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whosscruffylooking · 2 days ago

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Open Arms Chapter One

steve harrington x fem!reader word count : 6k Rewrite/Character Insert of Stranger Things ~1984~ This chapter takes place during Season 2 Episodes 1-5

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Another day in Hawkins. Another day of high school. Another day stuck in the same small, sleepy town you’ve known for as long as you can remember. It feels like nothing ever changes here, like every day just blurs into the next, predictable and quiet.

Every day, you wake up wishing for some kind of miracle, something that could shake things up, make life a little less ordinary. Something that could turn your world… Upside Down.

“Y/N!” your mom calls out from the kitchen, “Is Steve giving you a ride today?”

You scoff, rolling your eyes. “Mom, seriously…when was the last time Steve drove me to school? He has a girlfriend to pick up now.”

Steve, your best friend since the first grade. To everyone else he was The Reigning King of Hawkins High. To you he was just the boy next door who reigns havoc on your life, makes everything a little more complicated whether you want it or not.

Your mom hums thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s time you found yourself a boyfriend.”

“I’m perfectly fine, thanks.”

She gives a little shrug. “I’m just saying, wouldn’t it be nice to be taken out on a date once in a while?”

“Mom,” you sigh, “please take your matchmaking somewhere else.”

She’s not wrong, though. You haven’t let yourself even think about dating anyone else since the last “almost” with Steve. Around a year ago, he’d done something reckless enough to mess up things with Nancy, and she seemed to be getting closer to Jonathan Byers. You had just gotten out of a relationship yourself.

It happens every time: he messes things up with a girl, or you’re fresh out of a breakup, and suddenly, like clockwork, you’re back in each other’s lives, circling each other. It’s as if you’re both bound to this endless cycle of almosts—falling together just to fall apart again. You know the game by heart, and you’re tired of it, tired of the late nights that never lead to anything real, the unspoken words that hang heavy in the air between you both. But still, you can’t seem to let go.

Nothing ever actually happens. You just end up crashing at each other’s houses, watching movies till you both fall asleep, or driving out to Lover’s Lake to stargaze and rant about your trainwreck love lives. But you both know what it is—and what it isn’t. The truth is, you’re bound by a history no one else could touch. Growing up together, you made the stupid decision of being a lot of each other’s firsts, and you’ve always been the one person who truly gets him. It’s a bond that runs deeper than most things in your life, yet it never seems to go anywhere beyond these stolen moments. And maybe that’s why it hurts the most—knowing he’s always right there but never fully yours.

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At school, you overhear the girls in the hallway whispering about the new guy in town. Though “guy” isn’t the word they use—they’re calling him a real man, with a muscle car to match and actual muscles to back it up. You’ve never been the type to shy away from guys, and you’ve certainly never had any trouble attracting attention. Still, something about the way they talk about him piques your curiosity, though you’d never admit it.

You notice the once-empty locker beside yours is finally in use, a few things tossed inside. You wonder briefly who claimed it. That curiosity doesn’t last long.

“Excuse me, gorgeous, but I think that’s my locker.”

You turn to find the living, breathing embodiment of the girls’ descriptions. Tall, sharp-jawed, with piercing blue eyes, and that effortless, cocky grin. You don’t even have to ask if it’s him.

“Oh—my bad,” you say, stepping aside.

“And what’s your name?” he asks, his smile unwavering.

Who does he remind you of?

“Y/N…” You try to pinpoint it, that nagging sense of familiarity.

He tosses his keys into the locker, eyes still fixed on yours, something almost playful in his gaze.

Then it hits you.

“I’m—”

“Knight Rider?” you say slyly, a smirk playing at your lips. He blushes just a little, caught off guard, and you savor the small victory.

“Well played,” he says, taking your hand into his for a confident but gentle shake.

“That’s just the beginning,” you respond, shutting your locker with a quiet click, eager to keep the mystery between you two alive.

“I hope so. I’m Billy by the way,” he replies, his voice softer now, still slightly in awe of you. There’s something in his eyes—a challenge. And you can tell, he’s baited.

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At lunch, you find yourself walking through the crowded cafeteria, scanning the room for a familiar face. As luck would have it, you bump into Nancy and Steve near the food line.

“Hey,” Steve greets, his voice laced with a hint of curiosity. “What did you think of the new guy? Total douche, right?”

You catch the look on his face, a mix of hope and something else you can’t quite place. It’s clear he’s fishing for your opinion, eager for you to agree with him.

You shrug, trying to keep your tone casual, though you can’t hide the small smirk tugging at your lips. “I mean…” Your voice comes out just a bit higher than usual, betraying your uncertainty. “He’s like the entire cast of The Outsiders wrapped up in one package.” You leave it at that, the playful jab hanging in the air between you three.

Nancy chuckles, gripping her tray closely as she looks between you and Steve. You take the opportunity to point at her, nodding toward Steve. “Looks like your girl might agree with me too.”

Nancy gasps and bursts into laughter. “I don’t know, I guess. He’s not really my type though.”

You smirk, not missing a beat. “That’s so funny, because I’m pretty sure I saw a David Hasselhoff photo in your locker just last week?”

Steve’s face falls slightly, and you catch the brief flash of disappointment in his eyes. “Oh please,” he says, his tone a bit too defensive, “he is not David Hasselhoff.”

“Knight Rider,” Nancy interjects, her eyes darting between you and Steve. You both freeze, caught off guard.

“What?” You ask, happy she sees the resemblance too.

Nancy looks back and forth between you two, realization dawning on her. “He has the car, the curls, and the mus—muscle car.”

You raise an eyebrow, teasing her. “You just said the car twice. Sure you didn’t mean another kind of muscle?”

Nancy giggles at your comment, but Steve pushes you playfully, though there’s a layer of something more in his touch—like he’s trying to keep things light but it doesn’t quite feel like it used to.

“Have I told you that I hate you?” Steve mutters under his breath, though it’s more playful than anything else.

You smile, your tone laced with the usual teasing. “All too often.”

But as you both lock eyes, something shifts. It’s not just a playful exchange anymore. The usual banter feels heavy now, the space between you both thick with unspoken words. Steve’s smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes, and you wonder if he’s feeling the same distance creeping between you two that you’ve been trying so hard to ignore. You quickly look away, forcing the feeling down as Nancy continues to laugh, unaware of the sudden tension lingering.

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You’re walking down the hall, a few steps ahead of Steve, the sounds of lockers slamming and voices all around you fading as the tension between you both hangs in the air. Every time you glance over your shoulder, his gaze is already on you—lingering, just a bit too long.

You both fall into an uneasy silence. It’s not the comfortable quiet you used to share, but something heavier. Something unspoken.

You stop for a moment, unsure of what to say. “I’ll see you in class,” you murmur, turning to leave.

But Steve’s voice stops you. “Hey,” he calls softly, his hand brushing yours as he steps into your path. His touch is warm, too warm for something so casual. His fingers linger for a split second before he pulls away, but the moment still sits between you, unresolved.

You look up, meeting his eyes. His usual cocky confidence is gone, replaced by something more vulnerable. It’s almost as if he’s waiting for you to say something, anything to break the silence.

“Steve…” You don’t know what you’re going to say. You want to say something that makes it all feel normal again, but the words feel stuck in your throat.

He opens his mouth, hesitates, then shuts it again. “Never mind.” The smile he forces doesn’t reach his eyes again. It’s strained, tight. And suddenly, you can’t look at him anymore.

Turning quickly, you walk past him, your heartbeat pounding in your ears.

From down the hall, Nancy watches the exchange, arms folded, leaning against the locker as she observes. There’s no jealousy in her gaze—she’s been there too. She knows the space between two people who care for each other but don’t know how to bridge it. She’s seen it with Jonathan, with the way they get tangled in unspoken words and moments that feel like too much, but too little at the same time. It’s just the way things go sometimes.

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*Flashback*

1 year ago

It’s a Friday afternoon, and the hallways of Hawkins High are quieter than usual. Most of the students have gone home, leaving the echoes of footsteps and lockers slamming shut. You and Steve are walking side by side, the familiar warmth of his presence at your side like it always has been—comforting, easy.

You laugh as Steve pulls an exaggerated face, trying to get you to laugh at his antics as he mimics one of the teachers. You roll your eyes, but you can’t help the smile spreading across your face.

“You’re such an idiot,” you tease, nudging him with your shoulder.

He bumps you back, almost knocking you into the lockers. “You love me for it,” he smirks, and there’s a hint of something else in his gaze, something unspoken that lingers between you, like a question neither of you has the courage to ask.

You roll your eyes again, but there’s no denying the way your heart skips. “Yeah, maybe,” you say, trying to brush it off. But you both know that maybe means something more.

You reach the end of the hallway, your steps slowing as the moment stretches, neither of you wanting to be the first to turn back, to end this rare, quiet time between just the two of you.

He glances over at you, his steps slowing, his voice quieter when he speaks again. “Hey, so… Bryan still around?”

You stop walking, surprised by the question, but it’s Steve, and it’s always been easy with him. “No,” you reply, shaking your head. “He’s out of the picture.”

Steve’s expression softens, a slight smile playing on his lips as if the weight of something between you two has been lifted. “Good. He never really seemed like the right guy for you.”

Your breath catches slightly at the unexpected warmth in his words, but you don’t let it show. “Yeah, well… sometimes you don’t really see things until it’s too late.”

Steve nods, looking down for a moment as if he’s trying to decide something. He looks back up at you, his usual carefree grin returning. “Well, if you’re not busy tonight, you wanna come over to my place? We can grab some takeout, watch movies… you know, normal hangout stuff.”

There’s something in his invitation that feels different this time, but you brush it off. It’s Steve. He always invites you over. You’ve done it a million times before—movies, pizza, talking about everything and nothing. It’s what you do.

“Yeah,” you agree, “sounds good.”

Steve’s eyes flicker down to your lips, then back to your eyes, his expression shifting. You feel your stomach flutter, the air between you thickening as the playful banter dies down.

You find yourself leaning in, just a bit, and you see Steve’s breath catch, the tip of his nose almost brushing yours.

But before you can get any closer, a loud bang from down the hall makes both of you snap apart like you’ve been caught.

You both step back, instantly awkward, eyes darting everywhere except at each other. The spell breaks, but the tension still lingers, heavy in the air. You glance at Steve, and his expression is unreadable—like he’s trying to hide something, or maybe it’s you who’s hiding it.

You break the silence first, a half-laugh escaping your lips. “Well… that was close.”

Steve rubs the back of his neck, looking embarrassed but also relieved. “Yeah, totally. We’re just—uh, messing around, right?”

You nod, trying to brush it off, but your heart is racing, and you know he feels it too. “Right. Just messing around.”

But neither of you says anything more. You both head in opposite directions down the hallway, still feeling the echo of what almost happened, both of you wondering if the other is thinking about it too.

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At last, it’s the day of the party. You’ve spent longer than you’d like to admit getting ready, but you’re finally happy with your look. Blue bell-bottom jeans, a tight orange top with a center zip that falls just below the line of modesty—it’s bold, but you feel good in it. Confident, even.

You arrive at the party, a mix of excitement and nerves swirling inside you. The music pulses through the house, and people are scattered, laughing and talking, their faces blurry in the haze of a dimly lit room. As much as you try to act like you don’t care, the anxiety creeps in. Funny how someone so confident can still feel out of place in a crowd.

You push through, trying to find your core group, but as you weave through the bodies, there’s really only one person you’re looking for. Steve. The one person who has always had a way of making you feel like you belong.

On your way through the crowd, you bump into Jonathan Byers. Another one of your longtime friends. You’ve all grown up together in Hawkins, so you’ve seen each other through the years—some friendships stronger than others, but still, it’s hard to forget those familiar faces.

“Jonathan!” you call out with a smile, pulling him into a quick hug. “Loving the look, very you.” You nod at his usual, low-key style—flannel and jeans. He’s always been the quiet, thoughtful one in the group, and you just want him to feel good about his understated vibe.

“I like… your shirt,” he says, his words trailing off awkwardly.

Well, at least your shirt is doing what you intended it to. Maybe just not with the target audience.

“Looking for Nancy?” you ask, hoping he’ll pick up the conversation.

“Yeah,” Jonathan responds, his hands shoved in his pockets. “I don’t really associate with anyone else here.”

You put on a mock-offended face, “Ouch.”

He immediately backpedals, realizing how it sounded. “I mean, you were gone for a while. We kinda lost touch.” His gaze drops a little, clearly uncomfortable, referring to the time when your parents separated again, and you spent some months with your mom in California. It had been a rough time for you, especially being away from Steve. You’re still not sure how you survived that.

“Well, I’m back now,” you say, brushing off the past. “Come on, join me. I’m on a mission to find Steve and Nancy.”

Jonathan nods, grateful for the company. “Alright, lead the way.”

And there he is, leaning against the wall by the kitchen, laughing at something someone said, a bottle of beer loosely held in his hand. He’s effortlessly cool as usual, but there’s something different tonight. Maybe it’s the way his eyes flicker over to Nancy every now and then, or the tightness in his posture that betrays the casual air he’s trying to maintain.

Nancy stands next to him, arms crossed, her jaw clenched in that familiar way when she’s upset—though it’s hard to say if it’s the alcohol or something else that’s fueling her frustration tonight. She’s leaning a little too heavily on the counter, her face flushed, the words she’s muttering barely audible over the noise of the party.

Steve’s smile is gone now, replaced by a more serious expression. He’s trying to keep things light, but it’s clear she’s not having it.

As you and Jonathan walk toward the kitchen, you spot Steve and Nancy in their little world, tucked away by the counter. You can hear the edge in Nancy’s voice, even from a distance, though you can’t make out the words. Jonathan follows your gaze, his brow furrowing. You can’t blame him for looking the way he does—he’s been around long enough to know the dance between Steve and Nancy.

“Is she okay?” you ask, your voice quiet, though it feels more like an automatic question than one you really expect an answer to. You’ve seen enough of this cycle to know the routine.

Jonathan glances over, shaking his head just slightly. “I don’t think so,” he says, a rare seriousness in his tone. “But you know Nancy. She’ll push through.”

You feel the knot in your stomach tighten as you watch Steve’s stance shift, his body leaning toward Nancy as if trying to reach her without crowding her, trying to give her space but also not let her slip too far away. There’s something fragile in the air, something more than just the tension between them. It’s like Steve’s holding on by a thread, and maybe Nancy is, too, but neither of them wants to admit it.

“You should probably go talk to them,” Jonathan says, glancing at you. He doesn’t know what to say either, but it’s obvious that Steve’s been trying to manage things on his own. You could step in—or let him handle it.

You glance at Jonathan again, silently debating what to do. Jonathan nudges you gently with his elbow. “You good?” he asks. You nod, taking a step forward, your voice hesitant but warm. “Hey, guys, what’s going on?” you ask, trying to break through the tension without adding to it.

Nancy shoots you a sharp look before turning away, but Steve doesn’t seem to mind. He’s got that defeated, yet resigned, look on his face as he exhales deeply. He’s trying to hide it, but the frustration is written all over him.

“Just the usual,” Steve says with a small, forced smile, looking at you.

Nancy, still with her arms crossed, shoots you a look that says more than her words do. It’s not that she’s mad at you; it’s just that she doesn’t want to be the center of attention right now. She’s not ready to have the conversation.

Jonathan stands by you, hands in his pockets, waiting for you to say something. You don’t know what the right thing is. The silence in the room is thick now.

“I’m gonna go get another drink,” Nancy slurs, her words trailing off as she pushes past Steve, who’s still trying to calm her down.

“Please don’t,” Steve says, his voice low and frustrated, but he’s too late. He sighs and chases after her, leaving you standing alone for the moment.

Not long after, a voice you’re starting to recognize from the past few days calls out from behind you.

“So if I’m Knight Rider, then who does that make you?” Billy’s voice is smooth, cocky, and unmistakable. He’s standing just a few feet away now, that grin still plastered on his face.

You turn to meet his gaze, letting a playful smile tug at the corners of your lips. You raise an eyebrow, a silent challenge in your eyes. “You’ll have to learn more about me to find out.”

He steps a little closer, eyes narrowing with amusement. “When?”

The question hangs in the air, and for a split second, you feel that old rush of excitement—the thrill of the unknown. Remembering your mom’s less-than-subtle hints this morning, you decide to play along.

“How about Wednesday night? We can go see the new Terminator movie. You look like someone who appreciates a little Arnold Schwarzenegger,” you say, testing the waters, letting a hint of flirtation slip into your voice.

Billy doesn’t hesitate, that confident grin of his widening. “It’s a date. I’ll pick you up. And…I’ve been to the gym Arnold works out in.”

You raise your hand to stop him, a slight smirk on your face. “Right…I’m sure you have. Also, I’ve seen how you drive your car. Maybe I’ll meet you there,” you tease, enjoying the playful banter.

He chuckles, stepping back, his eyes twinkling with a mischievous glint. “I’ll go nice and slow just for you.”

You can’t help but laugh at that, the tension between you both shifting into something lighter, something you haven’t felt in a while. But as you look past him, your eyes flicker briefly to Steve, catching him trying to pry the solo cup out of Nancy’s hand. Just as the music halts, that red solo cup and the red mystery punch within it spills all over Nancy’s white shirt.

Her face is in complete disbelief, she sways back and forth her reaction clearly slowed down by her alcohol intake.

“Screw you.”

Jonathan follows her quickly into the bathroom.

“You know,” Billy starts again, “Rumor has it that you and Harrington have quite the colorful history? Why is it that you two aren’t prom king and queen this year?”

Something in Billy’s tone instantly makes you second-guess your plans for Wednesday. His fading smirk tells you he’s noticed the flash of disdain on your face.

“What does it matter if you’re the one taking me on a date Wednesday?” you say, your voice edged with a warning. You’re feeling oddly protective over you and Harrington’s history, a past that’s none of Billy’s business.

Billy raises an eyebrow, caught off guard but intrigued. “Fair enough,” he replies, but the cocky glint in his eyes lingers, as if he’s still sizing up the situation.

Shortly after, you spot Steve storming out of the bathroom alone, Nancy nowhere in sight. His expression is tense as he heads straight for the drink station, a familiar frustration in his stride. You catch a glimpse of Jonathan making his way toward Nancy, so you turn to Billy with a polite excuse and make your way over to Steve.

“Hey, you don’t need to be drinking any more right now,” you say, noticing that Steve has downed two cups of punch in the short walk it took to reach him.

“I’ve got a pretty damn good reason to,” he mutters, his jaw tight as he opens a beer.

“Steve, you don’t have to tell me what happened, but at least think about the fact that you still have to drive home,” you warn, trying to keep your tone light.

He shrugs, avoiding your eyes. “You can drive me.”

“I never volunteered for that,” you reply, crossing your arms.

For a moment, he looks at you, really looks at you, and you can tell he’s realizing that things are different. You’re not just there to pick up his pieces anymore. You have your own life to live tonight—a party to enjoy, and maybe even boys to dance with. The weight of another round of Steve-and-Nancy drama? That’s not something you’re willing to carry this time.

“You’re right,” Steve says, setting the beer down with a sigh. “I’ll just go sit out on the porch and sober up a bit. Then I’ll head out. And I wanna make sure Nancy gets home safe.”

You give his arm a quick squeeze, silently admiring that, even in the middle of an argument, he’s still looking out for her. That is… until his gaze drifts to the front door, where he sees Jonathan helping a barely-standing Nancy out to his car.

Crap.

“Go sit on the porch. I’ll be right there,” you say quickly, hinting you’ll handle it. You rush outside to catch up with Jonathan. “You know how this looks, right?”

Jonathan gives a solemn nod. “She asked me.”

Nancy lifts her head slightly, her words slurred and muddled. “I don’t want… Steve to take me home. Not Steve. I want to see Barb’s parents. Take me to Barb’s house.”

You pause, taken aback. “Barb’s parents? Why do you want to see Barb’s parents right now?”

Jonathan stiffens, worry flickering in his eyes. “Uh, I really think I should get her home now. Maybe check on Steve too.”

Without another word, they’re off, leaving you standing in the night with a sense of unease. You know Barbara Holland was Nancy’s best friend, missing since last year. But why would she bring that up now? And why with such urgency?

You find Steve out back, leaning against the porch railing, eyes glazed with frustration and a hint of sadness.

“Steve…why would Nancy want to see Barb’s parents tonight?”

He shakes his head slowly, the alcohol clearly loosening his grip on restraint. “God, I wish I could tell you everything right now. It would make things so much easier. You’re my best friend. I tell you everything. But for the past year, I’ve been keeping so many secrets from you.”

A pit forms in your stomach. “What do you mean, Steve?”

He looks at you, eyes haunted, and whispers, “If I told you, you’d die.”

You laugh nervously, trying to shake the unease settling over you. “C’mon, it can’t be that serious.”

“There’s stuff going on around here that you have no clue about.” He reaches up, gently brushing a stray hair from your face, his fingers lingering a second longer than they should. Your heart skips, half hoping this is just the alcohol, half hoping it’s not. He always does this, walks that fine line.

His voice cracks slightly as he murmurs, “I just want to keep you safe.”

In that moment, you realize it’s not just words—it’s a plea, and you can feel the weight of something dark lurking just beyond his gaze, something he desperately wants to shield you from.

You give Steve a gentle pinch, trying to ground him. “I’m safe, Steve. I’m right here, see?”

But he only shakes his head, eyes dark with something close to dread. “Here is where it’s least safe. Those things… they’re out there.”

A chill runs down your spine. “What things, Steve?” You search his face, recognizing the unmistakable truth behind his words.

He just looks away, jaw clenched. Instinctively, your mind flashes back to last year, the disappearances of Will Byers and Barb. Then Nancy and Jonathan, vanishing for days without a word. Everyone assumed Jonathan had to hold things together while Joyce spiraled, refusing to believe her son was dead. There was even a funeral, and she still wouldn’t admit it. Then, against all logic, Will came back with no real explanation.

You remember Steve acting strangely after everything went down. He kept trying to make peace with Jonathan over the fight they got into outside the movie theater, but he dodged every question you asked about the night he went to Jonathan’s house, laughing nervously or changing the subject so fast it left you spinning. Then there was the night you found a bat in the trunk of his car—nails hammered into it like some kind of makeshift weapon. When you questioned him, he just shrugged it off, calling it a “guy thing,” and you let it go, though every instinct told you there was more to the story.

Whenever you pushed for answers, Steve would wave it off, teasing you about reading too many mysteries and spending too much time theorizing. But seeing the fear in his eyes now, the weight he’s carrying, it hits you like a punch: you were right to question everything. And he knows it, too.

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You drive Steve’s car back to his house, figuring you’ll pick up your mom’s in the morning. One night won’t matter.

Helping him up to his room, you can’t shake the strange coincidences piling up around Hawkins.

“I missed this,” he mumbles, settling onto his bed.

“What?”

“You… in my room,” he says softly, grabbing your hand. “Stay tonight. Don’t leave.”

“You have a girlfriend, Steve. I don’t stay over when you have a girlfriend.”

He sighs, eyes full of something almost desperate. “What kind of girlfriend says she isn’t really in love with you?”

You freeze. “I’m sorry—what?”

“She said we’re just… acting like we’re in love,” he says, voice rough with frustration and something else.

You can see it—the hurt he’s tried to bury, the way he’s tried so hard to be enough for someone. To finally feel wanted.

His arms slip around your waist, his head resting against your stomach, and you feel his shoulders shake. Silent tears he doesn’t want you to see.

“Hey, hey… She was drunk, okay? Everyone says stupid things when they’re drunk. Talk to her tomorrow. It’ll be fine.”

“She meant it,” he whispers, his voice breaking.

You gently push him back onto the bed, pulling the covers over him. “You’ve got a long day tomorrow, Steve. Get some rest, and we’ll figure out the Nancy thing together.”

You hate to leave him like this, but you know it’s the right thing to do. So, once again, you walk away, leaving your best friend alone with his heartbreak and the last traces of alcohol on his breath. Another turn in the endless cycle that is your friendship—always there for him, even as it pulls you back into the same, unbroken loop.

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The next day, Billy and Steve square off on the basketball court, the air thick with tension. Billy’s been taunting him non-stop, poking at Steve’s so-called “King Steve” reputation like it’s a worn-out joke. But Steve keeps his cool, mostly.

Until Billy casually drops your name.

“So tell me, Harrington,” Billy sneers with a smirk, “what made you go for the Wheeler girl over Y/N?”

Steve feels the muscles in his jaw clench, but he doesn’t take the bait. He knows better than to react. But Billy’s not done. He moves closer, a low chuckle escaping as he continues, “I mean, the King and the Princess of Hawkins High—cute match and all. But damn, man, have you seen the hips on her? Perfect for holding onto. Word is you already took her for a test drive, too. So I gotta wonder… why didn’t you ever claim her? Or maybe you just weren’t man enough?”

Steve’s control snaps. He shoves Billy hard, fire in his eyes as he stands inches from him, fists clenched. “Say one more thing about her. I dare you.”

Billy laughs, clearly enjoying himself, but there’s an edge to Steve’s stance, a fierce protectiveness that makes even Billy pause. Steve glares, his voice low and dangerous. “Y/N’s worth more than someone like you will ever know. So keep her name out of your mouth, or you’ll regret it.”

Right on cue, Nancy’s soft voice cuts through the tension. “Steve?” She stands just a few feet away, looking pale and uneasy, clearly having seen the entire thing unfold.

Billy smirks, throwing a last taunt over his shoulder. “Good luck, Harrington.” He saunters off, leaving Steve standing there, fists still clenched, his heart pounding.

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

“Y/N!” your mom calls from downstairs. “Steve is here!”

Steve coming through the front door? That’s unusual—he’s always climbed the vines up to your window. You quickly spray a bit of perfume, fix your hair, then catch yourself in the mirror. Why are you even putting in effort for him?

When you come down, your mom throws you an excited smile, her back to Steve so he can’t see. She’s still holding onto that hope she’s had since first grade that you and Steve would end up together.

And then there he is, standing in the entryway with a bouquet of sunflowers—your favorite. Your heart stumbles as you take in every inch of him. For a brief second, you let yourself imagine you’re the only girl he brings flowers to. But realistically, he’s probably just coming from Nancy’s or on his way there next.

He hands you the flowers, his gaze lingering. “Thank you for everything.”

“It’s no big deal,” you say, trying to steady your voice.

“Well, I should get going,” he says, and your heart sinks. That’s it?

“But, uh, make sure to open your window. There’s a nice breeze out tonight,” he adds with a wink. You bite back a smile, catching on.

You say your goodbyes and dash up the stairs, ignoring your mom’s questions as Steve leaves. You open your window, sitting on your bed, waiting for him like you have a hundred times before. Somehow, after all these years, the excitement still feels brand new.

“Miss me?” He slips through the window, quietly so your mom doesn’t hear, and makes himself at home. He turns on your record player, the soft hum of music filling the room, then joins you on the bed.

He stares down at his hands. “I’m sorry for the position I put you in last night. It wasn’t fair, and you deserve better.”

You try to catch his gaze, but he’s clearly embarrassed. “That’s what best friends are for,” you say, hoping to ease his guilt.

You bite your tongue, unsure whether to bring up what he shared last night—but you’ve never hidden things from each other, and you don’t want to start now. “You told me about Nancy… how she said it felt like you were just acting in love.”

He sighs, defeated. “Yeah. I confronted her about it today. Asked if she could say she loved me, and she couldn’t.”

Your heart aches for him. “I’m sorry, Steve. Maybe she’s just… having a moment. A lot’s happened this year.”

The silence hangs between you for a moment, heavy with unsaid words.

“I’m gonna bring her flowers after this. I don’t think it’ll change anything, but she deserves an apology for everything I put her through,” he finally says, breaking the quiet. You smile, resting your hand on his knee. “I think that’s a good idea.”

He looks down at your hand on his knee, his fingers hovering for a moment before he covers it with his own. His expression softens, a hint of something he quickly tries to hide, but you can see it—a sadness mixed with a reluctant acceptance, like he knows exactly what all of this means.

He lets out a quiet sigh, staring at your intertwined hands. There’s a heaviness in his eyes. Like even if things with Nancy are ending, there’s something between you and him that’s never quite let go.

His fingers tighten around yours, just for a second, before he releases your hand and gives you a small, bittersweet smile.

“You should go,” you whisper. You don’t want him to. But he needs to.

He reluctantly resigns himself.

“Can I come pick you up in an hour? Maybe we can go to the movies or something?”

You know you should say no, but you can’t. “If you and Nancy aren’t making out and making up within the next hour then yes, we can go to a movie.”

He stares at you, and you can’t quite read him. You avert your gaze.

“It’s so funny,” he speaks almost as if he can’t believe himself, “No matter what…or who…I always need you.”

And with that he’s out the window and on his way to try and win back another woman.

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

#strange things imagine #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington angst #steve harrington #slow burn #angst #steve harrington fic #stranger things fic #billy hargrove #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #Open Arms AU

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daydreamerdrew · 2 years ago

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Marvel Treasury Edition (1974) #25

#the Hulk’s not that great at understanding his own emotions in general #like he needs a lot of time and quiet space to work things out #but at the same time there are things that no matter how much time he has he simply isn’t going to be able to understand them on his own #and he needs help which he doesn’t actually get all that often #which isn’t something that he plays no part in #like oftentimes he takes the frustration of not understanding something and accuses the other person of intentionally trying to confuse him #and his awareness and acceptance of his own limitations is not consistent #like sometimes he understands that there’s a lot he doesn’t understand #but a lot of the time it’s everyone else around him that’s stupid actually #so I think that this kind of subtle/less domineering form of mind control is more interesting #than say someone just lying to the Hulk and outright tricking him into doing their bidding #sometimes those tricking stories can feel forced whereas this is more natural #marvel #bruce banner #peter parker #my posts #comic panels

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maskedbyghost · 2 months ago

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Heyyy, it's me again, but this time we're talking situationship!Simon—aka the biggest fuckboy you'll ever meet. Honestly, girl, I have no idea why you're still putting up with him!

you can’t even define what you two have, but one thing’s for sure—he knows how to use his dick, and you're both free to mess around with whoever you want. but of course, you had to fall for him, for that stupid smile he swore only you were special enough to see, for the gentle touch that lingered on your skin during those rare nights when he stayed longer than usual. you fell for the way he made you feel like you were the exception, even though deep down, you knew better.

you fell for how he made you feel like you were everything, even though he’d always leave just as quickly. he knew exactly how to keep you hooked—giving just enough to make you believe in him, but never enough to make it real. you wanted more, but every time he left, you remembered that his promises were as short-lived as his visits. still, you couldn’t stop going back, hoping that maybe this time, he’d actually mean it.

but he never did. you’d have fun for a few hours, but then he’d leave, acting like you didn’t exist around everyone else. he’d flirt with other girls right in front of you, not even bothering to hide it when he left with them, almost like he wanted you to see.

and every time, it hurt a little more, but you couldn’t bring yourself to end it. you told yourself you didn’t care, that it was just fun, but deep down, you wanted to be the one he stayed with. yet, no matter how much it hurt to watch him with someone else, the moment he came back, all that anger faded, and you let him in again, caught in the hope that maybe someday he’d truly see you as more than just a temporary fix.

one night, you tried to have a serious conversation with him, hoping that if you laid out your feelings, he might finally understand. but he dismissed your emotions with a shrug, listing reasons why he didn’t want a relationship: he was too focused on his career, he wasn’t ready for commitment, and he just didn’t want to deal with the complications. simon insisted that keeping things as they were was the best option for both of you.

afterward, as you lay together, a clear realization hit you. even though you were physically close, you couldn’t ignore the emptiness you felt. that night you made a silent promise to yourself: this would be the last time you let him in, and the last time you let yourself be trapped in this cycle.

and, being the dumb man he was, simon only came to realize what he had lost after you were gone. a few weeks after your last conversation, he saw you a few times out with other guys, laughing and flirting as if you were moving on. it hit him hard—a painful mix of jealousy and regret. he realized that he missed you, but at the same time, he knew he had no right to these feelings. not after treating you the way he did.

he managed to keep his calm for a few more days, but the weight of his regret grew unbearable. finally, he snapped and called you into his office late one night, claiming he needed to discuss the upcoming mission with you.

as soon as you walked in, simon felt his heart tighten in his chest. seeing your face calm, confident, like you had already moved on, stirred something deeper than he expected. there was no trace of the vulnerability you used to show around him, no lingering affection. he realized, in that moment, just how much he had pushed you away. regret surged through him, sharper than he imagined, and he knew this conversation wouldn’t be easy.

after talking about unimportant stuff for a few minutes, simon took a deep breath, trying to steady his voice. “i know i messed up, and i’m sorry for how i treated you. i’ve been thinking a lot about what happened, and i realize now how much i regret it. i was wrong to push you away.”

you looked at him, your expression guarded. “it’s a little too late for apologies, simon, don't you think? you had plenty of chances to get it right, and now you’re just trying to fix things because you see me with someone else.”

he tried to reach out, his voice softening. “i know it’s not enough, but i want to make things right. i can’t stop thinking about what we had.”

you shook your head, stepping back. “you had your chance, and you threw it away. i’m not going to be your second choice or your backup plan.”

"y/n-"

"no, simon!" you sighed, closing your eyes briefly to gather your thoughts. when you spoke again, your voice was steady, "you know, some people never fade from memory. they leave a mark that lingers just beneath the surface, no matter how hard you try to move on. but to be honest, i’m not in the mood for any more humiliation or heartbreak. so, this is my final goodbye to you."

you could sense that he wanted to say something, but you couldn’t let him speak before you had your say. “go ahead and fill your life with new faces, as if i were nothing but a distant memory. enjoy your freedom and let others wear you out as they please. i’m done being part of that. keep moving forward, and if you ever try to reach out, know that i’ll let your calls go unanswered. for now, i’m celebrating the end of our chapter.”

even as he heard you declare the end, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he still wanted you in his life. he was stuck between guilt and the lingering hope that maybe he could still fix things. despite your rejection, part of him struggled to accept that he had truly lost you, and he felt powerless to change the situation or let you go.

simon’s face twisted with a mix of desperation and anger. “you think you can just walk away and erase everything we had? you think you can move on and leave me behind like I’m nothing?” he took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, but his voice was filled with raw intensity. “don’t fool yourself, i still want you, and i won’t just let you go. you’re mine, whether you like it or not. i know i’ve made mistakes, but i’m not done fighting for what we had. if you think you can find someone better, go ahead. but know this: i’ll keep groveling and doing whatever it takes until you take me back. i’m not going anywhere, and i’ll make sure you remember what we had.” he took a step back, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, and ran a hand through his disheveled hair.

you just smirked, turning on your heel to leave. as you reached the door, you glanced back over your shoulder with a cold, confident look. “i can’t wait to see you on your knees,” you said, your voice sharp. then, you walked out, leaving him alone with his mess.

game on.

(I WANT HIM TO GROVEL FOR MONTHSSSS)

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@daydreamerwoah

#simon ghost riley #simon ghost x reader #simon riley x reader #simon riley x you #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost riley x you #simon riley #simon riley imagine #simon ghost riley x female oc #simon ghost x you #simon riley angst

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fix-it-darlin · 1 day ago

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rhav (fullmetal alchemist oc, doctor and former state alchemist)

david- they probably appreciate his pragmatism and prioritization of others, finds gruff demeanor appealing but not much thought given beyond that, if the two of them got closer, they'd probably bond about trying to keep the people they care about from getting hurt, but those people not listening to them and then getting hurt

huxley- immediate short circuit of the brain and then lots of questions about how his 'earth based alchemy' works, they're a bit thrown off by his carefree attitude, but genuinely enjoy their interaction with him

vega- wtf even is this guy?, feelings are definitely mixed and their fight or flight is going off but they also get the sense that people will get hurt if they don't do something about him so definitely a fair amount of hostility that's feeding him

porter- thrown off by his charm initially and then realizes that he's got very little sense of self preservation and views himself as a weapon, gets real rattled about that and has to fight the urge to try and check him over for wounds

geordi- so glad to finally meet a normal person in this universe, they think he's a bit paranoid but they get it

blake- honestly just really disappointed in this guy, like c'mon, you've got the ability to see the future and help others and you've centered your whole being around one person when you've got the potential to be so much better than this, but ~no~ you have to go and be a massive racist asshole who's willing to hurt everyone to get what he wants, they don't even hate him, it's just more of a 'come on man, you're better than this. where is the board of ethics on this?'

hush- you know what, after everything else they've seen at this point, they're just glad that the god child isn't trying to kill them

rowan wagner (space cowboy)

david- he finds him pretty cute, thinks he'd be a fun guy to take out for a drink and get him relaxed but nothing too serious, discussion over drinks would likely be about taking on some kind of job, rowan's a flirt, but he knows when someone's out of his league

huxley- the accent? is something else, but once he gets past it, probably vibes with this guy quite a bit and talks shop on the quality of the earth in the area and what kind of wildlife hangs around the area

vega- well, doesn't look strange enough to be an alien, but is too strange looking to be a human, if vega tries to rile him up, his first reaction is going to be to flirt relentlessly while vaguely alluding to his gun but no one's sure if that's a euphemism or threat

porter- there's an accent he's familiar with, two flirts can play this game, definitely gets rich guy vibes from him and hasn't decided whether he wants to schmooze or antagonize him, the vampire part is the clearest cut part about this fellow and rowan's not even phased by it

geordi- rowan actually knows that star trek exists and is a pretty big fan of it (his space colony had recordings of all the episodes and some of reading rainbow available when he was growing up) so he catches the reference almost immediately and is delighted, he chats him up and teases him a little but is also just on the cusp of nerding out and has to hold himself back from instigating a star trek infodump, he's just got this big stupid grin on his face the whole time he's talking to him and has used some of his cheesiest pick up lines on him just to see if he can get a laugh

blake- this isn't his first rodeo with folks who've gone and gotten themselves possessed by some eldritch horror, he's this close to trying to shake this man by the shoulders and ask him why the fuck he's gone and doomed the universe, rowan is frustrated, annoyed, and just generally enraged by him, but he's handling it significantly better than he did the first eldritch possession he came across

hush- strange little fella, honestly not sure what to do with him, but he's happy to answer any questions, he's not spooked by him because he looks like a slightly less strange version of the aliens he deals with regularly, and he can relate to the whole not understanding people

joey (morally grey lie detecting detective)

david- they appreciate his honesty but also see way too much of their old boss in him and being prone to butting heads with authority, they're not a fan and just try to avoid him because they know that if they don't they are going to start a fight

huxley- they're intimidated at first because they're relatively short and huxley's kind of a big guy, a bit weirded out by the hole digging thing, but they have seen weirder in their line of work, wants to ask more questions but they're reminding themself that it's best not to go asking about things that might be more personal if they want to stay on people's good side and they really want to stay on his good side because they view him as a decent connection to have because they take notice of how much he seems to notice

vega- they're honestly pretty unphased as a sadistic super powered being is more their speed, yeah, he's a liar but he's a predictable one, they're used to people trying to manipulate them but they're able to see through it and brush it off, glad to find something that's relatively familiar in this new environment and has somewhat positive emotions about him

porter- they can not trust a word out of his mouth and they're so tired of it because they're not able to turn off their powers and it's just a constant ping of 'oh, that ones a lie' when they even try to talk with him, and they're probably holding their tongue about it because they've already come to the conclusion that he could probably kill them if he felt like it and it was beneficial to him, probably tries to return similar energy and probe him for information

geordi- confused as to why he thinks that they're a telepath as in their world, most telepaths are pretty damn invasive and loud about stuff in their experience (this is not normal and actually they have high mental paranoia and so that makes it hard for even the most skilled telepath to make it into their mind unannounced), vaguely annoyed by him but also find him endearing, they won't admit it of course

blake- they're immediately repulsed by him purely on the principle that they're reminded too much of themself by him, he figures out pretty quickly that they're "empowered" in a sense and he's spouting his bullshit and they just hate him so, so much and they want him and his lies gone, legitimately contemplating murder

hush- once the wtf is his deal wears off, it's just kind of like, oh yeah, vaguely murderous superpowered being who could crush them like a bug if they pushed things too far, this is just a typical tuesday, astounded by how not a single thing he says is a lie even though they're sure the stuff about him being a force given form is made up, but you know what, they'll humor him, stepping on eggshells around powerful beings is just their default mode

ok cmere listen

take an oc you have from literally any universe that you have (other than redacted)

tell me what’s happening if they were to run into

- david

- huxley

- vega

- porter

- geordi

- blake

- hush

you can doooo as many of them as you want to

(this is just an excuse to hear about peoples OCs btw)

#oliver thinks aloud #redacted audio #redacted geordi #redacted vega #redacted porter #redacted blake #redacted david #redacted huxley #my ocs

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puppym3 · 4 months ago

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⋆˚࿔ seven minutes in heaven 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

lee felix x fem!reader

synopsis: you and your best friend, felix are at a party. felix has a massive crush on you and you have no idea, so when you get picked for seven minutes in heaven with him, you didn't expect it to change everything for you.

wc: 3.6k

warnings: MDNI! 18+, friends to lovers, 7 minutes in heaven (duh), alcohol consumption (not much), reader is dumb, fluffy, kinda angst, a lot of kissing, they're both horny, felix is pining, confessions, a lot of banter, other members are mentioned, (lmk if i missed any)

a/n: SECOND FELIX FIC OF THE DAY, EAT UP. no fr i love spoiling you guys. pls pls leave suggestions in my inbox i literally am running out of ideas... also also if u want to be tagged in future fics lmk, i think that's it, I LOVE YOU GUYS FR!!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

The music thumped through the walls, the bass reverberating in your chest as you sat on the edge of the couch, nervously sipping your drink. Felix stood beside you, offering comfort amidst the sea of strangers. The house party, hosted by Chan, was in full swing, with people mingling and chatting all around.

You'd been reluctant to come, but Felix had convinced you with his warm smile and persistent charm. After all, you’d been best friends for years, sharing countless memories and inside jokes. What you didn’t know was that Felix had been harboring a crush on you for almost as long.

"Hey, are you having fun?" Felix nudged you gently, his eyes crinkling at the corners in that familiar, reassuring way. His cheerful voice always brightened the place.

"Yeah, it's alright," you lied, forcing a smile. Parties weren't really your thing, and mingling with strangers made you uneasy. But with Felix by your side, it was bearable.

As the song ended, Changbin’s voice rang out, calling everyone to gather in a circle. "Alright, everyone! We're playing 7 Minutes in Heaven!"

You groaned inwardly, rolling your eyes. "Seriously? That's so stupid," you muttered under your breath. Felix laughed in response, his laugh a soothing balm to your nerves. "Don’t worry, he’s just doing this so he can get a kiss from Hyunjin."

"Okay, but if I get picked, I’m not doing anything," you said with finality, taking another sip of your drink. Felix gave a non-committal hum, nodding as if he agreed with you. The thought of Felix potentially being picked by someone else made you uneasy, and you didn’t like the feeling. It was selfish, but you knew that if he did get picked, you’d probably make a scene or throw up so he'd be distracted and not have to go along with it.

You took a seat in the circle, positioning yourself right next to Felix as the others settled in around you. Your red solo cup was perched behind you, barely noticed.

Changbin spun an empty bottle in the center of the circle. You tried to keep your composure as you watched it spin, your heart rate increasing with every slow rotation. The bottle eventually landed on a girl you didn’t recognize.

You heard Changbin mutter a curse word under his breath as he stood up.

"Why does he look so serious about it?" you whispered to Felix. "It’s not like you actually have to do anything, right?"

Felix shrugged, a faint smile on his face as he watched them walk to the closet. "That’s the rule, though," he explained, leaning in close. "If you’re chosen, you have to at least kiss."

Your stomach twisted at that comment. The thought of Felix, your best friend, being paired with someone else, made you nervous. Maybe it was the alcohol not sitting right with you, even though you hadn’t finished your first drink yet.

The 7 minutes went by quickly. Felix couldn’t help but steal a few glances at you. Your eyes were fixated on the floor, and your fingers twirled your hair absentmindedly.

"Alright, that’s enough time! Out, out, out!" Changbin shouted, pounding on the closet that locked from the outside. Chan was laughing as he unlocked the door, letting the two out.

The girl looked flustered, her lips swollen and her cheeks pink, while Changbin looked smug. You watched them rejoin the circle and settle back in.

The game continued, and eventually, it was Felix’s turn to spin. You swallowed thickly, praying that the bottle wouldn’t land on anyone.

"H-Hey Felix, maybe we should—"

He spun the bottle before you could finish your sentence. The sound of the glass against the floor made your nerves go haywire. You held your breath as the bottle began to slow, watching as it spun round and round. A woman you didn’t know from across the circle was giggling and whispering while looking at Felix, and it made your blood boil.

The bottle stopped, and your eyes widened as it pointed directly at you. Your heart seemed to skip a beat, a momentary pause in the rhythm of anticipation. You looked at Felix, who was trying to hide his smile, his freckled cheeks rosy.

You couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol, the nerves, or the sudden burst of emotions that made you feel dizzy. You could hear the circle “ooh” ing and starting to whisper. Minho had a shit-eating grin on his face, and Changbin was giving Felix a thumbs up.

Felix stood up and held his hand out to you. "Come on, let’s go," he said, his voice surprisingly calm, a smile plastered on his face. You were too stunned to say anything, and the butterflies and alcohol in your stomach were making you nauseous.

You hesitantly took his hand and followed him to the closet.

The closet was tiny, only big enough for the two of you to stand facing each other. Once the door was closed and locked, the tension in the air felt palpable. The dim light barely illuminated Felix’s face. Your heart pounded in your ears, and the muffled sounds of the party outside only added to the surreal atmosphere.

Felix took a deep breath, his hand still holding yours. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, his concern evident in his eyes.

"Yeah, just... nervous," you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. "This is kind of awkward."

He chuckled softly, his thumb gently rubbing the back of your hand. "It doesn’t have to be."

"But Felix, you’re my best friend," you protested, your voice trembling slightly. "What... what if this changes things?"

He shook his head, leaning closer to you. You could smell his shampoo, the familiar scent comforting you. "I would never let anything change that," he whispered, his eyes searching yours with earnest sincerity. "I promise."

You bit your lip, nodding slightly. He cupped your cheek with his free hand, his thumb brushing over your bottom lip. The gentle touch made your breath hitch.

"Okay, well... don’t make fun of me if I’m a shit kisser, then," you said, trying to break the tension with a joke.

Felix let out a small laugh, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Only if you don’t make fun of me," he replied, a tiny smile on his face.

You looked up into his eyes, the intensity of his gaze sending a shiver down your spine. Despite being best friends, or perhaps because of the three sips of alcohol, you wanted this. Felix leaned forward, his lips brushing against yours softly, barely a kiss, testing the waters. The contact sent a jolt through your body, and you felt your breath hitch. You closed your eyes, leaning into the kiss, your heart pounding in your chest.

You’d always imagined how his lips would feel on yours—they always looked so plump and soft. And now that they were on your lips, they definitely exceeded your expectations. His warm, slightly alcoholic-tasting lips were soft against yours.

Felix’s lips lingered against yours, the kiss soft and tentative. The initial brush of his lips sent a shiver down your spine, and you felt a rush of warmth spreading through you. His kiss was gentle but full of a quiet longing that made your knees weak.

He pulled away slightly, giving both of you a moment to breathe. Your eyes scanned his face, noting his flushed cheeks and slightly parted lips. The desire in his gaze made your heart race. You wanted more.

Without a second thought, you pulled him back in, grabbing the sides of his face and pressing your lips to his once more. Felix hesitated for a second, his eyes widening in surprise, before he began to kiss you back. His arms snaked around your waist, pulling you closer. You wrapped your arms around his neck, your hands tangling in his hair as the kiss intensified with a new sense of desire.

The initial softness of the kiss transformed into something deeper, more passionate. You could feel his tongue gently probing at your lips, and you hesitated only for a moment before parting them to allow him access. His tongue slipped into your mouth, exploring every inch with a skill and tenderness that took your breath away.

The kiss was slow and sensual, filled with a growing urgency. Your stomach fluttered as his hands explored your waist, his body heat pressing against you. Goosebumps spread across your skin, and you could feel a knot forming in your stomach.

A soft whine escaped your lips, and Felix responded by pressing his body more firmly against yours. His chest pressed against your soft breasts, his knee parting your legs as he pressed closer. His leg pressing against your core only heightened your arousal.

You didn’t realize you were panting until you pulled away to take a deep breath. Felix’s lips immediately trailed down to your neck, his soft kisses sending your heart racing. His warm breath brushed your skin, his teeth lightly grazing your neck before his tongue soothed the area. It drove you wild.

His kisses traveled down to your collarbone, and you felt weak in the knees, literally. Your legs trembled, perhaps from the lack of oxygen or the overwhelming excitement. Felix picked you up and pressed you against the wall of the closet, his strong hands lifting you by your thighs. Your legs instinctively wrapped around his waist.

"Lix," you moaned out, barely above a whisper. His lips lightly brushed over your neck, peppering you with tender, gentle kisses.

"Hmm?" he hummed against your skin, his breath hot and reassuring. His grip on you tightened as he sucked another mark on your skin.

You could barely get the words out, the feeling of his lips and teeth and tongue all over your neck was driving you wild. You could feel your cheeks burning and the wetness pooling in your underwear, and you could tell he was getting hard from the bulge pressing against your core.

You heard a light knocking on the door.

"Do... do you think... the seven minutes are up?" you managed to get out, the words barely coherent. Felix stopped what he was doing, and it looked like he snapped back into it a little, you could feel his shoulders tense.

"Oh shit, we have been in here for a while." Felix's voice was shaky, and he sounded breathless.

He put you down, and you stumbled a little, still light-headed from the kisses. He helped you get steady, his arm supporting you. You could see the flush on his face and his tousled hair, and he could see the marks and red spots littered on your neck, his eyes were glossed over, and his breathing was heavy.

You tried to straighten your clothes, and he cleared his throat, fixing his hair.

The sound of the door unlocking startled you both.

You were still flustered and breathing heavily as the door opened. Chan was standing there, a smirk on his face. "Alright, come on out."

"You better not have fucked in there," Changbin said, appearing next to Chan, his arms crossed. "We have to sit on that floor."

You walked out of the closet, a dazed expression on your face, Felix close behind. You felt as if everyone in the room could see the marks all over your neck and the fact that your legs were still shaky.

The other members were gathered around the two, and their stares were almost enough to make you blush more. Minho's smug expression and the look of amusement on Jisung's face told you that they were aware of what just transpired.

"I need some fresh air," you said, trying to sound normal.

You didn't wait for Felix to respond and made your way through the crowded living room, towards the patio doors. The chilly night air felt refreshing against your heated skin, and you inhaled deeply, closing your eyes for a moment. You could hear the laughter and music coming from inside, the sounds far less intrusive out here.

You laid your head in your hands as you tried to take deep breaths, clearing your mind. You'd been best friends with Felix for years, and you pulled him in for another unrequired kiss.

You felt stupid for doing it, but it felt so good, the way he picked you up and devoured your neck and lips as if he was starving.

You could still taste him, and the memory alone made you weak.

But... what if it was just a mistake?

The alcohol made you reckless, and you didn't want to lose him, your best friend, just because you couldn't control yourself.

The thought of never feeling his lips against yours again made you feel a dull ache.

You shook your head, trying to clear your thoughts. You should go back inside and forget about it for the night, besides, he said he'd promise this wouldn't ruin anything.

When you got back inside, you could see the girl you noticed earlier, giggling and batting her eyelashes at Felix.

She was pretty, sure, but it irked you.

But you'd seen her before, and you knew she wasn't as perfect as she seemed. She was a player, always going for men that were already in relationships, or men that were too young for her.

"Oh, it's my turn!" She exclaimed, looking over at Felix. Her voice was shrill, and it grated on your ears.

You observed her spinning the bottle, and just as it was about to halt, you caught her slyly halting its rotation with a discreet movement of her foot towards Felix. A surge of anger erupted within you, fueling an immediate response as you strode forward and forcefully kicked the bottle across the room.

It went flying across the room and shattered against the wall.

There was a moment of stunned silence as everyone stared at you.

"Jealous much? You already had your moment with Felix." The girl taunted, her voice grating.

"Fuck you. You used your foot to stop the bottle on him." You retorted, glaring at her.

Felix's eyes widened, and he gave you a confused look. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah, right! She's just a lying bitch." She rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed.

You clenched your fists, trying to keep your cool. "Don't call me a bitch," you said, stepping towards her.

"Oh, so we're going to fight? Okay, fine. I've been wanting to mess up that pretty little face of yours."

Right before she could attempt to swing at you, but Felix stopped her hand, catching her wrist.

"Stop," he said, his tone stern.

"Felix is single, so he can kiss whoever he wants."

"Yeah, well, he's not single." You blurted out before you could stop yourself.

Everyone from the circle was shocked and confused, and you could hear the whispers and questions.

"What?" the girl asked, her eyes wide.

Felix's expression was similar.

The words spilled from your lips, leaving you stunned and at a loss for an explanation, grappling with the sudden revelation that had escaped your own lips. You could feel the eyes on you, the curious stares and the whispers. Your heart was pounding in your ears, and you felt like your head was about to explode.

"He's not single." You repeated, your voice firm. "He's... he's my boyfriend."

Felix had an unreadable expression, but it looked like he was trying not to laugh. You didn't know why, and you couldn't think straight at the moment.

"Wait, you guys are finally dating?" Changbin interjected, his brows furrowed.

You nodded, not taking your eyes off the girl. "Yeah. We're together."

You grabbed Felix's hand before anyone else could call you out on your bluff, leading him to a random room and closing the door behind you.

"So... I'm your boyfriend, huh?" Felix said, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Shut up..." You murmured, embarrassed. He could tell by the look on your face that you were struggling internally.

"Hey," he said softly, putting his hands on your shoulders. "I'm just teasing you."

You sighed, trying to calm your racing heart. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, I shouldn't have picked a fight for something as little as that, she can kiss you if she wants, it's not like we're together."

"It's okay, really," he reassured you in a soft tone. "She can't kiss me."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm already taken." He said with a smile, his eyes searching yours.

"I'm the only one who gets to kiss those soft lips," you whispered out.

He looked surprised, and then he chuckled softly. "Is that so?"

You nodded, feeling a blush creep up your neck.

"Well, then..." He leaned down and brushed his lips against yours, feather-light and barely a kiss.

Your heart skipped a beat.

"Claim them," he whispered, his words sending a shiver down your spine.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. He responded eagerly, his hands gripping your waist and pulling you close. The kiss was intense and desperate, full of pent-up desire. His tongue explored your mouth, tasting every inch, making you moan softly into the kiss.

Your hands found their way into his hair, tangling in the soft strands and tugging slightly. You could feel the heat radiating from his body, and the way he was gripping your waist was almost bruising.

When you broke apart, you were both panting. His gaze was intense, his pupils blown wide.

"Lix," you started, your voice shaky.

"What?"

"I... I'm sorry."

His brows furrowed, a confused look on his face. "For what?"

"This is so confusing, now" you started, your a tear swelling in your eye. "You're my best friend and... what are we doing? Why do I feel like this? Is this supposed to be casual?"

"You mean like how you were jealous of that girl? And how you're currently making out with me right now?" Felix said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"What's that supposed to mean?" You shot back, the words hitting you.

"It means that I love you," he confessed, the words coming out of his mouth quickly. "I'm in love with you, have been for a while, and I thought you were too."

You could hear your heartbeat, and it felt like the room was spinning.

"What?"

He smiled sadly, his eyes filled with emotion.

"But... I..." You didn't know what to say. Your feelings for him were clear, and yet you'd never let it click, you refused to.

Your heart felt like it was going to beat out of your chest, and tears were spilling down your cheeks.

"It's okay," he said, his voice gentle. "I don't expect you to feel the same way. I just wanted you to know."

"No, it's not okay," you cried, wiping away your tears. "I'm in love with you too."

His eyes widened, and his lips parted in surprise.

"I just didn't realize it until now. I was scared of admitting it to myself, but... I love you, Lix. I love you so much."

Felix's smile was like the sun, bright and warm, and it made your heart soar.

"I'm in love with you too," he said softly.

You couldn't help but laugh, tears still rolling down your cheeks. "I know"

He cupped your cheek and wiped away your tears, his gaze intense. "I'm going to kiss you again," he whispered.

"Okay," you smiled.

And he did.

His lips were soft and warm, and his kiss was filled with a tenderness that took your breath away. You could taste the salt of your tears on his lips, and you could feel the warmth of his skin against yours.

He pulled away after a few moments, and you couldn't help but sigh.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" he murmured, his eyes searching yours.

"Me? You're the beautiful one."

"No, you're the beautiful one," he said, shaking his head. "I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you."

You blushed, unable to hold his gaze.

"Hey," he said, lifting your chin with his finger. "I mean it. You're the most beautiful person I've ever met."

"Lix, you're the beautiful one," you said, smiling at him. "You're the most beautiful person I've ever met. Your eyes, your smile, the way you laugh, the way you light up a room when you walk in. And your stupid freckles."

He laughed, shaking his head. "My freckles aren't stupid," he said, trying to sound offended.

"They're cute, and they make you even more beautiful," you said, scoffing. "Don't try to deny it."

He gave you a warm smile. "If you say so."

"I do," you said, feeling bold. You leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips, enjoying the way he tasted.

He chuckled softly and pulled away, his eyes shining.

"So, was this casual? Or are you finally going to let me date you?"

"We've been dating since I confessed," you said, raising a brow.

"Then can we go on a real date? Where we dress up, go out to dinner, and then make out afterwards?"

"That's basically what we just did."

"But we only made out," he whined.

"Okay, okay, fine. We can go on a proper date."

He smiled and gave you another quick kiss.

"I'm going to spoil the fuck out of you," he said.

"Just spoil me? Or spoil me, and then fuck me?" You teased, trailing fingers down his chest.

"Is that an invitation?"

"Maybe it is," you smiled, your hands running back up his chest.

He groaned and buried his face in your neck, his hands rubbing at your waist. "Can we please leave now?"

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

pt 2 here <3

#stray kids x reader #skz #stray kids #skz smut #stray kids imagines #stray kids felix #straykids #skz felix #skz imagines #skz x reader #lee felix x reader #lee felix smut #lee felix #felix lee #felix smut #felix x reader #felix #stray kids smut

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redr0sewrites · 4 months ago

Note

Can I request hcs about the batboys being a top/switch/bottom please? 💕

🥀A/n: YESSSSS!!! btw i will be yapping ab the differences between sub/bottom and dom/top 💀

🥀Character(s): Dick Grayson x reader, Jason Todd x reader, Bruce Wayne x reader

🥀Cw: smut, dom/sub dynamics, implied switch!reader, switch!character

🥀minors dni

Dick Grayson:

i feel like Dick is a pleasure dom, he cares a lot about making you feel good and that often leads to him bottoming while still being dominant. he likes when you ride him and take what you need, but he simultaneously wants to be in control

out of the three, Dick is probably the most naturally dominant and is the one to prefer domming the most- i think he's a bit of a control freak like that, he won't outwardly show it but submitting is just something that doesn't come naturally to him

however, i do think he gets worked up a lot and needs to get his mind off of things, so that would be an opportunity for him to enter a more submissive role. that would take a bit of time, but once he trusts you, Dick will definitely be down to sub.

prefers to be a subtop, he likes rutting into you desperately and having you coo and tease him for taking you so desperately

as i've previously stated, when he's domming, Dick is a pleasure dom. your pleasure comes before his, and he's very adamant about making you feel good. while he's down to try anything that you want, he wouldn't be into physically hurting you or super hardcore bdsm, but i do think he can be a bit mean at times. he's a HUGE tease with insane stamina and will edge you for literal hours until your begging, then overstimulate you until you cry

however, when it comes to subbing? he's either a whiny brat or a genuine sweetheart.

when he's bratty, Dick will tease you and mock you for not fucking him hard enough, he wants you to be mean to him and fuck him absolutely stupid until theres not a single thought left in his brain

he's also into kinkier things, he wants you to treat him like the mindless slut he knows he can be. its kind of a corruption kink, in the sense that everyone always views him as the perfect golden child. you're the only one who gets to see how needy and horny he actually is, and he genuinely views subbing as an opportunity for him to be as kinky and depraved as he would like without judgement. it's actually kind of sweet that he feels safe enough around you to show you that side of him

speaking of sweet, Dick is not always a brat when subbing. sometimes, everything is a bit too much, and instead of wanting to be fucked out of his mind, he just wants to be taken care of. these days, he's more clingy during sex, needing your praise and attention at all times. Dick is a lot more susceptible to slipping into subspace during these times, in which he'll cry and cling to you, desperate for just one more climax.

a lot of the time his brattiness will slowly melt into his softer, needier side, and theres an important distinction between the two. when he's acting out and being bratty, Dick craves your attention, and enjoys being degraded and mocked. however, when he's more emotionally vulnerable and soft, he can't take any degradation without crying.

after subbing, Dick is a lot clingier during aftercare as well, especially if you were being mean to him. please reassure him you didn't mean anything that you said when degrading him, he's still in a sensitive state of mind and needs that reassurance

overall, i think the sexual roles Dick falls into most are pleasure dom and sort of a pillow princess sub (yes ik thats a wlw term but idk how else to describe it im sorry 😭) and he's overall very versatile during sex

Jason Todd:

bottom 🫵🫵🫵

in all seriousness though, Jason is a very versatile switch in my opinion. he's a lot more inclined to subbing than the others, and is actually more comfortable bottoming than topping. he's a strong guy, he's fucking huge, and he's constantly afraid of accidentally hurting you. when he's bottoming, its eases some of his worries about accidentally crushing or hurting you

Jason is either a strict dom, a power bottom/dom bottom, or a genuine sub in my opinion.

some days he's a strict dom, and s but of a brat tamer. i also see him being a bit of a sadist, but only if you were 1000% into it and if you had established safewords. he's whispering filthy words in your ear and talking to you like your trash, but treating you so sweetly that your brain goes fuzzy. its just so confusing when he's fucking you so well, and every thought is engulfed by the rising pleasure in your abdomen.

Jason is any type of dom that you need, if you're tired and needy and want his attention, then he'll gladly take care of you and be all sweet and gentle. however, if you're acting out and being bratty on purpose to get a rise out of him, then he'll treat you as such.

he's a bit meaner like this, and while he's still prioritizing your pleasure, he's definitely the one in total control. however he's very insistent on using safe words and making sure your comfortable, he would never everrr want to hurt you

i think Jason would enjoy battling for dominance, especially if your a switch as well. theres something very carnal and attractive about you both struggling to stay in control, and seeing which one of you will end up on top

i also see Jason as a power bottom though, in all physical senses he's subbing but you both know he has control. this also makes him feel a bit safer about hurting you, as your the one taking what you need and controlling your position, however he still is the one calling the shots. he's sweeter like this, praising you and cooing sweet nothings as you ride him.

i do also believe he can be a sub tho. he prefers simultaneously subbing and bottoming, because while it is more vulnerable, it also gives him the opportunity to relax. when he's a sub and topping, Jason is often too fucked out to pay attention to how tight he's holding you and whether or not he's hurting you. being on the bottom assures him that he won't have to worry, and that he can just let his mind go blissfully blank. Jason is very comfortable subbing with someone he trusts, and he can be a bit of a masochist at times.

Jason is a very needy sub, he wants to be taken care of and fucked out of his mind. he's a lot more vocal when subbing, but still prioritizes your pleasure and comfort over his own.

overall, once he feels safe with you, Jason is comfortable in many different sexual positions and will honestly usually just let you take the lead and decide how you want the night to go

Bruce Wayne:

again, another switch. i feel like Bruce is the most mellow out of the three, especially as he's older, and isn't as up to date with sexual roles and things like that. he's familiar witth some of the basics, but in all honesty he's down to try whatever you would like

whether or not he doms or subs truly depends on his mood, and he has no preference about topping or bottoming

when he's pent up or irritated, Bruce prefers to dom, taking the lead and making love to you. i think he's a brat tamer more than anything else, if you act out he'll treat you as rough as you like but if you want him to, he can be soft as well.

Bruce is a very attentive dom, taking note of everything you like and dislike while observing your reactions. he only really doms when he feels like it, so he's a little bit miffed if you try to take control. Bruce is the biggest control freak out of the three of them, and wants everything to be perfect when it comes to you both sleeping together. this often leads to him overthinking and getting into his own head a little, however that can easily be remedied

when he subs, Bruce is a little shy. it may seem out of character, but admitting to weakness is not something that comes naturally to him and so he tends to clam up and wait for you to take the lead. that doesn't mean he isn't enjoying himself, he just needs some time to adjust

it took Bruce SO long to realize he was a switch like he spent most of his life internalizing his desires because people always assumed he was a top/dom. once he's dating you, he becomes increasingly interested in subbing, but you'd probably have to be the first to initiate that kind of thing

because he's never had the opportunity to sub for most of his life, Bruce starts to develop a preference for it. that doesn't mean he doesn't dom anymore though, and he's definitely still very much a switch.

with the right partner i can definitelyyyyyy see him being bratty, but most of the time he's pretty tame. Bruce is often very tired when he's subbing, and takes it as an opportunity for him to relax and let you take the reins. i think he's the type to slip into subspace VERY easily and become very talkative because of that. he's not vocal at all leading up to that, but once he slips into his own little headspace he's suddenly moaning like a pornstar and getting all clingy and needy!

all in all, i see Bruce as a switch leaning sub who is more than willing to accommodate any of your sexual preferences

this got, like, weirdly deep and analytical for what was supposed to be smutty hcs 😭😭😭 anyways!!! hope u enjoyed!!! i really cannot tell if i like this or not so plspslplssss lmk what yall think ♥️

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reignpage · 1 month ago

Text

Best Friends Forever

Geto Suguru as your college bff who you really shouldn't be lusting over. Warning: 18+, MDNI, nsfw, fem!reader, body dysmorphia, cursing, smut, porn with plot, unprotected sex, creampie, friends with benefits, angst if you squint, vulgar language, cunnilingus, occasional slapping, overuse of pet names lol, praise kink, typos

“Hurry the fuck up, seriously!”

You groaned. It wasn’t your fault the jeans weren’t fitting the way they used to, pushing a roll of fat over the zipper. There was no way you were going to Gojo’s party; not only had you clearly gained a couple pounds, but you were also just feeling nothing short of shit. To put it mildly.

Pressing your lips with an embarrassed blush, you mumbled through the door separating you and your best friend, Suguru, barely a whisper, “’m not going.”

“The fuck?”

His confused growl was very shortly followed by loud thumps against the wood, shaking the barrier. You, in true broke college student fashion, were living in a shoebox with thin walls, paying an extortionate amount of money every month to a lousy landlord who always smelt like cheap beer.

Perfume bottles and scattered papers shook on your desk, the vibrations from his pounding no doubt waking up all of your neighbours. Internally groaning, you rolled your eyes. You were going to have to face their judgmental glares. Again. As if any of them had any right; you had never complained about the family to your right’s obnoxious laughing at 4am or the heavy footfalls of your upstairs neighbour, not even the disgustingly pornographic moaning coming through the wall your bed was pressed against.

You unlocked the door, pulling it open before his stupid fist could punch a hole through it. Coming face to face with the raised brow of Suguru who was eyeing you up and down. If he had been anyone else, maybe you would have felt a little shy about being in a bra and unzipped jeans, or ashamed about the piles of dirty clothes and trash littering your room. But the boy in front of you had seen so much already, neither one of you cared anymore.

In fact, his roommate, Gojo’s room was so much worse than yours you knew Suguru considered yours practically spotless.

“I’m not going," you said louder.

He pushed past you, inspecting the haphazardly thrown clothes on your bed. Hand on his hip and finger pressed to his lips, Suguru’s eyes darted between your bed to your figure. “What about the sweater you wore to Shoko’s housewarming?”

You shook your head, fingers itching against a reddening spot on your wrist. He just cocked his brow once more, in question. Gritting your teeth, you threw your hands in the air and spluttered, “B-because it’s ugly!”

Suguru didn’t look convinced.

“It looked fine to me when you wore it and got hit on by three guys.”

“Oh, please, a guy would hit on a bush if it brushed up against him.”

He shrugged, not denying your statement.

You hated these moments. Nothing was going right, and you certainly didn’t have the time to be messing around, actually you were pretty sure you were already late. The kind of late that would have Gojo chastising you, whining about making him wait.

Eventually, with some choice words from Suguru and lots of complaints from yourself, he managed to wrestle you into a pink sweater, shoving a hand in your face when you began to argue about how it was just ‘not the vibe’. But as you both made a move toward the door of your apartment, his firm hand circling your wrist as he dragged you along, you started to panic.

Everyone was going to be there, and you hadn’t even bothered doing your makeup, too preoccupied with the disaster that was your closet.

“Wait, Sugu! Please.”

Perhaps it was the desperation lacing your voice or the nails that you dug into his forearm, but he stopped, swivelling to face you.

A flush ran up your face, a heat that made you bite your lips sheepishly. Of course you were aware you were being dramatic, still, surely, he would understand the overwhelming feeling of insecurity that sporadically washed over everyone. Except, when your eyes met his, you realised that probably didn’t apply to Geto Suguru.

Not with his broad shoulders, towering height, rippling muscles, rock hard abs, and a face that made women blush. He was also incredibly smart, considered one of the brightest minds on campus, and all the times he had helped you with your essays and given you corrections on answers you didn’t realise were wrong was a clear indication of that. Everyone who was anyone knew Suguru, and Satoru, they were a package deal: the hottest men on campus.

He must have seen something in your eyes, maybe the tears, but he sighed, grip on your wrist weakening but not unclasping, the warmth seeping through his skin to yours and it made you shuffle your feet. Now was certainly not the time for those feelings to resurface, you reminded yourself.

“Oh, Angel,” he breathed out, brows furrowed as he stepped closer to your, his chest grazing the tips of yours. “You’re not feeling it tonight, huh?”

You shook your head. “I’m sorry, Sugu. Really. I think I’m just going to stay in tonight, maybe get started on that essay. But you should totally go, Gojo will be so upset with you if you bail last minute.”

He huffed with amusement, thumb rubbing your knuckles.

“He’ll live.” And with a more serious tone, he asked gently, like he might spook you, “What’s wrong, hm? You feeling sick?”

You dropped your head against his chest, buried between his pecs which his tight black shirt highlighted. Oh God, how you love that shirt. It made you, and every woman (and man) drool. In truth, the way it hugged his body emphasised his broad shoulders, thick biceps and narrow hips. He was built like a whore.

“No,” you sighed, “I just feel ugly.”

Suguru tilted your head up with a firm hand on the back of your head, tugging your hair so you would meet his eyes, pulling you away from burying your face into his chest. It didn’t hurt, he was always so gentle, but it was a solid grip, and you couldn’t help but imagine how those big hands could push and pull and bend you into position, yanking your head back to watch your eyes roll back.

“Ugly? You?” He sounded so incredulous, nothing short of offended on your behalf it made your lips curve ever so slightly. “Baby, you could never be ugly.”

You rolled your eyes. “You’re my best friend; you have to say that.”

He grinned, “On the contrary. As your best friend, isn’t it my job to tell you the truth no matter what?”

That made you laugh.

Suguru was generally honest, the perfect student, greatest friend anyone could ever have, and a law-abiding citizen. But he wasn’t above mischief and deception. Everyone knew that he got into as much trouble as his roommate. And judging by the glint in his eyes, you knew he was recalling the same memories as you.

All the little pranks, the teasing and taunting, bordering on gaslighting, all for the sake of watching you stomp your feet and huff and puff about how rude and conniving he was. And yeah, with the way he was staring at your lips, maybe he was.

You noticed the twitch of his lips and suddenly you hated your sweater for a completely different reason; you wanted it off.

“Well, tell me the truth right now. Am I pretty, Sugu? If I was a girl, a stranger, at one of Gojo’s parties, would you approach me?”

His other hand suddenly appeared at the small of your back, pressing you even closer. And oh God, you could feel even more of him like that. He was so hot, it was making you sweat, stomach so solid and body so unyielding, you wanted to rub yourself on every part of him.

“Oh, baby, you’d be the only girl I’d be thinking of. The only girl I’d want to go home with.”

The late nights thrusting your fingers inside of yourself to the thought of his naked chest bubbling over emboldened you. Pouting, you wrapped your arms around his waist, resting your hands onto his back, feeling the hard muscles there. “Oh, yeah?”

His eyes narrowed at the sudden change in your voice. It didn’t sound sad or insecure, but rather, teasing, flirtatious, downright seductive. His grip on your hair tightened until you were standing your tiptoes, nose brushing against his, breaths mingling.

“Thought you were feeling bad, Angel? You don’t sound like a girl who thinks she’s ugly.”

Ever so smart, you knew he was right. You didn’t know why you were suddenly trying to seduce him; you should have been convincing him to go to the party, get drunk and keep Gojo out of trouble. And yet there you were rubbing your tits against his chest, legs pressed together, like a bitch in heat.

The guilt you were feeling almost stopped you, almost tugged you away, made you create distance and straighten yourself so you could pretend none of it was happening. But then you felt the hardness of something other than his abs pressed against your stomach. Something was poking you and it didn’t take a genius to guess what.

“Oh, I am feeling bad, Sugu. Soooo bad I think you should stay and make me feel better. Would you, please? Pretty please?”

How could he say no to you when you were looking up at him with wide eyes and pouty lips? His best friend, his good girl. Pleading for his time like a whore? He was going to fuck you like one.

And that was how you found yourself back in your bed, the pile of clothes thrown off as he pinned you to the bed, one hand climbing up your waist and the other arm beside your head holding himself up as he smothered your moans with his mouth. He was sucking your bottom lip, tongue pushing its way into your mouth, teeth scraping and nipping where he could.

One of his legs was between yours and you were yanking him closer and closer until his thigh was pressed to your scalding core, rubbing with a desperation that made him swear under his breath as his hand reached your breast under your sweater, tugging down the bra cup so he could cradle the soft flesh in his palm, feeling the weight.

“Oh, fuck, you’re grinding down on my leg. You feeling good, Angel?” He pushed his head down to suck at your neck, licking over your pulse and inhaling your scent. Suguru was feeling drunk, just as you were, hands gripped his back, running your nails up and down as you whined.

“Yes, Sugu, oh God, oh God.”

You were going to cum. On his thigh. You knew once the night was over, you’d feel ashamed and embarrassed but not in that moment. No, all you could think about was the pleasure, the intoxicating muscular scent of oak, vanilla and sweat, the heaviness of his body, restraining your body, and the way his sinful mouth was descending to take a nipple.

He grunted when, with the constant shuffling, your sweater fell down like a wall and with quick hands and sudden movements, he threw it somewhere across the room and expertly got rid of your bra. And then he was sucking and nipping like he was making out with your tits. The other hand twisting and pinching your other nipple, and when he slapped it to watch it bounce you gasped.

“Fuck, baby, you’re so beautiful. God, I’ve been dreaming of this.” Suguru was whispering all sorts of hushed confessions against your skin, lathering your breasts with spit as he alternated between them.

Your hand was in his hair, tugging as you writhed on the bed. It was too much and at the same time not enough. You needed more and as you moaned his name, he understood immediately.

Kneeling on the bed, he tugged your jeans off, face crumpled in frustration at how tight the material was, refusing to cooperate. Eventually it was off, leaving you in your panties. He exhaled shakily, body still as his eyes zoned in on the thin fabric between your legs. With them spread around his, he could see just how wet you were; you had soaked the gusset, leaving them see-through. The most sinful sight he would ever have the pleasure of seeing.

In a blink of an eye his head was between your legs, one hand digging into the fat of your thighs, keeping you wide and open for him, and the other running his thumb up and down your clothed slit.

“All this for me?” He was smirking and in any other circumstance it would have annoyed you; always so cocky, like he knew something you didn’t.

You couldn’t help yourself, you moaned a yes.

The sound went straight to his cock.

Without any other words, he shoved his mouth to your pussy, tongue running up your slit through the panties, teasing both yourself and him.

“You taste so good,” he whispered, “God, you’re killing me.”

And as if he couldn’t take it anymore, he pulled your panties to the side and pressed his tongue flat against your pussy. You both moaned. Suguru was ravenous, lapping up your juices like a man starved and groaning into your quivering hole. When his tongue flicked against your clit, your thighs wrapped around his head, hands clutching his hair, pulling him deeper inside you.

“More, Sugu. Pleaseeee.”

He sucked on your bundle of nerves, sending bolts of lightning up your veins as you squirmed. And without warning, he shoved two fingers inside, curling at just the right angle, rubbing against that spongy part of you it made you moan louder. You were so close you could taste it. Eyes shut in ecstasy, you were feeling breathless, lightheaded. Why had you waited so long to let him do this?

You couldn’t remember why you had ever thought this was a bad idea, when it felt so good, so right for his tongue to be lapping the juice dripping down your pussy, his long and thick fingers reaching parts of you you had never before. So caught up in your own pleasure you didn’t even notice the rocking of the bed as your best friend humped the mattress, groaning into your clit every time you pulled on his scalp hard enough to make him roll his eyes back.

“Oh, yes, right there. Fuck, Sugu, don’t stop. Please!”

Somewhere in the back of your mind you knew you sounded like a porn star, and if he wasn’t sucking so good you might have felt the tiniest amount of shame and embarrassment. But when your eyes met his piercing gaze, scalding your very being, all other thoughts evaporated as he pushed you over the edge, back arching painfully, head thrown back as you howled in pure bliss.

When you came down, you heard him whisper against your pussy.

“Fuck,” he breathed out, “that was the hottest thing I’ve ever witnessed.”

Through bleary eyes, lids threatening to shut close, you could see his blurry figure removing his shirt, the beefy biceps you loved so much flexing with the movement. Something wet grazed your lips, forcing its way onto your tongue.

He slapped your ass, jolting you awake. It didn’t hurt, but God you wished it did.

“Don’t fall asleep on me now, Angel.”

You were sucking your essence off his fingers before you could realise, maintaining eye contact as he unzipped his jeans, shuffling until it was pushed down his thighs, just enough for him to release his cock out of the confines of his boxers, a wet patch darkening the material. Perhaps he knew you would have some smart-ass comment about how much he was leaking, hence why he was keeping your mouth occupied with swallowing his fingers.

“Good girl, you like how you taste? ‘cause I do. You taste so perfect, my sweet girl.”

His cock was much longer, much thicker, and much prettier than his fingers. It was veiny with a pink tip, the head flushing an angry colour as an almost translucent liquid oozed out of the slit. At the base he had one hand fisted around it like he was trying to stop himself from coming. That realisation made your hole flutter.

“Shuguuu, ah wan yuu inshide,” you whined around his tongue. It was unintelligible, probably not even English, you were feeling so delirious you couldn’t even tell what was happening anymore. After all, everything had happened so fast.

A rollercoaster you didn’t even remember getting on and had no idea when it would end. You hoped to the high heavens it would never. The air between you two was thick, humid with the thin sheen of sweat on your skin, and the heavy panting from your heaving chests.

Suguru laughed, head tilting down at you as he took in the sight of your watery eyes, shaking hands wrapped around his forearm as you sucked obediently on his fingers. Your breasts were shiny under the dim light from mouth, nipples stiff, and goosebumps running up and down your body as his gaze shifted to your swampy pussy, so pretty, and so so greedy.

“You want me inside? Want me to fuck you, baby? Hm? Use your words, pretty. Like a big girl. You can do that right?”

You nodded and when he took his fingers out of your mouth and wiped your saliva all over your cheeks you could have sworn you got even wetter. How was that possible?

“Sugu, please fuck me. Pleasepleaseplease. I want you inside, want you to fill me up.”

Oh, and when you beg so nicely, how could he ever deny you?

He jerked himself off a couple times, grunting as his cockhead touched your clip, lathering his member with your juice. Suguru’s eyes may have been focused on your puffy lips but his ears were still listening to you babbling about hurrying up and how you couldn’t take it anymore.

Slowly, like he was afraid to push you too far too soon, he was inching inside you.

The stretch burned. You were already so wet, so ready for him, but his huge dick was splitting you open, pushing you to your limits as your nails dug into the forearms that caged your head. Both of you were watching him enter, disappearing inside your scalding hole so slowly it made you roll your eyes back again.

He was whispering encouragements in your ear. How good you were, how beautiful. You tasted so good, so well-behaved, his patient baby, and oh, how he adored your sweet sweet pussy.

You always knew Suguru had a foul mouth; you’d seen him reduce grown men to tears, keeping Gojo humble, and you on your toes. But as he grinned in your ear about how loud your pussy was with its squelching, you wished he would just shut up. That must have been why you wrapped your legs around his hips, ankles crossing and then shoving him inside with a strength you didn’t know you possessed.

He bottomed out inside you, tip pressing into that one spot deep in your cavity.

In sync, you both moaned in each other’s mouths.

You felt so full, his cock was bulging out of your tummy, imprinting itself in your gummy walls like it was making a home for itself. You could have sworn he was in your actual stomach, stretching all the way to your lungs. He was everywhere; musky scent overwhelming your senses, leaving you drunk off his masculinity, and your tits were rubbing against his chest, the friction so good you couldn’t help but arch your back to get closer.

“Fuck! You’re a little slut, aren’t you? So impatient, huh? Couldn’t wait for me to ease in. Want me to fuck you hard, is that it, baby? You want me to be rough?”

He didn’t wait for your answer, hips pulling back and then shoving his fat cock in mercilessly, reaching deeper and deeper, ignoring your squeals of pain and pleasure. It was so fast, so hard, so rough, you couldn’t breathe. He was fucking the literal life out of you.

With a panicked haste, your hands buried itself in his hair, desperate to find your bearings and you pulled his face to yours, tongue circling his as you whimpered into his mouth. He was kissing you like his life depended on it, unforgiving and violent in his nipping as he shoved his tongue deep inside your mouth at the same pace he was plunging his cock inside you.

“Oh, yes, Sugu. Right there, fuckkkk, don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”

Practically sobbing into his mouth, you dug your nails into his shoulders, whining every time his cockhead kissed your cervix. He thumbed your clit, rubbing furious circles like he was punishing you for making him feel so good, or for keeping that pussy away from him for so long.

“I always knew my pretty best friend would have an even prettier pussy.”

He was so shameless about confessing he had been thinking about you in ways friends shouldn’t think about each other. But you couldn’t say a thing, you were just as desperate for him as he was for you, apparently.

Suguru pulled back, leaving your clit so he could pinch and suck at your nipples. Every brush of his pelvis against yours drew you closer and closer as his skin kissed your bundle of nerves.

Suddenly, he sat on his haunches, fingers leaving your tits as his hands gripped your hips in a bruising hold, fucking you onto his cock.

You moaned every time your pussy lips grazed his pelvis, cockhead pressing against your G-spot again and again. Bouncing with every push and pull, you babbled, hands clutching your tits and pinching the tips the way he had, like you were trying to keep yourself grounded.

“Wanna cum, pretty girl? Hm?”

“Yes! Yes! Please, S-sugu. Wanna -- fuck-- cum on your cock, wanna show you h-how much I love you.”

You felt him throb inside you, dick growing even bigger.

His breath stuttered, shocked by your admission and then he kissed you mid-moan. It was messy, uncontrolled and uncoordinated. Saliva dripping down your chins as you struggled to follow his ruthless pace. Totally unlike him but it felt incredible to meet his tongue with yours in a careless dance, twisting against each other in a relentless battle.

“You --fuck-- love me baby? Wanna shower me in your cum?” Suguru sucked at your neck, thumb rubbing your clit again, more frantically than before like he was beyond teasing you. He needed you to cum on him. “Oh, God, angel, I want that so much. Been dreaming about it.”

So close. You were so close, you just needed one thing from him.

“Sugu, tell me you love me too!” You sobbed, nails running up and down his back and legs tightening around his hips to shove him even deeper inside you, caging him with your greedy pussy as it clenched down on him, refusing to let him go.

“Oh, baby. You wanna –ngh- hear me say I love you? That what you need?”

“Yes! Pleaseeee.”

He pressed his lips to your near, licking the shell right before he whispered with a grin, “I love you more, you stupid slut."

Your orgasm came like a tidal wave, so sudden your vision went black for a millisecond, breasts bouncing up and down in a way that was going to leave you so sore the next day. Mouth open in an O shape and eyes so far back in your head, you probably looked like you died. It sure felt like it.

“God, I’m never going to forget how gorgeous you look cumming on my cock,” he growled into your neck, teeth clamping on the curve as he gave shallow but rapid thrusts until his orgasm followed. “Fuckkkk,” his groan was elongated, the low sound barely a rumble against your skin but it vibrated through your bones as you held him tightly to your body, whimpering when you felt his cum painting your walls.

A beat or two passed, his cock was softening inside of you. Suguru rolled off, slumping down next to you, the cold breeze brushing against your front, and you shivered, feeling so empty it made you wince. His cum was leaking out of your pussy, a mix of your and his essence pooling under your ass and into the bedsheet. Your hole was still clenching, already missing his cock.

In one fell swoop, he pulled you into his arms, head resting on his chest as you both caught your breaths. Suguru pressed light kisses on the top of your head, hand brushing through your locks whilst he whispered literal sweet nothings, thanking you for being so good for him.

Eventually, it grew quiet.

Both of you were coming down from your highs and feeling tethered once more by reality.

You had just fucked your best friend. Or rather, he had just fucked you. Good. Really good.

“We did it again, huh?” He chuckled.

With a groan, you smacked his chest.

“We both promised not to.”

“I know, I know. I’d apologise but I wasn’t the one who started it this time.”

You bit your tongue; you couldn’t argue against that.

This time you were the one who had started the game you two had been playing on and off for years. It had been weeks since the last time he had fucked you till you forgot your name, actually, over a month ago. Distressing as it was to hold back, you both pretended you were nothing more than just really good friends, ignoring the heat between your gazes as you shared a smoke, or the tight grip of his hands as he squeezed your hips to get past you.

And then you both forgot your promises and ended back in bed together. It was the same story again and again with you two. Not that anyone else knew, that was another promise you both made; keep the game a secret. Still, both you and Suguru couldn’t find it in yourselves to feel regret or remorse. The game was just too addictive.

As he drew shapes on your bare skin, a ping went off. You passed his phone to him, squinting at the bright light. Suguru laughed suddenly, showing you the screen. Gojo had sent two messages.

One read: you better not skip out on my party again >:(

And the other: sigh, say hi to y/n’s pussy for me.

It turned out, neither of you were very good at keeping promises.

#jjk x reader #geto x reader #geto suguru #smut #jjk smut #jujutsu kaisen smut #jujustsu kaisen x reader #jjk fluff #college bff #college au #angst with a happy ending #geto x you #geto x y/n #gojo satoru #geto smut #geto suguru smut #jjk x you

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stylesloveclub · 1 year ago

Text

sunshine (part 1)

In which Harry's a dick and y/n is a virgin who cries a lot.

˙· .° ｡ ˚ ｡ ° . · ˚ ˙ · . ° ｡ ˚ ｡ ° . · ˙ · .° ｡ ˚ ｡ °. · ˙ ‧̍̊

Y/n wonders if she thinks too highly of herself.

She thinks she’s pretty. Not in an obnoxious, self-obsessed way! She knows she’s not a supermodel, and she definitely has a lot of days where she looks and feels totally dead – but at the end of the day, she’s not hideous. She splurges on pretty makeup products, does her hair in the mornings, spends a decent amount of time planning out cute outfits… you know, little things to make herself feel pretty!

She brushes her teeth twice a day, showers regularly, flosses. Wears pretty perfumes that smell like flowers and lip gloss that tastes like strawberries. There’s a stash of gum in her bag that she’s always chewing on, so she knows she doesn’t have bad breath; and she carries an extra deodorant in her backpack too, so you can’t tell her she’s repulsive or anything like that.

She’s kind. She smiles at strangers and always laughs at people’s jokes (even if they aren’t funny)— holds the elevator door open and says a polite “good morning” or “hello!” with her happy, cheery voice. And even though she’s a bit shy, she tries her best to spread love and kindness in the world. It just makes her happy to make other people happy!

Plus, being nice means that everyone else is nicer to you. So even if she’s in a bad mood, she’ll fake a smile and pretend like she’s happy y/n.

But, she wonders... if she has all of these amazing qualities– if she really is as pretty and kind and wonderful as she makes herself out to be– then why hasn’t she been kissed yet?

She loves her friends, of course she does! But how is she so different from them? Why do all of her friends get asked out on dates and have amazing boyfriends while she’s still a lonely virgin who hasn’t even been kissed yet?

It’s not like she’s this super virginal person who gets grossed out by boys! She wants to be kissed, she wants to get fucked! She’s toyed around with the idea of just downloading tinder and losing it all to some stranger in one night stand, but her romantic heart just can’t stand the thought of it.

Yes, she’s desperate… but she’s also romantic. Love is on her mind 24/7. It’s what she thinks about before she falls asleep, what she daydreams about whenever she gets bored. She could spend hours with a romance novel, hyper fixating on the little things that most people wouldn’t blink an eye at. The way the boy’s hand cupped the girl’s jaw while they kissed, or how their fingers brushed as they walked down the street. Little things like forehead kisses and prolonged glances across a room.

She craves it for herself, desperately aches for the affection that she reads of. She wants to rest her head on someone’s chest and listen to their heartbeat as she falls asleep, feel their fingers playing with her hair, or their lips skimming her cheek. Wants to laugh under the covers and share secrets and be vulnerable and in love. She wants it more than anything in the world!

And yet, she hasn’t even been kissed!

Everyone else seems to do it so easily – find a nice guy, go out on a date, and fall in love. So why is it so hard for her? Her friends tell her that she's the prettiest and sweetest girl out there, and that the right guy simply hasn’t come around yet… but y/n can’t help but think, is any of it true?

Is she even that pretty? Is she actually likable?

What’s wrong with her?

˙· .° ｡ ˚ ｡ ° . · ˚ ˙ · . ° ｡ ˚ ｡ ° . · ˙ · .° ｡ ˚ ｡ °. · ˙ ‧̍̊

Harry hates these stupid college parties.

They’re loud and stuffy, with way too many people crammed into one room for his liking. The alcohol is cheap, the music is annoying. The entire apartment smells like weed, and there’s not even a secluded corner for him to mope around in without some group of drunk girls completely invading his personal space. Everything about these parties sucks.

If he could, he’d leave. But he’s meant to give a ride home to his roomie Blake, and Blake’s currently hooking up with the host of this party.

So Harry’s stuck here. Great.

He checks his phone, and it’s nearly midnight. Blake should be done soon, right? The blonde girl who’s been talking to him for the past 20 minutes is getting awfully close, her hand trailing on his biceps and migrating towards his chest, and she’s blinking up at him with fluttery bambi eyes.

Any other night and Harry might be into whatever this girl is hinting at, but he’s 100% sober and 100% not in the mood to hook up with a girl who’s taken one too many shots. He grabs the girl's hands and peels them off of his chest gently, muttering something about needing to use the restroom (he doesn’t even need to use the bathroom, he just needs a minute away from the pounding music).

He sends her off in the direction of her friends, who are giggling to each other in a corner across the room and not-so-inconspicuously checking to see if their friend has managed to successfully get with Harry. He’s sure they’ve realized that he rejected her when they all glare at him. Sorry to disappoint, he thinks to himself.

He’s nearly positive that any bathrooms in this shitty college apartment will probably be occupied, either with someone throwing up all the drinks they’ve had or with a couple hooking up. But no harm in trying anyway.

The first door that he tries to open is locked. The second door opens up to reveal a coat closet.

The third door however, opens up to a bedroom.

The walls are decorated with posters and pictures, fairy lights hanging from the ceiling, and tiny pots of succulents placed all over the room… but the one thing that stands out the most is the overwhelming number of books scattered all over the room. There’s a bookshelf on each wall, cluttered with books of all colors and sizes. Stacks of books lie on the nightstand by the bed, a stray book sits on top of a dresser, and a pile of new, untouched books sits pristinely in the far right corner of the room.

Books, books, and more books all over the room. And, a book in the hands of a girl sitting quietly in her bed, staring at Harry.

Dressed in a hoodie and some fuzzy pj pants, the book that she’d once held up closely to her face now rests on her lap as she blinks up at this strange intruder. She sits upright, closing the book but sticking her finger between the pages so that she doesn’t lose her place. “Um… hi?” she says quietly.

He steps into the room, and looks at her blankly. “Hi.” She blinks at him. “S’this room taken?” he asks.

“Um. Well,” she looks at him curiously. “No, I guess not.”

“Okay, good,” he responds, quickly closing the door behind him. He sits on a spinny chair that he pulls out from under a desk and leans his head back, letting out a deep sigh of relief.

The girl, with her finger still lodged between her book, stares at him confused. Who is this guy?

He’s cute, and she’s mildly embarrassed that he’s come into her room when she’s looking so… sleepy. But he also seems kinda grumpy and is obviously not in the mood to talk. He’s leaning back in her chair and closing his eyes, gently rubbing his temples as if he’s meditating.

She observes him with wide eyes. Then after a minute of silence she awkwardly picks her book back up and tries to resume reading.

Kinda hard to do with some random guy sitting in her bedroom, though.

In this secluded bedroom, the sound of the music has decreased dramatically. Harry’s pounding headache starts to fade away, and he feels himself start to relax for the first time since he arrived at this stupid party. He looks around the room that he so luckily stumbled into.

The desk in front of him is, to no surprise, cluttered with more books. A laptop is plugged in in front of him, and there’s a cup full of colorful pens and markers sitting against the wall. Hanging on the wall is a string of pictures starring the same girl with different groups of people.

He looks at the pictures hanging from the walls. Then he looks back at the girl laying in the bed.

“S’this your room?” he asks, finally connecting the dots.

She looks up from the book again and nods.

“Oh,” he hums, surprised. He supposes he should’ve realized it as soon as he walked in. Girl in a room full of books, reading a book. Face clean of all makeup, snuggled up in a blanket, nice and comfy as though she’s just about ready for bed. It’s a bit silly that he only made the connection once he saw her pictures up on the walls. “Why aren’t you out there partying?”

“Um… not really my scene,” she says, closing the book and looking at Harry properly. Her nose scrunches up, “And it smells really bad in there.”

“Jesus, tell me about it,” he groans. “Could hardly breathe in there. In fact–” he says, already standing up, “d’ya mind if we open up a window? Still feels stuffy in here.”

She shows no resistance as he slides the window open, accepting the fact that she’d be sharing her room with this stranger until the party was over. Harry sticks his head out and takes a deep breath of the cool, fresh air. Much better than the sweaty, smoky, sickly smell going on inside the apartment.

When he turns back around, the girl has rearranged herself. She sits criss-crossed on her bed and looks up at Harry, fidgeting nervously with her lip bitten between her teeth.

She’s kind of cute.

Harry breaks the silence again. “I think your roommate is hooking up with my roommate right now.”

“Oh.” She blinks. “Is your roommate Blake?”

He nods.

“Yeah, Maddie’s been saying that she, um… you know,” she looks down at her hands as they play with a loose thread on the hem of her pants. “Wants to hook up with him or whatever.”

He nods his head, leaning back against her wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest. As refreshing as the air is, the night time breeze is cold.

“No offense,” he says, “But you don’t seem like you’d be friends with Maddie.” Maddie (y/n’s roommate) has jet black hair, wears heavy eyeliner and black lipstick everyday, and is at least a little bit high 90% of the time. Y/n, in comparison, has flowery bed sheets, a stuffed bunny tucked in next to her, and is hiding in her bedroom while a party being thrown in her own apartment.

She just smiles softly. “Yeah, we met online. But she’s really nice.”

He raises his eyebrow. “She seems like a bitch.”

She defends her roommate immediately. “She’s not a bitch!” But then she thinks about it for a second. Maddie can definitely come off a bit… harsh at times. “Well… she’s usually really nice to me, at least.”

That makes sense. It would be very hard to be mean to this girl, he imagines. She’s too nice. It would be like being mean to a puppy or something.

Good thing Harry isn’t mean. He’s just… a bit of a grump.

She taps her fingers against the cover of her book awkwardly, staring at Harry as he looks up to her ceiling and closes his eyes. He just wants to be in his bed right now.

After a few more minutes of silence, Harry pushes himself off the wall. “I think Blake should be done,” he says, checking the time on his phone. “I’m going to leave now.”

“Okay,” says the girl quietly. She watches as he leaves with a nod of his head, and shuts the door behind him.

That was weird, she thinks.

Whatever, though. She opens her book and forgets about it.

+++

Don’t people say that drowsy driving is just as bad as drunk driving? What constitutes drowsy driving? Should y/n even be out on the road right now?

She doesn’t know. All she knows is that Maddie woke her up with a phone call at 2 AM, asking if y/n would come pick her up from Blake’s apartment cause she was too high to get back on her own and she doesn’t want to stay the night there.

Y/n, being the sweetheart that she is, obviously wants her roommate to get back safe. So she’s in her car, at 2 AM, yawning every three seconds as she drives to the location Maddie sent her.

She texts Maddie from the car, but Maddie doesn’t respond. She calls her, then sends another text, but still no answer. After 10 minutes of no response, she goes up to the door and knocks.

Maddie doesn’t answer. Instead, it’s Harry.

His eyebrows furrow as recognizes the girl from that party he’d been at two weeks ago. She looks just as comfortable as she did then, in a big pink hoodie and a pair of sweats. “What are you doing here?” he asks, his voice confused and his eyes doubting. Not many people come knocking at his door at 2 AM.

Unlike y/n, who looks like she just rolled out of bed and drove here (that is exactly what she did), Harry looks like he’s been up all night (he’s been playing COD). He’s not wearing a shirt and has a pair of sweats slung low on his hips, showing off a chiseled abdomen that acts as a canvas for a multitude of pretty tattoos. Y/n finds herself staring at the swallows that lie under his collarbones, the butterfly painted above his stomach, and the ferns lining a yummy pair of v-lines that point downwards… she swallows thickly and forces herself to look away.

“Um,” she covers her mouth as she yawns, hiding her cold fingers with the sleeves of her hoodie, “Maddie needed me to drive her home.” She blinks sleepily, and can’t even bring herself to be embarrassed that she looks so dead.

“It’s 2 in the morning,” he scoffs. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

She blinks sleepily again. “I was.”

Harry rolls his eyes. If it were him, he would not have gotten up and driven all the way over here. Someone else’s problems are not enough to get him out of bed. But, this girl… she’s too nice.

He leaves her at the door and goes to Blake’s room, pounding on the door rudely. “Hey!” he yells, irritation evident in his tone, “your roommate’s here.”

He hears a bit of shuffling, before Maddie stumbles out of Blake’s room, makeup askew and clothing only half on. She giggles up at Harry and apologizes playfully, but he just glares at her. Her eyes are glazed over and the whites of her eyes bloodshot, very obviously high if the way she couldn’t walk straight wasn’t enough of an indication.

He feels bad for the stupid girl who drove all the way over here in the middle of the night because her roommate wanted to get high.

Maddie trips over her own feet and falls into y/n, who uses all of her strength to keep her roommate upright and walks her slowly down to the car. “Are you feeling okay?” Harry hears her ask quietly. He scoffs to himself.

He doesn’t get it. How the fuck has this girl not lost her shit? Her irresponsible roommate woke her up at 2 am and made her drive all the way to some stranger’s house, and yet she still manages to be so… gentle. So kind, to someone who barely even deserves it. So caring, to someone who seems to care so little.

As y/n helps Maddie get into the car, she looks back up to the apartment and sees Harry watching them from the doorstep. They make eye contact for a few seconds, his eyebrows furrowed as he leans against the doorframe. His gaze makes her heart stutter, a chill running down her spine. He looks… upset. Almost like he’s mad at her.

It makes her frown. She wants to say something to him, apologize for ruining his night… but then Maddie sticks her head out of the car and vomits.

Harry shakes his head and turns away.

That girl is too nice for her own good.

+++

“Hey.” Blake pokes his head into Harry’s room, where Harry’s busy playing a round on his computer, “Do you mind if Maddie and her friend come over?”

“Don’t care,” Harry mumbles, uninterested, not looking away from his game.

“Sick,” he turns around to go back into his own room, but stops when Harry suddenly pauses his game and calls out to him.

“Who’s the friend?” Harry asks, turning around.

“Y/n,” Blake answers. Harry stares at him, his brows furrowed. The name doesn’t ring a bell. “Her roommate.”

“That quiet girl?” Harry clarifies.

“Yeah, that one.”

Oh. So her name was y/n.

Good to know.

+++

It’s dark out when Harry finally turns off his game, sliding his headset off and stretching his back. He lets out a long groan as he feels his spine crack, a delicious feeling after being hunched over his controller for three hours straight.

Standing up, he scratches at his stomach lazily, throwing his headset onto his chair. His arms feel a bit sore, having been to the gym earlier that day, and his hair is still wet from when he showered. He puts on a sweatshirt, finding his apartment too cold to be roaming around shirtless, and heads to the kitchen to find something to eat.

He stops in his tracks when he finds y/n sitting in his living room all alone.

She’s got a book in her hands, a thick, worn-out novel that looks older than herself. She’s sitting comfortably on their couch with her legs tucked underneath her butt, so engulfed in whatever she’s reading that she doesn’t even realize that she’s not alone anymore.

It’s the first time he’s ever seen her outside of her sleep attire. She’s wearing a pair of loose, comfy looking corduroy pants, and a tight top that cuts off just below her ribs. Her chest rises and falls steadily, eyes skimming across the pages of her book so quickly that he wonders if she’s actually absorbing any of the words or not. She chews on her lip as she reads, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

When Harry finally speaks, it makes her jump in her place. “Where are Blake and Maddie?”

Her book nearly falls out of her hands as she whips her head around. When she sees it’s him, she relaxes. “Oh. Um,” she sits upright, closing her book, “They’re in his room.”

He nods slowly, squinting his eyes. There’s no nice way to ask his next question, so he just spits it out bluntly. “Why’d you come over if you’re just sitting out here while they hook up?”

She tucks her hair behind her ear nervously, feeling a little shy under his intimidating gaze. “Maddie was my ride to campus today. And she wanted to stop by here before we went home.” She shrugs quietly, “So I kinda had no choice.”

He huffs. Of course.

Y/n says that Maddie’s nice, but Harry really doesn’t like her. How weird is it to drag your friend somewhere just to have them sit alone while you go hook up with someone?

“How long have you guys been here?” he asks.

“Like, an hour.”

“So you’ve been sitting around doing nothing for an hour?”

She pouts. “I had my book.”

He blinks. She just sat here reading for an hour, while her roommate abandoned her to go hookup with Blake… and she’s okay with it?

She is too nice for her own good.

“Do y’want some pizza?” he asks, already opening the freezer.

Normally, y/n would say no. She’s kind of an unwelcome guest and she doesn’t want to be a burden on Harry. But… she hasn’t had anything since breakfast. And Maddie still hasn’t come out. She’s kind of starving.

“What kind?” she asks politely.

“Umm… cheese or pepperoni.”

“I don’t like pepperoni,” she confesses shyly. “But also I could just pick it off if you want pepperoni. Whatever you want.”

He rolls his eyes, shoving the pepperoni pizza back into the freezer. He wants to scream at her to stop being so nice! Stop being so considerate and just say what you want!

He puts it in the oven to bake, setting a timer for 15 minutes, then takes a moment to contemplate his next move. He could either go back into his room, where he could lie in bed and nap until the pizza was ready… or he could stay in here and sit awkwardly on the couch so that y/n wouldn’t be all alone.

99% of him wants to just go back into his room where he can be grumpy and alone in peace… but then he looks over at y/n, who’s sitting on the couch all by herself. She looks so uncomfortable and out of place, tracing her thumb over the raised up font on the hardcover in her hands.

The 1% of him that feels bad for her wins. He sits down next to her on the couch.

He nods his head towards the worn out book, which looks thicker than anything he’s ever read. “Are you reading the fuckin’ bible?”

“No,” she shakes her head, laughing to herself quietly. She runs her fingers over the grooves of the title, a feeling so familiar that it comforts her when she’s feeling so out of place. “It’s Wuthering Heights.”

He furrows his brow. “Never heard of it.”

“It’s good,” she says. “Kinda dense, but I’ve already read it a few times. It’s one of my favorites.”

He nods again, tapping his fingers on his thighs as silence overtakes the apartment once more. He looks around the living room, trying to find something else to say.

Y/n’s heart pitter patters in her chest nervously. She can’t help but feel a bit nervous around Harry. She’s pretty shy in general, and Harry’s stoic demeanor certainly doesn’t help her relax. Her voice is quiet as she asks, “Um… what’s your major?” A feeble attempt on her end at a conversation.

“Math.”

“Just math?” she parrots.

“Mhm,” he cracks his knuckles. “Pure math.”

She huffs out a quiet breath, a pout on her lips. “I’m in a math class right now.” Her fingers pick at a piece of fuzz that’s stuck on the couch. “Calc 1. It’s really hard.”

“Mm, yeah.” Harry hums, “Took that during my first year.”

She looks at him with wide eyes, “Did you pass?”

He holds back a smile. It’s amusing, how earnestly she’s asking him – a math major – if he passed Calculus 1. That class was generally easy for him, mostly just beginner stuff compared to the math he does now that he’s in his third year. But he doesn’t say that. “Yeah, I did,” he says simply, not wanting to make her feel bad.

She nods, looking back down at her book. “I’m kinda scared. Our first midterm was really hard.”

He hums sympathetically. Even though it was easy for him, he knows that calc class is infamously hard for others – especially for those who aren’t math inclined like himself. “How about you? What’s your major?”

His legs are spread apart so that he takes up nearly half the couch, whereas y/n sits curled up on the other corner, trying to take up as little space as possible. “Bio,�� she readjusts herself so that she’s sitting crisscrossed, her book still clutched to her chest protectively. “With a concentration in ecology.”

Ew. He hates biology. Actually… he hates everything except math. Math is easy for him.

The oven beeps. A rush of relief fills his chest, finally free from this awkward conversation, and he eagerly abandons y/n on the couch to get the pizza out. He’s hungry, starving, and doesn’t bother with a plate or anything before grabbing a slice and shoving it in his mouth.

“Come have some,” he mumbles, mouth full.

She timidly walks over to the kitchen counter that he’s standing at, wiping her sweaty hands on her pants, and takes a slice as well. Blowing on it, she takes a much smaller bite than Harry did since it’s still so hot. She doesn’t know how he managed to already finish a whole slice.

Now that they can focus on eating their food, there’s no need for any more small talk. They eat comfortably in silence, only acknowledging each other when y/n asks for a napkin. He nods towards one of the drawers, asking her to grab him one too, and then they’re back to eating in silence.

Blake and Maddie burst out of his room a few minutes later.

“Harry made dinner!” exclaims Blake, coming over and reaching for a slice of pizza.

Harry yanks the tray out of his reach. “Get your own pizza,” he mumbles, putting the pizza back down in front of y/n. He looks at her, and nods his head towards the pizza, inviting her to take another slice.

Maddie stops her before she can reach for a second slice. “Ready to go?” she asks.

Y/n nods, wiping her hands on a napkin. “Thanks for the pizza,” she whispers to Harry, quiet enough so that only he hears.

“Yeah,” is all he says. He barely looks at her, too busy scarfing down his third (maybe fourth) slice.

She grabs her stuff and follows Maddie out of the boys apartment.

+++

“Hey!” Maddie pushes her way through the stuffed apartment, reaching her hand out towards y/n. “Listen, I’m gonna go home with Blake.”

“W-What?” Y/n’s head is foggy, her brain a little clouded from the few drinks that she’s had. Y/n doesn’t normally drink, so the little bit of alcohol in her system has had its intended effect and gone a bit further as well – her cheeks are warm, and she feels the world sway a little bit as she looks up at Maddie with a pout. “But– but what about me?”

Normally, y/n stays home whenever Maddie wants to go out and party. She prefers the comfort of her own bed and hates the anxiety she feels when she’s drunk and wobbly and surrounded by a bunch of strangers. But Maddie had assured her that they’d be together all night, that she’d take care of her if she got drunk, and that she’d drive them home whenever y/n wanted to leave.

She’s broken all three of those promises.

When they got to the party, Maddie abandoned her as soon as she saw Blake across the room. Luckily, y/n saw some of her own friends that she was able to hang out with, some girls from her ecology class who gave her a yummy strawberry smirnoff. They talked and laughed and y/n was having a good time, slowly but surely getting a little bit tipsy. The drink was so yummy, and Maddie wasn’t there to keep an eye on her, so she didn’t realize that she’d gone a bit over her tolerance.

She’s a bit tipsier than she’d like to be in a public setting, surrounded with people she doesn’t know, and it’s too dark outside for her to get home safely on her own. And now… Maddie wants to abandon her? For Blake?

“Don’t worry!” Maddie exclaims, completely disregarding the worry flickering in y/n’s glazed eyes. “I’ll order you an uber home!”

Y/n bites her lip nervously. An uber? At this time of night, when she’s all drunk and stumbling around like a sad little baby deer?

“Um… can’t you take me home before you go with Blake?”

Maddie rolls her eyes, “come on, really? I’ll pay for the uber. It'll be fine.”

Y/n’s heart beats loudly in her chest, “I-I’m scared of going by myself, Maddie. I think I had too much to drink, I don’t feel safe.”

Her roommate purses her lips in a firm line, as if she’s annoyed. She looks around the apartment, tapping her foot impatiently, then she lights up with an idea. “Stay here,” she tells y/n.

“Harry!” Maddie calls out, making her way back to the other side of the apartment. “Hey, Harry!”

He’s sitting on a couch, next to a pretty girl in a tight black dress who has her legs splayed across his lap comfortably. There’s a furrow in his brow that makes him look pissed off, but his hand rests very comfortably on this girl's thigh and he makes no objections as she plays with the collar of his shirt. His head whips over to Maddie as she tramples her way over to him.

“What is it?” he snaps, voice closed off and irritated.

“Can you drive y/n home?”

He blinks. “Huh?”

“Can you drive y/n home??” she says again, frustrated.

“Why?”

“Cause I’m going over to your apartment with Blake and she needs a ride home.”

He stares at Maddie unbelievingly, and peers over at y/n, who’s sitting all alone on the other side of the apartment. Her lips are pouted sadly, staring down at the floor with a far off look in her eyes.

“Why can’t you take her home?” he grumbles, looking up at Maddie with a glare in his eye.

She huffs, impatiently stomping her foot. “Cause I’m going home with Blake right now! Come on Harry, it’s not that far! Please?”

He shakes his head. “Fuckin’ unbelieveable,” he mutters under his breath, pushing the girl off of him as he stands up.

“Thank you,” she sighs, dragging him behind her. “Y/n,” Maddie says, stopping in front of her. “Harry’s gonna drive you home.”

She looks up, eyes wide and round. “H-Harry?”

“Yes,” she says harshly, “you guys are friends, aren’t you?”

“Um…” y/n doesn’t know what to say. She wouldn’t necessarily consider them friends just because they shared a pizza.

Her night out with Maddie was meant to be fun, but right now, she just feels abandoned and kinda scared. And Harry doesn’t seem too happy about this either, which makes her feel even worse.

“Lets go,” he snaps, jaw clenching tightly as he swings his car keys around his index finger. She flinches at his tone and digs her nails into her palms nervously.

She’s trapped. It’s either Harry takes her home, or she takes an uber all by herself. And she’s too scared to get home alone right now.

With a final look towards Maddie, who stares back at her dismissively and shoos her towards Harry, she stands up shakily and follows Harry out of the crowded apartment.

The air outside is much colder than the apartment, goosebumps immediately rising on y/n’s skin and making her shiver. Harry doesn’t acknowledge the way she stumbles over her feet, walking ahead of her briskly. She’s forced to keep herself composed, wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm and nearly jogging to keep up with Harry’s long strides.

He unlocks his car doors and gets into the driver’s seat. Y/n opens the passenger’s side door for herself and takes a seat, buckling herself in quietly.

Turning on the car, he notices the way her arms are tightly crossed in front of her chest. He turns up the heat, and pulls out of the parking lot.

They play no music and say nothing, driving in silence.

“Sorry you have to drive me home,” she says faintly after a few minutes.

His turn signal blinks softly. “Can’t believe your roommate just left you,” he mutters irritatedly.

She says nothing in response. She stares out the window, a lump in her throat as the drive past the streets of college houses and apartments. The red light they stop at and the name of the streets go blurry from the tears gathering at her waterline. She sniffles softly.

Harry whips his head to her. “Why are you crying?”

Her lower lip wobbles as the first tear falls from her lashes. She wipes it away quickly. “I don’t know,” is all she says with a watery voice.

He stares at her befuddled, brows furrowed and eyes a piercing green, but she refuses to meet his gaze. She just looks outside the window in a melancholy haze, lost in thought, eyes unfocused as tears drip down her face silently.

He sighs deeply and taps his fingers against the steering wheel, praying for the red light to turn green so that he can get this girl home as soon as possible.

+++

When they arrive at her place, he sits in his car and watches as she stumbles up the steps of her apartment. She mumbled out a soft thank you through her tears and managed to climb out of his car smoothly, but the way she wobbles on her feet makes Harry worry that he shouldn’t leave until he’s sure she got in.

She stands in front of her door for a solid two minutes, trying to find her keys, and Harry taps his fingers against his thigh impatiently. When she finally finds them, she struggles to fit the key in the lock, hands shaky and her vision still blurred from the tears. Aaaand then she drops them.

Harry sighs and puts the car in park. By the time she’s picked the keys back up, Harry’s already gotten out of his car and reached the top step. He takes the keys from her and easily unlocks her door. “In,” he mutters, ushering her into her apartment impatiently.

He follows her into her bathroom and turns the light on for her. Their eyes meet in the mirror as he asks, “can you get yourself ready for bed?”

She nods, looking down at the ground sheepishly as he leaves her to take off her makeup and brush her teeth. She opts to skip her skincare routine and doesn’t even bother with putting her jewelry back in her jewelry box, simply just leaving her earrings on her bathroom counter to deal with tomorrow.

Harry’s probably gone back down to his car by now, she thinks. It’s so embarrassing, how he had to drive her home and guide her into her bathroom. He seemed annoyed with her. He probably thought she was so messy – an annoying, overdramatic girl who started crying in his car for no reason.

More tears bubble in her tears as the hot wave of embarrassment washes over her. She was such a mess, of course she’s never been in a relationship. Nobody would want to date someone like her.

She takes off her clothes and whips off her bra, sniffling to herself sadly. Slipping on her favorite sweatshirt, a huge pink one that goes down to her mid thighs and covers her hands, she uses the sleeves to wipe away the excess tears in her eyes. She stumbles over herself a bit and bangs her foot against her dresser as she reaches for a pair of sleep shorts and it only makes her want to cry even harder. Drunk y/n is extra emotional, and every little thing is sending over the edge.

As she’s stepping into her pair of sleep shorts, her bedroom door opens, Harry walking in with a glass of water in one hand and a pill bottle in the other. She trips over herself as she tries to pull her clothes on as soon as possible, but it just makes her lose balance and stumble to the side. His eyes widen and he turns around quickly, muttering a quick fuck to himself.

“Sorry,” he mutters. “Are you decent?”

Y/n regains her composure, cheeks burning as she pulls her shorts over her hips. This night could not be going any worse. “Yeah,” she says quietly. She hopes it’s dark enough in the room so that he doesn’t see her flaming cheeks and puffy eyes.

He turns around and hands her the water, which she immediately starts chugging down. She didn’t realize how thirsty she’d been until she’d seen the glass in Harry’s large, tattooed hand.

“Slow down,” he grunts. He pops open the pill bottle and takes out one Advil for her. “Take this.”

She grabs the pill from him obediently and swallows it down with the rest of her water. Then she looks up at him, as if waiting for his next instructions.

“Bed,” he says, nodding his head towards her daisy printed sheets. She goes to climb in but trips over her shoe that she’d messily discarded on the floor. Harry grabs her waist before she can fall to the floor though.

“Jesus,” he murmurs. This was like the seventh time she’s almost fallen over tonight. Is she always this clumsy or was it the drinks?

He grabs her hand and physically guides her into her bed, making sure she lays down properly and lifting the sheets for her to climb under. Grabbing her ankle, he literally has to guide her under the blanket, then lets the duvet fall over her gracefully.

“All good?” he asks, once she’s tucked nicely into her bed, teeth brushed and medicine taken so that she wouldn’t wake up feeling gross tomorrow.

She looks up at him, eyes no longer tear filled but still clearly sad. “Yeah..” she says quietly, however her eyes flicker around her room as if she’s searching for something.

He furrows his brows, and glances in the direction her eyes have landed. A stuffed bunny lies on the floor next to the shoe that she tripped over. He bends over and picks it up, handing it to her questioningly. She takes the bunny and snuggles it into her neck, eyes fluttering as if she can finally relax. “Thanks,” she whispers.

Harry nods curtly and heads for the door. When he turns around one final, y/n is watching him with sleepy eyes. “Bye, Harry,” she squeaks out.

He stares at her for a second. “Bye.” Then he closes the door behind himself.

+++

Y/n wakes up with a pounding headache and an upset tummy.

That was mortifying.

She’s never gonna be able to face Harry again. He was so annoyed with her, she just knows it! The way she dragged him away from that party, cried in his car, and tripped over herself like a stupid goat with clanky legs… oh, he probably thinks she’s the worst!

She wishes she had more control over her emotions, that she could’ve held in the tears until she was alone in her bed… but she just felt so miserable last night. She had wanted to start crying literally when Maddie first yelled at her at the party, but she tried to stay strong. Kept herself together so that she at least didn’t start crying in the middle of a party.

But then… getting in the car with Harry. God. The deafening silence, the irritation radiating off of him… it made her feel terrible. She felt like a nuisance, like an annoyance and a burden.

And she completely humiliated herself in front of Harry! The cute guy that she maybe sort of had started to have a tiny little crush on, simply because he was cute and mildly nice to her and she has a habit of romanticizing small interactions.

There was no chance he’d ever want to be in a room with her after this. He probably wants nothing to do with her.

She stumbles out of her bed and plants her feet on the ground, her head spinning a little bit as she squints her eyes. Her little stuffed bunny has fallen onto the floor again, and she picks it up and places it onto the bed next to herself. She remembers how Harry had picked the bunny up and given it to her before she fell asleep last night, like she was some little kid that he was stuck babysitting.

Ugh. She’s never going to talk to him again.

+++

Harry stands outside of his lecture hall, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed angrily. His eyebrows are furrowed in classic Grumpy Harry fashion and his lips are pursed in a disgruntled frown.

He’s annoyed.

He stares at y/n, who’s sitting on a bench not too far away. Her tote bag sits on the floor next to her feet and there’s a book in her hand, her finger in between the pages as a temporary bookmark to not lose the page she’s on.

There’s something about her that just… annoys him so much. He can’t quite explain it.

The way her cheeks dimple as she smiles up at the guy talking to her, tucking her hair behind her ear gently when it falls into her face… it makes his jaw clench angrily as he watches her from a distance. She’s so nice. Too nice.

She laughs at something the guy she’s talking to says and it makes his stomach feel sour. He doesn’t like it.

Blake’s hand snaps in front of Harry’s face. “Bro. Stop staring.”

Harry forces his eyes to look away, brows still furrowed grumpily. “Wasn’t staring,” he mumbles, pushing himself off the wall and going into the lecture hall.

“You were,” he responds, following closely behind. “She’s really nice… I dunno why you hate her.”

“Who says I hate her?” Harry scoffs. “I never talk to her.” Especially as of late, she’s quiet as a mouse around him. He was over at her apartment to pick Blake up the other day and she’d only said a quiet “hi” before scurrying back into her room, like a scared little bunny in the presence of a snake or something.

“Well… I mean, you could be nicer.”

Harry furrows his brows. “What do you mean?”

Blake hesitates. “Like… I dunno. Maddie says you made her cry.”

“Huh?” He thinks back to that night… “How was that my fault?” All he’d done was driven her home and tucked her into bed? She just started crying on her own!

“She’s just kind of sensitive,” says Blake. “I know you probably weren’t trying to mean, but you’re definitely not sunshine and rainbows. You’re scary, did y’know that?”

Harry rolls his eyes. Everyone seems to have this preconceived notion that Harry's this huge dick who never smiles… and though it’s true that he rarely smiles in the presence of strangers, he’s not an asshole! He just doesn’t feel like wasting his energy in pretending to like people he doesn’t actually like. Or smile when it’s much more comfortable to furrow his brows and pout grumpily.

And he finds that usually his grumpy demeanor works in his favor – people stay out of his way, and he gets to avoid the headache that comes with interacting with people. But now this girl… this sunshine girl who always has her nose in a little book and always says please and thank you and is nice to everyone and stumbles over herself like a little puppy who's learning how to walk… she’s gone on and made him feel bad about it.

How annoying is that? To have the nicest person on the planet think you’re scary?

“I wasn’t trying to make her cry,” he mutters, irritated. “I didn’t even say anything to her.”

“Well maybe that’s the problem. Like… just try. I think you’ll like her.”

He doesn’t think so. She’s too nice. They probably wouldn’t get along.

+++

There are three things y/n does a lot.

The first is studying. Her grades come first, always. She’ll be at the library for hours at a time, snuggled up in a booth with an iced coffee and her color coded notes, studying until she can barely keep her eyes open. It’s unhealthy, and she really should take breaks more often… but she just gets really nervous about her grades!

She’s used to being at the top of her class, and has always been a straight A student. But recently, she’s been struggling. She’s doing fine in her chemistry class, and absolutely thriving in biology. But calculus… calculus is her worst enemy.

The second thing she does a lot is reading. She’s been a bookworm for as long as she can remember. Her most frequent genre is romance (obviously!), but she’ll dabble a little bit in the popular fantasy series, maybe pick up a thriller every once in a while. And if she’s feeling sophisticated, she’ll try to read one of the classics… something philosophical, like Camus, or maybe something a little heavier, like War and Peace. But those situations are rare. She prefers her little world of romance.

The third thing that y/n does a lot… is cry.

She’ll cry if she watches a sad movie, she’ll cry over a sad book. She cried when Finnick died in The Hunger Games, and she cried when she finished Of Mice and Men. She cries every single time she watches Pride and Prejudice (2005), sobs her eyes out when Mr. Darcy says, “You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love- I love- I love you.”

She cries if someone yells at her, and she cries if she thinks someone doesn’t like her. She cries almost every time she’s drunk (example: when Harry drove her home), and she cries in the middle of the night when she’s feeling homesick. She cries for no reason when she’s getting close to her period… and sometimes, she cries because she’s just lonely.

Now, you might be thinking… y/n sounds super annoying. But please don’t think that! That would also probably make her cry.

She’s just a tad bit sensitive! She has so many emotions in her little heart, and she’s trying so hard to be responsible and manage life as a young adult but at the end of the day she’s just a girl!!! She’s just a girl, and she’s tired and stressed out and lonely and touch deprived, and sometimes she has a hard time keeping everything together so she just… cries.

If she could control it, she would! Do you really think she wants to be crying in the library? Of course, not! It’s embarrassing, and she’s trying really hard to keep her sniffles quiet and to suck the tears back into her eyeballs… but when she’s sad, she can’t stop the tears.

So now she’s crying in the library. And it’s all because of Issac Newton.

Why did he have to invent calculus? Like, what was even the point? Why did she, as a girl studying ecology, have to take this stupid class?

She buries her face in her arms, the tears unstoppable at this point, and just hopes that anyone walking past will think she’s napping and not crying her eyes out.

She’d studied really hard for that last midterm. Like– she’d literally been in the library for a week straight, just doing calculus problems over and over again. She went to office hours to get help on all the questions she was stuck on, and was watching the Organic Chemistry Tutor’s videos religiously. She did so much math that she was literally having dreams about doing calculus.

And yet, even with all of her studying, she still managed to fail the midterm. Like… she seriously failed it. As in, if she doesn’t get an A on the final, she will literally have to retake the class.

She’s so sad. She’s never gotten a grade this low, ever in her life. And she’d tried so hard!!! The morning of the midterm, she’d actually felt confident! She thought she had it in the bag!

She was so, so wrong.

She feels stupid – not just because she failed the midterm, but because she’s literally having a breakdown about it in the library.

This is stupid. Everything is stupid. School is stupid, Issac Newton is stupid, calculus is stupid–

“Y/n?”

Uh oh. She tries to wipe away her tears discreetly, licking her lips and clearing her throat and desperately hoping that it’s not obvious that she’s been crying.

When she lifts her head, she finds Harry standing in front of her. “Why’re you crying?” he asks bluntly, looking down at her with his brows furrowed.

Ok. So it is obvious.

“Um,” she sniffles, “Hi Harry.” She hopes that maybe if she pretends like everything is fine, then he won’t pry any further.

It doesn’t work.

“Why are you crying?” he asks again. There’s not much compassion or comfort in his voice. Same old grumpy Harry, so blank and impassive.

She shrugs her shoulders, feeling small and embarrassed. “I– it’s silly,” she stammers, looking down at her fingers.

Harry doesn’t say anything, staring at her and waiting for her to continue.

She swallows thickly. “I failed my midterm,” she whispers, her voice catching as a new lump grows in her throat.

“How bad?”

One lone tear falls down her face as she shakes her head disappointedly, which she wipes away quickly. “Really bad,” she whimpers. Her cheeks burn hot as she realizes that she can’t hold back the tears any longer. She quickly averts her eyes from him, staring into her lap and hoping that he can’t see her face.

This is the second time he’s seen her cry, which is two times more than she would like. He probably thinks she’s some silly, over emotional girl… probably thinks she’s so annoying. She just wants to curl up in a ball, hide in a dark hole and cry by herself. She can’t handle Harry’s judgment on top of her shitty midterm grade.

He stands there silently for a moment. Her lower lip has pouted out cutely and he can hear her sniffling quietly. “Was it math?” he asks.

“Yeah,” she grumbles sadly. Stupid math.

He hums. After another tense moment he asks, “Do you want help?”

“Help with what?” She stares down at her fingers, her tone dejected. The happy glimmer that usually sparkles in her eye is gone.

“With math,” he clarifies. “I can help you.”

She looks up at him curiously, still pouting. “You’d help me with math?”

He nods, pulling out the chair next to her. “Let me see your midterm,” he says, nodding his head towards the packet of math problems she’d just been sobbing over. Embarrassingly, the front page is stained with a few tears, but she hands it over nonetheless.

He scans over the first page quickly, reading the question and seeing how she answered it. “Do you know why you got this one wrong?”

She sniffles and shrugs. She hadn’t even tried to look over the questions, too mentally exhausted to even try and understand what mistakes she’d made.

“Look. You tried to cancel out the tan3x, which would make sense in any other case… but since it’s to the power of 4 you could really easily have used integration by parts.”

“Wish I knew that before I took the fucking midterm,” she huffs.

“Hey,” he tsks. “Learn from your mistakes so that you don’t make them again. You need to know this stuff to do integral tests later.”

She shakes her head. “I tried so hard, Harry,” she barely whispers, her voice exhausted. “Like I studied so much, and I really really tried to make it all make sense. But it’s just so hard for me.” She sniffles and wipes away more tears, taking a shaky breath and looking away from Harry.

She doesn’t want to try anymore. She just wants to give up.

He purses his lips, brows furrowed. There’s something about seeing y/n upset that just feels so wrong. She usually brings so much… light into a room. Seeing her cry makes it seem like the entire universe has gotten a little sadder.

“You’ve got the right idea when you’re solving these…” he tries to comfort her (though he’s never really been good at comforting people), “It’s just little things that you’re doing wrong. And it’s probably because you’ve got a shit professor who just has you copy down problems.”

“That’s literally all we do!” she whines, not even caring if she sounds like a baby. “He does the problems so fast and then I have to go home and try and figure out how he did it all by myself!” She sniffles and puts her head in her hands, more tears dropping from her eyelashes. She’s exhausted, her head starting to hurt as she exhales a shuddery breath.

He lets her cry a little bit. “Listen,” he says gently, turning to face her. The normal furrow in his brow is gone, his gaze a little bit softer. “Next time you come over with Maddie, bring your notes and we can go over them together, okay?”

She sniffles. “Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“Like actually?”

“Yes,” he says again exasperatedly, rolling his eyes. He stands up from the table and puts her midterm back down in front of her. “Lighten up, sunshine. One bad score is not the end of the world.”

She feels a bit silly now that Harry’s witnessed her having another breakdown in the library. But, despite how little he said… he actually helped her calm down. This was not the end of the world.

“Okay,” she whispers, “thanks, Harry.”

He nods and walks away.

Maybe he doesn’t hate her, she thinks to herself.

˙· .° ｡ ˚ ｡ ° . · ˚ ˙ · . ° ｡ ˚ ｡ ° . · ˙ · .° ｡ ˚ ｡ °. · ˙ ‧̍̊

“I’m going out,” Maddie says as she walks into the kitchen, discarding her half full coffee mug on the counter as she grabs her car keys from the hook in front of the door.

“Your mug!” y/n tuts like a mother. Maddie rolls her eyes as she pours the last of her coffee down the sink and puts the mug in the dishwasher. Y/n ignores the dramatic eye roll, knowing that Maddie’s just playing around, and asks, “Where are you going?”

“Over to Blake’s,” she responds with a wink. She’s been telling y/n about how she’s been waiting for Blake to text her all week because she doesn’t want to be the one texting first all the time… weird situation-ship stuff that y/n’s never experienced before. Seems like he finally texted her, with how excited Maddie is to be going over.

Just as Maddie is about to step out the door, y/n remembers Harry’s offer. He’d been serious, right? He hadn’t just said that because she was crying… right? She really hopes not, because she really could use his help. She’d been up for hours last night, trying to do the homework, but ultimately giving up because she got too frustrated with herself. Maybe… maybe he’d be able to help her?

“Wait!” y/n calls out, “Um… can I come with you?”

Maddie raises an eyebrow, “Why do you want to come over to Blake’s apartment?”

Y/n turns a bit shy, “Harry… he’s, um, helping me with math.”

“Harry?” Maddie’s eyes glimmer curiously. “He’s literally such a dick. He’s helping you?”

“He’s not that bad…” y/n mumbles, remembering the ounce of kindness he’d shown to her in the library the other day. He’s just a little bit… reserved, she’s started to realize.

“Please. He literally never smiles. I dunno how you got him to talk to you, he always ignores me when I’m over.”

(Honestly, she doesn’t blame Harry for not talking to Maddie… she sometimes ignores Maddie in her own apartment too…)

“You have two minutes to meet me in the car or I’m leaving without you!”

˙· .° ｡ ˚ ｡ ° . · ˚ ˙ · . ° ｡ ˚ ｡ ° . · ˙ · .° ｡ ˚ ｡ °. · ˙ ‧̍̊

With her schoolbag in hand, y/n taps lightly on Harry’s door. Blake had told her to just go in, but she feels like that’s rude, so she stands in front of his door nervously and waits patiently for him to open.

“What?” he grunts, opening his bedroom door. “Oh.” The furrow in his brow softens the slightest bit when he sees it’s y/n. He’d thought it was Blake bugging him about something. Y/n is a much… nicer surprise.

“Hi,” she says, chewing on the inside of her lip nervously. “I was wondering if… um, you could help me out with my calc stuff?”

He stares at her for a second, then says, “yeah.”

He opens the door wider and she follows him in. His room is messy, but not gross. The bed is unmade, three half full water bottles on his nightstand, and there’s a pair of sweatpants on the floor… but at least it doesn’t stink!

His computer screen is paused mid-game, and she realizes that he’d still been holding his controller when he’d opened up the door for her. He throws a jacket that had been thrown on the back of his chair onto the bed, and motions for her to sit. Then he pulls up another chair that was sitting in the corner of his room to sit next to her.

“Let’s see it,” he says, shutting down his computer.

“So…” she takes her laptop out of her bag, setting it down on his desk and turning it on so that she can open up her homework assignment. While it loads, she unlocks her ipad to the scratch work she’d done last night. “I was trying to do the homework last night, and I think I’m supposed to be doing integration by parts but honestly I’m not even sure how to do that… so I’m kind of lost.”

Harry leans over her ipad and looks at the work she’d done. It’s… wrong.

“Can I see your notes for integration by parts?” He asks, trying to figure out how she ended up with 1 as her answer when it should be a much larger, much more complicated mix of trig and integrals. She scrolls up until she lands on a page titled Chapter 7, and points to the second example on the problem. Her notes are cute, written in pink with girlish, bubbly handwriting. However, it’s clear that she’d been struggling to keep up with the lecture, some of her work completely scribbled out and replaced with messy numbers and formulas. Next to one of the big portions of scribbled out math, she's written “WHAT???” along with a sad face doodled underneath it.

Clearly she’s a bit confused.

“Okay…” he scrolls down to a new page in her digital notebook and copies down the example problem that had confused her. “Let me show you how you do integration by parts first, and then we’ll look at the homework problem, okay?”

“M’kay,” she hums compliantly, crossing her legs and hiding her hands in her sleeves. She feels a bit… nervous. She doesn’t want Harry to think she’s stupid. But she’d rather have her ego a little bruised than fail the next midterm too.

“So… you do integration by parts when you can’t just do normal integration… usually if there’s e^x in there or a natural log then you know that you have to do integration by parts.”

She nods, following along quietly.

“In this one… you have x times e^x dx… you have to break it up into two parts, U and dV. And then you take the derivative of U and find the integral of dV. And you plug that into the formula. Do you know the formula?”

She blinks at him. “Um…” she shuffles through her notes and finds it. “It’s this.”

“Good… so what you do is you assign x to either U or dV and then e^x(dx) to the other… and then you find dU and V based off of that. Should we make x be U or dV?”

She purses her lips, “Make x=U?”

“Yes…” he nods. “Do you know why?”

She shrugs. “I guessed.”

His lip quirks up in the first smile y/n’s ever seen from him, a slight dimple popping up in his cheek. “S’cos we have to either find the derivative of U, or find the integral of dV. It’s way easier to use the derivative of x, cause it’s just one. If we made x equal to dV… then we’d add a fraction and a power of two to our equation and it’ll just make things ugly.”

“Oh.” She stares at his hands as he writes down what he just said in math terms, scribbling in his boyish handwriting that U=x and dU=1. “Okay.”

“So if U=x, then dV is equal to….”

“e^x?” she answers.

“Good,” he says gently. “And what is V?”

She stays silent for a moment, searching the paper as if it’ll give her an answer. He senses her confusion and helps her out, saying, “IF V is the integral of dV, and dV is e^x…”

“Well Isn’t the integral of e^x still e^x?” Her voice is unconfident, looking up at Harry with wide, round eyes.

“You’re right,” he says encouragingly, a soft smile on his face. “Stop doubting yourself so much.”

A reciprocating smile spreads on her face, feeling a little more confident with Harry’s praise.

“All you do now is put your numbers into the formula. Can you do it?”

He hands the pen over to her, their fingers brushing. Her hair falls in front of her face as she leans over the page to write down her answer, and Harry watches softly as she tucks it back behind her ear. He notices how long and delicate her eyelashes are as he stares at her side profile.

“Is that right?” she asks quietly, trying hard to be confident but still so nervous that she’s done it wrong.

He tears his eyes away from her face. “Almost,” he says, leaning forward. Their arms brush against each other, the space that they initially had set between their chairs having shrunk as they worked on the problem together. She can feel his breath as he quietly murmurs next to her ear, “You just need to add +C at the end.”

She furrows her eyebrows and turns her head towards him, and feels her heart stutter as she realizes how close their faces actually are. “What does the +C mean?”

“It’s just like… it’s supposed to represent any constants that we couldn’t find. Because when you take the derivative of a constant it just ends up being zero, so when you’re given an integral and doing the anti-differential process… you don’t know if there was actually a constant there or what it was. So the +C is just representing any constant value that could’ve been in the answer, even though you don’t know what the number is.”

She blinks at him. “Um… okay. I’ll just pretend like that made sense.”

He chuckles, the first time she’s probably ever heard him laugh. “It’s honestly not that important to get it. Just remember to add +C every time you take an integral.”

“Got it…” she says, adding the +C.

“Think you can do the next one on your own?”

+++

“Harry,” y/n pouts. “It says I’m wrong but I dunno why.”

He pauses his game and slides out of his seat, going over to y/n. She’d relocated to his bed after they did a couple more problems together and felt confident enough to do the rest by herself. His chest brushing against her back softly as he leans over her shoulder, going over her work. “What’s the integral of sin(x)?”

“Cos(x),” she says confidently.

“Not quite…”

She sits there for a second, brows furrowed. “Oh!” she adds a negative in front of the cos(x).

“There you go,” he grins down at her.

She lays down on his bed, her hair splaying out behind her as she throws her ipad on his bed, relieved. “Harry. You’re a genius.”

He laughs, a quiet huff of air that passes out of his nose with an amused smile on his face. “So it makes sense?”

“I think you should be teaching our class. You’re so good. Thank you for helping me.”

He hums, giving her a satisfied smirk, and goes back to his game while she finishes her homework. It's a strange setup, sitting in his bed and doing her homework while he plays, but she doesn’t mind it.

In fact, it’s kind of nice.

Harry’s kind of nice.

She kind of likes Harry.

˙· .° ｡ ˚ ｡ ° . · ˚ ˙ · . ° ｡ ˚ ｡ ° . · ˙ · .° ｡ ˚ ｡ °. · ˙ ‧̍̊

hope u guys loved it!!!!!! part 2 is up on my patreon already, and will come to tumblr next saturday (july 29) pleeeeaaaase lmk what u rhink and give her a rb and a comment i love u guys so so much!!!

sunshine - part 2 (already posted on patreon!) : In which Harry's a little bit nicer, and y/n is very excited to possibly, hopefully, maybe be kissed.

sunshine masterlist

#harry #harry fic #harry smut #harry styles fic #harry styles smut #harry styles fan fic #harry styles imagine #harry x reader #harry styles x reader #grumpyrry #grumpy harry #mean harry

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a-substantial-trash-pile · 4 days ago

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Catalyst

so in my au which i'm totally not using to cope or anything haha, after realizing that curly isn't going to do anything about jimmy, anya confides in swansea and he goes Protective Dad Mode. i'm calling this the "Responsibility AU." ramble below cut.

swansea doesn't immediately go after jimmy with an axe or anything because 1. they're not in a high stress life/death crash situation and 2. anya specifically requests that swansea not enact violence upon jimmy after swansea says, and i quote, "i'm gonna beat his ass." anya just wants to feel safer and more supported on the ship—she doesn't want swansea to get in trouble even if jimmy does deserve to get destroyed by 10000 punches.

what swansea can do is watch out for anya and make sure she's never alone in a room with jimmy. if there's a situation where she has to be alone with jimmy (like the psych evals), she and swansea have a system where she can signal for help. with anya's permission, swansea asks daisuke to help look out for her too (without telling him the details as to why since that's anya's right to share or not). daisuke has already picked up at this point that something is wrong based on how much more hostile swansea's become towards jimmy, and he trusts his boss, so he agrees without much question.

anya, feeling less alone now that she has people watching her back, gains more confidence to stand up to jimmy. which makes him angry because his unwanted advances are being denied and swansea and daisuke keep getting in his way. he just can't understand why he's being treated as the bad guy here (this is because he is a delusional asshole).

meanwhile curly is slowly realizing that he needs to actually do something here because the tension in the crew is palpable and increasing by the day. also swansea is being mighty passive aggressive to him and talking about "responsibility" a lot. curly keeps trying to talk to jimmy about it but the guy just keeps downplaying it and blaming everyone else but himself. and curly is realizing that his friend isn't who he thought he was.

it all comes to a head one day when an angry jimmy tries to confront anya alone and swansea steps in. things get heated, people start yelling. curly show up to see swansea and jimmy on the verge of fighting with anya and daisuke trying to hold them back respectively. curly breaks up the fight. jimmy storms off. curly follows him and finds him trying to get the gun from the case in the cockpit. curly asks him why he's doing this and jimmy claims it's for his own protection because he feels "threatened by swansea." he tells curly to give him the code. curly, the sheer wrongness of the whole situation hitting him, finally calls jimmy out on all his bs. jimmy just laughs in his face, still believing that he's not in the wrong and curly doesn't have the guts to do anything anyway. so the captain fires him on the spot. jimmy snaps and he and curly get into a fight in the cockpit. jimmy is trying to crash the ship and curly is trying to stop him. then the rest of the crew show up and anya knocks jimmy's ass out with the gun case. swansea is so proud.

they throw jimmy in the cryopod so they don't have to worry about him pulling anything else and he can be properly dealt with once the stupid delivery is over. everyone's like, "wow that was a close one—could you imagine how messed up it would be if we ended up in a crash because of jimmy? thank god that didn't happen." curly makes swansea the copilot until they can get a replacement and swansea's like, "goddammit as if i don't already do enough shit around here."

anyway my whole goal here was to get rid of jimmy early so i can have beautiful Found Family shenanigans in space with the rest of the crew. apologies and healing and happy times will happen. no the whole getting laid off thing doesn't happen. no i don't have an explanation for it. sorry for the essay.

#mouthwashing #mouthwashing swansea #mouthwashing anya #mouthwashing spoilers #responsibility au

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multific · 1 month ago

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A Bump in the Road

Mattheo Riddle x Reader

Summary: You two were perfect for each other, but there are bound to be bumps in every road.

Everyone in Hogwarts was aware of the power couple that was you and Mattheo.

You had been inseparable since you first met in their first class, your chemistry was undeniable from the start.

Your relationship was the envy of all your friends, as you seemed to be the perfect match in every way.

However, as time went on, jealousy began to rear its ugly head in your relationship.

You started to notice that Mattheo was spending more and more time with a fellow student, Patsy.

They would work on projects together, go out for coffee, and even get out of the school without inviting you along.

At first, you tried to brush off these feelings of jealousy, telling yourself that Mattheo was just being a good friend to Patsy.

But as the weeks went by, your suspicions grew stronger.

You couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more than just friendship between the two.

And then, you decided to confront Mattheo about your suspicions.

You poured your heart out to him, telling him how you felt neglected and insecure in this relationship.

"It's like you don't even care about me anymore." you said and Mattheo was taken aback by your honesty, but reassured you that his friendship with Patsy was purely platonic.

He promised to make more time for you and to include you in everything.

"It's not that I don't want you to only be with me Matty, but-"

"I get it. I really do. You don't have to explain." he smiled and you kissed him.

However, despite his reassurances, you couldn't shake the feeling of jealousy that had taken hold of your heart.

He said he got it, but he changed nothing. And again, he was away with Patsy.

You let out a long sigh as you sat down to have dinner.

"Trouble in paradise? What did Riddle do this time?" you looked up at Blaise. You rolled your eyes and pointed at Mattheo who was talking with Patsy. "Oh, lover boy found a new toy?"

"Fuck off."

"Only joking. Stupid idiot probably got used to having you around way too much."

"Tell me more. And he had the balls to reassure me that he will stop."

"If it is anything, I don't think he is like that with her. He is an idiot, yes but he does love you."

"I hope you are right Blaise, or else there will be blood."

"I have no doubt about that. But I think two can play his game." he leaned in and you looked at him with a face that said "Continue". "The new guy, Black, has a little crush on you. Maybe... you could play a little?"

"Regulus Black?" Blaise nodded and you had a wicked smile. You turned and watched your boyfriend laugh with Patsy, oh boy if Mattheo wanted to fight, you would bring war to him.

----

Regulus was actually very kind and funny.

You genuinely liked him. But he wasn't Mattheo.

And it looked like your actions piqued his interest to the point where he actually left Patsy and joined you and Regulus when he helped you with your homework.

You were thankful to Blaise for the amazing plan as it has worked beautifully.

Patsy was soon no one but a long forgotten memory.

"Oh? Where's your girlfriend?" you asked Mattheo and he looked confused. "Patsy." you explained and he rolled his eyes.

"Apparently, Gryffendale thought it would be a good idea to have a bet. Patsy was sent to get us to brake up."

"Really? And it took you that long to realize that you played into their hands? We almost did break up." you laughed.

"No, we didn't. But it was rather suspicious for a girl to be interested in the stuff that I like to this degree."

"Should I call the doctor or will you survive?"

"I'm fine, since I have my girl." he pulled you close and you shook your head. "So you can start to avoid Black. I'm not letting you leave."

"Sorry, I do have a study session with him later today, but you can join us." you smirked.

This was the moment where you understood that life is going to throw a lot your way. But since you two were perfect for each other, no matter what will come, you two will be fine.

Taglist:

@castellandiangelo @imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl @manduse @jacalineiscomingforyou

@mandoloriancookie @deliciousfestsalad @lilliumrorum

@asgards-princess-of-mischief @fallout-girl219 @dracaryxzs @snowtargaryen

~Masterlist~

ˇAO3ˇ

/YOU DO NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO TRANSLATE, OR TO STEAL ANY OF MY WORKS TO THIS OR OTHER PLATFORMS/

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sixosix · 9 months ago

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synopsis in which satoru really needed to start reading the gc more often. solves a lot.

tags slight making out scene… satoru is an asshole but what’s new, satoru is also hopelessly infatuated, all the readers i write are emotionally constipated sorry, getting together(?) fluff bit angsty tho

a/n this is a little stupid and unrealistic but bear with me because this is my first time writing in a looong time to get back in the groove of writing ^__^

Shoko wrinkled her nose as Satoru made the show of tossing a crumpled-up vending machine can into the bin on the other side of the street. It landed perfectly in the middle because why wouldn’t it? Emboldened by the impressed glances of passersby, he reached for Suguru’s pocket, where there was a balled-up paper in his bontan pants. Suguru winced when it was your head instead, where you had started crossing.

Your glare cut a thrill down Satoru’s spine. You huffed and bent down to pick up the trash, your knuckles white, like you were imagining it was Satoru’s head instead. Satoru was just appreciating how gracefully you’d bowed, the curve of your back captivating him for a moment until Suguru elbowed him.

“Stop littering,” Suguru said sternly, but his eyes spelled out that it was not about the littering.

Satoru shrugged. “I wouldn’t have missed if it weren’t for Y/N.”

Satoru called out after you as you dropped the paper ball into the bin directly. “Oi!” You ignored him and continued walking, a considerable distance lengthening between you and the three. “Ha, you embarrassed?”

“Anyone would be if they were seen with you,” you spat out almost reflexively, then blinked at your own words. Satoru almost swore you wanted to apologize, but you composed yourself by turning your back on him altogether.

Satoru grinned. “It’s okay,” he said. “Shoko and Suguru don’t need to know I had to save your ass from a low-grade curse.”

You didn’t dignify his taunt with a response, but your shoulders tensed for a moment.

“So moody. How does your boyfriend put up with this?” Satoru snickered as he eyed the back of your head. He relished in the way a vein pops on your temple, breathed in the way you looked over your shoulder just to say—

“Shut up, Satoru. I mean it.”

He wasn’t unfamiliar with envious or hateful gazes; it came with his birth, really. Awe and fear and there are impossibles, but not for Gojo Satoru said with contempt—he didn’t care. Yours were different. He took pride in affecting people in ways where they could never ignore him, but the way you looked at him felt thrilling. He wondered if your boyfriend saw how your eyes would set ablaze for Satoru.

But he didn’t actually care, he would say. He never cared for a lot of things. It showed, at times, others would say.

“Whoa, did someone get their heart broken today?” Satoru whistled, his tone lilting upwards in what seemed to be a way to lighten the mood. No moods were lightened.

Your head whipped around to give him a look that had him frozen on the spot. His eyes widened behind his shades. He felt like that paper ball at the moment, about to be squashed flat against your palm. That look felt familiar, but not in the way that he knew he was familiar with because of you. It was familiar because of everyone else.

Suguru shot him a look that said he would’ve shoved him had it not been for his Infinity on. “Satoru.”

You walked on ahead, brushing past them with hiked-up shoulders. You looked like you were about to break at the slightest touch—it looked wrong. You had always looked so strong in Satoru’s eyes. Not stronger than him, of course, but… seeing your lip tremble like that made him itch the wrong way.

Satoru glanced between Suguru and Shoko, lost. “Am I missing something?”

Suguru said, “You didn’t hear?”

“Oh, so you know, but I don’t? What is this? Leave-out-Satoru club? You have a group chat without me?” Satoru did not mean for that to come out that bitter.

Shoko exhaled, smoke faintly billowing from her lips. She regarded Satoru with a look. “Maybe if you actually read our group chat with you, you wouldn’t be so ignorant.”

And so Satoru scrolled through his phone, wounded. Suguru and Shoko whispered among themselves as his eyebrows arched up so high that he looked elated.

“That’s it?” Satoru scoffed. “Trouble in paradise? Y/N almost got hurt by a curse because of some man?”

“Idiot,” Suguru sighed. “You’re also a man.”

Satoru knew what was going on in Shoko’s head with her expression. She was calling him trash. “They’ve been together for years. Before Y/N even met you.”

Satoru bristled. “So?”

“So don’t think of this as some chance,” Suguru said. Since when was he some love expert? “And stop terrorizing. No one brokenhearted would want to see your stupid face.”

He gaped. “So rude!”

And then he backtracked. “And I wasn’t thinking of this as a chance.” He was. “I don’t even like Y/N like that!” He does terribly. “I’m just glad I don’t have to hear from that asshole non-sorcerer again. Have you heard the way he says baby? Even through the phone, it gives me the creeps.”

Suguru hummed thoughtfully. “He was an asshole.”

Shoko laughed. “That asshole got to date Y/N before you, though.”

Satoru decided to spare Shoko, feeling too delighted to let anyone ruin it.

“Did you read all the messages?” Suguru asked.

“Nah.” Satoru stared at the back of your head. “I got the gist of it seeing Suguru’s reply, ‘he was an asshole anyway.’” He flashed his teeth and quickened his pace. “Come on, before Y/N gets flung around by curses again.”

Suguru and Shoko shared a look that he missed completely.

You eyed the plastic bag Satoru was holding out distrustfully.

It was too dark already, but that was no problem for Gojo Satoru. He came here—your room, your door—with a mission in mind. That mission involved ice cream because he saw in movies that people liked to eat ice cream and cry after breakups. You weren’t crying, which relieved him, though he didn’t know why. He wanted to convince himself it was because he didn’t want to deal with tears, but he couldn’t lie to himself well when it came to you.

“Nice try,” you said, pushing it back to his chest. You startled at the cold.

“What— It’s not poison!” Satoru said. He flicked it open and showed you his gift, one you should appreciate for his efforts and thoughtfulness.

“Ice cream?” you said suspiciously. Then it dawned on you. Your lips turned up in a disbelieving smile. He'd take it much better than the look you gave him that day, even when dregs of weariness dulled your eyes. “Were you worried?”

You looked awful, which was probably the norm for someone going through a breakup from a long relationship. Satoru didn’t like your sad face at all. It pissed him off, like some puzzle piece that didn’t fit. Still, to Satoru, he supposed anything was better than not getting to see your face at all.

“Yeah,” he found himself saying before he could think about it.

Your face fell. “Satoru.”

“Just take it, or else I’ll eat it in front of you.”

Your hand gripped the door tighter.

Satoru cleared his throat. “Okay, or you can just shut the door on me and go back to sleep.” And then, silently: “You can just take it, and I’ll leave.”

You stared at him as if expecting him to take it back.

Satoru felt his face warm. “Are you gonna take it or not?”

“It creeps me out when you act nice.”

He glared. “I’m always nice, but I’m not creepy about it.”

Your shoulders relaxed. You took the bag from him with a smile that felt like a shared secret. “Do you wanna come in?”

His first thought was, holy shit, but what came out was, “Sure, I don’t care.”

He had never been in your room before. Shoko was, a lot of times, most of the time. Suguru managed to, here and there, when you needed some help with heavy lifting. You kicked Satoru every time he used to even think about it. Your room was more ordinary than he expected. No posters, flashy souvenirs, or even clothes strewn over your bed. It looked lonely.

There was a box in the corner beside your closet that looked entirely out of place. Satoru must have been staring at it for a moment too long as you said, “Those are my ex’s clothes. I stole many of it, but I don’t want to wear them anymore.”

Satoru’s curious gaze turned into distaste. “Want me to get rid of it?”

“What?” You laughed. “I’ll just give it back.”

Satoru bounded over to the box and crouched, peeling the cover open. “Why not? There’s a dumpster nearby.”

“Well, they were nice. Not my ex, I mean the clothes. Felt expensive—I’d rather he take it back.” Always the goody two shoes.

“Hmmm…” Satoru lifted his head to stare at you. “Did you like wearing them? You can borrow mine. Much better than these cheap knockoffs.”

Your eyes flashed with interest, and Satoru knew he had said the right words. His clothes were no joke.

You blinked at him, a deer in headlights holding a tub of ice cream. “Are— Are you sure? It’s not like I actually need them—”

Satoru wanted nothing more than to see you drowning in his clothes. Instead, he said, “Yeah, I don’t care.”

He shrugged off his jacket and offered it to you. He felt a gust of cold, which should’ve been wrong to him, but he didn’t pay it any mind when you took it from him and stared at it. Your gaze shifted hesitantly between him and the red fabric. Your bottom lip started trembling before you bit it between your teeth, something Satoru wouldn’t have caught if he wasn’t staring. You whirled around and shoved the tub of ice cream in your mini fridge. What a shame. He was really planning for you to share it with him.

Satoru stood up, kicking at the box. He asked, “What were you doing before I left? Boring stuff? Were you watching sad movies without ice cream? It’s a good thing I came over.”

“You didn’t have to, I’m fine,” you said. You slipped into his jacket, the sight arresting him for a moment.

Satoru frowned. Something was definitely wrong. Maybe you were feeling tired? You must have been—emotions tend to wear out a person faster than any physical means. “Hey, lie down on the bed. You look like you’re about to crash.”

“I’m not,” you muttered but followed anyway because you must have felt it, too. “I’m not.”

You winced as your head collided with your pillow. It was unusual for you to succumb to rest while Satoru lingered in the same space.

“Sorry,” Satoru choked out, suddenly feeling guilty by the strong urge to embrace you. He was already crossing far too many lines today. He didn’t want to taint your memory of heartbreak from your ex with him.

You turned to face him, your hair splayed all over the pillow. “What?”

“For yesterday. I didn’t know. This, I mean.”

“You read the messages?”

He nodded. “I did.”

“That’s it? You’re not—” You yawned, blinking. Satoru was performing the highest level of restraint at the moment. “I mean, you’re not, like…”

The air was charged with something dangerous. Satoru looked away, thinking. He wanted to ask, did you expect me to care that much? But he knew the answer to that—he does.

“Satoru,” you said lowly. He shivered at the quiet of the night and how he can almost feel your voice. “You shouldn’t be so nice to someone heartbroken. Don’t you know how dangerous that is?”

Satoru sat on the edge of your bed, “That doesn’t make any sense.”

You looked up at him. Satoru felt want in his belly. It was dangerous, he realized, for him to be alone with you like this. It was wrong—but he never went doing everything right anyway, if it meant he could watch as your eyes flutter, as you longed for something he could never have from you once the wounds on you have healed.

“Doesn’t it?” you said. “You’re confusing me, too.”

Satoru realized his Infinity had been off already, though he didn’t know when. Was it when he sat on the bed to feel the softness of your sheets? Or was it already back then, the moment you opened the door, he was already longing for you to touch him?

“You’re so cruel, Satoru,” you murmured. “I hate you.”

Weakly, Satoru said, “I know. Get some sleep. I’ll leave soon.”

“Don’t leave.”

Satoru screwed his eyes shut, frustrated.

“Satoru.” He could listen to you say his name forever. You sighed his name in a way that felt like what aches in his heart whenever you even look at him. “You didn’t read the messages, did you?”

“Did I miss something?”

“If you want to kiss me so bad, read it.”

His eyes shot open wide, a bit terrified. “What?” he said, dumbstruck. “Y/N— What?”

Clumsily, with no grace whatsoever, he fumbled with his phone, your words racing in his head. If you want to kiss me, read it. He bluescreened. If you want to kiss me—

you satoru doesnt read the messages here, right?

you i hate him if i never met him maybe i wouldnt have figured that i was not content with the love i had

you how do i even deal with this? i got dumped by my bf and he tells me if i love satoru so much why not just date him instead

you i love him can someone please comfort me

shoko oh no

shoko condolences for liking the most insufferable man on planet earth

suguru im sorry he’s an asshole you deserve better y/n

shoko the trashiest asshole are you sure about this?

you more than anything, unfortunately

Wait.

The asshole they were referring to was Satoru?

Wait.

Satoru jolts up from where he had been hunched over his phone, gaping at you. “Y/N,” he whispered reverently. “Y/N!”

You placed a hand on his chest as he moved towards you, preventing him from crashing into your space. He faltered. “Wait,” you laughed softly, languidly, beautifully, “not now. I’m sleepy.”

“No, fuck that,” he said, helpless. “Y/N!”

“It’s your fault for not reading our group chat.”

‘Kay, well. Satoru’s eyes narrowed like a cat prepared to pounce. “You can’t just make me read that and keep me from you like this. Why were you so mad at me yesterday?”

“Because I love you, and now my life is over,” you said, smiling.

“Say that again,” he demanded.

“My life is over?”

Satoru was seconds away from crying. “Y/N, please,” he said, “say you love me again. Say it now.”

He held the hand on his chest and kissed it. Kissed it again, the back of your palm, your fingertips, repeating the same three words.

“I love you?” you said.

“Well, don’t sound so unsure about it.”

You laughed. “Do you even like me back?”

Satoru stared from the rim of his glasses. Instead of replying, he tugged you closer with your arm and kissed your jaw. He hoped you would get it—that you would understand. He loved you first.

“More than anything,” he echoed. He looked into your eyes, your lips, torn. “Please, let me kiss you. You’re hurting me.”

“Oh, I get a please now?”

Satoru’s eyes sharply dart down to your lips. Your grin faltered at the intensity of his stare. You swallowed, and he tracked every movement.

“You look a bit manic right now,” you said nervously.

“I’ll show you manic.”

You smiled, bumping your ankle against his back. When he glanced at it, you inched closer. His heart leaped to his throat, threatening to come out and get you.

“Are you seriously going to make a move on me now? My heart is broken, Satoru.”

“Is it really?” He grinned. “Or is it just split with me?”

“Okay, smartass,” you said, rolling your eyes. “Just kiss me already.”

Satoru cut the distance between the two of you. He crashed clumsily, making both of you wince, but he tilted his head and suddenly— much better. He held you closer, hoping he could wipe away any other men from your life with all he could offer—him, needy, longing, crazed.

“Satoru—” you tried, but it was swallowed by his mouth, wishing you could breathe his name from your lips to his. This was almost as good as hearing you say you love him anyway.

#jujutsu kaisen x reader #gojo satoru x reader #gojo x reader #satoru x reader #gojo satoru x you #gojo x you #jjk x reader

1K notes · View notes

mountttmase · 2 months ago

Text

Catch You

Note - Holiday Mase alert 🚨 so glad I could get this posted before summer was over 😭 and thank you to @saltyheartnightmare for the concept that sparked this 🩷 I hope you enjoy and please let me know your thoughts 🥰

Pairing - Mason Mount × Reader

Word count - 24k

Warnings - fluff and angst

It had been a long time since Mason had a photoshoot like this and to say he was feeling a little awkward about it would be an understatement.

Especially now you were watching.

You weren’t meant to be there, in fact you were quite looking forward to an admin day in the office so you could get your life in order but today it just wasn’t meant to be.

You got that being the newest recruit meant you would have to do certain jobs until you’d earned the right to do what you’d been hired for but it had been three months now and you still felt like the office newbie.

Studying fashion had been hard and the fact you’d even managed to bag yourself a job as a stylist was an achievement in itself but no matter how many shoots you’d been on since joining you’d never managed to actually style anyone. You made tea’s or unloaded the van and set up the racks. All you wanted was your foot in the door and to actually do what you loved but it was taking longer than you’d thought it would.

You’d tried going it alone for a while after you’d graduated but you weren't getting anywhere so you signed up to an agency with the promise of collaborative working and shared ideas. It was turning out to be a lot easier than working by yourself as you were in an office most days working with loads of talented people but yet you still felt out of place a bit.

It was hard to book shoots or even work on other peoples when you weren’t published anywhere and you were finding it hard to build traction. All you needed was one little break, some good luck and you knew things would take off for you but since you weren't associated with anything to do with fashion in everyone else’s eyes, it was hard.

Your office bestie Freddie had tried, having already been signed up to the agency for a few years and having made the right connections meant right now he was on a shoot that had been set up for him by a friend from London. Apparently it was a big deal and he’d been working on it for months but you were glad not to see him today as all he did was distract you and today you needed calm and to get your head down.

It was difficult but you’d managed to get a fair bit done so when your phone buzzed at around 11am you chanced a look only to find your biggest distractions name pop up and from the look of the message you knew you had to reply.

You’d seen the box on his desk, a big REMEMBER FOR WEDNESDAY sign stuck to the top and after a sneaky peak you saw the watch in question. Thankfully the shoot wasn’t too far away and within half an hour you were walking into the shoot after stopping for a quick coffee as a treat for doing such a good deed.

It was unlike anything you’d ever seen before. Hordes of people running around as the loud bassy music filled the large open plan space. Lights flashing every few seconds as you caught sight of the photographer you’d seen on your previous shoot and you knew he meant business.

You managed to find Freddie fairly easily, right by the rails as he stood with his hands on his head and you knew he was losing his mind a bit until he saw you. A bright smile taking over his face as he grabbed yours and placed a big sloppy kiss on your forehead which made you giggle.

‘Don’t get too ahead of yourself, I might have brought the wrong one’ you laughed, digging into your bag and passing him the box but you saw his shoulders relax as soon as he set his eyes on it.

‘Thank god, honestly the last thing I needed was a fuck up today so I owe you one, Kid’ he told you, and you fought back the roll of your eyes at his stupid nickname for you. Placing the box on the table so he could reassess what he had and you used that time to have another quick look around and see what was going on.

‘How’s it going?’ You asked when you turned back but you could tell something wasn't right with him.

‘Alright I guess’ he shrugged and you raised your eyebrows in hopes he’d elaborate a bit. Working on a shoot like this was the ultimate dream for you so the fact it was only alright to him seemed strange and you knew something was wrong. ‘I don’t know, I feel like somethings missing and I’m not sure what. Would you take a look at the shots for me?’

‘Me?’

‘Yes you, you wombat. You might be able to see things I can’t’ he told you before nodding over to where the shoot was taking place and your jaw almost dropped to the floor when you saw the first picture.

How you hadn’t seen this man as soon as you walked in you’d never know but now you had you couldn’t stop looking. Your eyes flying from the screen to see him stood against the backdrop and his eyes met yours softly before he looked away with a timid smile.

He was a natural in front of the camera, doing everything they were telling him to effortlessly all while making everyone around him laugh but even though his personality was clearly shining through, he could have been as dull as a door knob and you still would have had the same reaction to seeing him.

He was beautiful.

Dark brown eyes that shone under the floodlights, a beautifully sculpted nose that you wanted to run your finger down and a smile that you knew would break a million hearts. He was pretty in a way most boys aren’t and as he stood there in a full suit and just socks you felt your heart stumble and how cute he looked.

‘Who’s he?’ You asked, trying to act as nonchalant as possible and not arouse suspicion that you’d just seen the most beautiful creature ever created but thankfully Freddie was so in his own head he didn’t suspect a thing.

‘Who Mason? Footballer, he plays for United’ he told you and you just nodded and pretended like you knew what that meant. It shocked you that he wasn’t an actual model as he definitely had the face for it but you could tell from his build he was sporty. His muscular arms almost straining against his selves and you had to tear your eyes away from him to look back at the screen. ‘You remember Woody? He’s his best friend and set this up for me’

You’d met Woody once at a work event and emailed him a few times since then. He worked for the same agency as you just down in London but you had no idea his best friend looked like a gift from god and you started the piece all the parts together as you watched Mason awkwardly stand there as his hair was being messed with for the next shots.

‘Wow it really is who you know huh’ you teased but you could see him rolling his eyes as you looked at a few more pictures before Freddie huffed in annoyance.

‘Do you see what I mean? Something's off’ he told you and as you chewed on your lip you wondered if you should tell him the truth or play it safe with him however in the end you knew you had to tell him your thoughts honestly as this shoot clearly meant a lot to him.

‘I think there’s too much going on. It’s supposed to be all about the watch right?’ You asked and he nodded at you curiously. ‘Okay well the tie needs to go first if all and there too many rings on just the one will be fine’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, keep the ring finger one on the opposite hand but the rest can go. Keep the top button done up as well and add a button clip. What else do you have?’

‘The other outfits are over by the rail with the model shots on. Let me sort him out but you go take a look I’ll be back’ he told you before scurrying off to adjust Mason so you could take a look at what was left to come. You knew what he meant and even though you liked every style he’d picked there were changes you would have made and thankfully enough the pair of you were comfortable enough around each other to say it like it is. ‘What do you think then, kid?’ You suddenly heard, looking up to see Freddie looking at you expectantly so you quickly got out a pen to make notes on his sheet.

‘I don’t like that shirt open, button it up apart from the top few and tuck it in. And go with the vans over the Nikes’

‘You think?’ He questioned but you could tell from his voice he wasn’t questioning you and was actually taking on board what you had to say.

‘Definitely. And this one, try him without that jacket too like just with the vest’ you shrugged before looking up at his quizzical face. ‘Just try it, if I’m wrong I’m wrong’ you told him but it wasn't long before Freddie was being called over to the screen and you knew he liked what he was seeing now. Calling you over to have a look for yourself before you were grinning at each other.

‘Can you go pick me a belt out for him to go with the tucked in shirt? I think we might need a chunkier one’ he told you as you walked back over to the racks and you scanned over the accessories as Freddie started typing on his phone before he nudged you shoulder. ‘You want a coffee?’

‘Oh sure, do you want me to get everyone’s order?’ You asked. Slipping back into your assistant persona quickly but he was quick to shake his head at you.

‘Nah, I’ll get one of the interns to go. Just tell me what you want’ he told you and you had to stop yourself from smiling. This was the first time someone had ever taken your order on a shoot and it felt like a big moment for you.

‘Oh um, a latte please’ you nodded, turning away to hide your smile and you could see him writing it down before he was looking back up with a smile.

‘No worries’ he chuckled, looking around until his eyes fell on Mason and you made yourself look busy by picking out a belt like Freddie had told you too. ‘Mase! You want a coffee?’

‘Latte please’ he called back, his voice getting closer as he made his way over and the sound of it made you smile. He sounded friendly but sexy at the same time and you found yourself biting your lip to try and hide how giddy you were feeling at the prospect of maybe getting to talk to him.

‘Mase come here, I want you to meet y/n’ Freddie called, pulling on your arm to get you to turn around and once you had he was a lot closer than you first realised.

‘Nice to meet you’ you smiled, holding your hand out for Mason to shake but when he flashed you his pearly whites you suddenly didn’t feel as confident as you did a few seconds ago. You felt shy and intimidated by his looks which never usually happened but you could also see he was just a normal nice guy underneath all that and it settled you a little and his hand felt warm in yours as he shook it.

‘You too’ he replied quietly, his cheeks a healthy shade of pink now and you figured he was just a little shy when he couldn't keep up eye contact with you for very long before he was looking to Freddie for help.

‘She’s actually made a few last minute changes to what you’re wearing but I just need you to go with it’ Freddie explained, but Mason just nodded along like it was nothing. Clearly he was used to lots of last minute changes in these conditions.

‘You know me mate, I just do what I’m told’ Mason laughed but before anyone could say anything else he was whisked off with a new outfit in hand to get changed into. His silly comment making your cheeks burn for a reason you didn’t want to elaborate on but thankfully Freddie was too in the zone to quiz you about anything.

You stayed for the rest of the shoot. Getting things ready for Mason to change into and Freddie even let you have the final say before Mason went back in front of the camera. You and Mason catching eyes every now and then and everytime he smiled because of you the photographer would tell him to keep going and smile more.

The plan wasn’t to spend the whole day at the shoot by soon enough it was 4:30 and you wondered where the day had gone. You’d had the best time though and the day had only cemented in your brain that this was exactly where you should be. Hopefully soon you’d be the one calling all the shots though.

‘Were going for dinner soon, you coming?’ Freddie asked as he brushed up beside you whilst you packed some things away but you just shrugged, not sure if he wanted you to say yes or no.

‘Oh um, I don’t want to intrude’ you started but Freddie just shook his head with a smile.

‘You wouldn’t be, Mase actually asked if you were coming so consider yourself officially invited’

‘I need to tidy some bits away at the office and send some emails’ you mused, knowing if you stayed and went for dinner you’d have extra work to make up tomorrow but the thought of getting to eye up Mason a bit more was swaying you.

‘Well head off now and you can meet us there okay?’ Freddie insisted and that was all it took to convince you. Packing your bag away and with a few quick goodbyes you rushed back to the office with a spring in your step.

You were in a pretty good mood and managed to get all your tasks done easily. Freddie texting you around 15 minutes before you were due to leave and thankfully the restaurant wasn’t too far from the office. You spotted Freddie straight away, tapping the seat that was next to him for you to sit down in but the fact Mason was on the other side made you excited and nervous. Wondering if you’d be able to talk to him a little more after today's events and thankfully enough you saw the way his face lit up as you approached.

‘You don’t mind me sitting here do you?’ You asked as you slid into the seat but he just shook his head as he subtly chewed on his bottom lip.

‘Of course not. I saved that one especially for you so I can pick your brains a bit’ he winked. Feeling your cheeks flush at the thought of him wanting to sit with you and it was almost as if you couldn't contain your surprise.

‘Me?’

‘Yeah, of course. You really made the difference today so I’ve got some questions for you… if that’s alright like you can tell me to shut up’

‘No no, I’d love that. Hit me with it’

You barely said three words to Freddie all night. Mason was taking up all of your attention as you spoke about the day and all it entailed until you branched off into other things. The conversation flowing easily between the two of you and you could feel your cheeks hurting from smiling so much as he came out of his shell throughout the evening. Eventually showing you some pictures of his all time fashion fails so you could laugh at them together.

Freddie took you home when it was time to leave and after a big hug goodbye from Mason, Freddie was giving you a look as he walked you to the tube.

‘What’s that look for?’

‘No reason? You have a good night?’

‘The best. Thank you so much for letting me stay like the whole days been amazing’

‘Well it should be me that’s thanking you, you really saved me today’ he told you, flinging his arm around your shoulder but he really didn’t need to thank you at all.

‘I’ve always got your back bestie’

y/n recently added to their stories

Considering the shoot day was the first time you’d met Mason, ever since that day he’d become somewhat of a repeat cast member to the insane reality show that was becoming your life.

Freddie had a fair few jobs lined up with him as Mason had some events coming up that he needed to be dressed for so you’d seen him a few times in the office for fittings. Unfortunately it was only in passing and you hadn’t managed to have a proper chat with him like that first day at dinner but he was always quick to greet you with a warm smile and a quick hug and you knew the silly little crush on him you’d developed on the first day of meeting him was going nowhere.

It was hard not to like him, he was gorgeous and funny and his smile made your heart race but the fact he was just a normal guy made you warm to him immediately and everytime he was around your eyes would constantly find his until you were both laughing every time it happened. The both of you never really knowing what you were laughing at and therefore unable to explain it to anyone else but just one look into his triple chocolate fudge brownie eyes made you giddy.

Even when you got home you didn’t stop thinking about him. Spending your nights watching countless tiktoks of him goofing around or searching him up on YouTube to watch his game highlights. You’d never been into football before and had no idea what was going on but watching him run around with a big smile on his face made your heart happy and you couldn’t believe your new friend was so talented. Feeling an immense sense of pride as you looked over all of his accomplishments so far.

It was a few weeks later when you got to talk to him properly again. Walking into the office to see him sat in your seat next to Freddie’s desk and you felt happier immediately knowing you’d get to see him today. Wondering if you might get a bit longer to talk to him and from the cheeky smile he sent you, you figured he might be just as happy to see you.

‘You’re in my seat, Mount’ you told him playfully, watching him look up at you in shock before the brightest smile you’d ever seen flashed across his face.

‘I’m just keeping it warm for you’ he winked, getting up as you approached but before you couldn’t do much else as he pulled you into a bone crushing hug causing you to laugh into his chest.

‘Oh get a room you two’ you suddenly heard Freddie moan. Lifting your head up to see him smiling at you as he walked over but you just rolled your eyes. Feeling Mason's chest rumble as he chuckled at his stupid comment but the pair of you pulled away from each other slowly so as not to cause anymore comments to be made. ‘You ready Mase?’

‘What’s happening?’ You questioned as Freddie dropped a box on his desk that he began to open and you couldn't make out what was going on even though they seemed excited by it.

‘’I’ve got the first copy of his edition’ Freddie smiled, pulling the box apart to retrieve a few copies and it was like the excitement had slapped you across the face.

‘Ooo I wanna see’ you replied, your voice excited as you clapped yours hands together and fought to make you way next to Freddie who was flapping it open and pulling one out.

‘I thought you might, that’s why we waited for you. Thanks for being late today, kid’ he teased but you just rolled your eyes.

‘Oh be quite’ you huffed. Taking the copy he handed you and when Mason placed his hands on your shoulders from behind, you smiled up at him. The pair of you excited to see how it had all turned out and as soon as your eyes landed on the front cover they began to well up.

You remember that picture being taken. It was just after you’d met Mason and once he’d gone back to take a few more shots you remembered him looking over to you as you and Freddie bickered like siblings over what belt to go with the next outfit.

‘What do you think?’ Freddie asked quietly, nudging your shoulder as he passed Mason his own copy but you were eager to see more of what was inside.

‘It looks amazing’

‘Yeah I’m not bad am I’ you heard Mason murmur next to you causing you to giggle but you couldn’t disagree with him. He looked gorgeous.

Every picture looked better than the last and even though it was a struggle, you were trying not to look at his face. Wanting to look at what he was wearing and all the changes you’d made but as you flicked through to the last page you felt your heart stutter.

‘Wait what’s that?’ You mumbled. Your voice slightly shaken as you read over what you thought you’d seen and no matter how much you blinked it didn’t go away.

‘What’s what?’ Freddie asked and when you looked up to him he was looking back with a knowing smile.

‘Is that my name?’ You whispered, pointing down to where it was written in black and white and it was almost like you were in a dream.

‘Of course it is’ Freddie smiled, shrugging his shoulder like it was nothing but to you it meant everything.

‘But Freddie I didn’t-‘

‘You saved my bacon, it’s the least I could do’ he told you sincerely and before you knew it you’d launched yourself at him. Hugging him tightly and he held you back knowing how big this was for the both of you. ‘Now you’re published, you can help me on my next shoot, right?’ He laughed, pulling away and ruffling your hair a bit but you didn’t even mind. You were too over the moon with everything to care.

‘Really?’

‘I’ll set us up a meeting, yeah? I wanna get your input. I think you and me are gonna make a pretty good team’

‘Oh Freddie, this changes everything for me, you know that right?’ You told him. Your bottom lip wobbling as you were so overcome with emotion but you held it in as best as you could.

‘I know kid’ he told you sincerely as you felt your eyes well with tears. You didn’t want him to see you this emotional though so you flung your arms around his shoulders so you could hide away but you felt his chuckle as he pulled you in and swayed you from side to side a bit. ‘Come on, don’t get upset. You don’t wanna be known as the office cryer’ he joked. Pulling away from you so you could wipe your eyes but you weren’t alone for too long. Mason wrapping his arms around your shoulders from behind and settling his cheek on top of your head as you melted into him.

‘We should celebrate’ Mason smiled and you nodded enthusiastically before his eyes fell to Freddie but from the sour look he was giving you you knew he wouldn’t be able to make it.

‘I can’t mate, I’ve got a date with the old ball and chain tonight’ Freddie winked but you just rolled your eyes. You hadn’t met his girlfriend Lex yet but Freddie always spoke about her like the sun shone out of her arse so you knew he was just playing.

‘Just you and me then?’ He questioned. Looking down at you before moving you to the side and even though you wanted to shout yes you also didn’t want to come across as too eager. ‘Come on, let me buy you dinner for making me look so good’ he asked and you couldn’t help but giggle.

‘Okay’ you smiled, watching his face light up as you nodded and suddenly you were filled with nerves.

‘Perfect. I’ll pick you up after work yeah? When you you finish?’

‘I can be out of here by five’

‘Okay I’ll meet you out the front’ he smiled warmly and even if you wanted to reply you could. Freddie announcing he needed Mason in one of the dressing rooms to try some things on and you knew you needed to get on with your emails so you let him go.

It was at times like this you were grateful you kept a little makeup bag at work. Slipping off to the toilets so you could spruce yourself up a bit before Mason came to get you and thankfully he came right back into your office to escort you back down to his car. Freddie waving you off like a proud parent but you just rolled your eyes at him.

The place Mason had picked wasn’t so fancy that you felt out of place but it was definitely one of the nicer places you’d ever been to. The pair of you next to each other in a round booth so you could hear the other and even though you could tell he was a little bit shy, he still gave you good eye contact which in turn was making you feel shyer than you had in a long time.

‘So you know Woody, right?’ He asked as the waiter left with your orders. ‘I spoke to him the other day and he mentioned he speaks to you sometimes’

‘Yeah I’ve met him once and we’ve emailed a bit, he’s a cute kid’ you smiled but the look on his face made you realise what you’d said.

‘Don’t let him hear you say that’ he laughed, your face burning instantly that you’d called him that in front of his best friend but from the way Mason was laughing you knew it would be fine.

‘Sorry, Freddie keeps calling me kid and it’s stuck but I know the feeling it makes me furious. Please don’t tell him I said that’

‘Secrets safe with me’ he winked and you felt your face warm.

The conversation flowed easily and he grew with confidence as the time passed. Making silly jokes that had you laughing more than you had in a while and it was so nice to see him come out of his shell a little bit and be the cheeky boy you’d come to know from videos online.

‘Any exciting plans coming up that I can crash?’ He asked, sending you a wink and your heart fluttered at his cute little face.

‘Not really, I’m trying to book myself onto some jobs and make some connections so I’m hoping that will be a little easier now’ you told him, watching him nod understandingly as you wracked your brain to think of something else that didn’t make you sound so boring. ‘Oh I’ve got a work trip coming up with some of the guys too in a couple of months but I think it’s just an excuse for a holiday in all honesty’

‘Malta right?’

‘How did you know?’ You smiled, watching his cheeks and nose flush as he smiled sweetly.

‘Woodys going, he extended the invite actually since I know most of you lot going but I wasn’t sure since he’s taking his girlfriend’ he huffed, rolling his eyes like he was annoyed his best friend had been stolen from him. ‘I didn’t wanna be the third wheel but now I know you’ll be there I may reconsider’ he winked ‘Unless you’ve got a boyfriend you’re taking… or girlfriend you know, whatever floats your boat’

‘No I don't have a boyfriend to take… or a girlfriend’ you laughed. ‘I’m not even sure I want to go, the other two girls are like thing one and two so I know I’ll be on my own and Freddie’s taking his girlfriend so he’s not gonna be around much on the off days’

‘All the more reasons for me to come then’ he winked and you couldn’t deny the idea excited you.

‘Mason you’ve known me three weeks’

‘Exactly so I’ve still got so much to learn and what an amazing time to do it’ he laughed, but you noticed after his face fell a little bit. ‘If you don’t want me to I won't come’

‘Don’t pull out on my account’ you laughed, feeling slightly bad for making him feel not welcome. ‘What will you do while we’re at the event though?’

‘There’s a training camp not too far, it’s a good excuse for some warm weather training’ he shrugged and you could tell he was a little disappointed by your reaction.

‘I suppose it’ll be nice to have someone to sit with at dinner’ you mused, watching his face light up knowing you wanted him there and wouldn’t turn him away.

‘So you’ll let me come?’ He asked quietly.

‘It’s not my decision’ you laughed ‘But if it was then yes I’d let you’

‘Consider me there then’ he laughed before changing the subject. Gushing about how well you’d done at the shoot and how he loved all the changes you’d made. Asking if maybe the pair of you could work on some things together that Freddie couldn’t fit in and the thought of getting to dress Mason excited you more than you thought it should.

Mason dropped you home at the end of the night, refusing to let you walk up to your flat alone and just as he was saying goodby you lent up to kiss his cheek to say thank you. Clearly he wasn’t expecting it and you watched as his face softened when you pulled away and you could have sworn he was blushing a little bit. Bidding you a quick goodbye like he was nervous and once you’d shut your door you couldn’t help but smile at how adorable he was.

A knock on your door a few moments after made you laugh as you knew it could only be him and when you opened the door back up to Mason standing there awkwardly as you sent him a bright smile.

‘You forget something?’

‘Could I um… could I maybe get your number?’ He gulped ‘I was gonna ask Freddie for it but that felt a bit lame and intrusive’

Considering Mason was a footballer you couldn’t get over how nervous and shy he was around you. This wasn’t the same boy you’d met a few weeks ago posing for the camera but you loved that he had a soft side like this that he was willing to show you so you quickly nodded and held your hand out for his phone which he unlocked for you.

Once he was ready to go again It was his turn to kiss your cheek this time and you knew he was terrified. Bolting away as soon as his lips touched your skin and you stood there giggling as he practically ran away from you.

You kept in touch over text, Freddie and Mason working on a few more things together as he had some events to go to and thus sometimes you’d see him in the office. He would always stop by for a quick hug and a chat though and each time you saw him your cheeks would ache more and more.

Having a crush on a footballer wasn’t something that was on your bingo card for this year but it seemed to have hit you like a truck. Every time his name popped up on your phone your chest felt warm and he made you laugh like no one else. Every picture that he sent you made your tummy flutter and you were certain you’d never seen a man as pretty as him before.

You knew how you felt about Mason, and you were pretty sure he felt the same. Always seeking you out when he could and it didn’t help with comments from Freddie all the time. Telling you both to get a room or just kiss already and the fact Mason would wink at you everytime let you know it was something he maybe actually wanted.

You’d managed to hang out with him for longer too. Freddie inviting you along for dinner with Mason to talk about another shoot that was coming up but when Freddie’s girlfriend showed up too, you felt like you were on a double date. Her giving you the eyes like she knew something was going on but in reality nothing was. The fact this was the first time you’d met her and she was already picking up on the vibe satisfied you though as clearly others could see what you already knew.

You were typing away at your desk the next morning when your phone buzzed. Masons face popping up on your screen with a picture you’d taken of him at drinks the week prior and his silly smile still made your heart flutter like the first time you’d seen it.

You knew Freddie was on his way over so you quickly locked your phone but because Mason never wanted to be the last one to send a text, his name was flashing up soon after he’d joined you and you knew his eyes had caught his name immediately. Raising his brows at you accusingly but you just looked away and pretended to get on with some work.

‘So you and Mason, huh?’ Freddie started, clearly not wanting to let you drop the subject but you kept your eyes fixated on your screen as you typed up some notes for an upcoming shoot.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’

‘Yes you do’ he laughed, your face warming instantly. ‘You know as much as I invited you out for dinner with me and Lex so we could discuss ideas I also did it because I know you both need a kick the bum’

‘Since when when do you meddle in my love life’

‘Since I can see two people who are clearly crazy about each other. Why don’t you take the plunge and tell him, I’ve never known you to not speak your mind’ he told you and his words hit home. Why hadn’t you said anything to him?

‘Freddie I can’t’ you huffed. Knowing he was right and you were never one to shy away from telling someone how you felt but this was different. This was Mason.

‘Look if you don't want to then I won’t push you but he fancies the pants off you’ he shrugged, looking at whatever was in his hands so you couldn’t tell if he was joking or not but when he eventually looked over at your confused face he gave you a reassuring smile. ‘Its true, told me himself that first day you met when you went back to the office before dinner. Why do you think I saved you that seat?’

‘You’re lying’

‘I would never lie to you. He’s just a bit shy around you, that's all yeah? I bet if you were to talk to him about it he’d tell you’ he said nonchalantly like the thought of opening yourself up like that to someone wasn't terrifying.

‘I don’t want things to be weird’

‘They won’t be. I’m not saying you’ve got to marry him but just go on a few dates or something. Get to know him properly. He’s a good guy y/n, and you’d be good for him’ he smiled.

Mason wouldn’t tell you where you were going but told you to dress as nice as you usually do which made you giggle like a schoolgirl. He was unbelievably charming without even really trying and the more you thought about what Freddie had said to you the week prior the more you knew he was right. You were both dancing around the subject and if all Mason needed was a little push then you'd be more than happy to point him in the right direction.

When the night eventually arrived you tried to act as normal as you could with him, but Freddie’s words were replaying in your head. Did he really like you or was he just saying that in hopes you’d both figure it out along the way? Wanting the pair of you to be happy so he was trying to play Cupid but soon after you had sat down those thoughts vanished. Mason being his cheeky but charming self and you caught each other up on the last few weeks.

You never managed to pluck up the courage to speak to him about his feelings at dinner but now you were aware of what he might feel for you, you picked up on the subtle signs that made you think he was into you.

The way he would touch your back and lean into you as you made your way into the restaurant. Pulling your chair out for you as you took a seat before squeezing your shoulders gently. The way his eyes flickered between your eyes and lips as you spoke, hanging off every word you told him and you knew he was listening intently.

When it was time to leave he offered to drop you home just like usual and the urge to grab his hand and hold it on the way back to the car was overwhelming. You settled for him placing his arm around your shoulder though and when you wrapped yours around his waist he held you tighter.

‘Would you like to come in?’ You asked him as he parked up in his usual spot. Your voice full of nerves as you were unsure but he just nodded and smiled before unclipping his seat belt and the nerves hit you in full force as you walked him into your building and up to your flat. ‘Sorry it’s tiny here’ you laughed. Suddenly embarrassed by having him in your space knowing what he probably at home but he just smiled and pulled you into his arms.

‘Hey come here, what up?’ He asked, giving you a quick squeeze before he looked at you again but all you could do was shrug your shoulders.

‘I don’t know’

‘You seem nervous’ he teased and as hard as you tried to stop it you knew your cheeks were on fire.

‘Sorry, just not used to having boys here’

‘It’s only me’ he smiled sweetly, but he didn’t realise that that was the problem.

‘Yeah I know’ you laughed, rolling your eyes before pushing him in the direction on your sofa. ’Make yourself comfy, can I get you a drink or anything?’

‘Waters fine’ he nodded but once you’d returned to him and sat down he was still looking at you with a cheeky smile. ‘What are you doing all the way over there? You’re too far away’ he laughed, holding his hand out for you so you could sit next to him and you let him drag you along the sofa until you were giggling like school kids.

It was only when you both stopped laughing did you realise you needed to say something before you burst. Tucking your legs under your body as you looked at him and it must have been a strange look as you watched him look at you with terror written all over his face.

‘Mason? What would you do if I told you I liked you. Like like liked you’ you asked him, your voice steady as you looked right at him but as soon as the words left your lips he was looking in his lap with a smile and bright red cheeks

‘I’d tell you I like liked you too’ he replied quietly. A sense of relief washing over you and it was also as if you couldn't believe it.

‘Yeah?’

‘Of course’ he giggled. Finding the courage to look back at you again and it was like the pair of you were overflowing with joy. Reaching for the others hands as you lent into each other

‘Mason, I do really like you-‘

‘Oh here it comes’ he laughed, squeezing your hand gently and even though he sounded a little annoyed you could tell he was just playing. ‘Here comes the but’

‘What?’ You giggled, unsure as to what he was getting at but his smile was infectious and you couldn't help but laugh along.

‘I can tell it’s coming from the tone of your voice. ‘I really like you but, you’re a great person but’. Come on then, what’s the but? Break my heart, let’s get it over with’

‘I like you, but I have rules’ you confirmed and you watched his face change immediately.

‘Rules?’ He questioned, clearly not expecting that to come from your lips and you thought how his confused face was adorable.

‘Yes, rules. I’m not the sort of girl to jump right into things okay? I like to take my time and make sure it’s right and that we’re both on the same page. Like what are you looking for exactly?’

‘With you?’ He asked. His eyebrows shooting up at the prospect of having to tell you how he felt but you needed to hear it from him so you both could start at the same place.

‘Yeah. Like what do you see me as? Cause if it’s just sex or something casual that’s not me. I know myself and I’ll just get swept up and hurt so we might as well be honest from the start’

‘Well that’s definitely not what I see you as’ he told you quietly, his face as red as a tomato at the mention of sex and you found his slightly awkward demeanour endearing. ‘I like hanging out with you, and I want to see where things take us’ he told you, but you could tell he was finding it hard to admit his feelings. Thinking maybe it was best you took the lead and laid your cards out on the table for him to follow.

‘I like hanging out with you too’ you smiled watching his shoulders relax as he sent you a shy smile. ‘I think we should hang out some more, like maybe go on an actual date and see what happens’

‘Okay’ he nodded ‘yeah let’s do it’

‘Perfect. Okay rule number two: I also like to keep my business private, you know? That doesn't mean we need to be secretive about whatever might be happening but I just want it kept between us. If I’m in a relationship with someone I want it to be with them and keep it for us rather than share it with everyone. Does that sound okay?’

‘Sounds like music to my ears’ he laughed before taking your hand and pulling you in further to his side. ‘Look I like you okay? I really like you and I’m happy to go with the flow and see where things take us. I’m good at going at whatever pace you want. No pressure or anything, okay?’

‘Okay’ you nodded, thankful he was starting to be able to talk about this a bit more freely. ‘So what do you want?’

‘I want to take you on a date. Many dates in fact’ he laughed and you fell forward into his chest as you tried to hide your giggles in his neck. ‘I want to get to know you better, but from what I know so far I’d say you’re pretty perfect for me’ he divulged and the thought of him thinking that about you already made your heart thump. Wanting to change the subject quickly before you got carried away and declared your undying love for him.

‘Are you… taking other girls on dates? Cause I don’t play those sorts of games’

‘I feel like I’m in a job interview’ he laughed, tickling your side as you squirmed further into his body and you couldn’t get over the feel of it under your fingers. This was the closest the pair of you had been for a long period of time and all you could think about was getting to wrap yourself around him more often ‘But no, I’m not taking other girls on dates. Haven’t been involved with anyone in months actually, I'm a free man. What about you anyway?

‘Too busy with work for dates’ you shrugged. Sitting up to look at him as you were now practically in his lap and all you wanted was to look at his pretty eyes up close.

‘But not too busy for me?’

‘Of course not’ you whispered. ‘Look I’m sorry for all the questions I just like to know where I stand’

‘It’s okay, I like it. It makes it easier knowing what we both want’

‘Well I’m big on communication’ you winked as you grabbed the zip of his jacket to play with and the smile he sent you made your tummy flutter.

‘I can see that. Look, I’m not here to mess you about okay? I like spending time with you and I want to get to know you more. As for all the other stuff I’ll leave that up to you’ he winked. ‘Like when you’re ready and you think the time is right to move onto the next step I’ll be ready to go’

‘Yeah?’

‘Of course. You know I think you’re gorgeous, but don’t tell anyone’ he whispered playfully, tickling your side lightly to tease you but the fact he’d admitted to finding you attractive made you flush.

‘Masonnnn’ you groaned. Trying to hide again as he laughed but he finally wrapped his arms around you fully and you felt yourself relax into his chest.

‘It’s true. Thought it as soon as I saw you. You never saw them but there’s a few shots of me I made then delete from when you first walked in and I was stiff as fuck’ he laughed and even though you knew he didn’t mean it in that way you still looked up at him with a brow raised in disgust.

‘Not like that,’ he laughed. His face going a bright red as he hid his face in your hair and it wasn’t long before you were both giggling again. You tried to move to get him to look at you but he wouldn’t budge.

‘Mason look at me’

‘No I’m embarrassed’ he laughed. ‘I meant like, nervous stiff. They had to tell me to relax my shoulders cause I’d clammed up’

‘Sure’ you winked, watching him roll his eyes as he knew that was something for you to tease him about now. ‘Okay so let’s go on a date’

‘Okay’ he smiled. ‘I’ll think of something good I promise. I have one condition about this whole thing though’

‘What’s that?’

‘When the time is right and you wanna make things official, like if we get there, please can you let me ask you? Like just give me a sign and I’ll make it special for us’

‘What sort of sign?’ you giggled, your cheeks turning red at the thought of him wanting to be official with you at some point but he just shrugged his shoulders.

‘I don’t know, poke me in the ribs or something?’

‘You’re insane’ you laughed, tucking your head into his neck so you could hide but when you wrapped each other up into your arms you felt a sense of peace that you hadn’t felt in a long time wash over you.

Mason couldn’t stay too much longer, having an early morning training session he had to get ready for so you walked him to the door with a pout.

‘So I’ll text you, yeah?’ He asked as you got the door and you sent him a wide grin.

‘You better’ you winked. Watching the corners of his mouth lift into a warm smile before he was leaning down to kiss your cheek just like usual.

There was something different about it this time though, his lips lingering in your skin just that bit longer which gave you the opportunity to raise your hand. Cupping the back of his head so that when he did try to pull away he couldn’t get too far and soon enough his lips were mere centimetres from your own.

You directed his movements and brought him down for your first kiss. Lips, soft and warm, slotting against each others like you’d kissed a million times before as you pressed your body against his even more. Mason's heart thrumming against your hand that was positioned on his chest and it almost matched your own heartbeat that was pounding in your ears.

You never wanted to stop kissing him. Slowly testing the waters as you inched your tongue past his lips but he was more than happy to reciprocate. A content hum falling from his as you played with each other slowly but when he playfully nibbled on your bottom lip you felt your knees go weak. Thankfully he was holding onto you tightly and when you reluctantly pulled away he was looking at you in awe. Lips plump and pink and you couldn’t resist going back in for seconds.

Mason wasn’t in the mood to keep it soft this time. Backing you up against the door as you gripped his shoulders and the vice-like grip on your waist excited you. Kissing you with as much passion as he could muster until you were both moaning into each other's mouths deliciously .

It was Mason that broke the kiss suddenly. Both of your breathing was laboured as he kissed your forehead gently and when you looked back to his face you were both blushing furiously.

‘Sorry’ he chuckled, pressing one more kiss to your lips before pulling away slightly. ‘I should get going’

‘Okay’ you pouted. Knowing it was right for him to go but now you’d finally kissed him all you could think about was kissing him again. ‘Text me when you’re home please’

‘Of course’ he smiled and with one final peck to his pouty lips you let him go.

You let Mason organise your first date, him not really giving you any clues as he wanted it to be a surprise but he promised it wouldn’t be just dinner as you guys had done that a few times before. He told you to dress fairly casually, which you did, and when he picked you up in a grey hoodie and a pair of green cargos you were reminded of how much you loved what he wore every time you’d seen him and the way he managed to make everyday outfits look just that little bit better.

You ended up at treetop mini golf. A place you’d been eying up to go to for ages and you wondered how he knew but in the end you realise it was just a coincidence. You were more than excited though and clearly he was using all his training from actual golf to help as he was winning by a mile.

‘Mase?’ You pouted after his third hole in one. ‘Do you think you could help me?’

‘Of course I can’ he smiled charmingly. ‘What would you like help with?

‘Can you show me how you do it?’ You asked, biting your lip as you reached out a hand for him and once he’d taken it you pulled him over to stand behind you as you wrapped his arms around you. ‘Show me how to swing’

You could tell he was nervous, the warmth of his chest pressed up against your back and it was like you could feel his heart hammering against you before he began to whisper in your ear.

‘Bend your knees a little bit, and arch your back slightly-‘

‘Mason please, were in public’ you teased, and you knew he was embarrassed. Wrapping his arms around you tightly as he buried his head in your neck to stop the laughs but the pair of you were giggling like school children.

‘You’re killing me’

‘Ahh, my plan is working’ you teased. Spinning in his arms so you could face him and you couldn’t stop yourself from giving him a quick kiss. The first one of the night and you could tell he’d been waiting a while for it as he kissed you with a smile and sighed into your mouth.

y/n recently added to their stories

It was your 5th date that fell a week before your trip. Mason had treated you to all sorts of adventures from axe throwing to a drive-in movie but today's outing was a little bit more laid back. Mason currently having Ace for a few days and you knew he needed lots of walks so you met him at the local park to grab a coffee and let Ace have a run around.

It was you that took his hand in yours but him who laced your fingers together and squeezed them gently. Letting you know he was more than happy to hold your hand just like usual he just needed you to make that first move sometimes and when he sent you a toothy lopsided grin you felt your heart stutter.

‘Listen I wanted to talk to you about something’ you told him, watching him raise his brow at you over his cup as he took a sip and you weren’t quite sure how he was going to take what you were about to say. ‘It's about the trip next week’

‘You’re still alright with me going, yeah? Cause you can tell me if you’re not i don’t mind-‘

‘No I want you there I promise’ you laughed, cutting him off as you could see he was about to spiral. ‘I was just wondering if we could maybe keep things on the down low a little while we’re there?’ You asked and you didn’t wait for a reaction before you began explaining yourself. ‘If it was a friends holiday then it would be different it’s just cause I’ll be there with people I work with and that doesn’t mean I want you to keep away from me, like we can still hang out just the two of us-

‘Hey it’s okay’ he laughed. Reaching down to pop a quick kiss on your forehead. ‘I get it, don’t worry

‘Are you sure, I don’t want you to think I don’t want to be seen with you’

‘I don’t think that, gorgeous’ he smiled. ‘It makes perfect sense to me, okay? You don't need to worry’ he confirmed. Squeezing your hand once more to make you believe him and after you sent him a gentle nod he pulled you into his side even further to give you a cuddle. ‘Are you busy for the rest of today?’

‘Never too busy for you, Mason’

‘Come back to mine after? Just for a little bit’ he asked and the idea of being alone with him in his house excited you. Since you were taking things slowly you’d never been to his house but now seemed like a good time and you thought it was cute how he didn’t want to part from you.

‘Okay’ you whispered. Nerves taking over you slightly but when you pulled up to his house, it was even more than you could have imagined. It was humongous, each room decorated perfectly and it’s like he had everything you could ever want and more so after making a pit stop in the kitchen for drinks and snacks, he led you to his huge sofa so you could pick out a movie and relax a bit.

You sat cuddled up in the corner of the sofa as you spoke about next week with the movie as just background noise now. Mason insisting that he’d pick you up in the morning to take you to the airport and you didn’t have the energy to argue with him. It had been a long afternoon and Ace had knackered you out so when Mason shuffled the pair of you down and brought you into his arms you let yourself cuddle into him even more.

‘If you’re not careful, I might just fall for you, Mount’ you told him quietly. Feeling more comfortable and content than you had in the longest time and the quiet rumble of his chest under your ear made you smile.

‘Well if you’re not careful, I might catch you’ he whispered softly against your forehead. Placing a gentle kiss there as you nestled your nose into the soft skin of his neck and you felt the butterflies swarm. Truth was you knew you were already falling for him and had been for a while, you just needed to grow a pair and give him the sign that you were ready to take things further.

That could wait for new though. Right now you felt safe and warm in his arms as he lightly trailed his fingers over your waist and as much as you wanted to kiss him, you also felt like you might not be able to stop yourself from taking things further this time.

‘I could get used to this, you’re comfy’ you told him quietly and you knew he’d heard you but he was too shy to reply. Holding you tighter as you felt your body go heavy and let the sleep finally take you.

A week later, Mason picked you up along the way in the morning to take you to the airport. Helping you get your bags in the Uber before you popped a quick kiss to his lips and once again your favourite blush spread across his cheeks.

Most people were there by the time you arrived, the pair of you quickly saying hello to everyone before he reintroduced you to Woody who in turn introduced you to his girlfriend, Kaz. She seemed sweet and you were glad you would have another girl to hang out with alongside Lex as the only other two girls you knew were Lindsay and Louise. Freddie had always referred to them as thing one and two as they tended to stick together and as much as you loved Freddie, sometimes you needed some girl company.

You and Mason managed to take yourselves off away from everyone. Sitting on your own so you could talk quietly and get ready for the flight you knew Mason was a bit nervous for but the sudden sound of a boy shouting made the two of you snap your heads up. Mason's face turning sour instantly as the boy made his rounds to say hello to a few of the guys and it was then you noticed Mason shuffling uncomfortably in his seat.

‘I didn’t know he was coming’

‘Who’s that?’ You asked. Not having seen him around before so you presumed he was from the London office but you were curious as to why Mason was reacting like this.

‘Thats Carl, he’s worked with Woody on a few things’

‘Do you know him well?’

‘Use to’ he shrugged but you didn’t have a chance to reply as Carl made his way over to the pair of you. His eyes flashing to Mason’s hand that was clasped around yours before he looked right at you and the sly smirk he sent your way made your skin crawl.

‘Mason, long time no see man. How’s things’ he asked. Mason jumping up so they could pat each other on the back but you could tell from Masons posture he didn’t want to be near him that much.

‘Good mate, you?’

‘Yeah really good thanks’ he nodded and before you knew it he was motioning towards you. ‘Who’s this pretty little thing?’

‘I’m y/n’ you told him after a quick roll of your eyes. Not wanting to cause a scene and call him out for his stupid comment but you could see his face change as soon as you told him your name. An impressed expression overtaking his features and you wondered why.

‘Ah y/n I’ve seen some of your stuff floating around. You’re pretty good’

‘Oh… oh thank you’ you told him. A sense of pride filling you at the fact people were not starting to see your work and you returned his bright smile.

‘Yeah even managed to make this one look good’ he laughed, motioning over to Mason. ‘I’ve tried a few times I know how hard it is’ he teased. Feeling Mason stiffening besides you as Carl tried to make a joke at his expense but you wouldn’t let that happen on your watch.

‘Oh really? I thought it was really easy’ you shrugged. Turning back to Mason who was giving you a shy smile and you could tell he was thankful for you sticking up for him a bit. ‘I won’t be a sec, I'm going to the loo’ you told him. Kissing his cheek quickly before standing up and you left without giving Carl and other glance.

‘Finally got yourself some then huh?’ Carl laughed and Mason could feel his blood boiling at the way he was speaking about you. Not wanting to fully divulge and tell him exactly what the pair of you were as he knew what he was like so he just shrugged his shoulders and tried to act unbothered by him.

‘It's not like that’

‘Oh she’s not yours then? So I don’t mind if I have a crack?’

‘Carl, it’s so good to see you’ Woody interrupted and Mason was thankful he’d stepped in. Knowing Mason would have probably exploded if he hadn’t have. It was one thing Carl making jibes about him but a whole other issue when he was speaking about you and he realised at that moment this was about to be a long trip.

‘Gates ready!’ Freddie called and with one final wink at Mason, Carl was walking off to find the others leaving him standing there to stew. Wondering if he even wanted to go away with everyone now but once he saw you walking back towards him with that beautiful smile on your face he realised you were his reason to stay.

‘Mase, you ready?’ You asked, your voice laced with concern as you could see something had changed with him.

‘Yeah I’ll meet you there’

‘It’s okay I’ll wait with you’ you smiled, trying to get him to smile at you but once you realised he wouldn’t you placed your hand on his arm to get him to look at you. ‘Are you alright?’

‘I’m fine’ he breathed, his eyes scanning the room to see if anyone from your group was left and once he was satisfied it was just the two of you he pulled you in for a tight hug. ‘I know we said we’d keep things on the down low a bit but I just need a quick cuddle‘

‘Oh Mase’ you whispered, feeling the way he clung to you so tightly a little concerning and the thought of this being the last proper hug you might share for a while upset you and even though it was you who set the boundaries in the first place you were ready to tear them up for him. ‘I know it was my choice but we don’t have to keep things on the down low’

‘No?’

‘Not if you don’t want to. I don't think I’ll be able to handle it and i'm pretty sure everyone knows what’s going on’ you giggled but you felt him relax as you spoke.

‘Well most people do at least’ he whispered but he didn’t have a chance to elaborate as Freddie was back calling you both to hurry up so you grabbed your bags and made your way to the queue to board. Reaching out to hold Mason's pinkie with your own and the smile he sent you made your tummy flip.

The flight was fine but you didn’t arrive at your hotel until late afternoon and once you were unpacked you made the short trip down the corridor to meet Mason. Most if you had decided to do your own thing for dinner tonight however Mason had invited you along to dinner with him, Woody and his girlfriend Kaz so you could get to know each other a bit and you were grateful to be able to see him in act so confidently around his friends and show you this new side of him.

Ever the gentleman, Mason walked you to your room that night and after a pretty heavy kiss by the door you bid each other goodnight. Mason letting you know he’d message you when he woke up so you could see when you wanted to head to the pool and as soon as your head hit the pillow you were out like a light.

‘Hey gorgeous’ he smiled, opening the door and popping a kiss on your cheek but you were quick to reach up and kiss him properly, feeling him chuckle onto your lips and it was all worth it for the shy smile he gave you when you pulled apart.

‘Morning Mase’

‘I’ve booked us into the hotel restaurant, no idea what the others are doing’ he shrugged as he shut his door but you just took his hand and let him lead you away.

‘How did you do that? I tried and they were full’

‘I have my ways’ he winked. Subtly letting you know he could probably get you anything you wanted but you loved the way he wasn’t flashy with it.

The food in the hotel was better than you had expected and when the pair of you were done, you made your way out to the pool. Thankfully only Freddie and Lex were out there and as you walked into his eyeline, Freddie waved you over and patted the double sun lounger next to him.

‘Morning love birds, I saved you a spot’

‘There’s no one else out here’ you laughed, dropping your bag on the seat and looking around but it was still only around 10am and most of the loungers were empty.

‘Where have you been?’

‘Breakfast’

‘What here?’ Freddie asked, his eyebrows shooting up as you nodded. ‘They said they were fully booked’

‘Apparently they make room for you if your names Mason Mount’ you joked, looking behind to see him standing there awkwardly on the other side of the lounger as if he didn’t want to presume you’d sit next to him but after a subtle nod of your head his shoulders relaxed.

You didn’t waste anymore time, wanting to get undressed to soak up the sun so you quickly slipped yourself out of your dress and packed it away before grabbing your book and when your eyes flashed over to Mason you felt like you might have to pick his jaw up off the floor.

Mason had never seen you in so little before, and you’d worn this bikini on purpose as you knew it accentuated all your best bits, and it was red, but you had no idea it would have garnered this reaction from him. Even from behind his sunglasses you could see his eyes were all over you as his tongue practically fell from his mouth so you rounded the lounger to stand in front of him but only when you touched his shoulders did he reach out to touch you.

Your knees buckled as soon as his fingertips touched the back of your thighs but thankfully he was able to steer you onto his lap and as you sat on his leg he moved his hands to your waist. Your skin tingling in their wake as he touched parts of you he’d never seen before and even though Mason could be shy and reserved about his feelings, this was the best indication you’d ever had that he found you attractive.

He was looking at you through his glasses but you missed his pretty brown eyes so you carefully pushed them up so you could see them again. Watching as the sun reflected in them so they looked like deep pots of honey and the creases around his eyes made your heart thump as he smiled at you. He was looking at you so softly and you couldn't help but reach down to kiss him as it was only Freddie and Lex out here and you knew they didn’t care and probably were even looking.

‘You’re so fucking hot’ he breathed against your lips and his words excited you as he squeezed your sides. His potty mouth making you giggle but you were glad you had saved yourself from showing him your body until now just for this reaction. ‘You’re making this impossible for me’

‘Sorry Mase’ you giggled feeling him slip his thumb under the waistband of your bottoms so he could hold your bum and even though he was pushing it you let him. ‘I wore red just for you’

‘I bet you did’ he grinned, pulling you back in for a kiss that made you want to abandon all your morals and take him back to your room, but you held strong. Pulling away gently even though you didn’t want to.

‘Speaking of hot, it’s boiling out here. Did you make sure to put sunscreen on?’ You asked. Slightly trying to distract the pair of you from a heated make out session and Mason sent you a smug smile as he realised what you were doing.

‘I did, just not on my back my arms don’t reach’ he joked, giggles falling from both your lips at the thought of him trying to do it.

‘Come on then I’ll help you you smiled. Kissing him once before before getting up off his lap and just as you’d got your sun cream from your bag he’d whipped his shirt off.

There were pictures of Mason's body online that you’d seen recently and you thought he might be in pretty good shape but it was nothing compared to the actual thing. His chest and tummy covered with a light smattering of hair that was driving you insane but his defined abs and strong arms were more sexy to you than anything else until he turned around to flash you his back dimples.

You took your time rubbing his cream in for him but it was mainly just an excuse to touch him. Planning a kiss in between his shoulder blades when you realised it had been long enough before the pair of you flopped back onto the lounger. Pinkies intertwined once more as you soaked up the sun but it was around 45 minutes later when you realised you needed to cool off

‘Do you fancy going for a swim?’ You asked him, watching his brows raise above his galssss questioningly but he was quick to take them off and help you up so you could get in together. You taking the safe option and walking over to the steps but just as you turned to get you watched Mason dive bomb in.

‘That's colder than I thought it would be’ he chuckled after he came up for air, wading his way over to help you in fully but after a few moments of swimming you’d had enough and wanted him to carry you.

He wasn’t shocked when you came over and placed your hands on his shoulders but you knew he was unsure as to where to put his hands when you wrapped your legs around his waist.

‘Hold my waist’ you giggled as you knew he needed a little direction. ‘Are you blushing Mr Mount?’

‘Never’ he chuckled, pulling you impossibly closer and he tucked his head into your neck. Inhaling deeply before looking back at you and you knew what he was about to ask before he did it.

‘Can I kiss you?’

‘You don’t have to ask’

‘I’m just checking’ he laughed. Bumping his nose against yours before he kissed you softly and you knew he was about to pull away quicker than you wanted him to so you cupped the back of his head and deepened it before he got a chance.

You stayed in the pool longer than you’d first intended to. Mason requesting that you race him a few times before he popped you on his back and you used to opportunity to cover his cheeks in kisses until he swung you back round to his front so you could hold each other again.

You were so calm and tranquil in Masons arms that the sound of someone shouting made you jump. You could feel Mason had tensed too and when you both looked over to the source of the noise Mason didn’t relax at all. If anything he clung to you tighter as Carl and his little gaggle of girls made their way over to sit with Freddie and it was like Mason's demeanour switched before your eyes.

‘You okay?’ You whispered, watching him shrink into himself a little but with a quick kiss to his lips he was nodding gently. ‘Shall we get out and get dry?’

You were both soon out. Sitting back next to Freddie but the opposite side of Carl and you noticed how even after he was dry he still had his towel around his shoulders. You didn’t say anything at first but after you’d reapplied your sunscreen you figured he might want some more too however he was still wrapped up.

‘You want me to oil you up?’ You joked, waving the suncream in his face and even though he laughed he shook his head at you.

‘No thanks, I’ll probably put my shirt on again in a sec’

‘What? Why?’ You asked but he didn’t answer so you took it upon yourself to crawl over into his lap and when his hand squeezed your thigh you sent him a cheeky smile.

‘You know for someone who wanted to keep things on the down low you’re very touchy’

‘Well you should stop being so irresistible then’ you joked watching his face flush. ‘You can put your top back on if you want but has something happened? You were fine before?’

‘It’s nothing, I’m just being silly’

‘No it’s okay. I’m just thinking about you, you know? The last thing you want is a T-shirt tan’ you winked and the small laugh that fell from his lips made you feel accomplished.

‘Somethings telling me that’s not the only reason’

‘I mean yeah I’ve got eyes Mase’ you chuckled, watching him try to hold back a smirk and from the way his eyes dropped to your lips you knew he wanted to kiss you.

His kisses were becoming more than addictive. Slow and sweet as he stroked his tongue against yours but it was the feeling of his thumbs brushing against your back that was making you shiver. Cupping his jaw so he couldn’t pull away from you but the loud and obnoxious laughs of Carl and the girls were going through you like nails on a chalkboard.

‘Would you like an ice-cream?’ You asked him as you pulled away, his face turning into one of confused amusement before he let out a little laugh.

‘It’s 11:30’

‘Exactly, we need to start early to get in as many as we can’ you told him. ‘Come on we can go for a walk or something after I just need some peace’ you smiled at him, knowing he needed the same so you quickly popped on a coverup as he chucked his shirt back on before taking his hand and leading him away from everyone else.

You knew the hotel had a rooftop bar and after some careful searching you managed to find it. Thankfully it was quiet up there and after grabbing you both an ice cream you took a seat next to him and placed your hand on his thigh.

‘The view up here is crazy’ you commented, looking out over the hotel grounds and to the beach but little did you know Mason had something else in his eyeline.

‘Yeah not too bad from here either’ he said softly, looking back at you with literal heart eyes and when you winked back at him he just laughed.

‘Cheeky’ you commented, nudging your shoulder with his. ‘We can stay away from everyone else today if you’d like’

‘No don’t be silly. I mean I love it when it’s just us but you’re meant to be here with them’

‘I’ve got the two days with them solidly Mase, I want to be with you’

‘C’mere then’ he whispered. Pulling you further into his side before resting his head on top of yours as you nuzzled into his neck. His scent overtaking your senses but all you could do was squeeze him harder until he was laughing. ‘I still can’t believe what you’re wearing’

You’d never seen him look at you like this before. It wasn’t that you didn’t think he was attracted to you at all, he always called you gorgeous and you knew you made him a bit nervous but you’d never seen him look at you like he wanted to rip your clothes off and have you right then and there like he was now. His hands massaging over your thighs as he kissed your jaw and you could feel your tummy flipping with desire.

You’d wanted him for a while, not able to get the image of him having his way with you out of your head for a week or two now but you’d still made him wait. Almost like it was a test to see how long you could give him before he went crazy but at this point it was you that had lost it. Your kisses had become messier and deeper as you got lost in each other and you knew it was only a matter of time you gave him the green light.

You kept it pg for the rest of the day though. Joining the others for lunch before you were back out by the pool and you watched Mason relax as he spent some time with Woody and Freddie until he came back to you for a nap. His head resting on you chest as your fingers brushed though his hair and you felt yourself falling for him even more with every passing second.

‘Come stay in my room tonight?’ He asked after you’d all been to dinner that evening. The pair of you not wanting to part and when you raised your eyebrow at him cheekily his face flushed as he giggled. ‘Not like that. I’m just not ready to let you go yet. I thought I could get us another drink and we could hang out? I know we’ve not slept in the same bed before or whatever and we don't have to if you’re uncomfortable but-

You cut him off with a kiss. Feeling him relax under your fingertips as he smiled and when you pulled away you knew he was blushing even deeper.

‘I’ll be in soon, okay? Why don’t you get us some snacks and find a movie for us’

‘Okay’ he whispered ‘Bring your stuff for tomorrow too, you can get ready in here’

‘Wow, you’re bossy when you wanna be huh?’ you chuckled. ‘Who knew you could ask for what you want sometimes?’ You smiled and with a quick kiss you were running back to your room to get everything you needed for your first little sleepover with him.

y/n recently added to their stories

Mason treated you to a late breakfast again the next morning before you met everyone else at the entrance just before lunch. Your pinky firmly wrapped around his as you approached the others and you noticed Freddie’s eyes snap down to look at them before they were on you. Sending you a smile and a cheeky wink like he was happy for you and even though you rolled your eyes at him you couldn’t deny you were pretty happy yourself.

You’d enjoyed the night before more than any other time you could imagine. Spending the whole night in Mason's arms as you spoke and kissed until you eventually fell asleep. You had wondered in the back of your head if last night could have been the night but you both seemed content with leaving it for now however you knew it would be soon.

Whilst you stood and reminisced in your own head as you waited for the last few people, Mason on the other hand had his eyes on someone else. Watching the way Carl drunk you in before his eyes landed on your conjoined fingers and the expression that took over his face was one that Mason had seen many times before. Almost watching Carl plot his evil scheme was making Mason uncomfortable to the point he started to pull away from you but you just assumed he wanted to hold your hand properly so you threaded your fingers through his and pulled him along into the awaiting taxi.

You’d never been on a boat like this and with there being so many of you it was hard to find a quiet spot. Mason seemed to know his way around these things though and took you up to the top deck where there was a separate space at the front for the two of you to lay down and get comfy.

You could hear everyone else downstairs rushing about and being silly but you were content with laying next to Mason. Your head right next to his as you spoke about the night before until you both got a bit sleepy and drifted off.

You heard the jet skis start up before you heard the footsteps running up to the top deck. Freddie’s face appearing from below but clearly only you had the energy to sit up and speak to him.

‘Not interrupting, am I kid?’ He asked quietly.

‘No, he’s just a bit tired’

‘Oh yeah, you worn him out?’ he laughed. Eyebrows wiggling suggestively but you just laughed as you hid your face in embarrassment.

‘Shut up Freddie’ you huffed, crossing your arms in mock anger but he saw right through you. ‘What do you want?

‘Jet skis are ready, you wanted a go right?’

‘Well yeah but-‘

‘Mason!’

‘Freddie, will you piss off’ you scalded. Look down to see Mason stirring awake as Freddie’s retreated back down the ladder and when you brushed the hair from his eyes he gave you a thankful but sleepy smile. ‘Sorry Mase, I told him not to wake you’

‘It’s alright, beautiful. Is everything okay?’

‘Yeah, the jet skis are ready but if you don’t want to do it, it’s fine’ you told him. Leaning onto your side so you could lay yourself next to him whilst he slunk his arm under your body to hold you closer with his hand on your waist.

‘I best not, I’ll get killed if I get another injury but you go yeah? I’ll watch you’

‘Are you sure?

‘Of course. Or maybe I’ll be asleep who knows’ he winked. ‘Go on, go have fun’ he whispered, pecking your lips as he squeezed your bum gently. Winking at you as you looked at him with a shocked face as it was the first time he’d been handsy with you without you instigating something but you just kissed him forcefully as you crawled over his body and left him to relax.

By the time you’d made it down and popped your life vest on, there were only a few people left. Woody and Kaz had just set off as Lex hopped on the back of Freddie’s meaning you were left with only one option.

Carl was smiling at you as he waved you over to the one he was standing by before hopping aboard and patting the back of the seat for you to sit on. ‘Your chariot awaits. I hope you don’t mind but we’ve got to share’ he laughed.

‘Oh no that’s fine’ you smiled. Too excited to get out onto the water to worry about who you were with and whilst Mason was a bit distant with Carl you didn’t exactly have a reason to not go with him. Yes he’d been loud with the girls yesterday and there was definitely something you couldn’t put your finger on about him that you weren’t 100% comfortable with but the idea of getting to go in a jet ski was the main thought in your brain right now.

‘Just tell me if I’m going too fast, okay?’ He told you. Letting you get comfortable behind him as you wrapped your arms around his waist like Freddie had shown you and once you were comfortable enough he set off.

Carl played it pretty safe and didn’t go too fast but it was fast enough for you. Having to grip o to him tightly as he tried out some spins and tricks and before you knew it he’d slyly driven you far away from the boat and everyone else.

‘So you and Mason huh?’ He asked as he slowed down. Bringing the jet ski to almost a complete stop before he was driving you around in random patterns to make it look like you were going somewhere when you weren’t.

‘What about me and Mason?’ You asked. Wondering why he was bringing Mason up whilst you were basically stranded in the sea and an uncomfortable feeling made its way up your spine.

‘You tell me. He’s keeping things under wraps’ he shrugged and you felt the sense of unease spread over you further. ‘Look, all l I know is that if you were mine I would be all over you. He looks like he barely wants to hold you hand sometimes’

‘Well I’m not yours so it doesn’t matter does it’ you hit back. Not liking how he was talking to you and the fact he seemed to be taking you further away from everyone made you want to scream in fear.

‘Oh she’s a feisty one’

‘No I just like to keep my business my business as does Mason’ you told him firmly. Wishing you could go back in time so you would have never gotten on this god forsaken thing in the first place and. ‘Can you take me back now please I want to get off

‘Oh don’t be like that’

‘I won’t ask again’ you told him firmly. Trying to hide the fear in your voice but thankfully he got the hint and made his way back to the boat where you hopped off as soon as you could before making your way back to Mason. Hearing Carl thankfully speed away leaving the pair of you alone.

Mason wasn't napping where you'd left him, in fact he was nowhere to be seen but as you made your way to the back of the boat you could see him leaning up against the side with a pensive look on his face.

You didn't know if you wanted to join him as he looked so in his own head but you fought against it and carefully made your way over. Needing his comfort after the ordeal Carl had just put you through but Mason looked as though he was in a whole other world.

'Mase? What you doing over here?' You asked. Watching him jump slightly as he realised you were there before his eyes were on the floor.

'I was feeling a bit sea sick' he told you quietly and you noticed how he didn’t really want to look at you.

'So you thought it was best to hang over the edge and make it worse' you smiled but he didn't smile back. Just shrugged his shoulders gently as he twiddled with his fingers.

'Sorry'

'It's alright, don't be sorry' you smiled. Pulling him into a hug and even though he was hugging you back you knew something was off. You chalked it down to him not feeling well and when you pulled back you could see in his eyes that something wasn't right. 'Shall I get you a bottle of water and we can sit somewhere quiet’

'No it's okay, I don't wanna pull you away from everyone’

'Mase? You know l'd pick you over anyone here' you told him. Pulling back and cupping his jaw so he'd look at you and when he sent you a smile your heart settled just a tiny bit.

'Even Freddie?'

'Especially Freddie’ you winked. 'Come on, I'll look after you. They're all still out on the jet skis so it's just you and me anyway. Can't get rid of me even if you want to’

‘Thank you’

‘Don’t be, it’s my job to look after my man’ you joked. His eyes lighting up at the way you’d referred to him as such. ‘Shall we go back up? Or do you wanna stay down here?

‘We can go up’ he whispered. Pulling you into a soft kiss that made your knees weak before leading you back up.

When everyone else came back, Woody and Kaz joined you upstairs. Mason sitting up and patting the space in front of him so you’d sit with your back to his chest and when he lazily slung his arm around your waist you blushed as he began to trace patterns on your warm skin.

You knew you were staying on the boast for most of the day so you remembered to take things to entertain yourself and you’d noticed Mason had perked up a little bit. Watching him jump off the edge with Freddie as you sat with the girls and when the option came to leave with some of the others or stay for a bit longer you both chose to stay. Thankfully it was just Freddie, Lex, Woody and Kaz left with you as Carl left with the others and when the sun began to set you made sure to take Mason back upstairs so you could watch it together. Laying on his body had his hands roamed yours and as soon as the sun began to hug the sea he brought you In for a heart stopping kiss.

The day had been perfect, his hand in yours and he sat next to you on the way back to the hotel and your heart thumped at how he was playing with your fingers. His cheek resting on the top of your head and it was almost a struggle to stay awake with how warm and safe you felt with him.

As much as you didn’t like it, you both decided you should sleep in your own beds tonight. Both of you having early mornings and you knew if you woke up next to him you wouldn’t want to go anywhere so Mason walked you to your door and left you with a kiss and the promise of seeing you tomorrow evening.

y/n recently added to their stories

Mason was up and out at the crack of dawn but you were reading over his good morning text in the lobby with a smile before you felt someone looming over you.

‘Listen, I’m not sure what Masons said about me’

‘He hasn’t said anything about you’ you told Carl and to be fair to Mason he really hadn’t. Mason did his talking with his eyes about Carl and you could sense there was something there but hadn’t come out and told you exactly what the problem was.

‘Oh… I just feel like we got off on the wrong foot. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable yesterday on the jet ski, I didn’t mean to. Mason and I like to tease each other a bit but I should have left you out of it’ he explained and whilst you appreciated his apology you still felt like something wasn’t right.

Unfortunately you were stuck with him for today, the group of you practically had been halved since it was just your work people and there was no way of getting away from him so you decided you put yesterday behind you for the sake of everyone else and try and make it a comfortable day.

‘Well thank you, I appreciate that. I guess we can start over again and be civil at least today’ you nodded at him and he sent you an appreciative smile that made you feel better about what you were doing.

You sat next to Carl in the cab and he was asking you lots of questions about your work. Ever since Masons shoot the offers to join people and help out with big projects had been rolling in like no tomorrow and you’d even managed to book a few private fittings to dress some actors for an awards ceremony in a few weeks. You hadn’t felt this positive about work in months and with Carl bigging you up like he was it was easy to get swept up in him.

The event was busier than you were expecting so you stuck with Woody and Freddie however that meant Carl was now also with you and wherever he was you knew Lindsay and Louise weren’t too far behind.

‘Right the agency wants some pictures for socials so just act natural okay?’ Freddie announced, whipping his phone out as you walked around the various stalls and exhibitions. Snapping your picture whenever he could however Carl was always jumping in to be involved and when you sat down for the first runway show he was right there next to you.

Carl wanting to be your bestie aside, you’d had an amazing day and met so many lovely people. You felt inspired at every corner you turned and you couldn't wait to see Mason and tell him all about it. It was nuts how much you missed him even with so much going on and the fact you couldn’t even get your phone out to send him a quick text to see how he was frustrating you more than anything.

TheFashionPeople

location : Malta

liked by y/n, Freddie_Smith, Carl9834 and others

TheFashionPeople A group of our extremely talented stylists and personal shoppers have been in Malta at the New In Clothing 2024 event. Make sure to follow us to keep up to date with everything they get up to!

A hand on your waist snapped you out of your thoughts and you recoiled away from Carl just like you’d been doing for the last few hours. You were sure why but he’d suddenly got it in his head that he was free to put his hands on you and whilst it started out as just gentle touches on your shoulder or elbow it had progressed quickly holding your waist or trying to pull you in for a cuddle.

‘Can you not, please Carl. I don’t like being touched’

‘What? I’m just trying to be nice’

‘Well that’s not how I’m seeing it. I would appreciate it if you kept your hands to yourself please’ you told him sternly before marching off to find Freddie. Wishing you would have just told him to piss off this morning rather than trying to be friendly for everyone else’s sake.

You were back in the hotel by the time you managed to get five minutes' peace. Knowing you had to go to dinner soon but you wanted to hopefully speak to Mason however you were a little disappointed that he hadn’t messaged you at all today. You figured he must have been busy like you so you sent him a quick message before jumping in the shower.

You were all dressed up and ready to head to dinner but Mason still hadn’t got back to you so you made a plan to swing by his room before you left. He didn’t answer when you knocked on the door though and you figured he must still be out so you went to dinner alone and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of your tummy.

‘Have you heard from Mason?’ You asked Woody. Wanting to make sure someone had spoken to him as you were beginning to panic that he’d vanished off the face of the earth but the Woody nodded you didn’t know if you felt happy or sad about it.

‘Yeah he messaged me about half an hour ago’ he told you. ‘He’s not been back long so maybe be fell asleep?’

‘Oh okay’ you smiled. Confused as to why he was seemingly ignoring for hours on end but you knew he loved a nap so maybe that was the reason.

‘Is everything alright?’ Woody asked sympathetically but you didn’t want to air everything out in front of everyone so you kept quiet whilst still telling the truth.

‘Yeah fine’ you smiled. Hoping to convince him nothing was wrong but you weren’t sure if he bought it. ‘I just wanted to check he was okay, I haven’t heard from him in a bit’

‘You know what he’s like, dead to the world as soon as his head touches the pillow’’ he reassured you and you sent him a kind smile and a nod in hopes that was enough. Watching him quickly send a message to someone and no more than two minutes later did your phone buzz in your hand.

Your heart sunk further into your tummy at his message. You didn’t know if you were being extra sensitive or he was being incredibly short with you but his message didn’t feel as warm as they usually did and now you felt silly for telling him you missed him without him saying it back.

‘Right, you coming for drinks kid?’ Freddie asked but you just shook your head as you gathered your things together.

‘No I think I’ll just head back to my room’ you gulped. Watching Freddie’s face drop before he looked at you to ask if something was wrong but you just sent him a smile. ‘Its been a long day and I wanna be fresh for tomorrow’

‘You sure?’

‘Positive’ you nodded giving everyone a quick goodbye before hightailing back to your room. Wondering what you should send Mason as a response but in the end you figured you’d play it as cool as possible and send him something you normally would to see how he reacted.

You didn’t understand why he was being so hot and cold with you constantly this trip and you definitely didn’t understand what you could have done to make him be this cold with you.

Sleep didn’t come easy that night as you laid awake and thought about what had happened on the trip so far to make him be like this. Clearly there was some sort of issue with Carl but if he didn’t explain what it was then how were you supposed to help him? And everything seemed fine the previous night before you went to bed so what could you have done in a day that you hadn’t seen him for him to be so distant?

You knew you had to speak to him tomorrow and soon enough the tiredness wore you out enough so you could fall asleep but the next you decided to test him and not send him a good morning text when you woke up. You knew it may have been a little petty but you wanted him to come to you first, almost to prove that he still liked you but you were almost halfway through the morning and it was still radio silence. Thankfully Carl had kept his distance today but you knew he kept looking at you in hopes you’d give him some attention.

The final show was was a lot, and being sat far away from Carl helped you concentrate a bit more but Mason was still on your mind. Why was be being so distant? Hopefully you’d get to speak to him later today and you were both excited and terrified about seeing him. Thankfully Freddie had managed to take your mind off of things and invited you backstage after the show with Woody as he knew one of the models and you found it fascinating getting to watch them all at work

‘Thank you for bringing me here, Freddie. I’ve had the best time’

‘Don’t be silly, I knew you’d love it. And when we get back I’ve got loads for us to work on’ he smiled. Wrapping and arm around your shoulder as you made your way back to the hotel and even though things with Mason seemed confusing and weird you knew everything you’d been working towards was finally happening for you and you couldn’t wait to get to work.

You were sitting on your own away from everyone at the pool that afternoon when Mason turned up. You hadn’t meant to be but you were sat with Woody and Kaz and they had just hopped in the water and you thought Mason would be straight over to see you since it had been so long but again you were left disappointed.

He’d clearly been back to his room to shower and change but he didn’t make his way over to see you first. Watching him drop his things on the lounger on the opposite side of the pool from you before talking to Woody for a bit as he sat on the edge but he was getting in the pool soon enough. Your heart sinking at the way he’d completely blanked you since coming out here and you wondered if you’d missed something. Eventually turning onto your side away from everyone to not show them how upset you were as you couldn't understand his behaviour and why he hadn’t come over to say hello to you first.

You’d been away from him for just over a day and a half and all you wanted was to be next to him again so the fact he’d basically ignored you when this was your first chance to speak made your head spin. Were you being too much for him? Is that why he was pulling away from you? Or were you not giving him what he wanted quickly enough and he was getting bored of waiting for you? Did he not miss you like you’d missed him?

You refused to cry but you knew your eyes felt heavy and watery. Shutting them and pretending to be asleep even though you could hear him giggling close by, it was soon replaced by the sounds of hushed whispers and soon enough you could hear the sound of someone getting out of the pool and making their way over to you.

You didn’t react to him, hearing him pick a towel up to dry his hair before he took a tentative seat next to you and when you didn’t move you felt him lay next to you but still kept his distance so you didn't touch at all. Your heart hammering as you became hyper aware of all his movements but you kept your eyes shut no matter how hard it was becoming.

You could feel him fiddling with the dangly bits on your bikini before his fingers grazed your thigh slightly and you froze. He didn’t stop though, trailing his fingers up and over your hip to your waist so he could pull you into his body and when your skin touched his you opened your eyes carefully.

‘Hey’ he whispered. The weight of the world still heavy in his eyes but you knew he was trying to cover it up with the soft smile he was sending you. ‘Sorry, I didn’t want to get you wet’ he whispered, stroking your back gently and you knew there was something still off about him even though he was keeping it well hidden behind the brick wall he’d been building for the last few days. At least he was talking to you now though you thought. ‘You okay?’

‘Just tired’ you nodded. Not wanting to give too much away and let him know how upset you were but every touch of his skin on yours made you ache.

‘Go back to sleep, I’ll stay with you’

You wanted to tell him you weren’t really tired and that you didn’t want to sleep because you missed him and wanted to talk but the words were stuck in your throat. Not even sure if you were allowed to shuffle closer to him but at least he was finally next to you and when he gave in to pull you into his chest your eyes began to sting.

There was so much you wanted to say to him, but you held your tongue. Taking what he was giving you at the moment and soon enough your missed sleep from the night before caught up to you and you fell asleep to the feel of him pressing a gentle kiss to your temple.

Waking up still in Mason's arms was a nice feeling even if you did still feel heavy with emotion and when you both sat up he made no attempt to hold you in any way again until your leg brushed his and placed his hand in your lap palm up. Silently asking you to hold it and as soon as your fingers were linked you rested your head on his shoulder.

‘Are you coming to dinner with everyone tonight?’ You asked. Trying to think of anything to say to get him talking as he was keeping quiet and you hated the awkward silence.

‘I think so’ he told you. ‘Is that okay?’

‘Of course it is’ you nodded, looking up at his face and as much as you wanted to stay with him and get him to talk but you knew the time was getting on. ‘I should go get ready actually. I need to wash my hair and shower’

‘Okay, shall I meet you there then?’ He asked and your heart dropped once more. Why didn’t he want to meet you before? To turn up with you like you’d done earlier in the week? It was only small but it was like he didn’t want to be seen with you and you had no idea what was going on in that little head of his. Right here by the pool in front of everyone wasn’t exactly the best place to ask though so you just sent him a small nod before gathering up your things and leaving.

‘Trouble in paradise?’ You heard from behind you as you made your way to the door and you didn’t even need to turn to face them to know who it was. You’d been avoiding him like the plague since you told him off for touching you yesterday and you’d been waiting for him to start widning you up again.

‘Fuck off, Carl’

‘Ohhhh, someone’s touchy. I don’t know why you’re bothering with him, I can see he’s not interested from a mile away. Why are you wasting your time you’ve got someone right here ready to give you what you want’

‘Cause I don’t fucking want you!’ you snapped. Turning to face him suddenly and you knew you’d caught him off guard. ‘Ever think of that?’

‘Of course you do, everyone does’ he told you matter of factly, looking at you dumbfounded at the fact you might not want him but you didn’t want to waste another second of your life in his presence.

‘Oh bore off, I’m done talking to you’ you huffed. Turning in the corridor and making you way to your room and thankfully he didn’t follow you.

All you could think about was Mason as you showered and dried your hair. Was he not interested anymore? Or were you being sensitive as Carl just made everything seem 10x worse.

You wanted to talk to him before dinner so you could get to the crux of the issue, knowing that if you left things any longer than needed it could take a turn and it wasnt like he was mad at you. He just seemed sad almost, and distant and since you were ready earlier than planned you wondered if it was worth a shot to go and find him.

You’d saved this dress specifically for tonight. Your last big dinner out with everyone and you wanted to look the part and hopefully catch Mason's eye a bit. Even if that did feel like an impossible task right now.

You needed an excuse to talk to him and this seemed the perfect one. Not being able to quite get the zipper done up without some help so you did it enough to be able to leave your room and not flash anyone before making your way down the hall to his door.

As you didn’t fancy standing in the middle of the corridor half dressed you knocked rather quickly in hopes he would come and answer faster and soon enough he opened up with a small but shocked smile on his face.

‘Hey Mase, sorry I’m having a bit of trouble with my dress. I don't suppose you could zip me up?’ You asked and after he quickly nodded you in, you made your way into his room.

‘Thank you’ you smiled. Standing in front of his big mirror so he could zip you up and the feeling of his hand on your waist as his knuckles brushed your skin made your knees weak. Watching him in the mirror in front of you as he concentrated made your heart race and once he was done and you caught his eye in the mirror you knew you needed to step it up a notch.

You figured you’d act as normal as possible with him, turning in his hold to face him and when you placed a quick peck on his lips you noticed again he didn’t deepen it or even return it but just looked to the floor blankly.

‘Mase, what’s wrong?’ You sighed. Pulling out of his grasp as his hands fell to his sides with a thud and you knew your question had shocked him. His eyes going wide as his face paled but you were determined to not let him brush this off as nothing.

‘What do you mean?’

‘You’ve barely spoken to me for the last few days, you haven’t kissed me. Have I done something wrong?’ You asked and even though you didn’t mean for it to, your voice sounded teary and upset. This seemed to be enough to snap Mason out of his funk a little bit as he looked at you guiltily before gently pulling you back into his arms.

‘No, you haven’t done anything I promise’ he whispered. Stroking your back with his thumbs like he always did and you felt yourself settle in a way you hadn’t for days. It was like your Mason was back as he touched you like normal so you placed your hands on his chest before he pulled you closer.

‘What is it then? Do you not like me anymore?’ You questioned but his face dropped even further. Clearly it hitting him how upset you were by his mood over the last few days.

‘Hey, no. Don’t say that, I adore you’ he told you sincerely, cupping your jaw so you’d look at him but it didn’t explain why he’d been off with you. ‘I’m just a bit embarrassed

‘Embarrassed? What of me?’

‘No not you’ he laughed, looking at you with a heartfelt smile before his face dropped again. ‘Of me. I just got into my own head about something and I feel a little ridiculous’

‘Tell me’ you whispered, trying to reassure him that whatever it is things would be fine but you had no idea what it was he could be embarrassed of. ‘What did I tell you that night, huh? I’m big on communication. So just tell me and we can figure it out’

You could tell Mason wanted to tell you. Watching him inhaling a deep breath before letting it out shakily. Swallowing down a nervous gulp as he placed both hands back on your waist and you knew he was about to hit you with it.

‘Do you like him?’

‘Like who?’ You questioned, unsure of what he meant and the name that fell from his lips made no sense to you at all.

‘Carl’

‘What? Where did you get that idea?’ You laughed but you realised it wasn't a laughing matter for him but a genuine concern.

‘Ive seen the way he looks at you and he was making you laugh in all those pictures your company posted on instagram like he was next you in every bloody one and then you were on that jet ski together before and I just…’

‘Mase’ you smiled. Moving your hands to around his neck before bumping your nose against his to get him to look at you. ‘Are you jealous?’

‘What? I’m not jealous’ he scoffed, a small smile on his lips as he realised he probably sounded a bit silly but little did you know you only had half the story.

‘Tell your face that then’ you joked but you knew he needed a little reassurance. ‘For the record no, I don’t like him. If you’d have taken any notice of me you would have seen I’ve been nowhere near him when I don’t have to be. He’s an arrogant twat who doesn’t know when to keep his hands to himself’

‘What?’ He snapped, pulling back to look at you with his hands gripping you your waist tighter and you could tell he was angry about what you’d said.

‘It’s fine, I handled it’

‘I should of handled it’ he murmured ‘You’re mine and it’s my job to look after you’

‘Yours huh?’ You smiled, your heart fluttering at the way the words sounded coming out of his mouth.

‘What did he do? Tell me’ he asked, brushing past what he’d said but his nose was turning pink out of embarrassment and even though you wanted to talk more about being his, you also knew you needed to talk about this more.

‘Nothing bad, just kept putting his hands on me you know? Like on my arms and round my waist when we were at the event. We had a chat in the morning and agreed we’d be civil that day but he went way overboard and made me uncomfortable’

‘What do you mean, be civil? I thought you two got on?’

‘Well if you hadn’t been in a strop for a few days you would have seen we don’t’ you smiled. ‘When I went with him on the jet ski it was just because it was the last space left and all he did was piss me off. Kept talking about us after I asked him not to before he tried to tell me how he’d treat me but I told him that I wasn’t interested. I’m still pissed off he ruined my turn. I'd been looking forward to that’ you huffed but now you’d explained yourself you were waiting for Mason to get to the root of the issue. ‘Why don’t you like him? You can tell me’

‘He’s just not my kind of people’ he shrugged, trying to brush past it again, but you gave him a firm look which made him roll his eyes with a sigh. ‘Oh fine, but I’m gonna sound insane. He’s always been Woodys mate but I’ve known who he is and he’s got this weird thing against me. Whatever I have he’s gotta have the same, and that includes girls. We’d go on nights out and I’d be talking to someone and then the next thing I know he’s wormed his way in. Even girls I’d been talking to for weeks he’d find a way to take from me somehow and I just got tired of him always butting in. I haven’t had to think about him in Manchester but seeing I’m him again just put me on edge’

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ You whispered. Stroking his neck with your thumbs as your hands rested on his shoulders and you couldn’t help but feel sad for Mason. You didn’t like that he’d kept this all bottled up inside but now you knew what his problem was you could face it together.

‘I’ve never told anyone’ he shrugged. ‘He’s mates with all my mates and I don’t wanna rock the boat. But also cause it felt a little pathetic. Like it’s a weird thing to explain to people but I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about him getting to you’

‘Mason, you know I’m all about you, don’t you?’ You whispered. Watching his face soften as he gave you a lopsided smile and you knew all he needed right now was a bit of reassurance. ‘You don’t think i'd have kissed you in front of everyone, or slept in your bed the first night if I wasn’t nuts about you. I’m not that kinda girl’

‘I know you’re not’ he laughed. ‘It was never you I wasn’t sure about, it’s him he just brings out the worst in me. And I wasn’t jealous… I was scared’

‘Scared of what? Me leaving you for him?’

‘A little bit’ he whispered and your heart thumped at how vulnerable he was being with you. ‘I feel so dumb even admitting that but he’s done it to me before with girls I was just talking to, so the fact we’re more than that, I knew he’d jump in and do something stupid. It didn’t help that you’re not actually mine’ he muttered under his breath but you just about heard him. Tilting your head quizzically at him as he turned red in the face. ‘You know we’re not like… together officially or whatever. I wanted to ask you while we were away, you know? Make you my girl like I said I would’

‘You wanna be my boyfriend’ you teased, smiling wildly at his confession and his face soon mirrored yours as he smiled back.

‘Oh give over’ he scoffed before his face softened once more. ‘Have I ruined it?’

‘Not at all’

‘So if I were to ask you, like to be mine, would you say yes?’ He asked nervously, his eyes all over your face as he tried to decipher your reaction but you just smiled at him as you hoped he’d know what your answer would be.

‘Why don’t you try right now’

‘Cause I’m scared’ he whispered. Holding you tight to his body as he rested his forehead on yours.

‘What are you scared of?’ You asked, laughing a little bit at how silly he was being but you were just hoping you were coming across not as nervous as you were feeling in this second.

‘You’ he laughed. ‘I really like you and I really think we could be something you know? I like us’

‘I like us too’ you told him. Letting him take a deep breath to calm himself as you knew this was a lot for him. ‘Mase? If you did want to ask, the answer would be yes. I really like you too’

‘I’ll think about it’ he laughed shyly before you lent in to kiss his cheek. ‘You haven’t poked me in the ribs yet so I wasn’t sure’

‘And once again, you're insane’ you told him before you were pulling him into a soft kiss. Feeling him kiss you back properly after so long as your chest fluttered at the way he was holding you. Soft but strong and the way he stroked your skin with his thumbs made you want to melt into a pool of goo on the floor. ‘Come on, you’re not getting out of having dinner with me tonight. I want you sat next to me’ you demanded with a smile.

‘I’m coming I’m coming’ he laughed. Pulling you into one last hug before pulling away from you but holding you at arm's length with your hands still entwined.

‘Hey, y/n?’

‘Yeah?’

‘You look beautiful’ he whispered. His voice sincere as his eyes trailed over you but you were quick to kiss him as you felt your face flush.

‘Thank you Mason’ you whispered against his lips. Feeling happier than you had in days.

Dinner tonight was at the hotel and when the pair of you arrived hand in hand it revived a mixed reaction. Most people paid you no mind but Freddie was sending you a sly smile.

Then there was Carl, sending the pair of you daggers as his gaze shot to your hands. Eyes rolling in the back of his head that you two were together but little did he know he had front row seats to the best show in town.

The only two seats were thankfully as far away from Carl as you could get. Right in between Freddie and woody and after Mason pulled your chair out you gave him a quick kiss right in Carls eyeline.

‘What are you doing’ Mason laughed, cheeks flaming at the way you’d kissed him so publicly but you just sent him a reassuring smile.

‘Claiming you. Buckle up cause this is nothing’ you winked. Kissing his lips softly again before taking your seat and staring down Carl in the process.

You knew he was watching you the whole time. Lindsay and Louise either side of him as he quietly stewed and now you knew how awful he made Mason feel you were ready to make him feel the same.

All notions of ‘on the down low’ were out the window as he draped his arm over the back of your chair. Letting you lean into him and kiss him as much as you wanted whilst you sporadically fed each other. It was driving Carl up the wall and you loved how Mason was playing along and winking at you everytime you went a little overboard.

‘I heard the sunset is gonna be insane tonight’ Freddie mentioned as you were finishing up and with one look at Mason you knew what was coming. ‘How’s about you see if you can get us a table on the rooftop bar’ he winked but Mason just rolled his eyes with a laugh.

‘I kind of have one already booked’ he told him, looking down at you with a wink and you knew he’d booked it for just the two of you. ‘I’ll see if I can get a few people added though’

By the time Mason got back the table had cleared out, just Freddie and Woody with their girls left and Carl had stormed off in a huff much to your delight.

‘Right, I can only get an extra four seats’

‘That’s fine, six of us six seats’ Freddie winked. ‘The others have left so we don’t need to worry about them’

‘You don’t mind do you?’ Mason asked. Placing his hand on your waist before dropping a kiss on your forehead. ‘I wanted it to be just us’

‘I don’t mind’ you whispered. ‘Come on, it’ll be fun’

Thankfully the table they’d arranged for you was in the corner out of the way but right near front so you had an uninterrupted view of the beach and the sunset and as you all sat and chatted away you couldn't have felt happier if you’d tried.

You’d always found it hard to make friends at school and work but you were honestly so thankful for Freddie. Not only for all his help in furthering your career but he’d just been the best person to you and you were so happy you’d got to spend this time away together to build on your friendship.

You’d grown to adore Lex just as much, forming a girly alliance with her and Kaz over the few days you’d been here and you knew that when you were back home the three of you would be hanging out regularly. As well as getting to know Woody a little more and you knew he’d been pushing Mason not to be such a grump with you which you appreciated.

Then there was Mason. The beautiful boy that had slowly taken your heart and ran with it and you couldn’t believe you were finally at a place with him where things were getting serious. You’d stuck to your guns and made him wait until you were ready but the fact he’d waited around and was willing to work for you made your heart thump and as you looked up into his kind eyes you knew you’d managed to find something special with him.

The six of you were laughing and sharing stories for ages. Woody teaching you more about Mason than you ever thought you’d know and you could tell Mason was hating every second of it but as you pouted at him sympathetically and kissed his jaw you knew he was fine if not a little embarrassed.

‘I’m just popping to the loo’ Mason told you, dropping a kiss on your cheek as he left and you used the time he was gone to walk over to the balcony. Taking a moment for yourself to think over the four days you’d had here and how now you and Mason were on the same page you couldn’t wait to see where things may take you.

The sun was almost setting and even though it was one of the most beautiful things you’d ever seen, you knew something was missing. Mason said he’d be right back but you were starting to think he’d got lost somewhere and as you looked around at Freddie and Lex, and Woody and Kaz enjoying the moment together you felt your heart sink that you couldn’t share this with your person.

That was until a hand on your waist made you jump but as you looked up to the culprit your favourite brown eyes were looking back at you sweetly and your heart settled on your chest now he was back.

‘Just me’ he whispered, his arm wrapping around further your waist so your back was to his chest but you knew you wanted more. Turning slightly in his hold to give him a quick kiss that he deepened instantly. A complete 180 to how he was acting with you a few hours before and you smiled at the realisation you were all fine again.

‘I didn’t think you’d make it’

‘I wouldn’t miss this for the world, baby’ he whispered. The pet name making you feel giddy as it was one he’d never used before and now it was your turn to blush at how he was making you feel. Eventually turning away from him before he leant his head on top of yours to watch the sunset and you felt your arms wrap over his to keep him in place. The feel of his lips pressing gentle kisses to the side of your face making you shiver and when he pulled you in impossibly closer you couldn't wipe the smile from your face. ‘Hey Y/n?’

‘Yeah?’ You whispered back. Trying to play things cool as you could tell his voice was nervous and you weren’t sure what he was about to say.

‘Would you be my girlfriend?’

‘I think I would, yeah’ you smiled, looking back up at him shyly but the look of relief on his face made your tummy flutter. ‘I didn’t get to poke you in the ribs’

‘There’s always time for that later’ he winked. His silly joke making you laugh but all you wanted in this moment was to kiss him. Not caring about how beautiful the sunset was as the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen was right in front of you and he was yours so you reached forward and pulled him in for a bruising kiss.

‘Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?’ you asked shyly once you’d both gotten your breath back. Resting your hands on his chest as he fully enveloped you and the bashful look on his face made your heart flutter.

‘I’d be offended if you didn’t’ he teased, swaying you from side to side gently before popping a kiss on your cheek. ‘You wanna swing by your room and grab some of your things?’

‘Somethings telling me I won’t need anything’ you told him. Hoping he’d catch onto what you were getting at and even though his eyebrows shot up in what looked like understanding you knew he needed a bit more from you.

‘Oh?’ He gulped. ‘Why’s that?’

‘Well are you suggesting I need something to sleep in?’ You asked him cheekily and the deep blush that sprung up on his nose made you carry on. ‘Cause in my head, I didn’t see me, or you for that matter, wearing anything’ you whispered. Trying to be as sexy and sultry as you could and you saw Masons eyes darken immediately.

‘You mean…?’

‘I think tonight might be your lucky night’ you whispered. Cupping his jaw to kiss him and the way he squeezed your waist excited you. Pulling away to see his black eyes frantically searching your face as you both became breathless and you knew he was ready to be alone with you.

‘Shall we get out of here?’

‘I think we should’ you giggled. Taking his hand and leaving the bar without a second glance to anyone you left behind.

The feel of Mason’s thumb gently caressing your ribs stirred you from your sleep slightly. The warmth of him engulfing you and when you eventually opened your eyes he was looking back at you softly.

'Sorry' he whispered, clearly it not being his intention to wake you up but you were thankful that he had so you got to look at him some more. Knowing you'd never get bored of the boy in front of you.

Simultaneously you both began to giggle. Thoughts of the night before flooding your mind of how you'd both finally got to explore the other like you'd been craving and it was like you could still feel his bruising grip on you hips as you rolled your body on top of his. Still felt his hand lightly gripping your throat as he slowly fucked you from behind with his body pressed against yours. His whimpers and whines ringing through your ears that had only aided in tipping you over the edge and for someone who could be so shy around you he was a dark horse when it came to pleasing you.

‘I can't believe you're finally mine' he whispered after your laughter had died down, your heart hammering in your ears at how sincere he sounded and you couldn’t help but roll on top of him. Kissing him sweetly as he steadied your body on top of his.

‘Believe it buddy. No backing out now’

‘I would never’ he whispered. ‘What are your plans for today, beautiful?’

‘Don’t really have any, just a pool day I guess but I feel like I’ve not seen much of actual Malta. I was hoping we would have been out a bit more’ you pouted and he smiled at you softly.

‘Would you like to? I mean we don’t have to stay here’

‘Yeah? I’d love to go to the beach’ you smiled. ‘You know, spend our first official day as a couple just the two of us’

‘Oh yeah’

‘Yeah, let’s fuck these lot off and go out. The towns not too far so we can have a look round at the shops and grab some lunch?’

‘Do you think the others would mind?’

‘I don’t really care if they do’ you laughed. ‘Let’s say we stayed here? We would have spent all day with just each other anyway we may as well just spend it away from here’

‘You’ve got a deal’

‘I’ll go get ready then’ you told him, but from the way his hands gripped your bum you knew he didn’t want to leave his bed any time soon.

‘Not yet’ he whispered and you could see exactly why he wanted to stay here from one look in his dark eyes. ‘Please gorgeous, I won’t be able to think straight all day otherwise’

‘Oh poor baby’ you teased ‘we don’t want that do we’

‘Nope, I was too excited last night. I didn’t even get to have you how I wanted’ he whispered whilst rolling the pair of you over and you giggled as he was suddenly on top of you. Kissing your face gently as he pressed himself into your core and you gasped at the feel of him again.

‘How did you want me?

‘Like this. I wanna look at you’ he told you lowly. Rolling his hips into you but soon enough his lips were on your neck and you felt yourself melting into the sheets.

Once Mason had got his own way you laid with him for a little while. Stealing kisses and stroking his cheek as he gazed at you lovingly but soon enough you were both hungry so he let you run back to your room so you didn’t waste too much of the day and within the hour you were meeting him at the entrance. Him deep in conversation with Woody but as soon as he saw you his whole face lit up before you said your goodbyes and made your way into the local town.

You walked around the little shops first. Grabbing yourself a quick bite to eat before picking out a few bits for your loved ones back home and your heart melted as you watched Mason try and pick a few things out for his nieces. He spoke about his family often and you could see how much he loved them all but you knew he cared for the little ones especially. Even getting your opinion before making his final decision and with a kiss to your forehead he went to pay.

Next you went to the beach, it was fairly quiet and you allowed yourself to lay in the water and clear your mind as the sun licked your skin. Feeling the waves ripple past you gently as you got comfy by the shore but soon enough your light was blocked and a pair of lips were kissing yours.

‘Sorry, I couldn’t resist’ he chuckled. Linking your pinkies together before joining you in the water and you realised then and there you’d never felt more at peace.

‘Is there anything you want to do today? We’ve still got a few hours before we need to go back’ you asked once you were both out and drying off. Mason insisting you sit in front of him and from the way he kept kissing your shoulder and touching your thighs you knew he was just as in his feels as you were.

‘I’m happy here with you’

‘That’s not what I asked’ you giggled. ‘You and Woody we’re talking earlier, did you have plans?’

‘I was meant to play tennis with Woody but then Kaz wanted to play too and it wouldn’t worked out with the three of us so I left them to it. She’s way better than me anyway’

‘Why don’t I join you?’ You offered. Knowing Mason loved any type of sports and he’d been banging on about playing tennis since before you’d come out here.

‘You play?’

‘Nope’ you winked. ‘But I picked up mini golf quickly, I’m sure you’ll be able to whip me into shape with tennis too’you laughed. Watching his eyes turn dark as he nibbled his lip but within a blink the look was gone, just a pinky blush over his cheeks and nose as he thought about that statement in a different context. ‘Why don’t we dry off, get some late lunch then head back and join them. Then I can get packed up early so I don’t have to worry about it later?’

‘You’re staying with me again tonight right?’ He asked, a slight tinge of fear in his voice that maybe you couldn’t but you just smiled at him.

‘If I must’ you joked, turning in his hold so you could kiss his jaw. ‘Of course I am’ you confirmed and with a final squeeze you got yourselves packed up.

Mason found you a little Italian restaurant just up from the beach and he let you order for the both of you before you made your way back to the hotel. Thankfully Woody and Kaz had only been playing for ten minutes by the time you turned up and you spent a little while getting to grips with the game as Mason tried to teach you. Flashbacks to your first date where he was teaching you to play golf crept into your mind but this time he was much more touchy and kept kissing your cheek which was making you giggle like a little girl.

Things only intensified when he took his shirt off and you got to see his muscles flexing under his skin and you knew he knew you were staring and he kept winking at you and kissing you deeply whilst guiding your arms from behind but all you could think about was getting him back to his room for a repeat of this morning.

y/n recently added to their stories

Dinner that night was a low key affair, in fact most of you were off doing your own things so you and Mason took yourselves out to another restaurant by the beach so you could fit in one final sunset and once you were both completely full, Mason suggested going back to the hotel for a few drinks before heading back to his room.

He held your hand the whole time, not even wanting to put it down to eat as you both caught up on the few days you’d been apart. Mason eager to hear all about your event and Mason updated you on his training whilst showing you pictures of him playing tag and walking around in his little crop top that you enjoyed a lot, but your favourite thing was the beautiful smile on his face.

The bar was fairly quiet when you got back and after you’d gotten your drinks and found a table you nipped off to the loo so you could make sure you still looked presentable. Not that you thought Mason would care but the thought of sitting opposite him with sauce all over your face filled you with dread. Thankfully you were fine but as you made your way back to your table you thought you could hear Mason's voice and he didn’t sound best pleased. It was only when you noticed Carl sitting opposite him did you realise why but you hung back a little to listen into the conversation and even though Carl was being his ever charming self you noticed how mason wasn’t backing down and finally telling him how it is.

‘All I’m saying is, I’d be careful with that one mate, she was all over me the other day when we were on that jet ski’

‘Oh was she yeah? See I seem to remember you being all over her, and she told me you wouldn’t leave her alone at the event so she’s not actually been around you since cause you made her uncomfortable? Pretty sure that’s what she told me’ Mason scowled and he watched Carl's face drop.

‘Got you on a tight leash already huh?’

You knew Manson would be able to handle things on his own but you didn’t want him to have to sit through this. Especially knowing everything you did now about Carl so without a second thought you made your way over to Mason before he could say anything else. Placing your hand on his shoulder before sitting yourself on his legs and smiling brightly at him. ‘You okay my love?’

‘Better now you’re here’ he grinned. Pulling you further into his lap and resting his hand on your thigh as you lent down to kiss him sweetly and from the look in his eye he knew that you’d overheard a lot of the conversation.

‘I don’t mean to be rude Carl but my boyfriend and I were hoping for a little bit of alone time’ you told him. Watching his lips purse at the words boyfriend but he recovered quickly and began to smirk at you in the cocky way he always did.

‘I can sit here, it’s a free country’ he shrugged, settling back into the seat like he owned the place but rather than get annoyed you just cupped Mason's jaw and made him look at you.

‘Shall we go back to the room then? We can start our evening early’ you winked at Mason, hoping it was obvious enough to them both as to what you were getting at and from Mason's red cheeks you could tell he’d understood. ‘Hope you and your right hand have a good night Carl’

You pulled Mason up by his hand, the pair of you giggling as you made your way into the corridor where your room was and when you came to his room he pulled your arm gently so you’d stop.

‘You’re insane, you know that?’

‘Maybe a little bit’ you shrugged, letting him push you up against his door as you both giggled and when you reached around to stroke the back of his hair you felt his shoulders relax like usual. ‘I just want you to know you’ll never have to worry about him with me, okay? I’m all yours, Mount. Have been from the second I saw you strutting your stuff about in front of that camera’

‘I’ve known it since you walked into that room too’ he whispered. Bumping his nose against yours before kissing your cheek. ‘Also remind me to never get on your bad side. That right hand comment was brutal’

‘The truth hurts sometimes, what can I say’ you smiled. ‘How’s about you take me in your room and you can have any side of me you like’

‘Deal’ he winked. Taking your hand in his before leading you inside for hopefully another night like the previous and as he pushed you up against the door from the inside and captured your lips with his, you knew this trip was the just the start of something beautiful with the most perfect man you’d ever met.

y/n