#but if you want full and proper 'I'm gonna work out this part that's tripping me up' that's probs not happening at the venue

[aeolianblues]

the real fiction in a lot of band AU fics is the amount of time bands seem to have on the evening of a show!

[decks-writing-blog]

Snow's a Scam

Summary: The Science Team decide to vacation at a ski resort.

[A/N] This was my 1st bonus idea while writing WhateverTF Benrey Is when I decided to make Benrey cold-blooded. It opens up the question of how he responds to extreme temperatures with potentially interesting answers. Such as: there are some frogs that can be frozen and then thawed and be perfectly fine with the whole thing, which is pretty neat so I decided it applies to Benrey.

I was gonna have be part of the drabble series but uh... even doing my best to streamline it, it got long. In part because the whole crew (plus Darnold) is there so I'm putting it in it's own fic. Especially since it puts me one fic closer to 400 total over on Ao3.

~

Benrey had been oh so patient in the car since they’d first entered proper snow territory. He’d wanted to wait until they were deeper in so his first touch of of it would be extra good so he might as well wait until they reached their destination; the ski resort. Plus the anticipation would make it more fun, right? Except no, it sucked.

He’d stuck his hand into the first mound of snow he’d come across and scooped out a handful of it and it sucked. It wasn’t anywhere even close to as soft or fluffy as it looked. Video games had of course exaggerated it but in real life it looked pleasant too. Sparkling and pretty, a winter wonderland. The physical feel of it though didn’t match the vibe of any kind of ‘wonderland’ at all.

Cold he’d expected so the unpleasantness of that only added to the rest of it. It wasn’t wasn’t soft or fluffy but instead crunchy and horrid. Despite that he tried but mostly failed to roll it into a ball as it froze to his hands, coating them in a layer of ice and snow.

He turned back to face the Science Team plus Darnold who were just now finally all out of their two rented special snow trucks. “Snow’s a scam.”

“I don’t think snow can be a scam,” Tommy said as he hooked Sunkist’s leash onto her collar – apparently this place had some dumb ‘dogs must be leashed’ rule. “It’s just frozen water and um… I don’t think anyone is claiming it’s anything else.”

Coomer stepped up next to him, lifting a finger to make a point. “It’s a scam in that, despite being water, when in a survival situation eating it in an attempt to ease thirst would only make you die faster.”

“And yellow snow is the biggest scam of all,” Bubby added.

“For the sake of my sanity, I’m gonna assume you’re not talking from personal experience,” Gordon said before walking over to stand next to Benrey. “But uh… Benrey, don’t like the snow, huh?” The ‘I told you so’ didn’t even need to be said. He’d warned that Benrey probably wouldn’t like to several times. Him being right was annoying.

“It’s got a bad texture and it…” Benrey ran his hands down the front of his coat, wiping as much of the snow off as he could. It being frozen directly to his form made it a bit stubborn but with a bit of work he did manage to free his hands of it. “It’s cold and sucks.”

“Try picking some up with your gloves on, you might have better luck.”

They’d already determined that cold weather gear wouldn’t do much for Benrey for the same reason normal blankets didn’t; he didn’t produce any body heat to trap and keep himself warm with. Gordon had bought him a full set before setting out on this ski trip anyway for whatever help it could offer, even if it only protected from direct contact with the cold air but mostly so he’d fit in. Meaning he did have a pair of gloves. Being for cold weather though, they were thick and thus he couldn’t move his hands right in them. But well, they weren’t as bad as sticking his bare hands in snow again.

He pulled them out of his pocket and slipped them on. Flexing his hands in them was annoying in the ways his movement was affected but as he scooped up another wad of snow, he did indeed have more luck. The awful crunchy texture of it was much less intense through cloth and it didn’t stick to the gloves nearly as much as it had to his bare hands, allowing him to roll it into a proper snowball. He stepped back a little more as he looked up at Gordon and…

“Don’t you dare throw that at me.”

Benrey paused, his hand rearing back to do just that. Was this one of those Gordon would be annoyed if Benrey threw it at him anyway or would it be upsetting? Like when he’d freaked out about the bucket prank because of his trauma about things jumping out at him. He’d certainly see this coming but it would still be something rushing at him really fast so it might be bad. Benrey only wanted to annoy him, not upset him, so… he lowered his hand. “I wasn’t gonna.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Damn,” Bubby cut in, “Gordon, you actually managed to civilize him. I never would’ve thought…” He cut off with a small yelp as Benrey’s snowball hit him in the face, knocking his glasses askew. He recovered quickly though as he scooped up a wad of snow and without even bothering to roll it into a ball tossed it in retaliation. Expecting it, Benrey let it phase through himself.

Bubby frowned at that as he fixed his glasses, though he didn’t bother to wipe snow of them. “Bitch.”

Benrey laughed as he stuck his hands in his coat pockets. Annoying Gordon might be the most fun but the others sometimes had good reactions too. Speaking of Gordon, he chuckled too; he’d also thought it was funny.

“We’re having a snowball fight?” Darnold asked as he stepped up to join them, carrying his ski gear. He was the only one who already had ski stuff, the rest of them were renting.

“We should uh… get settled in first, I think,” Tommy said. “Also the parking lot’s probably not a good place for it. There are cars coming and going.”

“Right, right. There’s no room for a proper pair of snow forts out here anyway. Let’s go sort out our cabins.”

As he marched off, leading the way, everyone else set into following. Gordon fell into step with Benrey at the rear of the group. “How you holding up?”

“Hmm… it’s cold.” True to expectation, the coat, thick as it was, didn’t seem to be doing as much as it was supposed to.

“That’s why I asked. Now that you’ve got a taste of it you still sure you’re gonna be okay up here for three whole days? Actually more than three because technically there’s the rest of today too.”

“If it damages me, I’ll heal from it.” Even if it was so far proving to be worse than he’d expected, he’d still agreed to go. Skiing seemed like fun though even if he had to suffer some intense cold for it.

“I know but… just if it gets too uncomfortable, let me know and we can find a warm place inside to hang out for a bit, okay?”

“Okay.” Benrey might take him up on that. This cold was rather unpleasant.

~

After checking in and dropping their packs off in their respective rented cabins, Darnold offered to show them around the resort with the rest of today’s sunlight since they’d arrived earlier than planned. Which meant they could skip the tour tomorrow morning and go straight to Darnold and Coomer teaching the rest of them how to ski. A good plan for sure, they didn’t have anything else to do but… Benrey would rather curl up in the cabin with Gordon next to the heater. Everyone else went though so he continued to tag along at the rear of the group.

He’d brought his camera and thus took advantage of the opportunity to take pics of anything that caught his eye. It was a very pretty area after all. Even all the buildings, cabins and shopping areas alike, were aesthetically pleasing. Like with the snow earlier, the visuals juxtaposed oddly against the misery of the rest of it. No one else seemed bothered by the cold, in the group or any of the other tourists going about their business around them, so it probably wasn’t as intense as it had potential to be. Even so it was more than bad enough; Benrey hated it more and more the longer he was out in it.

Was it possible for him to mimic what warm animals’ bodies did that made them warm? Like was there an organ that produced heat? … He’d seen human anatomy diagrams though and surely such a thing would’ve been important enough to get a label. So probably that wasn’t a thing. It had to be something physical though, right?

He lightly bumped shoulders with Gordon, getting his attention. “What makes warm animals warm?”

“Uh… what?”

“Like um, what does your body do that makes you warm?”

“I’m not a biologist so I don’t know the specifics well enough to explain it. Tommy probably does though, maybe try asking him.”

Normally Benrey wouldn’t have a problem with pushing forward to ask Tommy instead but it didn’t really feel like it was worth the effort right now. Likely he wouldn’t understand the explanation anyway because Tommy was bad at explaining things. Bubby probably knew too – he was designed to be the ultimate genius after all – but it wasn’t really that important. Benrey would look it up later or ask one of them or maybe just drop it.

“If you’re cold though, we could head back to the cabin.” Gordon gestured back the way they’d come.

“Nah, I’m fine.” The cold had sunk its claws into him like a million tiny frozen knives, digging deeper and deeper the longer he was out in it. He could just turn off feeling though and thus could indeed be fine, sort of. Not being able to physically feel anything, made him clumsier and brought with it a sense of being detached from his form that he also didn’t like. But it was a solution to the cold growing bad enough to cause pain so… he could do it intermittently until the tour was complete. Which it should be soon; how big could this place be outside of the ski slopes which they wouldn’t explore properly until tomorrow?

***

Given how the Science Team was and after how their time here had started, a snowball fight was basically inevitable. Gordon might’ve been willing to join in except he was tired from the drive down here and not in the mood to miss every throw because he had no practice throwing stuff with his left hand. Also, his arm was starting to hurt right where his gun hand melded with the rest of his forearm. Not particularly bad, he could easily ignore it, but any pain in that area was cause for concern, right? So instead after standing and watching for a little while, he quietly excused himself and sat on a nearby bench, close enough to watch but far enough away that he was he was unlikely to be hit by a stray snowball.

He carefully unwrapped it and pulled his coat sleeve up. The cold air hitting the part of his arm that could still feel temperature had him quickly regretting that decision. It looked find though, the same as it ever had so maybe he shouldn’t worry about it even if the cold air might’ve made the pain worse. … He’d wrap it more warmly tomorrow. For now though, he quickly covered it back up before anyone else saw and to escape the cold air.

As he looked back up towards the Science Team’s snowball fight, who was winning was impossible to tell. Sunkist had been let off her leash though, allowing her to run back and forth to catch snowballs thrown from both sides. Because there were only two sides now. Benrey had declared himself on a side of his own at the start but despite the game having gone for maybe ten minutes at most, he’d abandoned it to start for Gordon’s bench instead.

“You okay?” Gordon asked a few moments later as Benrey closed in, dragging his feet through the snow the whole way.

Benrey groaned as sat on the bench next to him. He pulled Gordon’s arm into a hug as he leaned into him, resting his head on his shoulder. Even through Gordon’s coat, he felt cold, making it a bit uncomfortable. But Gordon wasn’t about to push him away because clearly the answer to his question was ‘no’.

“Wanna go back to the cabin?” Gordon wouldn’t mind that actually. The cold was getting to him too and it would start getting dark soon, meaning it was getting colder.

Benrey groaned again. “Too far. I’m tired.”

“You slept a couple nights ago though, right?” So he shouldn’t be tired, especially not enough to complain about it.

“Yeah.”

“Then we should definitely go back. Being tired is a sign of advanced hypothermia… I think. I don’t really know but I’ve heard that it is.” In hindsight he maybe should’ve done more research on the subject before coming up here in general but especially with Benrey in tow.

“Nah, I’m fine. Just need to sit for a bit. Wanna sit with you.”

“That’s very sweet but…”

“Shh… shh… Cold stopped hurting so I’m fine now. Just relax, ‘kay?”

“That doesn’t help me relax.” Yeah Benrey could heal from any damage the cold did to him so maybe Gordon shouldn’t be anxious about it but it was hard not to be. He didn’t want Benrey to suffer even if he could heal from it. He’d insisted he’d be fine on this trip every time Gordon had asked him though so… Gordon should maybe take his word for it when he said he was fine. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d lied about being fine though. “But… all right, sure. We’ll sit for a bit then we’re gonna get up and head to the cabin. The cold’s starting to get to me too anyway. Okay?”

“’Kay.” Benrey nuzzled closer, leaning more heavily into Gordon, trapping his arm against his body. It’s not like he going to be using it for anything anyway though. With a sigh, Gordon turned his attention back onto the snowball fight.

Eventually a winner was declared; Bubby and Dr. Coomer’s team. The advantage Dr. Coomer’s robot arms gave him, even when he was holding back as he had been, didn’t seem to bother anyone but it no doubt played a roll in their victory. It was all in good fun so it didn’t matter who won anyway. … Though, if Gordon ever did feel up to participating in a snowball he’d try to finagle his way onto Dr. Coomer’s team. He loved Benrey sure but based off their co-op gaming experience if a funny betrayal opportunity presented itself, Benrey would always take it.

Speaking of Benrey, a look back at him revealed that he’d seemingly fallen asleep. He wasn’t limp against Gordon’s side though but instead oddly stiff. Not helping Gordon’s anxiety for him any. As agreed upon, they’d been sitting for a bit though, thus it was time to get up and head to the cabin the two of them were sharing with Dr. Coomer and Bubby.

He shook Benrey’s shoulder. “Time to wake up. You can finish your nap somewhere warm but first you have to get there.”

No response. Not even a twitch.

“Come on, dude. I’m not carrying you.”

Still nothing.

“Hello Gordon!” Dr. Coomer said as the group – minus Tommy who’d stopped to call Sunkist over to put her leash back on – reached Gordon’s bench.

“Yes, hello Dr. Coomer. Could you help me wake Benrey maybe?”

Dr. Coomer stepped over and gave Benrey a firm enough shake that Gordon felt it too. Benrey didn’t stir. “Would you like me to try slapping him?”

“Uh… maybe in a bit.”

Bubby stepped forward, frowning down at Benrey. “I’d say we could try rolling him down a ladder but I doubt there are any nearby. We could try slapping him though. Whether or not it would work would depend on what’s wrong with him.”

“He said he was fine.”

“Is he actually fine though?” Darnold asked. “I mean people say they’re fine all the time, right? I’ve heard people lie about that sometimes. So how often are they telling the truth?”

Gordon shrugged which didn’t dislodge Benrey or cause him to stir. “I don’t know. He can heal any damage the cold does to him though and he said it didn’t hurt anymore. Which implies that it did hurt at one point. But he fell asleep and uh… now apparently won’t wake up.” Gordon should’ve insisted harder they go back as soon as it became clear something was wrong.

“He could be in a coma.” Dr. Coomer’s tone was nonchalant enough that it took Gordon a second to catch the full implication of his words.

“What? Why would he be in a coma?”

“Some animals, such as certain tree frogs, go to a coma-like state of hibernation during winter. Essentially they freeze and cease functioning until thawed. I doubt Benrey has the same processes in his body to facilitate that but we know he doesn’t produce any body-heat and thus freezing is a potential concern for him. It is currently negative eight degrees Celsius out here after all, below freezing. He can’t die easily though so upon freezing solid, he perhaps goes to sleep and ceases functioning until thawed. Or he might be fully aware but not able to move or speak due to the aforementioned frozen state he seems to be in.”

Gordon tried to move the arm that Benrey was still holding. Which not only mostly failed – Benrey did indeed seem to be at least partially frozen – but also moving it brought to his attention that it had grown somewhat numb around where his flesh met gun. More comfortable than pain but worrying in a different way. “In that case I uh… think we really need to get somewhere warm sooner rather than later. Could someone help me move him please.”

Dr. Coomer bent over and manhandled Gordon’s arm free of Benrey’s hold. It didn’t seem to take much effort from him to move Benrey’s arms but it was Dr. Coomer so even if his arms were frozen all the way through, it wouldn’t be an issue. Benrey didn’t respond at all, not even when Dr. Coomer picked him up, proving the theory that he was frozen held water as he didn’t hang limp as one sleeping usually would.

Gordon stood and without another word started back for the cabins, fast walking. The sooner they got there, the better.

~

Pulling Benrey’s outer layer of clothing off – it was encrusted with snow – wrapping him in the heated blanket, and placing him directly in front of and leaning against the extra space heater they’d brought thawed him out fairly quickly. But he remained asleep and unresponsive to attempts to rouse him.

Gordon paced the length of the cabin. Ostensibly to warm himself up too but really it was because he was anxious. Benrey would probably be fine but… what if he wasn’t? What if cold was the one thing that could kill him permanently? Why that would be the case, he couldn’t come up with a sound hypothesis for but few other things about Benrey made sense either so that meant nothing.

Adding to his anxiety and need to keep moving was the numbness in his arm had thawed into sharp dagger like pain. If he got frostbite in his wrist bad enough from the cold metal of the gun they’d have to cut it off, wouldn’t they? So he’d have to be very, very careful about that too. In hindsight that was something he should’ve thought about before agreeing to go on this trip but he was stupid apparently and hadn’t. He would for sure wrap it better tomorrow and be more vigilant of it.

If he even went out tomorrow anyway. Because if Benrey didn’t wake then… He had no idea what he’d do but he surely wouldn’t be up to trying to have fun learning now to ski or whatever.

Taking Benrey to the medical station was technically a possibility but they wouldn’t know what to do for him. And keeping what he was secret in general was kind of important. If anyone find out it could easily make its way to the news and then who knows what kind of problems might come up? So maybe Gordon should try something instead? He knew the most about Benrey’s composition and whatnot after all but medicine wasn’t something he knew much about for naturally occurring animals so figuring out how to help Benrey would be even harder.

Maybe he should go back to college and get a medical degree. If his knowledge of how Benrey had been constructed in the lab made him the only one capable of potentially helping him should he encounter a real medical emergency then surely he should, right? What if it was already too late though? What if…

“Stop fucking pacing,” Bubby said as he stepped directly in Gordon’s path, forcing him to stop just in time to not crash into him. “You’re driving me insane.”

“Sorry.” Gordon might’ve gone elsewhere to pace but there really wasn’t anywhere he could go, the bedroom he was set to share with Benrey was too small. And he couldn’t tell Bubby to leave since he and Dr. Coomer were splitting the rent on their two bedroom cabin. “I’m just… a bit nervous.”

“I believe ‘a bit’ is an understatement, Gordon,” Dr. Coomer chimed in from where he remained on the couch. “You seem to be quite nervous.”

“Yeah, yeah, I just… what if he doesn’t wake up?” Plus his arm was still hurting. When was frostbite supposed to stop hurting? How bad did it have to be before amputation became the only option? What if he had to go through that and Benrey never waking up? “What if we killed him for good because of this?”

It would at least partially be Gordon’s fault too. He’s the one who’d first brought up the idea with Benrey even if Darnold was the one who’d suggested this particular trip. All of them knew Benrey was cold-blooded too and thus likely to not respond well to these kinds of temperatures. They, Gordon especially, could’ve all insisted harder he not go. Gordon would’ve of course stayed with him, maybe brought him on a different kind of trip.

Bubby sighed, his scowl softening a little. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“We could slap him and see if he wakes up,” Dr. Coomer added. “My slaps can be a bit extreme so maybe Gordon should do it. Unless extreme is what we want.”

“Let’s not resort to slapping yet,” Bubby said. “Give him another couple hours and then we slap the shit out of him until he either wakes up or is proven to be dead. For now Harold, help me get Gordon to sit down and stay sitting before I slap him instead.”

“On it.” Dr. Coomer stood and turned to face Gordon. “Please have a seat, Dr. Freeman.” He gestured towards where he’d just been sitting. “On this side, closest to Benrey.”

With a sigh, Gordon walked over and sat. He was too anxious to sit still for long but the best pacing path in the room was in front of TV so he undoubtedly was being quite annoying with it. So he’d try for as long as he could and then maybe find a less annoying path when he inevitably started again.

Instead of sitting back down as Gordon would’ve expected, Dr. Coomer walked over to the space heater, Benrey still leaning against it. He bent down and scooped Benrey up into his arms, heated blanket and all, then walked back over to the couch and deposited him on Gordon’s lap. Didn’t give him any chance to even try to protest.

“Oh.” Gordon really had no choice but to take him. Unlike earlier, between being near the heater so long and the electric blanket being on its highest setting, Benrey was warm now.

“And now you can’t move,” Dr. Coomer said as he sat down next to him, Bubby sitting on his other side. “It’s illegal.”

“It’s not illegal and wouldn’t even disturb him if I did. Or did you forget we were literally just talking about slapping him to try to wake him up?”

“You’ll stay.” Dr. Coomer’s tone indicated he knew that with a hundred percent certainty.

Gordon sighed but did lean back and adjust Benrey in his arms. With how cold it was outside, the warmth of the heater and blanket weren’t unwelcome. Maybe he would be able to stay for a while.

***

A tapping on his check woke Benrey. He lifted a hand to try to swat it away because he was warm and cozy and didn’t want to open his eyes yet. His arms were under the warm blanket though, they couldn’t reach. The tapping on his face grew more insistent.

“Benrey, I love you and I’m so, so glad you’re okay but you gotta wake up.” Gordon was whispering directly into his ear. “You’re purring and I don’t know if you’re okay with the others knowing about that or whatever so like… wake up.”

That was about the only thing that could convince Benrey to pull himself the rest of the way out of sleep so he could force the soft purr in his chest to stop. Maybe it would be okay if the others knew but he didn’t know who all ‘the others’ entailed in this instance.

He blinked open his eyes to look up at Gordon. Benrey was on his lap, wrapped in the heated blanket. “Thought you said the blanket was too hot.” They’d cuddled under it once before Gordon declared it uncomfortable.

“Normally it is but not when we’re up in the Rocky Mountains when its below freezing outside. But gosh, I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Benrey had rarely felt less not okay. This was great.

Before Gordon could answer… “He’s awake,” Coomer said, prompting Benrey to tilt his head backward to look at him. He was sitting right next to them, killing once and for all the purr in Benrey’s chest. Had he heard the one before? Probably not, right? He was old and the TV and heater were on, creating a drone of noise. Probably, hopefully, Benrey’s cute secret remained as such. “Congrats on not freezing to death, Benrey!”

“See, Gordon, I told you he’d be fine,” Bubby added from Coomer’s other side. “Now, guess I’ll text Tommy and Darnold to let them know too.”

“Why would I have frozen to death?”

“Because,” Gordon replied as Benrey looked back up at him for the answer, “you were literally fucking frozen solid as far as we could tell. You wouldn’t wake up. I was worried for a moment that… I’m glad you’re okay.” He leaned in to kiss Benrey. Not particularly long but still intense, passionate. He’d apparently been quite worried.

Silly. Benrey never stayed hurt or dead. Gordon knew that, it had been a point of annoyance for him once upon a time. But they had established that emotions, especially anxiety and worry, weren’t always logical.

“Sorry. I’m okay though. How long I sleep for?” It felt like a long time.

“About five and a half hours,” Coomer replied.

Wow, not long at all. It must’ve been a very deep sleep. But that thankfully meant he hadn’t missed any of the fun. Or he had, the creeping tiredness had dragged him away from the snowball fight after all. But there could be more of those later, hopefully, there was plenty of snow after all even if it was wretched.

“Tommy wants to know if you still want to go skiing tomorrow,” Bubby chimed in. “Or if you’d rather hang out in the cabin.”

“It’s what we’re here for so why wouldn’t I?”

Gordon gave him a look that he couldn’t quite read. “Are you sure? I mean like… you froze dude.”

Benrey shrugged. “Don’t wanna come all this way for nothing, right? Maybe um, I won’t stay out that long again though. It kinda sucked.” But he’d been mostly fine for the first couple hours. And if he got to return to this, that discomfort would be more than worth it. A couple hours having fun skiing then a couple hours hanging out in the warmth, maybe with Gordon if he wanted to as well, before going back out sounded nice.

“Okay then if you’re sure. I guess you and I can stay out only a couple hours at a time. Not really long enough to get much done but… maybe it’ll be fine.’

“Sweet.”

[skunkox]

Country Lovin Darlin and Rambles.

Is this gonna be self indulging? Very much so. I'm starting to realize no one can stop me, but hear me out real quick. Forgive me if you do decide to read all the way through. It's a lot. 🥲

Before moving to Dahlia, Darlin' used to spend half their summers with their grandparents in Texas. Sorta old money/ retired folk. Big land, but not too much on it. Plenty of room for the shiftsr grandchildgren to play. Passively still making money via whool sales. Yeah, there's other animals, but it's not a giant operation. They do have other empowereds working as ranch hands for them, though.

Anyways, a good moth or so out of each summer as a child, Darlin would help around the ranch, learn to cook and bake, and even participate in town events. (I'm telling you the fucker can cook. Just not for one person.)

Lazy Sunday mornings were spent in front of the TV with their grandfather watching old westerns or things like "The Andy Grifith Show," "Little House on the Prarie," and "Tales of Wells Fargo".

Not even halfway into they stay, they'll have developed a country accent. They still struggled to get be friends with most of the kids their age. Was it because they picked up a garden snake like it was just a piece of rope? Was it because they alegedly chased a kid girl with it that had been giving them hell? Who knows.

I wholeheartedly believe that Darlin was a pageant kid at some point in their life. Regardless of how ruff and tough they are, they were a cute kid. Don't pay the bandaid brand character bandaid any mind.

This is where I say this is really just my version of Darlin and a little bit of Sweetheart. It's Redunk Time.

Specifically for my version of Darlin (fem), "Southern Bell" like fair competitions are what her grandmother would enter the kids in. The one day out of the year she's happy to put on a frilly dress and bows. Not a whole lot of confidence for themselves on stage for the most part, though.

Diving more into the idea that Darlin and Sweetheart used to be friends before the move idea. Sweetheart has gone with them once or twice. Especially when the older cousins were visiting for less time, if at all. The old wolves like a full house, so they had no problem hosting another empowered child.

Sweetheart loved taking pictures and video of their adventures. Still currently holding footage to a misshap of sorts that they swore to never tell anyone about. They also have footage of competitions from the fairs. Including the pageants. Do they plan on telling the pack? Yes. (That's a post for another day)

The duo thought it was weird that the they would be leaving at separate times. They noticed the soured moods of the grandparents but the older wolves couldn't bring themselves to say anything on it in the days leading to their departures. Sweetheart took the flight home alone. Darlin was under the impression that the family was taking a short trip to California before summer ended.

Much to their distraught, their parents had either been moved and or found new jobs in Dahlia. The move was in the works for nearly half a year and they had no idea. Their older siblings knew, but they did everything their parents told them. They got no warning that they wouldn't see their friends anymore. That they wouldn't be attending school that fall with the same kids. That they wouldn't even get to say goodbye to their old house. No proper goodbye to Sweetheart.

Summer visits to Texas were just about haulted. Their parents wanted Darlin to better acquaint themselves with the other pack children. This was a struggle for years.

Sweetheart moving to work for the department and finding themselves with Milo was one thing. But the first time they happened to see each other in a pack meeting was rough. They knew almost instantly who each other were.

Sweetheart had seen a photo in Milo's living room. It was framed next to a lamp. The picture was of Christian and Amanda who awkwardly sat side by side. Hands just nearly touching. On one end of a log. David sat facing forward while Asher sat crooked with an arm thrown over David's shoulder. Both had been laughing. Milo and Darlin had been on the ground and back to back. Darlin had thrown up a rock sign with a small smile, attempting to no ruin the picture with their resting pitch face. Milo sat leaning on one knee, trying his best to look cool and composed.

To make a long story short. Both played dumb as to knowing each other for one reason or another. It wasn't till the Quinn situation, and Darlin coming back to the pack did the two start to speak. It took it all being over for them to finally become close again.

Back to the country thing

Hearing Sam speak for the first time really took them back especially at the end of their conversation with "Didn't your mama teach you not to talk to strange men in the dark, all alone?"

It felt familiar. It disarmed them and put then at ease. Sam's voice is something Darlin couldn't and still can't get enough of. They slip into an accent every once in a while. To them it feels right. Some slips happen in front of the pack and they've been teased for it. Sweetheart knows thr truth and is waiting eagerly to spill the beans on their country loving friend.

So... didn't mean for this to be as long as it is. Really putting a lot into Darlin's character cause it feels right. I like old TV. I mean sorta staticky box tv vibes. My grandfather was into a lot of it. My mom started me on LHOTP and I recently discovered a live channel for it and only it.

I really do apologize for how messy this all looks. It was an accident. Anyways, some bits and pieces of this will eventually be drawn out. Got weeks worth of stuff to do for this Fandom alone 😭

[brownhairedbookworm]

Ch. 2: Snickerdoodle Sunshine

"Hot stuff, comin' through!" Natsuki carries a freshly baked tray of snickerdoodles over to the kitchen table. "Hands off the table, or you're losin' them!"

A very alert Sayori holds her hands above her head, afraid of the wrath of her pink girlfriend. Perhaps even more so than the actual heat of the metal tray. She scoots carefully away from the baker.

Natsuki deftly scoops the cookies onto a proper serving tray. "Double batch of snickerdoodles, for the pleasure of Miss Sayori and her guest, courtesy of La Pâtisserie du Chat!"

"Thanks so much, Nats! I know she's the one that ordered them, but they smell awesome, and I'm gonna finish what she doesn't!" The peachy-haired woman smiles, drumming on her stomach. "I've told you I love your baking, riiiiiiight~?"

"Constantly, but you know I love getting my ego stroked." Natsuki smirks at Sayori, carrying the tray back into the kitchen. She clears her throat, taking a breath before calling out to the further out members of their little brigade. "Oy! Yuri, Monika, hot pan on the stove. Hands off!"

A grunt of confirmation comes from the couch, where Yuri is enraptured in a hefty novel. She most likely won't let herself be in the kitchen, with Natsuki in it. Best to not trip over each other.

"Got it!" Monika comes down the stairs, swinging around the banister. "...Hm, cinnamon...?" The brunette pauses, taking a moment to consider the smells wafting through the air. "Oh! Right, Sayori, you wanted to do the feedism thing, tonight? I guess everything's ready?"

"If you've got comfy clothes on, yep!" Sayori picks up the cookie platter and heads for the couch. She carefully dances around an incoming pair of Kyoho grapes contained within a cream–colored sweater and through the waterfall of violet hair flowing behind them "Excuuuuuuuse me~!"

"You're excused." Yuri passes by Monika and Sayori, heading outside. A bit of evening reading in the sun ought to be nice. And keep her away from the fetish exploration until it's properly her turn. She still needs to plot what she wants to treat Monika to... perhaps something chocolate, to "share"? Hmmm.

"Hm, shorts and a t-shirt. Should be fine!" Monika follows Sayori and the deliciously warm tray of cookies into the living room. She takes a seat as Sayori gestures at her.

"Get that belly ready, Monika, you've got some work to do~!" Sayori kneels in front of Monika and picks one of the warm, fresh cookies off of the stack. "Say 'ahhh~'?"

"Ahh?" Monika opens her mouth.

Sayori gently places the cookie inside and taps the green-eyed woman's chin upward.

Monika can't help but moan at the soft, almost cakey texture of the cookie melting in her mouth. Her eyes drift upward in arousal and appreciation of the flavors.

Sayori giggles. "Cookies are a hit, Nat, good work~!"

"Yeah, I'm not sticking around to hear you two food-fuck. Glad you like my work, but I'm joining Yuri outside." Natsuki comes into the living room to deposit a glass of milk at the side of the cookie platter. "See you!" She flashes her girlfriends a peace sign and makes her way over to the front door.

"Later!" Sayori waves, loading another cookie into Monika's jaws. "Thanks for the milk."

Monika blushes. Sayori's more shameless nature is definitely taking the lead in this interaction. She won't complain, of course. Leading in "the bedroom" isn't really part of her nature. It's a nice break from stress and trying to wrangle people all day.

She looks up into Sayori's mischievous eyes, glinting in the glowing sunset. God, she could lose herself in those chaotic sapphire irises... Not to mention the warm flavors and textures in her mouth.

"Someone's enjoying this, already, huh? You are adorable, when you feel good, Moni~" Sayori runs a newly-freed-from-cookie hand through Monika's hair as she climbs up onto Monika's legs. "I love you~"

And Monika would return the sentiment, were her mouth not full of two half-chewed snickerdoodles. She chews the mass of cookie in her jaws, lost completely in the cinnamon flavor. Natsuki is an absolute wizard with the oven, these cookies are sending her directly to heaven. She loses track of time, just chewing and watching Sayori's eyes. Monika can hardly keep track of how many snickerdoodles have been stuffed into her.

The "cinnamon bun" in her lap feeding the cookies to her is contributing pretty significantly to the loss of time as well! Sayori carefully holds the tray of cookies off to the side of the couch, her free hand rubbing at Monika's somewhat packed stomach. "You're doing so good, Monika. That's ten cookies down. Are you still feeling good?"

"Ooogh..." Monika continues chewing, nodding at Sayori's question. The brunette opens her eyes, looking into Sayori's excited grin. She swallows the cookie in her mouth, taking a moment to breathe. "Milk, please...?" Monika hiccups, resting her hand atop Sayori's as it travels across the bump of her stomach. Ten cookies already, huh? Wow...

"On it~" Sayori's melodic tone bounces into Monika's ear. She sets the cookie tray down and lifts a tall glass to Monika's lips, carefully tilting it backward. "Take it slow~ This is proooobably gonna fill you up a lot, with all the cookies you already ate."

Glug, glug, glug... Monika feels the pressure in her stomach increase almost immediately. After just a few gulps of milk, she groans and has to shut her eyes. "Mmmph..."

Sayori takes that pained grunt as a signal to stop, and she takes the glass away from Monika's lips. She slides down to the floor, keeping her eyes on her girlfriend's rounded belly. "Mmm, all done, for now, Moni~?"

"I think... oooohh, I think so... I am... made of cookies..." Monika hiccups into a belch, and she immediately sags further into the couch with a defeated groan. "S-sorry I couldn't eat them all."

"Moni, you would explode. Natsuki made two dozen of these, and you almost made it through half. That's impressive. And kinda scary, actually, since you usually aren't a big eater like me and her." Sayori reaches up to massage Monika's stomach, hands barely brushing her stuffed lover's skin. "I'm proud of you~"

"...Not the most normal thing I've been praised for..." Monika hiccups again. "Ow..."

"Maybe not, but we're all freaks in this house, right?" Sayori gives Monika a teasing giggle. "Now that you're not gonna get crumbs everywhere, Yuri can't complain about me moving the party up to the bed!" She leans in and kisses Monika's gurgling stomach. "Whenever you think you can move, I'll help you up."

"I don't think I'm moving anywhere for a while, Sayori. I feel like I swallowed a bowling ball..." Monika winces as a particularly loud groan sounds from her stomach. "Ow ow ow... ooooh, I think we went too far..."

"Maybe I should have tried to pour the milk into you a little slower..." Sayori clicks her tongue. "Mm, learning experience, I guess? Ehehe..."

"For both of us... Ungh, I... I feel sick, but... a-also, uh..." Monika's cheeks dust a bit red.

"Ohohoho~? I guess we're learning a bunch, today!" Sayori licks her lips, leaning into Monika's stomach gently and rubbing her sides. "Is my Moni feeling a little... flustered and stuffed~?"

"Feeling... something." She burps, covering her mouth. A groan rolls off of her tongue as her body continues to lay limp in her seat. "Brain's... a little soupy..."

"I guess I'll have to help you with those feelings, won't I?" Sayori stands up, taking Monika's arms with her. "Come on, on your feet~ Let's get to bed so I can rub down that tummy!"

Monika carefully follows Sayori's tugging and guiding, eventually coming to lean on her shoulder. They shuffle slowly to the staircase and begin climbing, Monika's stomach loudly protesting each step.

The arduous trek up to the bedroom ends with Sayori bumping the door open with her plump rear, and Monika carefully being rolled up onto the bed. Sayori lays Monika out flat with her head resting on a pillow.

Time for the good part~! Sayori giggles and climbs up on top of Monika's legs. "Come to mama~!" Her fingers dance in the air and slowly descend upon their prey... a properly packed Monika tummy!

And, it makes the most adorable sounds when poked! Sayori begins to gently massage Monika's stomach, to her personal delight and Monika's moaning relief. She starts humming to herself, carrying a tune somewhere between the notes of digestion and Monika's whimpering.

"...God, this is so hot." Sayori carefully lays herself down at Monika's side, giving her a quick smooch. Her hands continue working across the woman's taut belly. "You did such a good job, for your first time, Monika. I'm proud of your tummy!" She gives Monika's gurgling middle a playful smack.

"Owwwwwww, Sayori, fuck..." Monika winces and clutches the bottom of her gurgling stomach. "Gentle... pl-URP- please."

"Sorry! Ehehe, got a little excited..." Sayori kisses Monika's cheek, again. "...So. How do you feel? Aside from 'stuffed to the gills' and 'sleepy'?"

"Mmmnn... I... definitely a little HIC horny? But... ooooh, my stomach REALLY doesn't wanna move, after nearly a dozen cookies."

"I'll contain myself. You just rest up, and Nurse Sayori will tend to your guts while you digest!"

And so the massage properly resumes. Sayori digs her fingers gently into the sides of Monika's stomach. Monika sighs softly as her eyes flutter closed. Between fullness and the sensation of Sayori being so close, she's more relaxed than she's been in a few days. Sleep takes her soon after Sayori begins, leaving a mildly frustrated feeder behind.

"Haaaa..." Sayori sighs in frustration. "I knew I should've expected her to fall asleep after her first session. But now I'm all worked up!" She huffs her way back down the stairs. It is time to inflict her wrath upon the innocent!

Or at least get one of the other girls into a shower with her. She can decide when she opens the front door.

[aviatrix-ash]

Thinking about planes again :'3

Lots of derailed and detailed thoughts about planes below. :'))

I have so many ideas for upgrades for the Ultra Pup to make it one epic little STOL plane. I'm thinking, slapping on that Super Beetle motor (or maybe 100hp Rotax or equivalent- this thing's statistically already a rocket with just it's 65HP) onto a beefed up engine mount (the guy who built this bird installed the wrong engine mount. Shape wise it's designed to withstand the kick of just the halved VW 2 cylinder VW motor, but this bird has the full sized one, which luckily has had it's power reduced so it shouldn't harm it's current mount too much. But if it had just a little bit more power to it I'd want to make a mount that's better capable of handling the big torque these car engines make at start up.

Oh and I'm thinking of putting in a composite electrically controlled variable pitch (constant speed too i think?) prop. ... in the future tho. Gonna start with a simple wood prop since they're lots cheaper & help absorb the high vibration produced by the VW engine. But a constant speed one I think would help reduce some stress on the engine, which for a 60+ year old car engine being made to run at stupid high RPMs for hours and hours (Yah cars do go fast and can hit those high RPMs without issue- but unless they're a NASCAR running around the tracks nonstop, cars typically don't run at those RPMs for long.) And car engines converted to plane engines typically have a much much higher RPM than a standard plane engine. But a good plane engine is out of touch for the foreseeable future as unless you can find a damn good deal from an old retired or dead pilot or mechanic (they do exist, Barnstormers had a sweet deal for 2 project Cubs & 4 Lycomings the other week- if I had the space, ability & $$ I'd have jumped on it 😤) but normally a working low time engine is incredibly expensive. Those days will come tho, when I finish my Powerplant license, save some cash for side project, then I can overhaul them myself. 😌

Oh yah, back to the Ultra Pup. Back when I 1st started this restoration, I wanted to make it old school analog. But I now understand how unreliable instrument vaccum pumps can be. But I'll 1st start off with some analog stuff powered by a the venturi (yup, going old-school with 1920s aviation technology 😌💕) since I've got most of the parts to do it. But eventually I'll rig it up with a proper electrical system and the little bird will get some modern solid state goodies + some LED navigation lights so I can fly at night. I mean, even tho it was designed to be an ultralight, mine was built with long range tanks and is capable of flying cross country. From what I hear from other pilots in my area (my Pup's kinda famous for some reason among the EAA guys here. They haven't given me many details yet but they all know my bird??😅) the last owner used to fly this bird all over the US. Dude made lots of trips from North Carolina to Florida and even to Wisconsin with this flying Volkswagen. It gives me a little more assurance (in I can rebuild this plane- seeing the previous builder's quality 😅)that this can actually be a cheap/affordable yet reliable little airplane. I really hope I can get it airworthy and not only build flight time & experience with it, but maybe in the future I'll get my CFI rating and continue the Ultra Pup's legacy in teaching people how to fly a taildragger. But the former will probably only happen after I can get on my feet in the industry, the FAA recently made it so CFIs can't make any money instructing in an Experimental. But hey, aviation is supposed to be fun anyways, experimentals and ultralights especially, when I can get on my feet, I probably would be a okay doing it just for fun. :3

Bleh just wanna get done with school already and get to working on planes for real. I have things I wanna do but they all require money and this aviator is broke broke cause plane fixing school eats all my time rn. :'))

[kueble]

Pure Spite

Written for @fontegagrilledcheese's flash challenge in @thewitcherbog.

Teen, Warnings: brief mentions of Jaskier sleeping with others, 1300 words.

---

Geralt is pouring a cup of coffee when his phone beeps. He picks it off the counter and pretends it’s totally and completely normal to have Google alerts set up for your roommate. Sighing, he opens the article, which turns out to be a review of Jaskier’s performance last night. He cringes when he notices who wrote it, because the critic never has anything positive to say about him. Sadly, the local arts scene is very small, and it took Jaskier time to realize he should keep his dick out of it. Now he has to deal with horrible reviews from a woman who thought a hook-up would lead to a lot more.

He’s seen Jaskier flirt and charm his way into enough beds to know that he’s always up front and clear on what he wants. The man is aro for fuck’s sake, and he damn well makes sure people know what they’re in for. The critic obviously didn’t believe him, or chose to ignore it, and Jaskier has been paying for it since. Sure, his friend is a bit of a slut, but he means well and makes sure everyone has fun.

And Geralt has gotten very good at ignoring the way he wishes he were a part of it. Apparently Geralt is a secret masochist, because there’s no greater torment than being in love with your roommate and best friend, especially when he is only interested in fleeting trysts and seedy hook-ups in the back of clubs. He’s long since resigned himself to a life of watching from the sidelines, but it’s times like this that he really wishes he could help.

So when the door to Jaskier’s room flies open, he snags a second mug and sets about making Jaskier’s coffee just how he likes it. He leaves it on the counter, knowing the musician will probably be a bit too worked up for it right now. He doesn’t even make it out of the kitchen before Jaskier storms into the room and starts complaining.

“She called me a hack, Geralt. A hack!” he shrieks, eyes wild as he starts stomping towards him. Geralt braces his thighs, not sure if he’s going to need to prepare for a hug, a shove, or his roommate’s full mental breakdown.

“So what...you’re going to create a masterpiece just to spite her?” Geralt asks, hiding his smirk by taking a sip of his coffee. Jaskier scoffs and shimmies a little, his silk robe fluttering around him like a peacock’s tail.

“I am going to create the best song in the whole fucking world, Geralt. And yes, it might be born from spite, but people have been motivated by far less. I want her to be brought to tears when she listens to it, just utterly sobbing and torn up over how completely wrong she was. She is trying to bring me down, trying to ruin my career before it starts, but I will not have it! I will annoy the hell out of her for as long as it takes, just to prove how wrong she is. If I can continue to be a minor nuisance to the forces of nature trying to decompose me, I'm gonna consider that a win. The wheel of time will continue to turn, and I with it, like a nail in a tire,” Jaskier says, waving his hands dramatically and nearly knocking the coffee mug out of Geralt’s hands.

“You sound even more manic than normal,” Geralt snorts as Jaskier glares at him, “Very melodramatic.”

“She says I can’t write a proper love song,” Jaskier says, pouting as he crosses his arms over his chest. That’s when Geralt notices how little he’s wearing under his robe. Clearly he got home from his show last night, stripped down, and passed out in just his boxer briefs. The black silk robe looks positively sinful framing his chest hair, and Geralt realizes he’s in danger of blanking out and has to force himself to focus on Jaskier’s face.

“Kind of hard to when you’ve never fallen in love,” Geralt points out helpfully.

“What the fuck do you mean by that?” Jaskier asks, narrowing his eyes at him. He looks like he’s on the verge of another rant, which has Geralt tripping over himself to explain.

“I mean, you’re aro,” he says quickly. Jaskier tilts his head at him, obviously missing something, so Geralt rambles on, “I mean, love songs would be hard if you’re not used to romantic love, right? Like...obviously you love your friends, but you’ve never been in love in love with anyone.”

“Geralt,” Jaskier says slowly, dragging out the word, “I’m not aro.”

“What? But I thought?”

“No, I just like sex and I don’t need to be in love for that. I’m demi so it takes me a while to warm up to someone,” he says with an awkward laugh. “And believe me, I am very familiar with falling in love with someone. Half my songs are about tragically unrequited love. Haven’t you been listening?”

“I just...I just figured they were written about someone being hopelessly in love with you,” Geralt says stupidly, because clearly he’s missing something here. Jaskier looks at him like he’s in pain, his face weirdly emotional, and Geralt isn’t sure how to take that.

“Trust me, no one is in love with me, hopelessly or not,” Jaskier winces before continuing, “I’m not the type of person you fall in love with. Good for a night of fun, but not meant for much else.”

“You are! I mean, you could be. I...I would,” Geralt blurts out, because he can’t stand to see him look so broken, not when he can fix it, not when he’s so fucking in love with him that it hurts.

“You would what?” Jaskier asks, his voice barely more than air.

“Want you for more than a night,” Geralt admits. He can feel his cheeks heating up and his chest is tight, but it feels good to come clean after all this time. Jaskier grins at him, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he moves closer.

“You could have me,” Jaskier tells him before reaching out and taking his mug. He sets it on the counter and steps even closer, edging right into Geralt’s space. Their faces are so close they’re nearly touching, and it wouldn’t take much to kiss him; barely any movement at all.

“Yeah?” Geralt asks softly, blushing deeper when Jaskier wets his lips and nods at him.

“Yeah,” he says like a promise.

And maybe it is, because then they’re both moving forward, mouths coming together in a brush of lips and giggles. Geralt sighs into Jaskier’s mouth and wraps his arms around him, pulling their hips together. Jaskier groans into the kiss, nipping at Geralt’s bottom lip before pulling back and beaming at him.

“I am going to write a thousand loves songs about you, purely out of spite,” he says, laughing when Geralt just rolls his eyes.

“I’d call your bluff, but I have a feeling you’re not lying,” Geralt chuckles and leans down, brushing a kiss against Jaskier’s scruffy jaw. “Why don’t you sing for me in the bedroom instead?”

“Darling, I can do both. I’ll have you know that I make an even better lover than I do a pest,” Jaskier tells him, snorting as he laces their fingers together and pulls him towards his bedroom.

“Now that I find hard to believe,” Geralt deadpans, smirking at Jaskier’s offended squawk.

“Oh hush,” Jaskier orders, laughing as he shoves him into his room and slams the door shut behind them. “You know how I get when I have something to prove.”

Geralt does, and he’s counting on Jaskier spending the entire day making his point.

---

Tags list: @halerune @honeysuckletook @mayastormborn @dani-dandelino @feraljaskier @jaskierswolf @littoraly-art @tothedesert @saphiramalbec @dapandapod @theweirdlynx @tedrakitty @sharinalein @theamazingdevilgivesmehope @iamaqt314 @silvermintnightprincess @rockysstupidity @live-long-and-trek-on @hayleynzlive @holymotherwolf @llamadumpsterfire @thesynysterunknown @rebard-main @larawrmonster @gryffinqueen @lovelyscot @kingcitywitch @fangirleaconmigo @mothmanismyuncle @fontegagrilledcheese @thestarkwinter

[solarishashernoseinabook]

I'm currently writing a lot so I was wondering if you had any advice about that make your stories better. If that sounds weird don't worry about it I guess <3

*cracks knuckles* okay SO!

Dialogue! Actually, come to think of it, most of my tips are gonna centre around dialogue. Dialogue is huge, but tricky. You want it to sound natural...but make it too natural and, conversely, it ends up sounding fake instead. And there's a reason for that! We don't actually remember what we say, or what people say to us, exactly as it was said. Our brain smooths out the false starts and repetitions and stutters and filler words that are part of regular everyday speech. (This is a good thing, trust me. I've done transcription work before and nothing, I repeat nothing, makes people sound dumber than writing down their words exactly as they're said.) So here's where I found a balance between natural sounding dialogue and readability (but these are not hard and fast rules and uou may find something else works better for you):

It's super common in English to either leave out the subject of a sentence, or half the verb. If you're inviting your friend to dinner, for instance, you might say, "You coming to the restaurant with us?" instead of "Are you coming to the restaurant with us?", or even just say to them, "Hungry? I'm going to a restaurant." I end up doing this a lot in my writing. It's actually a subtle character quirk of Finn's in TRR to leave off the subject of a lot of his sentences

Contractions! Obviously your characters should be saying things like "don't", "won't", or "can't" - "do not", "would not", or "cannot" are unusual enough that a character should really only be saying them if they're really emphasising the not part or if they're especially stuffy. But I also regularly have my characters say things like "y'know" or "wouldn't've". Even things like 'cept or 'specially instead of except and especially can add flavour to your writing. But also, contractions can get really over done - we typically use way more contractions in real life than we'd be okay reading in text. For example, when my cat gets overly goofy and runs into something, I'll ask him, "Y'okay Smokes?" instead of, "You okay Smokey?" - but "y'okay" looks weird enough when written that it's likely to trip someone up when they read it, so I'd recommend against putting it in your dialogue. Also, leaving the "g" off an -ing ending can be a way to indicate casual speech, but honestly in real life it's so common that if you were to do it every time a character would realistically do it it can get super annoying to read (try reading some archives of the newspaper comic For Better or For Worse - Lynn Johnson has her child characters do this almost every time and it gets old after one or two strips), so I use it really sparingly, mainly for side characters or super young kids

Think about how your character's personality, background, etc. affect their dialogue. In TRR, Ferris is stuck up and obsessed with coming off as sophisticated, so he addresses his parents as "Mother" and "Father", he calls people by their full names, and his dialogue is slightly stuffier than Halt's. Halt's autism means his dialogue is a lot more direct (like bluntly asking people what they're doing or not saying things like "hello" much), but he's also less concerned with appearances than Ferris and shows affection for people by referring to them with nicknames. Skipping over to The Ward Ghost, Will and the other Ward children, who were all well-educated by Baron Arald, have good vocabularies, but Tuck, a career criminal, is way more lax with his grammar. Will's time on the run means he's got a low opinion of the Watch, so he refers to them as "the bully boys", while Horace, who works for them, always uses the proper terms. Basically, if your sixty year old king and your twelve year old street urchin characters sound the same, you might have to play with their dialogue a bit. How a character says something can be just as important as what they say

People typically don't speak in full sentences. Run-on sentences and sentence fragments are super common! Look at this bit from chapter 16 of TRR, which has a few run-on sentences:

[The other person who could read] was Patience Jennings, she ran the inn with her husband. She’d moved to town about a year before they got married. They had a daughter, Little Patience, she liked being read to, so her mum got the fairy tale book I mentioned.

If we were to write that out in formal English, it would look like this:

[The other person who could read] was Patience Jennings. She ran the inn with her husband. She’d moved to town about a year before they got married. They had a daughter, who they called Little Patience. She liked being read to, so her mum got the fairy tale book I mentioned.

The "proper" one sounds kinda choppy, doesn't it? Because people don't speak that way. People start sentences with conjunctions and use sentence fragments and run-on sentences all the time, and there'll be times when maybe technically you need a comma in a sentence but someone wouldn't necessarily pause when actually saying it out loud, so be prepared to be flexible with grammar when you're writing! Also feel free to play with this to indicate your character's emotional state. There's a part coming up in a yet-to-be published chapter of The Ward Ghost where a character says a longer-than-usual run-on sentence to indicate they're currently on the verge of panic

Sometimes you're gonna write some sentences that just...don't seem to work. They fall flat, or feel awkward. For me, this happens a lot with transition sentences between scenes, or between parts of a scene. Write them even though they feel bad, and move on to the part you actually want to write. Later - at least a day later - rewrite the awkward sentences from memory. Remember when I said our brain don't remember what's said to us exactly the way it's said? I find that goes for the things we've written, too! After a bit of time, our brains smooth them out so they sound better. Like the final lines for chapter 13 of The Ward Ghost - they initially sounded much different from how they are now (though they conveyed the same information) and when I went to read them again when I was coming off hiatus I was shocked at how they were written because my brain had changed the lines to something else in the intervening months, so I edited them to be what they are now. Personally, if I'm having trouble with the transition sentences, I close down my computer and continue writing by hand in a notebook, including a couple of the sentences that I write down from memory. That way I don't get distracted looking at the sentences I don't like and can move forward with the scene, and my brain works on them in the background

Reread your earlier chapters until you're thoroughly sick of them. You'll pick up on details so you can avoid inconsistencies, or you'll realise you have to set something up, or you'll remember an earlier detail you included that you can go back to. Chapter 20 of The Ward Ghost starts with Jenny writing a letter to George because I remembered establishing that she did that in chapter 5, and I was having trouble beginning that chapter anyway, so starting with Jenny let me put something down so I could move on to the rest of the chapter. It'll also serve as a way to introduce George later on :D

Speaking of setting things up, I find it a lot easier to work backwards than forwards. I'll start with a scene I want, then think about what might cause that scene to happen, and what might cause that to happen, and then how to set that up. As an example: I got pretty attached to Sawbones/Travis after writing his scene in chapter 10 and wanted to bring him back. But why would he come back to Araluen when that would result in him being hanged? It would have to be super important. So maybe something put Will in danger. But what would do that? Well, maybe Will ran into someone who recognised him who could hand his description off to Keren. But who would do that? No point in setting up and introducing someone new just for that, so let's bring back Tuck. Why would Tuck pass information on about Will to Keren? Wouldn't that put him in danger? Yes, it would, so Tuck would have to be working for Keren - Seige of Macindaw establishes that Keren hired criminals for his little coup, after all. But then how does Tuck find Will, and what reason would he have for turning him in instead of just letting him go? He had to catch Will in the act of sabotaging Keren’s plans. Why would he catch Will when Will's so sneaky? Well, Will isn't trained in unseen movement because he never got his apprenticeship, so he gets impatient and blows his cover when spying and Tuck spots him. Will gets away, but Sawbones/Travis finds out what happened from Tuck and doesn't want Will to get in trouble, so he risks his neck to warn Will about it. Then, not being able to abandon him to face certain hanging, Will and the gang bring Sawbones/Travis along with them, and voila, he's part of the plot again! (This also provided the set up to bring in Erak, which I also wanted to do, and the conversation Will and Travis had let me establish Will's lack of surname - which is going to come back in the final chapters)

Kill your darlings. It's hard, but sometimes there's no way to establish something without it getting convoluted and awkward. When you finally lay it to rest and go with a simpler option, it'll be a huge relief, which is when you know you've made the right decision

Finally, beta readers. Beta readers. Beta readers! I can't emphasise enough how important they are. Having another set of eyes exposes things you overlooked, and good ones are prone to asking questions about why you did something or where you're going with it. They'll point out weak points or things they think need to be set up better. REALLY good ones will tell you what they think works, too! And they're great at being the metaphorical rubber duck for you to talk to about your problem so you can work out how you want to solve something

[rikumorimachisgirl]

Title: Eyes on you

Pairing: Shaw x You

Genre: Fluff

Word count: 2,901

A/N: You (Y/N) are not the MC in MLQC. This is a plunny that's been bugging me for quite a while, I had to write it. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own MLQC or its characters, but I do own the concept of this fic.

There were a few mysteries in this world that the esteemed Archeology Graduate Professors at Loveland University can't explain - for instance, the formation of the Stonehenge, the exact location of the lost city of Atlantis, the origin of the Nazca lines… and your presence at the Metro Art Gala dressed to the nines, positively gleaming as you strode arm in arm with your classmate and Thesis partner Shaw, who seemed like the perfect gentleman that evening. Thanks to your work at the Loveland Museum, you scored two invites to the gala featuring the recently discovered works of a well-known artist - an event any Archeology fanatic wouldn't let pass. The two of you walked along with LFG's Exhibition Hall, pausing occasionally to admire one of the recently discovered sculptures by the Renaissance artist D'Romani. As you both looked at the intricacies of the artwork in front of you, your charming companion would lean in slightly and whisper something in your ear, causing you to roll your eyes or stifle a giggle. 

To the guests in the prestigious gala, the two of you looked like two young people at the cusp of falling in love, but the members of the Faculty of the Graduate School of Archeology saw it differently - this was a real-life mystery if they'd seen one. 

As your eyes swiftly swept through the entire room, you could see that your professors only had one question in mind - how'd this happen? How did two people as different as day and night, who argued with each other throughout Graduate studies, end up amiably enjoying each other's company tonight? 

You drew a sharp breath and sighed. The answer was simple: Your Thesis defense was right around the corner. You needed him to cooperate, you were willing to go to great lengths to make it happen. And your Thesis partner (unfortunately) was ready to take full advantage of the situation. 

***

"Tell me why we're doing this again, " you said through the door that separated you and your date, as you were putting on the dress you bought (or invested on, as he casually stated) for tonight's gala, which he insisted on attending with you. It was six in the evening on a Friday, and you had just arrived home after cramming your workload at the Loveland Museum and foregoing your meal breaks just so you could leave work at exactly five-thirty. 

"I already told you a couple of times - you want me to cooperate with you so you can pass our Thesis, and I need a reason to be around her," the purple-haired man waiting at the other side of your bedroom door called out nonchalantly. "You can drop your fantasy about me asking you out because I'm attracted to you."

You hissed silently at his snarky remark and counted to ten. You haven't even left your apartment yet you already wanted this night to be over. "How do you even know she's gonna be there?"

She - the Miracle Finder Producer, the object of your Thesis Partner's fantasies, and as fate would have it, his brother's girlfriend. 

"They're doing a show featuring our Thesis adviser. Didn't he tell us about it during our last consultation?" He asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"I wasn't listening," you shot back, as you took off your ponytail and started styling your hair with your curling iron. You chose a one-shoulder fitted black dress that stops right above your knees, so you thought of wearing your hair down for a change. 

"Ah, yes. You were too busy looking at your notes, trying to prove me wrong as always."

You closed your eyes, as you continued to make big beach waves and prayed to the gods you wouldn't commit murder tonight. 

"How much longer are you gonna take?"

"Excited much?" You asked, smirking while you now removed your glasses and put on your contacts. "You sound like a teenager excited to see his crush in a school fair!"

"Don't compare me to you!" 

"I don't have designs on anyone in the party," you called back. "Unless your brother's attending the event, that is. From what you've been telling me, he seems like a great guy."

Silence. You arched an eyebrow as you strained your ear to listen for any sign of life outside your bedroom door. What must your grunge-rock skater boy-turned-date-for-the-evening be thinking? 

"Do you want to pass our Thesis or not?"

You struck a victory pose at his remark. Finally, one point - you, Shaw - about twenty. 

"Are you done yet? This suit is really uncomfortable. Damn, why do people even wear these?"

"Because they're decent?" You shot back. "You know, you can always go home if you're not comfortable in your attire because when we get there, you need to act decent, too. Can't have your usual swagger in a formal affair."

"Just hurry it up already!"

You rolled your eyes as you applied your nude-colored lipstick to finish off your look before putting on your black stilettos, and stuffing your phone, wallet, and your makeup in your purse. 

"All done," you replied, as you finally emerged from your room. 

***

A part of you wished that the dynamics between you and Shaw were different. While he was a pain in the neck, and too carefree for his own good, you also thought he made for a good intellectual sparring partner, quite attractive, and it was hard to deny that he's got your heart beating double-time whenever he got too close for comfort like he was at that very moment. 

"My, you two kids seem to be having fun tonight."

You gasped, at the sound of the voice behind you, and you felt your date nudge you ever-so-subtly while straightening.

"Hey, Professor Adler," he said in his usual unruffled tone, his lips stretched into a smirk as he held his hand out to your Anthropology professor and Thesis adviser, who watched you both amusedly. His gesture made your eyes shot wide open, you thought they'd fall right off. Shaw shaking someone's hand? That's one for the books. 

"Shaw. Fancy seeing you here," the stout middle-aged man greeted while shaking your date's hand. "This isn't your usual scene though."

"Yeah, I know, but I can't exactly turn a pretty lady down, can I?" 

"I can see that," your professor said as he looked at you appraisingly. "Well, well, you clean up well, Miss (y/n)."

You fought the urge to squirm at the older man's words when you heard your date cluck his cheeks with his tongue and suddenly felt his arm around your shoulders, pressing you protectively close to his side. 

***

"All done!" You happily announced as you stepped into the living room of your small apartment where your date was impatiently waiting for you. 

You could've sworn he was stunned for a second or two before he shook his head and tried to regain his usual impassive expression. Finally, he stood and walked closer to assess you better. 

"You're not wearing your glasses. I thought you said you're practically blind without them?" 

You cocked your head to one side. Out of all the things he could've complimented or called out, that's the first thing he noticed? 

"Wouldn't it look awkward if I wore glasses to a formal event?"

"Your hair is all curly," he continued as if you didn't say anything. "And your shoes are so tall, won't you trip? Also, surely you have a jacket to go with that dress, right?" 

You stared at him in disbelief. Why did this carefree, bass-playing skater boy turn into your dad all of a sudden? 

"Uh…"

"Well, at least you're not wearing red lipstick. You don't have to try too hard to look sexy. Geez! I've got plans of my own this evening, so don't expect me to be your bodyguard," he continued to mumble as he circled around you. Before long, you felt something warm and heavy on your shoulder. His coat?

"It's just until we get to the venue," he shrugged as he led you to the car he borrowed for tonight. "I don't want people seeing you freeze to death."

You sighed, your shoulders slumped as you followed your date to the car. You already expected he wouldn't throw you a compliment for looking like a proper human tonight, and you cursed yourself for feeling gutted over it anyway. 

 ***

"So, which one of these sculptures did you like best, Professor?" You sighed in relief as Shaw changed the subject, his arm still wrapped around you, making you blush furiously. 

"Oh, I have to say I liked Eros and Psyche best. In case you haven't seen it yet, it's located a little further down the hall near the bar area," the older man was starting to explain when someone tapped his shoulder from behind. 

"Excuse me, Professor Adler," a gentle voice called out, making both the professor and Shaw jump. From behind the old man, a pretty petite with brown hair and big brown eyes, and the biggest smile on her face stepped up. "My name is MC from Miracle Finder."

Almost immediately, Shaw withdrew his arm around you, almost causing you to stagger backward. He straightened up and feigned disinterest. 

"Hey. It's a little rude how you stepped in while I was talking to the Professor," he said, his tone teasing. 

"Oh, I didn't notice you here. Do you mind if I talk to your Professor? We've invited him for an interview about the exhibit," the girl said sweetly. 

Based on how unconsciously coy she acted around Shaw, and the way he kept egging her, there was no doubt that this was the girl he was crushing on. You felt like the odd person out all of a sudden and needed to step away. 

You backed away slowly, careful not to rouse their attention because it would probably suck if you knew how Shaw would introduce you to his little crush. As soon as you were in a safe distance, you turned and walked aimlessly down the hall, pausing briefly at paintings or sculptures that caught your fancy, looking at its intricacies as you did so earlier. But somehow, it wasn't as fun as it was before, so you moved on quickly, to give way to the other guests who also wanted to view the artwork.

Finally, you came upon the bar and decided to rest your tired feet at the far corner, hidden from the rest of the world. Sighing, you slipped your feet off your stilettos and quietly watched as the guests around you - mostly couples - happily chatting away as they enjoyed the beauty of the art around them and the wonderful music that filled the air. You knew somewhere in the crowd, your date was fawning over his lady love, probably getting in the way of her filming your professor. 

Tch. 

You knew he liked her - he always told you he did. And why wouldn't he? MC was pretty, seemingly sweet, and dainty - the kind of girl any guy would like to protect. And you. You were the opposite. You lived for your work, were 'one of the boys', and didn't need anyone to protect you - that's just how you were - and now you started to realize that maybe guys don't exactly like that. At least not Shaw. 

Wait, what were you thinking? You scolded yourself as you shook your head. Why were you even thinking of what he liked when you don't even like him to start with. Or did you? 

"Ugh. What the hell is wrong with me?" You groaned when a cold bottle of beer and a frozen glass was placed in front of you. 

"I was gonna ask you that myself." 

You straightened up in your seat and shot a look at the guy seated beside you. Dressed in a nice grey suit, he smiled as he raised his beer bottle in front of you. 

"You look like you needed a drink. I hope the beer is okay. They don't have fruit beer or soda," he said calmly, his amber-colored eyes never leaving yours. 

"Y-yeah. Beer is perfect," you replied while pouring the amber liquid into the glass. "Thanks," you muttered before raising the glass to your lips to gulp down some liquid courage. 

"I saw you with Shaw earlier -"

The name on his lips drove you to a coughing fit, as you choked on your drink. "Sorry, " you mumbled in between coughs. 

"No, I'm sorry," the brown-haired guy said, as he cautiously and politely patted your back. "I didn't mean to bring that up. I was just curious."

"It's fine," you replied when you finally regained your composure. "Yes, we're just classmates in Grad school who decided to check this exhibit out for the heck of it."

"Classmates, huh?"

"Yeah, that's what we are," you said, taking a sip off your glass. "Grad school classmates."

"Are you telling me or telling yourself?"

You looked up and saw him smiling. There was something about Dreamy McHandsome who was seated beside you that felt so familiar yet different at the same time, but you couldn't point a finger at what it was exactly. 

"We're classmates, and we're working on our thesis together. But we're not friends - far from it even. We hate each other's guts."

"Can't blame you for doing so," he shrugged as he drank his beer. 

"Yeah. He dragged me here so he can get with someone he's been crushing on for so long," you rambled on, frowning. 

"Oh? And who might that be?"

"The Miracle Finder Producer. You know, the pretty girl in a blue top and white skirt. He's been going on and on about her for weeks…"

"You mean my girlfriend?" 

His girlfriend. You choked on your drink once again. "Y-y-your girlfriend? You mean to say…" You gasped. Has the beer made you stupid? You've barely drunk half of it, you thought as you fought to regain your dignity. This was Shaw's brother you were talking to - and boy, we're they blessed with good genes…

… And the same social awkwardness, you noticed, judging by how he kept his hand at your back, but not exactly touching it, as if trying to assess if he had to pat you or not. 

When you finally calmed down, he cleared his throat and gave you a small smile. "Don't worry. She talks to me about their conversations. I know what that guy is playing at, and I most definitely know he's not after my girl," he said, his voice broke no room for doubt. "My name is Gavin..."

"Yeah, I know…"

"You - what?"

"Oh," you said, tapping on your glass nervously. "Shaw kinda mentioned it in passing before."

"I see."

"So, what were you saying earlier about Shaw?"

"Oh. From what my girlfriend tells me, he's got his sights set on…"

"Ahem," you heard someone say loud enough for you and Gavin to turn your heads around. And there, standing behind you, was an angry-looking Shaw. You sat up, your gaze shifting between the two brothers as the air started to thicken with tension. "I talk to someone for a minute and the next thing I knew, my date walks out on me and right into the one person I'd hate for her to meet."

"Well, if you were just honest with her as with a lot of other things in your life, maybe she wouldn't have left your side earlier," Gavin retorted flippantly. "Is she finally done with filming?"

Shaw simply grunted in reply as he watched his older brother finish his bottle of beer and stand. "Well, Miss, there's a lot I've heard about you. Seems somebody couldn't stop talking about you, but I'll leave it at that." 

With a wink and a mischievous smile upon his face, the brown-haired guy sauntered off to look for his better half, as you and Shaw watched in awkward silence. 

He cleared his throat and glanced at you. "Hey."

"Hey," you replied, shakily. 

"So, about what that jerk said -"

"Yes?" You asked, feeling your heart hammer against your chest by the second.

"Whatever he said is not true," he said dismissively, as he took his coat off and draped it over your shoulders. "I told you before, I don't find you the least bit attractive."

You felt tears starting to sting your eyes, as he continued with his harsh commentary. "You're tough, highly opinionated, and you always want to come out on top. I don't find those attractive at all," he said. "I prefer a damsel in distress. I want someone clingy… someone, needy."

"I know that -"

"Oh do you?" He teased, his amber eyes twinkling. "You seem to know a lot about me."

"We've been working together for months now," you said. "Of course, I'd know more about you."

"I see," he said, as he took a step closer to you and touched your cheek, rubbing the stray tear that had managed to slip down the side of your face. "So, you must know I'm also a good liar. After all, I've kept all these feelings to myself for quite some time."

He snickered when he saw your frown deepen and he bent down just as he had done so earlier, to whisper. "I made you think I liked someone else when in fact," his low voice made you shiver. "I've always eyes for you."

The End.

[bumbershots]

LOVEFOOL

Author’s note: HELLO! This is my part for the Valentine’s Day challenge that @1dffchallenges put together. Make sure to keep an eye out for any other pieces published by other authors. Enjoy! And happy Valentine’s weekend! (:

Summary: Harry agrees to go on a blind date set up by his friends in hopes that it will help him move on from an unrequited love.

Word count: 3K

Challenge prompt and dialogue: blind date set up by friends. “I don’t want this to end...”

There’s a first for everything. Harry’s had his fair share of them at the age of twenty-seven. First time on an aeroplane at the tender age of six for a family holiday in Rome. First kiss on his home town’s park with someone he deeply cared about. First time in a recording studio. First time going on tour. The first night spent alone in his new and barely furnished home. The first morning he laid eyes on the girl next door. The ugly heartbreak after she got married, certainly felt worse than his first one.

Life is full of firsts, Harry knows that, and he wishes to have been the first to sneak his way into Jane’s heart, all those years ago.

"You love her" it almost sounds like an accusation coming from Jeff, though the last thing he wants is to make Harry feel guilty. The musician doesn't reply, he shrugs, eyes never leaving her no matter how deep into the ocean she seems to be. "Does she know?" Harry shakes his head in denial. "Did you bring her along just so you could tell her?"

"I enjoy writing music with her, that's why she's here," his tone leaves no room for more questions, the manager knows and sighs defeated. Harry stands from his spot on the beach and heads back inside the house, alone.

Is he being that obvious?

He reviews the past few days and wonders where he slipped, nothing rings any bell. Harry completely and conveniently forgets how he doesn't nag her for having a smoke after dinner, instead he just opens the window and stands close to it, or how he's been making her a cuppa everyday at noon. But it was the time when Jane asked him to help her French plait her hair when something clicked in Jeff's brain, the way Harry beamed at such a simple request left no room for questioning. Yet he asked him, because there was that tiny chance of it all being part of the manager's imagination, but when he looked back on it, the little things now made more sense to him and in a way he always knew.

They've been in Port Antonio for two weeks now and everything was going just dandy, Harry was writing more than ever, the first week he had a new song every day, he even polished the old ones and had a tune for his favourites, thanks to Mitch's help. When Jeff Azoff got there earlier this week, he spent a good two hours talking to Jeff Bhasker about how much of a good idea the trip was.

"Harry is on a writing spree." He complimented Azoff's client, it was nothing but the truth. However the reason for it all, was now heading back to the house to join the others after a good surfing session.

Jane went straight to take a shower, ready to rinse all the ocean's saltiness from her body, thinking how wonderful it would've been if her own worries could be washed away with her tangerine shampoo. In contrast to Harry's good spirits and excellent mood, her own cloud of trouble seemed to follow her all the way from London. She still hadn't heard from her husband, so it is safe to say he was still upset about her going away to work in Harry's album. It was impossible for her to forget the argument they had, at first thinking it was a joke on his side, insinuating that they were ‘shagging behind his back’.

After her shower, wearing comfortable clothes, Jane joins the others for supper but keeps to herself, still with the dichotomy about calling Alex or letting him be. He will eventually come to his senses and apologise. 

What if he doesn't? 

The thought alone of her clothes being packed in boxes by the time she gets back home almost makes her cry, perhaps she can call or text him just to test the waters. It is ridiculous how she seems to be more mature about this than him.

"Penny for them?" Harry's voice brings her back to the now empty dining room, the voices from the rest of their party can be heard from the living room.

"God I'm sorry H, lost myself out there for a moment," she is embarrassed, with him, the others and herself for letting this situation get under her skin. And she's also avoiding talking about it, with Harry or anyone. "I was just thinking about the tempo for Sweet Creature."

"Liar," he hates to be shut down by her more than anything. "Is it because I didn't let you eat the last peanut drop the other day?" It would've been easier for her to say it was, than to address the actual reason. But Harry hasn't lied to her, ever.

"No love, although I was a bit hurt because of that, it's actually this thing with Alex we are, I don't know, he was upset with me and said some things," Jane couldn't finish, her speech was cut short by a quiet sob and Harry was quick to pull her from the chair onto his lap and hold her tight. His own heart speeding at the sight of her distressed.

"When was the last time you spoke to him?"

"Two weeks ago." Her voice barely whispers on his chest, "he's being a wanker to be honest, just because he's not going on tour with any of his bands I'm supposed to be a stay at home wife!"

"Why don't you explain this to me, from the beginning, please?" He asks rubbing her back soothingly, and she spills it all, the having kids now or never argument, to her wanting to have a proper wedding party and finally the latest fight where Alex suggested an affair going on between her and Harry, the latter had to do his best not to put the option on the table, since her husband so kindly suggested it. Might as well, he thought. "It all sounds like a big misunderstanding, I know you're a great communicator sunshine, so it baffles me that you've let this go on for so long." He's got a point.

"You're right, but I feel like it's his turn, you know?" Jane's done weeping, but remained on her friend's lap and arms, head resting on his shoulder. "He's always forward, mature, a proper thirty year old except when it comes to arguments where we ought to reach an agreement," she plays a bit with the cross hanging from his neck, a scowl on her pretty face. "Like with the children thing, we only stopped arguing when I said that maybe in two more years we could have one instead of, you know, my early thirties." It's good that she can't see how upset Harry is.

"You gave into that one, he should do the same but it's his choice," Harry sighs and can't believe what he's about to say. "Take the day off tomorrow, call him or FaceTime, Skype whatever you choose, but have a proper conversation with him." She wants to argue and say it's not necessary to be absent the whole day, she can spare a few hours. But she will need time to think about what to say, make her point clear so they are on good terms until she goes back to London.

"Fine, but if he is still acting like a dickhead afterwards, I'm not going to let it into my head anymore, we will continue to bask in this great work environment going on here." Jane states, pulling away from his embrace just enough to give him that stern look she uses when trying to make a point, and Harry nods with a warm smile, the one she never gets tired of seeing. "I'll call it a night now, gonna be asleep in seconds now that I've got that out of my chest." She stands from his lap, missing his warmth instantly. "Thanks for that."

"Anytime honey pie." Harry says before leaving a kiss on her left hand that burns her skin from then till morning.

Jeff joins the musician in the dining room right after the girl walks away to her room, he takes a seat across from him and scrutinises the look of adoration his friend still sports once she is out of the room.

"She'll never know, if you never tell her." Jeff is right, but the thought alone of going through that again scares him to death. Or so he says, because there's a part of him that is fond of the thrill it makes him feel.

"It's not like I haven't tried, just last year I told her," Harry remembers that night vividly, how pretty she looked even with her makeup all smudged under her eyes. "I'm not sure if she heard, it was too loud like where we were at the time." He was also pissed out of his mind.

"H, there's nothing wrong with being in love."

"I'm not saying it is, but even if she did love me I– I would find a way to hurt her. Anyway. she's happily married now, it's too late." Saying it out loud doesn't hurt him any less like he thought it would. Harry sighs in defeat before rising from the chair, "she's everything to me, I wouldn't mess with her head by confessing my feelings, deep down I always knew she deserved better and now she has it and that's good enough for me." The musician disappears through the corridor where his everlasting love did just a few minutes ago, he paused for a moment outside her room, pondering whether to barge in and just follow his instincts, kiss her like he should've done after winning that award back in 2014.

Harry shakes his head and goes straight to his room, he reminds himself that it was time to let her go. It's for the best. He is not good enough for her, he can't even write a song for her, about her. He mustn't love her that much then.

What Harry doesn't know is that he can't write a song about her because he loves her too much, the poor lad can't even figure out where to start. But he's about to get rid of that curse in a day or two, he just needs to be patient.

The reward for it came, all of a sudden Harry wrote too many songs about her until she inevitably became aware of the situation they were in. Harry vowed to stay away from Jane’s life after recording the album. He dated people that didn’t remind him of her, and even moved temporarily to Japan. But despite all his efforts, four years later Harry still finds himself thinking about her, everything seems to be tainted by her. The music he adores, the new dinner recipes he cooks, the books he chooses to read.

Completely out of options he agreed to this blind date his friends set up for him.

He arrives at the modest restaurant they so kindly chose for the occasion. “All you have to do is wear something nice and show up.” Alexa reminded him over the phone last week.

This is a new first for him, it is also exciting, to take a seat at a table for two conveniently placed at the back, pretend to pay attention to the menu but let his green eyes avert to whoever approaches. Harry is having a great time, he knows that soon his date will arrive. He wonders what they’ll be like.

According to Alexa and Pixie, the person arriving is the perfect match for their young friend. Harry can only hope they like Vietnamese cuisine because that’s apparently this place’s special offer this week. If he’s lucky enough the date will agree to share a starter and perhaps two main courses, that way he doesn’t have to choose between one or the other.

“Here’s your table.” Harry hears the waiter speak and his gaze meets a very familiar figure standing beside him. It can’t be.

“Excuse me, there must be a mistake, I’m waiting for someone else.” Harry protests.

The waiter shakes his head and shows him the notepad with some specifications written down. “Nothing wrong, got specific instructions from Miss Chung, a lady will come in to say is here for Geldolf’s blind date, you are sitting at the table they reserved. I’ll be back in a few minutes to take your order.” He is quick to explain and disappear.

Jane sits because there is no way she can stand any longer, her legs are about to give out from the commotion. This was not the blind date she was expecting either. It’s been at least four years since she last saw Harry. The night after he finally admitted being in love with her, waiting for a reaction, anything from her, after what seemed like hours but was only ten minutes later, he walked out of her house and entire life, leaving her confused and upset.

“How’ve you been?” she asked after confirming that Harry wasn’t going to up and leave.

“Pretty fantastic, until you arrived.” He’s never spoken to her like that before, with so much affliction in his tone. “What are you doing here?”

“I was set up on a blind date by Pixie—

He interrupts her. “That’s fucking convenient, did you all went to this much trouble, just to mock me? I thought they were my friends, you know, that even after everything, they cared about me.” Harry stops, his voice breaks, he’s so angry, hurt and confused by the situation. “Did your husband come along, to witness my humiliation too?” He looks around, trying to find the man of Jane’s dreams.

“I wouldn’t know if he’s here, haven’t seen him since we got divorced three years ago.” She snaps before hiding behind the menu from a gobsmacked Harry.

The words he’d been waiting to hear were finally out of her mouth. Unlike the million times he dreamt about this happening, Harry is not sweeping her off her feet and running away into the sunset holding her hand. Instead he reaches out to touch her arm, testing the waters. He waits for her to lower the menu and surprisingly there are no tears in her eyes. Perhaps only a bit of sorrow that is quickly replaced with confusion, at how fast her heart raced after Harry’s touch.

“Do you want to talk about it?” His voice is back to oozing the tenderness he reserves just for her. Jane nods.

“But can we share a rice bowl and Pho noodle soup?” 

“Yes, and dessert too!” Even after four years Harry’s sweet tooth hasn’t changed, Jane sighs before the waiter is back to take their order.

Keeping a conversation between the two of them is not hard at all, even if it is an awkward topic —her not so recent divorce. “We didn’t have anything in common anymore, there were so many fights every single day. When I finally suggested the separation, he seemed relieved and I felt like a complete fool.” Jane remembers the sigh of comfort that came out of the man she once loved with all her heart before that rainy afternoon, when she finally decided that she’d had enough. “He left that night, hadn’t seen him since, his lawyer took care of everything,” a sour laugh escapes her lips, Harry’s eyes are full of sympathy for her. “I’m sorry for ruining your blind date, I know you’ve never been to one before.” Of course she did, she knows him better than anyone.

“This has to be the greatest date I’ve ever been to.” He speaks without a second thought. 

All those years Harry spent away from Jane were not going to be in vain. He was not going to neglect the feelings he still had for her. That affection he felt for her, only her. Harry shifts in his seat, this is not at all how he planned it, in a restaurant full of people on fucking Valentine’s day. It almost seemed like a tacky move.

But after all this time of pining for her, hating her and himself at times. Harry was brave enough, it was now or never, he didn’t want to wait any longer, not after his friends schemed and executed this soppy plan to bring the two soulmates together. Before she could take the final bite of dessert that Harry kindly left for her. The world stopped.

“I don’t want this to end...” Harry says with a dimpled smile she can’t look away from. “I’d like to take you out on a second date, a third, fourth, fifth. Believe me when I tell you, I have planned up to a thousand of them.” He takes her hand in his and can feel her pulse race along his own. The smile splits his face again, because he knows, he feels, he sees it in her beautiful eyes. “Janey, you’re the first person I’ve ever wanted to hold on to. I know there is a name for this emotion, I’ve written songs about it, but now I don’t think it’s a word big enough for us.”

She squeezes his hand and breaths out a laugh, tears of joy brimming out of her eyes. “Let’s call it love, until we come up with a better name for it.” Harry agrees and just then, Jane brings up his hand to her lips. 

His skin tingles where she kisses him for the first time and he beams at her.

There’s a first for everything, and although it feels like it for Jane and Harry, this isn’t by any means the first time they confess their love for each other. It was always there, in every laugh they shared, every song they wrote together, every touch. It was on Harry’s unwavering devotion, on his impatience and selfless actions throughout the years.

They were bound to be together, their story didn’t begin on that initial blind date, it did years ago after he caught a glimpse of her shiny black hair on the morning she moved into the house across the street.

Harry drives her back to her new flat on the other side of the city, enjoying every minute of the long ride, happy to hear her ramble about her newest obsession with romantic novels and burst out laughing after Jane confesses that sometimes she doesn’t finish reading books she likes, just to pretend the story keeps going. With a quick kiss to the back of her hand he completely agrees.

No tale is more compelling than one that never ends.

[bubblemiya]

Ace of Spades ~ Natsuo Todoroki x Reader

Chapter 1 : First day disaster

Next | Masterlist

Warnings: blood mention, abduction mention

word count: 2.2k

A/N: This is my first fic on my new blog and I am so excited about it! I hope you enjoy

**************************

You knew hero work wasn't going to be easy but there was still a tiny part of you that thought you'd be snatched up by a top agency right away with your flashy suit and unique quirk. That wasn't quite the case. 

In fact the opposite happened, your strong quirk had very little drawbacks and many people saw it as dangerous, the nature of your quirk drew villain organisations to you. You defeated them, reported, even 'disposed' of some of them but there was one organisation you couldn't quite shake.

It was your loyalty to the side of heroes and your impressive skill set showcased in your fights that caught the eye of the Endeavour agency. Today was your first day at the agency, it had been a full year since your graduation from shiketsu, and it hadn't properly sank in yet until you were pulling on your hero suit in the women's changing room and a fiery haired sidekick basically pounced on you.

"Aren't you the new girl? I'm Moe Kamiji, my hero name is Burnin'" 

She was beautiful, her hair was unique and her loud personality made you envy her. Her inquisitive staring distracted you and you almost tripped pulling up your body suit. She chuckled and helped steady you before offering to help you zip up.

"I'm y/n l/n, my hero name is Phantom Light"

"from what I've seen of your quirk, you're like a ghost type pokemon! that's so cool"

If she sensed your nervousness or felt the heat rising in your face, she didn't mention it. She instead just waited for you to tug on your boots and rambled about how much she loves working at the agency. Her bright attitude was nowhere near what you expected walking into a workplace run by the most intimidating man you've ever seen. She had a natural warmth to her that seemed to calm your fears. You guessed that they sic her on all the newbies at the agency because of that. 

"well I'll show you around, newbie"

She looked confident and comfortable as she showed you around the main floors and you only hoped to feel the same way soon. You had already seen the reception and social media/pr team offices as they were on the way to the changing room but Moe had shown you the gyms with in-house saunas, break rooms, conferences rooms, and investigation rooms. The place was huge and despite being full of people, felt empty. It was terrifying, but still exactly what you expected from the new number one. Moe's phone beeped as you passed into another hallway and she pulled it from her bra to check.

"I regret not asking for pockets on this thing" she growled "shit, I'm being called to a villain attack not far from here, you're on your own for now, newbie." she turned to run down the hallway.

"Thank you Kami-"

"Call me Moe!" and before you could even respond she was gone. Your nerves suddenly came flooding back without your new friend there to ease them. With your 'almost fall' in the changing room and Moe leaving when you needed her most, it seemed lady luck was not on your side today. Right as you turned the corner you smacked right into someone exiting an office and they spilled their coffee down your shirt.

“Oh i’m so sorry!” 

“It's ok, my hero suit is quite thick so it's not that bad” you attempted to laugh it off but paused as you finally looked up. Your blood ran cold as you realised who you bumped into. The six foot five figure of your boss loomed over you. On your first day you just so happened to bump into Endeavour's son and cause a coffee spill right in front of the man himself. “I-it was my fault any-”

“You just started today and you’re already causing problems, we scouted you because of your impressive skill set but -”

“Shut up, old man” Endeavour's face immediately twitched in anger but he listened to his son, not wanting to cause a scene with him. “It was an accident and it was both of our faults” Endeavour looked embarrassed but grunted something inaudible under his breath. “I'm Natsuo, I'm sorry about your suit, take this” he held his jacket out to you.  

 “Its ok, it's just a stain”

“Please I insist”

You took it, not wanting him to be offended, and you got a chance to get a proper look at him. He awkwardly scratched his neck as you put on the jacket. There was a brief moment of awkward silence before Endeavour pushed Natsuo past you and carried on walking down the hall. You shook your head to try and rid you of your shame, you hoped you had not just ruined your big shot in the hero world. You walked back down to the offices, keeping your head down as you passed Endeavour and Natsuo to avoid the awkward eye contact. Endeavour was immensely intimidating so you wanted to avoid getting further onto his bad side as much as possible. You filled out the last of your paperwork and set out on your daily patrol.

You kept the jacket on during your patrol and kept in mind that you should take it off to fight but hoped that wouldn't be necessary. You wandered your designated streets, taking in the general hustle and bustle of the town. Bike bells and shop doors opening were sounds you considered comforting. You nodded at people as you passed them, even stopping to say hi to some kids, and stopped at a cafe for a drink. You walked with your drink, hoping for a peaceful end to your work day, until the bird chirping and happy kids turned to screams for help. Your feet, as if on autopilot, followed the sounds until you turned a corner and came face to face with a guy harassing a group of high school girls. You recognised his face from the news, he was a low level villain who had abducted some high school students over the last 3 weeks. He didn't have any strong quirk that you knew of so you went straight in with a strong punch. However, in your haste, you failed to notice the knife he had concealed until he swung it in your direction and he caught your stomach. It wasn't so deep that it needed immediate attention so you continued to fight him off. you had shouted at the girls to leave the alley but they were frozen in place. Fear sometimes acts as an invisible paralytic, 

one that we can't or struggle to fight against.

He had gotten in a couple of good swings but once you knocked the knife out of his hand he was pretty much useless. You gave him a harsh elbow to the nose that definitely broke it, a noise that you didn't wanna admit made you feel good and all but knocked him out with the hardest punch you could throw. While he was incapacitated you leaned down to slip him under your control into his body to possess him to make him easier to carry. Your quirk was called 'ghost' which not only gave you the ghostly ability to walk through walls but also to possess people and communicate with the dead. Your possession ability works like a telepathically controlled puppet instead of a typical spirit possession. Once you had his unconscious form up and ready to walk himself to the nearby police you made an attempt to calm the girls and make sure they followed you to the police so police could do safety checks and collect statements. You found it was easy to keep them distracted from their feelings by talking to them and answering questions they might have. You learned one of the girls, a short girl with black hair and black bunny ears, was named Hoshi.

"Are you a pro hero?"

"yup! I started at the Endeavour agency today!"

"Saturday is a weird day to start a new job"  

"There's no such thing as weekends when you're a hero" you chuckled at the way she rolled her eyes.

"Don't I know it. My dad is a pro too" 

"oh really?"

"yeah but he's away visiting my stepdad"

Your conversation abruptly stopped when police arrived on the scene and took both the unconscious villain and Hoshi away from your custody. The only thing left to do now was find where you had left Natsuo's jacket and head back to the agency to get stitched up. You ran back to a bench you passed to luckily find Natsuo's jacket still there. you didn't wanna get blood on it so you carried it back to the agency instead.

When you walked back in the agency building, Endeavour was standing in the office, handing paperwork to the receptionist, and he noticed you almost immediately.

"Phantom Light, what happened?"

"I got that guy who was abducting high school kids, the one that's been all over local news" Your chest felt heavy as you struggled to pant out your sentence. You were holding your free hand over the wound, putting as much pressure as possible on it to reduce bleeding.

"You're gonna need stitches, I'll take you to our in house doctor" He seemed a lot less tense than he did earlier and Natsuo was nowhere to be seen. You muttered a thank you and slowly walked behind him. He led you to a white door with a black metal name plate on it reading 'Dr.Kita'. You thanked Endeavour again and wandered into the room.

"Good work today, Phantom Light'' was the last thing he said before he shut the door behind you. He was being a lot nicer and even attempting to be encouraging which you figured was his own way of apologising for yelling at you earlier. 

The doctor was a tall guy around forty with yellow eyes and brunette hair that was already starting to grey. He welcomed you and got you to lie down on the bench so that he could stitch you back up. He was very talkative, as most doctors are as a way to distract from pain, and he asked about a couple other visible scars to focus your mind elsewhere. 

"I got the skin graft about a year ago, I got in a fight with some villain who had a fire quirk. I wasn't even at an agency yet, I was still looking to get scouted, but I walked past him harassing this man for money and I couldn't just walk past it" The doctor nodded as you told the story of the man with white hair and some nasty facial scars who burned you last year. You hissed as the final stitch went through and the doctor clasped his hands together.

"that's you all fixed up, now you just need to change and go home" he said, helping you off the bench and shaking your hand.

You walked back to the changing room and shoved your coffee and blood stained clothes in a bag and changed into your normal clothes. On your way out the building you passed Moe who all but begged for your phone number before you left.

The walk home was quiet and peaceful, The sunset was pretty and nice to watch as you made your way to the train station. The subway ride home had very few people and it was nice to have some time to yourself. You almost missed your stop though because your mind kept drifting back to white fluffy hair and pretty grey eyes. Natsuo was all you could think about. It didn't help that you had his jacket wrapped around you. The smell of an expensive cologne lingered around the collar, it was faint and softer than the cologne you expected him to wear. It was nice and comforting, a smell you could get used to.

Once you got back to your house you used your quirk to pass through the door - which is always locked because you used your quirk and had no reason to open it unless you were expecting food delivery. When you turned around to kick off your shoes you noticed the chain lock had been busted open. You quickly looked around the entrance to your house to check if anything was missing but everything was exactly as you left it in the morning. You dumped your duffle bag full of dirty clothes on the floor and went to check around the rest of the house. You upturned cushions, sifted through cupboards and looked underneath your copious number of house plants but everything seemed normal and in its right place. The only place left to check was your bedroom. Your hand shook as you grasped the door handle nervous to see if anything had been taken but when you walked in you couldn't see anything out of place until you turned your head to the dresser and there it was. Tucked into the frame of a photo of you and your brother sat a playing card, the ace of spades to be exact, with a time written on it.

"2:30 pm"

[tellywoodtrash]

immj2 09.04.21 lb

vansh's dumb ass rushing off to that random address he saw. like......... are you even checking on google maps ki kya area hai, is it conducive to having a secret person stashed there as a hostage? pata chala udhar tak pohunch gaye aur ek big bazaar hai.

ishani tripping riddhima as she runs into the house. such middle school bitchidity.

and now some interrogation of really wtf are you and vansh bhai upto all the time, coz no normal ppl can understand wtf your relationship dynamic is anymore.

blah blah some dhamki on dadi ko pata challllllllllll gaya toh??????

idc about this scene except for ishani looking hot af. i love her shirt dress and red lipstick. style icon.

anyway riddhima promises answers in 24 hours and fucks off.

lol vansh reached destination and from the looks of it, it's an empty lot. lmaooooooooooooo, fucking idiot. pehle hi bola tha maine, check kar udhar hai kya.

riddhima meanwhile steals the black box, which changes how it looks every single day.

calls vyom and is like i did my part of the deal, now your turn. they arrange the drop.

lmao vansh comes home to empty safe. follows her as she goes and dumps it in the recycling bins and tells vyom to pick it up.

hoodie waale kisine aake pick up kar diya. which i'm sure is not vyom, but angre/someone else instead.

ew vansh rootin around in the garbage bin for the box. sees it's gone and is all smirkily "INTERESTINGGGGGGG VERYYYYYYYY INTERESTINGGGG" about it. ok either box iske aadmi ne uthaaya hai ya woh asli waala black box nahi tha. warna yeh itna khush nahi hota.

ugh siya is video calling vyom and all WHYYYY CAN'T I COME SEEEE YOUUUUUUUUUUU?!?!!? i promiseeeee i won't disturb you while you work, i'll just keep looking at you and listening to you. what the ever loving fuck? behen, the relationship you're describing is the one ppl have with animals in zoos. yuck i actually cannot watch this shit man, i'm fwding.

anyway riddhima walks in hearing his voice from siya's room. ek toh yeh kaun bewakoof hai jo apne secret bf se BINA HEADPHONES ke baat karta hai? ffs, 6th graders doing aashiqui better than these fucks.

riddhima yelling at siya about getting involved with shunya circle zero man, while siya yelling back about how did YOUUUUUU see my earring with him, why are YOUUUU meeting him huh?!!?? and vyom is just there on the call like

riddhima trying to warn siya ki he's not a good man............. sis kabhi apne relationships ko dekha hai???? you're running on full 100% in the dept. of having romantic relationships with psychopathic men who try to injure/kill you on a weekly basis.

asdkjsakjdhksajdhksajhdkj i honestly am vyom in this sitch, who's enjoying this convo to the maxxxxxxxx. zoom call par baithe kisi aur ke ghar ka kalesh dekhne ka mazzzaaaa hi kuch aur hai.

angre losing his mind about riddhima stealing the box and vansh is all cool which meansssss........ nakli tha. for sure. shoulda known when we saw it looked diff itself.

lmaooooooooooooooo black box ko orange paint kar ke rakha hua hai iss chutiye ne. and he's bragging about how no one can open it without the key.

meanwhile peeth pe key waali didi andar jhaank ke spying kar rahi hai, as per usual.

kabir over here like main riddhima riddhima chillaaunga, banyaan phaad ke........... guard has had enough of his shit and tells him to stfu.

someone from outside hears this chillam-chilli and calls the police. wow, a responsible citizen, in this show?????????? unbohlievable.

cut to riddhima walking into bedroom (in whole new outfit; huh??? is it a whole other day suddenly?????) which is decorated like a mixture of a grade school on valentine's day + the set of a suhaag raat porno, lmao. husband is also in here, in his red velvet suit, giving her bhaaaaari sex eyes.

riddhima's thinking lagta hai issko pata nahi chala ke maine naak ke neeche se box udaa liya, warne yeh saare phool meri arthiiii pe chadhte.

this b has some nerve talking to siya about her "dangerous relationship" with that shirtless bhopuuuu player when her own husband/said chick's elder brother is a quasi-murderer they live with.

LMAO THEIR WHOLEASS BED IS GONE. ABHI SESK KAHAAN KAROGE? IS CHHOTE SE DINING TABLE PAR? ouff, they must still be in their 20s if they don't require proper lumbar support.

gives her a rose, ofc she pricks herself on a thorn, and nowwwww.... he's sucking on her finger. I'M SORRY THIS IS NOT ROMANTIC OR SEXY AT ALLLLLLLLLLLLL. SHE DIDN'T EVEN WASH HER HANDS AFTER COMING INTO THE ROOM!!!!!!!!!! FUCKERS GONNA START SOME INCURABLE PANDEMIC OF THEIR OWN LIKE THIS.

she's all ohohohoho dard bhi tum, dawa bhi tum huh? and he's like yeah babyyyyyyyyyy, coz tum poori ki poori meriiiiiii ho.

ok the sexy is getting scary now. as is on par with this fucker. never a moment where heart rate can be at resting rate with him. and not in a good way.

she's telling him she wants to tell him something, give him some surprise....... and he's like.... ok? and they slow dance while making shakki faces at each other's back.

kabirrrrrrr stillllllllll screaming for riddhima. guard finally calls her and makes him speak to her. she's like bitch tf you want i was about to get laidddddd.........

kabir suddenly in i love you i love you mode. shady. kal tak toh yeh gaana nahi chal raha tha??? *acp pradyuman hand motion* kuch toh gadbad hai.

whoopsssssssssss, police is here. guard is like fuck someone musta called hearing this dude's ruckus.

kabir is like mwahahahahahaha, your game is over now. police will find meeeeee and freeeeee meeeee.

lmaoooooooooo she talks to the police and says ki woh jo chila raha hai, mera mentally unstable bhai hai, toh bas...... inspector is like SAY NO MORE MA'AM, WE DON'T WANNA CHECK ON THE MENTALLY ILL, THAT'S A YOU PROBLEM, NOT AN US PROBLEM AS A SOCIETY, SO GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR CRAZY BRO, BYEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

anyway she's like listen up kabir, my deal is over, i'll tell vansh the truth and then you'll be free. so part of the deal with vyom is to keep kabir locked up???????? hein? what even.........

kabir freaking out about riddhima telling vansh the truth, and keeps on saying he'll murder her........ DUDE WHAT THIS SORDID TRUTH ANYWAY IM SO DONE JUST OUT WITH IT ALREADY

vansh comes outta the bathroom shirtless and............... lollipop ladki is here sexily breaking wine glasses in his bedroom. zero boundaries up in this house. NONE WHATSOEVER.

ok sorry i'm not paying attn to anything being said rn coz

lollipop ladki is like why not we drink from one glass and he's like 🤨🤨🤨

wifey's here to spoil the party.

or to make it better????????? coz lol she's like make it three glasses of wine! won't you invite me to whatever's going on???? she looks waaaay more into lollipop ladki than vansh is, which would be the best possible development to riddhima's character.

vansh like hein aise kaise you stealing girl away from meeeeee, and telling lollipop girl ki why don't you and i just chug from the bottle?

cursory invitation to riddhima too.......... man, why is this giving heavy threesome vibes???

riddhima like "no thanks, mujhe do se zyaada hont ek bottle par achche nahi lagte." alksjdlaskjdlsakjdlsajkdlaksjdlka

vansh: achche toh mujhe bhi nahi lagte.

riddhima: par lagta hai tumhe toh kisi ke bhi chalenge.

OUCHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

lmaoooooooo now these two are just having their own petty pati-patni fight filled with vague statements about trust and misunderstandings, and lollipop girl is just here like

precap: riddhima about to tell vansh the whole truth or whatever, when vyom calls and is like wtf you gave me a fake black box. riddhima and vansh are once again fighting about truth and dhoka and like.......... bro. idc anymore. someone take your shirt off to make this worth my while.

[raleighliving]

Raleigh Apartment Culture

So I'm of the mind that Raleigh is a great place to live. It has my favorite things, my favorite people, and I'm too broke to move anywhere else.

Raleigh works for me, but I recognize it doesn't work for everyone. Some people had less than ideal childhoods and wanna escape the state ASAP, some just want to live closer to their dream jobs or have new opportunities. That's all fine, but what if this describes where you are now?

What if, for the sake of argument, you're outside of NC and wanna move in? Moving is expensive, time-consuming, and risky at the best of times; so you wanna make sure that wherever you're landing is at least as good as where you started 90% of the time

"But RL," I hear you say, "you make Raleigh sound like an idyllic dreamscape populated with parks and a diverse kumbayah of peoples living in harmony"

I do talk about Raleigh in a positive light but, like a life saving medicine flavored like ass, sometimes you have to take the good with the bad.

So before you spend thousands of dollars on moving vans, boxes, and grits; here's a crash course on what it's like living in a Raleigh apartment, coming from someone whose majority of Raleigh Living (heh) has been in apartments.

First off, location. Any realtor will tell you that location is 80% of the sale to sound profound, and as anyone who has lived in the middle of ass-backward nowhere can tell you: It sucks having to drive 30 minutes to go anywhere.

Good news: With the Raleigh Beltline and connecting roads, there are very few places in Raleigh where your trip will last longer than thirty minutes one-way. Bad News: where you set down still matters because cutting down on travel is important for car and mental health.

North Raleigh is different from south Raleigh is different from northwest Raleigh, and the locals aren't the only difference you'll find between locations. Each segment of Raleigh has something to offer, with easier access to some attractions than others and neighboring cities for when you need something outside the RDU area.

Using downtown as the center of our wheel, people generally divide Raleigh into North and South Raleigh (with distinction given for NW, SE, NE, etc when needed). N.Raleigh is considered generally more upscale, a slice of suburban living interspersed with plenty of shopping centers for families and the moderately wealthy; but it's boring as all hell.

Want some fun? Excitement in the evenings and a more traditional urban experience with bars, night clubs, strip clubs, and more? South Raleigh is your best bet, at the cost of being the "sketchy" side of Raleigh. That kind of place where you'll see a bunch of auto shops that look abandoned but haven't been closed in the past 5 years and there's at least one customer from time to time.

Of course, this is a lot of generalizing but you'll find that it's still mostly accurate. The main exception in this is Capital Blvd, a highway cutting across north and south Raleigh on the eastern half of the city; a high crime corridor that's undergoing some changes in the northern half that have (somewhat) reduced crime but most people will still associate that area with the majority of Raleigh's crime and debauchery.

More importantly, is the distinction Raleigh citizens put on inside the beltline versus outside the beltline. The I-440 and 540 highways that wrap around Downtown form the mythical beltline, and to a degree what you have access to. Inside the beltline is the majority of workplaces, stores, and shopping centers; while outside you'll still have these things just to a more... dispersed extent.

North Raleigh actually kinda exemplifies this perfectly. Living inside the beltline, you have access to places like North Hills, Crabtree Valley mall, and Triangle Town Center. Live outside the beltline, like I currently am, and you're looking at 10 to 15 minutes to the nearest sheetz for that late night double hot dog fix.

So for point one: How important is it that you're near things? The majority of apartments and rental properties are in or around the belt-line, but if you want to save some cash on rent checks the cheaper properties are gonna extend your trips a bit.

Next, what can you expect in terms of neighbors? Does Raleigh have a hip party scene full of teens renting cheap apartments and blasting trap music at 3AM?

Depends on where you live

I swear not every point is going to be this, but there's an important distinction this time that affects the type of people your complex will likely have surrounding you; are you in North or South Raleigh?

North Raleigh has a ton of pre-schools, k-12 public schools (Leesville, Hillburn, Lead Mine, just to name a few), and office complexes that make up the job market. As a result the majority of apartment renters in north Raleigh tend to be families with a few small kids or so.

As a result, living off of Glenwood North and Edwards Mill I never had any noise problems from neighbors, the worst being kids playing outside at 3PM sounding like they were being murdered (which apparently is a common thing and I apologize to any neighbors I frightened with ghastly shrieks).

What I did have a problem with, however, was the typical Karen's you hear people complain about online. Renting a property now, we have access to our neighborhood's NextDoor page and it's hilarious sometimes to go on and read the comments, but living at a certain property we had a sort of mini-Facebook for residents

That thing was always full of either people who were moving out looking to sell their furniture or people passive-aggressively challenging each other/the apartment managers with comments about things happening around the complex.

Once I logged in to see one man accuse another, without ever actually accusing someone specific ("I know who did it and they should be ashamed" type post) of putting glass beer bottles under the tires of his truck to try and puncture them. Everyone acts civil in public, but then online they'll stir the pot harder than a chef with a hand mixer.

South Raleigh, you have the schools like Shaw University, Meredith, and NCSU; so the people renting down there are typically college kids. You'll see more apartments that cater towards them like University Village or University Woods, but sometimes these places will cater to both college kids and working adults

Avoid these places like the plague, because despite sometimes having a lower cost to live there the neighbors and their shenanigans will drive you up the wall (unless you're the type to join in, then go wild).

I've had friends stay at places like University Village and The Proper (formerly The Vie, formerly Wolf Creek) who've shared horror stories. 3AM parties ending in property damage or vomit in inconvenient places, drug deals not even trying to be subtle, and maintenance workers doing nothing because regardless of the apartment conditions; no school's gonna pull their contract with them unless news articles start getting written.

http://www.technicianonline.com/news/article_898ddf34-82f5-11e7-b3d8-07059d248619.html

https://www.wral.com/vie-at-raleigh-residents-finally-able-to-move-into-clean-units/16887833/

http://www.technicianonline.com/news/article_ea8ed7aa-a092-11e8-a2af-e70af36566d0.html

Otherwise, south Raleigh apartments are largely like north Raleigh apartments; except the crime rate tends to be a little higher and you'll run into more singles and people working full time.

Otherwise, Raleigh apartment culture is like apartment culture anywhere else in the country. You have a mix of apartments catering to those just looking to live versus more ostentatious luxury apartments with fancy pools, exercise facilities, and tech packages to draw people in.

If you're renting in Raleigh, however, do try to get a roommate or two if you can manage. Even with a decent job paying 800+ on a one bedroom one bath apartment can be exhausting at best, but with even one other person that can functionally halve your expenses

So if you're a young professional, or a student, or even if you have a small family, I can safely recommend renting in Raleigh. There's plenty of places that'll accommodate you, and cater towards your needs.

But what about everyone else? Are there people who shouldn't rent in Raleigh?

No

But there are groups who I'd seriously ask to consider their other choices before picking Raleigh as a destination for their new home.

For instance, are you a member of the LGBT community? A trans or non-binary individual? Well then, first off, I want you to know that you're loved and valid. I'm accepting of who you are and appreciate everyone's right to identify how they choose, but I'm not everyone.

Raleigh's bluer than other parts of North Carolina, as I've stated in other blog write-ups, but it's still part of North Carolina unfortunately and as a result, you'll face some challenges.

I doubt anyone's gonna burn a cross in your yard or knock over your mailbox, but Raleigh doesn't offer LGBT protections for housing, jobs, or credit/lending discriminations according to the Movement Advancement Project's website.

We have support organizations for LGBT and NB individuals, plenty of high schools and colleges have Gay-Straight Alliance clubs, and there are numerous businesses downtown that cater specifically to those individuals... but we're also the state that got into a lot of hot water because of a stupid bathroom bill, and our politicians are trying to pass anti-trans sports legislation (because they now magically care about the integrity of womens sports).

By that measure, but to a lesser extent, if you fall outside the Liberal/Conservative political spectrum then be prepared to have no one to discuss your politics with outside of a few sparse networks like the DSA.

Additionally, if you don't have someone to room with or a significant other to split costs with; you may want to try searching somewhere a little cheaper.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Raleigh housing prices aren't terrible for a major metropolitan city, but we're not the best prices in the world.

You can get prices on apartments and rentals lower than say, California or New York. However, compared to other parts of NC like Greensboro or Garner; rentals are still a bit much.

On average, a Raleigh apartment can run you about $900 for a single bedroom and a single bathroom. You can find cheaper, but often times there's some risk associated (Crime levels, quality of the room, quality of the property manager, etc.) Looking for a two bedroom? Then your average price is gonna jump up to around $1,200, and this is all before utilities and cable come into play.

It's true a lot of companies around here will pay more than the $7.25 minimum wage, but most low-skilled jobs will pay around 10-11 an hour.

I guess though, that's kind of an obvious statement. "Don't live in Raleigh if you can't afford to live in Raleigh."

I might expand on these thoughts at a later time, but hopefully for now I've given you some food for thought; or at the very least an entertaining read for a few minutes.

I love my city, and I love the friends I've made in it, but the sad truth is that nowhere is perfect for everyone; leastways Raleigh. If Raleigh sounds like the kind of place you'd like to live in, at least take a day trip to come visit and see how things go that way. Visit some stores, meet some locals, and form an opinion off of more than travel blogs and youtube videos.

[heyyyharry]

My Girl Series: Chapter 7 - Birthday Blues

…in which Harry tries to make it up to Y/N for all the birthdays he has missed.

Series description: Y/N falls in love with the older boy next door who doesn’t feel the same, years later they meet again at a funeral.

AU: actor!harry, older!harry, younger!y/n; (4-year age gap)

Chapter 6: This Time - Y/N needs a wedding date, and this time Harry’s not giving up.

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After Harry had left Holmes Chapel, every spark of joy in Y/N's life slowly died out with the part of him inside of her. The day she turned fifteen was also the first time she'd spent a birthday alone. Celine was abroad for a three-month exchange program. Her grandma, who lived in Brighton had just passed away, so both of her parents had to go there for the funeral. Since she refused to come along, they left her home with her mother's younger sister, aunt Lynn, who was only twenty-two at the time and didn't even bother to remember her name.

"Sweet baby, do not tell your parents that I invite some friends over, okay? Your mum is gonna be so mad," the young woman said, holding Y/N by the shoulders and the teenage girl could only pay attention to the sound of her aunt chewing bubble gum. For some reasons, Lynn always had something in her mouth. If she wasn't chewing gum, she had to make sure her mouth was kept busy by eating something, or someone. Y/N had met her three times before but each time she was snogging a different guy. Sadly she was the only option for a 'babysitter', just because Y/N's parents didn't believe their fifteen-year-old daughter was capable of staying home alone.

"But today is—"

"Shit!" The woman exclaimed, holding her head. "You're right! It's Friday night, I should throw a party. Play with your dolls, baby. Your aunt has adult stuff to take care of."

"My dolls?" Y/N muttered under her breath as the bedroom door was slammed shut in front of her eyes. Putting on her favorite song and turning off all the lights, she lied down, staring at the spinning fan above her head.

All the kids her age probably spent their fifteenth getting drunk and making out with their crushes, or losing their virginity without their parents knowing. But there she was, locked in her room while her aunt was having all the fun she was supposed to have. For the first time in her life, she found herself alone. She'd always been a loner, yet she had never actually felt it until that night. She stayed utter still in silence, holding Thumper close to her chest. The stuffed animal could probably hear every sound of her heart cracking open. Her mother wasn't there to tell her what a woman she'd become, nor was Harry to sing her the birthday song. It was just her, alone in the dark, with a purple bunny that still smelt just like him.

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Celine always said that working in the library was the worst decision Y/N had ever made, because there was no job more boring than organizing dusty old books. But the thing was, Y/N loved her boring job. She mainly got paid for sorting and shelving books according to their categorization, which wasn't really hard work, not to mention that Ms. Florence, the librarian, was really easy-going. Y/N got to spend most of her time in the fiction section, avoiding her responsibilities to read and write as much as she wanted. Besides, she really liked her co-worker, whose name was Alice.

Alice was a year younger than Y/N. She liked to talk and Y/N liked to listen, so they were pretty compatible. Finding a drinking buddy in university was easy, Y/N had plenty of them; the hard part was finding a buddy you could trust. So even though Alice wasn't what Y/N would consider a close friend, she could be someone to count on.

"Why is it that every time I see you, you're reading something?"

Alice's voice pulled Y/N's attention away from the novel on her lap, as she looked up and found the tiny brunette smiling at her. Y/N leaned back against the bookshelf, crossing her legs so there was room on the floor for Alice to sit down as well.

"I have a surprise for you, big sis!" Alice said, making Y/N roll her eyes and chuckle.

"You've found another porn book, haven't ya?"

"No! An actual surprise!" The younger girl giggled, then finally showed Y/N what she'd been hiding behind her back. "Ta-da! Two tickets to see Heathers!"

"Heathers The Musical?" Y/N dropped her jaw when the other girl nodded. "I love Heathers!"

"I bet you do! You seem like someone who enjoys dark comedy with tragic endings."

Alice's comment made her laugh, but she couldn't say it wasn't true. Her life itself was already a dark comedy.

"Are you giving me these for free?" She asked, pointing to the tickets and Alice's lips curved into a smile as she nodded fast in response.

"I bought these to go with a friend next week, but we're both gonna be busy that night. So just consider this as my temporary birthday gift to you. I'll buy you something else tomorrow."

"How do you know today's my birthday?" Y/N's eyes went round as her mouth fell open, yet the grin on the other girl's face only expanded.

"I was cleaning Ms. Florence's desk this morning when I found your CV. I didn't have time to actually get you something so—"

"Alice..."

"I know you hate birthdays, but please accept these tickets or else I'll die!"

Y/N rolled her eyes, chuckling a bit at how dramatic that sounded, but eventually, she accepted the birthday gift from her co-worker, and thanked the girl for being so thoughtful. "By the way, there's really no need to get me something else," she said, making Alice snort.

"Don't be silly! You're getting a proper birthday gift from me." Alice barely stood up when she flopped onto the floor again. "Oh, and one more thing! Do you wanna go out tonight? I know this pub that's—"

"No, thanks. I've got a lot of work to do tonight."

"But it's your birthday!"

Y/N gave the girl a shrug, lifting a corner of her mouth as she replied, "I never celebrate it."

"Boo, you suck!" Like a child, Alice blew up her cheeks, eyebrows knitted together. "But if you change your mind, ring me up, big sis!"

Y/N tried to contain her laughter as she watched Alice hop away and almost fall head first when she tripped over a stool. It was only when her clumsy co-worker had gone out of sight that Y/N finally checked her watch and realized her shift was just over. She rose from the floor to place the book back on the shelf, then put the tickets into her bag before heading out. Usually, she would always be the last person to leave, but since it was her birthday, she still wanted to do something special for herself, even if it was something as simple as going home before Ms. Florence.

Instead of taking the bus, that day Y/N decided to walk home. For the first time in two years living in that city, the girl finally paid attention to what was going on around her; it was also the first time she had realized how boring London had always been. The grey color of concrete dominated the entire city; it was hard to spot a hint of green anywhere, unlike Holmes Chapel, her home.

Y/N missed that place so much, now more than ever.

She missed the meadows behind her house at springtime, when all the wildflowers added vibrant colors to the fading green. She missed the tall pine trees surrounding a field full of white poppies. She used to run across that field, imagining herself in the opening scene of The Sound of Music, and she could still hear Harry's voice calling out "Bambi, wait for me!" as he tried to catch up with her.

He was the green that she missed the most.

The sound of her ringtone cut right through that thought, causing the vivid images before her eyes to fade back to monochrome. His name showed up on the screen, as if he knew she had been thinking about him.

"Hello?" She answered, standing close to the wall on her right so she wouldn't get in the way of the other pedestrians.

"Are you on the way home?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I'm just a few blocks away. Why?"

"I'm coming over."

She snorted, pursing her dry lips. "I'm busy tonight, remember? Birthday dinner with Isaac?" That lie was as smooth as melting butter coming from her mouth, yet her insides were heating up and her hands started to shake. She was glad he couldn't see the way she shut her eyes and pressed her lips into a firm line after lying to him.

"I'll see you in five."

"Wait, I said—" Y/N began, yet couldn't finish. Harry had already hung up on her.

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The sun was sinking fast now, turning the sky to grey tinged with purple and pink. Harry was already waiting by his car outside the building when Y/N returned, standing with his back facing the ruby-red skyline. With golden-rays casting down upon him, Y/N thought Harry glowed even brighter than the sun itself. But of course, he didn't have to know.

"Happy birthday." His voice was husky and deep as he handed her a white poppy. "Just like the ones back home," he said, and the reluctance from her expression made him feel the need to add, "I didn't buy it. I stole it from a flower shop on the way here."

Y/N didn't know if that was true, but his slop-sided grin made her doubt every single one of his words.

"Headline: Harry Styles stole a flower for a mystery girl!" She said, swiping her hand across the air like she was presenting the idea to him, which only made the beam on his face grow twice as big as he pointed to his car. "Get in, kid," he told her. "Before what you said become reality."

"Where are we going?" She asked in hesitation.

"To your birthday party."

"My birthday party?! But I'm—"

"I'm sure we've got a lot of time before Isaac returns from Italy to take you to dinner."

That one sentence got Y/N tongue-tied. The girl couldn't make a single sound, instead, she was gawking at him like a fool. What did she expect though? He would find out sooner or later because he was still friends with Isaac. So all she could do at that moment was try to come up with an explanation, in case he asked her to tell him why she'd lied. However, he didn't ask her anything. Harry flashed a smile as he walked back to his car and told her to come along. But Y/N refused. She couldn't just follow him blindly without knowing exactly where they were going.

"You're not taking me to a fancy restaurant, are you?"

"Bambi, the last thing I want is for the paps to eat you alive." Harry chuckled and opened the car door for the girl. "Don't worry, kid. It's just gonna be the two of us."

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The loud music and laughter from downstairs made it almost impossible for Y/N to even hear the voice inside her head. The birthday blues made it hard for her to stay awake, yet she couldn't sleep either, and there was no way she could talk her aunt into ending the party. Lynn was probably drunk off her ass right now, so Y/N knew the only place for her to be alone with her depressing thoughts was the treehouse. She hadn't gone back there since the night she last saw Harry, but she guessed it had become such a big part of her that she couldn't stay away no matter how much she'd tried.

Still in her pajamas, the fifteen-year-old climbed the rope ladder to get to her childhood spot. The floor was still wet from the rain yesterday, so she leaned against the doorway and stood there to ponder on her own. However, it didn't take her more than three minutes to burst into tears.

Y/N hated crying, it was physically and emotionally painful to cry, and when it was over, what was left was just...nothing. Emptiness. Nevertheless, crying was how Y/N understood herself best. When she cried, she knew who she was. And she had always thought, just like a heartbreak, though crying left her feeling empty when it was over, she would still sigh in relief, because, at least, she knew it was the end.

"Y/N!"

When she heard that voice, the girl stepped closer to the edge of the treehouse and looked down at her neighbor's garden, where she found Harry's big sister with one hand behind her back and the other waving in the air. Y/N quickly wiped away the remaining tears on her cheeks, feeling thankful because if Gemma had come earlier, she might have already seen Y/N bawling her eyes out.

"Gemma! When did you get back?"

"Just a couple days ago. I'm home for two weeks to work on my thesis." The other Styles chuckled. "Glad I found you out here, I was just about to come over."

"To see me?" Y/N lifted both eyebrows, pointing to herself and receiving a nod from her neighbor.

"Yeah, come down here. I have something for you."

The teenage girl hesitated a bit because she couldn't figure out why Gemma wanted to see her and had something for her. Even though she used to hang out with Harry, she was never that close to his older sister. But she climbed down anyway, curious to know what Gemma had behind her back.

"Happy birthday," said the 23-year-old as she handed Y/N the birthday gift she'd been hiding that whole time.

A snow globe.

It didn't have a snowman and a Christmas tree like the ones you normally found in souvenir shops. The one Gemma gave her had colorful glitter inside instead of fake snow; and it was a miniature London, with tiny versions of Big Ben, the London Eye, and the Tower Bridge.

But all Y/N could see, was a person.

"You remember my birthday?" The younger girl asked quietly as she received the gift from her lovely neighbor, who was smiling from ear to ear.

"Of course," Gemma said. "I came to your birthday party every year. But I guess you don't like them anymore, huh?"

"Yeah..." Y/N faked a laugh, hoping her awkward eye-roll didn't give away the fact that she was just lonely.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat but I must get back to work now."

"Sure. Thanks for the nice gift," said Y/N. "Where did you get it by the way?"

"Bought it when I was in London last week."

Y/N didn't say anything else and just watched the older girl walk back to her house. Of course, she wanted to ask Gemma about Harry, but it was so sad to even think about him right now. His sister remembered her birthday and even got her a present, yet she hadn't heard a single word from him since the day he left. He was supposed to be her friend, or was it just another thing she had fooled herself into believing?

Holding the little London between her palms, she thought that maybe it was time to let go of the London inside her heart.

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"Don't peek!"

"I'm not peeking!"

Y/N giggled, holding the hand that was covering her eyes as Harry carefully led her up the stairs, giving her directions so she wouldn't trip and cause them both to fall over. She extended her arms once they had reached the top, feeling the cold metal surface in front of them. The creaking sound caused her to flinch, so Harry quickly reassured the girl that it was just him opening the door. She could feel his other hand reaching around her waist to pull the handle, and a cold breeze blew right through her thin shirt. Y/N immediately took a step backward and bumped into Harry's firm chest. She felt the pressure of his fingertips on her hip as he gently pushed her forward, for the third time that night, telling her to trust him.

"If I didn't trust you I wouldn't have walked up all these floors with my eyes closed." She giggled, and his soft laughter sent shivers down her spine.

"Sit," he ordered, holding the girl by the arms to guide her into a chair; and when she was finally seated, Harry leaned in so his lips were close to her ear as he whispered, "open your eyes."

Y/N did what she was told.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

The girl had begun to envision her surroundings ever since the cool air hit her skin for the first time as she stepped out, yet what she saw was far from her imagination.

They were sitting on a rooftop of a tall building somewhere in London. From her spot, Y/N could see the entire city spread below, tiny vehicles rushing along tangled roads. The city lights looked like stars dropping to the Earth, making her feel as if they were being squeezed between two galaxies. There were no words magical enough to describe what she was seeing, so Y/N didn't say anything, and just took in a deep breath to let it go with the biggest smile on her face.

It was windy on the roof, so Harry took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. They sat side by side on two wooden chairs, staring at the city and the sky above, completely mesmerized by such beauty, which had completely changed Y/N's opinion about London. Maybe from a different and higher view, it wasn't plain and dull after all.

"Almost like Holmes Chapel, huh?" She heard him speak and turned to look at him. Harry was gazing up with a beam on his face as he pointed to the sky, and told her the names of the stars he knew, not aware that she wasn't really listening. She was too busy looking at him, and thinking, maybe somewhere underneath that man was still the little boy she used to know.

"Oh, I forgot!" He suddenly flinched and turned to pick up the box at his feet. "I made this for you. But...the rest of the batch...already ended up in the trash bin."

He opened the box and revealed one single cupcake with a candle on top. It didn't look terrible, still, it wasn't a very pretty cupcake either. But if that was the best out of the whole batch, Y/N couldn't help but snort as she tried to imagine what the other ones looked like.

"Hey, don't laugh at me! At least I tried!"

"Okay, okay." Y/N bit her lip to hold back a smile. She didn't know why it was so endearing that he'd exerted himself to make her one cupcake. Even if he'd got it from a store instead, she would still be overjoyed.

"Can I eat it now?" She asked, but he quickly shook his head no.

"You have to make a wish first."

Y/N giggled, eyes bored into Harry as he looked around to find something else. "Shit!" His jaw went slack. "The lighter! I forgot the lighter."

"Relax, lemme check," Y/N mumbled, reaching inside the inner pocket of his coat to search for the object, and she felt something like a little triangle box, assuming it was the lighter. But when she took it out, both of them froze as they saw what it really was.

A pack of cigarettes.

Y/N's mouth fell open, she was speechless, and so was he. "Harry..." Her voice was quiet when she looked at him. "Do you smoke?"

"No." He shook his head fast. "N-Not anymore."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie?" A blush crept up his face as he made eye-contact with her. "If I still smoked, I would have a lighter with me, right?"

That sounded like a good enough reason for her to believe him. Moreover, he didn't smell like someone who smoked, and she'd never seen him with a cigarette between his fingers before. So apparently he was telling the truth. Y/N inhaled deeply as she nodded, squeezing his hand for more assurance.

"Smoking could kill you. So don't...don't go back to it..." The way she could barely maintain eye contact while saying that to him made his heart flutter somehow. He took her other hand, linking their fingers together as he asked, "are you worried about me?"

"Of course I am," she said without pause. "I can't bear the thought of losing you."

The corners of her mouth turned down and her whole face contorted so he knew she was serious when she said those words. After all this time, he still mattered to her; and knowing that was like getting a heavy weight lifted off his chest.

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Harry sank into his chair, holding the mini calendar above his face. "It's already April," he mumbled to himself, but his roommate Isaac assumed Harry was talking to him, so he replied, "yeah, almost time for finals."

It wasn't finals that came to Harry's mind when he thought about April, it was a birthday actually. He rarely remembered birthdays, and sometimes he forgot his own; but for some reasons, he always remembered hers. He hadn't spoken to Y/N since the night he left, and he could never forget the way she looked at him when she asked him to kiss her. It was awkward, yet it was sad. She truly cared about him, and he could never repay the same kind of feelings because she was too young. So he didn't know how to talk to her again after everything she'd confessed. The last thing he wanted was to lead her on and lull her into believing that one day he might feel the same. He knew he could never like her back the way she wanted him to.

However, it would be a lie to say he didn't miss her. He missed her a lot. How could he forget about his little Bambi? She was the only girl he'd spent the best years of his childhood protecting and looking after. She was something more than just the girl next door, and he kept the image on her face on the treehouse that night in his memory as he left Holmes Chapel with no intention of coming back. Every time he thought about her, a part of him wanted to pay her a visit, but he was glad he didn't change his mind. But now her birthday was coming close, and he knew she wanted him to be there with her. He wanted to be there with her. But he couldn't.

"Isaac," Harry broke the silence in the dorm room, turning his head to look at his best friend who was lying on the bed. "What should I give a fifteen-year-old girl for her birthday?"

The sudden question made Isaac lift an eyebrow. "I thought you only had a big sister?"

"Uhm...it's actually for my...my...cousin."

"Well, I'm bad at this stuff. Why don't you ask Niall?"

Harry rolled his eyes and scoffed. "He would just give me crazy ideas."

"Then ask the birthday girl herself." Isaac shrugged, sticking out his bottom lip. "I mean, try to be subtle and find out what she likes without giving away the fact that you don't know what to get her."

If only it was that easy. Harry shook his head and put the calendar back down. He used to be the one who knew about her more than anyone else, probably only second to her mother, he should be able to know what she liked, but right now he didn't. He knew nothing about her anymore. It was only then that he started to feel bad for all the time he didn't spend with her. But had he not kept his distance, their goodbye would've been much harder.

So he tried to think, swirling the pencil in his hand for a couple seconds. And finally, an idea came to his mind. Maybe there could be a way for him to come back to her after all.

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For the rest of the night, Harry and Y/N sat in their chairs, eating pizza for dinner while discussing irrelevant topics like the existence of aliens, strange kinds of flowers, as well as their favorite movies, songs, and books. Soon both grew tired so they fell back to silence. He was staring at the city, and she was taking in the sight of him.

"Are you mad that I lied to you?" Her sudden question made him turn around with an eyebrow raised. "You know, about Isaac."

"I'm not mad at you, kid. But I'd like to know what happened..." Harry couldn't say he had heard most of the story from Niall because he wanted Y/N to tell him herself, if she trusted him enough, and of course, he didn't expect her to. But somehow she did. She ended up telling him everything.

"I didn't want Isaac to turn down the job offer for a relationship that would probably never work." She sighed with her chin on her knuckles, hooded eyes staring blankly ahead. "I liked him a lot. And I thought to myself that if he asked me to be his girlfriend, I would say yes immediately. But when it happened, I got scared. I couldn't let him in because I was afraid that if he knew too much about me, he wouldn't like me anymore. I guess I'm just not ready to fall in love again, and I don't want him to wait for me to be ready. My first and only relationship didn't end very well. So I didn't have the heart to let the same thing happen to us." Holding her breath, she said, "He's too good for me anyway. I'm better off alone."

"Nobody is better off alone," Harry spoke at last, a line appeared between his brows. "Everyone needs someone."

"Not me." She shrugged, and the look in her eyes broke his heart in a million pieces. "I'm sorry I had to lie to you...I didn't want you to do anything for my birthday. I've troubled you enough already."

"But you're not troubling me, love. I did all of this because I wanted to. I...I care about you."

She couldn't remember the last time she heard him say those words, or if he'd ever said them at all. So to hear them now made her feel happy and sad at the same time. If there was one thing that she'd learned from their 'relationship' it would be, Harry's words weren't always credible.

"How did you find this place though?" She changed the subject, putting on a smile to lighten up the mood, which had gotten a bit blue since Isaac was mentioned. She could see it from the look on his face that he was also glad she'd brought up something else.

"Niall's uncle owns this building. They're doing some reconstructing so it's closed for a couple months. It might be the only place we could be together without people bothering us."

"Thank you." Y/N took in a long breath as she smiled. "I've never seen London so beautiful."

"Agreed." Harry nodded fast. In this bad lighting, his dimples seemed even deeper than they actually were. "But my favorite is the winter time. The city looks best when it's covered in snow."

Those last words made Y/N's head turn as her eyes went round.

"It was you, wasn't it?" she cried out, causing the man to jump in shock. He was meant to ask, but she didn't even let him have his chance. "The snow globe! You asked Gemma to give it to me, did you?!"

"Ouch!" He yelped when she smacked him hard on the arm. The girl didn't look very sorry when he rubbed the sore spot and his brows drew together in utter perplexity.

"Why did you ask her to lie for you?! I was so sad, I thought you didn't remember my birthday!"

"I thought it was for the best if you forgot about me, after..."

There was a pause, a gap for her to fill in.

"Our first kiss...I know," she mumbled at last.

It was weird to talk about it now, since both of them had been pretending like the kiss she'd stolen from him when she was fourteen had never happened. After all, she was fourteen at the time, he couldn't blame her for acting so impulsive. But recently he'd been thinking about it and wondering if her feelings back then had been all true.

Her eyes darted as she whispered under her breath, but still loud enough for him to hear, "why didn't you send me anything on my birthday next year or the ones after that?"

"I...I wanted to...I almost did." He swallowed hard while fidgeting in his seat. "But Gemma said you were seeing this boy, so I thought I should stay away from your life and let you forget about me for good. Then time passed and I actually didn't think a lot about you, until..."

She nodded without waiting for him to finish, her lashes fluttered as sadness overtook her face. After a moment of thinking, she asked, "if you could turn back time, would you come back to see me?"

"Yes," he answered. "Without a second thought."

Y/N had seen Harry in a lot of different situations, yet she'd never seen him like that, all flustered and ill at ease. She loved the way the rings on his fingers sparkled as he was nervously toying with the hem of his shirt. She loved it when even under the dim lights surrounding them, she could see a blush creep up his face. She knew better, that it was never good when she felt so drawn to him, yet she couldn't stop, so she released a slight laugh, which got his attention.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked.

Shaking her head with the grin still remained, she said, "nothing."

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As he walked with her five floors up to her flat, Harry struggled to find something to say so the silence carried on until they reached her front door. He couldn't explain why he was at a loss for words every time he stood in front of her. He knew her well, he'd grown up with this girl. But deep down inside he knew it wasn't like that, not anymore. He knew his heart had more to say about her than it should, and the way it began to race whenever she was around had him frustrated most of the times.

He watched her unlock her front door and turn to say goodbye. But just when she was about to leave, he stopped her by taking her hand. It wasn't the first time they'd held hands, still, he let hers go after about two seconds like it was hot coal burning his skin. Maybe it was, maybe she was, yet he couldn't stay away because he enjoyed the burn. With round Bambi eyes, she stared at him, slightly puzzled by his strange behaviors. Harry asked her to wait. He searched in his pants pocket, finally pulling out a silver locket necklace.

"Your birthday present."

"Harry—"

He shushed her right away, telling her to turn around as he took a step closer to put the chain around her neck. His fingers brushed against her collarbone only once, but it was enough for both of them to flinch at the contact. Y/N gently touched the heart-shaped locket now lying on her chest, then opened it to find a tiny photo of her mother.

"So you could always keep her by your heart," he whispered, his voice was low and hot against her ear.

Slowly, Y/N turned around, but Harry didn't pull away so they were just one step away from pressing against each other. She meant to just thank him and go inside her flat, but as she parted her lip, not a single sound managed to escape. Her cheeks turned pink, her bottom lip was quivering as she batted her lashes. She had never looked into his eyes for that long, and the look he was giving her made her pupils dilated. It was the same look she'd seen him give that blonde haired girl on the treehouse when he was seventeen. He had never looked at Y/N that way before, and now he did. If only she could read his mind, she would know he was also trying to do the same.

Harry knew it was wrong, but he couldn't resist. The last time he had the same feeling, he wasn't thinking straight so he went for it by instinct. Now he knew exactly what was happening, and still, he didn't stop it. He leaned in a little closer, their foreheads touching. He expected her to pull away or even slap him for making that bold move, yet she stayed exactly where she was, chest heaving with anticipation. Her scent was flooding his senses, and the second he finally found the courage to place his hands on her hips, it was she who decided the next move.

Her lips brushed against his. Not innocently, but hot and passionately, he wanted to pull away before he lost control, but like a magnet, she drew him in more and now he was stuck. "Harry," she whispered slowly, making his heart flutter as he clasped his hands on either side of her face.

That kiss wasn't like the first or the second, this time it was an open-mouthed, almost sexual kiss. He pushed her against the door, loving the way her body melted into his as their lips fitted perfectly like they were made for each other. She held his hair and he held her so tight as if he was afraid it wasn't real, and she would disappear the moment he loosened his grip. They broke away after what seemed like ages, and from the look in her eyes, he could tell she expected him to run, just like he had before.

But he didn't. Even if he wanted to, he knew his trembling feet wouldn't let him. She stood with her back against the door, him with one hand on her hip, the other fisted to rest beside her head. He inhaled sharply and she was still trying to steady her breathing. It took almost five seconds for either to open their eyes and look at the other person.

"Goodnight," she mumbled, reaching behind for the doorknob and the next thing he knew, she had fled inside and shut the door right in front of his face. Harry was left standing in the hallway like an idiot, not knowing what to do next. He lifted a fist, about to knock because there were still many things that he wanted to say to her, an apology was one of which. But he thought again and decided that he should probably go.

Harry left the building, stepping out on the street with his head still on the cloud as he kept touching his lips, trying not to smile so big or else people would think he was insane. But maybe he was, because he was too happy to act differently. He got into his car and sat there with both hands on the steering wheel, head tossed back, smiling contently. His whole face was red, but he didn't really mind. He was soaked in the scent of her perfume, and all he could think about was how he could possibly fall asleep with every trace of her lingering on his body.

His phone lit up in the dark, notifying a new text from Bambi which got him to sit up straight at once. His heart could've exploded when he read the first line, if the next one hadn't come on in less than a second.

⌲ Bambi: That kiss was a mistake.

⌲ Bambi: You're gonna have to earn it next time.

⌲ Next time? :)

⌲ Bambi: Don't be smug about it!

⌲ I'm not! But wait, on the scale from 1-10, how great was tonight? (minus the kiss)

⌲ Bambi: 7/10 (including the kiss)

⌲ Heeeeeey!

Sitting at her working desk, chin resting on her palm, Y/N cracked a smile. The birthday surprise, as well as the kiss they'd shared in the hallway,  were definitely 11/10. But she couldn't give it to him that easily. She placed her phone down, leaving his latest message on read as she touched the chain around her neck once again.

The London snow globe was still sitting on her desk, and she hadn't touched it in so long that it was a bit dusty now. She kept it there so it could remind her of the terrible birthday she should already forget, but she didn't want to. It was a way of telling herself that sometimes the people you loved would leave you behind, and that was just a cruel fact of life that one should just accept and carry on. But now that she knew it wasn't all true, the way she felt about the snow globe had also changed.

Quickly, she typed down 'Thank you for the locket' and sent it to him, then while waiting for him to reply, she sent another text right after.

⌲ I have two tickets to see Heathers The Musical

⌲ H: Yes.

⌲ I haven't even asked?

⌲ H: Whatever you're gonna ask, it's a yes.

⌲ Have you even watched Heathers?

⌲ H: There's always Google! Send me the date and time, my assistant will get back to you shortly.

⌲ Haha funny.

Y/N rolled her eyes and giggled as she snapped a quick shot of the tickets Alice had given her and sent it to him.

⌲ H: Wednesday night! I'm free!

⌲ You sure there's not another award show that night? I'm gonna kill you if you skip another one for me.

⌲ H: Nah I'm not supposed to attend any event next week. If you don't believe me, google it!

⌲ Oh God.

⌲ H: Say that instead of my name 'next time'.

Y/N's face turned scarlet when she read that line. She sucked in her bottom lip, face-palming herself with her eyes shut and wishing she hadn't moaned his name into the kiss. That couldn't have been more embarrassing. She typed down a few words, trying to come up with a reply that would save herself from the humiliation, yet she kept typing and deleting for three times or so. Then came two new messages from him.

⌲ H: It's late. Go to sleep Bambi. Good night.

⌲ H: Once again, happy birthday! :)

The twenty-year-old smiled to herself as she sent him back a goodnight text. Y/N knew she should get to bed now if she wanted to wake up early for a class in the morning. But she also knew it would take forever for her to fall asleep. This time, fortunately, it wasn't gonna be the birthday blues that kept her up all night.

[bitch-banshee]

A Proposal and A Wedding

Part lll

Part l , part ll.

Word count: 1500 :)

Characters: Sterek

Summary: it’s the morning after the nightmare and Derek just wants to forget it. Stiles is all for glazing over the nightmare and talking about the plans of their approaching wedding.

It’s just a cute filler, full of little Sterek kisses, and domestic bliss.

THE PLAN

Derek got up first, his mind running far before he actually decided to get out of bed. Slow limbs and quiet steps, he couldn't bare to wake stiles. His fiance looked so peaceful, and stiles deserved peace after the shit derek put him through last night.

The memory washed over him and made a sick feeling slither into his stomach. Today is gonna be good, he told himself, trying to put some positive vibes into the world or whatever Stiles said to him that one time. (You have to think positive to be positive der, try it) Derek bounded for the bathroom, brushed his teeth and decided he’d shower after Stiles left for work, He really didn’t want to disturb him.

The alpha ambled downstairs slowly, the sluggishness brought about by not being caffeinated, so that's what he did first. A hot pot of coffee brewed while Derek whisked eggs and put bread in the toaster. He heard when Stiles got up and started to look for him. Heard the lurch in his heartbeat when he found that Derek was not in bed, not even in the room.

He even heard Stiles scramble up and trip out of the bed, the hurried footsteps caused him to call out “I'm in the kitchen Stiles” careful not to be too loud, he didn't want to scare him, just alert him that he hadn't left. Stiles’s hurried steps didn't falter, and he came barreling down the stairs. Hand pulling through his proper bed hair. Derek's mouth watered, this was his favorite look on Stiles, other than when he was rightly marked up.

“Morning” Derek called gently, the tone in his voice urging Stiles forward to mold against his back. All that was heard was a grumble, the soft brush of lips over the nape of his neck, flushing his face and pulling the air from his lungs. Then Stiles was pulling away, a cup in hand, and a lazy smirk on his lips.

“Morning sourwolf” the light in Stiles’s eyes was back, they glittered with happiness and it made Derek knees weak.

“That is my coffee” he goes for a snap, but it comes out dreamily, Stiles is here, and he's touching him. Stiles still wanted to be with him, even after what he pulled last night.

The younger man waved his hand dismissively, “So, I was thinking-”

Derek snorted, “that’s never a good sign” as he poured the eggs into the waiting pan. A sizzle filled the air along with the smell of bread.

“Shut up, anyways, I was thinking we should probably keep the date away from Holidays, you know how my dad gets when he doesn’t get to see us, and I don't want to get married on either of our birthdays. Can't make the anniversary date too easy for you” Stiles winks at him and derek nods thoughtfully.

Okay, not Thanksgiving or Christmas, he can work with that.

“Where do you want to have the ceremony?” Stiles’s hands are sliding over Derek's left hip. Slow, languid circles are being rubbed into his skin and it makes his blood heat.

Derek shrugs, he doesn’t care, as long as Stiles keeps touching him like this.

“Outside? Inside? On the moon, c'mon babe I need something” the fingers don't stop, and Derek keeps heating up.

“out...outside” the word is broken as he leans further into the grip. A thoughtful noise comes from behind him and the touch is gone, leaving derek freezing cold and unsatisfied.

Stiles leans over onto the island, and Derek plates the finished food. They sit next to one another on stools in the kitchen. A comfortable but charged silence between them, Derek is itching to touch Stiles and have those hands on him in return.

“We will have to keep it small. I don't have that much saved up and I've only been at the department for a few years. While I'm sure dad will dry out his savings, I don't want to do that to him ya know?” it's not a real question but still the words tumble from his lips before he can stop them. “Do you want a big wedding? Do you want all the bells and whistles and all of that?”

Derek waves his hand, not to anything in particular.

It’s Stiles’s turn to shrug, “Yeah i do, but we can't afford it, I’ll settle for something small” he taps his fingers against the thick of Derek's thigh.

“We can have a small and intimate wedding with the pack and a few extras.” a small brush of warm lips ghost over derek shirt covered shoulder.

“I’ll settle for something small” that doesn’t sit well with Derek and he shakes his head.

“No you want a big wedding you'll have one. You don't have to settle for anything. You'll have nothing but the best” there's a finality in his voice that Derek reserves for the pack when they are misbehaving. He sweeps his eyes to Stiles’s and they're weird, the mix of emotions confusing.

“And how do you suppose we pay for said ‘big wedding’ Der?”

The honey color deepens when Derek easily says “Stiles, I’m richer than you know, money isn't an issue. You want a big wedding you'll have one. Along with a big Honeymoon and anything else big you want” He smiles quickly, slanting his lips against Stiles’s in a kiss that conveys that he means it. Stiles will never have to settle for anything ever again. He doesn’t now, anything he wants he gets, he wanted a tv and Derek bought one, Stiles wanted a bookshelf in their room for when he's restless and can't sleep. Derek built one for scratch, though he doesn't have the splinters to prove it. Derek would give Stiles the moon if he could pull it off.

They're still kissing passionately when Lydia breezes in, accompanied by Isaac and Erica. “Morning love birds” the sultry chirp of Erica's voice pulls them apart. Stiles’s cheeks flushed with heat and his scent sweet with arousal and desire. If the wolves can smell it they dont comment, only swath their alpha in a quick hug and swipe of their cheek.

“You're not even dressed” Lydia squints at Stiles before turning an eye on Derek’s hands, which are placed firmly on the small of Stiles’s back, the intent clear.

“Right, I should shower, I’ll be down in twenty” a chaste kiss is pressed to Derek's lips and he's gone. Flying up the stairs the shower turning on not even a minute later.

“You smell happy, it's a good scent on you” Isaac’s deep voice resonates over the chatter of Lydia and Erica near the coffee pot. “I am happy, and so are you, it's almost suffocating” a smile ghosts Derek's lips as he rises, collecting dishes.

The pack had all started to smell insanely happy, content with the way their lives have settled. It was a testimony to the way they all stuck together through everything. Derek remembers when they all took a trip to Europe to basically drag Isaac home, where he promptly took a beating from allison then they got married 2 years later.

Erica and Boyd were never apart, but after the run in with the Alphas and Boyd almost losing his mate they didn't waste any time and got married as soon as they graduated. It was a funny experience. They didn’t even tell anyone, just disappeared one weekend to Vegas and came back with rings and matching tattoos. Derek remembers Stiles crying laughing before tossing his arms around Erica saying she'd picked the only man who’d actually put up with her being as mean as she was.

She punched him.

Scott getting engaged was interesting. He’d fumbled over his words at christmas, and his mom started crying before he even got the ring out of his pocket. Kira had all but thrown them back into the couch squealing and Scott lost the ring in the couch. But Kira never tells that part.

Lydia had promptly decided that she didn't want anything to do with the male race, or anyone for that matter, she was much too happy being that smartest in the room, and a partner would only try to outshine her. That had put Parrish in a strange place, since he was still chasing after her like a hellhound on a leash.

Derek shook his head a small smile on his face. Easily lost in his thoughts about his pack, his family. He settled up to the sink, and started washing the dishes. “You know big man, you look good doing all this domestic work” Stiles slid up next to derek, resting his head on the large shoulders. Derek growled lowly in his chest, the sound playful and brought smiles to Erica and Isaac’s faces.

“Think about what you want Stiles. Money isn't an issue, you can have everything you want.” The alpha easily tugs his lips to his lovers. A brisk, and calming kiss is given and received. Stiles is pulled away by a grumbling lydia.

“Damn mates, Sappy as hell” before derek is left alone.

——————————————————————————

Taglist: @teenwolfechoes @terminallygenius @just-jordie-things @abloomdivinity @alpha-desi @inside-alainas-mind

[jin-was-here-2]

Ship Questions: McReigns Edition 2

Who In Your Ship:

drives when they go on road trips? do they switch at the halfway point? does one drive there and the other drive back?

It's who ever's less tired or just wants to. It's one of those things they just have to do and want to be over and done with.

Roman is a radio hog no matter if he's the one driving or not.

looks over the menu for fifteen minutes before ordering the same thing they order EVERYWHERE they go? does the other half of your ship get annoyed by this, or do they find it endearing?

Roman's a foodie; he likes to know what all his options are. But a lot of the time he also wants to get something he knows he'll like. Drew finds it annoyingly endearing.

is more likely to get arrested?

...Drew. ...Just... sometimes certain types of people can really set him off and he gets a little... well, psycho. Great for in the ring... not so much in public.

is afraid of rollercoasters? does the other half of your ship try and convince them to face the fear, or do they take a softer approach and not push them at all?

Roman's not big on heights and crazy rides. Prefers the slower stuff. He can actually enjoy those and have fun. Rollercoasters aren't really Drew's thing either way, but he had fun goading Roman on to one once.

"C'mooon. You'll go against anyone and anything in the ring, but a little bumping does you in, Big Dog?"

"First of all, that isn't ''a little'' anything. Second, fine. But if I die I'm coming back to haunt you."

"Pffff. Noted."

shows up at home with a dog unannounced despite the fact they’ve already got three/four/however many pets?

Roman. He loves animals. Especially Dogs. (So do his brothers Seth and Dean. They're all bad influences for each other. When it comes to them.) So what if they already have a pomeranian, two chihuahuas, and a house cat? What's one more cute and fluffy family member? I mean really?

It drives Drew up the wall, because the only one he can really tolerate is the cat (They have a shared understanding of each other) and they always have people coming to their door looking for their bloody animals.

demands that they do date night? does the other person complain or do they go with it just to see the excited look on their partners face?

Roman. He's a total romantic. Mostly for the little shows of it. So the big things aren't something he needs all the time or even often. But there are times when the big ones go a long way with him.

Like they go out a lot, to just be together, however they don't really call them dates. It's just mutually nice. But sometimes Roman's bit by a love bug and wants a date date. And Drew obliges to keep the bf happy because he wants the bf happy.

is the clumsy one whose always tripping up flights of stairs or over their own feet? does it stress the other half of your ship out or do they find it hilarious?

Neither one is really clumsy. In fact, for two behemoths, they're suprising graceful.

*picks the music when they’re in the car? does the other complain about their taste in music?

insists on paying for everything when they’re out? do they fight about it?

Neither one really cares, but sometimes Drew takes it upon himself to be a little annoying. And then Roman will do the same next time to get him back for being a tit.

is the one to quietly suggest they get high together for the first time? how does the other half of your ship react?

Oh man. Well seeing as he has a nice plug in Dean and Renee, Roman. Drew dosen't have anything against it he just happens to not do it. And Roman wanted to see him high sooooooo baaad.

is secretly terrified of horror movies and yet watches them all the time bc its something the other half of your ship loves?

Roman, 'cause Drew likes a good scary movie. And it gives him a reason to curl up to him for comfort. (Which is also why Drew picks them in the first place a lot of the time.) Roman's ok with monster movies; you can physically fight monsters. It's the supernatural stuff that messes with him.

talks in their sleep? does their partner record it and call them out, or not tell them and keep it as a secret so they can keep enjoying it?

Roman talks in his sleep. Mostly loving on his brothers, pets, or Drew in his sleep. Drew secretly loves it. It's pure and soft and for his eyes only. Especially when there are little moans mixed in. He has started something more than once, kissing Roman awake once he heard those.

brings up the conversation of marriage + babies? how does the conversation go?

Roman wants allllll the kids ok. He has too much big dad energy to not want kids. It as to go somewhere. It'd be a long while before they have that conversation though. And Drew's gonna be caught off guard by it no matter when.

has to pull the other back by their back of their sweater when they try and do something stupid in public?

Both have had to. For trying to fight idiots in public. Roman more so 'cause Drew has like zero patience for people's bullshit.

is more likely to pick the other up from the airport with an obnoxiously large cardboard sign? what does the sign say?

YES. It's a dumb joke between them at this point.

Some of Roman's:

"You're evil cat has locked me out the bedroom. So now you're in the dog house. >:c"

"Looking for a tall unapproachable scary man. I'm very worried."

Some of Drew's:

"Here for The Big... Puppy. c:<"

"Looking for my lover. He's big, friendly, and will follow you if you give him food. I'm very not worried."

tries to cook a meal and accidentally almost burns the house down?

Drew. Poor man. Roman will never let him live it down. ...But I mean who burns spaghetti that bad?????

deliberately makes a squeaky chair squeak until the other person flips out?

Roman, 'cause he likes to push Drew's buttons every chance he gets. Rile him up. He thinks he's hot when he's annoyed. ...Especially at him.

falls asleep no matter what position they’re in + needs to be carried to bed?

Roman. He's a very sleepy boy.

They'll be watching a movie in the living room and Drew'll spot him nodding off.

"You better not be falling asleep. I am not carrying you to bed."

"Mmm.....zzzzzzz."

But then he dose. 'Cause he loooove hiiiimmmm.

is the little spoon when they cuddle?

Roman. Uhhhh he's baby??? And Drew pretty much makes sure of it for the most part. But there are times where Roman will snuggle up behind Drew and it's nice.

hates thunderstorms and needs to be comforted for the duration?

Neither one. Storms are whatever.

brings the other breakfast in bed? is it a proper cooked breakfast - or just an old muffin?

Both on occasions. Roman goes all out with a proper home cooked breakfast. Drew was very dimple-y that morning.

Drew went with pre-packaged muffins and yogurt. And Roman was just as touched by it.

convinces the other to go on a hike? do they love it, or are they absolutely miserable?

Drew, but it depends. They both like working out but Roman can be a little lazy or in a mood about it. But by the end he'd have had a good time.

uses emojis in replace of words? does it drive the other person insane?

Roman loves emojis. More so when he finds out Drew hates excessive use of them. It got so bad Drew gave him a limit. No more than two per paragraph or "bad things will happen".

can never admit they’re wrong?

They both have their moments.

lets the dog sleep on the bed when the other isn’t paying attention?

Roman. Everytime he's caught Drew throws a mighty fit. But like the dogs are super cute????? And he wants to be close to them?????

who decorates their house? does the other come home and blink at all the pastel pink and force a smile despite how much they hate it?

Roman's more decorative, but nothing so extreme that Drew hates it. Actually Drew is the one with this lounge chair that's so god-awful that Roman would like to see it burned

is more likely to get into a fight to defend the other?

Drew. It's actually how he realized he was catching feelings for Roman? And Roman highkey likes seeing himself being fought over.

is constantly spewing random facts about absolutely anything and everything? does it annoy the other person or do they find it all interesting?

Drew, and Roman finds it very interesting at times.

is the lovey dovey drunk?

Roman. He gets very touchy-feely. Like more so than usual.

laughs at their own jokes? does the other laugh at the joke… or at their partner?

When the joke or comeback is at the other's expense they laugh at their own joke. It's a hit or miss whether the other laughs at the joke or not.

is competitive about EVERYTHING?

Both. They really bring out the competitiveness out of each other.

apologises first when they have a fight?

Roman. He doesn't like when things aren't ok for too long.

makes the other a flower crown? does the other wear it without complaint or beg not to be embarrassed?

Drew wouldn't be caught dead making or wearing a flower crown.

is more likely to put their fist through a wall when they’re angry?

Either one. As long as it's not their wall. Roman expecially has too much pride in the house .

sends the other memes despite the fact they’re laying in bed next to each other?

Roman. He forgets 'cause Drew, Dean, and Seth are the usual ones he sends things he thinks are funny.

wears the others clothes the most?

Roman. 'Cause he can wear Drew's tops and bottoms. But they basically share pants at this point.

pranks the other on a near constant basis? how does the other react?

They drive each other nuts with how much they mess with each other, already. Only a few times has it turned into a full-blown Prank War. Which Roman is really good at 'cause uhhhh Dean. Drew knows he can't win.

comes up with obnoxiously sappy pet names for the other just to watch them roll their eyes?

Drew. He loves throwing up sarcastic sickeningly sweet pet names. He knows how they sound coming from someone like him. And sometimes he'll say them close to Roman's ear just to see him squirm.

forgets their anniversary

Neither. But we're talking about the big ones.

Roman likes to keep track of the little ones. Ya know, just to think about and reminisce.

is impulsive and makes big choices for them without stopping to think through what it all means?

...Drew. It's something they really have to work on because it has caused a lot of fights. He just gets in these moods sometimes where he "thinks he knows best, and if you don't agree well then that's too damn bad". Roman's used to group compromise. So that kind of attitude get's right up Roman's nose, and he's too strong willed himself to deal with it so they clash.

writes cute messages for the other on the bathroom mirror when they have a shower?

Roman. He'll be brushing his teeth and'll spot the mirror steaming back up from Drew showering and'll write something short and sweet like "love you ♡". And

Then while he's getting dressed Drew'll hug him and kiss his on the head. "You're cute."

has to do the dishes because the other gags any time they stick their hands in the water?

Can I just take the time to say I loathe nasty ass dish water.

Neither really. But Drew really ain't about that life. "We have a dishwasher for a reason."

jumps into the pool without testing the temperature, and who dips their toes in first?

Roman cannonballs without a second thought. He's so used to water. Drew prefers to test it first.

tries to kill bugs in the house… and which one stops them and gets the bug out of the house alive and well?

If there's a bug it needs to go. Preferably with Drew dealing with it.

can speak a second/third/forth language and uses it to annoy the other when they’re fighting?

Neither? If they do they don't annoy each other with it.

says i love you first? does the other immediately say it back?

It was surprisingly Drew. When they weren't at all together or even that friendly with each other but were sleeping together fairly regularly. ...It was a very confusing time. And something that had been bubbling up for awhile.

wins when they arm wrestle?

Ooooo. Oooooooooooo. They're 2-3 'cause Drew just broke the tie. But that's ok. Soon.

gets caught singing some old, corny one direction song to themselves?

Usually it's Roman. But everyone has had What Makes You Beautiful stuck in their head. Everyone. Even big ol' scary Drew.

"...Ar- Are you singing‐?"

"NO."

is forever forcing the other to take selfies with them? does the other person complain every time?

Drew don't do selfies. Or at least not often. Roman doesn't either but they're fun with other people. Drew complains a lot but he does it in the end.

shows up at the others house with chinese food + a six pack of beer when they’re having a bad day?

Roman. Beer and food make everything better.

sends the cheesy good morning/night texts?

When they were apart Roman would always send good night texts. Later on Drew would send morning ones when ever they're apart.

can never admit that they were wrong?

Drew has his moments.

suggests they send out a christmas card together? does the other go for it, or question when they turned into old people?

Roman saw it in movie one year and suggested it. Half for as joke and half because he really wanted to. It'd be funny. ...Nice, maybe? Drew definitely asked when they turned into old people.

is a morning person and who pulls the covers up over their head and begs for five more minutes?

Roman likes his "beauty sleep" and sleepin' in. Hates being woken up. Drew just likes to get his day started.

is constantly insisting they won’t need a jacket before they go out… and then has to steal the others when they get cold?

Oh my god, Drew is the worst with this. It's always, "ahh, I'll be fine". But then not that long into whatever they're doing he'll sit and act like he's not cold, and Roman'll roll his eyes and pass him the extra jacket he brought.

is a smoker and has to deal with the other forever showing them gross photos to try and convince them to quit?

Neither. Ok, occasionally Roman does some jesus cabbage with the boys. Drew dosen't get that hung up over it.

decides they need to go on a health binge and throws out all the sugary food in the house? how does the other react?

Drew did. Once. And never again after. Roman had kittens he was so mad.

holds all the important documents when they’re travelling? why?

Roman. Drew likes to think he can remember everything. He can't.

hates flying? how does the other help them relax before/during/after a flight?

They've done it so much it ain't anything nothing to either.

is more likely to suggest a lil fool around in the bathrooms at a club? how does the other react?

They're both fond of jumping each other in uncompromising places. Especially in the beginning when they were just fooling around with each other.

plans a night of board games for date night, and who plans a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant?

When they do do date dates. It's because Drew knows Roman wants one. And good food goes a long way. But when they want something chill either one pulls out board games.

cries watching the news?

They don't watch the news. Or at least mainstream versions of it.

teases the other one for having a crush on them… despite the fact they’ve been dating for a year?

Roman. Mostly when Drew does something extra soft towards him.

believes in aliens?

Drew. Roman doesn't think much of it. Or it kinda freaks him out if he thinks to much about it. The rare times they're all together and Dean and Drew aren't at each other throats, it's because they're talking about spoopy stuff like that. Roman is amazed every time.

is constantly leaving the lights on in every room in the house?

Neither.

rocks the seat on the ferris wheel?

Drew would have had to really talk him on to it in the first place; he wouldn't be that mean. Maybe Drew would have at the beginning though, when they were enemies with benefits but was just starting to turn into something else.

is a terrible liar?

Ro can't lie to people he cares about to save his life. Baby feels soooo bad. And it's so visible.

is always reading the other their star sign despite the fact they don’t believe in any of it?

Drew. Everytime he sees it in s magazine. He thinks it's absolutely ridiculous how they say something different every time. How many meaning can they have? I mean really.

who panics when mercury goes into retrograde?

Neither even knows what that really means.

insists they watch documentaries to broaden their knowledge?

Drew. But then he'll see one that's wrestling related and they'll end up watching that.

is constantly renovating part of their house but not finishing one thing before moving on to the next?

They aren't home enough for multiple projects. So they'll have one that'll last longer than it'd usually need to take.

uses all the hot water?

ROMAN. It's why Drew is is extra pissy when they have to get up but he doesn't get to the shower fast enough.

"It's all that blood hair you have!"

is the shower person? whose the bath person?

They both like shower. They're quick and they have places to be. But when they have the time Roman suggests a nice long soak together. Helps with soreness sometimes.

is most likely to be unfaithful?

Neither. But if we're looking for angst... Roman might... accidentally... fool around with Dean... or Seth... or something. Maybe there was some pinning on one of there sides. But they were supposed to be just bros. They had some drinks and it just happened? I don't know but drama. Angst.

Bonus:

what is your otps song?

The Mighty Fall In Love by Fall Out Boy

do their families approve of the relationship? why/why not?

Yeah. I like to think everyone's chill. But there's always room for angst there.

whose friends do they hang out with more?

Roman's. Drew don't really have friend friends.

what do they do on their first date? did they have a first date, or did they just sort of… start dating?

Being together just sort of came up and bit them in the ass. They have no idea how or when it happened but they have allll the feelings now so fuck it.

what is their favorite way to spend the holidays? do they go to one of their families houses? or do they create their own tradition by staying in bed listening to christmas music and getting drunk?

They either go to each other's families, their friend's, or just have a little thing for themselves. Roman has a ball cooking special things for them.

what do they name their dog? do the give it a super boring name like allen - or do they name it something like bubblegum princess?

Roman named his pomeranian Tiger, and his chihuahua Tiny and his smaller chihuahua Mini. He baby talks to him a lot.

Drew is just as bad with his two black cats. He just refuses to admit it. He named them Max and Monty.

Y'all I'm bad with names. I donno.

how do they handle emergencies? does one of them crack under the pressure - or do they bicker because they both need to be in control?

They both have a strong need to control things. And it's amplified when things go wrong so they clash there at times too.

how did they meet? were they immediately drawn to each other?

Instant mutual dislike. But strangely attracted.

what do they fight about the most? how do they resolve their fights?

Control. They're both so stubborn and strong willed it causes a lot of friction at times.

Or Drew's refusal to get along with Dean and vice versa.

Inspo (x) 

[prorevenge]

Spread rumors about me? Well guess what, I'm dating your son, and you don't have a job.

I had a coworker about 6 years ago who was quite the bitter pill to swallow. She was about 45, and the special variety of holier-than-thou, my-shit-doesn't-stink christian we all know and hate, Ill call her Chastity, the one thing she lacked(I'm promiscuous, but she may as well have had a revolving door for all the men she saw).

We had worked together for 2 years prior to this, but our animosity truly began when she first came to my church. I'm not the most pious man, but I try to do my best as a person and I think in gods eyes, thats good enough(I could get preachy here but I'll spare y'all the excess). And the fellow members of my congregation shared that same belief.

Chastity seemed to have an issue with the fact that I, a heavily tattooed, gay, not-well-dressed, gossip fiend, former addict(9 years clean), DARED to enter a church. I mean, how dare I not run away hissing and screeching from the house of god am I right?

And so Chastity began to try and undermine me to this second family of mine. Now this was a bad idea on her part because I had been with this church since almost day one. When its first services were 20-30 people up til now, three services of 4-500. Many people knew me well, the first to volunteer and welcome new members, happy to take the lead for the childrens services on occaision, overall I'm well liked.

But Chastity decided she would just tell everyone and their mother how much of a sinner I was. Talking about things I had supposedly said or done in the office. Naturally, this got back to me, a proper slut for gossip, VERY quickly. At first, I ignored it, then I got irritated, around Christmas I was fuming. Now whataya know? Chastity dragged her current piece of meat, her two daughters and her son with her to the christmas service.

Suddenly something clicked, office gossip played in my head about Chastitys son. You see shortly after I began working with her she called out for about a week solid with "inconsolable grief" and she wouldn't explain why. Then the gossip began, and it was revealed to me that her son had come out of the closet and she was heavily in denial about it. This all came back to me in seconds, and the gears for sweet revenge began to turn in my head.

I waited like a patient tiger for my prey to approach, watching him near I realized he was actually pretty cute. About 21(I later found out he had just turned 21)nice little butt and a pouty RBF, and honestly, the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen. Now at the time I was 36 and I had years of experience tripping up inexperienced men. We have a large coffee bar in the foyer that I was waiting at. The music had begun(we have a full band) and most everone was out of the foyer when the bar cleared enough for him to approach.

I started soft, just some gentle flirting, prodding to see if he was even interested. As soon as I got a response I went in for the kill. Pulling him close and pushing the napkin with my number on it into his shirt pocket. His eyes go a little wide and I release him before anyone can take note of what happened. That afternoon I wasn't surprised to get a text. I can't remember it exactly, but heres how the conversation went.

Cutie-pie: You never told me your name.

Me: Oh my bad, hope thats not a problem.

Cutie-pie: Nope. Think you can tell or do I have to find out? ;)

Me: Well if you really want to know you'll have to ask me later, I gotta go. But I'll be at [bar] tonight if you don't want to wait.

And I had him. That first date went really well and as it turns out I was the first person he ever got drunk with. Now I had intended to just have a one night stand with him, just to rub it in Chastitys face, but I fell for him pretty hard, pretty fast. Next thing I know, a little less two months pass and I had totally forgotten my irritation with Chastity.

Until she does it again, irritating me again. So the next day at work I take my lunch a little early to catch one of Chastitys "friends" who works in the same department as her. We talk and I say how glad I am to have gotten Valentine's day off, how much fun I was gonna have with Cutie-pie. I pretend not to notice her eyes bug out for a second. And so, lunch over, I head back and get back to work. In the middle of typing up a report I hear Chastitys heels click-clicking up to my office door. Living in a one party consent state, I set my phone to the side to record her. And boy does she have a lot to say.

Chastity: What the fuck is wrong with you!?

Me: Pardon?

Chastity: Don't you give me that shit. Are you fucking my son!?

Me: I don't think thats any of your business.

Chastity: It is my business! My son is not a fucking homo like you, what did you do!? Blackmail him!? Bribe him!? I'm gonna call the cops!!

Me: What I do on my free time with another adult has nothing to do with you, now if you would, leave me the hell alone.

Chastity: You stay the fuck away from my son or there will be hell to pay, you hear me!!??

And she stormed out. Five minutes later I'm in HR reporting her with the recording as evidence. An hour after that I leave early and take this to the police and get the info on how to file a restraining order on Chastity. Two hours later I'm home and fucking her son.

The next day was my day off, and the day after thay I was all too happy to hear she has been fired for gross misconduct and discrimination

My husband(yes the very same CutiePie) and I are celebrating our first anniversary next week.

TL;DR- Co-worker tried to bad mouth me to my fellow church members, I got with her son and got her fired. (source)

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