#because covering the two of them in season five brings us back to season one

[shadowbriar]

Five Hargreeves - Back To You

Pairing : Five Hargreeves x (she/her) Reader Word Count : 2.8k Warning : Angst. Season 4 references. Synopsis : After one too many subway trips, Five's plan of temporal refuge extended as he met someone he refuse to lose. Notes : I refuse to acknowledge what happened in Episode 5 and 6 though I use the gif of said episodes. Don't come at me if you don't agree. If you like this story and would like to support me, please visit my kofi page and perhaps get me a coffee?☕

Living in a small cottage by the lake has never been in his cards. To settle down and watch the sun sets everyday, hearing the rocking chair creak as he takes a sip of his coffee. This was beyond anything he could ever hoped for, anything he could afford. He knew that this wasn’t the life he’s supposed to lead. Lord, this wasn’t even a life he owns to begin with. But with each second passed in this universe, Five finds it hard to drag himself back to that subway and return to his own timeline.

“Enjoying the scenery, are we?” She whispers as she sits on his lap, clinging her arms around his neck “You know, I could really use the help stuffing that chicken. It is afterall your special request.”

The boy raised an eyebrow, “Shouldn’t I be off of any chores since it is my special request?”

“Just because it’s your birthday, doesn’t mean you’re having a vacation, big guy,” She reasoned “We’ve only got two hands and this house is only getting bigger than smaller.”

The boy couldn’t bite his grin when he leaned in to kiss her. His heart swells. She was right. The house feels like it’s growing along with them. They might not have much, certainly far from the wealth his father possesses, but it was much more than enough. Having her was much more than enough.

“You know that I love you, right?” Five asks as he pulls away, his left hand still cupping her cheek as his thumb caresses her gently.

“I know,” She nods, smiling “But you can’t sweet talk your way out of kitchen duty, Mister.”

Five chuckles, standing from his seat as he carried her in his arms, “Alright, Missy, let’s see what this chicken fuss is all about.”

—-

The muscles on his cheeks were aching but he couldn’t fight the need to grin as wide as he could. He was happy, watching her carry that awful looking cake out of the oven. The icing that supposedly spelled ‘happy birthday’ was crooked, its colour pale compared to the bright fondant covering it. Thank God the candles were their only source of light, otherwise she wouldn’t even bring it out, he reckons.

“It’s ugly, I know,” She says as she lets it rest on the table “But it tastes better than it looks, I promise.”

Five shakes his head, disagreeing with her discouraging comments as he steals a kiss, “It’s perfect.”

“Well, go on and make a wish!”

The boy closes his eyes. His hands holding hers as he whispers his wish: I wish for this to last forever. Her squeals of excitement was music to his ears as he blew the candles. It is indeed the best birthday of his life.

“I’d ask but I know you wouldn’t tell me your wish.”

“Who said I made any wish?”

“You did,” She says as she helps him cut the cake “You make that little frown everytime you say your little prayer, do you know that?”

“I don’t pray, Love.”

“You do. Well, not religiously, but sometimes you do. You say your little prayer, your hopes. You whisper them sometimes, but most times you just close your eyes and do that little frown thing.”

Five raised an eyebrow, “Have you been watching me?”

“I might,” She teases “I mean who wouldn’t watch such a handsome man like you?”

The night continues as the couple finishes their dinner. Fulfilled would be such an understatement for what he feels right now. Everything he ever wanted, everything he ever dreamed of, is served right in that room. He wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world.

“So can I take a guess about what you wished for?”

“Really, Love?” He asked, putting down his glass of wine.

She shrugs, “We’ve talked about everything else, haven’t we?”

“You know, there’s a belief that if you say your prayers, it won’t happen.”

“Well, you’re not saying what it was, I’m just taking a guess what it’s about.” She argues, still persistent “And what’s so bad with it not happening? Do you really want it that bad?”

“I— Nothing, I just don’t—”

“What is it that you could wish for? What is it that you don’t have?”

“Nothing, I’m not saying that I want anything, I just—”

“Is it your family?”

Five pauses. It was as if he was stupefied. He hadn’t thought about his family in a while. Shameful of him, sure, but after one too many subway trips, he figured that a little rest shouldn’t be so bad. He just had to find a timeline where there weren't that many people shooting at him. Perhaps take a week or two to rest and gather his strength before jumping into another subway.

It just had to be her. The girl he bumped into right after he got out of the station. He remembers vividly the concerned look on her face when she saw him. He was littered with bruises, dirt and dust covering his body. He looked more like trouble than a lover yet she still found it in her heart to ask if he needed any help.

And here he was, feeling the happiness in his heart wither as the thought of his family returned to his consciousness. He knew that the universe is cruel, that he couldn’t have the best of both worlds in this lifetime, that he had to choose between his lover or his family. Some nights he wonders if his family had succeeded in preventing another apocalypse without him. Some nights he wonders if his family had found a way to another timeline. Some nights he wonders if his family were still alive. But most nights he tried his best to ignore these wonders. His family must have found a way to stop the apocalypse, or at least escape another one.

Taking a deep breath, Five reaches for her hands. Guilt and regret were evident on her face. He knew that she didn’t mean to sound as cruel. Perhaps it was the wine that made their blood more sensitive or that the fatigue of the day had clouded their minds. Either way he knew that they both would be sorry when the morning came.

“I love you,” He starts gently “I love you more than anything in this and every timeline.”

A tear left her eye. It was painful. To love someone you know doesn’t belong to you. To desperately grasp into the moments you knew would end anytime soon. To selfishly stay in a relationship that was doom from the start. Neither of them deserved this, yet neither of them wanted to let go.

“It’s been six years, Five,” She reasoned “As much as I love you.. We can’t keep living like this.”

“Time works differently there, my love. Six years here might only mean a couple hours there.”

“That doesn’t make it any less wrong for you to stay. Those couple hours might be the most crucial hours for your family. They might be fighting for their lives right now, they might be dying, for all we know! You need to come back to them, Five. You have to.”

Five forces a laugh, “Wait, what are you saying?”

She remained silent. Her tears were falling, biting her lips to conceal her tremble. A bitter feeling is brewing in his stomach now.

“Your family needs you and—”

“Okay, stop,” He stood from his seat with an offended look “Are you breaking up with me? On my birthday?”

She looks away, unable to meet his eyes.

“Goodness, you can’t be serious.”

“What choice do we have, Five? One way or another, you’d have to go back to your family. They need you—”

“And you? You don’t need me anymore?”

Her jaw clenches, “That’s beside the point.”

“No, that is the whole point, actually,” He argues, this time coming close to her “I love you, alright? Why is it so wrong for me to want to be with the person that I love? I’ve lived more than a lifetime alone, why can’t I have someone for once?”

“You don’t belong in this timeline. I—”

“I belong with you,” He cuts in “It’s not the timeline that matters, it’s where you are. I belong with you.”

If there’s anything she loves most about Five other than his gentle and caring nature towards her, it would be how adamant he is once he’s set his mind into something. There’s no doubt in her heart about the genuinity of his words. But as much as she’s grateful and touched over it, she knew that they could only spend so long before the guilt eats them whole.

She lets go of his hands softly, placing them on his cheeks instead. She admires him. The beautiful man that’s now standing in front of her with his heart on his sleeves, announcing his devotion to her on the day when he’s supposed to be the one showered with attention and love. His eyes were glossy, clearly conflicted.

“I love you, Five,” She whispers, gently caressing his skin as if it was their last goodbye “But I can’t keep you here, I can’t. I can’t keep you from your family.”

Five looks defeated, silent.

“Don’t you want to know what happened to them? If they’re okay? If they’ve figured out how to stop the apocalypse? Don’t you want to know?”

“I— I don’t know.” He answers “What I know is that I want to be with you.”

“I’ll always be with you, Love,” She reassures, kissing his cheek “I might not understand how this whole different timelines work, but I know that whichever timeline it is, whatever universe we live in, I will always belong to you. I will always be with you.”

And he finally cries. His tears flowing and wetting her palms. His heart shatters, finally succumbing to the guilt he’s tried so hard to bury and forget. He misses his family, he wanted so badly to get back and pick up where he left off, but would it be worth it? Would leaving everything here be worth it? Would leaving her be worth it?

“We’ll find our way,” She reassures, pulling the broken man into her embrace “You’ll find me in your timeline. Maybe we’ll meet at the grocery store, or at a bar, or perhaps at another train station.”

Five chuckles a little, letting a shaky breath as he asks, “And if we don’t?”

“We will,” She says firmly, giving a little space between them so they could gaze into each other’s face “I’m too much of a troublemaker and you’re too much of a problem solver for us to not meet. It’ll be too hard to ignore each other with our nature, Love. We’re bound to meet each other, in any timeline, in any universe. Trust me.”

The boy forces a smile. He leans in, kissing his lover gently as if she’d burst into petals if he pushed too much. Her hold around his neck feels different. Like she wasn’t looking for support but giving one instead. He could feel her trembling a little as his hands pulled her closer by the waist. Her heart is breaking too, as much as his is, but they knew that it’s inevitable. It’s only a matter of time before time pulls them apart and it certainly would be much more painful then.

“I’ll find you,” He whispers “I promise.”

—-

Canada is certainly much colder than home. Five rubs his hands and blows some air to his palms in hope to gain some warmth, but it’s obvious that the only comfort he’ll find in this weather is to get in Viktor’s bar and ask for some drink. That is, if Diego could start the car and get them going.

“It says here that Viktor’s bar is only five minutes by foot,” Klaus says “Who wants to run to the bar with me?”

“No one is getting out of this car!” Diego says in frustration, irritatedly trying his best to start the engine “We’re going to get to his bar together, in this car. That’s the whole point of a family road trip. We go to the bar by car, not by foot!”

“Yes, but it’s freezing here, Diego! The heater is not even on!” Alison argues.

“Well, it won’t be unless the engine is on.”

“No shit, Luther,” Ben says “I vote to run.”

Lila raises her hand, “Second to run.”

“No! No one is getting out of this car!” Diego yells once more, hitting the steering wheel frustratedly “I just need to—”

And by God’s miracle, the engine turns back on. Though their trip would soon reach its main destination, the bicker done by the family persists. The coldness of Canadian weather and how the heater broke almost twenty kilometres ago has made the seven heads’ temper raise. They really need to get to Viktor’s bar before they start to kill each other.

“I’m out of here,” Five announce as the car gets into the parking space of the bar. He space jumped inside, finding himself on one of the empty stools “Good to see you, Viktor.”

“Five,” VIktor greets, a little startled but his smile grows “You’re here. Where are the others?”

“Still figuring their way out to get here. Can I get whiskey on rocks?”

“On it.”

Five taps on the wooden table as he waits for his drink. His heart was content, as much as it might mean now. Their plan to stop the apocalypse worked. Viktor managed to take the marigold off of Ben before the Cleanse happened and now they’re trying to get back or rebuild their life. For once they finally managed to stop the apocalypse from happening.

Right after they succeeded in preventing the cleanse, Five found himself running to the subway station. He could still feel his feet burning from how fast he tried to get back to the station, wanting to jump in the train and go back to her timeline, but once he got there, the station vanished. There was no trace of it, no matter how many times he tried to run around and look for it. The subway is gone. She is gone.

Perhaps it was the price he has to pay for saving the universe. One’s happiness in exchange for the lives of millions doesn’t seem to be a hard sacrifice to make, but it’s still a tough pill for him to swallow. He knew that she would be proud. That she would hug and kiss him for doing all the hard work in saving the world. But the more he thinks about it, the more it stings for such touch would only be as good as a dream now.

“You ordered whiskey on rocks?” A voice asked, breaking his train of thoughts.

Five’s mouth went agape. He couldn’t tell if he was daydreaming or if this was some sick new power he gained from the marigold, but she was there. Standing right in front of him with a glass of whiskey in her hand.

“Viktor said his brother ordered whiskey on rocks, I assume that’s you?”

“I— Uh, yes,” He stammers, getting off the stool “You’re here.”

Five couldn’t believe his eyes. In his heart he knew that they would meet again, that somehow the universe would let him keep both her and his family, but he never expected that it was true. He never expected that he would meet her again. Not this fast, not this way.

“Sorry?” She asks, raising an eyebrow “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes. Yes, I’m fine,” Five said, shaking his head and taking the glass “Thank you.”

The girl smiles. It was a different smile than what he’s used to seeing. There wasn’t much love in her eyes, but he wasn’t in the position to complain. The girl he’s staring at and his lover might be the same person but she’s yet to know him here. She’s yet to know that he’s hers. She’s yet to know that he loves her. She’s yet to know that he belongs to her.

“Sorry, but have we met before?” She asks, still staring back at him “You look very familiar.”

“Uh, no, I don’t think so,” He lied, offering his hand “I’m Five. Five Hargreeves. Viktor’s brother.”

She took his hand, telling him her name, “I didn’t know Viktor had a baby brother.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not really his baby brother. It’s— It’s complicated.” Five could feel his cheeks burning like a little boy, bashful “It’s a long story.”

“You mind telling me about it?” She asks, leaning on the table “I’ve got time. I love hearing stories.”

“I know you do,” He says with a big smile “Well, where do I start..”

[limonmelon]

armandaniel reclist

Because I really have to start putting these somewhere and because I need everyone to read these and give them the love they deserve:

outcast of all this night by gaypiratedivorce - "After a month in Dubai, Daniel Molloy is back home and miraculously alive, eager to get to work on his first draft. The vampire Armand has other plans." first in an insanely good (and complete!) series.

two truths and a liar by andrealyn - "Facing down the press junket for his book, Daniel Molloy is prepared to hype up his hit novel. He's less prepared to have Armand crash the tour to play bodyguard and doting assistant and he's definitely not ready to have his secrets spilled on a world stage because Armand wants to play games. The longer he sticks around to torment Daniel as he chases him across the country, the longer he stays. So, who's really winning this game?"

to the edge of the earth by andrealyn (you can tell I love her Daniel voice) - "There's nowhere that Armand can run where Daniel won't find him. Using the Talamasca's information, his own dogged determination, and eternity sprawling ahead of them, Daniel's going to find his maker and figure out why Armand keeps running. When he catches him (and he will), he's going to prove that it's going to be the two of them, forever, and that he's going to love Armand the way no one has before."

and then what? by andrealyn - "The droning hum of Louis' boredom is going to drive Armand mad. Instead of accepting it, Armand seeks out the kaleidoscope chaos that is Daniel Molloy's mind to learn why he's so special, so fascinating, so interesting. Every city he finds him in, he learns more before he makes Daniel forget. Every city, Armand grows a little more addicted. And every city, Armand does something he's not supposed to do -- falls a little more in love and eager to give Daniel the memories of who they are together."

his thoughts were red thoughts by spqr - "Daniel’s barely thirty; he can’t fathom one century, let alone five. It’s probably a wonder Armand doesn’t spend his time skulking in a cave somewhere, muttering to himself, covered in the blood and muck of his innocent human victims."

care and keeping by katplanet - "Louis shakes his head. “And now he's got you stepping on him.” Daniel picks his drink up and necks the last half of it. “I have not,” he says, “stepped on him, as of yet.” “But you want to.” “I think so?” Daniel puts the empty glass back on the table and scoots it out of their immediate limb radius. “I think I could want to. I want to want to.” “There you go,” Louis says, “tell him that. That'll set the mood.”" With some really great Louis/Daniel friends who love each other and also fuck too.

Endearments by Nothing_But_Paisley - "Daniel never compared him to a Botticelli angel or a Bernini cherub, never called him a demon or an imp. Such images scarcely existed within that wonderfully secular modern brain of his. Daniel was entirely a creature of the flesh."

open up your skull, i'll be there by typefortydeductions - "He shakes his wrist free and brings it to his mouth, licking up the trail of blood, his eyes never leaving Armand’s. He turns, and walks away, and spends a restless night in his own bed with his dick half-hard and the memory of Armand’s blood and Armand’s hands and Armand’s final whispered words before he upped and left Daniel sprawled newborn on the floor." this series floored me it's so good please read it.

mystic seaport is that way by exastris_scientia - "Daniel should really get more sleep and stop getting himself into these situations..." this series has it's boot on my throat. written pre-Season 2.

bend your dream with the road | VOTE TO END OTW RACISM by meronicavars - "Daniel is asleep dreaming of his own unreliable recollection of Louis at Polynesian Mary's all those years ago and Armand wants to dive into his dream and wrench Louis out, shake him until he realizes that Daniel is his, Daniel has always been his. Isn’t this something Louis should know? That Daniel was his gift to Armand. Why must you torture me with his presence? He wants to ask. Why would you bring him here if not to punish me?" also part of great series and written pre-Season 2.

the man who wasn't there by obstra - ""I just couldn't bear to lose you and Louis in one day.” Armand is looking away from Daniel now and picking more ferociously at the edge of his sleeve, like he's avoiding something big. He's almost afraid to ask, somehow he can tell this is going somewhere significant “Why would losing me be the same as losing Louis Armand? Just some kid you met decades ago in San Francisco, tortured a little bit then threw aside? Explain to me why. Does this have anything to do with the fact that my memory of the 70s has more holes in it than swiss cheese? I thought it was just drugs but I also thought San Francisco was just drugs and look how that turned out.”"

a haunting just for company by valkyrisms - ""I know what a breakup looks like," Daniel says. "The better question is, why are you coming to me about it? I'm the one who broke up your little sham." "This is what humans do, don't they?" Armand asks, letting his voice drop. "Crashing on their friends' couches when there's a blip in their romances?""

Simplicity by WendigoDreaming - "Daniel's memory is a gaping hole morphing slowly into the shape of Armand." also part of an ongoing series!

The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning by trinityofone - "He should have left when he had the chance. But he wanted to see how it ended. His mistake. Because the story wasn’t done with him. All at once it was grabbing him by the throat. (A version of Daniel's turning featuring visions, sex, and sexy visions.)"

forever's gonna start tonight by trinityofone (actually just read all their IWTV fic thank you) - "I’ve lost my mind, Daniel thinks, still lavishing kisses to the chest of the creature that killed him. He says the next part out loud: “I fucking hate you. And you hate me. So something is making us do this.” “I don’t hate you,” Armand pants. “You mean nothing to me. Don't stop.”"

more to come!

[russellsppttemplates]

Loooved your latest Franco piece! Buy now I can only think about y/n being Brazilian...u know Brazil and Argentina are hermanos up until football, right? It's an crazy old "beef". Imagine Franco and y/n bickering about football like Pierre and Kika, and George and Carmen...but with a ton of history to back them up. I'm sure it would be chaos🤣

“Franco, you know Flamengo is going to crush Boca Juniors in the next Copa Libertadores, right?”, Y/N teased, lounging comfortably on the couch, wearing a vibrant green and yellow Brazil jersey, "but don't worry, amor, I'll comfort you after".

Franco rolled his eyes, a playful smirk tugging at his lips, "you dream, Y/N - Boca is unstoppable. The Bombonera will be a fortress!”.

Your banter was a ritual as much as the sport itself. It all started when you had to cover for one of your colleagues in the factory right on the day of the game, so your negotiation was simple - you'd cover if they let you watch the game on your break.

What you didn't know is that there was also another person who not only shared your passion for racing but also for football, finding Franco focused on the screen as the game was about to start. What began as a quick exchange of words evolved to a never-ending match of words, neither willing to concede defeat as the rest of the team gathered to watch two football fans argue, too lost between their engineer and their driver to even witness the monumental match happening.

“Remember 2004?”, you fired back, referencing that unforgettable Copa America final, "Adriano, last minute goal? Ring any bells?”.

Franco groaned dramatically, "you had to bring that up, didn’t you?", he retorted, pointing fingers, "but don't forget 1990, when Caniggia silenced the Maracanã! Not a peep after that one!".

The atmosphere in the apartment was fully charged, the air crackling with playful hostility, but beneath it lay an undeniable camaraderie for the sport.

You cherished these verbal sparring matches because they bridged the cultural divide, transforming rivalry into steadfast friendship that had grown into the beautiful relationship you have now.

“Okay, but what about our World Cup titles? Five. A full hand of them! Count them!”, you grinned widely, your eyes twinkling with challenge.

Franco feigned a sigh of defeat before responding with a grin of his own, "maybe so, but we have Maradona. That's worth more than five titles!”, he said, wiggling his fingers.

As the day unfolded, your spirited competition continued, seasoned with laughter and mock-serious arguments. The television flickered with highlights and historic moments, each pause generating another round of passionate debate between you.

Dinner was a mixture of cuisines as well, with Franco insisting on empanadas while you insisted on adding feijoada to the menu.

As you settled down to watch a replay of an old Argentina vs. Brazil match, the laughter softened into something more profound. Your rivalry, no matter how vehemently expressed, was just a surface layer over your deep bond.

In the world of racing, you both pushed towards the same goal. In football, you were rivals, igniting each other’s passions.

“Franco", you mused as the game played on, “I think we might argue forever about who's better...”.

He leaned back, a satisfied smile playing on his lips, "Maybe. But that's what makes it fun, right? Besides, I think when our kids come around we might be able to make you switch", he spoke unabashedly as he saw you gulp, "or at the very least, there will be more of us to argue!".

(Thank you for sending this in ✨️)

[huggyhughesy]

slow mornings | quinn hughes

a little dad!quinn blurb for your sunday evening <3

The house was quiet. Too quiet for a Saturday morning.

Usually, Saturday mornings started early with Sophie climbing into Quinn and I's bed. This morning, though, I was the only one laying under the duvet. As I racked my brain, trying to remember if there was a reason I had been abandoned in the bed, I remembered that I'd never seen Quinn last night. He was supposed to get home after midnight, flying home from a five-day road trip.

The panic began to set in when I realized that I had no messages from Quinn, his phone wasn't on his bedside table, and -- most importantly -- he wasn't lying in bed next to me. Flinging the covers off, I made my way down the hall to Sophie's room, where I discovered that she too was missing. Deciding to venture downstairs, I could hear the faint sounds of music coming from the living room.

As I entered, my heart swelled at the sight in front of me. Laying on the couch, both asleep, was Sophie and Quinn. Sophie was cuddled into her dad's side and didn't appear to be waking up anytime soon.

I quickly snapped a picture of the two of them before leaning down and placing a kiss to the top of Quinn's head. His eyes fluttered open and a lazy grin came over his features.

"Hey," he mumbled. "Can I have a real kiss?"

I smiled at his request.

"You want me to give you a kiss after you abandoned me in our bed?"

He just continued smiling at me, knowing that I'd give in eventually. And I did, leaning back down to give Quinn a 'real kiss' before walking around the couch and sitting on the unoccupied side of Quinn's body. I leaned onto his side as his arm came to wrap around my waist. I was looking at the movie currently playing on the tv; Winnie the Pooh was currently one of Soph's favorites. She especially loved Eeyore.

"Eeyore's actually such an underrated character," Quinn said, as if he could read my mind.

"You and Soph are too much alike," I replied, earning a nudge from my husband.

"Who's your favorite then?"

I didn't reply, which was an answer enough for Quinn.

"There's nothing wrong with liking Eeyore, you know. His grumpiness is funny. And realistic."

"Fair point."

We both laid in comfortable silence for a while, watching the children’s movie, when I figured I’d bring up the potentially touchy subject of Quinn’s road trip, during which they’d lost two games and won one.  

"How was the trip?"

The involuntary sigh that escaped his lips was all I really needed to know. Quinn had already confided in me about how frustrating it was for his team to be having such an awful season, especially compared to Jack's, but to also have to see so many of his teammates and people he considered to be good friends get traded away. He didn't talk about it in front of his parents or his brothers, specifically Jack, because he didn't want to make everyone listen to his pity party when he knew they really just wanted to be basking in the glory of Jack's first really good season in the NHL.

"It sucked," Quinn admitted, his arm gripping my waist a little tighter. “But it’s over now, so it’s whatever.”

I looked up to him, communicating with just my look that it, in fact, wasn’t whatever.

“Fine, fine. It just wasn’t fun overall. I didn’t play very well, and I missed you guys.”

Quinn had a pout on his face when I looked up at him. I couldn’t help myself but to lean up and kiss his jaw.

“We missed you too,” I informed him. “Soph watched every single minute of every game.”

As if she could hear us mention her name in her sleep, Sophie stirred. Wiggling around and rubbing her eyes. Upon her opening her eyes fully, she looked at Quinn, then at me, and did a double take back to Quinn, letting out a little gasp.

“Daddy!” she squealed and wrapped her arms around Quinn’s neck. Quinn chuckled but pulled her closer to his chest.

“Hey sweetheart. Have a good nap?”

The massive smile on Sophie’s face and the hands that were still clutching onto Quinn’s shirt were enough indication that she was more preoccupied with her father than to answer his question.

“Daddy, are you home now?”

The grin that graced Quinn’s features wavered slightly. While Soph was asking if Quinn was home, she was really asking if he was going to stay home.

“No baby, not yet.  I’m home this week, and then I’m going to see Uncle Trevor.”

She tried to mask her disappointment. After a moment, though, her features changed to one of curiosity and excitement.

“Oh. But can you ask him to bring me some candy? He always brings me candy when you see him,” she informed us.

I raised an eyebrow and side-eyed Quinn, who looked guilty.

“Uncle Trevor always brings you candy?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Daddy brings it, but Uncle Trevor gives it to him to give to me.”

“Ah, I see.”

I decided to leave the subject of Trevor and Quinn conspiring to sneak our kid candy another time. Right now, though, I was going to spend the morning watching Disney movies.

[jeonjaemark]

christmas sweater || boo seungkwan

content warning: mentions of death // masterlist

“guys! c’mon! let’s start secret santa!” soonyoung shouts, pulling me to the couch.

i stumble between my feet after trying to bite into my cookie. it crumbles as soonyoung sits me down near him on the floor. i huff a breath of disappointment at my broken cookie and pushed it on the coffee table. everyone gathers around the living room bringing their food or drinks. soft christmas music was playing in the background as quiet conversations break out.

“you just want secret santa to happen already so you get your gift and prove to everyone you gave away the best one.” i teased, nudging him with my elbow.

“my reasons are not selfish for wanting to start secret santa already.”

“no, they’re definitely selfish.” seungkwan chimes in backing me up as he sits next to me.

“if you two are just gonna team up against me the entire time then maybe we just skip the two of you this year.” soonyoung hissed waving us off.

“soonyoung, just start reading the names out for everyone.” seungcheol hissed from the other side of the couch.

he grabs the gifts from under the tree distributing them one by one to each person. i stare up the tree admiring the blue and pink decor covering the white tree. a few pictures of the members were hung around as ornaments making me giggle. of course the tree had the members all over it.

soonyoung reaches for a rectangular blue snowflake box wrapped with a silver sparkly ribbon. he calls out my name and i happily take the gift from him. i try to shake the gift around gently hoping to give away any hints, but i couldn’t really hear anything. the box was light and full which meant there wasn’t going to be a block of gold inside.

once soonyoung passed out the gifts to everyone, each person took a turn opening their gifts. a collective oooh’s and ahhhh’s broke out every ten minutes making it seem like i was watching the minion’s movie.

seungkwan holds up his new hair dryer that he got along with a bag of vitamin powder. all the members took turns each teasing him about how he is going to be a menace having the dryer everyone wanted. he tried to make a few guess on who gave him the gift but one glance around the room gave it away for me. in the corner i noticed jihoon quietly hiding behind jun. his ears were red when seungkwan guessed joshua as his secret santa and went on a whole spiel about why he believed it was joshua.

“why wouldn’t it be him? he likes me.”

“everyone likes you but that doesn’t mean they’ll get you a nice gift.” soonyoung snickers.

“this has joshua written all over it.” seungkwan stood firm on his choice. “i have talked about the hair dryer multiple times in front of him.”

“it’s not me, i swear.” joshua holds his hands up in surrender. “but you’ve talked about the hair dryer in front of everyone a million times.”

“enough guessing. we have five other people to go through with gifts. seungkwan stop taking away the spotlight.” mingyu says. “y/n, it’s your turn.”

i untied the ribbon and slide open the box finding a maroon cardigan with snowflake and reindeer pattern decorating the mid section. i hold up the sweater in front of me and turn it finding the year 1998 stitched in the back.

my heart stops while staring at the cardigan in disbelief. many memories flooded my brain at the person wearing this cardigan.

“y/n, help me with setting the table before grandma arrives.” mom says, placing the food in the center of the table.

the doorbell goes off making olaf bark at the sound to alert us. dad walks past us to the door telling olaf to go to her bed and to quiet down. loud laughter fills the house making my heart jump with a joy. one by one my cousins, aunts and uncles pile into the house. each time the doorbell goes off the clutter of voices gets louder and louder as everyone slowly arrives. i always love the holiday season because it meant being together my family.

i set the plates down when a small wrinkled woman with short curly hair dressed in a maroon with snowflakes and reindeer walks in. the scent of cinnamon fills the dining area making my inside go warm. i abandon what i was doing and rush over to her.

“grandma.” i gushed as she pulls me into a tight embrace. “i missed you.”

“y/n, are you okay?” seokmin asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. “you look like you’re about to cry.”

the pads of my finger reach my eyes and a tear escapes. i quickly wipe away the tears clearing my throat while i tried to compose myself again.

“y-yeah. i just really love the sweater.”

everyone moved on to the next person to open their gifts as they reacted over a pair of jeans and sweater. the chatter of the members faded as my thoughts grew too loud to focus on the rest of the gift opening.

———

for the past twenty minutes joshua, seokmin and soonyoung were hogging the mic for karaoke while the others were drinking while playing a board game or were playing with their new gifts they got. i stayed out in the balcony wanting to get away from the chaos. no matter how long i stared and held the sweater in my hands, i was still in disbelief. i never thought there would be a day that i would have this sweater in my hands again after losing it.

“hey, do you mind having some company?” a soft voice asked.

i look up finding seungkwan holding two mugs filled with steaming hot chocolate. i nod and he carefully walks out handing me a mug. he takes a seat next to me on the bench. i adjust the heater moving it closer to his side so we both can stay warm.

luckily the air was only chilly instead of freezing cold like usual and the night was a little brighter compared to it being pitch black. it was hard to see the stars from here but it was nice and quiet out compared to the chaos inside. seungkwan doesn’t say anything after adjusting himself on the bench and just stares up at the sky.

“so did you ever figure out who got you the hair dryer?”

“yeah, everyone confessed who got who while you were out here. by the way j——“

“can i ask you something?” i bit my inner lip looking at him.

many thoughts race through my mind whether to ask or not. it would bother me if i didn’t ask but at the same time i didn’t want to ask. there’s too much emotions to unpack. seungkwan clears his throat breaking me out of my thoughts. he straightens his posture seeing a glimpse of something in my eyes. he must have realized how heavy the conversation was going to be. he sets down his mug in the space between us.

“how did you find this?” i held up the sweater to him.

“how are you so sure the gift is from me?”

“seungkwan, i wasn’t born yesterday. no one knows about this sweater except you.”

“i could’ve hint it to someone else to get it for you.”

“seungkwan! you’re my best friend. as much i believe that any of guys would get me a thoughtful gift, it wouldn’t be this special.”

seungkwan and i both stare at each other. as much as he denies it, i know he was the one who got me this sweater. there is no one else in the room that would’ve thought about getting me this. none of them were to know the significance of the sweater. i stood firm on my guess waiting for him to weigh down and confess.

“okay, fine. you guessed correctly. it’s me.” he smiles. “i know how much that sweater means to you. that is the only thing you have that makes you still feel connected to her.”

the holiday season was the one time a year where i felt like my family was normal and got along. the laughter and loud voices of my cousins all talking together as we open our gifts and play games. my aunts doing their zumba to work off the meal they just ate. my uncles all sat at the table together playing poker while drinking and shouting over the call of the game. grandma drifting between hanging out with all the moms or checking up on us kids to make sure we’ve eaten enough food for the next three years.

she recently passed some time ago. i could still remember coming home from class with seungkwan. my mom’s eyes were red and puffy. her face pale like she had seen a monster. seungkwan wouldn’t leave my side the entire week.

the holidays feel a little empty without her. every year since she passed i would wear the sweater believing that she was still here with us around this time. a year ago mom had accidentally sold it during a garage sale back around summer. my heart broke when she confessed to me about it even after trying to track the buyer. at the end of the day she couldn’t find it and i was heartbroken. i kept reassuring mom that it’s okay and it’s not her fault. it was an honest mistake, but it felt like i was losing her all over again.

“it took me a while to find it. i may have been charged a little bit more than the original price but it’s worth it.” he smirks, squeezing my hand.

“thank you. seriously thank you.” i sniffle wrapping my arms around him. “you don’t know how much this means to me.”

“of course. i am happy that i can bring back a little bit of your christmas magic.”

he helps me put on the sweater. he adjusts a few strands in my hair. a rush of warmth floods my veins as i run my fingers off the soft design stitch into the sweater. i lean my nose closer to my shoulder. cinnamon and apples flood my nose and i get taken back to many memories of grandma in this sweater during this season. the way her eyes crinkle in the corner as she claps her hands singing along to the christmas songs. i spin around showing off the sweater to him and he giggles as i tried my best to model.

“beautiful. i am sure you’re grandma would be happy to see you in the sweater again.”

i look back to seungkwan squeezing him tightly. he wraps his arms around me patting my back. i had the most amazing best friend in the world. i couldn’t have picture a more perfect gift.

“uhmmm guys? can you get back in here? seokmin and soonyoung are drunk. they took over the karaoke and now i am scared to take the mic away.” jun says.

“i think we should go save our friends from the drunk karaoke singers.” i laughed tugging seungkwan behind me. “or maybe we can join them.”

[one-awesome-beetle]

sherlock season one analysis ramble (feat. johnlock. a lot of johnlock.)

ok so i had a sleepover with my best friend and she may or may not have introduced me to bbc sherlock and i may or may not have gone on an hour-long tangent (after watching ONE EPISODE) about johnlock that i cannot FOR THE LIFE OF ME REMEMBER but im just gonna keep typing and see what bullshit i end up with. also i have only watched season one, and we are going to rewatch it before moving on to season two because!! I JUST WATCHED LIKE FIVE HOURS OF TWO MEN FLIRTING. THEY ARE SO IN LOVE ABHUDFGNZMRNCGAJBghnsccbHVHAUVHAAAAAAAAAAAUGHH

shit ok so, ahugsabhfbdn okokokokok so i'm going to yap in two sections (mainly, they will cross over and blur at one point and i will not apologise for that), one regarding mainly sherlock and one mainly regarding john, because both their characters are so incredibly complex and interesting (aaaaahhh)

firstly, sherlock

he is... so incredibly interesting. he investigates crime because it excites him, not because he's concerned for the wellbeing of others- no, he wants to get into the criminal's head, to understand. he states that he is married to his work, but what i see there isn't love; what kickstarted it was likely this need to know what was off about a case, like an itch he desperately needed to scratch, which then developed into a habit, a passion, and then a(n unhealthy) obsession - at least, that's how i see it. venturing into more johnlock territory, to me, john is definitely his first love. i see him with past relationships, but i think he would've had them because that is what is standard and expected, but it was never truly love, you know? this is why we get the flirting-but-not-flirting when he's talking to john, because he's used to flirting, he knows how to, he just has to get accustomed to the new feelings that now come with flirting. i also believe he's definitely not a virgin, he gives far too much power bottom energy (the way i see it, john def tops and sherlock is being a flirty brat until he actually gets flustered and gets hit with the "oh shoot, he's hot")

this kind of brings me to john, though i'll probably get back to sherlock when i actually remember what else i have to say

john was immediately my favourite character, he's... i lack the words to describe him properly in the moment but HES INCREDIBLE AND I LOVE HIM. having been a soldier and a doctor, he is more stoic and reserved than sherlock, definitely braver, while sherlock is just stupid but never has to face the consequences due to his brilliance; how my friend put it was "if he was an average person, he'd die first in a horror movie, but since he's sherlock holmes there's no way he wouldn't survive". this gives us a lovely contrast of character which is wonderful as it paves the way to so many corny ship dynamics and tropes that i will be taking advantage of. firstly, i want to draw attention to the fact that while john makes himself as small as possible, sherlock wants to occupy and cover as much room as he possibly can - this also leads to john being more sturdy and reliable while sherlock spreads himself just a little too thin.

i do think it's interesting that in hindsight, throughout this section i have mainly analysed john's character by comparing him to and showing the contrast between him and sherlock, which, ironically, also tells us a lot about him as an individual. he is always second to sherlock, to others, because without someone else to bring attention to him he'd be able to live practically unnoticed by anyone - this can be attributed to his trust issues and lack of people he can, or wants to, rely on. this is especially funny when you consider his hesitance to trust people in the context of sherlock. because while he may not trust him, completely, he's definitely already developed this form of unwavering loyalty. one of my favourite scenes where this is shown is in episode one (i think ?) where when sgt. donovan warns john about sherlock, he is so quick to doubt her, his "why?" is so fast and delivered with such intent and confidence it shook me, and left me with such a lasting impression it is still such a core line i associate with him.

next i want to touch on just how much gay (johnlock) subtext there actually is, especially in the first and third episodes, because trust me when i say there is a lot. i obviously won't be able to explain and analyse all of the gay scenes as there are far too many but i will try, and will spend the most time on my favourites. firstly, within 24 hours (i think) of meeting him, john watson has killed a man for sherlock. what the fuck.

[insert 15-ish minute break where i paced around the kitchen muttering to myself like a lunatic]

this man is, somehow, in a way that even he can't comprehend or understand, completely devoted to helping sherlock. "why??" you ask? because he is also a fucking madman. he isn't traumatised by, but rather misses the war, and to get back to that sense of adrenaline and excitement he is willing to go around with a (technically) unqualified, unemployed detective who is thrilled by serial murders and bombings. though he might look at sherlock differently, or even so much as get scared by his attitude towards his their line of work, he gets off on it as much as sherlock, and the only reason he hasn't left, like a normal, sensible individual who values their life would've is because he too indulges in the thrill of the chase, and is very content to be able to marvel at sherlock's skill and hang onto his every word*, though he refuses to admit this to himself, as he seems to value independence pretty highly. this is interesting in contrast to sherlock because while he too values independence, he seems to not mind relying on others - that is, until you consider his refusal to trust in or rely on the police, professional organisations, other detectives, etc. this is when you notice that the people he doesn't seem to mind relying on are himself, and john.

*again with the complete and utter devotion. also half of season one is just john listening to and being in awe of sherlock's rambling.

i just got very sidetracked, though i'm still technically on topic (and still typing) so i count that as a win. in episode one, when john and sherlock go to the restaurant (i vaguely remember it being for something relating to the case but that's besides the point), their conversation basically goes like this:

john: so... do you have a girlfriend?

sherlock: no, not really my area (im gay haha) (...but why is he asking me this? [gears turning]

wait.)

john: (oK, OK OK)... do you have a boyfriend? that's cool btw im uh... ally! woo (im gay. i'm GAY)

sherlock: (oh sHIT he's hitting on me) *fast* i know its cool (I KNOW YOU'RE GAY)

john: (ah, ok *resignation*) so you have a boyfriend-?

sherlock: *way too quickly* no

john: (OH, :0) so you're single - i'm single btw too (what the actual FUCK am i doingggg)

Then we have 1) sherlock just rocking up to john's date

and 2) THE MORIARTY POOL SCENE

i can't even EXPRESS how incredibly i was giggling and squealing and kicking my feet im sorry??? as soon as he thinks jim is gone and he can drop the calm and composed act he- i-

[thoughts then proceeded to refuse to let themselves be expressed in writing so here have a video clip]

moriarty: i am going to burn, the HEART, out of you

sherlock, completely apathetic/used to people telling him he's too heartless/cold/etc.: i have been reliably informed that i don't have one

moriarty, after seeing him completely flip out (internally) when he saw john in the bomb vest with a sniper pointed at him: but we both know that's not quite true

(^^ i don't know that quote just stuck out to me. a lot.)

another thing, that, now having rewatched i am able to string into coherent thought, is sherlock as soon as moriarty is gone is concerned with nothing other that is john okay? is he alright? will he be alright? he doesn't seem to be able to recognise that his life was on the line as well, because he doesn't think his own safety is nearly as important as john's. (godAMMIT THIS MAN)

alright, thank you for coming to my ted talk, i have more thoughts that didn't make it to this rant that i will likely post over the duration of the next few weeks, but that is the majority. thoughts? :)

BONUS FOR READING TO THE END

screenshots of texts i sent while writing this:

[sseastar]

✶ dream lover; kim seungmin.

info. seungmin x afab!reader. slight angst, fluff. brother’s best friend to ??? au. 1.6k words. warnings. mentions of food, reader eats fish and meat. listen to. 爽風 by tomofumi tanizawa.

[✧] — Seungmin could say he knew a lot about you. 

He knew how you always closed your door to your room because you didn’t want it to smell like food in case someone cooked. He knew how you could never bring yourself to watch full k-dramas and opted to watch clips of them on your for you page. Seungmin knew of your love for mint-chocolate (the two of you really bonded over that) and how Star Wars Rebels became your comfort show after you had watched all three seasons during quarantine. 

Hell, Seungmin even knew so many personal things about you, especially after having witnessed you grow up alongside your brother Jisung. Although you were two years younger, he still felt like he knew you well enough to call you his friend if it weren’t for his title of ‘brother’s best friend.’ Seungmin knew your shoe size, who your first dance was, even when you got your first period (he was the one to have noticed the small stain on the back of your jeans and the one to rush into his sister’s bathroom to grab you a pad the one time you had come with Jisung to his home).

And yet in the eleven years he had known you, Seungmin would have never painted you as a hopeless romantic. As far as he could tell, you never seemed the type to save your receipts in a box under your bed, never seemed the type to make playlists for your crushes with vague names so people couldn’t guess who they were for. Not once had Jisung mentioned a thing about his little sister having a crush on someone, nor had an overprotective Jisung ever mentioned his concern for you when you went out with friends (Jisung was an awfully protective brother, so Seungmin could imagine how his friend would react were you to ever go out on a date). 

Hence, Kim Seungmin had come to the conclusion that you were genuinely not interested in dating at this time in your life. Nothing he found weird, of course. He knew how serious you were about your studies - there were many times that Seungmin and his friends had invited you along with Jisung to join in on their plans to get boba or go bowling on a Friday, but you would politely decline with a smile and mention some assignment or project you wanted to get a head start on. 

So imagine his surprise when he found you out on your backyard’s porch one night when he, Felix, and Hyunjin were over, curled up with a knitted sweater and volume six of Kimi Ni Todoke in your hands. Jisung had asked him to come get you before you all headed out for dinner.

It was such an odd sight to see. The mug half filled with lukewarm green tea on the table next to you, the abandoned pair of fluffy bear slippers under the bench, the throw blanket that he swore hung on the arm of the couch in the family room when he first arrived. Your fingertips were gently covering your lips, an enchanted look in your eyes as if you had just witnessed such a heart-fluttering scene.

Seungmin thought it was such an odd sight to see. You had never once initiated a hug with him no matter how happy or ecstatic you were (even when you had gone to a baseball game with your family and invited him, and you had thrown your arms around your brother when your favorite player hit a grand slam…then opted to high five him excitedly). He was so used to your annoyed sighs whenever you saw any form of PDA, or your pursed lips whenever your brother would somehow connect his girlfriend to the topic of conversation, that he couldn't even fathom why you were out there reading a shoujo manga of all things despite the entirely possible reason that you just wanted to.

Yet Seungmin’s eyes softened as he watched you from the door frame, waiting until you finally realized his presence. When he realized you wouldn’t be getting your nose out of the story any time soon, he cleared his throat, smiling at you when you looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Hey,” you mouthed, for some reason unable to let anything audible out of your mouth. 

Despite your lack of an actual greeting, Seungmin answered back “hey,” watching as you marked your page with a photostrip of you, Jisung, and him that he remembers taking in the rusty old photo booth at the pier the last time you three went. Another thing Seungmin was surprised at – he always thought you were the type to dog ear your page or use a sticky note to mark your spot. “We’re heading out in a couple of minutes for dinner. Jimmie’s,” he clarifies, mentioning that the four of them would be heading to the diner they frequented and ordered to-go for you from. “Want the usual?”

A tuna sandwich with a side of french fries and a small vanilla milkshake. That was your usual. 

Your usual was staying at home to read or to get a head start on work you had to do. Your usual was catching up on sleep or accompanying your parents to the supermarket when you really did have nothing to do. And when those things didn’t need to be done, your usual would be spending time rearranging or redecorating your room, or reading romance novels, manga, and stories you find on the internet to replace your lack thereof in your own life.

Your usual was hoping that one day you would be loved, or even secretly loved - that someday, all your ideal date ideas would no longer be locked up in the diary you kept hidden in your sock drawer. Your usual was hoping that your firsts wouldn’t have to wait until after college - that someone would love you enough so that you no longer sighed at the cute couples you would see on dates when you were out with your parents.

Your usual was speaking only briefly to Seungmin in hopes that all the feelings you had for your older brother’s best friend would die down by itself. Your usual was silently hoping that those feelings would be returned. Your usual was making up scenarios that maybe one day, you would stop trying to find someone exactly like him. 

Your usual was getting boring. Your usual was getting you nowhere you wanted to be.

Seungmin watched as you swung the blanket off your lap, folding it roughly in your arms as you slipped your sock clad feet back into your slippers. “If it’s okay, can I come with you guys tonight?” 

Seungmin watched as you slid into the seat across from him. You usually opted to sit next to your brother on the end to avoid being in the way of any conversations, but you sat right in the middle of Felix and Hyunjin tonight. Seungmin watched as you excitedly answered Hyunjin’s questions about how your research has been and as you thoughtfully told Felix about your input on his new baking idea. Seungmin didn’t miss the warm smile on Jisung’s face when he realized how you were getting along with his friends (maybe he didn’t show it often, but your brother was often concerned for you - you never seemed to enjoy hanging out with people you knew, after all, and Jisung would hate for you to regret not allowing yourself to be more carefree in college). 

Seungmin watched as you agreed to go to his baseball game even when your brother couldn’t go and as you shyly laughed at the look of surprise on his face. Seungmin watched as you picked up the menu despite him knowing you already knew exactly what you wanted to eat.

Seungmin could say he knew a lot about you. 

He knew what your topic for your required research project was. He knew you couldn’t stand leaving your major even after you cried through the required classes that had nothing to do with your concentration. He knew that you always liked to eat the first slice of a peach and that you hated peeling tangerines. He knew how you couldn’t answer ‘what’s your favorite color?’ with a single-worded answer. He knew that you never put your left shoe on before your right and that you always muttered “keys, phone, wallet” every time you left your house.

Seungmin could say he knew a lot about you, but he was missing some of the most important things.

Seungmin didn’t know how you felt after you passed those classes you hated, or why you had so many unique habits when eating fruits. He didn’t know why you sighed when you saw a couple your age on a date the night you tagged along with your brother and his friends to the boardwalk. Seungmin sure as hell didn’t know why you decided to come with them tonight, but it was nice to see you interacting with everyone.

You smiled briefly when his eyes landed on yours, averting your gaze before he could even attempt to read what emotion was swirling through them. But Seungmin could tell that what swam through them was something more than what you wanted to let on. It was something you’d always held back so that you wouldn’t allow yourself to be vulnerable (you had done that enough). But your eyes weren’t enough to conceal it – what you felt was far too powerful for you to hide and parts of you began to filter into the room of people that loved having you around. Seungmin could tell something was there, but he would wait for you to embrace all that you were. He’d already waited this long after all.

So for now, Seungmin watched as you ordered a cheeseburger with a side of garlic fries and a Sprite.

⌕.  author’s note ;     something i most definitely wrote on a whim. the style is a little different from how i usually write and i like it a little more, but it was ngl extremely hard to do. haven’t posted much about seungmin in a while despite him being my ult, but i’m glad to be back hehe.

⌕. taglist ; @enhacolor @soobin-chois @koishua @chrysbibi

[strange-anni]

Swapping places: Mike and Will

Part 2: Mike Wheeler

Read Part 1: Will Byers here

We have never been given as much inside into Mikes mind as we have with Will so this part will be a lot shorter than the first on. There is still some ground to cover though, so let's get started.

If Vecna or Vecman as Robin mistakenly calls him here holds the core of Wills deeply buried memories, there has to be something similar for Mike as well. I'm not sure if Mike remembers at all what happened to him or if he only has a vague sense that something isn't right. Or if his memories are as deeply buried as Wills and only appear like vivid images from a dream he can't shake off but there is one thing Mike is very sure of.

There can only be one Venkman and that's Mike!

The concept of two people existing at the same time who might hold the same role even if it's just a costume or a fictional character is not a thing Mike agrees with. There can only be one Venkman because there is only one Venkman in real life. Venkman could never be anyone else but him. Not Lucas or anyone else.

It's also very interesting to me that it's Will who brings up the concept of the two Venkman who could co-exist together. Will seems to be the one who is okay with it but Mike isn't. This indicates that Mike is trying to hold on to his identity and is not yet ready to face the truth.

However there is also the fact that when Will really needed Mike in S2 he was ready to help to bring Will home into his own basement. Mike's home which is apparently also Wills home. We see this contrasted with Jonathan who in the same season also brings Nancy home but to her own home and not to the Byers house where he lives.

Mike does the opposite and gets Will home into his basement. This could indicate a number of things and I would not put it past Mike to have picked up on the fact that Will has more reasons to be at ease in the Wheelers house than in his own home at the Byers house even if he doesn't know the reason why. Will who at home constantly had to be on the lookout for Lonnie would not feel safe there and feel a lot safer at the Wheelers simply because there is no Lonnie.

Yet there could still be more to it. Like Mike feeling that this place and this home belong to Will just as much if not more (Mike is very insecure) than to him. For it has originally been Will that lived there and not Mike so Mike get's Will home to a place he belongs.

This speech from Mike in the van is not about El. It's about Will.

Like Will does just a few moments later in the same scene I think Mike is also using El as a shield to convey his own feelings to Will and it talks volumes of how he really feels.

He's contrasting himself with another person who was born special unlike him and assumes that he may be the first person to realize that. Mike though wasn't the first person to realize El was special. There were a multitude of people before him like Brenner and the lab people, Owens and the ones who El is currently with who realized it way before he did and Mike knows this. They are currently on their way to rescue her from these people, so why would he word it like that?

It's not about El but Will instead. It's Will who was born special and Mike was one of the first people to realize that back when they were still five years old. He's insecure because he's afraid that Will might one day no longer need him once he realizes who Mike thinks he really is. Just some random person. Just some random person who met Will by pure chance when he needed someone. I'll come back to that in a bit because we have already seen what this is about.

It's after that that Mike suddenly seems to change topics because now it is no longer about Will but him instead. It's Mike who after that moment got lucky that Superman landed on his doorstep and saved him.

Lucky. Being there by pure chance. Coincidence. Mike is completely discarding all the small and big choices both of them made along the way which really got them together and made them fall in love with each other. He's reducing it all to pure chance which it is not although it did play a role in how they first met.

These are two people who are said to be explorers. Holly wo is a Wheeler and then there is Henry who is also 001 and Wills persecutor alter. Both saw something they should not have seen. Holly saw the Demogorgon, the representation of Lonnie in the wall and Henry found out the secrets of the parents.

Maybe Superman came to Mikes doorstep, explored a little too much and then saw what what his father Lonnie was about to do and couldn't bear to see Mike get hurt like that so he swapped their places. He became the Will we know him to be and Mike became the Mike we know him to be. This also means that for the next few years it was Will who had to endure all the ab*se Lonnie inflicted on him. Ab*se Mike would have suffered if it wasn't for this one moment of chance that got them together.

So now he's afraid he'll lose Will when he realizes what happened and might come to the conclusion that Mike wasn't worth all of what Will did for him and to an extent he's right. Henry is full of hatred for them both and resents them for having to endure all of the pain he had to go through because they swapped places. If this hadn't happened, Will would still be Wheeler after all.

Yet Henry is not Will. He's only part of Will and part of the reason why he is so full of hatred is because he's been alone with all this pain he had to absorb for so long that it twisted his mind. Will will have to face Henry and come face to face with this truth as well and then he'll realize that in the end, he still loves Mike even if there was a part of him that resented Mike for what happened. That's what Will is all about. He doesn't want to let the bad guys win but for that he needs to face his darker side as well and then overcome it.

What happened wasn't Mikes fault and it wasn't Wills fault either. There is no one to blame but Lonnie.

Mike will have to realize this too. For him it's his fear of losing Will and his own insecurities he needs to face. He needs to realize that Will did what he did because he wanted to. It's a decision Will for the most part doesn't regret and would probably do all over again if he had too. Most of all though Mike needs to understand that to Will he was in fact worth it.

Then they'll be ready to deal with the past, face their trauma and the lives they've lived prior to 1976. They'll be able to set things right.

This is the moment when Mike - that random person - was there for Will when he needed him. On on random lucky day on his first day of kindergarten he met Will on a swing and then made the decision to ask if he wanted to be his friend because they were both alone. It was a decision he's never regretted. In fact he believes it to be the best thing he's ever done.

It's a real memory from way back before they swapped places I think. As to why Will was alone or why he needed someone in that moment I have no idea. But Mike was there and it changed both their lives forever.

[babsvibes]

A soup recipe that’s relatively cheap and easy because I cook like a single mother of four

In one pot: brown a pound of beef, strain the grease, then add two taco seasoning packets, a diced yellow onion, a can of corn, a can of pinto beans, a can of rotel or diced tomatoes (don’t strain the cans, dump them entirely into the pot). Cook until flavors combine. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

For fool-proof instructions:

Get a pot. You will only need one pot. Should be big enough that a soccer ball could sit in it (but doesn’t have to be a submerged soccer ball).

Throw a package of ground beef in it (usually around one pound) and cook until the pink is gone.

Can be the cheap tube of ground beef or a different meat, who cares. If you don’t have a fancy way of straining grease so it doesn’t go in your drain, get a wad of paper towels and c a r e f u l l y let it soak up that puddle of grease then throw the paper towels away.

Take two taco seasoning packets and sprinkle that over the beef. Stir.

Yes it’s mostly dry seasoning on beef don’t worry there will be liquid in a second. You can use only one packet if you prefer less seasoning. Add a little extra water if you need to tone it down.

Throw in a diced onion. Stir.

I wouldn’t go for a sweet onion, but it would probably fine if you used whatever kind of onion you have. If you want to use a shallot, go ahead. Maybe try dicing while the meat is cooking. If you didn’t, just take the meat off heat and finish the onion. Put it back on heat once you’ve thrown the onion in. You can skip the onion if you want.

Dump a can of corn, a can of pinto beans, and a can of diced tomatoes into the pot. Stir.

Do not drain them first. Just dump. I try to grab the cans that are like duel ingredients so fiesta corn, beans with jalapeños, and tomatoes with green chilies. Literally all of this is interchangeable. If you have a different kind of bean, sure use those. If you have stewed tomatoes, go ahead. It comes down to texture and slight variations on flavor but because of the seasoning packets it will mostly taste the same regardless.

Bring it to a boil then lower the heat, cover with a lid, and let it simmer. Cook until you can see through the onions. If you skipped the onion, taste periodically for the flavors to come together. You can give it a stir every once in a while.

The flavors “coming together” looks like when color saturations all match to form one soup instead of five separate ingredients. Like when you put a filter over a photo and now it looks more balanced? This could be like fifteen or twenty minutes but I don’t know your stove.

If you’re like “this isn’t enough juice to be a soup” give it a few minutes as the ingredients release their moisture. If after like ten minutes there’s still not enough liquid to your liking, pour some extra water in there by rinsing out one of your previously used cans (like if there’s still beans stuck in the bean can, fill it halfway with water, swish it around, and add that).

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips. Hot sauce optional.

If you want to add more stuff, do it. Peppers? Sure. Shallot instead of or alongside an onion? Go for it. More beans? I’m down if you are. If you want to get rid of stuff, sure thing boss. It does not matter. This is simply the easiest recipe.

[minhyeong]

NCT DREAM + SIMPLE DATES !

[ mark ] 

huddling together by the dinner table building a 10,000 piece mini lego set that he impulsively bought on his way back

you think his knitted brows will create permanent wrinkles after he maintained the same expression for hours so you smooth your thumb along his forehead

he’s muttering curses every time he places the wrong piece down and has to jam his fingernail into the small gap to separate them

cutely scrunches up his shoulders and gives you a bashful smile when you take the pieces from him and pry them apart

you literally have to drag him away from the table or he will stay up all night to complete it

[ renjun ] 

sitting cross-legged on the bed folding fresh laundry together while a true crime podcast is playing in the background

you’re tugging your favorite hoodie of his out from the pile of clothes and mindlessly looping your limbs into the sleeves

he’s grimacing when the gory details come out in the podcast and giving you the most suspicious look when he witnesses you giggling

his eyes narrow when he hypothetically asks whether you would commit a crime while wearing his clothes

the neatly folded pile is all ruined when you launch yourself at him just to squeeze him in your arms because everything he does is stupidly endearing

[ jeno ] 

learning how to crotchet together because you spontaneously wanted to make a scarf instead of purchasing one

it becomes a race to see who can master the very basics first, and he quickly gets ahead even though he spent forever stuck on making the slip knot at first

doesn’t even realize that his limbs are all tangled up in the ball of yarn until he can barely move his elbow

drops everything to give you a hand massage when you start to feel it cramping up from all the practice

he completes his scarf first and excitedly wraps it all around you until half of your face is covered, and you can’t wait to wear it out despite its small imperfections

[ haechan ]

pampering one another with face masks and 92 layers of skincare on a rare self-care night

he sighs contently when he lays his head on your lap and you delicately apply some eye masks for his dark circles

absolutely refuses to get up even after you’re done and pretends that he’s asleep with loud, dramatic snoring (the “just five more minutes” repeats for an hour)

makes you run your hand through his hair while he’s at it

you flick him in the forehead when he gets playful and starts to tickle you in the waist

[ jaemin ]

packing food to go feed ducks at the nearby lake before the cold season hits and everything freezes

he starts naming all of the ducks and claiming them as his children and asks if you two can adopt one and bring it home

you have to steal the empty basket from him before he tries to sneak something in there

other people walking by probably give you a look when they hear him make cooing noises at the ducks but you just pull him close with a proud smile

you leave the lake with a video of a flock of birds chasing after him and he’s flailing around as he runs away

[ chenle ]

pushing aside all the furniture in the living room to do couples yoga together just because he saw videos on youtube and confidently thinks he could do all of the complicated poses

you hesitantly suggest to start off with something simple but he’s already eager to try the double plank pose and even jokes that you can be on the bottom

purposely shakes and drops his arms while he’s supporting you just to scare you but always catches you at the last second

uses this opportunity to annoyingly wiggle his hips in your face 

just ends up leaning on you when he finally gets tired and rubs his sweaty cheeks all over your shoulder

[ jisung ]

crawling under the covers with your phone and facetiming at midnight when he’s miles away

learning all about his day and him animatedly talking about a snack he had two hours ago as if it’s the best thing he tasted his entire life and how he can’t wait to bring some back for you to try

he definitely drops the phone on his face more than once or twice 

you run out of storage on your phone because all you do is take a billion screenshots of him and you just can’t delete any of them

the way he blushes when he mumbles something about missing you after he thought you fell asleep (it’s absolutely a jump scare for him when you suddenly open your eyes)

[babydollmarauders]

I’m the one who said gender reveal!

I meant to put it to be a blurb! 😂

ahh okay! lmao!

*

Jack and i had our gender reveal planned and ready when we went in for our fourteen week ultrasound, however the baby was not having it. they refused to let the technician see a clear enough shot. so we waited.

we had the small get together set to happen in five weeks and our child was proving to be as stubborn as their father. we went to the ultrasound technician weekly to try and find out the gender and it wasn’t until the eighteenth week scan that the technician was able to get a clear picture and be confident in the sex of our baby.

pre-season has just started and Jack was able to receive permission to use the Devils practice rink for the get together. Ellen and Jim flew in a couple days ago, and Quinn was able to escape between pre-season games and arrive yesterday, and now the moment is here.

Jack has been bouncing of the walls all morning and twice i’ve had to smack his hand away from the box holding the colored powder filled pucks that his mother bought for the reveal.

we currently stand on the ice of the practice rink, about to tell them how we’re doing our reveal, as Ellen is the only one who knows.

“so, we wanted to have someone close to us slap-shot a puck, that will then release blue or pink powder.” i explain.

“however, it was kind of a hard decision to make because we didn’t wanna single out a brother, and we both have some pretty close friends on this team.” Jack carried on. Nico, Dawson, and John all smirk, knowing he was referring to them, which causes everyone else to laugh.

“so, instead, if we could have Quinn Luke, Nico, Dawson, and John come out on the ice please?”

the five guys skate on the ice, stopping in a group beside us.

“you each get a puck at random. there are three of one color, and two of the other. only my mom knows which color has three, but whichever one it is, tells us if we’re having a boy or a girl.” Jack tells them, making them nod in understanding.

“mom, hand out the pucks!” Jack cheers and i giggle at his enthusiasm.

Ellen skates over with the box, letting each guy pick out a puck before they all stand in a line, setting their pucks down gently on the ice and waiting for the go ahead.

Jack and i skate over to the wall, standing with our hands together and our backs against the glass.

“okay, from left to right, one at a time-” i yell, looking over at Jack to finish the sentence.

“let’s go, baby!”

Nico goes first, smacking the puck with the stick he was given by Ellen. blue powder shoots from the puck and everyone ‘oohh’s. i squeeze Jack’s hand once, resulting in a quick squeeze in return from him.

Quinn goes second, pink powder flying into the air from his and everyone jokingly ‘ahh’s.

John is next, slap-shotting the puck across the ice and making blue powder cover the white ice. Jack and i let out an in-sync exhale, growing more excited yet nervous by the second.

Dawson is up now, hitting the puck. pink powder coats the ice, even leaving some behind on his stick. i hold my breath, waiting for the last one.

it’s finally Luke, bringing his stick back and hitting the puck full force, pink powder shoots along the air as his puck hits the back of the practice net.

cheers hit my ears but i’m only paying attention to Jack. now cupping his face as we stare into each others glassy eyes.

“we’re having a girl.” i whisper. his hands grip my waist before one slides along to my stomach. pulling me in for a crushing kiss, his smile presses against mine.

we break apart as the cheering gets closer, our friends and family coming to join us in our celebration.

“my days are about to get a whole lot better.” Jack whispers back, laying his forehead against mine, our eyes closed. “just a couple months ago i vowed my love to you, and now i get to spend my life with two of you. i think i won.”

“better than the stanley cup?” i jokingly ask him, tears falling down my cheeks as i open my eyes while we pull away.

“so much better.”

[oneatlatime]

Zuko Alone

I'm hoping for some Appa this episode. It's been too long since he's gotten any good sight gags.

Zuko is cosplaying Clint Eastwood. He's also back to being stupid pale this episode.

You know it's a good thing that Zuko's not in the Fire Nation anymore because he really would have sucked at being Fire Nation. Robbing pregnant women is probably kindergarden level stuff for them.

How is Zuko in such bad shape? Last time we saw him he had a cave full of spoils robbed from rich people. Did he not bother to pack at least some of that stuff? Actually, not thinking far enough ahead to pack would be pretty in character.

Oof that would rub me the wrong way. Not enough money for a meal, but sure, let's use totally edible eggs as ammo.

Where'd the egg go?

Who is the scarred up hat wearing vampire and what happened to the real Zuko? Imposter Zuko just elected to not be provoked into a fight. Real Zuko would already be setting things on fire.

Just a bunch of thugs. Yep. It's consistently awesome how many of the facets of war this show can cover.

Imposter Zuko and Song's horse bird just got kidnapped. Did not see that coming.

Zuko kind of has arm bandages like Sokka has this episode. Also love the character detail that the boy has scraped knees.

Is the kid's dad the same guy as the man at the store? Or maybe this is a one haircut town?

So the guy who was near to fainting off his horse bird this morning is now turning down freely offered food? Could Zuko please shelve his pride for five minutes? Kudos to the mom for accurately reading his distaste for charity and turning it into a request for aid though. Although covering for the boy's egg trick is worth at least a meal.

Tangent!

I don't get Zuko. How can he still have so much pride when he's wearing rags and starving himself to feed Song's horse bird? I'm quite shameless when it comes to accepting help and I've never, ever been able to understand the whole 'too proud to accept charity' mindset. I'm always up for some charity. I have enough manners to offer to do the dishes after, but if you're offering free food I'm eating it. And I've never been in a situation as desperate as Zuko's. So I don't get this.

ok tangent over.

Peak rich kid behaviour. I hope those nails aren't expensive otherwise Zuko doing work for food might end up with this family out of pocket.

Is the wood grain on this ladder an actual photograph of wood grain?

Zuko has more patience this episode than he had for all of season 1 combined. He's also never gone this long without yelling. Either proximity to young children activates Zuko's otherwise mostly slumbering decency, or to fit him into a Fistful of Dollars homage the writers had to make him out of character.

If I had been in this situation when I was a kid, if I had been a) this visibly bored, and b) this nosy around guests, I would have been given a hammer and a bag of nails in three seconds flat. Also, nice to see a Sokka face from Zuko.

I get that 'a man without a past' is a staple of the cowboy genre, but the boy's father bringing up the privacy of the past twice in like two minutes makes me think he's done stuff he doesn't want to talk about. Seems both the parents have read Zuko right though.

Finally! Some pretty! I have been suffering! This may be the first really good pretty all season!

Bad news for the Appa decor on my blog. He may have been supplanted in my affections.

Two things: first, Zuko is a carbon copy of his mom. Second, That is way too much forehead.

Having Zuko's mom introduce herself by talking about the lengths mothers will go to for their children is not giving me foreshadowing anxiety at all.

Azula's been a bitch since birth. Noted.

Sir, your eyebrows. Also, yeah, I wouldn't want to play with her either.

Yikes this is making my teeth itch and my skin crawl. Calling it now, she's rotten to the core.

Zuko and Azula's dad has some weak ass genes. BOTH of his children are carbon copies of their mom.

Also, I was not expecting Zuko's very stupid ponytail to be a pre-scar thing. It is much better with a full head of hair.

If I had spent my childhood hanging out with an untouchable princess who set things on my head on fire for fun whenever I involuntarily displayed emotion, I'd be gloomy and apathetic in self defense too.

Sokka in this episode in spirit, if not in person.

Seriously that's the same face three times over!

Um, no? If Iroh doesn't make it back from the front, doesn't his son become next in line to be Firelord?

Can you hear all the unspoken "father thinks that" and "father says that" in front of every one of Azula's opinions in this whole scene? I stand by my assertion that she's awful anyways, but she's also obviously drunk much too much of her dad's koolaid, if you know what I mean.

This kid is going to get into so much trouble one of these days. Provoking the soldiers, nagging the mysterious stranger with the mysterious past, and now taking his weapons? Kid's sweet but he really needs to learn when to stop pushing his luck.

Stabbing dead, dried wood sounds like a great way to utterly annihilate the edge on those. Hope Zuko packed a whetstone.

Where is this patience coming from? I don't understand and it's BUGGING me.

Hold on. Technical problems.

My very basic DVD player sometimes has difficulty with these disks. Whatever happened between the above two screenshots, I've missed it. So picking back up from the one on the right...

Either these soldiers are impressively cowardly (which, yeah) or Zuko's really been working on his death glare, because they've got him outnumbered and out-armoured and they still back off.

OH it's parallels! Zuko's cousin and the boy's older brother. Got it. Kind of a false parallel though. Grandson of the Firelord does not equal earth kingdom conscript.

Give the demonstrably impulsive and nosy child a knife. That'll work out just fine I'm sure. Pretty sad the kid glommed on to Zuko so quickly, but it's also yet another realistic representation of the consequences of war. This show's good.

*shudders* theatre kids.

She's tiny! Do you know how darkly humourous it is to watch a two foot tall baby spout her father's murderous nonsense? Once again, in this whole scene, not a word out of Azula's mouth is actually Azula's.

"What is wrong with that child?" Apart from budding homicidal and psychopathic tendencies? Her dad. Her dad is what's wrong with that child.

Their dad has no subtlety at all. And also no brain? You think a day after the firelord finds out one of his family died is the right time to very boorishly make a play for the crown with you daughter as a prop? Could you possibly come up with a better demonstration of why this guy shouldn't be in charge?

How did this asshole land such a nice wife?

Yep. Siding with the old firelord on this one.

Does flashback Zuko sleep in his day clothes? Because that's not ok.

I like that their mom sees straight through Azula's lying here. She knows her daughter.

In a move that should surprise no one, everything Zuko touches turns to shit, as usual.

It's the Mexico filter!

Absolute truth from Zuko in that monologue. He's got them pegged. Too bad it fell on deaf ears. It's Zuko's curse, that whenever he approaches being remotely reasonable, he happens to be surrounded by people who will react in such a way that Zuko learns to equate being reasonable with failure.

An earthbender. The bare feet should have clued me in.

Last season Zuko and Iroh laid waste to like ten of these guys. And Iroh didn't even have pants. So what gives? Is he that starved?

Ursa pulling a Mufasa.

Don't answer don't answer don't answer

And he does.

Zuko is so very good at completely misinterpreting the point.

So we can add thief to the list of things that make Azula awful. Also that delivery of "who's going to make me? Mom?" is chilling. Zuko's lost his only defender inside this atrocious family and she knows it, he knows it, hell the turtleducks probably know it.

His dying wish? You guys buying that?

Ozai. That's his name. I'd forgotten that.

So... something something dead firelord something something missing mom something something maybe Azula wasn't actually lying this time?

Final Thoughts

The title wasn't kidding. Let's rename the show 'Avatar: the Guy who's Really Bad at Capturing Him' while we're at it.

There is now no way whatsoever that Zuko is not going to be redeemed. No writing team would invest that much energy and a whole episode into a character we're not ultimately supposed to root for. So somehow he's going to end up joining the Gaang. Don't know how he'll pull that one off. He's done some pretty not great stuff. And it's not like the Gaang watched this episode and unlocked his tragic backstory.

Speaking of, what prompted these reflections? I could understand if Zuko started to contemplate his cousin and the events surrounding his loss in the war after he learned about the family's older brother, but he was having flashbacks before he even got to town. Usually when there are backstory bits, there's a good reason to show them at that time, like how the Storm prompts Aang to think about the last storm he was in, or seeing a boat from his father's fleet prompts Sokka to remember what his dad told him. So what caused Zuko's memories to give him situationally appropriate flashbacks?

Pretty funny that he found the Nice Earth Kingdom Family that Azula predicted for him. And they are really nice! Either Zuko is an open book or the parents' social intelligence is off the charts because they're giving him exactly what he needs to feel at ease after barely a single conversation.

Speaking of Azula, I'm not surprised to find that she's always had deeply awful tendencies, even as a child of (I'm guessing) less than ten. But it cannot be ignored that, from the moment her father took a liking to her (as a tool to boost his own greatness, if not as a person), she didn't stand a chance. You can tell by the number of times that the stuff coming out of her mouth is a thinly veiled repetition of her father's unfiltered opinions, that she's been spending lots of time listening to him, probably while he puts down her mom and brother and talks about how she's the special one. You know what I'm getting at. Azula never stood a chance once her father got involved, and her mom lost the ability to influence her once her father started giving Azula praise for objectively wrong behaviour. That being said, Azula is awful even when she doesn't need to be awful for her father's approval, like when she's with her friends, so it's not all her father's doing. She's not a good person but she also had plenty of help to become that.

I guess Zuko and his mom are Fire Nation anomalies? And maybe Iroh has become that since his son died and he lost the war?

How on earth did Zuko survive as long as he did in the palace without his mom to protect him? What a no-win situation to be in. The only person in a whole nation with empathy.

This episode does makes Season 1 Zuko make more sense. He's been larping his dad as a defense mechanism for surviving the Fire Nation/probably a very futile effort to earn his approval. Although Zuko doesn't seem to care much for his dad if the tone he takes with him by the turtleduck pond is any indication.

Being banished was the best thing that ever happened to Zuko. The more distance between him and his remaining non-uncle family, the better. Between prioritizing his crew over capturing the avatar in the Storm, releasing the Avatar in the Blue Spirit, and now defending a random earth kingdom child this episode, it's hilarious how much Zuko HASN'T learned the lesson that Ozai banished him for not knowing. Don't get me wrong; that's a good thing. This episode plainly shows that behaviour that pleases Ozai is behaviour that should be unlearned as quickly as possible.

Zuko completely missing the point of his mom's last instruction is delightfully on the nose. But it also makes sense, which I may talk more about later.

How did Zuko hold on to his temper (and his volume) for a whole episode?

How did a show named after the main character get away with an episode that doesn't feature him at all? As a concept, this is such a strange episode. The writers were like "how can we kick start the woobification of Zuko? I know! A Spaghetti Western!" and it worked. Who comes up with that?

I now want at least as much, if not more, of Sokka and Katara's childhood via flashbacks. And more Gyatso please. If they can devote a whole episode to the childhood of a guy who isn't even a team member yet, they can show me some Sokka childhood shenanigans as a palette cleanser.

I really don't know what conclusion to draw about this episode. The writers have given me a massive backstory/trauma dump and I'm honestly like:

[lace-coffin]

May I request some domestic Asa headcannons? Like, what are his cooking habits? The types of food he prefers to actually eat and not hasty ones he grabbed in a hurry? Thank youuu <3

What kind of meals does Asa Emory like to cook and eat?

Requests are open!

Asa Emory / gn!Reader

Trigger warning for power exchange/power dynamics/petplay

This is a super fun idea omg thank you! I’m still going to go with the whole owner/pet angle since this is Asa, I hope that’s ok! It will still be domestic but with the dynamic too💗

Asa doesn’t have much time to cook regularly, constantly caught between lecturing at the local uni about a twenty minute drive away and keeping up with his collection at the hotel.

On days when Asa has free time or is just determined to get something nutritious in his stomach he dusts off his recipe book he bought on a whim on discount and gets to work.

Asa likes to think he has a pretty good repertoire of kitchen skills, not exactly a five star chef but better than most men his age.

He prefers to centre either meat or fish in his meals, usually covered in a flavourful marinade or rubbed down in herbs and spices. Asa enjoys vegetables to be steamed as opposed to boiled, he thinks it makes them taste sweeter and softer, texture is important to him. Flavoured rice is always a good side.

He’s more fond of sweets than you think he would be judging from his standoffish appearance. Dessert is a must, Asa tells himself it’s all part of a balanced diet and he can’t skip it because it wouldn’t be right. In reality he just really wants the apple pie, enjoying the tartness of it and unable to deny himself this simple pleasure.

And then there’s you. Asa has always been one to care for his pets to the best of his ability, keeping their meals on a schedule. Even if he’s short on time meals will be prepared a day or two prior and put in the freezer. He’s stubborn when it comes to making the meals balanced, often erring on the side of health obsessed when it comes to his pets, like a dad telling you to finish your vegetables before you can have dessert. He’s not too bothered if he has to throw a microwave meal on and eat that when he comes home late but he always likes to make sure you have something good for you available. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t bring home takeout sometimes, he loves how excited you get at the junk food and the way you flop down on his lap afterwards, letting him rub your tummy as you try to stop feeling bloated.

Dinner is made as you watch from the floor on your dog bed, head resting on your folded arms, watching your master fondly but also a little impatient and hungry. Occasionally Asa humours you and wears the frilly apron you begged him to order under the guise of you wearing it, only to present it to him with puppy eyes at dinner that night. He’s a strict and sadistic owner but he can be a total dork.

“Dinners ready. Come”. Asa snaps his fingers and points to the three metal bowls on the floor near to the dining table, one bowl next to his seat. The two large German Shepard’s ears perk at this and they scamper over, sitting at Asa’s heals, tails wagging. He looks at you expectantly as you crawl over and join the dogs at his feet.

The two metal bowls are filled with a measured amount of dog kibble and wet food, water on the side. The two dogs eye the bowls twitchily. He raises his hand, all fingers laid flat for the dogs to see. “Wait” the dogs sit sternly in front of their master using all their restraint to not dig in until given permission. “Go ahead” he chuckles and the dogs immediately dig in, he pats over their heads with an affectionate smile and moves back to the granite counter, filling the final metal bowl with a healthy mix of seasoned vegetables, rice and finally chopped bites of beef, all in a Korean sauce. He plates the same onto his dish and takes it to the table, sliding onto the wooden chair and groaning at the relief it takes off his weary joints.

Asa places the final bowl on the floor next to his chair and click his fingers again, pointing to the bowl. “Come” without question you crawl over to the bowl, eyes switching between the delicious food in front of you and your master, waiting for permission. Wearing a smug and smitten look back at you he finally clicks again. “Go ahead, pet” he chuckles lowly as you start to eat from the bowl, used to using only your mouth as your utensil at this point. He leans forward and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear that was falling into the sauce. “Messy pup”

[hockeylovee12]

SOMETHING MINE-Luke Hughes

Part One

It all started on April 11th after the New Jersey Devils won 5-3 over the Buffalo Sabres. It was their last home game of the regular season and also the night 19 year old Luke Hughes made his NHL debut.

He did pretty well but was unable to wrangle up his first point, his brother Jack on the other hand had a fantastic night and managed to get one goal and two assists putting him one point away from reaching 100.

Jack was named the first star of the game and after he was finished with media he met up with Luke in the locker room.

“Hey so Nico, Dawson and Timo are going to Charlie’s it’s a sports bar down the street you coming?” Jack asked his younger brother.

Luke reluctantly agreed realizing the possibility of him being the only sober person the rest of the night. It sucks being the youngest.

The boys finished showering and changed into some more casual clothes and then they all left the rink and headed towards Charlie’s.

——————————————————————

You had been working part time at Charlie’s for the past six months after one of your roommates who was the niece of the owner helped you get the job. The pay was good and you made great tips. Surprisingly drunk people tend to over tip. The only thing that sucked is your coworkers who seemed to have an strong dislike for you.

You were only 19 and working part time because you were a student at a local college nearby. You were the oldest of four kids and came from a single income home so you were use to balancing jobs and school.

You had worked out your school schedule so you had all your classes on Monday and Wednesday and on Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays and sometimes Saturdays you would work.

On this Tuesday the restaurant was already pretty busy and you already had five tables in your section. Usually you only get regulars and a few others but tonight there were a bunch you didn’t recognize and unsurprisingly your coworkers were putting the largest parties in your section.

You were taking the order of a group of three when you spotted five men walk in. They waited by the hostess stand while you continued writing down your tables order.

As you took the menus from your current table and walked to put them back you noticed as your coworker Clarissa guided the group of five to a booth in your section. 

You rolled your eyes knowing know you had over 20 people in your section while the others had less than 10 but shook your head knowing there’s no use in complaining this is how it usually goes.

You walk over to the group of boys and introduce yourself.

“Hi my name is Y/N and I’ll be your server today can I get you all started with some drinks?”

“Could I get a bud light” the captain Nico Hiescher requests

“Make that two” Jack Hughes says

“Ya I’ll take a bud light as well” Dawson Mercer says with a smile

“I guess if everyone is drinking a bud light make it a fourth” Timo Meier says You turn to the youngest Hughes

“Bud light for you too?” You ask

“Just water for me please” He says

“Oh ya he’s not old enough” Nico comments making Luke blush a little embarrassed

You nod your head then finish writing down the order and walk to the bar.

“Hey I need four bud lights and a water” you tell the bartender

He places the beers and the glass of water on the table and you bring them over to the group before giving them a few minutes with the menu and checking on your other tables.

After a few more minutes you walk back to the group of hockey players and ask if they’re ready to order.

“Ya I think so” Dawson says looking around the table and receiving nods in agreement.

You write down the order for three all american burgers an order of wings and chicken tenders.

The boys order a second round of beers and you take away the empty bottles on the table and replace them with new ones.

You give the order to the kitchen then head back on to the main floor.

After closing up two more tables you ask a coworker to cover for you while you ran to the restroom.

Reluctantly she agrees and you dash towards the bathroom down the hall from the bar.

As you quickly walk down the hall towards the woman’s room a loud crash sounds and you lose your train of thought and walk right into the men’s bathroom door that had just swung open.

“Ow” you say holding your head you

“Shit I’m sorry are you ok?” A man asks

You look up at the much taller man and realize it was one of your customers the one who wasn’t drinking.

“Shit ya no I’m fine sorry I wasn’t paying attention I’m fine” you say feeling slightly embarrassed at the awkward scene that just occurred.

“Alright uh sorry again and uh you should watch where you’re going” The guy says before walking off

You scoff at the words said. Maybe you should watch where you’re going. You roll your eyes then shake off the thought and continue with your previous task. After you finish you check on your tables then deliver the food that was ready. Feeling still slightly embarrassed as you set down the chicken tenders in front of the boy who just smacked you in the face with a door.

———————————————————————

It was close to midnight when the restaurant was starting to slow down the only customers left were the hockey players who were a little drunk with the exception of Luke Hughes who was not drinking and a few regulars sitting at the bar.

You walk over to them and ask if they need any boxes.

“No I think we’re ok thank you” Luke says

“One check?” You ask

“Ya please”

You walk to the hostess stand and sort out the bill then leave it on their table.

A few minutes later you return and run the card given. The boys said thank you and then began heading out. You notice one of the guys was clearly drunker then the rest (not that the rest weren’t drunk as well) and you walked to the door to hold it open while two of his friends helped him out.

“Thank you and uh sorry again about before about your head” Luke says

“No worries you guys have a good night” You say before walking back inside the restaurant

———————————————————————

That was the first time you met him. The following Saturday you were working a three hour shift from 4-8 and a few minutes before it was time for you to clock out he came in again to pick up take out.

“Name?” You ask

“Luke Hughes”

“One second” You say then walk to the back you find his order and bring it back to the front and hand it to him.

“Thanks” he says with a smile

You return the smile and watch as he leaves out the door.

A few minutes later your manager tells you you’re good to clock out. You sigh relieved and head to the back to grab your things.

You begin walking towards the parking lot which is on the way towards your apartment. Usually you drive but your car had to go in for maintenance yesterday and you couldn’t get it back until Monday. It wasn’t that far a walk only about 20 minutes so you were fine.

Once you get to the parking lot you notice Luke standing by his car checking out the tire.

“Hey is everything ok?” You ask

“Ya I just got a flat” He says you walk closer to him and check out the damage.

“This is why you don’t park on a curb” you joke

“Ok I’m not exactly good at parking” he claims

“Ya I can see that” You joke

“Do you have a spare?” You ask

“Ya but I don’t know how to change a tire” he says slightly embarrassed

You laugh

“Relax I can help you” You tell him

He pops his trunk open and lifts the tire out and grabs the tool next to it.

You loosen the flat tire and replace the other one.

“Thank you” Luke says

“My pleasure” You say grabbing your bag from the ground and handing the tool back to Luke

“It’s Y/N right?” He asks

“Yes”

“How’d you know how to do that?” Luke asks

“My dads a mechanic I’ve been changing tires since I was a kid he didn’t want me to get stuck then have to ask someone for help” You explain

“Nice clearly my dad did not have the same mindset” He jokes

“Well there’s always time to learn” you tell him he smiles as you turn around looking towards the sidewalk

“Where you headed?” Luke asks

“I just finished my shift so I’m headed back to my apartment” You explain turning back around.

“Are you walking?” He asks

“Ya I don’t live too far from here” You explain

“Let me give you a ride” he says you consider it but your not sure

“Come on it’s getting dark out it could be dangerous” He reasons

“And letting a stranger drive me home isn’t?” You say

“Well no but I’m not gonna kidnap you or something come on you just fixed my tire it’s the least I can do” he says

“That’s exactly what a kidnapper would say” You joke

He rolls his eyes and you smile

He walks around to the passenger side of his car and opens the door

You smile at him and get in the car.

He closes it and walks around to the drivers side.

“Here do you wanna put your address in so I know where I’m going” Luke says handing you his phone with google maps opened.

You take the phone and type in your apartment building name.

The GPS starts up and he begins backing out of his messed up parking job.

———————————————————————

“So where are you from?” Luke asks

“I’m from a small town in Northern Virginia” You answer

“That’s cool so what brings you to Jersey?” He asks

“I go to school out here”

“Cool”

The two of you continue talking about different subjects until Luke pulls up in front of your building.

“Thank you for the ride” You say

“Your welcome see I told you I wasn’t a kidnapper” he jokes

You smile and gather your things

“Hey before you go how about you put your number in my phone you know in case I wanna learn how to change a tire or something” Luke offers

You smile and take his phone again and put your number in.

“I’ll see you around Y/N” Luke says as you walk into your apartment building you flash him one last smile and he drives off.

———————————————————————

The next couple of weeks you and Luke kept talking the two of you hung out a few times and you started learning more about each other. You guys talked about your families and you found he was in the NHL and you were a little taken back by that but still thought it was cool.

Eventually the two of you started dating but you decided to keep it a secret from your friends and family at least for the time being mostly because of his job but also because you both agreed that it was nice having something that you didn’t have to share with the world something that was just yours.

A/N this is so random but I thought it was kinda funny I hope someone enjoys it lmk if you want a part 2 and what you would like to see. Also I’m still taking requests

All images are from Pinterest

[mystic-writings]

remember the nights | chapter thirteen — welcome distractions

WORD COUNT — 1,435

WARNINGS — none

NOTES — i honestly can't believe that i didn't manage to get this chapter up on time, but i swear the next one will be on schedule !! for now enjoy this lovely fluffy filler

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It’s been three weeks since you last saw Newt; since Christmas. New Years came and went, and school started back up, and nothing changed. Things were the same as they were two months ago, and that small flicker of hope died out halfway into the first week of school. 

New Years was fun, though. At midnight, when your father kissed Maggie and Thomas kissed Teresa, you gave Chuck an embarrassing kiss to the cheek, laughing as his already rosy cheeks darkened as he smiled and pushed you away. 

With the end of January approaching, you had new things to worry about. Finals, a new semester, and your dad’s wedding. You weren’t sure what you were more nervous about, the wedding, or having to take Algebra for the next five months. 

Things at home were getting better, and you were learning to live with the rift between you and Thomas — which, admittedly, got a bit smaller during Christmas and New Years. They were picking up, as well, considering the wedding was only a few weeks away. Your parents, ever the romantics, were getting married on Valentines Day, which meant that whatever final planning and preparation needed to be done as quickly as possible. 

Which, of course, led you to here, sitting in the car with Maggie on a disturbingly cold Saturday morning to help her with the rest of the errands she needed to do before the wedding. 

“Okay, I have the bridesmaid’s dresses in my trunk, we have to go drop them off, bring some of the decorations from the backseat to the hall, get some people to help us set up a few of the tables in the hall, and check on the cake at Jorge’s.” Maggie listed off the to-do list for the day as she drove onto the main road. “Your father’s taking care of all of the deliveries from the city, including his brother, who insisted on taking an Uber instead of just letting your dad go get him from the airport.” 

You laughed and nodded, “Uncle Mark hates when dad offers to do stuff for him. Some sort of older brother complex, I’m sure.” 

The car fell silent as you looked out the window. You wished the weather would cooperate with the season and make for a wonderful, winter landscape, but instead all you were left to look at was slush covered roads, and dirty snow piles on the sides of the roads from the plows that ran through yesterday, just before it rained the entire night. 

Dropping off the dresses was a simple enough task, and with a small town and only a few main roads, you were able to get it all done in just about an hour. The bridesmaids picked out their own style dresses, but all of them matched in color; a lovely sage green, which all of the groomsmen would have as their tie color. You were able to put faces to names this way, and being in a bridal party of older women was actually pretty fun. All of the dresses had sticky notes on them to determine what dress belonged to who, and by the end of that errand, the only one left was yours. Maggie had, a long while ago, decided that you were going to be her Maid of Honor, and got you a darker, emerald green dress to make sure that you stood out. 

You remembered when she told you her decision, and how she explained that it was because she saw you as her daughter from the moment you’d first met. She also explained that you wouldn’t be the only young person in the bridal party, as both Chuck and Thomas were serving as your dad’s best man, and would both walk down the aisle with you, as well as wear ties that matched your dress color. 

The decorations were next on the list, and you finally got to see the inside of the Hall, a great tall building on the other side of town, old brickwork and some pillars and balconies dotting the outside. There were some stairs leading up to a pillared front porch, all concrete and really old. It looked like an old-American style house, one that someone important would’ve lived in during the 1800s. 

Maggie’s backseat had been occupied by the boxes of decorations for weeks now, and she was finally able to give them over to the people who worked at the Hall, who would set everything up a day or two beforehand to take some trouble off of Maggie and your dad’s backs. 

The inside was fairly nice. It’d been gutted and remodeled long ago, and probably never updated since. White walls, a staircase leading up to who knows what, an industrial kitchen, built in bar, and public washrooms. The windows made sure that the sunlight lit up the room perfectly, but it looked odd to see it so empty. 

You could see down the hall where the bathroom was that there was a different door, probably one that led to the side of the house, and another one by the stairs that likely led into the backyard. Tables and chairs littered the outside of a double doorway on the very right side of the hall, so you assumed that’s where most of the storage was kept. 

The few people inside the hall helped bring all the boxes in and put them by the stairs, while another few went to work on packing away the tables and chairs into the storage room. Every sound echoed in the hall, the slight scrape of metal against the polished wood floor, the exertion of bringing in all those boxes, everything. 

From there, you went to Jorge’s cafe to check up on the cake and pastries, only to find him and Brenda taste testing the macarons and frosted cookies. They spent almost an hour talking about what was going to be served at the wedding, along with the final touches of the cake and frosting. 

It was heading into the late afternoon when you got home, and you found your father in the living room, hanging up the phone just as you stepped inside. “Everything go okay?”

“Yep,” Maggie nodded. “Everyone got their dresses, Malcolm and Jack came by the hall to help bring in the decorations, and Jorge is working very hard on those pastries.”

You held up your garment bag as proof, and your dad nodded at you with a smile. 

“Well, everything on my end went well. Everything should get here on time.” He walked up to Maggie, pressing a kiss to her cheek before side-hugging you. “I called and confirmed everything with the florists, the chair guy, the table guy, the dress lady, the suit tailor, and arranged an Uber for my brother. Tables and chairs are getting here the morning before, dress and suits that afternoon, and the flowers the morning of, which my brother said he would take care of.” 

Maggie smiled bright, pressing a kiss to your dad’s cheek and patting his arm. She grabbed your dress and took it upstairs, leaving you and your dad alone in the foyer. 

“Are you excited, dad?”

“You have no idea, kiddo.” He sighed, ruffling your hair. “I haven’t been this excited since you were born. But I should be asking how you’re feeling about all this. I haven’t exactly had the chance to talk to you—” 

“Dad, I’m fine. I’m 110% okay with this, you have nothing to worry about.” You assured him. “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy. She’s a great woman. You chose good.”

“I know.” He said. “Sometimes, though, I feel a bit… weird, but I don’t know why. Your mom’s been gone how long, now? I’m happy, but I still miss her.” 

“So do I, dad.” You told him. “I miss her a lot. But marrying Maggie doesn’t change that mom was a big part of your life, you know. You have enough room in your heart to love them both.” 

Your dad smiled, eyes wet with tears, before pulling you into a hug, kissing the crown of your head. “I love you so much, kiddo.” 

“I know, dad.” 

He let you go and made his way toward his office, and you watched him go. You couldn’t stop the overwhelming feeling of pride for your dad filling your chest, mixing with the love that was already there. No matter what your relationship with Thomas was by the time your parents got married, you were determined to not let it ruin anything. 

Not if you could help it.

series taglist: @heliads @ghostofscarley @badbatch-simp24 @virginia-peters @third-broparcelicito @lamolaine @yes-fangirl-things (open!)

[cels-not-so-secret-love-affair]

falling to the music pt. 4 (jily)

a/n: we’re back again with jily because i am infested by brainworms. read on for marlene’s introduction, some little glimpses into what’s going on with remus and sirius (they’ll work it out, promise) and jily first kiss(es). p.s: the song the marauders cover is one of the boys by mott the hoople, and it’s a banger.

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Over the next good few days, the two of them text quite a bit. The habit just slips in, alongside her morning coffee and her nighttime skincare routine. James seems to be completely swamped with uni work, but still makes time for her, messaging her on his lunch breaks and phoning her up from the fruit and veg aisle in his beloved big Tesco’s to ask for her professional opinion on what he should prep for lunches that week. He sends her pictures of him brushing his teeth in his pyjamas at five o’clock in the morning, because he’s insane and likes to get up early, and she sends back photos of the sky in the evenings and her second (or third, or twelfth) latte that day. There’s a lot to learn about James. And, unusually in Lily’s experience, he seems to be equally as curious about her. He wants to know her favourite everything - colour, season, tv show, flower, music decade, sport. Then he wants to know why they’re her favourites, which prompts even more questions. It’s never an interrogation, though. He just wants to know.

Four weeks on from that first blinding meeting at the concert, then, and Lily is tucked up soundly in bed watching Criminal Minds on her laptop when a now-familiar notification lights up her bedside table. It’s James again - she can tell by the text tone. It’s different to her usual one. Instead of the normal chirpy sounding ping it’s a guitar riff, because she’s got a fucking crush.

James: hey lils?

Lily: Hi, James.

James: hello!

James: so i was thinking

James: we’re doing another gig soon, right?

James: and it’s a proper nice venue, i’m really excited about it

James: and i was wondering

James: if maybe you’d sort of almost kind of want to come?

James: you’d get all the friend of the band privileges and stuff, so you could turn up early (if you wanted) for soundcheck

James: and we could get you backstage too

James: oh and you could bring some friends if they’d want to come too

James: and everything would be free of course

James: drinks as well

James: idk, i just thought it would be nice to see each other so

James: is that like something you’d be up for?

Lily: Jamie, sweetheart.

Lily: I’ve been trying to send the word ‘yes’ since about six messages ago.

James: oh!

James: okay well yay!!

James: i’ll go grab the details and send them over then?

Lily: That’d be great :)

James: oh my god

Lily: What?

James: you just used a smiley face

Lily: Yeah? What’s wrong?

James: nothings wrong it’s just like

James: lily evans of proper punctuation and capital letters fame just used a smiley face

James: you would not believe how hard i am punching the air rn

James: i’m rubbing off on you ;)

Lily: Maybe so ;)

Lily: You two need to stage an intervention for me.

Marlene: hi lilsss

Marlene: bit extreme

Marlene: what are we supposed to be putting a stop to exactly?

Lily: Heterosexuality.

Marlene: oh okay in which case yes you’re correct and i am totally game

Mary: are we talking about james again x

Mary: lily sweetheart, you’re down bad 💗

Lily: I know, it’s awful.

Lily: However, would the two of you like to go out Friday night?

Marlene: fuck yes

Marlene: life is kicking my arse i need to get DRUNK

Marlene: tell me a time and place and i’m there

Mary: i’m free! x

Lily: Perfect!

Mary: where are we going? x

Lily: Right.

Lily: Promise you won’t take the piss.

Marlene: physically impossible, that

Marlene: but carry on

Lily: I may have just invited you to James’ next gig.

Mary: oh babes x

Mary: well at least it’s another chance for me to get a proper look at him

Mary: make sure he’s good enough for you 💋 

Marlene: tbf if there’s music and alcohol i’m happy

Marlene: and sure i’m curious about this guy and his band

Marlene: no piss taken on my end

Marlene: this time, we’ll see what i have to say once i’ve actually seen the bloke

Lily: I don’t deserve your kindness.

Friday whips around like a bullet, and before she’s even registered it Lily’s waiting anxiously outside of the venue in the cold, all dolled up and feeling vaguely nauseous. It’s not that she’s worried - Lily Evans is a confident woman, always has been and always will. A man is not about to muck that up for her. But he hasn’t responded to her text saying she’s there yet, and her friends are about to meet him, and it’s only her second fucking time seeing him in person which doesn't feel correct at all but that’s how it is apparently and blimey why is it so cold? But then she can hear a voice she’s most used to hearing over the phone, and suddenly things just seem to quiet.

‘Lily!’, comes James’ delighted cry as he jogs towards her from around the corner. His hair is messy as ever, and his eyes are creased up in that big beaming grin he wears so easily. Stopping in front of her rather breathlessly, he suddenly becomes awkward, hands fidgeting.

‘Sorry, I- I’m just realising we haven’t really, uh, done this… Could I give you a hug? Is that okay?’ Lily laughs, somewhat reassured by his obvious nervousness.

‘Sure, James. I’d like that.’ He pulls her into his arms then, and God she could just melt. He’s got the same cologne on from when they first met which of course means he smells practically edible, and his arms are strong and warm and comforting, and yeah, she could get used to this. But then he’s pulling away, and the cold that she had temporarily forgotten about begins to seep back into her bones with his absence.

‘Will you introduce me to your friends?’

‘Oh, yeah, sorry. Uh, James, this is Mary, Mary, James.’ James offers his hand to Mary, who shakes it and smiles appraisingly. ‘And then this is Marlene.’

‘Nice to meet you, Potter. I’ve heard a lot about you.’

‘Nothing too bad, I hope?’, James laughs, leaning across to greet Marlene too.

‘Well, we’ll see,’ she replies, returning the handshake with a strong grip.

James takes them in through the side door - ‘Alright, Sean? Yeah, these girls are with me, thanks man’ - and through to where the rest of the band are hanging out. Sirius is laying with his head in Remus’ lap (whose long legs are dangling off the edge of the stage), staring idly at the ceiling and speaking softly so that Remus has to lean down to listen to him. They make a complimentary pair, and seem very at ease with each other. Peter meanwhile is sat behind his drum kit texting furiously, but he looks up when he hears them arrive.

‘Hiya James, hiya Lily! Hiya Lily’s friends!’

‘Dezzie still breathing, Wormy?’ Peter looks slightly shy, but nods anyways.

‘Yeah, she’s doing good.’

‘Glad to hear it! Come say hello, won’t you?’

‘Two ticks!’

‘Sorry guys, bloody impolite this lot.’ James smiles ruefully at the girls. ‘Oi Pads, Moons! Get off your arses and talk to our guests!’ At this, Sirius and Remus look up from where they’re sat together in the corner, pulled forcibly out of their conversation and back into the room.

‘Hey, it’s Magdalene!’, Sirius grins, scrambling up quickly and bounding over to them. He winks at Mary as he says hello to her, then turns to Marlene, but is interrupted just as he begins to speak.

‘Lesbian, mate. Don’t try it.’

‘Ah. Duly noted. Nice hair! Now, Mary, darling…’ Remus, looking slightly hurt after having been abandoned, hauls himself up to his feet and comes to greet them too. He introduces himself to Lily and Marlene (since Mary is in the middle of being distracted) and Lily realises with some surprise that it’s the first time she’s hearing him speak. He’s quite quiet, with a singsong sort of accent and nice clear vowels. She shakes his hand warmly and is reminded of her impression of him when he was playing his solo. Then Peter finds it within himself to put his phone away and also joins them in conversation. He’s somewhat awkward, looking to James whenever his voice falters, but Marlene asks him a few questions about the band and he begins to chat quite earnestly. James beams delightedly and leans in to speak in a low voice into Lily’s ear.

‘Your friends are nice.’

‘Yours aren’t half bad.’

‘It’s good to see you, you know. You look lovely.’

‘Thank you, Jamie. It’s good to see you too.’

The venue starts to fill up with the rest of the crowd about a half an hour later, and the girls are front row. It’s really exciting, actually. There’s that sort of pre-concert buzz in the air, the low thrum of anticipation that underscores the chatter and the indie rock music playing faintly in the background whilst people buy drinks. A few girls just behind Lily are scrolling through The Marauders’ Instagram page, the glow of their phones lighting up bright, curious faces in the dimmed room. It’s clear that they don’t really know the band, but as they look through their posts a sort of running commentary starts up. One girl likes Sirius, which of course she does, and speculates rather loudly and inappropriately about the possibility of fucking him. Another protests at this, declaring that James is clearly the hotter of the two - ‘Look at that man in this photo and tell me he isn’t fit as anything!’, she says, passing her phone over and wiggling her eyebrows. Lily smirks quietly to herself. Yes, he’s fit, she thinks. And he wants me. The feeling brings a slight heat up to her cheeks.

Her thoughts are soon interrupted by a round of applause as the boys take their places on stage, Sirius leading them on. There’s a short moment of fidgeting with leads and adjusting guitar straps, before Peter raises his drumsticks in the air and looks to Sirius for his approval. All is quiet. Sirius nods, almost imperceptibly. The sound of the sticks rings out into the hush of the room for four clear counts. Then, all hell breaks loose.

The concert is insane, to put it lightly. By the time it’s over, Lily reckons she’s sweated off about six litres of water, her mascara is slightly smudged underneath her eyes and her feet are killing her. There’s a dull ache in the back of her head that won’t go away and she’s painfully aware of the fact that she’s scheduled a nine am study session with Alice for tomorrow. She wouldn’t change a thing. When the worst of the crowd has dispersed, their excited conversation and loud peals of laughter drifting out of the room, she checks in with Mary and Marlene before beginning to head round to the side door. Both report that they thoroughly enjoyed themselves, with Mary gushing enthusiastically about The Marauders’ cover of ‘One of the Boys’ and Marlene conceding that yes, they were quite good actually. Lily smiles giddily at having earnt her seal of approval, mentally congratulating James for passing the test. It’s cold when they get outside. The night is sweeping and gorgeous as they step out into the street, all bright lights and rushing cars, and there’s a sort of breathless exhilaration in being at the centre of it.

Lily’s just about to knock when the door is pulled quickly open from the other side. The sudden absence of it surprises her, and she loses her balance somewhat, which sends her stumbling forwards a few paces. Stumbling straight into James, as it happens.

‘Hey, steady on, mate- oh. It’s you!’ Lily rights herself quickly, startled, and blinks rapidly at him, the tops of her ears tinged ever so slightly pink. James looks down at her rather fondly and cracks a broad, easy grin.

‘Sorry Lily. I didn’t mean to give you a fright! I thought you’d be, y’know. Further away.’

‘Don’t worry, just a bit… unexpected, is all. You were amazing tonight.’

‘Thank you! I tried to look in your direction as much as I could, but I think I lost track of you towards the end a bit. Did you have a good time?’ He directs the last part to the group, peering over Lily’s head at Mary and Marlene and raising a hand to wave at them good-naturedly. This seems to suddenly make Lily aware of their proximity, as she moves back a bit to join ranks with her friends.

‘Yes, thanks,’ nods Marlene, in response to his question. ‘You guys aren’t half bad.’

‘Cheers, that means a lot.’

‘Will Sirius be coming out?’, Mary inquires. Lily shoots her a look, but she simply shrugs her shoulders and waits unabashedly for a response. James becomes awkward.

‘No, sorry, I don’t think so. He’s a bit, uh… occupied.’

‘He’s snogging Remus,’ yells a disembodied voice from beyond the doorway. It soon reveals itself to be Peter, who claps a hand on James’ shoulder and acknowledges the girls with a quick smile. ‘Quite thoroughly, actually’, he adds, matter-of-factly.

‘Oh. I didn’t know those two were an item,’ says Mary, looking a bit put out. James sighs, and rubs a hand across his forehead.

‘They’re not together, technically, it’s- it’s complicated. Did you really have to rat them out like that, Wormtail?’

‘It’s in the name, Prongsie-boy, it’s in the name.’

‘Yeah, well, anyways. Forget that. How are you ladies getting home? D’you need a lift?’

‘No, thank you, Jamie,’ Lily replies. ‘We can make our own way home just fine.’

‘You sure? I really wouldn’t mind, it would be my pleasure.’

‘The bloke’s offering, Lils. May as well take him up on it - especially if it’s a pleasure,’ presses Marlene, arching an eyebrow and smirking at her in a way that few would consider subtle. Lily pokes her tongue out back, but relents.

‘I mean, it would be useful, so long as you’re absolutely sure it’s no trouble.’

James’ car is nice; the kind of nice where you’re scared of getting in with mud on your shoes and it appears whoever designed it had an intense phobia of colours and non-curved objects. Heated-seats-nice. That bit’s pretty bloody lovely, to be fair. James, however, doesn’t seem to notice that it’s nice, and flops into the driver’s seat without a care in the world, slamming the car door and swivelling round in his seat to grin at the girls.

‘Chauffeur James, at your service. Where are we going?’

They drop off Mary first, since her house is pretty much on the way to Marlene and Lily’s. She thanks James for the ride, says her goodbyes to both her friends and disappears through the front door with a flurry of shouts about meeting up again soon as she blows giggling kisses over her shoulder. James’ eyes crease up amusedly as he watches her go. Then Lily taps her and Marlene’s address into the sat nav, and off they go again, cruising steadily past streetlights and takeaway places. Inside the car is pleasantly warm and the world outside seems to dissolve into a dreamy blur of softened shapes and colours. It’s nicer than public transport, Lily is forced to admit to herself. She watches James’ relaxed manner as he drives, smiles sleepily to herself and enjoys the soft, safe feeling that has begun to cradle her chest. Home comes far too quickly.

‘Here we are,’ James announces rather uselessly to the inhabitants of the house he’s just pulled up in front of. ‘Give me a minute, I’ll come round and open the door for you guys.’ He does as much, and Lily and Marlene get out, forced to sacrifice the warmth of the car for the brisk chill of the night outside it. Lily is distantly aware that this is her cue to say goodbye and go inside. This understanding hasn’t seemed to translate to her limbs just yet though, because she’s making no effort to actually walk towards the door. Marlene looks at her friend, then at James - who’s practically her mirror image opposite her - then sighs in a way that suggests she’s tired of being stuck in the middle of them.

‘I’ll be in my room if you need me, Lils. Have fun… standing.’ Lily blinks, then nods slowly.

‘Sure. I won’t be long.’

‘Yeah, okay. Thank you, James, for the lift and the night out. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you again so, until then.’ Marlene waves at him, and departs.

‘So. This is your house. This is where we… part ways for the night, yeah?’ James says once she’s gone. He’s looking at Lily with big eyes like a rather mournful puppy, which is a fairly accurate representation of how she feels about having to say goodbye too.

‘I guess. We can chat for a bit though, can’t we? I know I’ve been watching you on stage all night, but I feel like I haven’t really seen you.’

‘Sure, yes, perfect, love that. Chatting. Hi!’ Lily covers a laugh with her hand and looks down at her feet.

‘Hello, Jamie,’ she replies, composing herself just enough to look him in the eyes again. Her cheeks ache from smiling.

‘You know you’re one of three people in my life to call me that?’

‘Am I really?’

‘Mhmm. It used to be just Sirius and my mum, but now it’s Sirius, my mum and… you. It’s weird.’

‘Should I stop?’

‘No, no, absolutely not. I like it. I like being Jamie to you.’ James’ voice is soft and shy.

‘Okay.’ Lily stares at him again awkwardly, lost for what to say to prolong the conversation but still not wanting to leave just yet. They’re both just smiling at each other quietly like giddy children.

‘Oh, you know what? To hell with it!’, Lily says suddenly. Then, with a business like tone and all in one breath: ‘James Potter, I have had a very nice evening and I think I should like to be kissed goodnight to round it off. Do you feel the same?’ James’ eyes widen a fraction as he processes, then flick to her lips. He takes a step closer, closing the gap that Marlene’s departure created, and brings a gentle hand up to cup her face.

‘Yes. Yes, I think I do,’ he says, before tilting his head and leaning in to kiss her sweetly. It’s a short kiss, tentative and caring, but when they pull apart he’s breathless from nerves. Lily grins at him.

‘Alright there?’

‘Yeah, uh… yeah. Glasses.’

‘What about them?’, asks Lily teasingly.

‘Not very conducive to kissing you properly.’

‘Well, we can’t have that. Kissing me properly is very important. Want me to take them off for you?’

‘Yeah. Yes, please. God, my brain’s gone to mush.’

‘I sometimes have that effect.’ Laughing, she removes James’ glasses, taking care not to poke him, and folds them shut. ‘That better?’

‘Much,’ James affirms, wrapping his free arm around her waist and pulling her into another kiss, this time deeper and more confident. Lily hums with approval, and reaches up to tangle her hands in his hair. Making out with James exceeds expectations, she finds, and a dizzying euphoria takes over her as he walks her backwards so that she’s up against the car. The two of them get lost in each other for a while. They fit easily together, exploring and enjoying each other with pleasant curiosity. James treats her tenderly, going slow and generally following her lead. Lily, for her part, has been thinking about this ever since James first got up on that damned stage, and very much intends to make the most of it. But then he’s hesitating, and breaking away from her, which is bloody unfair because they were just getting started, and he’d better have a good reason for this because all she really wants to do right now is to continue snogging him senseless. She leans back against the cool metal of the car with her arms crossed and peers at him inquiringly.

‘Lils… don’t get me wrong, this is like the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I am absolutely on cloud nine right now… but it’s, uh, it’s late. You told Marlene you wouldn’t be long, and I don’t want her to worry or anything. I’m sorry.’ Lily stares up at him and his sweet, sincere little face and finds herself simultaneously irked and endeared by him. Ugh. Curse him and his gentlemanly ways.

‘Yeah, that is true. God, you’re too nice for your own good. If you didn’t remind me about that we could have fucked in your car.’ James’ mouth falls open with a flustered expression. Lily snorts. ‘It’s fine, you can just dream of me for the time being. Save the sex for another day.’

‘Wow. Um, okay. You know Lily, you don’t make it easy for respectable blokes like me.’

‘That’s ‘cause it’s more fun,’ she giggles cheekily, tapping him on the nose. ‘Right. I’ll be off then. Thank you for my goodnight kiss - or kisses, actually - and text me when you’re home, okay Jamie?’

‘Of course. Goodnight, Lily Evans.’

‘Goodnight.’