold onto his arm as he takes note of the couple a few feet down the aisle, big grins on their faces as they look down at their matching wedding bands that look brand new. “That could’ve been us,” you mumbled, “You want to marry me, Ty, and you’ve asked me, but I said no. And I don’t know why, because you’re perfect and we’re perfect, and I said no. Why did I say no?”

Tyler looks back at you with furrowed brows. The conversation of marriage hadn’t been brought back up since you first asked about it the day he brought you home, but the couple down the aisle clearly triggered something in you. And now you looked like you were on the verge of tears.

Okay, maybe he could’ve held off on groceries for a few more days, because you were beginning to look overwhelmed, and that was the last thing Tyler wanted.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, turning you around so you weren’t looking at the newlyweds anymore. “It’s alright. I don’t want you beatin’ yourself up about it, okay? That’s not why I’ve been tellin’ you these things. I don’t want you to feel bad about any of it.”

He pressed his front against your back and hugged you from behind as you looked down at the tiled floor. “But I want to marry you, Ty,” you whispered and Tyler’s heart skipped multiple beats at that, because that was the first time you had ever said that. During his proposals, you just gave different reasons as to why you couldn’t get married yet, but here you are now, telling him after spending a week and a half by his side that you want to marry him.

His words get caught in his throat as he leans down to gently rest his chin on your shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said again, pressing a soft kiss to your cheek. “We’re gonna get married one day, I promise. We just need some more time, that’s all. But I swear, baby, I’m gonna marry you one day. And I don’t care how long I need to wait, okay? Please, please, babe, don’t think about that right now or force it. Let it come to you.”

You sniffle and nod, leaning back against him as you grip his forearm that’s wrapped around your chest. “Okay,” you whispered, and he held you like that in the snack aisle for as long as you needed him to. Once you had calmed down, you tilted your head and looked up at him, and the request you had made his heart skip another few beats. “Tonight…will you sleep with me? In our bed?”

#to the one i love series #to the one i love #grumpys glen grove #tyler owens #tyler owens x reader #tyler owens imagine #tyler owens smut #tyler owens twisters #twisters #twisters 2024 #twisters movie #twisters imagine #twisters imagines #glen powell #tyler owens fic #tyler owens fanfiction #tyler owens x y/n #tyler owens x you

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megalony · 1 month ago

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He's Protective

Here is my newest Dark! Evan Buckley imagine, requested by anon and I absolutely fell in love with this idea.

I hope you will all like it, feedback always makes my day.

Taglist: @justagirlthatlovedtoread @musicistheway @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @luula @missdreamofendless @bradleybeachbabe @woderfulkawaii @amberpanda99 @daggersquadphantom @marvel-and-chicago-fan @angryknightstatesmantrash @minjix @lyje @kmc1989 @itsmytimetoodream @noonenuts @hiireadstuff @ashie-babie @classyunknownlover @jayyeahthatsme @sp1ritssz @dumb-fawkin-bitch @oliverstarksbae @gimatida @heart-35 @supernaturalstilinski @kyky9103 @wutheringhearts2275 @gay4hotmilfs @itshamleth @chaoticnosleepinfluencer @gs29 @wh0reforsmutstuff @mel-vaz @natashamea18 @chrisevansdaughter @alexandra848484 @deena-beena-weena @targaryenluvs @kpoplover-19 @marvelmenarebeautiful @gillybear17

@zoeybennett @mrspeacem1nusone @zephyrmonkey @estella-novella @eleventhdoctorsangel @kniselle @senjoritanana @shauna-carsley @dottierose @cfdhouse51 @darkfemme1 @rainechase45 @lolalolsstuff @jupiter1700 @ashdoctor @an-aliens-ghost @lunaroserites @houseoftwistedspirits @callsignwidow @winterreader-nowwriter @reneinii @bellsbomb @western-pyro @itsgigikay @harry-satellite @midsummereve1993 @babyqueen17 @buckyyyismahhlife @sammiejane22

Evan Buckley Masterlist

Part 2

Summary: Evan has been in love with Eddie's girlfriend for what feels like forever. And when she and Eddie break up, Evan seizes his chance to make her his. And he will use whatever method he can to have her.

Enjoy.

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(Y/n) sank her teeth down into her lower lip as she leaned her head to the left and rested her cheek against her forearm that was slumped across the bar. Her eyes narrowed as she stared into the empty glass in front of her as if it would magically refill itself with another damning cocktail that tasted just like juice.

The good thing about these cocktails was that (Y/n) was already feeling the alcohol fizzling in her veins. She was on the verge of being drunk and she knew it, but that was okay. That was what she wanted.

A tepid smile formed on her lips when the bartender slid another drink over to her.

(Y/n) liked the shape of these glasses. They were round at the bottom, sucked in towards the middle and had an oval top like someone trying to suck in their stomach and show off their hips. The glass was a large one too, more alcohol hidden within.

The mustard yellow drink had swirls of orange and a flicker of crimson streaking through the middle, which would be from the cranberry juice. There were two strawberries on the edge with a stake driven through them and they made (Y/n)'s smile splinter into a sorrowful grimace.

Those strawberries resembled her heart.

Pierced. Driven through with a spike, leaving a hollow gap that didn't feel like it was going to get any better.

(Y/n) picked up the cocktail stick and tepidly ate the pieces of fruit before she began circling her finger around the glass to collect each crumb of sugar decorating the rim.

"I thought it was you."

A gasp burned at the back of her throat and she sat bolt upright on the bar stool that suddenly felt like it was hundreds of feet above the floor. When she wobbled backwards, a large, firm hand pressed into the base of her back and held her balance for her like she weighed nothing at all.

No words left (Y/n)'s lips when she looked up.

It was Evan.

He looked different to how he normally did when she saw him. (Y/n) was so used to seeing him in his work uniform or in jumpers which he liked to pull down over his hands. A few times she had even seen him in his gym gear consisting of shorts and a vest top that was either too big or too small, depending on which one he wore.

Tonight though, he was wearing a pair of black trousers that seemed to be new because they were straight as rulers and only had creases around the knees and the waist.

The shirt Evan wore was striking. A button-up, starched white shirt that had the first three buttons undone, showing off his neck, collar bone and the start of his smooth chest and the outline of his sternum. The sleeves stopped two inches after his shoulders and they looked like they were cutting into his biceps.

His hair was unruly tonight, not the usual soft-brushed waves with added gel. Each curl was wild and free, sparking off in all directions around his head and temple, and (Y/n) noticed he no longer had sideburns cut into his style. They had been shaved off. It made him look youthful yet somehow aged at the same time, making it very hard for anyone to determine his actual age.

"Hi, Buck." (Y/n) breathed through the words and let her eyes follow him as he perched down on the free seat next to her.

Sitting side by side showed how tall Evan was, because he slouched forward and still looked like he would tower over her. The smile on his face was charming and the way he tapped his finger against the condensation on his glass made a rhythmic sound that (Y/n) found herself concentrating on in her drunken state.

"Don't I always tell you to call me Evan?" His voice was melodic and the way he inclined his head to look at her made (Y/n)'s stomach pool with adrenaline. He looked sweet, charming. If she didn't know any better, she would say he was drunk with that charming smile, but something told her he wasn't as drunk as her. Not yet, anyway.

"No one else does."

"Hm, but you can." It was the same words he always said to her, but he said them with that one-sided smirk that made (Y/n) shiver.

He was always the flirt. It was their dynamic. Evan flirted with (Y/n) and broke any tension in any situation with a joke. He was cheeky enough to make (Y/n) feel at ease around him when with anyone else, she would be unsettled.

"You okay?" His eyes narrowed on her and his smirk faded into a smile when he looked her up and down.

Evan wasn't sure he'd seen (Y/n) drunk before. They'd never been out together or as a group and had drinks, he'd only seen her have one drink out of politeness at the garden party a few months ago.

He could feel his lungs seizing up in his chest, and he couldn't stop himself from gliding his tongue across his lips when he took in what she was wearing.

Her shirt had thin spaghetti straps on her shoulders, one of which was sliding halfway down her arm, exposing her strapless bra to his prying eyes. The blouse had a V-neckline that cut right down to her cleavage and when she leaned forward into the bar, Evan got a good view of something he had imagined for the last five or six months.

When he glanced down, he sucked in a deeper breath and hid his mouth behind his hand. She had to be somewhat drunk because she hadn't noticed her skirt had scrunched up around her thighs. If Evan just tilted back at an angle, he might get a view of her underwear. If he laid his hand on her exposed thigh he would get more than he bargained for.

Luck really was on his side, bringing him to the same bar that (Y/n) was in on a night where she was looking beautifully seductive without having to try.

"(Y/n), you good?"

"I'm okay," Her voice came out quiet and weak and (Y/n) internally cringed at her tone. Why did she sound so childish? It was clear she wasn't okay. She knew she looked less than her best and the amount of drinks she had taken tonight gave away she wasn't having the best of times, here by herself.

She reached out for her glass and chugged back the cocktail in one which made a grin slide across Evan's face. He leaned back, impressed, placing one elbow on the bar while his hand scraped along his jaw in thought and his other hand pushed his beer bottle away from him.

He cast his hand out towards the bartender and casually twisted his beer bottle around to face the barman. He didn't want (Y/n) to see that he had been on the non-alcoholic beer tonight. If she wanted to get drunk, he would gladly supervise without making her feel uncomfortable if she knew he wasn't drinking too.

"Another round, and keep 'em coming." Evan waved his hand towards their drinks and dipped his head in thanks when the barman nodded.

He tilted back in (Y/n)'s direction, watching with fascination in his eyes as she propped her elbows up on the bar and dragged her hands along her neck. God, she was making it hard for him to stay in control, and she had no idea she was having any affect on him at all.

"So, what's going on? Or do you usually drink alone in bars?" Something told Evan she didn't.

He knew her. He knew her better than she would ever realise, and Evan knew this wasn't (Y/n)'s style. She didn't like going out alone or being in her own company when out in public. She was the nervous type who liked company and Evan could see she was relieved he was sitting with her now.

And if she was here, alone, without Eddie, then something must have happened between them. An argument. A falling out. Whatever it was, it meant Evan could get closer to the one girl he had fallen hard for, but who was just out of his reach.

When their drinks arrived, Evan clinked his bottle against her glass before taking a few swigs.

(Y/n) tried to pace herself and only drink half her glass instead of throwing the whole drink back in one. She didn't want to embarrass herself or push away the only company she had found all night. Her finger moved to swirl around the rim of her glass and she slowly collected the tiny cubes of sugar before she bit down on her finger and let the sugar dissolve on her tongue.

"Bad night… uh, me and Eddie, we… we broke up." (Y/n) dragged her fingers through her tousled hair and chuckled at the end of her words as if she had just told him a crappy joke.

Evan raised his brows in surprise but hid his mouth behind his hand so a smile didn't accidentally break out on his face.

What luck!

Was there a God out there listening and answering Evan's prayers?

The girl he had fallen hard for had been his best friend's girlfriend. There was no way Evan could do anything without ruining his friendship and pushing away the only girl he ever wanted.

All Evan could do was flirt with (Y/n) and test the boundaries to see how close he could get without breaking any rules or putting too much pressure on her. He didn't want her to tell Eddie how he flirted with her. When in public, the flirting was harmless, it was little jokes. But in small corners, he would whisper whatever he wanted in her ear to see her smile and blush and shy away from him in that cute way she did.

"Damn. Can uh, can I ask what happened?" If she didn't want to tell him then that was fine. He would find out from Eddie at some point anyway. But Evan was more interested in (Y/n)'s side of things and how she was feeling about this.

He found himself inching closer while a sarcastic laugh tumbled past her lips which only drew him in further.

"He 'doesn't want to hurt me'." Her hands moved to add air- quotations while her smile turned sour and she took another gulp of her drink that tasted more of vodka than juice this time around.

"What would he do to hurt you?"

(Y/n) leaned her head on her right hand while her other hand began tapping away along the bar. She stretched her leg out, but when her heel accidentally caught Evan's leg, she retracted. Until he hooked his ankle behind hers and started jostling her leg up and down. He was trying to lighten the mood. Trying to make her feel better. And it made her smile.

"He's met someone. Some floosy who looks just like Shannon, if you can believe it." Her eyes rolled and she gave Evan's leg a little nudge. "He can't stop thinking about her, and he's been hanging around with her. He doesn't look like he's gonna stop hanging around her, so he broke things off."

(Y/n) was happy, in a way. She was glad Eddie came clean before things went too far with this other woman. She was glad he could acknowledge that he was so intrigued by her because of her resemblance. And (Y/n) was happy that Eddie was breaking things off now, before he stepped over the line and did anything to hurt all of them.

But she was pissed.

How dare he think it was okay to hang around a doppleganger, go around town with her and then break things off with (Y/n) in order to continue being with this other woman. How did he think this was going to end? What did he think would happen when they got serious and this Kim eventually saw the pictures of Shannon in his home? How would Chris react if he ever saw her?

Eddie wasn't thinking this through, but if he wanted to do this then (Y/n) was glad to leave him. She was glad they were breaking up if he was going to act this way. That didn't stop her heart from reaching out for him, or the tears from falling down her face.

"Jesus, look at me." She laughed miserably and swiped her hands beneath her eyes to rid the tears before they made a mess of her features. She had done so well not to cry all night, she wasn't going to break now.

"I am. I like what I see; always have."

Evan's hand found her thigh and (Y/n) paused, darting her eyes between his bright ruby lips and his hand where his thumb was skitting across her bare thigh like it had always belonged there.

"Charmer."

"Hm." Evan stretched and downed his beer before he waved across for another round of drinks. "So, you came to drown your sorrows?"

"He ended it, so I thought, fuck him I'll go for a drink or ten, or twenty."

Her smile made Evan's heart swell and he couldn't resist inching to the edge of his chair so he was that much closer to her. And he couldn't stop the raging thoughts in his mind that wished those two little words- fuck him- said in that sultry tone, were said about him and implied in that way.

Evan dreamt of (Y/n). He thought of her. He drowned his sorrows on too many occasions when he thought about how the girl of his dreams was shacked up with his best friend and Evan couldn't do anything about it.

Well, now he could. She was here, she was single, she was looking at him with those eyes, and Evan would treat her so much better than Eddie. He wouldn't look at another woman, let alone go out with them behind (Y/n)'s back. He wouldn't entertain anyone else but her. She was the one for him and if he could just show her that, then they could be happy together. Eddie be damned.

"It won't end well. Someone who looks like Shannon, what's he expect to happen? And there's Chris to think about, he won't go through with it. He'll regret losing you soon."

"Thank you. Someone gets it… I think he knows it's wrong, but he's made up his mind and I won't try and change it."

No matter how hard (Y/n) had fallen for Eddie or how much she thought she loved him, it was done. He had made his choice and (Y/n) wasn't going to try and persuade him otherwise. He was a grown man and he could make whatever mistakes he chose. And (Y/n) had enough self-respect that if Eddie realised his mistake and wanted to try again, (Y/n) would say no.

She wouldn't let herself down by going back to someone who left her for a chance at something with a ghost of the past. She wouldn't be Eddie's rebound or have him crawl back to her when everything went wrong and blew up in his face.

They were done and (Y/n) was going to come to terms with it, hopefully sooner rather than later.

"That's his loss, pity the fool who lets you go. If you were mine, I'd never look at anyone else." He took the fresh bottle placed in front of him while (Y/n) aimed straight for the strawberries floating neatly on top of her drink.

He loved the way her eyes never left his as he spoke, though. He loved those blown pupils burrowing into his mind, and those plump lips parting and enveloping around the fruit in her hand. He loved her lashes, fluttering and blinking like she was trying to send him a secret message he had to decode.

(Y/n) could feel tears of a different kind welling up in her eyes when she looked across at Evan. The strawberry clasped between her teeth didn't taste half as sweet as the words falling from Evan's tongue.

"Your girl's a lucky one. Where do I find a guy like you?" Her voice shuddered and she took a swig of her drink that suddenly tasted bittersweet compared to Evan's words.

But she found her breath catching in her throat when Evan balanced his feet on the step of his stool and leaned across the small gap of space between them. Part of her felt like she should inch back, create some room between them, but this wasn't just any old stranger in a bar.

This was Evan. This was the guy who flirted with her any chance he got, the guy who put everyone before himself and was the sweetest person by all accounts at the station. This was the guy every girl wanted to have on their arm, and he was looking at (Y/n) like she was the only one in this bar- this whole city- worthy of a second glance.

"Right in front of you, sweetheart."

The sugar coating (Y/n)'s lips transferred onto Evan's lips and he couldn't help but dart his tongue out to lick the remnants from her lips. His tongue darted between her lips and battled with hers, feeling drunk off the vodka on her tongue and the citrus zest in her mouth.

All the air evaporated from (Y/n)'s lungs as she let Evan's hand cup her jaw and tilt her head back, giving him better access to her mouth that he was exploring like it was the seventh wonder of the world.

She could feel his thumb tracing the edge of her jaw and his fingers were pressing into the side of her neck making her pulse jump beneath his touch.

Her fingers started to jump and tap in anticipation and confusion and bewilderment. He was kissing her. He was clinging to her, with his free hand now on her hip. And when their lips finally parted and she gasped for air with stars in front of her eyes, (Y/n) realised Evan had stood up from the stool and was now stood right between her legs.

He had parted her thighs to fit between them just like he had always belonged there and in doing so, he had pushed her shirt further back on her thighs, barely covering her modesty. Not that he seemed to care at all, with his free hand clamped down on her hip like he was preventing her from moving an inch away from him.

She could feel Evan panting into her mouth, their lips still practically touching, even if they were now gasping for air. The end of his nose nudged against hers and his lips curved into a wide smirk that had butterflies floating all throughout (Y/n)'s abdomen and up into her chest.

"Wanna come back to mine?" As he spoke, Evan slithered his hand from her hip to circle around her waist.

He loved the gasp she elicited which he swallowed up in another kiss when he tugged her to the very edge of her seat until she was practically sat on his hips and her legs automatically hooked around the back of his.

"God, yes." She panted against his lips while her hands moved to grip his shirt tight enough that she was almost popping the buttons undone. She clung to him to keep her balance and her sanity, which was teetering on the edge, about to drop off into oblivion.

He couldn't kiss her like that and expect her not to say yes to that question. She would go anywhere with him, all he had to do was ask, well, he probably didn't have to ask at this rate.

Evan's lips morphed into a smile as he sucked (Y/n)'s lower lip between his teeth like it was one of the strawberries from her cocktail.

He brushed his thumb up and down her back and slid his other hand down her jaw to hold the side of her neck instead.

Finally.

She was finally going to be his. Tonight. She was coming home with him, and after tonight, Evan would bind her to him forever. He wasn't about to let one night fade into a memory and never have the luxury or the pleasure of having (Y/n) again.

If she was coming home with him, then he was going to make damn sure that she was going to be his girl. Eddie had let her go, that was his loss and simultaneously the best win of Evan's life. He could finally have the girl of his dreams without breaking his best friend's heart or causing shockwaves in their friendship group.

He could have her. She was going to be his. She was finally within his grasp and Evan wasn't letting her go.

This was just the beginning.

***

Confusion mixed with glee plastered across Evan's face when he opened the apartment door.

(Y/n) was here.

He hadn't expected her to turn up to his place, especially not unannounced. After their hook up little over two months ago, contact between them had been small and stilted. (Y/n) felt bad. She didn't want to start anything with Evan or acknowledge what happened between them and hurt Eddie, and for the most part, Evan understood.

They had to wait. He couldn't expect her to start dating him or being around him too much and risk Eddie finding out. Their one night together had been enough for Evan, it was enough to calm his raging obsession over (Y/n). Knowing he'd had that night with her and that hundreds more nights like that were doubtless going to happen.

They just had to wait a little while, and it seemed the waiting was over if (Y/n) was here at his door, wanting to speak to him and be around him. A few texts every now and then and crossing paths when they went to see Chris was the most contact they had had since that night in the bar.

He moved his arm to welcome her inside and shut the door after her, following her through into the kitchen, which took him by surprise. He thought she would go into the living room if she was here to talk.

"I- I'm sorry to turn up unannounced like this, but I really need to talk to you." (Y/n) rolled her lips together and moved into the kitchen.

Her hands began to tap against the counter and she leaned her elbows forward onto the edge to prop herself up. Her eyes followed Evan as he moved to stand beside her but with his back and hips against the counter so he was facing her properly.

He folded his arms over his chest and tilted his head to one side, looking at her with that smile that made (Y/n) weak in more ways than one.

He observed her. She put her bag down on the counter beside her. Her hands were fiddling and tapping and moving at every second like she hard far too much nervous energy that she needed rid of. The way she bit her bottom lip told Evan she was nervous about something and therefore he was glad she was here so he could help with whatever the problem was.

"Sure, what's up, is everything okay?" His arms stayed folded over his chest and he began to tap his fingers on his biceps as he watched her.

She looked anxious. (Y/n) never normally seemed anxious around him, and she certainly hadn't been nervous that night they spent together. She had no need to be on edge around him, she knew how much he fancied her and they always got along like a house on fire.

"I- oh, Evan, I'm…"

Evan's brows furrowed as he watched her fumble for the right words before she seemed to give up. She rattled through her bag and handed him a small white and blue stick that took him by surprise. He gingerly took what she held out to him before his brows lifted and he did his best to supress his smile.

A pregnancy test. She was pregnant.

"Oh, wow." Evan set the test down behind him on the counter while he watched (Y/n) drop her head down into her hands. He noticed the way her fingers scratched into the back of her head and it made him desperate to reach out and stop her.

"I'm sorry," She wasn't quite sure what else to say, but she all but jumped when she felt his hand on her lower back.

"Why're you sorry?"

"Well, I- I know this is a mess. If Eddie finds out, God he's going to be so angry, look at me. He breaks up with me, and I sleep with his best friend." (Y/n) scratched her nails into her scalp as tears welled up in her eyes and she doubled over a bit more.

What would Eddie say when he found out? How bad did this make her look? How awful was she? Yes, Eddie had broken up with her and yes it was because he wanted to try something with someone else for the completely wrong reasons. But (Y/n) had gone and slept with his best friend almost immediately. She shouldn't have slept with Evan, it was too soon, it was the wrong move to make. She should have been more careful.

"Hey, hey don't do that. It doesn't matter right now what he's going to think, Eddie's not in this situation."

Reaching out, Evan held onto her forearms and gently reeled her up off the counter so she was stood up straight. He tried to pull her into his embrace but (Y/n) shook her head and took a step back. That upset him. He could feel his heart lurching up into his throat when she retreated from his touch.

"I- I- would you take a test? You can hate me if you want, I deserve it, but- but I wanna be sure-" (Y/n) tried to find the paternity test in her bag but just as she slumped it onto the counter, Evan gently but firmly took hold of her wrists.

He turned her attention back to him, and (Y/n) was more than surprised to find a calming smile lighting up his face. He brushed his thumbs over the back of her hands and tugged her closer until she was practically stood between his legs, almost leaning forward into his chest.

Why wasn't he shouting at her? Why wasn't he getting angry or infuriated? Why wasn't Evan telling her she was inconsiderate and rude and that he wanted nothing more to do with her? How could he be so calm in this situation?

"I'll take the test if you calm down for me." When he gently pressed his temple down against hers, (Y/n) almost fainted.

"Why're you being so calm about this?"

"Because I know that we can do this. We're not strangers, we're friends, and I kind of think you know already that I'm crazy about you. So, take a deep breath, and smile for me. I'll do the test, then when we know for sure, we can sit down and talk about how we're gonna do this. Okay?"

(Y/n) barely found herself nodding along but when Evan pecked her temple, she let the tears fall and pushed into him.

She bound her arms as tightly as she could around his torso and buried her face into his shirt. He smelled like leather and cologne; (Y/n) liked his aftershave. She loved the feeling when his arms curved around her. She loved the way his chest rumbled as he chuckled softly into her hair and her knees trembled when he pecked the top of her head.

She still couldn't fathom how he was so calm about this. She dropped a bombshell on him that she was pregnant, and she had just asked him to take a paternity test because she had to be sure. (Y/n) was almost one hundred percent sure that it wasn't Eddie's. The dates wouldn't add up and Eddie always, always, used protection. He didn't want anymore kids, he was adamant about that.

(Y/n) had been sure that she and Evan had used protection, but clearly it hadn't been effective because she was pregnant. Her dates made sense if it was Evan's baby and somehow, it would be easier if it was.

She wouldn't have to tell Eddie and have him be angry or confused or unsure about doing this with her. They would have to scramble to decide whether to get back together or co-parent whilst not being in a relationship, and (Y/n) did not want to do that. And she didn't want to get back with Eddie after the way they broke up. She was glad to leave him in her past and simply try to be friends with him, for all their sakes.

The only issue with this being Evan's baby was how they would tell people and how they would explain this if they went through with this pregnancy. Eddie would figure out the dates, he wasn't stupid, and he would likely hold this against them both. Rightfully so.

"That's better." Evan murmured into her hair when he felt (Y/n)'s breaths evening out against his sternum.

Now she was tucked up in his embrace, Evan allowed the broad smile to pull at his lips and he slouched back into the counter while he dragged his hand up and down her back.

He wasn't in any doubt.

Evan knew one hundred percent that this baby was his, but if it would calm (Y/n) down, he would take the test to calm down her anxiety.

He was Eddie's best friend, so he had heard the ins and outs of Eddie's thoughts and feelings for the last six years. He knew Eddie was adamant that he wasn't having any more kids. Chris was his one and only as far as he was concerned, and that was how Evan knew Eddie always used protection with any girlfriend he had. He wouldn't take the risk of (Y/n) getting pregnant.

It had to be Evan's, and he knew that because he didn't use protection that night they slept together after the bar. Evan knew (Y/n) was under the impression that he did, and he wouldn't tell her otherwise because it didn't matter anymore, she was already pregnant. The ins and outs and reasonings didn't matter now.

Evan loved her. He had loved her since the moment he laid eyes on her and he had been jealous every moment of every day when she had been with Eddie. Evan felt like he was going to combust whenever he thought about (Y/n) and the fact that he couldn't be with her.

That night at the bar changed everything. He loved her and she had wanted to be with him, it was as plain in her eyes as it was in how she clung to him and went home with him.

And he knew that if she got pregnant, that would be it. Their fates would be entwined and cemented together if she had a baby. She would be his girl, his and only his. She would have his baby, they would be a proper family.

With that thought in mind, Evan bypassed using protection. He made a show of looking in the bedside drawer for one, but (Y/n) had been too drunk to check if he actually found and wore one. Evan methodically planned it out in his head, this plan was what was best for them and now they were having a baby and he would always put her and the baby first.

He and Eddie were opposites. Eddie didn't want kids, Evan wanted lots, and (Y/n) was the one girl he wanted them with. He knew if she didn't get pregnant that night all it would take was a few more nights together and it would happen, but luck was clearly on his side as that one night had worked in his favour.

She was having his baby. She was his girl now.

***

A swell of relief bubbled to life in (Y/n)'s chest and sparked through her stomach when she clocked eyes on a familiar swarm of chocolate brown hair heading in her direction. She stood up and tried to smile when Eddie walked over to her.

He had one hand stuffed into his trouser pocket and the other hand stretched out in her direction. He seemed to debate whether or not to reach out for her, they weren't together anymore. They were barely on speaking terms after how things ended between them. But he settled on reaching out for her elbow and giving her a small squeeze.

"Sorry I'm late, I tried calling."

"Oh, uh my phone's out of battery. I got you a coffee, black, three sugars." (Y/n) motioned towards the table where two drinks were laid out ready before she eased back down into her seat.

Her phone hadn't actually run out of battery. She'd switched it off. Her location settings couldn't be checked if her phone was off. Evan would think she was still at home; he wouldn't know she had gone out. The other option was leave her phone at home, but that didn't feel safe. Just in case something happened or she had some sort of emergency.

"I wasn't sure I believed Buck when he told me."

A shiver crawled down (Y/n)'s spine when Eddie pointed to her stomach. She could see he was trying his best to smile, but he couldn't manage it. He couldn't hide the agony from his eyes either, and it felt like a knife imbedding into (Y/n)'s chest.

Eddie sat down opposite her at the table, resting his elbows on the table while his hands tapped and fiddled with the coffee cup (Y/n) pushed his way.

He didn't believe when Evan sat him down and tried to talk to him. He didn't believe either of them would do this to him, that they would see each other behind his back, so quickly after he and (Y/n) broke up. And Eddie certainly couldn't wrap his head around the fact that they were now having a baby together and had subsequently moved in with each other. It didn't seem real.

When (Y/n) couldn't find a reply and she didn't answer, Eddie cleared his throat.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" He had been a little more than surprised when (Y/n) called and asked if he would meet her to talk.

He had been apprehensive about meeting her, they hadn't spoken much since they broke up. A quick text here and there to arrange for (Y/n) to see Chris or take him out for the afternoon, that was about it. He wasn't sure what she wanted to talk about, he had a feeling it wasn't about their relationship. And Evan had already assured him that the baby was Evan's, so there was no panic about paternity.

"I don't know what to do… I think I need help."

"Help with what?"

"Evan,"

(Y/n) winced when Eddie's brows narrowed and he gave her such a strange look as if she had grown a second head. She clenched her hands together beneath the table, waiting in agony as Eddie took a few mouthfuls of coffee while he deliberated on what to say.

"Really? What kind of help?" The look he gave her was a strange one. He couldn't see what kind of help she thought Eddie could give, or what kind of help she would need in the first place.

"I- well, I…" Her hand reached up to tangle in her hair, a nervous habit she couldn't seem to get rid of. She didn't want to cause problems between them, at least no more than she already had, but (Y/n) didn't know what to do anymore. "I'm struggling, I've never seen this overbearing side of him before."

There. She'd said it.

(Y/n) had never seen Evan become like he was now. She had never had him be so consuming, overwhelming, suffocating like this and it was strange. It wasn't anything she had seen in him before, not that they had ever been as close as they were now. But his behaviour was starting to worry (Y/n), and since Eddie was one of the closest people to Evan, and he had been close to her at one point, she thought he might be the one to ask for help.

Eddie set his cup down and dragged his hand up and down his jaw and the side of his neck before he chose his answer carefully.

"He's protective over his loved ones, and he's always wanted kids. This is the dream he never thought he'd get. You can't blame him for being cautious or a bit… clingy."

Protective. Is that what this was? Is that all that this was? Had (Y/n) read too much into his behaviours? Surely not, surely she had some cause for concern where Evan was concerned.

"Evan, I won't be out for long, and it's not like I'm going out on a drinking night, is it?" (Y/n) ran her hand up and down her stomach that hadn't changed shape yet. She wasn't starting to show yet, but the premise was still the same.

She was meeting her friends for lunch, they wouldn't be going out drinking all afternoon and even if her friends would be drinking, (Y/n) wouldn't be joining them. She couldn't; she wasn't irresponsible to drink while she was pregnant. And her friends knew, she had told them the good news and they were happy for her.

Her teeth sank down into her lower lip and she tilted her head to one side, folding her arms over her chest when Evan moved in her path. He blocked the kitchen doorway like a boulder. The smile on his face was sweet like sugar and the way he leaned down towards her almost made (Y/n)'s knees cave.

"What if they want to go out drinking, you can't exactly join them. Why don't you just stay home with me?"

His arms cocooned around her waist and he tucked his face into her neck even as (Y/n) tried to move her hands to his shoulders and playfully nudge him away.

"Because they want to meet up."

"Just stay here, I can look after you better if you're right here with me. I can't do very much if you're out, can I?" It would be easier if she stayed home. Evan could do a lot to look after her and keep an eye on her if she was here. If she went out, he would only worry and panic over her and worry if she was alright.

"Evan-"

"It's not like they've been keeping in touch recently anyway, is it?" His words stung almost as much as his teeth biting a mark into her neck, but they also rung true.

(Y/n) hadn't spoken to the girls from work very much recently, even before she and Eddie broke up they hadn't been meeting up very often. Today was the first time in what, two months that they would all be going out together. But if it took this long for them to want to meet up, maybe (Y/n) would be better off cancelling and staying home. Surely all of them, (Y/n) herself included, would have made more effort if they all cared more.

Tilting back in her seat, (Y/n) leaned her head to one side. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting when she asked Eddie here, but she thought he might just understand. She thought that maybe, Eddie could see it too. Clearly she was seeing this differently to everyone else.

"Chris wants to see you, by the way." Eddie nudged her foot beneath the table to make sure her mind wasn't drifting off into space, and he managed a smile when she looked back at him.

"I miss him." The words stung her throat and made her chest tighten with the need to burst into tears.

She missed Chris. She really did. Getting close to Eddie also meant getting close to Chris, and (Y/n) wanted to keep in touch with him, she wanted to check how he was doing and continue taking him out and being there for him. She hadn't seen him a lot recently, something that (Y/n) sincerely regretted every day that Chris crossed her mind.

"Yeah, he's been asking why you haven't visited lately."

'Because Evan wouldn't let me.'

She only seemed to go out and meet people whenever she was going out with Evan. If he was busy at work or they were at home, (Y/n) didn't see anyone. She hadn't taken Chris out on her own since just before she found out she was pregnant. Since being with Evan, she only took Chris out when the three of them went on days out.

She didn't see the team unless her and Evan were meeting up with them. She didn't see her friends anymore. (Y/n) didn't have many people to talk to and if she called people while Evan was at work, he asked why. He asked why she waited until he went to work rather than talking to them while he was around.

His voice hung in the back of her head when he was at work and stopped (Y/n) from talking to the few people she had left.

"I haven't seen much of anyone lately." Her head hung down and she smiled remorsefully to herself while she sipped her drink.

"Why?"

"I only see people when I go out with Evan, if I try going out without him he- he starts messaging, getting nervous."

'Controlling. Upset. He doesn't like me seeing anyone without him, if he can't physically see or be with me then his anxiety flares up. He thinks things will go wrong if he doesn't control the situation.'

'He gets jealous and anxious if I talk to people and he doesn't know what I've said. Having things in common with people might mean I want to be with them more than him.'

"I can't seem to breathe without him, Eddie and it's… it's getting hard." That was why she asked him here. She needed help, (Y/n) was starting to drown and she needed someone to throw her a life jacket, or she feared she was never going to come up for air.

"Hey baby, where are you going?"

Dread dwelled in the pit of (Y/n)'s stomach and she halted in her stride, clenching her phone tighter in her hand. She pressed it so harshly to her ear that her pulse began to throb in her veins and pound in her head.

How did he know? How did Evan know she had left the house? He was supposed to be at work.

She took a sweeping look around her surroundings, but there weren't many people out in the park. None of them looked familiar, no faces resembling the team or their families. Evan wasn't hiding in the crowd. No one here was looking at her, no one could have phoned Evan to let him know she left home without telling him first.

"What?" Her voice sounded feeble and she hated how weak it made her sound, especially when her throat tightened with the sensation of wanting to burst into tears.

"I didn't think you were going out today. You've not got any appointments, is everything okay?"

For a brief moment, she rummaged through her bag as if she thought she was going to find a tracker in there, monitoring her movements, watching where she was going. But then it dawned on her. The tracker was in her hand. She had her phone on her. There were location apps on some phones.

Had Evan connected their phones? Had he turned the locator app on in her phone? Was that how he knew she wasn't at home? Why was he tracking and watching her when he was at work? Didn't he trust her?

"I- I just wanted some fresh air…"

"Okay, well I'm finishing work now anyway, so I can come get you and we can go out somewhere."

"I don't know what kind of help you want, but I don't see what I can do anyway. You moved onto my best friend what, days, maybe a week after we broke up. And now you're pregnant. You moved on with him pretty quick (Y/n), Hell you're moved in with him already, you didn't move in with me-"

"Because he asked me to and I'm pregnant. Did I really have any other choice?" Tears welled up in her eyes as she pressed both hands down on the table and leaned closer to him.

What else was she supposed to do?

Eddie never asked her. He never wanted to take that step further in the relationship, and (Y/n) respected that. She respected that Eddie was weary of commitment and took things at his pace.

But this was different. She and Evan didn't have a lot of choices. She was pregnant and if they wanted to try and make this relationship work and give their baby a stable upbringing, they had to live together. (Y/n) couldn't bring up this child on her own, she didn't want that and neither did Evan. Their only option was to move in together, surely Eddie could see and understand that.

"He seems pretty happy with you, and you've been cosy up to now." The clear cut tone to Eddie's voice made (Y/n)'s lips curl and she bit down on her lower lip to stop from bursting into tears.

"How do you know that, you've barely spoken to me since we broke up." She couldn't help snapping back at him.

Eddie didn't have the right to sit there and tell her she was wrong or she was being silly and pretend she was overreacting. She asked him here for help, Eddie had to know that she would only do that if she was desperate. He hadn't seen her much since they broke up. She had taken Chris out twice since they ended things, and she barely talked to Eddie when she picked Chris up.

The few other times she saw Chris, Evan had been there and he smoothed over the conversation. Eddie couldn't say things had been fine and cosy when he only had Evan's version of events, he didn't see things from (Y/n)'s point of view.

"Did you sleep with him before we split?" His hand ran down his jaw before his arms folded on the table and he rose a brow.

"How can you ask me that?" She didn't have the will to prevent the tears from falling down her face anymore.

If he was going to do this to her then she was going to go home. She wouldn't sit here and have Eddie accuse her of cheating when she did everything right in their relationship. She left when Eddie wanted to break up. She didn't argue or try and make things complicated. She tried to smooth things over for Chris and still be there for him. She didn't go round telling anyone other than Evan exactly why Eddie broke up with her when she had every right to say what he had done to her.

And now he had the nerve to ask if she had been cheating on him with his best friend.

"I'm sorry, (Y/n) I- I just don't like my ex and my best friend getting together right in front of me. You have to admit you two moved fast."

"Yes, and it wasn't planned."

(Y/n) hadn't planned on sleeping with Evan, she didn't plan on meeting him in that bar that night. Nor did she plan to get pregnant or get into a relationship with Evan so swiftly after leaving Eddie. But this was the way things had turned out, she couldn't lie or pretend otherwise.

"It's a pretty big coincidence though-"

"Forget it. This was a bad idea, I'm- I'm going home. Bye Eddie."

She got up as fast as she could, snatched her bag onto her shoulder and stormed out, ignoring Eddie's voice calling after her.

If he was going to berrate her then she wasn't going to sit and listen to it, she didn't have to listen anymore. She asked Eddie here for help, but he wasn't going to help her, and that was okay. She would sort this on her own, just like she had to.

Her hands swiped across her cheeks, brushing away the tears as she briskly walked down the street, aiming for home.

A home which she shared with Evan. (Y/n) couldn't go to anyone else, she didn't have anyone else and no one else she trusted would help her, they would side with Evan. They were all his friends. It didn't seem to matter now, anyway. (Y/n) couldn't raise this baby alone and whether Evan had done this intentionally or not, she was bound to him.

They lived together, (Y/n) worked from home which isolated her from everyone and the only friends she had left were those who were close to Evan. They were his friends first, his team, his family. She would just have to try and talk to Evan, see if he could stop smothering her so much and let her have a bit of leeway. They would have to work this out together, no one else could or would help them.

"Evan loves me. He loves us," Her hand moved to glide up and down her bump and she sniffed through a smile when she felt a kick against her palm. The baby agreed. "And that's enough, it has to be."

Maybe Evan was all she needed. She could rely on him, he had proven that. He didn't get angry or annoyed or walk out on her when she told him she was pregnant, and when she asked him for the paternity test he was all too eager to prove it and be by her side. (Y/n) had to be the luckiest person in the world to have Evan, despite the tendencies and quirks he was now displaying.

He loved the bones of her and their baby. He did whatever he could for her, she could ask the world of him and he wouldn't question it. Who else would look out for her, love her, protect her and put her first in the way that Evan would?

If he was the only person in her life, at least he was the one she could count on.

She didn't need anyone else.

#evan buckley #911 imagine #imagine #evan buckley x reader #pregnant! reader #evan buckley imagine #buck x reader #buck imagine #dark! buck #eddie diaz

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idyllcy · 2 months ago

Text

you make me wanna make ya fall in love

word count: 1.97k || EMT Leon || slightly ooc + flirting (HIPAA violation)

summary: the 2000s called, they want their romcom plot back

"I'm actually gonna pass out." You sit on the couch, blinking rapidly as your head goes light.

"I called 911 already, so hang in there, alright?!" Ashley stays connected to the call, holding you up as you groan, stomach caving in on itself and your eyes giving out. Oh, god, is this how you die? You focus on breathing through your mouth, ignoring the way Ashley's voice is reduced to ringing and the way you're sweating buckets. Ew. Maybe you should've— oh. this is because you didn't eat, huh? It is 8pm. Yeah, this one's on you. Maybe the heavens will be nice and let a nice hot EMT show up to your door and save your ass— yeah, tough luck.

You can't believe you're about to pass out and all you can think about is men. You're literally failing the Bechdel test. What are you? Some poor girl in a teenage romcom? You're not even a teenager.

You close your eyes for some shut-eye, disrupted when you're shaken awake, blinking slowly as you catch sight of Ashley first, holding her chest in relief when you stare at her.

Then, you notice him—

Beautiful blonde hair, brilliant blue eyes, arms hard as a rock, you might've just died and landed in heaven. Are you in heaven? Surely you must be. This man looks so gorgeous it's incredible. You have to be in heaven right now. You blink at him with doe-eyes, confusion visible on your face. Ashley's here, so you're not in heaven. Did you just happen to have a super hot EMT show up to your door like you had been imagining? Oh, god, are you... psychic? This is a revelation! This is insane! You have to—

No, seriously. You're not in a romcom. Can the narrator stop describing it like it's some sort of a romcom? The 2000s called, they want their cheesy romcom plotline back.

"Fucking hell." You groan, shifting against the wall. "How long was I out?"

"Ten minutes." The man reads. "You're just low in blood sugar. We have some orange juice, would you like that?"

"Yeah. Sure." You furrow your brows. "God, wow, count on my body to shut down without sugar."

"It happens." He thanks his coworker for the glass, holding it to your lips. "Tilt, please."

You tilt your head back slightly to press your lips to the glass, drinking it as you lean back to lick your lips, offering to take the glass from him as your arms start cooperating. "I can do it."

"Best not to." He nods. "Just finish the glass. We'll stay until your blood sugar rises."

"Isn't it almost immediate?"

"Takes around 15 minutes."

You raise a brow at Ashley, who shakes her head, and you finish the rest of the glass, watching as Leon checks your stats.

"How often does this happen..." You glance at his nameplate. "Leon?"

"More often than you'd think." He hums, tilting his head at you as Ashley talks to the other worker about your insurance. "Let me guess, you forgot to eat?"

"Yeah. My body stops feeling hunger after a certain point." You hum. "It's not super good, huh?"

"Yeah. Try to have some candy or juice throughout the day. It helps." He nods. "College student life, huh?"

You tilt your head. "How old are you?"

"Been a few years since school." He nods. "Your blood sugar's back to normal, sugar."

You hold your hand over your mouth, raising a brow at him. "That definitely breaks some sort of work protocol."

He smiles, sneaking you a candy from his pocket with a wink.

Huh. Hard caramel.

"Are you alright?" Ashley rests a hand on your shoulder, and you give her a thumbs up.

"All good." You lean against the wall to get up. "I should eat, though."

Leon grabs your arm, helping you up. "Definitely. Have something high in sugar or carbs."

"Will do, Leon." You nod. "Wishing you an uneventful work day. May no emergency be absolutely awful."

"Thank you. Those days are the best."

You send them off as Ashley starts nagging about not eating, and you pout as you lock eyes with her, door locked, ambulance gone.

"Yeah, he was hot."

"YEAH, HE WAS."

You forget about him, though. You start popping candy throughout the day, same brand as the one Leon had given you, your lips curled upwards sweetly when it hits your tongue. It's not food, but at least you won't be passing out because your blood sugar's low again.

You're also never going to see him again, so it's fine if you carry a piece of him around with you.

Except you do. You see him at the EMT booth at a local concert, Ashley in your arms because there's something wrong with her this time. (You really ought to start taking care of yourselves, huh?)

"Ah, sugar." Leon smiles. "Friend this time?"

"Yes." You set her down as he checks up on her. "Is she okay?"

"Seems fine. Just needs some water. Dehydration. How long you been out there?"

"Since morning." You glance at the venue. "Didn't eat either, though I've been having candy."

"That's not good for you, sugar." He hands Ashley a bottle of water, sending her off with you. "Go grab some food."

You watch as he fishes out a twenty from his pocket, blinking as he holds it out to you.

"I can't take that from you, sir."

"Nonsense. Concert food is expensive. It's on me." He smiles.

"You're still breaking workplace rules, I see." You rummage through your pockets, taking Leon's hand as you place a caramel in his hand. "As a thank you."

"I'm sure it'll be delicious later." He smiles. "Now, off you go. We've got quite a line."

"Wouldn't dream of holding you up, Leon." You lead Ashley to the side by the crowds, waiting for her to grab a drink before pulling her to grab something to eat. You pay for her food first, setting Ashley with the rest of your friends before waving to get something of your own.

"Get his number!" She manages to yell as you disappear into the crowd.

Now that's breaking protocol.

Yet, you use the remainder of Leon's money to get him something to eat, waiting for the line to dissipate slightly before handing him a drink.

"For me?"

"It's got... liquid IV in it." You scrunch your nose. "Hopefully that's not a scam."

"Not completely." He takes it from you, pinching at the straw to mix it. "Did you eat?"

"I was about to."

He glances at his coworker and then the intermission.

"That'd be bad, Kennedy." The woman next to him warns.

Leon sighs. "Have fun eating."

"Thank you again." You grin.

"Ah, and for dessert." He reaches for your hand, placing another candy in it. "A hard caramel."

"I'm starting to think you have a thing for caramels, Leon." You raise a brow, taking two steps back before throwing a wave his way. "I'll pay you back later!"

You grab dinner with the rest of your friends, waving bye to them when they leave to continue, Ashley making sure that you've got candy on you before she's gone. You have one final singer that you'd like to see before you leave the event. You're glad you live close to the venue. You could probably walk back or uber if you were really desperate. Though, you wonder just how long the EMT are staying.

You find yourself mixed into the crowd as you wait, jumping when your favorite artist finally appears, cheering with everyone else. You don't blame the rest of them for retiring early. You're the only one who listens to this artist anyway. The setlist has you jumping, cheering at the live vocals, yelling your heart out with the lyrics, and when the set finishes, the sun's almost down. It'd be smart of you to head out at this point.

You make a turn to head back, popping the caramel in your mouth, stopping in your tracks when a man blocks your way.

"Where ya off to, sweetheart?"

"...Oh, you know." You smile, nodding to excuse yourself.

"Need a ride home?"

"Truly, it's alright—"

"I insist."

You wrack your brain for a solution, yelping when you feel hands on your waist instead, pulling you backwards. Your back is flush against someone's chest, smile on his lips as you blink. Sure hope it's not some other creep.

"Hey, you good bro? Had one too many to drink? I suggest the EMT tent."

You let out a sigh in relief, watching as the guy notices the uniform and scrambles.

"Thank you." You turn around, smile on your lips as Leon nods.

"You're just too lovely, sugar. Gotta keep those flies off of ya." He nods. "You feeling alright?"

You nod.

"Gone all quiet on me?" He tilts his head. "Alright, up you go."

You yelp as he lifts you into his arms effortlessly, arms wrapping around his neck as he carries you out of the crowd. He presses his forehead to yours to check your temperature, looking to the side when you don't react at all.

"You good?"

"I'm fine, Leon. You didn't need to." You let him take your vitals, the tent practically empty now that the concert was finishing up. His coworker nods at him and heads out, and leaves you with Leon. That's gotta be illegal in some way. There is no way a law is not being broken right there. Aren't they both supposed to get off at the same time? Is that?? legal? Is their shift over?

"You seem fine." He kneels at your chair, fingers on your wrist as he takes your heartbeat. "Heart's a little fast, though."

"Yeah?" You mumble. You're sure you look embarrassed beyond belief right now, so you opt for sucking on the caramel in your mouth.

You're not surprised he takes notice. "Actually, I think my head's spinning just a little. Must be the lack of sugar. You got any on you?"

"Well, I kind of ate my last one..." You mumble, sticking your tongue out with the candy.

"I don't mind."

"Yeah?" You suck on the candy.

"Of course not, sugar." He leans in, tilting his head. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, who am I to say no?"

You let him kiss you, tongue with the caramel offered to him, sugar on your lips and his from it, though you would argue that the only reason the candy seemed to taste so good was because of him. You tilt your head to angle better, Leon's hands finding yours on the chair, pushing himself to you with a hum in his throat, tongue in your mouth as he steals the caramel from you. You don't mind. You might've just tasted a slice of heaven of your own.

You pant, tongue stuck out and mouth open as Leon shows you the candy on his tongue, smiling.

"You got a ride home, sugar?"

"You gonna kidnap me?" You raise a brow, licking your lips for whatever remnant of him is left on you.

"Not with this pretty lady, no." He smiles.

"Breaking work protocol again, I see."

"I'm off duty." He glances to the side as the new shift arrives, and Leon offers a hand to help you up. "Don't worry, sugar, you can pass out on my car. I've got all the candy you could want."

"Hm..." You tap your chin, taking his hand as he pulls you with him, not letting go.

"Hm what?"

"How about we grab brunch sometimes nearby? Just to make sure my sugar levels don't drop from forgetting to eat?" You tilt your head, watching as Leon tilts his head back to you.

"Oh, sugar. You don't even need to ask."

#leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy #leon s kennedy x reader #reader insert #resident evil #☾.fics #PLEASE IGORE THE FACT I SPELLED HIPAA WRONG OH MY GOD IM KILLING MYSELF #thisis how u tell im not in health btw

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watchmegetobsessed · 1 year ago

Text

UNSPOKEN

A/N: i literally started writing this over a year ago, then forgot about it and now i revisited it and finished it. im not entirely satisfied with how it turned out to be, it's kind of one big clishé, but... i would hate if it went to waste, it's a long fic so here it is!

WORD COUNT: 9.8k

SUMMARY: Your college roommate wants to get you out of your shell and brings you to your first frat party. It's not quite your setting, but when you meet a nice boy in the bathroom it gets better. Right until he catches your roommate's eyes as well.

MASTERLIST | SUPPORT ME!

FRESHMAN YEAR

Your first ever college party is just like how you imagined it. Lots of drunk people, a frat house packed to its fullest capacity, music blasting so loud your ears will surely be ringing in the morning and lots and lots of anxiety. On your part, at least.

You’ve never been quite the party person, weren’t really invited to them most of the time through high school, but it seems like that’s about to change thanks to your roommate. Izzy is practically your polar opposite, judging from the two days you’ve known her, she was definitely part of the popular kids in high school and she’ll make herself a name in college as well. She seems nice and she was the one who dragged you to this party, some guy invited her, she met him on her first day on campus, they just randomly bumped into each other and of course, he tried to flirt with her. She is the kind of girl guys fall head over heels in love with within seconds, while you’re more of a wallflower. Seemingly it’s her mission to push you out of your comfort zone and get you to socialize more.

Normally you wouldn’t want to change, there’s a reason why you don’t like parties and lots of people around you, but because you’re desperate to find new friends, you’d do anything it takes and right now Izzy is your best shot at it.

“Come on, let’s get a drink!” she smirks and already pulls you towards the kitchen as if she was already familiar with the place.

There are bottles and red cups everywhere, you keep bumping into drunk people as you try to follow Izzy into the kitchen. She snatches a bottle of vodka as if it was waiting exclusively for her and pouring some into two cups she tops the drinks with orange juice, handing you one of them.

“Cheers to the best years of our lives!” she grins, bumping her cup against yours and you just smile as you both take a sip from the drinks.

“Wow, it’s… strong,” you say with a surprised frown, you haven’t been quite the drinker either and the proportion of vodka and orange juice in the drink is definitely wilder than you expected.

“That’s the point,” she winks.

You follow her around for the next about an hour, it seems like Izzy didn’t waste her time since her arrival and already made several friends. She keeps introducing you to everyone she runs into, though you remember just about no names minutes later.

You feel like you stand out, but you tell yourself it’s only because everyone is new and you’re overwhelmed by all the changes that’s been happening around you.

Excusing yourself you go and look for a bathroom somewhere upstairs. After opening a few wrong doors you finally find the one you were looking for and lock it behind you so no one can walk in. Just as you approach the toilet, a voice speaks up from the bathtub.

“Um, before you do anything, you’re not alone.”

“Holy shit,” you gasp in shock when you turn around and see a guy sitting in the bathtub. Your heart is about to jump out of your chest, you weren’t expecting anyone and it’s a luck he spoke up before you went on to use the toilet.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he chuckles, holding his hands up in defense.

“I-It’s fine, I was just not expecting anyone to… be sitting in the bathtub,” you say, furrowing your eyebrows as you say it out loud.

“I know, I just… I’m having a break so I’m not forced to take another shot,” he shakes his head chuckling.

“And the tub was your best idea to hide? Aren’t people coming in to use the bathroom?”

“Well, yes, but more often to have sex than to actually use it.”

“Oh…” you breathe out.

“But I didn’t watch, if that’s what you’re concerned about, I let them know the room is occupied in time,” he grins and it makes you laugh. “Seemingly that’s not why you’re here, so I’ll let you use my little hideaway.”

He gets up and leaves so you can use the toilet in peace and you expect him to disappear, but when you walk out, he is standing by the door.

“You’re coming back?” you ask, as you switch places.

“I’m gonna enjoy some more peace,” he shrugs with a smile. “You can join me, if you want,” he offers and it comes as a surprise, because it feels like he genuinely wouldn’t mind it if you joined him.

Honestly, you could use a break from the madness outside, so before you could overthink, you nod and follow him inside, closing the door behind you.

The guy is already climbing back into the tub and when he has taken his spot, he gestures for you to do the same and sit across from him. It feels weird and ridiculous, but you join him at last, the cold surface of the tub feels soothing against your hot skin that heated up because of the crowd that’s outside.

“I’m Harry, by the way,” he introduces himself, holding a hand out for you.

“Y/N.”

“Are you a freshman too?”

“Is it that obvious?” you ask with a nervous chuckle.

“No,” he shakes his head smiling. “Just maybe a little bit,” he then adds.

Sitting in that tub, you engage into a conversation with Harry that flows so smoothly and easily, it almost feels like you’ve known him for longer than just about thirty minutes. He has a great humor and he’s exceptionally smart. All of that pairs with a pretty charming look and he almost feels too good to be true to be chatting with you at a party full of girls like Izzy.

Almost an entire hour passes, but you barely notice, his phone’s buzzing is what pops your little bubble.

“Ah shit, my friends are asking where the hell I went, I think I need to make an appearance,” he sighs, texting something back quickly. “Do you want to grab a drink?”

“With you?” you ask with wide eyes, which makes him chuckle.

“Of course! Come on, let’s show our faces.”

Harry climbs out of the tub and then helps you out as well offering you a hand that you gladly take and when you’re standing on your feet outside of the tub, his hold stays a bit longer, pulling you towards the door, only letting go of your hand when you step out of the bathroom. But even as you head downstairs, he places a hand to the small of your back, guiding you through the sea of drunk guests as you make your way to the kitchen.

The butterflies in your tummy are definitely going crazy, the attention and affection Harry has shown you in the past hour is more than what you’ve gotten from boys all your life.

“Alcoholic or something light?” he asks, looking around at the selection on the counter.

“Maybe something light,” you say and he doesn’t even try to convince you to drink something else. He pours some kind of juice into two cups and hands you one, bumping his cup against yours with a charming smile before he lifts it to his lips.

“I don’t know where my friends are, but they are up to no good for sure,” he chuckles as he looks around. “Do you want to look for your roommate?”

You open your mouth to answer, but right in that moment Izzy appears out of the blue.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you for ages! Where did you go?”

“Oh, I was just…”

“My fault, sorry,” Harry speaks up. “I kept her up, bored her to death,” he adds chuckling. Izzy turns to face him and you immediately see the shine in her eyes upon seeing Harry while your stomach churns.

“And who are you, handsome stranger?”

“I’m Harry, nice to meet you. And you must be Izzy, Y/N’s roommate.” Harry holds his hand out but Izzy goes for a hug instead, which obviously surprises him, but he circles an arm around her waist anyway.

“Nice to meet you too, Harry, would you like to join me and my friends for a round of beerpong?” she invites him right away. Harry looks at you as if he is looking for your approval, but you feel like you have no power in this situation, Izzy is the boss, so you just force a smile to your face.

“Um, sure,” he nods.

The three of you join Izzy’s group outside at the beerpong table and you feel overshadowed even more now than before. Seemingly your roommate is very into your new friend, it’s pretty obvious Izzy is flirting with Harry, showing her liking to him, it doesn’t even occur to her that you might feel the same way about Harry.

If you were confident enough you’d stand up for yourself, you met Harry first and up until Izzy showed up it seemed like he liked you as well, but now he is too busy to pay any attention to you, because Izzy makes sure all of his attention is on her. But you’re not the type who speaks up that easily, so you just stand back and witness your roommate shamelessly flirting with the one guy you had your eyes on.

If you’re being honest you’re not surprised, only disappointed. If you were a guy you’d choose Izzy over you anytime, she is outgoing, gorgeous, charming, exactly what guys usually look for. Everything you’re not.

You go home that night on your own, Izzy is very much into partying until dawn, but you lose interest watching her cling onto Harry, so you sneak out sometime around one o’clock and go back to the dorm. You wake up when she arrives hours later, but pretend to be asleep in case she wants to brag to you about anything that might have happened between her and Harry.

The semester officially kicks in on Monday. It turns out Izzy has a class together with Harry and she goes on and on about how this is fate when the two of you meet at the dormroom later. You just sit and listen, nod along and try to swallow the bitterness in your mouth.

“I’m so happy you introduced me to him, Y/N!” she sighs dreamily and you can’t help but clench your jaw at her words. You never really introduced them, she just showed up and joined the conversation. She never asked if you liked Harry, if you wanted to shoot your shot. She just assumed she’s got the green light.

Harry sends you a friend request on Facebook and you accept it, he even starts to chat with you, which is nice and definitely makes your heart flutter, but knowing that he’s hanging out with Izzy and that she definitely wants to further their relationship, you remain a bit distant and cold so your heartbreak won’t be as bad.

A week later they officially become an item.

Izzy drags you along sometimes, even though you tell her you don’t quite like third wheeling, but she always tells you that won’t happen. It does and you hate every minute of it, so after a while you start to make up excuses just to avoid spending time with them.

It goes on for about two months, right until one day, out of the blue, Harry breaks up with Izzy. She is seemingly heartbroken and hurt, though you have a feeling it’s more about how her ego was hurt by being dumped rather than the actual emotional part of the breakup.

The aftermath of it is that it’s not said out loud, but it’s obvious Izzy doesn’t want anything to do with Harry ever and she expects you to do the same. She cuts out any and every possible future chance for you to even be friends with Harry.

ONE YEAR LATER

It’s a relief when you step into your favorite little café you found last year near campus. This has been your hideaway from the busy everydays. The smell of fresh coffee and pastries hits you instantly, the little bell rings above the door upon your arrival and a smile stretches across your face without even realizing it.

It’s your first time here since the start of the semester after the summer, you had a great vacation at home with your family, but it’s also nice to be back to your usual. It’s not a popular place, pretty hidden, so you don’t have to wait in line for hours, like at the Starbucks next to Building C. There’s only one guy at the counter when you arrive, two more people at the tables with plenty of empty seats available. You’ve written several papers at these tables, drinking coffee after coffee until you finished with your eyes red, head aching, but at least you could turn them in.

Behind the counter there’s a barista you don’t remember from last year. As you step closer you see her nametag says Sarah and she is smiling brightly at the guy in front of you as she hands him over the change that eventually ends up in a tip jar, as always. The guy moves over to wait for his drink and now it’s your turn.

“Hi, what can I get you?” she smiles warmly, her ponytail flipping around as she tilts her head to the side.

“A cappuccino please with a bit of cinnamon, on the go.”

“Alright,” she nods, pressing around on the screen in front of her. “That’ll be 3.65.”

You grab a five dollar bill from your wallet and hand it over to her.

“Keep the change.”

“Thank you,” she beams as her eyes wander down to the pin on your backpack while you put your wallet away. “Nice pin,” she chuckles and you look down at the Office pin you got last year. It’s Dwight’s head with the word ‘FALSE’ written underneath.

“Oh, thank you,” you chuckle. “You like the show too?”

“Love it and I made my boyfriend watch it with me too, he wouldn’t admit it, but he is a fan now too,” she says laughing. She seems like such a nice, genuine and open person, so you dare to further the conversation.

“Are you a new worker here? I used to come here all year last year, but I didn’t see you.”

“Yeah, I started in August. My boyfriend transferred here this year and I came with him.”

“You’re not studying?”

“No, I can’t really see myself going to college. So I’m here until I figure out what I want to do,” she shrugs smiling, it doesn’t seem like she’s bothered that she has no certain plans for her future.

“It’s better than to study something you absolutely hate,” you agree, chuckling.

“Oh, yeah!” she smirks, nodding.

You chat with Sarah until your drink is ready and you feel like you already made a new friend. She even let you know they are having a little open mic event on Friday where people can read their poems or perform a song freely. It sounds exactly like the kind of thing you want to do on a Friday.

Last year was a bit… hectic in terms of friends and socializing. With Izzy as your roommate she kept trying to drag you to different parties and events, she never asked if you even wanted to go or not, just expected you to follow her everywhere. At the beginning you complied, but later it became way too draining, so you made up excuses so you could ditch her plans.

Since you engaged with Izzy and her friends in the beginning, that’s what you ended up sticking to for the rest of the school year. You don’t want to sound ungrateful, but sometimes, or maybe often, you felt like you were an outsider in their group. Now you’re thinking about maybe looking for other people to hang out with, but you don’t really know where to start and you also don’t want Izzy to get the wrong idea about it.

As you walk through campus with your coffee in hand to get to your first class, you spot a familiar face sitting under a tree with two other guys. It seems like Harry has started to grow his hair out during the summer, his curls now reach his shoulders practically, but he is still wearing skinny jeans.

He looks good. He always does, but it seems like he got even more handsome throughout the summer and since you haven’t seen him. After the breakup you spotted him a few times around campus and it seemed like he might have even wanted to talk to you, but you avoided him like the plague. At first because of girl code, because that’s what Izzy wanted you to do, and later it simply felt awkward. Part of you was mad at him for choosing Izzy. Even though their relationship didn’t last long, he still chose her over you and that stung. Once again, you fell second after someone else and you didn’t feel like sticking around when you were just a second choice.

But every once in a while you think about him, how good of a friendship could have been between the two of you at least. The talk you had in that bathtub was probably the best time you had all year at a party. You think about the missed opportunity way more than you probably should, but not enough to actually approach Harry and give it another go.

He is laughing at something when his gaze falls upon you and you see him zone out of the conversation as he watches you continue your path. You want to look away, but something is not letting, your eyes stay focused on him and he stares back at you. For a split second it seems like he is smiling in your way, but that scares you and you turn your head, fastening your steps to reach the building and flee as soon as possible.

By the time you reach the entrance your heart is hammering your chest and you swear you could feel his gaze on you the whole time. You go on with your day thinking about those few seconds while you were looking at each other, but of course, you never mention it to Izzy.

“Gamma Epsilon party on Friday night, you’re coming, right?” Izzy bursts through the door of your shared room on Wednesday, her fingers relentlessly typing away on her phone. You’re sitting on your bed with your laptop on your lap, updating the schedule you’ve put together, fixing the color coding so it looks perfectly neat.

You look up at her and almost start thinking of an excuse, only to realize you actually have plans for that day already.

“I can’t, I have plans.”

Izzy stops in her steps and looks at you with clear surprise in her eyes.

“What plans?” she asks and the disbelief is quite apparent in her tone, which is kind of hurtful, but you let it slide. As if you couldn’t have plans on your own…

“There’s an open mic evening at Beachwood Café, I’m going there.”

“Beachwood Café? I have never heard of that place and who are you going with?”

“It’s off-campus. And I was invited by one of the new baristas, she seems pretty nice.”

“And you’d rather go there than to a party?”

“Well… yes, I guess,” you nod uncertainly, though it’s pretty obvious to you that your choice is the better one.

The look she gives you sends a shiver down your spine and it’s not the good kind. You almost want to apologize for making plans on your own, but your rationality knows you did nothing wrong. Yet, she still has the power to make you doubt yourself.

“Alright,” she then shrugs and acts like she doesn’t care, but the stinging feeling remains deep under your skin.

When Friday rolls around Izzy tries again a few times to get you to ditch the open mic event, but you don’t budge. There’s literally anywhere you’d rather be than at a frat party. So you put on a nice dress, do your hair and makeup the way you like the most and leave the dorm with an excitement you didn’t get to feel too often.

You’ve never been to anything like this and it’s surprising to see so many people at the café when you arrive. Usually it’s just a handful of customers lingering around, but today there are at least two dozen people taking up every tiny space in the small café.

“Oh, Y/N! Hi!” Sarah spots you from behind the counter as you step inside. You make your way through the people and greet her with a small wave.

“Hi Sarah. I didn’t think this is so popular,” you chuckle.

“Yeah, it’s a great success,” she grins winking at you. “I saved a seat for you next to my friends over there,” she says pointing to the back of the room.

“Thank you!”

“Do you want to have something to drink?”

“Maybe just a bottle of water for now.”

Sarah rings you up and once you’ve paid you make your way to the back to look for the seat. She said you’ll spot her boyfriend with his long hair and as she called it “hot Jesus look” so that’s what you’re looking for. There’s a tiny stage already set up near the counter with just one microphone and a stool and you’re curious what kind of performances you’ll see tonight. It amazes you that people just stand up in front of others and do this, you could never work up the courage to get in the center of the attention.

Navigating your way between the tables you finally spot who you assume to be Sarah’s boyfriend and just as you’re approaching him, you see who he is sitting at the table with.

There are three seats at the tiny table, one is empty, one is taken by Sarah’s boyfriend and the last one is taken by Harry.

He spots you just when you see him, freezing just a few feet away from them. It seems like he’s surprised to see you, but he also doesn’t appear to be upset by your appearance, maybe even pleasant.

“Hey, you must be Y/N, right?” Sarah’s boyfriend stands, holding a hand out for you.

“Uh, y-yeah,” you nod, shaking his hand.

“I’m Mitch and this is–”

“We actually know each other,” Harry cuts in.

“Oh, really?” Mitch smiles warmly. “Well, have a seat then,” he nods towards the empty seat that is of course next to Harry.

It’s awkward. For you, at least. Sitting so close to the one person you’ve been avoiding at all cost for about a year now and now he is just right there next to you.

You sit in silence for a while and you’re just nervously fidgeting with the bottle of water in your lap and then he is the first one to speak up.

“At least this time we’re not meeting in a bathroom for the first time in the semester.”

You want to stay serious, but you can’t. A smile tugs on your lips and the two of you start laughing together.

“This chair is more comfortable than the bathtub, if you ask me,” you giggle under your breath.

“Definitely,” he nods grinning. “So how do you know Sarah?”

“Oh, I just come here often and we just… you know, started talking.”

“You come here often? How come I never saw you? I drop by almost every day.”

“Well, I guess we just missed each other.”

“Mm. What a shame,” he hums and you can tell there’s more behind his words.

You stare back at him, there’s so much you want to say to him, yet nothing comes out of your mouth. You feel shame, regret and confusion, all at the same time as you look back at him, all the unsaid things hanging between the two of you.

Clearing your throat you turn to look ahead, feeling his gaze linger on you for a few more seconds but then a man steps to the microphone and the evening starts.

Even after the performances have started, more and more people arrive until the tiny café is so full, you can’t even drop a pin. You hear poems, songs and stories, originals and covers as well and you love all of them.

Harry seems to be enjoying them as well and you even start to discuss your favorite parts and the best thing is when you look at each other at the same time hearing something that caught your attention and you know the other one thinks the exact same thing.

You realize just how much you missed him. It’s almost like in the bathtub all over again and it doesn’t even process that a year has passed by and so much has happened.

When the performances are over they start to wrap up the evening, but the three of you remain sitting at the table, waiting for Sarah to finish. Mitch walks up to the counter to keep his girlfriend company while she puts the cups and glasses away, so it’s just you and Harry now.

“There was a frat party tonight, you didn’t want to go?” you ask, eyes focused on your nervously fidgeting fingers in your lap.

“I’m not really a party person, usually end up hiding in the bathtub,” he chuckles.

“So that’s your usual? Did you end up in the bathtub with someone else too?” you ask and try to sound as unbothered as possible, ignoring the stinging pain in your chest when you think of him having the same experience with someone else.

“No,” he smiles at you softly. “Only with one person, though I didn’t see her for a long time after that.”

And you’re back at the touchy subject, but this time you feel like you can’t avoid it.

“I don’t like to be the third wheel,” you mumble, heat crawling up the sides of your neck towards your ears.

“I didn’t go out with Izzy for long, you practically vanished even after we broke up.”

“Because Izzy is my friend and you broke up with her. I couldn’t side with you.”

“Says who?” he chuckles. “Besides, it wasn’t that deep. It’s not like we dated for years, we barely had a handful of dates.”

“But you had them,” you find yourself replying, your voice coming out a bit harsher than you intended.

Harry stays quiet for a while and you start to think he won’t add anything, he speaks up again.

“You were mad at me for going out with Izzy?”

You didn’t expect him to question it at all and now that he hit the nail right on the head, you feel exposed, almost naked as he is looking at you with questioning eyes.

“No, I–Um… I need to go,” you blurt out and grabbing your purse you launch to rush out of the café, but Harry is quick to run after you.

“Hey, wait! Y/N, let’s talk about it!” He jumps in front of you to block your way, a hand coming to grab your arm gently. “It’s the first time you talked to me in almost a year, don’t just run away, please,” he begs and suddenly you feel ashamed of how you just acted.

“S-Sorry, I just…”

“Harry!” You hear someone call from the entrance of the café and you both turn in the direction of the voice. Mitch and Sarah are stepping out, watching you with questioning looks. Harry sighs and waves at them.

“I’m walking Y/N home, I’ll meet you later!” They just nod and head in the other direction as Harry turns to you again. “Can we please talk? I don’t want you to leave like this, let me walk you home.”

“Okay,” you whisper nodding as the two of you start walking towards your dorm.

“So, I feel like you were mad at me for dating Izzy.”

“I was just… confused,” you say, looking for the best way to express what happened.

“About what?”

Sighing you realize you won’t be able to talk it out without giving away something.

“You didn’t seem like the type of guy who would go after a girl like Izzy. And it turned out you weren’t a match anyway, so… I don’t know, I was confused that you asked her out.”

“Okay, just to be clear, she asked me out and I thought going on a date could never hurt. It wasn’t that disastrous, but if I’m being honest I knew it from the beginning it wouldn't last long.”

“Then why did you even go into it?” you ask.

“I don’t know, I just started college, I was open to meeting new people. Who am I to judge someone so quickly?”

You hate that his answer is rational. You can’t blame him for not being judgmental, yet you still want to be mad at him.

“Besides,” he continues, “the person I really wanted to get to know didn’t seem to be interested in me.”

Your eyes snap up to meet his and your knees almost go weak when you see the tiny smile that’s curling up the corners of his mouth. Was that a hint? Did he imply he wanted to get to know you? As if Harry could hear your questions, he continues.

“After Izzy came up to us that night you kind of stepped back. I tried to reach out, but I felt like you didn’t want to talk to me anymore, so I didn’t force it. Izzy asked me out and I figured since you two are friends it was cleared, okay by everyone, but apparently it wasn’t.”

You stop in your tracks wrapping your arms around yourself as you chew on your bottom lip. It feels like the right moment to open up, but you haven’t done much of that in your life, so you don’t know how to do it without making a fool out of yourself.

“I just… I didn’t think you’d want to spend time with me when you could be with Izzy.” Harry sighs as he looks at you with a tender gaze.

“Y/N, I had a great time with you. When you were so cold towards me, I took it as a sign that it wasn’t the same on your part.”

“It wasn’t… I had a good time with you,” you admit truthfully, which brings a smile to his lips. “I just… Izzy seemed to like you too and…”

He doesn’t force you to finish, as if he could tell that talking about it makes you anxious, but he understands everything you’re trying to say.

“Izzy is a nice girl, but not really the type I usually hang out with.”

“Your friends from the frat seem to like her.” It slips out before you could even think about it.

“Actually, I spend more time with Mitch and Sarah and they are not at all like those guys. If you remember, I was kind of hiding from them at the party when we met.” The boyish smile definitely makes the butterflies in your stomach start dancing wildly. “Alright, let me make this clear, because I don’t want to dance around it anymore and I don’t want any misunderstanding either,” he starts and you hold your breath as you stare back at him. “I like you, Y/N. I liked you a year ago and I only went out with Izzy because you didn’t seem to be interested in me. But if you like me too, I would really love to spend more time with you. As friends, or… whatever else.”

This is new. Harry just openly told you that he is interested in you. Not in someone else, not in Izzy. You.

For the first time you’re not second behind someone else.

He smiles at you warmly, your shocked reaction is probably quite entertaining while you’re looking for the words to say.

“Do you want to spend more time with me, Y/N?” he then asks with that boyish smirk you love so much.

“I do,” you smile shyly.

“Great,” he nods.

He walks you back to the dorm and you catch up on everything that basically happened since the bathtub incident. School, friends, family, you feel like you’re continuing exactly from where you left it a year ago and it’s a relief that neither of you changed too much over the time. At one point he drapes his sweatshirt over your shoulders when he notices you’re feeling cold and it gets hard to focus on what he is saying when all you can smell is his sweet scent.

“I’m really glad we met again tonight, Y/N,” he smiles at you when you finally arrive at the dorm.

“Yeah, me too,” you return the smile and start to peel off the sweatshirt he gave you, but he stops you.

“Keep it.”

“But I’m here, I won’t need it inside.”

“Let’s say it’s the leverage that we’ll meet again, so you can give it back. How about lunch sometime this week?”

“That sounds great,” you nod and the smile just widens across your face.

“Amazing, then see you later,” he grins as he backs away and you just nod, biting into your bottom lip, but then he runs back to you and leaning down he presses a kiss to your cheek before finally turning around and leaving.

You keep smiling like an idiot as you take a shower and get ready for bed. Folding Harry’s sweatshirt neatly you put it over the back of your chair at your desk and every time you look at it your heart skips a beat. You did not expect things to take this turn, but you couldn’t be happier now. Smiling to yourself like a lovesick schoolgirl you hug your pillow as you try to get some sleep.

Izzy gets back to the room at around two in the morning. She almost trips in her shoes she left out before leaving and you wake up to her cursing in the dark.

“Sorry babe, it’s just me,” she sighs, as she starts to strip out of her clothes.

“You alright?” you ask groggily.

“Yeah, I’m fine, but you should have been there tonight! Rick jumped into the pool butt naked,” she laughs, falling onto her bed.

“Mm, sounds fun,” you reply, but it’s nowhere near genuine. You’re not interested in seeing some random fratboy butt naked and probably drunk out of his mind.

“How was your evening?”

“Great, I really liked it,” you say, a smile stretching across your face instantly. She doesn’t ask any more questions, it’s clear she’s not quite interested in how your night really was, but as she is about to get comfortable under the covers she spots the sweatshirt on the back of your chair.

“Whose sweatshirt is that?” she asks, but her tone reveals she already knows the answer. You hesitate and at last you decide to lie.

“Sarah’s boyfriend let me borrow it, I know her from the café.”

Izzy stares at the sweatshirt for a couple of moments before she pulls the covers over herself and turns to face the wall.

When you’re waiting for Harry at the school’s cafeteria on Tuesday, for a moment you think that he won’t come. Holding onto his sweatshirt you kept as a treasure since Friday you’re anxiously kicking around the dirt even though he is just one minute late to what you agreed on earlier.

“Hey! Sorry, Professor Hastings just loves talking,” he runs up to you and before you could even snap out of your thoughts he leans down and presses a kiss to your cheek.

“It’s alright,” you smile. “Here.” You hand him the sweatshirt and he just smiles before tucking it into his backpack.

Normally you eat with Izzy and her friends, but this time you take it away, because Harry says he knows a great spot. Behind building E there’s an old oak tree with a little bench underneath. The route behind the building is not too popular, it leads next to the trash containers, but when you reach the tree you sense nothing of it, so the bench sits unoccupied when you arrive.

It’s like a little picnic as you pick up the conversation exactly where you left it earlier. Talking to Harry is so easy, so natural, no doubt you missed him so much after you lost contact. You truly turn into a giggling mess every time Harry compliments you or looks at you with so much adoration you never thought anyone could.

As much as you’d like to spend the whole day like this, you need to get to your next class, so the picnic has to come to an end. Harry insists on walking you to your building, just so you can spend a little more time together.

“So, there is this party on Saturday, I’m kinda forced to go, but I thought that maybe we could… go together?” he asks, when you reach the building. “And also, if you’re free on Friday, I would love to take you out.”

“Like, on a date?”

“Yes,” he chuckles. “On a date.”

“Okay,” you breathe out, so swooned by his charm.

“To both?” he smiles brightly.

“Yeah, both sounds good,” you nod, chuckling lightly.

“Great! And maybe we could have lunch together some other time this week as well.”

“You’re suddenly occupying all my free time,” you giggle, but it’s not at all a complaint.

“I’m just that greedy,” he grins, before checking the time on his phone. “I have to run now, but I’ll text you, okay?”

“Sure,” you nod. Harry leans down and kisses your cheek before going his way and you can’t stop smiling for the next two hours.

You have lunch with Harry one more time this week and you go to the library with him too, spending more and more time together while slowly canceling plans with Izzy and her friends.

It remains in the back of your mind that sooner or later you’ll have to come clean. You can’t hide it for long and if things turn serious with Harry, she’ll for sure find out about it. You just haven’t figured out how to present it to her.

Hey, how has your day been? Mine? Oh, it’s been great, because lately I’ve been dating your ex. Okay, see ya later!

That would be a disaster. Knowing Izzy there’s no right way to tell her, it’s certain she’ll be fuming no matter how you put it. She very much implied that none of her friends can ever get in contact with Harry after their breakup, which was seemingly pretty rough on her, although… you’re not even sure you want to be friends with her anymore…

You didn’t miss that she’s been acting weird towards you and you’re guessing it’s because of the hoodie. She must have recognized it and she’s not stupid, she must be suspecting what’s really going on, it’s a miracle she hasn’t asked you straight in your face. Your time is ticking.

Friday afternoon you’re getting ready for your date and praying you can leave before Izzy gets back. You put on a nice dress, do your makeup and hair just the way you like it. Luckily, you get a text from Harry that he has arrived before Izzy returns so you leave in a rush, once again avoiding to face her with the truth.

He is waiting for you in front of the building next to a car you know for a fact he borrowed for the evening, wearing a pair of slacks with a funky patterned shirt tucked into it and a beaming smile on his handsome face.

“Hi,” he greets you softly, pulling out a rose from behind him and handing it to you.

“Thank you. You look good,” you chuckle, taking the rose.

“I should have said that to you first,” he laughs as he opens the car door for you.

“Sorry,” you grin and get into the car.

You haven’t been on a date, ever in your life, so you didn’t have high expectations for tonight, but Harry has definitely fulfilled all of them.

He takes you to a gallery where you wander around, talking about the abstract paintings and what you see in them, then comes a nice dinner and because neither of you wants the evening to end, you start walking around the neighborhood aimlessly, the conversation never really dies.

You feel like a fool for staying away from him for so long, you haven’t felt this good in such a long time and you were the only reason why it couldn’t happen earlier.

When you’ve passed the dormitory about five times you realize it might be time to say goodbye, you can’t stretch the evening any longer now.

“Thank you for tonight, I had an amazing time, really,” you tell him as you stop by the dormitory for the final time.

“You’re not just saying it to get rid of me, are you?”

“No,” you shake your head chuckling. “I mean it.

“Then, how about dinner tomorrow before the party? And then we can go together.”

The thought of arriving at the party with Harry reminds you that in that case you have to come clean to Izzy. Harry notices how your face falls and he thinks he said something wrong.

“We don’t have to, if it’s too fast, we can–”

“No, it’s not fast, it’s just that… I need to tell Izzy. I haven’t been able to get myself to do that.”

“You mean, about us?”

“Yeah.”

“So… there’s an us?” he asks, tilting his head to the side with a wide grin stretching across his face. You get nervous right away, as if you just made a fool out of yourself.

“I-I mean, i-it’s not, I just–”

“Y/N, stop,” he chuckles and stepping closer he cups your cheek in his hand. “I’m really hoping that there is an us, if it’s still not obvious.”

“Oh,” is all you manage to reply as he slowly closes the gap between the two of you.

His soft lips press against yours in a gentle, patient manner, as if he is giving you a way out of it, but you’d be a fool to break away from him. So when he feels you kissing him back, he deepens it, his tongue runs along your bottom lip and you let him in without hesitation. You haven’t had many first kisses and most of them have been terrible, to put it nicely, but with Harry… He practically melts your whole being, you just want to feel as close to him as possible as you lock your arms around his neck, he is everywhere, all you can feel and sense, but you wouldn’t have it any other way.

A kiss never felt this way and it scares and excites you at the same time.

You have no idea how long you stay like that, minutes or maybe hours, it could be a lifetime but even that wouldn’t be enough. Harry pulls away, but then peppers your lips with a few more tiny kisses before actually moving his head back.

“Do you want me to talk to Izzy?” he asks, his forehead resting against yours as he gently caresses your cheek with his thumb.

“Tempting, but I think I should be the one to tell her.”

“Or we could tell her together. Tomorrow, at the party?”

“Is that the best option? I mean, shouldn’t we do it more privately?” you ask hesitantly.

“Okay, then maybe I could drop by the dorm before the party and we can tell her then.”

“I don’t think she’ll take it well,” you sigh.

“Is there anything she takes well that’s against what she wants?” he questions arching an eyebrow and he is right. Izzy has a hard time accepting it when things don’t go her way. “So, let’s ditch dinner, I’ll be here at… eight? How does that sound? And we can talk to her together.”

“Okay,” you nod, smiling weakly. Leaning down he kisses you one last time before peeling himself off of you.

“See you tomorrow then,” he winks at you before jogging back to the car he left in front of the building while you were walking.

You told Izzy you wanted to talk to her before the party. She knew you wanted to talk, yet she is still nowhere to be found. It’s like she is purposely avoiding you.

It’s past eight, Harry is already in your room, the two of you are waiting for Izzy to show up so you could tell her what’s been happening, but she disappeared.

“She still hasn’t read my message,” you sigh, dropping your phone to the bed next to where Harry is sitting as you pace the floor relentlessly.

“Have you ever seen Izzy without her phone in her hands?” he asks and it’s a valid question. She is practically glued together with her phone 24-7, there’s no way she hasn’t seen your text.

“You think she already knows and she’s just avoiding talking about it?” you ask, chewing on your bottom lip. Harry reaches out and taking your hand he pulls you closer so you stand between his legs.

“I think that’s exactly the case. And if you ask me, she is acting like a child. Let’s just go to the party and talk to her there. We had the intention to do it privately, she didn’t want that. We can’t work everything around her all the time.”

You know he is right, but you’ve always been the kind of person who wants to please everyone. Izzy might have not been the best of friends to you this past year, but you still want the best for her no matter what.

“Okay, yeah, you’re right,” you nod. Reaching up he gently caresses the side of your face before pulling you in for a kiss.

You still haven’t gotten used to Harry just freely kissing you, every time he leans in and you feel his soft lips on yours your heart skips a beat, you can’t believe he wants you, that for once in your life you’re in the focus and that it’s Harry that’s so into you… it feels like a dream you never want to wake up from.

His hands cup your hips as he brings you close against him, curling his arms around your waist as he deepens the kiss, easing your nerves within just moments. Now you don’t really want to go to that party, it would be a lot nicer if you could just spend some time alone with Harry.

“Maybe, we could skip the whole party?” you suggest between kisses.

“Would love that, but I already promised I’d be there. They always tease me for being a party pooper,” he chuckles softly. “But believe me, I would rather be here with you than at a party.”

“Okay, then we are leaving early, right?” you propose.

“That sounds manageable,” he chuckles before stealing one more kiss.

You arrive at the party together, but until you talk to Izzy you keep your hands to yourselves, though both of you are dying to walk around hand in hand finally. It’s another frat party, nothing special or different from the ones you’ve been to. Drunk college students everywhere, couples making out in every possible corner and the single ones are trying to find a hookup for the night. This setting was never your cup of tea and it’s now just settling in your mind how Izzy always dragged you to these parties even though she knew you didn’t quite like them.

Looking around you spot her outside, talking to her friends as if you weren’t waiting for her at the dorm and it gets your blood boiling. Harry follows you out to the backyard, his presence is what keeps you collected enough not to snap at Izzy when you finally reach her.

“Hi girls,” you smile around politely. “Izzy, can we please talk? I was actually waiting for you in our room, I guess you forgot.”

“Oh, right! Sorry, it totally slipped my mind,” she says, but there’s nothing genuine about it.

“Okay, so then can we talk now, please?”

She takes a sip from her drink, as if she was debating whether she wants to hear you out or not, her eyes knowingly shifting between you and Harry behind you.

“Of course,” she nods at last and the three of you move to a more secluded spot to have a tad bit of privacy.

“I wanted to tell you before you find out from someone else, that… I’m dating Harry,” you say it calmly, hoping she won’t cause a scene, that’s the last thing you need right now.

You didn’t entirely think through what you’d tell her and now as she is staring at you with deadly eyes, you’re looking for the right thing to say, but she speaks up first.

“You really thought you hid it well from me?” she huffs. “I knew it when I saw his hoodie on your chair that night. I’m not stupid.”

“No one thought you were,” Harry says.

“Oh, so then you just decided to backstab me, that’s fine!” she lets out a dry laugh.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Harry sighs.

“No one wanted to backstab you. It’s not how we planned, but it happened, alright? It’s nothing against you.”

“But I do think it’s something against me. You’re dating my ex, Y/N. Are you really that jealous of me?”

“I’m not jealous of you, Izzy. But honestly, you never even asked me if I liked Harry when you started dating him! You just assumed you were more of his type than I am and pushed me aside!”

Clearly, Izzy is surprised that for once, you’re standing up for yourself, because the stunned look on her face is something you haven’t seen often. It’s like you just solved a puzzle you’ve been struggling to finish for a year.

Izzy was never really your friend. She saw you more like a charity project, to look better next to you and she couldn’t put up with Harry being interested in you rather than her so she did everything she could to keep you away from him. But not that she failed, she is trying to make you feel guilty, but it’s not gonna work.

“I will be requesting to change rooms. It’s better if we just keep our distance from each other. I’m sorry this is how it turned out to be,” you say, truly disappointed it had to take such a bitter turn.

“Whatever, Y/N. I’m not wasting my time on you two, I have better things to do,” she spats and walks away. One year of friendship down the drain just like that.

“You did good,” Harry speaks up and turning around you can feel yourself easing up from the tension as you look at him. “Maybe she will come around in time. Or not, it doesn’t matter,” he chuckles as he pulls you closer by your waist, pressing a soft kiss to your lips.

“I would really like to leave though,” you sigh.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” he agrees, not even caring about what his friends will say about his early departure.

You were done there, in every possible sense.

TWO YEARS LATER

“Thank you for your attention, it’s been a pleasure to teach you this semester and I wish the best for all of you in starting your career!”

Professor Turner smiles as he finishes the very last class you have as a college student. A round of applause washes over the room before everyone starts packing up and leaves the auditorium for the last time.

“I’ll see you at the graduation ceremony, right?” Claudia smiles at you, swinging her backpack over her shoulder.

“Yes! We need to take a picture together!” you beam at her.

These past two years you’ve made some great friends and Claudia is one of them. You had several classes together and bonded over a group project. After your initial fallout with Izzy, you were afraid you’d be on your own, but making friends turned out to be easier when you were looking at the right places.

And besides that, you wouldn’t have been alone. You had your amazing boyfriend.

As you walk out of the building you spot Harry by the same bench he has waited for you after Professor Turner’s class all semester. He is reading a book, but as if he had a sixth sense, he looks up when you walk down the stairs and slips his book back into his backpack before standing up and walking towards you smiling as he meets you halfway.

He curls his arms around your waist and sweeps you up from the ground while kissing you, making you laugh against his lips with his enthusiasm about seeing you again, even though you parted ways just a few hours ago.

“Hi,” you smile when your feet touch the ground again and he presses a kiss to your forehead.

“How does it feel to be free from school?” he asks, taking your hand as the two of you start walking back to the tiny apartment you’ve been renting for the past year.

You stayed in the dorm after you switched rooms and left Izzy, but you felt like you could use some privacy for the last two semesters, especially because Harry was living with two of his friends and there was basically no place where you could be alone. Now Harry spends more time at your place than at his, so it’s almost as if you’re living together, but you have nothing against the idea. You’re planning to move in together soon, it’s been your trial for the official thing.

“I’m not free and you aren’t either,” you chuckle. “We still have our thesis defenses and graduation.”

“Those are nothing, we’re practically free,” he smirks, giving your hand a playful squeeze.

If only you knew that the guy you sat with in a bathtub in freshman year would turn out to be the person you love the most…

Harry is talking your ears off, trying to convince you to go to the movies on the weekend when you turn a corner and almost bump right into someone.

“Oh, sorry,” you apologize, only realizing that it’s Izzy you almost walked right into.

She seems just as surprised to be facing you as you are to see her this close again. Following that party you only met a handful of times until you eventually switched rooms with a freshman. It’s been radio silence since then.

“Hi,” she breathes out and unlike the last time you faced her, there’s no sign of anger on her face as her gaze switches back and forth between you and Harry and then it slips down at your intertwined fingers.

“Hey,” you say softly and you hear Harry mumbling the same.

It’s awkward, how the three of you are now facing each other after being silent for most of your time in college. You would be lying if you said you never thought about making up with Izzy since your fall-out, but the thought never turned into an act.

“Um, see you guys at the graduation,” she breathes out, a nervous smile flashes through her face.

“Yeah,” you nod and return the smile with a genuine one.

You can feel there’s something hanging in the air, something unsaid that’s been there for way longer than what feels comfortable and as the moments pass by you start to realize that it won’t be addressed this time either.

With a round of awkward nods everyone moves on and keeps walking, but then for your surprise, Izzy calls after the two of you.

“Y/N, Harry, wait!”

Turning around she is right there in front of you and she takes a deep breath before speaking up.

“I just… I wanted to apologize. For how things happened… Between us.”

Looking away she tugs her hair behind her ears and then continues.

“I acted horrible. Like a… Like a child,” she chuckles. “I was jealous, there’s no doubt and not just because… it bothered me that Harry chose someone else who was not me.”

She attempts a smile in Harry’s way who is curiously listening to her talking while holding your hand, his thumb grazing your knuckles nonstop.

“I was not used to things not going the way I wanted them to and I never had that kind of instant connection you guys had… have. So, I’m really sorry for… well, for everything, basically.”

That was unexpected. But in the best way possible. You can tell she meant every single word and the Izzy standing in front of you is not the same girl you shared a room with. She has grown a lot and it looks good on her.

“I guess I’m sorry too,” you say. “I should have told you straight in the beginning that I liked Harry, so we wouldn’t have gotten into this whole situation.”

“Knowing who I was then, I would have still tried to take him,” she chuckles, but then her face falls, realizing this might come out wrong, but you laugh, knowing well what she meant.

“Maybe,” you shrug.

“Anyways, I’m happy you guys are still together,” she smiles. “Good luck for whatever you are planning after school.”

“Thanks,” Harry finally speaks up and pulling you closer he kisses the crown of your head.

“Good luck to you too, Izzy,” you tell her and genuinely mean it.

With one last nod you all turn around and part way.

“Well, I did not expect that,” Harry admits, when Izzy can’t hear you anymore.

“Right? But… It was very nice of her.”

“Mhm, at least the reunion won’t be that awkward this way when we show up.”

You bite into your bottom lip as you peek up at him.

“So, we’ll still be together at our reunion?”

“Of course,” he smirks at you confidently. “Married, with a dozen kids.”

“Harry, that’s biologically impossible to have a dozen kids by then,” you laugh, smacking his chest playfully.

“Okay, then just… half a dozen,” he grins, curling his arm around your waist to pull you in for a kiss.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed and buy me a coffee if you want to support me!

#harry #styles #harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles oneshot #harry styles one shot #harry styles fluff #harry styles x you #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x reader #harry styles blurb

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mxnhoo · 3 months ago

Text

mwah! (k. sn)

ˋ "just bored, nothing else" ࿐ྂ ⁀➷ kim sunoo x reader genre : bro is your bestfriend, bestfriends to lovers (kinda..), inspired by that one sunoo live LOL, not proofread, kiss kiss kiss w/c : ~2.1k cly's note : finally back with something! god guys i'm so fucking sorry for being so inactive. i know i promised that i'd release my hyunjin fic very soon but i just had to write something else to get me back to writing altogether yknow? i hope you guys like this one, im insanely rusty and my kissing scenes are NAWT IT, but regardless hope ya'll enjoy it. wrote this all in one sitting, my ass hurts, if you enjoyed it, please do reblog like and comment! ANYWAYS GN.

border isn't made by me, credits to cafekitsune

The doorbell rang and you raised your eyebrows, looking at everything in sight as you patiently wait for the door to swing open. And it does after a while, and your bestfriend was heavily panting, his posture slightly slouched as he processed that you were here. "You're.. here," he managed to voice out through his heavy panting and you give him a small smile while your eyes lit up at him, "I am".

"Come in, kept you waitin', sorry," he spoke in short sentences, his voice still breathless as he stepped aside from the door, making space for you to walk in and you nod, stepping foot into his house and now being hit with the unfamiliar scent of his apartment. His new apartment. Sunoo had recently moved, and he invited you over because he wanted to show you around his house, catch up with you, y'know, stuff like that.

He was your best friend for a while, a few years, and as much as you admire him as a friend, you also wanted him real bad. Like reeal bad. He has stolen your heart since the first time you saw it and the boy's completely clueless about it, everything he does to you leaving you to question if he did it on purpose to hint something or if he was just being clueless.

He'd always invited you over to his house to hang, play games, stuff like that, but with him moving and his academic workload accumulating, he had been busy and had lesser time to see you, and today was finally the day you could see him after a few weeks. You glanced at the boy who watched you walk in and took the opportunity to ruffle his golden hair, voicing out a "How have you been?".

He smiles at you and slowly closes the front door behind you and locking it. "Good, just been a bit stressful lately, 'bout you?". You turned back to the sight of his new apartment, the same paintings that were hung on a different wall and old furniture that blended in with some new furniture you've never seen before.

"Great. Seems like you've finished moving in, how's it like so far?" you question, walking in more towards the living room, now setting yourself on the couch and looking at the light that was hanging above you.

"Been amazing so far! It gets tough without mama sometimes, but I can cope," he follows you but stands in front of you instead of sitting himself down, "Could I get you anything? Apple juice, orange, water". He remains silent before continuing, "Probably an apple juice right? Your favourite."

Your gaze fixates on him from the hanging lights, the image of him in your brain being refreshed as you took view of his facial features, his blonde hair slightly messy and his lips looking plump and kissable as ever. His lips slightly agape as he eventually started to catch his breath and his eyes looking down on you. You gulp at this sight of him, you almost forgot how beautiful looked and before you could go into a daze about how attractive he looked, you slowly nodded your head, a small smile forming on your face as he recalled your favourite joke, even if it was normal for best friends to remember these types of things.

"Okay, gotcha." was the last thing he said before walking towards his refrigerator. Your eyes followed his every move, the way he opened the refrigerator door, the way he pulled out a carton and closing the refrigerator before pouring the drink into a glass up that was conveniently placed on the counter near him. Your eyes lingered onto the magnets on his refrigerator when he closed it, recognising a photo that was nicely placed in the centre with 2 magnets at opposite corners.

"You still have that?" you pointed at the photo, and Sunoo turned his head over his shoulder, glancing at you before following where you were pointing to, and his eyes land on the photo. The corners of his mouth curl up before he placed the carton down, "Yeah, why wouldn't I?".

It was a photo of you and him in a party, sitting on a couch while posing with peace signs on both hands. It was when you two had first met when people had introduced you to each other or when you practically begged people to introduce you to him . The way you two clicked so fast is quite scary, and from then on you two were quite inseperable.

"I just think it's surprising," you reply, "Out of all the photos we have, you decide to put that one, y'know?".

"It's a special day," he instantly replies, turning his back with a cup of apple juice in his hand. He made his way to you and you raise your eyebrows at his response, "Special?". Your heart fluttered at the thought of him considering a day with you special, and you almost gave it away by putting the most stupid smile on your face, but it took every ounce of self-control inside you not to do so.

"It is the day we met after all," he sat beside you, offering you the cup of apple juice that you had requested. Your eyes slightly widened, and a small smile creeping onto your face as you register what he said. You hastily took the cup into your hand, "You care about those types of things? Like, first days, first meetings, stuff like that?". Everytime you meet him, he always seems to surprise you with something new with no fail, and that's one part you like so much about him.

He hummed, his approving sound accompanied with a small nod and you took a sip of the apple juice. The sweetness immediately hit your taste bud and you quickly swallowed, voicing out a quick 'Ahh' after the refreshing sip. Your eyes look at him and you realise he was already looking at you and it made your heart skip a beat.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" you chuckled, lowering the cup from your face as you flash him a grin. He quickly looked away, a faint smile on his face, "Just missed you".

There he goes again, saying things like that. Is he doing that with a purpose? Like to flirt with you, or is the boy just being genuine? Clueless?

You choked on your drink, his response being the last thing you expected and you shot him a bewildered look. He laughs at you choking, probably enjoying how he managed to get a reaction out of you and you glared at him.

"Are you just teasing me or what?" you questioned, placing your glass cup on the small coffee table in frornt of you.

"I am," he giggled, "I'm kinda bored so it's quite funny to tease you".

Oh yeah?

"Hey," you call out to him, your tone suddenly serious and his laughs die down, his eyes slowly moving to you "I'm bored too".

His eyebrows raised, feeling confused as to where this was going.

"Since we're bored, should we kiss?"

He chokes on the air, his hand flying to his mouth as he looked away from you. You gently patted his back as if you weren't the one who just dropped a 'let's-kiss' bomb on him, a smirk forming on your lips. Once he stopped coughing, he looked back at you, his cheeks a bright tint of pink and his eyes slightly widened, "W-what did you say?".

You looked at him with an amused expression, "I said, let's kiss." You honestly have no idea where this ounce of confidence came from, but if he wanna tease you, he can only get the taste of his own medicine right?

He started to stutter, his gaze being everywhere but on you as he started to scratch his neck, the way he was so flustered being so painfully obvious as you chuckle.

"I'm just kidding," you said. As much as you wanted to kiss him, your intentions were only to tease him back. Upon hearing you, his eyes shot to you, his eyes showing that he was slightly disappointed, "Why?".

"What do you mean?" you questioned. "Why were you 'just kidding'?" "What, do you want an actual kiss or something?" "Yeah.. Yeah, I do."

Now it was your turn to be flustered. You looked at him with widened eyes, your jaw quite literally dropping as you stared at him, taking a moment to process his reply. Sunoo wanted a kiss? And he just openly admitted it?

"Sunoo, quit the teasing, it's not funny at this point." "Who says I'm teasing? I'm being serious, Y/N".

Fucking hell, no fucking way Sunoo admitted that he wanted to kiss you. "O-okay wait, so you're serious about wanting a kiss from me, right?" you questioned, wanting confirmation and that you weren't just dreaming.

"Yes, I want a kiss from you, a kiss from your lips Y/N".

You blink at him repetitively before unconsciously standing up to your feet from the couch, your eyes still fixated on him.

"This feels so wrong," you nervously bit your lip and he sat up and reached out to gently hold your wrist, slightly pulling you towards him, "It isn't, don't worry".

"Do you really want this, Nu?" you spat out, suddenly feeling doubtful about everything and anxiety grew inside you. He gently tugged at your arm, causing you to look at him and he replied, "Been wanting this since forever".

If you said that your heart wasn't going to explode, you'd be lying. Your breathing rate picked up as your chest rises up and down hastily, and your gaze fall on his lips that were slightly parted. You looked back up at his eyes and you immediately notice his eyes on your lips. Your free hand cups his cheek, and you quickly voice out "Me too, Nu" before leaning in and closing the distance between the two of you.

His hand immediately released your wrist, his hands immediately finding comfort on your waist as he pulled you closer. The kiss was slow, passionate as both of your mouths moved in the same rhythm. You could feel him smile during the kiss and you slightly tilt his head to help you get more access to his mouth. Butterflies filled your stomach as you finally process that you were kissing your bestfriend, you were kissing Sunoo. The kiss was so passionate, and it was now evident that you two have been dying for this moment. The longing for each other added fuel to the fire, and your hands gradually make way to his hair, lightly pulling on it.

The surroundings around the two of you slowly start to seem non-existent as you both increasingly melt into each other. At this point of time, only you and Sunoo mattered, nothing else. He nibbled on your bottom lip, causing you to gasp and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside your mouth, exploring your mouth as much as he can. Both of your tongues fought a fiery battle for dominance, and to no surprise, he won. The kiss was becoming so heated and intense, and before things could escalate, your hands quickly trail down to his chest and you slightly push him backwards, pulling away from the kiss.

Both of your chests rise up rapidly as your foreheads rest on each other. Eye contact was maintained as you both looked into each other's eyes. "Did.. did that just happen?" you question, still trying to catch your breath as you remain in shock as to what just happened.

"Fuck yeah, been wanting that for so long you don't even know," he confessed. A smirk forms on his lips as his eyes quickly flicker to your lips then back to your eyes. You chuckle as you close your eyes, your head leaning on him even more.

You pull away completely to sit on the spot beside him on the couch, your eyes still on him and you shook your head, "How long exactly?"

"Since I first met you." he responded, his answer once again never failing to surprise you.

"Mutual feeling then," you confessed, your breathing slowing down as you finally manage to catch your breath. He seemed shocked by the fact, but he definitely wasn't complaining.

"Since you care about first's so much, then consider that our first kiss, yeah?" you chuckled. "Sure thing, just know it won't be our last."

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pinescent-and-gingerbread · 5 months ago

Note

Can I request a drabble where Arthur comforts a female reader who has a broken heart? The reader's ex-boyfriend cheated on her and left with another woman.

Here we go! I took the liberty to name Reader's ex Jim (pretty random name for that place and time so I thought it would fit alright.)

I hope you'll like it anon!!🙌

࣪ ˖✧ The World is living.

✦ Pairing: Arthur Morgan x Fem!Reader ✦ Warnings/Tags: Mention of cheating, reader's ex is a loser (boo him), reader is in a pretty bad mental state but Arthur is here to save the day, cursing cause he's mad as hell someone hurt you. ✦ Words: 1,5k ✦ a/n: As Anon had requested a drabble I tried to keep this short! Takes place in Clement's Point because the lake is so good for that kind of work, reader is part of the gang. Clearly this drabble is a big hug to all my sis out there who have been poorly treated by their ex🫶🏻

You were sitting by the shore, just behind camp. Flat Iron Lake was always beautiful at that time, just before dawn. Frosty, pastel colors on the sky and the water surfaces, melting into a soft shade of pale lavender and teal blue. You could only hear the occasional chirping of birds, splashing of an adventurous fish jumping out of the water, and lonely howls of coyotes.

The World was living.

You couldn't understand how. How did the World was still turning while you were hurting that much? It should have stopped. It should have. This was the only option after what you had been through.

You felt tears watering your eyes again. You couldn't sleep, as often lately, so you just had decided to come and sit here in the sand to do something, anything else than just lying in your cot, alone in the cold night, alone in the cold silence, alone in the cold emptiness. Alone, so alone even though you were surrounded by people at camp; it didn't mattered. He was gone now, and everything felt tasteless without him, everything looked drearier, even the beautiful morning scenery under your eyes.

You were now crying hard. Damn it, you didn't even knew you still had water in your body for it. You had cried so many times in the past few days your eyes were permanently red, your cheeks scarred by two trails of dry tears; you felt like one of those oranges that people squeeze to get the juice, leaving behind only a corpse of fruit devoid of all substance.

You couldn't do it anymore, it hurt too much. You buried your face in your hands, sobbing once again, trying to let out the sorrow that was eating you up from inside like a noxious parasite since he had left you.

"Y/N? Is everythin' okay?"

You tilted your head up, a slight feeling of panic and shame crashing on you as you searched for your interlocutor.

It was Arthur. He was a few meters away from you, empty bucket in his hands. He probably was on his way to the lake to fill it, but had heard you crying. You weren't too surprised to see him this early, Arthur had never slept much, he was always up before you in normal time, already helping everyone around camp.

He looked at you in the eyes, waiting for an answer. He seemed genuinely concerned; you realized you hadn't seen him for a while since he had been on a difficult job for weeks, he probably should have came back during the night, but you were far too deep in your own dark thoughts to have noticed it. He was clearly clueless and surprised about your state, his arms hanging awkwardly by his sides, his blue work shirt's sleeves rolled up carelessly.

"N-no..." You only answered, trying to wipe what you could of the literal torrent of tears flooding out of your eyes, but it just wouldn't stop, you felt even more ashamed. You must have looked pitiful right now.

Arthur let go of the bucket, letting it fall on the ground without an ounce of care. He then slowly approached you, and sat down in the sand next to you, leaving a little space between your two bodies. He didn't look disturbed or annoyed, but almost as stoic as usual. Except for his eyes. His eyes were telling a hundred stories even if he didn't wanted it. Their azure color bright and deep, you almost recognized a hint of sadness in them, as if he was pained seeing you like this.

"What's happenin' to ya, miss?" He inquired, voice deep and maybe a bit more empathetic than usual. He wasn't extremely expressive in usual times, so yet you could feel just by his presence how he cared about your well-being.

"It's Jim... He... He slept with one of these pretty girls from the Parlour House and he left me for her..." Saying it was making it all even worse. It was making it all too real. You struggled to get those words out, your tone cracking up as if they were crushing your vocal cords.

More tears, your eyes shutting close in a pained expression, the ache in your heart physically hurting you, as if someone had opened your thoracic cage and was crushing it with his bare hands. In a way, that's exactly what he had done to you.

"Goddamn piece of shit..." Arthur mumbled before looking at you, his intense indigo stare fixated on your face. He felt genuinely sorry, and outraged for you. Who in the world could have to audacity to hurt such a sweet girl like you? He was starting to clench his fists, feeling his blood boiling, a silent kettle on a burning fire. After a few seconds of hearing you cry, he couldn't hold it anymore, empathy getting the better of his rage, and opened his arms to gently pull you against him.

His strong, wide body enveloped you, and you let him. You buried your face into his chest, not really thinking about it, your hands wrapping around his waist, and gripping tight on his shirt. Looking clingy or odd was your last concern, you were way too blinded by your pain. You started crying loudly, wanting to make everything go out of you, your pain, your sadness, Him, everything.

"Yeah, that's it girl, let it all go..." He encouraged you, in a calm and quiet whisper. One of his hands had found its place behind your head, gently caressing it, the other resting around your waist. He carried you, as you screamed your pain to the World, as you poured all these gnawing feelings outside of you.

"He's a damn fool, Y/N. You deserve way better than him, lemme tell ya." Arthur murmured to you, voice still deep and caring. You could also hear behind that a hint of genuine anger in his tone, as he truly was pissed at Jim for having harmed you like this. "And you're gonna be okay, alright sweetheart?"

You slightly nodded into his chest, barely able to answer something properly. His scent and warmth were enfolding you, and you felt like you were somewhere else now, somewhere sunny. Somewhere pleasant. Somewhere better.

As the minutes went by, and his embrace didn't loosen, you slowly started to get out of your personal darkness, breath calming, thoughts clearing. You were taking in the fact that usually, Arthur wasn't frankly fond of hugs or other physical attention, and you felt thankful. He was doing this just for you.

"You're gonna be okay." He repeated like a silent vow. You felt like he was going to make sure of it. And for the first time in days, you honestly believed these words. You were going to be okay. It would take time, of course, but you just knew you would, as certain as the Sun was rising and setting every day.

You gently pulled back, both of you still holding each other in your arms, sitting on the sandy shore, but not as close, so you could look at this face. Your tears had soaked his shirt. You tried to apologize for it, but he quickly opposed it, telling you he had been covered in far worse than your tears. You smiled a bit, knowing he was right.

"Thank you so much for that Arthur..." You told him, genuinely feeling so grateful.

"Eh, I may be a cold-hearted killer, but I wouldn't have let a sweet lil' flower like ya cry..." He asserted, a slight grin on his face. You noticed how he looked a bit reassured himself, less worried. Maybe, just like his affection towards the other members of the gang, Arthur actually cared much more about you than what he was letting everyone see.

He carefully wiped the last tear from your cheek, thumb feeling rough but gentle against your skin, before getting up, his hands leaving your body but not going too far away as he proposed one of them for you to take and help you get up. You gladly took it, enjoying the warm contact of your fingers on his skin.

"I just feel like... I'm not enough..." You concluded with a pained tone, your eyes looking down at your feet. The fact that on top of having broken up with you, Jim had left you for another woman, was absolutely destroying you, making you feel like you were worthless. It was also this feeling that was so hard to handle; so hard to live with.

"Listen t'me." Arthur told you a bit more firmly, his eyes searching for yours. He knew how you felt, he felt bad about himself every day of his life. He didn't wanted you to feel like this in any way, ever. "Don't let this bastard make ya feel shitty. You're a beautiful, sweet, kind young woman, that is the truth." He asserted, his hands squeezing yours in a comforting gesture before letting go of them.

"Thank you, Arthur..." You said once more, feeling like you were repeating yourself, but he didn't seem to mind. He was walking back to where he had left the bucket, grabbing it to finish his chore.

"Ah, no worry, miss." He said to you with a smile, now feeling better as you felt less depressed. "Let me tell ya, this piece of shit better be far by now, 'cause I'm goin' to beat the Hell out of him if I ever see him again." He added, still smiling, but you knew he was being dead serious, and he was way more than capable of it. You almost chuckled, thanking him for the third time and telling him you wouldn't mind if he did.

He noticed the little grin that had curled up your lips. He loved it. His days at Clement's point weren't the same without your bright smile and your pleasant presence.

The Sun had completely risen now, the camp slowly emerging from its slumber. The first drowsy voices of your companion softly filling the air, yawning, saying greetings, some already teasing, merging with the sound of nature around you.

The World was living.

And now, so you were.

#rdr2 #arthur morgan #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan x reader #arthur morgan fluff #arthur morgan x female reader #arthur morgan x you #pinefic #arthur morgan comfort

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the-guilty-writer · 2 years ago

Text

Work The Case

Request from @doctorsteeb: This may be too sensitive a topic but just an idea— Hotch!daughter taking out a school shooter?

Aaron Hotchner x daughter!reader

Summary: A normal Tuesday takes a turn when you come face to face with your father's work.

A/N: Not going to lie I wasn't going to write this because I felt like the idea was too sensitive but then I remembered that I'm the queen of writing too sensitive things in real life so I may as well do that here too (within limits of course. I still have ethics). So here it is!

CW: school shooting, fatal gun shot, talks of foyet, talks of dead mothers, talks of car crashes, talks of drunk driving, talks of divorce, Jackson Pollok slander

---

The morning started out like any other Tuesday: you got up and ready for the day before having breakfast with your dad and brother- oatmeal and orange juice- then your dad drove you and Jack to school. Jack always got dropped off first at the elementary school, and you at the high school. The ride between the two was short, but it was always long enough for a small, private conversation between you and your father.

“You okay?” he asked you.

Ugh. Profilers.

“I’m…” You thought about saying ‘fine,’ but you knew he wouldn’t take that as an answer. You sighed. “The teacher let the class vote on what chapter we would cover in class next, so we started on abnormal criminal psychology yesterday.”

“Oh.” You’d never heard your dad sound so uncertain.

“It’s an extra chapter. Since it’s not listed in the curriculum we aren’t being tested on the material. The teacher told me I could spend that period in the library if it was… too much,” you finished.

You dad pulled in front of the school, leaning over to kiss you on the forehead goodbye. “Whatever you need, sweetheart.”

“Thanks,” you told him.

“Try to have a good day,” he said before you shut the car door.

You nodded. “I’ll try.”

---

You took your teacher’s offer and went to the library instead of their classroom. The space was large, but mostly empty of people- there was just the librarian behind her desk and a few students scattered amongst the tables. You took a seat and pulled out your homework, trying not to think about what they were learning back in the classroom. You’d honestly overheard enough phone calls that whatever they were learning about you already knew. There was a buzz in your pocket, which automatically made you freeze. You kept your phone on do not disturb through the school day. The only reason your phone would buzz would be if your dad was texting you… and if your dad was texting you it was an emergency.

You pulled your phone out and you were right- it was a text from your dad. Three words: Work the case.

Shit. That was code for you and Jack to hide- to hide somewhere that you wouldn’t be found unless you wanted to be. You looked around the library, but the area was like an open plain. You shoved your work in your backpack and hurried towards the doors-

BOOM!

A gunshot.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

People began to scream. Through the glass windows of the library you could see students running, but it wasn’t because they were late to class. The lockdown alarm sounded and you scrambled under one of the tables, hoping it would be enough cover.

There was a stillness and a silence for a minute and you hoped that it was over, but gunshots rang out again- this time they were louder than they had been before. Someone was getting closer.

Your heart was pounding in your chest, making it feel as though your entire body was thumping to its too-fast rhythm. You wanted to cry, but you didn’t shed any tears. You wondered if this was what it had been like for Jack when Foyet had killed your mother and then tried to kill your father. As part of WISTEC, you had been sent away to a private boarding school with an alias while Jack and your mom were sent elsewhere. In the end, sending you away had saved your life, but now you were wondering if you were going to die soon anyway.

That was, until the library doors burst open. From your view under the table you could only see old shoes and baggy jeans but you heard the shots that were fired into the air.

“Get up! All of you!” It was a male voice.

You, along with the six other students in the library that had all dropped to the floor, looked around at one another- who would make the decision to stand up or stay down? Who would make that call?

More shots were fired. “I said get up!”

You thought about your dad- what would he do? And so you were the one to make the call, the first student to crawl out slowly from under the table and rise, your hands held up to show that you were no threat. The rest of the students followed your lead. This was your team now- if one of them died, it was on you.

You looked at the shooter and you knew who he was- Timmy Rogers. He’d been in some of your classes in middle school and high school. He had always been quiet- the kind of kid who did well in class but never answered any questions. The person who put their share into a group project and didn’t complain about having to pick up the slack if someone else bailed. He was nice enough of a person that you wouldn’t have expected him to be holding a firearm in the middle of your school, but then again most unsubs could keep themselves hidden for years- that much you knew.

“Line up against the wall. Now!” he shouted.

You walked calmly to the wall while some of the other students scampered. One girl was crying. Another boy’s fists were twisted with fear. The librarian was on her knees, pleading with Timmy. “You’re a good boy. You always have been. Your mother-”

“Don’t talk about my mother! Don’t talk about me! You don’t know me!”

“Yes I do,” the librarian was crying. “I do know you and your mom wouldn’t have wanted-”

Timmy pulled the trigger and she was gone. He marched over and grabbed the girl who was crying, dragging her out in front for the rest of you to see. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” She fell to her knees. “Please, I’m sorry-”

You thought quickly about everything you knew about Timmy. He wasn’t an athlete by any means but he joined the wrestling team anyway, he liked art and his project last year was based on his parent’s divorce, his father was a marine, and his mom…

Oh. His mom had died in a car crash last week. She was hit by a drunk driver.

“You never cared about me!” he yelled. “Nobody cares about me. Nobody cared about her-”

“I did.” You didn’t know where the words came from- they were solid and bold and half a lie, but they made Timmy let go of the girl.

“And who are you?” He pointed the gun in your direction. You wanted to scream, but you didn’t.

“I’m (Y/N) Hotchner. W-we had art class together last year.” You hoped your stumble wasn’t too obvious.

“Yeah, and why does that matter? Why should I let you live? Why should I let any of you live?” He waved the gun around in the air, making some of the students shriek, but somehow you stayed calm even though you wanted to explode.

“Y-your mom died in a car crash last week. But it wasn’t her fault. It was the other person who was driving drunk and it wasn’t fair that they got to live and she had to die,” you said.

“Why do you care?” He spat.

You reached deep down… really deep. “My mom died too. She was murdered by a serial killer. She deserved so much better, just like your mom did.”

Timmy paused, the gun in his hand was shaking but still pointed at you. From your view, you could see that through the glass there were officers moving into the school. No. Not just officers- they were wearing FBI vests. Help was almost there, you just had to stall.

“My parents got divorced too,” you said. “Your final project last year really spoke to me- your dad was away all the time and your mom got tired of it, even though they still loved each other.” That was a total lie- the guy was about as talented as Pollok, but you had to find something. “My parents were the same way.”

Now Timmy was crying. You could see behind him that agents were moving towards the library, but you were too focused on stalling Timmy that you weren’t focused on their faces.

“And I was at a boarding school when she died so I was alone- all alone, just like you, Timmy. My mom died and nobody was there to comfort me. My dad wasn’t with me, just like your dad isn’t here right now.”

He was so distracted by your words that he didn’t even notice that the library doors had opened behind him allowing Agent Morgan, Dr. Reid, and your dad to come in unnoticed.

“He- he didn’t even come for her funeral-” Timmy’s hand was getting weaker. He was crying harder. “I-I can’t reach him-”

“I know. I couldn’t reach my dad either since I was still in WISTEC. They couldn’t tell me anything about him until I got home. It’s not fair. I know it’s not fair. I care that it’s not fair.”

Timmy dropped the gun, crumbling to the ground in a fit of tears. Agent Morgan tackled him, pulling his hands behind his back while Dr. Reid disabled the firearm. Your dad ran straight to you, gripping you in a bone crushing hug and you sobbed into his chest.

He pulled you in tighter, stroking a hand down your hair. “It’s over, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I’ve got you. It’s over.”

“I worked the case, dad,” you managed to get out between your sobs. “I worked the case.”

#criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x daughter!reader #aaron hotchner x child!reader #hotch x daughter!reader #hotch x child!reader #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds x y/n #criminal minds x platonic!reader #criminal minds x teen!reader #criminal minds x daughter!reader #criminal minds x child!reader

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thewulf · 1 year ago

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Adorably Clueless || Steve Harrington

Summary: Request - So everyone rags on Steve for being stupid right so here’s the idea the reader who is pretty smart acts clueless about a lot of things and asks Steve for help because they don’t like the way the others jokingly call him stupid all the time... Read Rest Here

A/N: We’re pretending Robin and Steve are friends their senior year of high school, everything is moved up a year. Dustin and co are in eighth grade and reader/Steve/Robin/Nancy are seniors. K thanks <3Thank you for the request @loving-and-dreaming

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Y/N

Word Count: 3.5k +

“Can I have a ride to school?” Dustin asked as you slid into the seat next to him running a bit behind this morning. You’d taken a little extra time to make sure you looked a little bit nicer than normal. Steve was around. He was always around. And you’d be lying if you didn’t say you had a little crush on him. You and every girl in Hawkins that was.

You quirked your eyes up to him while pouring the remaining orange juice into your glass, “No Harrington this morning?” Asking inquisitively. Steve had been picking Dustin up early the last few days throwing you out of your normal rhythm with the middle schooler.

He shook his head quickly, “No, we finished that project.” He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Rolling your eyes, you put the bacon and eggs your mom had made up onto your plate in a hurry, “Yeah, sure. Not like I have to go anywhere else.” You snickered knowing Dustin had to walk down the hill to the middle school, you couldn’t be bothered to drop him off then park.

Your mom sighed gathering the attention of both you and your brother, “I’m glad you’re driving him again, Y/N.” She smiled at you giving your hand a pat.

You frowned almost immediately at that comment, “Why? Steve’s perfectly fine at driving him.”

She gave you a tight-lipped smile knowing how you were. You weren’t going to back down from a fight, you never did, “Well, you know what they say.” She chuckled looking at Dustin who simply gave her the same look of confusion.

Shaking your head quickly you deadpanned at her, “I actually don’t mom. Enlighten me, will you?” You snapped back feeling all the irritation bubbling to the surface. Of course, you knew what they said about Steve. He was dumb. He was irresponsible. He would never get out of Hawkins. Blah blah blah. You might’ve believed that in the past but no longer was that the case. After you saw how he treated your younger brother you saw him in an entirely new light. Steve was kind. Steve was sweet. Steve was beyond thoughtful. You were crushing hard on the boy. And you’d done a pretty damn good job at hiding it. Right up until now. You were definitely giving it away now. Dustin’s eyes burning into the side of your head told you so.

She gave another quick, nervous laugh before clearing Dustin’s plate, “He’s just trouble sweetheart.”

“Typical.” You grumbled feeling annoyed as hell by your mother’s dismissal of the sweet man you’d observed over the last few months.

Dustin looked over at you giving you a curious look. You were usually mouthy with your parents but never pushed it too far. This was pushing it beyond what he was used to. And for Steve? He thought that was odd. Especially for you. He’d learned almost everything from you. You were analytical. Smart. Only spoke up when you knew you were right. Why were you defending Steve Harrington so boldly?

“What’s that honey?” She asked turning back to the two of you.

“You of all people shouldn’t believe the gossip. Thought you told us not to judge a book by its cover mother?” Refusing to look at either of them you decided on staring at the plate in front of you.

Her nervous smile gave it all away, “Sure. Now, off you go. Don’t want to be late to school now do we kids?”

You frowned annoyed as hell by the utter dismissal of the conversation. Oh, so typical. Rolling your eyes, you stood not even attempting to clear your plate, “Come on Dusty. We’ve got some learning to do.” You didn’t wait before grabbing your backpack and keys and walking out the front door without so much as a goodbye. Dustin followed quickly yelling a goodbye leaving a very quiet house for a very mouthy woman to deal with.

When Dustin jumped into the passenger seat of your old sedan you looked over at him. He was giving you the weirdest look. Studying you, “What?” You asked deciding to do your seatbelt instead of looking at him. You couldn’t look at him. No, that’d actually give you away.

“What was that about?” He asked not deciding to hold it back.

“What was what about?” You played dumb. It was so much easier. So, so much easier than explaining a stupid little crush that’d go absolutely nowhere.

He shook his head leaning back into the seat, “Steve? You’ve never mentioned his name before. Now you’re yelling at mom over breakfast about him? Thanks for that by the way.” He smiled knowing you’d always have his back.

You shrugged while backing out of the driveway, “I don’t know… You like him. He fills a gap I can’t fill. So why shouldn’t I defend him?” Trying to play it off you were thankful you had a reason to keep your eyes forward and on the road.

He nodded his head not fully believing you as his eyes narrowed in on you, observing you, “Sure, Y/N. That’s all.”

You nod quickly not daring to look over at your overly observant brother. Weren’t boys supposed to be clueless? Why was every single one of them clueless except Dustin? Of course, your brother wasn’t defective like a majority of the male population, “Yup. That’s all Dustin.”

The rest of the ride was nearly silent as Dustin sat there staring at you. He wasn’t going to give it up and neither were you. So, silence it was. When you parked the car in the lot you turned to him, “Not a word is mentioned of this morning to him. Do you need a ride home?”

Dustin smirked. The little fucker smirked. He unbuckled his seat belt and gave you the biggest grin, “Can’t guarantee that and nope. Steve is driving me home. We’re doing some investigating after school.”

You shook your head, “For once. Keep your big mouth shut. What are you even investigating? It’s Hawkins.” Giving him a curious glance, you stepped out of the worn-down vehicle trying not to be too late to class.

He jumped out of the car mimicking your actions, “Again, can’t guarantee that dear sister. And exactly. It’s Hawkins, there’s lots to investigate.” He grabbed his backpack before turning off to head down towards the middle school, “I’ll be back late, let mom know.” He waved knowing it was best to not give you the last word. Whatever. You’d cover for him like you always did. Steve was good for him. Just like Mike, Lucas and Will. It was never lost on you how you were always a touch jealous of your younger brothers ability to make true friendships. You’d only had one true friend. Thankfully, she was in most of your classes. You’d have gone insane have to deal with this whole high school thing alone.

As Steve got to know Dustin more you got to know him a little better too. It got under your skin how everybody so casually called him dumb or stupid. He was neither. He just played a part. A part you were easily able to see behind. He was his true authentic self around your brother, at your house. You’d caught him talking nerdy with your brother and asking questions somebody dumb would never. Steve was a master at his craft. An illusionist who needed to be the center of attention. For the life of you, you couldn’t figure that part of him out. For that you’d have to have a real-life conversation. One you often shied away from. Little did you know Steve was determined to get that conversation out of you, Dustin’s far too shy older sister. The girl he’d been crushing on since his split with Nancy.

He knew he was a goner the first time he really saw the real you. You were arguing with your mom, something he’d learned was commonplace in your household. He was amazed by your ability to express your words. You so flawlessly got your point across in a way he’d never seen. You were in his classes, but he’d never really seen you before. You were beautiful. Especially once your younger brother talked you up without even realizing it. He’d started to fall for you without even having a proper conversation. He wasn’t going to give up though. He wasn’t planning on going to Dustin, but he was starting to run through all his options. Every time he tried to dive in a little bit deeper you gave him that deer in headlights look. A look of knowing he was pushing the boundaries a little too hard. He’d back off. But then he got absolutely nowhere with you. Until you started coming to him for little things. You’d ask him a math question, one you’d obviously know the answer too, but one you knew he knew the answer to as well. Something to boost his confidence. For even you knew he heard the snide remarks about his intelligence. He was human too.

In English you’d ask him a silly grammar rule. In Phys Ed you asked him how to correctly shoot the basketball even though you’d been taught a thousand times over by Dustin and his know-it-all friends. In Spanish you’d ask him a simple question, beaming with pride when he answered back correctly. Little by little you tried to help him in the smallest of ways.

He was doomed, doomed from your sweetness. You’d taken his heart without the simplest of clues to doing so. He was trying to give you all the signs, the signs that showed he was incredibly interested in everything you had to offer. But you were clueless. Absolutely clueless to it all. For as smart as you are you were oblivious to him right in front of you. If he couldn’t figure it out soon he’d have to go to Dustin to get to you. He’d gotten the sense that only Dustin could talk some reason into you.

You’d been a pro at avoiding Steve at school that day. He hadn’t a clue as to why you were being so elusive. You were far too aware of your feelings to even try and approach a semi-normal conversation with the man. Avoiding him was your best option.

“You’re acting weird Y/N.” Kelly, your best friend, said as she spotted your eyes darting the cafeteria at lunch, “Been acting weird all day.”

“No, I haven’t Kel.” Speaking back in an instant you turned your full attention back to her.

A smirk that was eerily similar to Dustin’s danced on her lips as she watched you. Everybody seemed keen on your actions today, “In fact, you’ve been acting a little off ever since a certain Harrington has become friends with your very own brother. Peculiar.”

You rolled your eyes rather dramatically at your friend, “Look at you, jumping to conclusions.”

“You’ve been avoiding him all day Y/N.” She said matter of factly.

Shaking your head, “No…”

“You literally made Mandy trade seats with you in Chemistry today. I don’t want to hear it.” She cut you off.

“You’re annoying.” You sighed.

“And you’re being avoidant. The usual hey?” She grinned knowing she had you there. This was totally your style.

“Whatever Kelly.” Looking away your eyes went wide seeing Steve and his very own best friend, Robin, walking your way, “Gotta go talk to Mrs. Pace about my grade. I’ll see you later?” You stood quickly and ran off before she could even reply. When you turned back you saw the three of them conversing, talking about who knows what. You. They were talking about you.

When you heard the front door open and close you’d assumed Dustin was alone. Your parents were out for a dinner date with another couple they’d been friends for years with. Being miserably bored you were thrilled when you’d heard him come home. Having somebody to annoy made you far too giddy.

“There you are!” Yelling from the top of the stairs you skidded to a complete stop seeing not only your brother but his much taller and much more handsome friend standing in the kitchen with him.

All too pleased with himself he gave you a head nod, “Y/N. Steve’s going to stay for dinner.” He didn’t ask, he stated.

“Sure, I’ll just be up in my room…”

He cut you off grabbing at your arm, “No, I know you haven’t eaten. Sit.” He sounded weirdly like your father.

“I already…” You tried but again he cut you off.

“No, you haven’t. The plate is untouched. Your water is still at the table. Sit.” He pointed to your usual chair. He had you there. He was too damn observant. Only Dustin.

You glared at him but sat down next to Steve who looked all too happy to be sitting there with the two of you. Not even you could lie, he was damn adorable sitting there kicking his feet watching the two siblings bicker back and forth.

Dustin set down two plates in front of you and Steve, “I just remembered. I was supposed to call Mike at 7! We’re supposed to be doing Mr. Ryan’s homework.” He rambled before running off upstairs.

“Dustin?” You called feeling a growing irritation for your meddling younger brother. The little shit just left you to fend for yourself with Steve fucking Harrington? What the fuck?

“Kids a trip.” Steve smiled over at you hoping it’d calm your nerves a bit. He knew you were nervous for some reason. He was anything but intimidating, or so he thought.

Your face broke into a grin knowing his motives. He was a trip, that one was for sure, “You could say that again.” Defeated, you grabbed at your fork knowing you couldn’t really just leave him sitting in your kitchen. Dustin would quite literally kick your ass if you did that.

He nodded his head in agreement, “Your brother is pretty great too. Never thought I’d enjoy spending so much time with a literal kid.” He snickered knowing the optics of the situation were less than stellar.

Finally, you looked at him. And Jesus, was he stunning. It wasn’t fair. He was so damn attractive and then he was so damn kind? Dustin was setting you up, “He get it from somewhere.” You agreed with him while nodding your head.

Steve’s smile grew even wider as he let out a hearty laugh, “He told me you were funny.”

Eyebrows raised you replied, “He did?”

“Yup.” He scooted a tad closer to you. All too thrilled you were finally entertaining a conversation with him, “He says a lot of good things about you.”

Without even realizing it you bit your lip slightly. A little habit Steve had noticed in school as he watched you a bit closer this year. It happened when you were thinking. When your mind was reeling, “Dusty’s the sweetest younger brother. I’m lucky.”

“Well, he’s got a pretty great older sister he watches all the time.” Steve said so casually you weren’t positive if you were hearing

Your eyes snapped back over to his suddenly very aware of why you avoided these conversations. Your cheeks were absolutely ablaze feeling like you could cook an egg off your face it was so hot, “

He smirked, “What? No comeback? He says your infamous for those. And I’d tend to agree. You schooled Mr. Clark the other day.”

Biting back a smile you rolled your eyes, “Dustin has a lot of opinions about me, hmm?”

He leaned forward feeling brazen, “You’re right. Enough about him. More about you.” His chair scooted just a bit closer. He was bold, you gave him that.

“Me?” Your face had to be as red as a tomato now.

“You heard me.”

Trying to be just a bit brave you continued, “Well, what about me?”

His chair inched ever so much closer. Your heart was racing at an uncomfortable pace as he opened his mouth, “Tell me something about you sweetheart.”

Sweetheart? Sweetheart. Damn, that made your already racing heart explode, “What do you wanna know?” It was a whisper. God, you were pathetic. He made you pathetic. A pathetic bumbling mess, “I hate chicken nuggets. I think they’re disgusting.” You said the first thing that came to your thoughtless mind.

He didn’t give you any time to be embarrassed though. He let out a snort before full on laughing, “Chicken nuggets? Really?”

You nodded quickly defending yourself, “I just… I just don’t think chicken should come that way. Not natural.”

He snickered shaking his head but moving his chair even closer. He was almost on top of you now. Surly, he could hear your racing heart, “You’re a trip too, Henderson.”

“Hopefully you mean that in a good way.”

His smile should’ve given you the hint. But you were clueless. Absolutely clueless, “In the best way.”

The two of you were so into the moment you didn’t hear the younger version of you walk down the stairs. To be fair, it had been twenty minutes. He’d just been sitting in his room bored to death and couldn’t take it anymore. So, he walked down the steps. When he walked into the kitchen he’d expected to find the two of you bickering. Just like he and Steve did. But he found the opposite. The two of you… enamored with each other?

He couldn’t hide the small smile creeping up on his lips. He’d all but gotten a confession out of Steve that he liked you. And he wasn’t dumb, you liked him. So, this was meant to happen, right? Plus, if the two of you were together then Steve would be over all the time. A win, win.

But he was bored, your love could blossom another time, “What’d I miss?” He spoke up. You nearly jumped from your seat. Steve scooted away in a hurry.

“Dustin!” You whisper shouted, startled by his sudden presence.

“Son of a…” Steve muttered while glaring at the younger boy.

Dustin gave him a devious smirk, “What was that Steve?”

“He likes you; you know.” Robin set her bag down next to yours on the ground. She plopped down in the seat next to you in the wide-open library.

You looked up from the homework you were working on, “Hmm?”

“Steve. He likes you. Hard.”

Shaking your head, you decided on giving her your full attention, “No, no he doesn’t. I think I’d notice if he liked me.”

She snorted lightly, “You’re adorable. Adorably clueless. He likes you Henderson.”

“Then he’ll tell me himself.” You said so assuredly you weren’t expecting her reply.

“You’re right. He will.” And before you could reply Robin was off as soon as she had sat down.

Before you could focus back on your homework and ignore the weird interaction with the girl you’d come to adore from afar somebody else was in the seat she had just occupied.

When you looked up and spotted him your weak little heart started racing once more, “Steve, what’re you doing here?”

“Here to tell you something.” He smiled leaning back in the chair.

Robin? Robin was written all over this. He couldn’t actually like you. It was more of a thing to say to get her to shut the hell up. But now… now Steve might actually admit something.

“What’s that?”

He kept quiet until you looked up at him. He smiled gently at you. Trying his darndest not to freak you out, “That I like you.”

“You like me?” You asked back so quickly he was sure you hadn’t really processed it.

“Yes,” He nodded quickly, “I like you. A lot.”

“Me?”

He grabbed at your hand, “You.”

“You’re sure?” You couldn’t believe him. No. Not until he confirmed it at least twenty times.

“Positive.” He gave your hand a squeeze trying his best to keep you grounded in reality. Not stuck in that pretty little head of yours.

“Oh.” You’d finally processed his words. He liked you. Damn, he liked you?

“Hopefully that’s a good, oh.” He mirrored your words from earlier on in the week.

A small smile came to your lips, “Yeah, it is… but…” You paused not sure how to ask the question that was itching at the back of your head.

“But?”

“But you’ve never seemed interested.”

He let out a quiet laugh, “Robin was right, you are adorably clueless.”

You gave him a fake pout, “Hey now.”

He shook his head, “I didn’t say it wasn’t cute. It’s adorable. You’re adorable sweetheart.” He grabbed at your other hand, holding both of your much smaller hands in his.

“Hey Steve?” You said after a moment of silence.

“Yeah?”

“I like you too. I like you a lot.” You bobbed your head up and down.

“Tell me then, what do you say? We’ve got a problem and I’ve got a solution. I’m taking you out Friday evening. On a proper date.” Steve proposed looking all too hopefully at you.

You grinned, “I think that sounds like a great plan.”

He let out a small sigh of relief, “Finally, it’s a date my dear.”

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fuckingstrange · 10 months ago

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Quieting Down

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WARNINGS: Mean!Bau Team (apologies fr), Anxious & Upset Spencer, Brief mentions of insecurity, non-beta read

WORDS: 1,195

PAIRING: S.R. x gn!reader

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Spencer has been quite.. off, recently. He's been more reserved and quiet, and while the team has started seeming to almost praise him for it, you can't help but be concerned. Especially because you see things that they don't after the work day.

You see him at home. Where he remains reserved, unlike normal. He doesn't talk to you much, usually responding with a head nod or a light shake, sometimes with one word replies. When he does speak and use his voice it's with a tone so timid and the volume of a mouse. It's heartbreaking, really. You miss when he'd ramble, when he'd talk to you and constantly say how much he loves you. You know he still loves you, that much hasn't changed, but you miss his voice.

Right now, you each are walking into the door after a long day at work, the poor man exhausted. He silently slips off his shoes and sets his bag down on the couch before making his way to the kitchen, opening it up and glancing around at the contents. He decides on a simple glass of orange juice, grabbing out the jug and a cup, grabbing a second one and gesturing to you in a silent offer of some.

You give him a light smile and shake your head, walking up to him and resting a hand on his lower back as he pours himself a glass. You put the jug back away in the fridge for him as he goes and settles on the couch, curling up off to the side and watching whatever was on the TV.

You frown at the continued silence, deciding to try and get him to talk, you go over and sit beside him. You lean in, lips near his ear so you can whisper, “Mind if I hold you?”, and wait until he gives a light nod before pulling him to cuddle in with you. You end up holding him in your lap, propped up a bit with a pillow against the arm rest so that he lays at an angle on you.

Spencer’s arms instinctively move to wrap around you, and you don't miss how he seems to melt against you. Your hands move up to play with his hair, lightly stroking it back so you can see his relaxed, yet exhausted expression. After a few minutes of letting him adjust to the change of being home, feeling the slight anxiousness he seems to always hold while at the bureau finally going away, you guide his gaze to meet yours by gently turning his head.

Spencer’s eyes are truly captivating. You could lose yourself in how softly they stare into yours, the dark brown colour making him look so.. adorable. His eyelids almost seem weighed down by the dark eyebags, your free hand moving to rest on his cheek so you can rub the dark circles with your thumb in gentle, soothing movements. He gives you a light smile in return, tilting his head a bit to press a kiss to the inside of your forearm.

You lean forward to press a light kiss to his forehead, leaning back to look back down at him. You hesitate for a couple minutes, debating on whether or not you should ask him why he's suddenly so quiet and nearly refusing to speak because you don't want to possibly trigger or upset him. Though Spencer, managing to have memorized what your microexpressions mean, presses another kiss to the inside of your forearm in a silent reassurance that you're allowed to speak.

You take a deep breath, exhaling and staring into his eyes for a few seconds before mustering up the courage to ask him. “Why have you suddenly.. gone quiet? I've noticed.. I've noticed you're not as talkative as before. You act like a ghost at work. What's with the change?”

While Spencer isn't at all surprised by your question, having expected people to notice his sudden quietness, he didn't expect you to react more concerned than happy. “I just thought.. I needed to shut up a little more, you know? I can be a bit annoying, so I thought this would be.. uh, I thought this would be better.” He responds, his tone still timid and his voice just barely over a whisper.

You swear your heart breaking is an audible sound that echoes through the room. You grab the sides of his head and guide him to sit up with you, feeling his slight anxiousness towards what your response could be. “Spencer.. no, baby.. You don't need to shut up, you never need to shut up. I like your voice, I love your rambles. You're not annoying- Why would you think that?” You can't help but ask, wanting to know if it's been a growing insecurity or something else. His gaze falls from yours, head turning to the side. “Well, the team.. they just kind of.. don't like to listen. It, uh, it makes me feel like my voice is useless.” He explains, squirming a bit. You don't move to stop his motions, letting him look away and watch as he starts to fidget with his hands in his lap, knowing it's his own way of self-soothing when his anxiety feels like it's built up too much. He waits a second before continuing his explanation, his voice just barely louder now that he knows you never wanted him to be quiet. “I know it's stupid but I just thought they'd be happier than if I talked as much as I did, and they are.. I didn't like talking just to be ignored, I.. I, uh, I don't mean to sound rude or anything but it.. kind of hurts to be treated like that.”

His words pull at your heart, the last sentence might as well have even been a straight-up bullet to the chest. You move your thumb to rub his cheek, seeing the saddened and anxious look on his face. “I.. can't say I understand why they're like this either, Spencer, nor do I like that they treat you like this. You're not at fault for getting upset over being ignored, it's rude and you're allowed to be upset. Just like you're allowed to use that voice to talk. Even if they're not listening, I will.” You reassure him, leaning forward to press a light kiss to the side of his forehead.

Spencer ends up turning back to look at you after the kiss, tears resting in his eyes. You wipe them away before pulling him to lay back down with you, pressing another few kisses around his face, pulling a smile from the man. He can’t think of a response, so instead he just melts against you again, happy that somebody cares enough to listen.

You start playing with his hair again, enjoying the way he seems so relaxed, like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders now that he knows you never wanted him to force himself to stop talking. You lean down to press one last kiss to the top of his head before leaning, relaxing against the couch. “I'll always listen.”

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NOTES -

Somebody needs to let this man just full on fucking RANT for hours. Any and all topics, LET HIM SPEAK AND INDULGE IN HIS INTEREST!! (I volunteer as tribute !!)

I'll likely make an angstier version of this

#spencer reid #spencer reid x gn!reader #fluff #spencer reid x reader #criminal minds fanfiction #hotboxed fanfiction #fluff and sad stuff #let him RAMBLE #let him BE HAPPY #PLEASE

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mokulule · 2 years ago

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The Number You Have Called Cannot Be Reached 4

Part 1|Part 2|Part 3

Ship: Dead on Main (Danny/Jason) Warnings: angst/depression and canon typical violence

A sunbeam from the crack in the curtains hit his eyes and he turned over burying his face in his pillow. Belatedly Jason registered that it was at least afternoon because the windows faced west, but it didn’t really matter. He was much too warm, and comfortable to get up. He drifted - things were good. He dreamt of a low rumble in the distance, barely on the edge of his hearing, easing the tightness, turning him liquid.

It was another half hour before he awoke properly, registering his bedroom around him dimly lit by the single sunbeam. He yawned and stretched before getting up. He felt loose and relaxed and as he opened the dark curtains he was greeted by one of Gotham’s rare days of sunshine. A smile tugged on his lips and for a moment he stood there in the sun, letting the warmth soak into his skin. He wasn’t in any hurry.

Down in the street someone held the door open for another whose arms were full of groceries, smiles were exchanged and the person moved on. The sounds of kids playing on the nearby playground reached his ears when he opened the window to air out the room. Somewhere someone practiced the trombone and they weren’t half bad.

Peace settled in his bones, these were his people. Even Crime Alley shone from its good side.

Stretching again, he walked into the kitchen and started rooting around his fridge in search of ingredients for breakfast.

There was a thought nagging at the back of his mind as he cracked three eggs in a bowl, added a small dollop of sour creme and some salt. He paused, musing, something he’d forgotten… He hummed thoughtfully, trying to grasp at the thought, but it just didn’t seem that important and with a shrug he took out a pan turning it on medium heat. On the way to the fridge, he popped two pieces of toast in the toaster. Unlike whatever was nagging he knew he had forgotten the butter - a small piece went into the pan and he left the rest out so he could butter the toast. He rinsed a handful of small tomatoes he set them aside on a plate.

Something happened yesterday, he finally decided, as he walked back over to the open window and cut off a few stalks from the chives plant by the window sill. He paused there for a moment listening; a saxophone had joined the trombone and they were now playing sweet jazz with each other from across the road through open windows. A small crowd had gathered below to listen. Amused, Jason wondered if more musicians would be lured out.

Sizzling from the pan, drew him back to the kitchen.

He set aside the chives, quickly whisked the egg mixture together and poured it in the pan. Grabbing a spatula from the drawer he absently flipped it in his hand as he watched the eggs. Judging the pan had adjusted to the cold eggs he turned the heat on low and scraped across the pan in long smooth moves, freeing the already cooked eggs and allowing the still liquid mixture to sink to the pan.  The toast popped up from the toaster, and it was a matter of moments before he had them buttered and were stirring the eggs again. They had solidified now but were still glistening slightly when he transferred them on top of the bread. He quickly chopped the chives and sprinkled them on top.

Looking at his handiwork he nodded in satisfaction. Time to eat.

  A glass of orange juice in one hand and plate and utensils in another he moved to the table. He cut off the first bite of egg on toast and close his eyes in pleasure: Crunchy toast, smooth eggs wiith a hint of salt and just a bit of sharpness from the chives.

It felt like ages since he’d just allowed himself to enjoy the moment like this. It wasn’t like he didn’t cook normally it was one of the things, along with reading, he still enjoyed despite everything. He was always just so busy, always so angry.

Like a click in a lock he suddenly realized what he was forgetting. The pits, the Ghost, the cave and Bruce asking him to stay. The thought was an ache in his chest and he set the fork down rubbing his forehead. He wanted… he wasn’t sure what he wanted. For the longest time he’d convinced himself he was agreeing to working with the bats because it was easier, they’d get less in his way like that. He’d told himself he barely tolerated them. Now, with the pits calmed or whatever they were, he found himself inexplicably fond:

DIck’s persistence even when Jason pushed him away, he always had so much hope, despite Jason giving him absolutely no reason to. Tim who he’d had so much misplaced anger towards, who was so smart, and yet so stupid. Damian, the absolute brat, who behind the arrogant facade cared so much about his family and friends, but was so afraid of rejection.

Bruce was… Bruce was complicated. The pits hadn’t invented his resentment, he had been so hurt to find out the Joker had gone free, that he’d been replaced, that he’d meant so little to Bruce - to his Dad. But without the pits to stoke the resentment, he was just left with this tired old ache. Lashing out had never helped him and he was just exhausted by the constant fighting. He wanted his dad. Not Batman, Bruce, the Dad who would drink his tea in the library while he was reading just to be in the same room with him. The embarrassing proud Dad who would brag about Jason’s grades in the same breath he would brag about Jason nearly stealing the tires of his car the first time they met.

He still had the hurt and the anger, but the longing far outweighed that. He rubbed at his moist eyes. The realization hurt, because he really didn’t know how long this effect lasted or if this realization would stick once the Pits were back - it was just too much to hope this was permanent.

Jason never had that kind of luck.

He needed to talk to the Ghost, but he never appeared so soon again after a theft. For a moment his thoughts dwelled on the device they’d recovered yesterday, some kind of calibrator, if he took it, maybe he could lure him out… but the thought was dismissed almost immediately, even if he took it, he’d have no way of informing the guy he had it.

They really knew next to nothing about the guy.

Jason sighed, and looked down at his now cold breakfast. He started eating again, starvation was something he would never forget and he was not about to waste food. Dwelling on his family, the pits and the ghost, wasn’t getting him anywhere.

It was distressingly easy to push the thoughts aside instead of obsessing with no angry whisper in his ear. Was this how normal people dealt with emotions? Without everything having to be a fight? As easy as deciding he’d dwell on it later when he could actually do something about it?

Helpless laughter bubbled up in his chest. This was so dangerous; it was way too easy to get used to.

next Masterpost for subscription

I feel I need to apologize for the lack of Danny again, but Jason kinda took over and had some more angst to deal with. I promise, next time we’ll get back to Danny’s misery!

#dp x dc #dead on main #MIssed Connections #Jason is catnip to Danny #so sorry we will get back to that part #Jason just needs to get over his existential crisis #realizing he just really misses his family #Yeah you're getting this on a scene by scene basis more or less #when I start posting on Ao3 the parts will be smushed into somewhat larger chapters #right now I'm just trying to focus on keeping up writing regularly

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agent-calivide · 5 months ago

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IEYTD Dates

I’m pretty sure the IEYTD franchise all takes place over the course of like a year, if not a few months, and frankly, I feel so bad for Agent Phoenix. Imagine going through all of that in such a short window of time!

While it’s hard to get exact, precise dates, we can finagle a rough guesstimate out with information in game (my favorite type!)

So, we know that Seat of Power took place on July 30th due to Solaris sending an email basically asking what the everloving fuck was going down on earth that lead to such erratic targeting (it was Phoenix)

And we know that the agent gets on the death engine soon after Seat of Power as Handler is really surprised that the team in decryption already got the intel to them. But we also know there’s a window of a few days between Seat of Power and the Death Engine, as there’s an E-Mail from Professor X-Ray that was sent on August 1st

Now, this would make things messy, as X-Ray is implied to be dead before Seat of Power, but thanks to this being z-mail, we can make an assumption that this was a scheduled email that was written before X-Ray’s death, set up to be sent out when there was a shipment of orange juice to the Death Engine. And, thanks to the juice in the Agent’s shuttle, it’s safe to assume it’s likely August 1st when the Death Engine takes place. It probably isn’t later than that because the orange juice shipment was most likely on the personnel shuttle that was being sent up with Solaris’ assistant. We know she was expecting them because she’s not surprised by their presence, in fact she’s implied to be expecting them in her dialogue.

Then in IEYTD 2, we get a year.

1967.

I’ll be honest, this detail has always bugged me because just because it was carved in that year doesn’t mean it necessarily confirms that’s when IEYTD 2 takes place, but more on that later-

Regardless the year, we get a day confirmation on the clap-board in Safe and Sound, August 22nd

And we know it’s almost certainly the same August thanks to what we know about the EOD.

They don’t have the budget for vacations or real plants or bereavement for the Handlers, so they almost certainly wouldn’t give the agent A YEAR of medical leave. And we also know that there aren’t any missions between the Death Engine and IEYTD 2 because Handler says “we can’t let Zoraxis know you survived your last mission”

Phoenix gets AT MOST 16 days to recover if they arrived at the Death Engine the day that z-mail was sent out on August 1st, and only 15 if it was the 2nd.

Then on to IEYTD 3

Now, the week and day is hard to find, but we do get a license that is implied to be administered at a temporary license in:

1967. The same year as what was written under the desk in Stage Fright in IEYTD 2z

Now, do I have a whole mold math post that basically says it’s 7-15 days on the generous end? Yes. Do I also know that’s shaky evidence? Yes.

BUT, we also have real locations. Many of the locations have set weather that doesn’t have much shifting, but there’s ONE level where the weather shifts greatly from summer to autumn. And that’s in Operation Blindspot!

Reginald says that Prism was lost on the interstate heading across Bering Strait. For those who don’t know (like I didn’t) Bering Strait is in Alaska, where while they have temperate summers, when it gets cold, it gets cold. And fast. On average, Bering Strait’s snowfall starts in September and really takes off in October, so it’s most likely that IEYTD 3 takes place in early to mid September, as while it’s cloudy, there’s no indicators that it’s freezing, something Schell would have put in if they wanted to like in Cold Shoulder.

So the Agent goes from a normal, maybe even rookie agent, to Agent Phoenix, protector of the world and famous EOD agent in the span of approximately 2 months. I do not envy them, that sounds like hell

#i expect you to die #ieytd #agent phoenix #ieytd analysis

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harlowsbby · 1 year ago

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Out Of Luck

Requested, Can you write something about jealous Jack? Or him being a bit overprotective.

“You know with you not talking to him it’s eating him alive.” Ace said as he joined you at the back of the tour bus.

You rolled your eyes and looked up seeing Jack already looking at you, the minute the two of you made eye contact he immediately turned away.

“Good, he should be upset the way he acted was honestly uncalled for and you know that Ace.” You told him and turned back around not wanting to be bothered.

Ace sighed and stood up and made his way back over to Jack who looked at his friend with a desperate and hopeful expression.

“So, what did she say? Does she forgive me?” Ace shook his head.

“Nope she’s still very much upset but I think you need to be the one to go over there and talk to her.” Ace told Jack.

“Why should I have to say sorry? I was just looking out for her.” Jack was just as stubborn as you at times the two of you would go weeks without speaking before apologizing to one another.

“What even happened man? I come back on the bus and she’s over there and you’re over here looking like you just lost your best friend.” Jack groaned and ran his hands over his face.

“I don’t even know I just let my jealousy get the best of me. It’s a long story.” Ace shrugged his shoulders and leaned back into his seat.

“We got lots of time so fill me in.”

flashback.

“Wait, wait you’re telling me that Apple Juice is more superior than Orange Juice?” The bartender asked in disbelief.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying and you can’t make me think otherwise.” You proudly stated and took a sip of your drink.

“But how? It’s so boring and basic.” He stated. “It is not! Apple Juice whenever it’s nice and cold it just feels so good it’s nice and crispy.” You explained to him.

“You’re insane there is no way Apple Juice beats Orange Juice.” He chuckled. “We can agree to disagree.”

“What is she doing?” Jack grumbled as he eyed down Joey and You.

“Looks like she’s making a friend which is normal so don’t do anything.” Urban told him.

Being on the tour bus 24/7 got a bit too much sometimes with everyone being all under one another a break sometimes was needed.

Which is why for tonight Jack suggested that you all go out and just have some fun, but Jack wasn’t having any fun instead he was sitting in the corner of the club sulking and pouting.

“She’s allowed to make friends I don’t own her but she isn’t making friends with that guy.” He told Urban and made his way over to you.

“I bet you $100 she’s gonna be ignoring him for a few days.” 2fo said as the two of them watch Jack make his way over towards the bar.

“I bet you $200 he’ll end up crying.” Urban said.

“I bet you all $300 that Y/N ends up making him take her out shopping or something as a form of an apology.” They all laughed because they all knew they were right.

“So what are you doing here? You’re just here alone?” Joey asked you and you shook your head, you went to answer but Jack answered for you.

“She’s here with me, her man.” He bitterly stated and put an arm around your shoulder, you sat there awkwardly because you already knew how this was going to end.

“Oh you must be Jack! I’ve heard a lot about you!” Joey smiled and stuck his hand out for Jack to shake but when Jack didn’t his hand slowly lowered.

“Well alright then, I’ll let you two be.” Joey gave you a small smile before going to the back.

“What are you doing over here? Why aren’t you with us in the section.” Jack asked you. “Because I don’t wanna just sit there I wanna walk around and mingle.” You stated.

“Okay well you can mingle with someone else that isn’t the bartender.” Your eyebrows scrunched up.

“Are you jealous or something? He wasn’t even doing anything to me, or is it me you don’t trust?”

He smacked his lips. “Now come on you know that isn’t true.” Jack said.

“Okay so why can’t I sit here? I wasn’t do anything.” You stated your voice rising slightly.

“I just don’t want you sitting with over here with him. I’m not stupid I know how guys think Y/N he was looking you up and down like a snack.”

You shook your head at him you were in disbelief that he’d even act this way, you get it most guys were dogs but you thought he’d have at least an inch of faith in you that you’d never cheat or whatever he thought was going to happen.

“Alright bro.” You spat and stood up. “Bro? I’m not your bro, don’t do that.” You turned to face him and rolled your eyes at him. “You just rolled your eyes at me?” He said with a raised brow.

“Oh, so now you wanna try and control my face? honestly what’s your issue last time I checked I’m grown. You say you trust me but it doesn’t look like it.” You told him your voice slightly rising.

“I do trust you baby but let’s talk about this on the bus though.” He mumbled and went to grab your arm but you pulled back.

“No, what now you’re embarrassed? Just say you can’t trust me. Or that you’re too overprotective or whatever.” When you didn’t get a response you already knew your answer.

“I can’t believe you Jack.” You stood up and made your way out of the club, the crowd that had formed faded away when you left.

flashback over.

“And now she won’t talk to me and I don’t blame her, I embarrassed her.” Jack groaned and tossed his head back.

Ace shook his head at his friend even though Ace loved the two of you what Jack did was very wrong.

“You know what you need to do Jack, put the pride to the side and go say sorry.” Jack nodded his head.

“Yeah you’re right Ace.” Jack stood up and made his way to where you sat.

The last thing he wanted to do was to make you ever second guess him or the relationship the two of you had. He knew he needed to make things right.

“Babe.” He said as he made his way into the little room in the back of the tour bus.

“Yes Jack?” You mumbled not even bothering to look up from your phone. “Can you look at me please.” He urged.

You placed your phone down and turned around to look at Jack, he had a frown displayed on his face.

“I’m sorry for the way I acted it shouldn’t have acted like that in front of all those people.” He told you.

“What was the reason though? You know I’d never even think about cheating on you.” You told him and patted the spot next to you so he’d sit.

“I just feel like one day you’ll leave me for someone who doesn’t have a as stressful or busy lifestyle. I love you and only you Jack.”

He smiled and laid down on the bed pulling you on top of him. “I’m sorry again baby, do you forgive me?”

You thought about it for a few seconds before a small smirk tugged at the corner of your lips. “I’ll forgive you under one condition?”

“Uh oh.”

time skip.

“What is this shit? The game is going to be on in ten minutes.” Nemo said as he walked into the tour bus with Urban, Ace and Druski.

“It’s mean girls it’s really good and it’s what we’re watching tonight isn’t that right babe?” You smiled and asked Jack as you leaned into him some more.

“That’s right babe I’m so excited to be watching all these chick flicks with you tonight.” He lied, the last thing he wanted to do was watch a bunch of girly movies.

“What? Are you kidding me or something? The cowboys are playing against the raiders.” Urban stated.

“So, we’re watching Regina George getting hit by a bus for right now.” You stated. The guys groaned but nonetheless took a seat around the tv together.

“Why are we watching this?” Urban whispered to Jack. “Because it’ll make her happy and she won’t be upset.” He whispered back.

“You’re so whipped.” Urban whispered back.

(writers block is kicking my ass but I hope you still love this anon and everyone else 💘)

#jack harlow #jack harlow concepts #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow x y/n #jack harlow x you

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thevoidstaredback · 10 days ago

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The day was finally there. It was finally happening. Phase two of the best prank the Wayne Family and friends had ever pulled off was finally coming to its peak! If all went well, then they'd only have one more thing to do.

As long as the heroes approached them about it. They'd all placed bets on whether they'd actually get away with trying to pull one over on the Justice League or not. It was pretty evenly split.

It's the morning of and there are exactly ten hours before Wayne Manor is consumed with fast paced staff and last minute everythings. Eleven hours before the guests begin to arrive.

06:00

It was an early day for everyone, but Gala Days are always like that. Patrol had been cut short for Damian, Tim, Steph, and Cass, so they, along with Duke, were the only ones who were working on longer than four hours of sleep.

It wasn't all that bad, though. They're vigilantes. If they were thrown off kilter for getting less than a few hours of sleep, then they'd've been exposed before Jason stole the wheels off the Batmobile.

Either way, Alfred had everyone up for a nice, but simple, breakfast before they got on with their days.

He'd made eggs, sausage, bacon, beans, toast, fried tomatoes, and mushrooms, though Damian and Steph were given coconut bacon, eggplant, and applesauce instead of bacon, sausage, and egg. Everyone got their preferred drink of coffee, orange juice, or milk.

Out of everyone, aside from Alfred, Duke was the most awake, but that was because he had to go on patrol soon. Damian would join him about midday, just after lunch.

Duke was relieved to be out all day. He didn't want anything to do with all the last minute preparations that would be going on, no thank you, sir. It would all be worth it in the end, but he'd rather not be stressed to the heavens while trying to prank some of the best heroes in the world.

Why did Bruce think this was a good idea?

Why did they all go along with it?

Oh, that's right, it's because they're all crazy.

It's gonna be so much fun, though, so he's not complaining too much. Everyone can be stressed out here in the Manor, but he's going to be stressed about other things on patrol.

07:00

After breakfast was cleaned up and Duke had left for patrol, the rest of the Wayne Family set about reviewing everything they'd done to prepare, including going over exactly what their hired security had been doing since they were asked to work the event.

This fell to Barbra. Which is total bullshit because she has a dayjob and she doesn't live in Wayne Manor. And, no matter how much Bruce insists, she's not his child, so she shouldn't have to be stressed over this like they are!

She hadn't spent the night at the Manor, but Dick was keeping her updated on what was going on at the Manor. She kinda wishes she'd gotten some of Alfred's food before going to work, but a bowl of cereal and some toast was better than nothing.

She hated early morning shifts, but she'd had to take this one because of the gala that night.

The things she does for her boys. (Yes, she's including the girls in that statement. It's a term of endearment.)

It was a slow morning, like every morning at the library, so Barbra was doing the painstaking task of going over every single move thirty people had made in the last two weeks.

Was it necessary? No. Was she doing it anyway? Yes, but only because Bruce is a paranoid bastard. And, in Gotham, that's normally justified. Especially since they were hosting high-profile guests who aren't allowed to spend any amount of time in Gotham at all.

This was fun as hell, but this particular precaution was so redundant.

Babs wants a pay raise.

She doesn't get paid for this.

would you look at that, the first two people are still clean. Twenty-eight more to go.

"Dad's probably having much more fun at the station." She snorts softly. "Yeah, right."

08:00

Kate, Selina, and Luke were on Arkham duty. No one ever goes out of their way like this, but knowingly having so many powered individuals in Gotham at the same time was a risk that they were putting extra precautions in place to account for.

Arkham Asylum is a revolving door on the best days and they were due for another breakout soon. Everyone could feel it.

Batman doesn't like metahumans operating in Gotham because of the sheer amount of chemical warfare and child endangerment. A normal civilian that's been hit with Fear Gas or Joker Toxin is a pain to subdue and cure. A Bat is even worse, and most of them don't have superpowers. A meta getting doused with either of those would be disastrous.

The Justice League may not know the reasoning, but they respect it. This means, however, that none of them know how to deal with anything that happens in Gotham.

They're not patrolling the city. They'll leave that up to Signal and Robin, whenever he joins him. Batwoman, Bat Wing, and Catwoman are stationed around Arkham Island itself. Batwoman is watching Arkham East, Bat Wing at Arkham West, and Catwoman at Arkham North. Under strict instructions to not engage in the event of a breakout, they're there purely to watch. If there is a breakout, then they're to down the bridge and call the rest of the family to help deal with it. From there, it's just normal procedure.

Why Bruce doesn't have surveillance on the island already is anyone guess.

"We've only just gotten here," Batwoman said into her comm, "But I'm already over this."

"Don't jinx it, man," Bat Wing sighed, "I'd rather have a boring day today."

Catwoman tsked at them. "It'd be exciting, though, having to deal with a breakout and a gala at the same time."

"I guess," Batwoman agreed, "But with so many heroes coming to the city? That sounds like a horrible time."

"Where's your sense of whimsy, Katey-cat?" there was a teasing smile in her voice.

"Dead with my aunt and uncle."

Bat Wing couldn't stop his laugh. "Ha! Don't let B hear you talk like that."

"I can talk however I want to. B cope by putting on a bat suit and fighting crime, I cope by making jokes."

"Batwoman?"

"Yeah, Cat?"

"You're wearing a bat suit and fighting crime."

A moment of silence passed between the three.

"Shut up."

10:00

Tim's job was monitor duty. He was charged with watching every entrance to the city, making sure he knew the exact moment the heroes and their families arrived.

Monitor duty's always boring. How does Barbra do it? She deserves a pay raise.

She doesn't get paid. None of them do...

Hm.

Tim knows why it's important to know exactly when their superpowered guests arrive. He also knows why it's important to know exactly where they all are while they're in the city. But, c'mon. Why does he have to be here all day? If they timed it right, then no one should be entering the city until-

Oliver. And Dinah and Roy and Lian.

What the hell are they doing here so early? Even on a private jet, it's a seven hour flight! They shouldn't be there until two at the earliest!

Unless they boarded at two in the morning.

Who in their right mind would put a toddler on a plane for a redeye flight?

Rephrasing: Why would someone as rich as Oliver think it would be a good idea to take a red eye to the Crime Capital of the country?

Did they- were they here so early to sight see?

He shakes his head as he picks up his phone and calls Jason. "Head's up, man, The Queens just landed at the airport."

"Got it." Jason hung up. Asshole.

Tim sent the same message to the group chat they'd made for this purpose. Oliver, Dinah, Roy, and Lian were now in Gotham City. If Jason does his job right, then they'll have a tracker placed on them soon. If not, then Tim'll have to follow them the hard way.

He switched to a different monitor, keeping one on the Queen Family. If he's right, then the only groups not arriving by plane will be the Supers and the Wonders, so he'll have to watch the train stations and bridges, too.

12:00

Alfred called everyone to lunch the moment the clock turned over the hour. Nothing had gone wrong so far and it was putting everyone on edge.

A pessimistic view, but that's how they were all raised. Well, most of them were raised that way.

Despite waiting anxiously for the other shoe to drop, everyone was having a grand time. Phase Two of their prank wasn't nearly as fun as Phase One, but they were still excited to go through with it. After all, if they pull this off, they'll have more leverage over the heroes, and that's just too good too pass up.

Bruce called attention by clearing his throat. "Our original plan was to see if the Justice League would be able to sniff us out tonight without us having to say anything. I'd like to alter that course a little bit."

Now he had everyone's undivided attention.

"As you know, I've asked Oliver to give a speech tonight. Afterwards, as everyone's clearing out, I want to tell him directly."

"But what about Clark and Diana?" Steph asked, "You've known them the longest, so shouldn't they be the first to know?"

Bruce nodded. "Yes, but I don't have an excuse to pull either of them aside without it looking suspicious."

"Why tell anyone at all?" Jason said, "If they can't figure it out on their own, why should they get to know at all?"

"I was going to tell them anyway," Bruce admitted, "I just thought that you all would like to have some fun with it before then. After all, it wouldn't be just my name they're learning, but all of yours."

"So, everyone would know?" Dick wondered. It'd be a relief on his end, especially because he'd spent weeks convincing the others to let him tell his best friend.

Bruce nodded. "All of the Justice League would. All of the other teams will probably find out through word-of-mouth, so once the JL knows, then every hero will know."

"That's a huge risk, B-man," Tim stated, "Are you sure it's the right decision?"

Jason scoffed. "We're asking questions now? We knew the risks when we started this whole thing. I say we see it through to the end, but you all tell your teams at the same time."

"You only say that because you'd be completely safe from the risk." Steph jabbed lightly.

He smirked at her. "Exactly."

"So, you'll tell Queen tonight before he leaves. At the next meeting, you tell your team while we tell ours?" Damian surmised.

"Exactly, chum."

"Yeah, but why Oliver? Why now?" Dick asked again.

Bruce looked sheepish. "Because I trust them." It was hard for him to admit, but this was probably long overdue. "I trust them with my safety, and I trust them with yours." Then, he smirked, "Plus, no one will believe Oliver if he tries to tell anyone."

The table started laughing together, the mood brightened.

Cass tapped the table after a few minutes. "Good idea," she said, signing as she spoke, "They'll hurt, but be glad you told."

Tim sighed. "I guess I gotta set up a meeting with the Titans, huh?" He pulled out the phone he uses exclusively for Red Robin. Then, he paused. "I don't think I want to tell them all. I'll obviously tell my team, but that's already going to be a huge amount of people who know."

"I'm inclined to agree." Damian added, "Though I'm not worried about so many heroes knowing, it is concerning to have that many variables holding our secret."

Steph agreed, "I don't work much with the other heroes, so I'll be pretty safe, but that is a lot of potential betrayals."

"Don't say it like that!" Dick gasped, "He's opening up!"

"No, no," Bruce waved, "She's right. It's a risk I'm willing to take by telling my closest friends, but I won't if you al don't feel comfortable with it."

"Well, then that makes this whole thing a moot point, doesn't it?" Tim said. He had yet to put is RR phone away, but he hadn't even turned it on either.

"I think we should tell them," Dick said, "Just our closest friends."

"Easy for you to say, Richard, West already knows who we all are."

"All the more reason to tell the Justice League! Even if we only tell the people who we invited tonight, then that's fine. It's still a huge show of trust on our end."

"He's right," Cass said, "They trust us, we trust them. Time to show them."

"Am I telling my team, or not?" Tim groaned.

"I will be telling Jon." Damian decided.

Bruce nodded. "I'll tell my team."

"I'll tell mine." Tim agreed.

Dick rubbed the back of is head, "Well, Wally already knows, but I think Raven isn't mad at me anymore."

Right, because this was actually a huge point of contention between Dick and his team.

"Anyone I'd tell already know, so, I'm good."

Bruce sighed. "I'm not even going to ask."

"Good, 'cause I won't answer."'

"Wonderful that you've all come to a decision," Alfred said as he finished clearing the dishes and food, "But I believe Master Duke is waiting on you, Master Damian."

"Right." He pushed himself away from the table, tucking the chair behind him. "I will see you all tonight."

13:00

Unlike everyone else, Jason wasn't in costume or stuck at the manor. Or at work. He was on ground duty.

Before lunch, he'd managed to slip a tracker onto Lian and Roy, not without Roy texting him to ask what the fuck was up. He said that he needed to get one onto Oliver or Dinah so that Batman knew where they were while in the city.

"That's fucked, man." Roy had sent back, though Lian's tracker was moved to Oliver.

"Not my decision," Jason had sent back, "But it's a safety precaution, so stay together."

After the discussion at lunch, the topic of which they should've hashed out at the very beginning of all of this, he'd been set back to follow unsuspecting heroes.

Which is a lot harder than you'd think, but still pretty easy for him.

It helps that Roy knows he's following them for safety reasons.

Though, another message came from Tim stating that both the Speedsters and the Wonders had entered Gotham. Sure, easy. Except the Speedsters had taken a plane while the Wonders had taken a car.

Fun.

While Tim's tracking Diana's car, Jason gets to put trackers on Iris and Bart. Dick, supposedly, has told Wally to look for Jason but not acknowledge him, as well as the fact that the trackers are a safety measure.

Apparently, Wally's on board wo help where he can. Good. That means that Jason can quietly hand off the trackers and Wally can deal with the rest.

At least, that's how it was supposed to go.

Jason was not warned that Wally holds the same energy as Dick.

"Jason!" Wally's smile was huge when he called out to him, running over to greet him, leaving his confused family a few yards behind. "Dick said you'd meet us here! It's been a while; How's it going?"

First off, Jason has never met Wally, though he supposes it's a good cover story. Second, why the hell does Wally know his name and face? He's going to kill Dick.

He popped a smirk. "Nice to see you, too, Wally. Dick's sorry he couldn't be here to meet you guys, but he's held up with some work at the moment."

Wally waved him off while Barry, Iris, and Bart joined them. "Meh, I'll harass him about it later. In the meantime, can you show us where our hotel is? We would take a taxi, but Dickie warned me about driving in Gotham when he heard we were coming."

Hotel? Makes sense, though it's inconvenient. "Dick's mixing up Bludhaven drivers with Gotham drivers." He shook his head. "Though, be healthily cautious of everything in Gotham while you're here. You're staying long?"

The group fell into step, though Wally was still the only one talking to him. "Only the night, then we gotta go back to Central City tomorrow."

He whistled. "Central? You're a long way from home."

"Yeah, but it's gonna be totally worth it. You know the Wayne Gala going on tonight?"

"There's a Wayne Gala tonight?"

Bart took this moment to chime in. "You mean you don't know about it? It's gonna be so cool! We got a special invite!"

"Is that so? I can't say I knew about any Galas going on tonight, though that shouldn't surprise ya. I don't really have time to worry about the upper class."

"Oh?" Iris asked, "Why's that?"

"I work in Crime Alley," The name made Barry shift slightly. "so my focus is on the lower classes and how to get kids off the street."

"Crime Alley?" Barry confirmed, "Isn't that where Red Hood is set up."

"You've done your research."

"Gotham's got a reputation."

Iris smacked his arm, but Jason just chuckled. "That she does."

Bart lasted no longer than five minutes of quiet walking before asking, "What can you tell us about Batman?"

"Not much," he answered, "He's basically a ghost. The only people that ever seen him are criminals and Commissioner Gordon."

"What about the other heroes?"

"'Heroes'? Gotham ain't got no heroes. She had knights, sure, but no heroes."

"But, what about Batman and Robin and Nightwing?"

"'Vigilante' would be a better word to describe them. Besides, Nightwing doesn't work in Gotham, he's out in Bludhaven."

"Oh."

The group stopped in front of a hotel, one of the cheaper ones near the airport. Jason held his hand out to the group. "It was nice meeting you guys. I guess I'll be seeing ya tonight?"

Barry shook his hand, then Iris, Bart, and Wally.

"I thought you didn't know about the Gala." Wally gasped dramatically, "Were you lying? To a child?"

Jason scoffed and shoved Wally's shoulder. "You're older than me. And, yes, I did. Not many people know about it outside of rumors, but I'll be there with the security team."

"I thought you were too busy to worry about the one percent?"

"I gotta have money to help out the kids in the Alley." A lie, but they don't need to know that. "Anyway, I gotta go. It was nice meeting you guys."

Bart waved enthusiastically at him. "By, mister!"

He called Tim as soon as he had turned the corner, getting Diana's location. He had a tracker for Cassie and one for Donna.

14:00

Patrol during the daytime was boring, but it presented its own challenges. However, none were so inconvenient as to drop him right in front of not only all four Earth-based Green Lanterns, but also the Atlantean Royal Family.

Honestly, them being in the same place at the same time felt like a joke of some sort. If it is, it's not very funny.

There was a robbery happening in the Narrows at a bodega that Signal likes to go to while on long patrols. It was pure chance that they were stopping by mere moments the robbers entered the building.

Scott, Stewart, Gardener, and Jordan all looked ready to step in from one side of store. The Curry family and Hyde also looked ready to jump in from the opposite side of the store. Their reactions were amusing compared to native Gothamites.

The bell on top of the door chimed again as the door closed behind Signal and Robin.

"You gonna put that gun down, or am I gonna have to take it from ya?" Signal asked, a hand on his hip. Robin said nothing, though he did place his own hand on the sword at his side.

The two robbers both hesitated before putting their weapons down.

Signal smiled. "Good." He turned to Robin. "I'll take these two to the station. Will you pick up our food?" Robin nodded. "Great. My usual, old man?" The older gentleman behind the counter smiled and started to make the food.

With their wrists zip-tied behind their backs, the two robbers were escorted outside and into an alleyway down the street. Signal would place a call to the cops and meet Robin across the street.

Robin waited silently for his and Signals food to be done, very aware of the eight visiting heroes watching him.

The old man finished Signal's sandwich, moving on to make Robins. The Green Lanterns and the Atlanteans were still watching his every move.

"There's been no moves from Arkham," the old man said as he handed Robin the food, "Anything to worry about?"

Robin shook his head. "No. As always, there will be a notice sent out if anything happens on the island."

"I don't know why they don't just destroy the bridge and call it a done deal."

"Resources still need to reach Arkham Island."

"Bah! Let 'em die on that island. If Batman ain't gonna take care of 'em, let 'em take care of themselves."

Robin bristled as he took the food. "I shall inform Batman of your opinions on the matter. However, he is working on a way to rehabilitate the inhabitants of Arkham Asylum."

"There ain't no saving most of 'em."

"Then let us work to save the ones that can be saved." He left after that, having no intentions of continuing a pointless conversation.

He could still feel eight pairs of eyes on him as he left, though they couldn't follow him to the rooftops.

Tt.

16:00

Dick, Steph, and Cass were in the Manor, helping Alfred by keeping Bruce out of the kitchen. The waitstaff, chefs, and security that they'd hired for the night were due to arrive very soon and having Bruce out of the way was best for everyone.

Saying that all three were keeping him occupied was a stretch. Cass and Steph were keeping Bruce confined to the Family Wing of the Manor while Dick handled everything else with Alfred.

When the hired help arrived, Alfred had been confined to the Manor to keep an eye on them while they cooked and got set up. That left Dick to pick up the suits from the tailors and pick up the three bloggers that had been hired to cover the press.

The suits were in the Diamond District at their usual tailor, so there was no hassle in picking them up outside of the stares he got when going in and leaving the store. Nothing he wasn't used to, though.

He was meeting the three press at the train station and taking them to Wayne Manor. Alfred was going to do it, but Jason was wandering Gotham and no one else is allowed in the kitchen.

However, there's a small problem with meeting three members of the press at the train station.

"The Kent Family just got off their train." Tim had sent to the group chat, "They're with the bloggers Buce hired."

Damn it. Is this payback for siccing Wally on Jason?

Dick threw on his Press Smile and walked into the train station. He spotted Clark first, Connor second, then the three press, and Lois and Jon.

The page four reporter from the Daily Planet was locked in conversation with Clark and Lois, though the other two were looking around nervously. He walked right up to the group.

"Mister Kent," he greeted, the group's attention falling to him, "Misses Lane. It's good to see you again."

"Mister Grayson," Lois smiled at him, "I don't suppose you're here to take us to Wayne Manor?"

He sighed exaggeratedly. "No, not this time I'm afraid. However," he turned his attention to the three who weren't family, "I am here to take you three to the Manor."

The Tumblr blogger Bruce had picked out held out their hand to shake. "It's nice to meet you, Mister Grayson, sir."

The one from Reddit also shook his hand, a smile taking over her face. The reporter from the Daily Planet looked like he was itching to take a picture or a statement.

"Please, call me Dick," he smiled, "That goes for you, too, Mister Kent, Misses Lane."

"Call me Clark, then," he said. "This is Connor, my little brother, and Jon, my son."

"Nice to meet you two. However, we must get back to the Manor. I'll see you all tonight?"

"Of course." Lois said pleasantly.

17:00

Everything was set just in time for the Manor gates to open and guests to arrive. Commissioner Gordon was over security, though he'd be inside the ballroom itself.

Everyone had returned to the Manor thirty minutes ago, all getting themselves ready before going to greet their guests at the entrance they'd be using.

Tim was still tracking all of the heroes and their families, relaying their locations until they crossed the property lines.

Jason, Kate, Luke, Steph, Selina, and Barbra were arriving separately and in the middle of everyone else. Selina, Jason, and Barbra would come together; so would Kate, Luke, and Steph.

Slowly and steadily, the ballroom filled with the invited guests.

18:00

The waitstaff moved quickly and professionally, making sure every single person had the meal that had been prepared for them. They were all labeled meticulously with the name of the person and table they were going to, a picture accompanying. No cross contamination in the food, and every dietary restriction - that the Waynes will not be explaining their knowledge of - was placed with the correct person.

As soon as every plate had been settled, dinner officially began.

Part 14 Part 16

#Batman's Biggest Hater #part 15 #bruce wayne is batman's biggest hater #batman is dramatic and i will die on this hill #dc #dcu #justice league #dc comics #pranks #they're a family of detectives #using their powers for good #mostly #we're pretending i know what i'm talking about #i'm not vegan and i did surface level search for the meals #forgive me if i'm wrong

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