#but literally got nauseous i’m so sad about him

[madaqueue]

thought about suguru and got so sad my stomach hurts 😃

[hwaightme]

23:13 PM

(masterlist)

🌆pairing: bf!yunho x gn!reader 🌆genre: fluff, established relationship, comfort 🌆summary: to be loved is to be heard, and yunho reminds you of this again and again, knowing you beyond the literal and the expected. 🌆wordcount: 1.5k 🌆warnings/tags: unedited, speedwriting, kissing, mildly suggestive in one part (through a light joke), pet names (angel, princess, sweetness), overthinking, rumination, low mood/sadness, implied anxiety (reader) 🌆taglist: at the bottom. would love to add you if interested <3 🌆a/n: genuinely have been loving yunho's styling so much <33 again another small timestamp to try warm up~ any love is so appreciated!

“Your tone.”

“My what?”

“Your tone was off, that’s why I’m here, so… may I come in or…” you gape at Yunho as he shifts his weight from one foot to another, accompanied by the rustling of a plastic bag in his hands.

“Um… sure?” you step aside and let him pass, taking a moment to register that you do, as a matter of fact, still have to play the role of a welcoming guest despite your current state of mind. 

In a rush you take out some slippers for him and throw a new hand towel by the bathroom sink. He is endearingly awkward even in the midst of having made the bold decision to come here in the first place, you note, and timidly smile to yourself. Yunho’s eyes dart around the entrance and corridor as though he is looking for something.

“Is there anywhere I can leave this?” he lifts the bag, and it hits you that he had brought food. Takeout from a restaurant that you had been raving about on your latest date with him. You feel nauseous and guilty at the thought of him speeding through town at ‘probably should be getting ready for bed o’clock’, firstly to the restaurant, and then all the way to yours. Why did he? He most certainly does not have to. It’s not like you said anything or asked.

“Oh! Yes, sorry, let me take that, I’ll put it on the table,” you make a beeline towards him, freeing him from the takeaway, “The bathroom is-”

“Right here to the left. Sweetness, I do recall being here a few times before,” you catch his smile - reassurance that his comment contains nothing malicious, but nonetheless drop your head, choosing to focus on untying the plastic handles. 

Rustling drowns out the constant noise in your head. On and on it rumbles and cries trying to overpower polystyrene and running water. What did Yunho mean by ‘tone’? Surely you were not texting any differently than you normally did? The usual ‘how are you’s and ‘when are we seeing each other next’s - nothing out of the ordinary. You try to retrace your steps as though you are a criminal on the run having found out that you are now being hunted by police. What is it that let Yunho know of what you were trying to not reveal?

“Need any help?” while you are stuck in your mind again you do not notice Yunho approaching you and gasp in surprise. He tilts his head, obviously having noticed your reaction, but does not comment on it, instead choosing to focus on your choice of dress for the late evening. You try to suppress the embarrassment welling up in the corners of your eyes and that stubborn intensifying lump in your throat as he studies you. Maybe you should have changed, or not let him in, or something else entirely, just so you can be alone.

“I think I’ve got it…” you mumble, having finally undone the knots and commenced taking out the different containers.

“The hoodie,” you glance up at him and immediately meet his glistening brown eyes.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I-”

“I think you look beautiful. And adorable. And my heart will give out,” a soft grin, and you swear you could melt, “besides, we did agree to give each other some space in our homes right? The only difference is I’m not sure I would wear what I have at mine since I wouldn’t want to ruin your linger-”

“Yunho!”

“Just saying!”

“Cheeky! Anyways… Do you want water, tea, or maybe Coke?”

“You know exactly which one I’ll pick.”

“Coke it is-”

“Let me get it though. What do you want?” He steps around the table to intercept your path to the kitchen. 

“It’s no big deal.”

“Can’t I treat my princess a little? You already unpacked all the food,” not wanting to make a big deal out of nothing, you surrender to the temptation of doing nothing. 

“Water will be fine.”

“One water coming right up!” you chuckle as you watch your boyfriend move around the kitchen, knowingly opening the right cupboards as if this is as much his place as it is yours. You hide your hands in the sleeves of the hoodie, languidly pushing two chairs back when Yunho tells you to take a seat. 

“Thank you,” you accept the glass, using it as an excuse to not look at Yunho. 

If there is some way in which he can detect shifts in messages, you most certainly can sense when he settles into a more serious version of himself. It is nothing intimidating, of course, but nonetheless, something you presently need to prepare yourself for. He is worried, and it is a little too clear by how closely he positioned his own chair to yours, how he shifted to be almost facing you. How… How does he know?

“Let’s eat! Tell me what you want, point at things, anything!” again, he chooses to avoid interrogating you, you can sense it. His voice is laden with something unreadable, but you do not want to dive into the matter and decide to simply follow what he suggests. On top of avoiding what you fear, you realise that Yunho’s voice is considerably louder than your inner critic. 

You observe his movements. He carefully ladles some soup for you, picks one side dish after another, breaks apart the pieces of another dish you merely glanced at, just to be sure that you are having what you want. In the dimmed lights his navy hair, which usually gives a mesmerising vivid blue gleam appears to be almost black, the elegant strands swept to the side and falling over his forehead reminding you of ink strokes. You recall that he mentioned having a schedule earlier that day, and that same feeling of guilt spreads over your body. What if he is tired? What if said schedule ended later than expected and he did not have a single break? Dealing with his job, dealing with you-

“Try this, it’s apparently a bestseller,” once more, Yunho is the one to take you out of your own paranoia. 

“I’m sorry-” the words escape your mouth before you can process them. A deer caught in the headlights, you are staring at your boyfriend, feeling your pulse quicken. He puts down his chopsticks, completely turning to you, his and your legs pressed close together under the table, his hands searching for yours. Before you know it, more agitation spills and keeps on spilling, “I really did not mean to worry you, I should’ve insisted you rest… I mean you are probably so tired and stressed because of work and-”

“I am here, angel, am I not?”

“You are… but-”

“I both need and want to be here. So what if I had work. Now is not work time. Now is ‘us’ time. Yeah?”

“How?” a little confused, Yunho raises an eyebrow and gently squeezes your hands, “How’d you know?”

“What do I know?” you know that expression. The ‘fully aware of what you mean but wants you to say it’ look. A little unnerving because it makes you look inside yourself, but still possessing an unparalleled charm. Classic Yunho. You crack under his enamoured scrutiny.

“The tone thing… too on the dot. So… how?”

“Ah, that! Surprised you, did I?” Letting go of one hand, he leans onto the table and while resting his head on his palm, holds your gaze, “Just a hunch really. I don’t know how either, maybe my brain has a special ‘you’ alarm in it.”

“Oh come on-”

“What? Very plausible. I like thinking about you, a lot.”

“You really are too sweet,” you leave your original question hanging in the air, unsure if you even need to hear what he will say, or if it will help in any way. Yunho reads your doubts like an open book.

“I mean if I knew for sure, I would tell you. I would tell you everything. But I cannot pinpoint anything in particular. It was this feeling in my chest that bubbled up while we were texting. The words, the sentence structure… it’s you, but it’s you when you’re upset, and I don’t want you to be alone when small steps appear giant.” At a loss for words, you merely nod, biting your lower lip to keep it from trembling, and let his voice echo in your heart.

“You have superpowers I swear,” you force out a barely audible whisper, and gingerly reach to move one of his strands, blushing when he captures your hand and plants a soft kiss on your knuckles.

“Nope, just think about you always.”

“I’m sorry again-”

“Apologise by having dinner with me, and then we can move,” he gestures at the sofa with your intertwined hands, “right over there, and talk through things, if you want to of course. How does that sound?”

“Good,” you move to give him a feather-light kiss, “it sounds good.”

Silence. Total silence aside from Yunho’s warm, loving presence, soft chatter, and the awareness that sometimes, you don’t need to say anything in particular to be truly heard.

🌆taglist: @charreddonuts @miriamxsworld @innsomniacshinestar @preciouswoozi @wooyoungjpg @wowie-hockey @hongjoongs-patience @jaehunnyy @maddkitt @ren-junwrld @marsstarxhwa @yeonjunnie @asjkdk @northerngalxy @my-loves-my-life @http-gyu

enjoyed? i would love to hear from you, it means the universe to me. thank you.

[v3nusstardust]

🤍”Somethin’ stupid”🤍

Pairing : BF!Niki Nishimura x DEPRESSEDreader! (Real) 🎀

Genre : fluff <3 sad af tho idfk what the genre is

WARNINGS : mentions of self harm, depression, anxiety

A/N : SRRY I usually post like once a week and I forgot to this week I think… Idrk I literally have a fucking concussion rn💀 happened bcs lowkey thought I was in a music video and did cartwheels in my room at 3 am and smacked the shit out of my head and then hit my head on the floor and woke up seeing Gojo Satoru shakin ass 💀😜 anyway enjoy yawl😳

•

•

In the car with your boyfriend Niki, heading to the movie theater, the atmosphere was perfect –soft music, and a feeling that made life worthwhile. It had been a month since you’d seen him. These small moments you had with Niki made your life worth living. Most of the time he was busy or away for his idol duties and you’d miss him so badly. You would wonder if him being away for so long would end up with you both breaking up or you both falling out of love. The thought always made you feel nauseous and overwhelmed. Your overthinking would get the best of you sometimes, and you would result to self harm. Niki had no idea though and you never planned on telling him.

"Y/n, you might want to ditch the hoodie; it's getting pretty warm in here. You're sweating," your boyfriend chuckled, casting a glance your way. "No kidding, it's hot as hell." You sighed wiping your forehead with your sleeve. As you started to pull down the zipper your hoodie, the memories of your scars made you hesitate. “Actually I’m fine. I can handle it.” You reassured Niki. “Huh? Don’t risk a heat stroke, take it off,” he insisted, concern etching his face. “No I’m literally gonna be fine trust me.” You countered, zipping your hoodie back up quickly. “Y/n. It’s the middle of summer and you’re wearing a hoodie darling. You might wanna take it off.” Niki suggested, a puzzled look was painted on his face. “I’m gonna be alright trust me.” You gave Niki a sweet smile, trying to look unsuspicious. “Whatever you say Y/n.” Your boyfriend sighed.

You and Niki finally arrived at the movie theater. You checked in, got tickets, got snacks and headed to your movie. The air-conditioned theater promised relief from the summer heat, but your hoodie remained a steadfast companion.

Inside the cool, dimly lit theater, you found your seats, the contrast between the chilly air and your hoodie creating a cozy bubble. The movie previews flickered on the screen, and the scent of buttered popcorn filled the air.

Niki leaned over and whispered, "Are you sure you won't overheat in there?..”

“It’s cool in here Niki! I’m fine.” You softly giggled. The movie began, and you got so into it that the hoodie wasn't on your mind anymore. The plot grabbed your attention, and the cozy warmth just blended into the background.

Midway through the movie, Niki gently reached for your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours. Your initial reaction was surprise; you were aware of Niki's habit for tracing his fingers along your palms and wrists. Softly pushing his hand away, you met his gaze. He looked absolutely ethereal in the dim theater lighting.

"Do you not want to hold hands?" Niki whispered, pouting with a hint of sadness.

"I do, just... not right now," you replied. Niki's worried expression prompted him to ask, "Is there something wrong?"

You hesitated before responding, "No, no, I just... don't worry about it."

Your words, though intended to reassure, unintentionally stabbed at Niki's heart. His love for you was profound, and while he knew he could be clingy, he never imagined it could "annoy you." The worry in his eyes lingered as the movie played on.

You both went back to the apartment after the movie. The car ride was quiet because you pretended to be asleep, avoiding a talk about why you didn't hold hands. Niki spent the entire ride overthinking what he might have done wrong.

“Niki. I’m gonna go take a shower.” You said, walking off to your room to get your clothes. “Oh okay. I’ll make you some tea for when you get out.” He replied.

When you stepped in the shower, the warm water stung your fresh cuts. You held your wrists and winced in pain, small tears ran down your cheeks. Staring at your wrists, you wondered how you could be so stupid. You regret doing it , because now Niki might see them. The thought made you softly cry. Thank God the shower water was loud enough to cover up your soft muttering and sighs.

After your shower, you returned to the kitchen. Niki was busy cooking dinner and brewing tea for both of you, a delightful surprise that warmed your heart. Soft music played from his speaker next to the stove.

Curious, you asked, "What are you making?" Sitting at the table, he chuckled and replied, "Pasta, I’m trying out new things." The song changed to your favorite, "Somethin’ Stupid” by Frank Sinatra. Excitedly, you exclaimed, "Niki, you added my favorite song to your playlist!"

With a smile, he admitted, "I really like this song. Isn't it your favorite?" You giggled, "Duh! I play it all the time in your car." Niki turned off the stove and approached you. "Is the food ready?" you inquired. "Not yet, but how about we dance?" he suggested, extending his hand with a gentle smile, eyes filled with admiration.

In the soft glow of the dim kitchen light, you and Niki began to slow dance. The soothing melody of the song filled the air as he held you close. The ambiance was warm, and the subtle scent of dinner in the making lingered.

Niki led with gentle grace, swaying to the music with you in a tranquil dance. The rhythmic steps mirrored the easy connection between you two, the worries of the day fading away in the embrace of the moment. His hand rested on the small of your back, fingers delicately entwined with yours. As you swayed together, his other hand found its place on your waist, the closeness allowing you to feel the comforting warmth of his touch. The subtle aroma of the cooking dinner heightened the sensory experience.

Niki's gaze, brimming with stars and admiration, locked onto yours as he gently took your hand in his. However, reality snapped you back, and a sudden fear of him discovering your self infliction made you pull away. You pulled your hand away from his gently. Niki stopped dancing with you, his eyes locked onto yours with concern. "I'm sorry for asking, but why don't you want me to hold your hand?" he inquired.

A tremor ran through you, fear intensifying. Taking a deep breath, you hesitated before admitting, "I... I just," struggling to find the right words. The fear of Niki discovering your scars weighed heavy on your mind.

After a moment, you decided to face it. "Actually, you know what? Hold hands with me," you said, mustering a smile and intertwining your fingers with his. It was a fleeting decision, hoping that the dance would end before he’d notice. He brought a gentle kiss to your forehead. “Your hair smells good.” He nestled his nose into your hair. The song made the moment vulnerable. You found yourself forgetting about all your worries once again. He brought his lips to your wrist, you didn’t even catch it either. You were too busy humming the melody of the song into his chest. Niki pressed his lips to your wrist. He quickly pulled back and examined if, squinting his eyes. You suddenly realized what he was doing. You pulled away from his arms and held your wrist. His face looked indescribable. Worried, sad, confused all at the same time. The song had stopped already, and the room fell silent. "Y/n," Niki uttered softly, his voice carrying a mixture of concern and care. Before he could say more, your lips began to quiver, and tears welled up in your lashes. A gentle cascade of tears spilled from your eyes.

Niki, swift in his response, hurried over and enveloped you in a warm embrace. His chin rested on your head, and his hand traced soothing circles on your back. Anxiety gripped you like a constricting fog, the weight on your chest almost suffocating. Tears stained Niki's once-white shirt, but he paid it no mind.

"It's okay. I'm not upset," he reassured, planting a tender kiss on the top of your head. "My poor, beautiful girl. When did you do that?" he asked, lifting your chin to meet his gaze. Your hyperventilating made it challenging to speak, rendering you silent in the vulnerability of the moment.

Your hyperventilation began to subside, allowing you to regain some composure. "I..was just.. overthinking," you finally managed to admit, your voice still shaky.

Niki's expression softened, a mixture of empathy and a determination to be there for you. “Was it because of me?” he whispered, his thumb brushing away a tear that lingered on your cheek.

You hesitated, the weight of your emotions pressing against your chest. "Yes?... no," you stumbled over your words, struggling to articulate the whirlwind within. "I just miss you so much when you're gone for so long. I feel so lonely again. You're... you're my only light, and the only one in my life who actually makes me happy. I can't stand it when you're away."

Niki's gaze held a depth of understanding as he gently cradled your face. "Y/n, I didn't realize. I'm here for you, always. I’ll bring you with me next time, and the next one after that. I promise my love,” he reassured. His words soothed the ache within your heart. “I’ll be back,” Niki gently pulled his body away from yours. “I’m gonna go get bandages from the bathroom. Sit down,” he kissed your cheek before leaving the room.

When Niki returned, you couldn't help but chuckle at the state of his shirt, soaked with tear and snot stains – undeniably gross. Standing in front of you, he gently took hold of both your injured wrists, his eyes carrying a mix of hurt and pain. Soft elastic bandages in hand, he began to wrap your wrists with a delicate touch.

As he worked, you noticed a subtle glisten in his eyes. His fingers traced along the palms of your wrists, a silent acknowledgment of shared pain. You looked up at him with teary eyes and saw the vulnerability in his gaze.

"Promise me you'll never do this again," he pleaded, his voice cracking with emotion. Small tears escaped his eyes, tracing down his cheeks. Overwhelmed, you apologized, "I... I'm sorry. I promise. I'm so sorry."You rose from your chair, embracing Niki tightly, the shared pain and promise binding you together in that moment. “I love you so much darling you have no idea. To know that you’ve been hurting yourself like this.. it kills me.” He whispered softly. “I love you too, Niki.” You placed a soft kiss to his chin.

"Do you wanna finish making dinner, and then we can cuddle after?" you proposed.

As Niki's sniffles gradually subsided, a tender smile graced his face, the corners of his eyes still dampened. Niki's smile widened as he looked down at you. "Of course," he agreed, his head tilting slightly. In that gentle tilt, he closed the distance, leaning in for a long, reassuring kiss.

Together, you continued with the meal, the kitchen filled with the comforting aroma of food and music. You showed Niki more songs you liked and he added them to y’all’s new slow dancing playlist.

As you placed the finishing touches on the meal, Niki slid his arms around you, pulling you into a warm embrace. "Smells amazing in here, thank you for helping me darling.”

The conversation during dinner went smoothly. You both talked about stories of the past and dreams for the future. Niki's eyes, still holding a glimmer of tenderness, locked onto yours, reinforcing the unspoken understanding that this moment, amidst shared laughter and a table filled with love, was truly special.

Cuddling on the couch, the outside world faded away, leaving room for the intimacy of shared comfort. “You’re so pretty y/n” Niki admired your facial features. The smell of his fresh Basil and mandarin cologne brought you comfort. You threw your leg over his and snuggled closer onto him. He could feel your soft breaths on his neck. Niki peppered kisses on your temples. He was humming a gentle tune to one of your favorite songs. The moment made you realize how lucky you were to be with someone like him.

A/n : erm I literally fell asleep writing this w my hard ass fit on and makeup bruh my skin is breaking out hella someone come kill me. Srry for the amount of mistakes btw I did not read over it 🤓🤓 I raw dogged this it might be shitty Also I hope y’all liek:3 i put my whole venussy into this. Xoxo💋💋

[a-mag-a-day]

MAG 74 - Baking something with apples in the kitchen (I think it was just a pie?)

Original statement given 8th June, 2015. So this cooould potentially be another statement that was given when our Archive crew was already in charge. If Gertrude's death was in May and not March, if could be a close one though. HR works slowly I heard…

"Even as a child, my mother would always check my room to find me reading well into the night. If I heard her coming up the stairs, I would turn off my light and dive beneath the covers to try and convince her I was sound asleep." - I did that with my old Game Boy. The big grey one. I had this magnifying glass with a small lamp to attach to the Game Boy so I could play in the dark (The first Game Boys didn't have a backlit screen. You needed proper light to see anything).

"I work as a freelance writer. It’s not a good job." - Lol, ok considering that Jonny wrote this statement sleep-deprived and based a lot of it of what he was feeling in that state, is there something he wants to tell us with this statement? xD

"There is a man in my living room. He is tall, with sandy blond hair that twists into unruly curls." - Michael's not even subtle with this one.

"Your vision goes strange when you don’t sleep for a long time. I think it’s something to do with changing pressure on your eyeballs. You start to detect faint movements on the edges, on the periphery," - this is what I meant in my ask to MAG 65 when I said I see things in the corner of my eye when I'm sleep-deprived (or filled to the brim with anxiety). I also thought this to be a great plot device for a potential story.

"Your body will go through phases where it seems to be trying to completely shut itself down, and keeping your eyes open is quite literally a physical struggle. Then all at once you’ll enter a period of manic energy, a second, third or fourth wind that leaves you giddy and nauseous, struggling to find an outlet for your sudden rush." - Yep, can relate very much.

The ambient track in this episode is btw one that will get used a lot in the following seasons, I think? It's more subtle then the one I love so much and I'm sad that it got ditched somewhen in S2 and we only once hear it again in MAG 121.

"Michael, did you drive her to this? Another victim of your warped games? Or were you simply drawn like a vulture? Or maybe a shark sensing blood." - Yeah actually, do we know how it works? Sometimes you can see there was a tendency to things that could attract certain Fears, other times it seems completely random. Or maybe it's just that. Some are just unlucky, others attract it.

"I’m rather glad I don’t really drink coffee." - This answers the question if Jon meant it in MAG 163, when he said to Martin "I hate your tea and wish you made coffee instead". It was just to tease Martin in case he could still hear him.

"I decided to get somewhat more proactive and purchased a small motion-sensor camera, which I hid in view of the trapdoor. After a week, I reviewed the footage." - That was actually very clever, good job Jon!

"They appear to be a man, or at least male-presenting. Middle-aged or older judging from the frame, but hard to be sure. They emerge around three in the morning, holding what appears to be an attaché case. Then, they spend about half an hour rifling through archives, and retreat back down after stuffing a handful of files into the case." - Leitner living in the tunnels and sneaking around will never not be funny to me xD

"but what worries me is the manner they leave the trapdoor. Rather than picking the lock or forcing their way through, they seem to move the floor itself out of their way somehow, and replace it when they return." - That book is handy!

Reading this statement got me thinking that maybe Michael was also initially created as a result of sleep deprivation

Jonny started seeing blond curls and long fingers in his peripheral vision and decided to give them a personality

[ocpdramblings]

I had a mental breakdown today. I cried for two hours straight to the point I had trouble breathing at several points in time, and got nauseous towards the end of it. My crying only stopped bc I quite literally exhausted myself and passed out for an hour.

I have this big thing about vulnerability. I hate doing it. It never makes me feel better afterwards. And for the past year that I’ve been working on my vulnerability, it has emotionally regressed me back by a decade. Reaching out to people is difficult.

For the first time, I reached out when I was having so much difficulty that I actually could not calm myself. I texted my closest friends, I texted my friends I’ve known for years, I texted my closest friends in proximity. For thirty minutes, I got no response. After that thirty minutes I got a couple half hearted responses.

I know that I shouldn’t take it personally. But I’ve got this trauma from being the therapist friend and never being allowed to open up about my feelings. One of my closest friends said he wasn’t emotionally capable of it rn, and then I learned that it was bc he was helping a different friend. I know I shouldn’t take it personally but it’s a little difficult to not feel bitter. I’m happy he communicated. I don’t want to guilt trip him in any way. But I had no friends supporting me. No friends responding to me even though I saw them interacting on social media or on other servers. I’m bitter. I’m enraged. I’m sad. I’m so alone. I’m never lonely. I’m not afraid of being alone. But there was no one on my side for at least 30 minutes onward.

I help my friends bc I like doing it, I like caring for them. But what does it mean if I’m the one extending and never receiving. I’m so hurt. I’m so upset. I want to see none of them again and I want to be coddled by them

[shawnxstyles]

hey… y’all remember this…

i just went to a small party with most of my coworkers and he was there even though he just quit right. i kind of begged him to go, but not really i just asked him you know? he had just came back from vacation so i didn’t force it. anyway, i was lowkey driiiiinking because i planned on staying the night, but i was drinking too fast, so i threw up after like two hours 😀 i was really nauseous after that but BEFORE ALL THAT:

i was kind of with him the whole time and i wore his fucking sombrero like 😭😭 then this one girl came outside when we got some air and i think she said something like “you guys have something” or “you guys are good together” and we were both like “what??”

at this point in the party i had already told like three people about him because i cannot keep my mouth closed… (pretty sure everyone at the fucking party knew after)

anyway, i THINK (i literally cannot remember what the fuck i said) i told him i wanted him and he said “but i’m leaving” and i said “but i don’t want anything serious” or something and then there’s a BLANK IN MY MEMORY but at some point i said “so you don’t want me” and he said “i never said that” and then some of our coworkers came outside and i was like “we’ll talk about this later.”

he was helping me outside and stuff but i didn’t talk to him for the rest of the night because when i threw up, i got it on myself and then i cleaned up and slept on the couch. i was in and out of sleep, but i overheard that he left and i was sad because i thought he was staying :((

anyway y’all, what the fuck is wrong with me???????

guys i think i went on my first date yesterday with one of my co-workers?? (if you remember from a really long time ago when i said i thought one of my co-workers was cute, it was NOT this guy)

anyway!! i had been telling him that i want to go to barnes and noble to help him find a book because he wanted some new recommendations. and we finally got a shift together on saturday (it was a great shift). i swear we’re always flirting but i can’t tell if we actually are or if i’m delusional. but i asked him when we were going to barnes and noble and we made plans for sunday after i got off work.

first of all, we texted all night. then after work, he picked me up (because i don’t have a car) and we went to barnes and noble and it was really nice. then we went to mod pizza but sat in the parking lot for a while just talking. he kept talking about things like relationships, dating, kissing, flirting, etc. (and he was giving me advice and stuff because i’m so inexperienced 😭😭) (LIKE WHAT DOES THIS MEAN??)

and then we shared a pizza and he paidddd and he opened doors for me the whole time. and then we went back to our work (we work at a smoothie place) TOGETHER. and our co-workers were like ?? but they played it chill. i went to the bathroom and then we left back to his car.

and then he told me that one of our co-workers asked him if we came together and he kept denying it, but not saying no if that makes sense?? like she asked him: “did you come together?” and he said “we came in the same car.” then she asked if we were on a date and he was like “we just went to barnes and noble” and she was like “on a date?” 😭 and then he just said i helped him pick out a book. i was kind of denying it too and i showed him my texts with my friends who also thought it was a date.

ANYWAY. the bad thing about this whole story is that he’s leaving in a MONTH to go to training for the marines. he’ll be gone for 3 months of something and then in the marines for 4 years.

MY QUESTION: did that hangout/date actually mean something or am i delusional? do i try to pursue it?? y’all PLEASE help me!!!!

[hopelesshawks]

hello!

I know you’re probably working on Misreflections and busy with life so feel free to work on this request whenever it’s convenient for you. I’d just love to see your take on it ☺️

My request:

Keigo x reader fighting/arguing but it’s one of their bigger fights. Then when they try to cool off, reader (who’s never had a relationship before and has heard so many stories of people breaking up after a fight) is terrified that Keigo realizes he doesn’t love them anymore and is gonna leave for good. So, to avoid having the short end of the stick, they leave first without saying anything, you know, like an assuming idiot. Keigo, on the other hand, is just cooling off and thinking of ways to apologize to them.

I don’t really know how it could end but I just want it to be a happy/fluffy one. Heh.

Thank you and I hope you’re well! 💕

I’ve got you love! I’ve finally got a couple parts queued up so I’m taking a swing at my requests again. Reader is gender neutral (they/them pronouns used)

Have some belated Valentine’s Day hurt/comfort

“Well if work is so much more important to you than a silly holiday why are you even here now, huh??”

“Frankly, I don’t even fucking know anymore!”

“Imagine that! Something even the Great Hawks doesn’t know!”

“I can’t- I can’t with you right now, you’re being unreasonable,” Hawks sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as he feels a migraine starting to pulse behind his eyes.

It’s Valentine’s Day and while the rest of your friends with significant others had been posting about roses and dates and grand gestures, all you’d done since returning from work is scroll past their photos with rapidly diminishing hope of ever getting your special, romantic moment. You knew Hawks would have to work today but he’d also told you he’d try to finish early for once. By the time he returned from work at almost 11pm you were exhausted and bitterly disappointed and it had led to the biggest fight the two of you had ever had about Keigo’s work habits. You’re not sure when it escalated, you just know it did so rapidly until suddenly the two of you were locked into a screaming match.

“What do you mean Keigo?” you sigh at his words, the fight draining out of you as the emotional toll of the argument starts to hit.

“It means I need a minute, ok? I just need a second to clear my head,” he tells you before turning around and walking out the door.

Your heart squeezes in your chest. You’re new to this, the whole serious relationship thing, but you’ve heard the horror stories. Seen celebrities and friends brag about never leaving the house or storming out during a fight, seen others lament the end of relationships after what seemed like just a break. The thought of Keigo coming home to tell you he’s ending the relationship has you literally feeling nauseous so you rush to your closet, grabbing down a suitcase and stuffing as many of your things into it as you could. It’s a coward’s way out, you know it, but you can’t bear the thought of him breaking up with you. So you scribble out a note, thanking him for the time you had together and saying you’re sad to see it go before dialing up a friend to crash at their place.

You’ve been there maybe an hour, crying on your friend’s couch as they try to reassure you when suddenly there’s a hard knock on the door. Your friend rises to open it and you’re surprised to find a frantic looking Keigo on the other side. “Are they here?” he asks desperately only for his eyes to move from your friend to settle on yours through the crack in the doorway. Your friend gives you a hesitant look, seeking your approval, and when you give them a nod they move so Keigo can step inside.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” your friend says, moving to their room while Keigo races forward to kneel in front of where you’re still seated on the sofa.

His hands come up to caress your cheeks, thumbs brushing away the tears still leaking from your eyes as you stare down at him in disbelief.

“What are you doing here?” you ask.

“I came back to the apartment and your stuff was gone and then I found your note and I panicked. Do you really want to break up Dove?” he asks, his own eyes looking teary now.

“Of course not.”

“Then why-“

“I thought you wanted to. That’s why you left right?”

In an instant Keigo is up and beside you on the sofa, pulling you into his arms without hesitation. “Absolutely not. It was one fight Dove, I just needed a second to clear my head. That’s all. Ok?”

You nod, allowing him to somehow pull you in even closer.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, you scared the crap out of me,” he sighs, pressing a kiss to your temple.

“I’m sorry,” you murmur.

“It’s ok, just promise me not to do that again and I’ll try to be more clear when I need to just take a walk. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“Good. I love you Dove.”

“I love you too Kei.”

General Taglist: @ahtsuwu @oikawaandkuroostan @larkspyrr @002opdestiny @black-rose-29 @touyasdollmain @moonstormmyuna @fleeinghawks @dnarez @mandalorian-baby-bird

[escapewithbts]

When They Think You Like A Different Member

I have only written this one and Yoongi’s and Jin’s so far but the rest of the members are coming soon!

Yoongi Reaction Seokjin Reaction

———————————————————-

Taehyung: “Alright guys, I’m ready!”

Taehyung watched you stroll back into the living room of the boy’s dorm carrying a large bowl of freshly popped popcorn. The seat next to him was empty, and he mentally willed you to sit there, thinking if maybe you did it’s because you wanted to be as close to him as he always wanted to be to you.

But, much to his chagrin, you plopped yourself next to Seokjin on the adjacent couch, curling your legs underneath you.

“Okay okay come on Jimin-hyung, start the movie!” Jungkook requested from next to Taehyung.

Jimin, who was sitting on the other side of the oldest, fiddled with the remote before the opening credits began.

Taehyung couldn’t focus on the movie, though. Even in the mostly dark room, he could still see you feeding popcorn straight into Jin-hyung’s mouth as you laid against him, occasionally giggling when you missed and the piece fell onto his lap.

He crossed his arms and let a small pout form on his lips, turning back to the screen to try and focus on literally anything else.

But then he heard your voice from the other couch,

“Do you want some popcorn, Tae?”

Keeping his eyes fixated on the tv, he shook his head, his long black hair bouncing against the sides of his face.

“I’m good.”

About halfway through the movie, the bowl of popcorn was completely consumed. Taehyung peered back over to you, your eyes focused on the movie, and watched you place the now empty bowl on the ground in front of you. Then, what seemed almost instinctively, you curled further into Jin, nuzzling your cheek into his arm and resting your head on his broad shoulder.

That was it. Taehyung couldn’t watch this anymore;and he didn’t mean the movie. He was feeling almost nauseous, a pain in his chest. He didn’t want to believe you had feelings for his oldest hyung, he didn’t want to feel jealous, but he did. And he definitely didn’t want to sit here and bear witness to your budding romance any longer.

He stood up from his spot on the couch and started towards the hallway. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed you perk your head up off Jin’s shoulder.

“Where are you going, Tae? It’s almost your favorite part.”

His stupid brain thought he heard a hint of sadness in your voice.

“Just.. to my room.”

And with that he left the living room and went into his bedroom, closing the door softly behind him.

Confused, you debated in your mind whether or not to go check on Taehyung. He loved this movie, it was one of his favorites (that being the only reason you chose it), so why did he leave so suddenly?

You cared about him more than anyone in the world. What started as a little crush had developed into quite a big crush, but since you were pretty sure he didn’t feel the same way you were trying to keep some distance.

Still, your worried heart won this battle and you got up from the couch.

“I’m going to go check on Taehyung.” You told the other 3 boys.

They didn’t respond, their gazes fixed to the tv screen. You rolled your eyes and retreated from the room to find Taehyung.

Light was pouring out from the bottom of his closed bedroom door and you knocked softly, slowly opening it and letting your eyes adjust.

“Tae?”

He was sitting at his computer desk, a pair of headphones wrapped over his head, his long fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard. He was playing a game, you noticed.

“Tae?” You repeated, a little louder this time. He still didn’t hear.

Therefore you tapped his bony shoulder, making him jump and turn around in his chair, setting his headphones around his neck.

“You startled me.” He said, turning back to pause his game.

You looked at the ground timidly.

“Sorry…”

He cocked his head.

“Is the movie over?” he questioned in his soft, baritone voice.

You shook your head and bit your bottom lip.

“No, no, I just came to check on you. You left so abruptly.”

He ran a hand through his hair and licked his lips.

“Ah, yeah, I wasn’t really feeling it.”

“But it’s one of your favorites.” You retaliated.

He shrugged.

“Think I’ve seen it too many times.”

You nodded in understanding, but felt slightly discouraged your movie pick had made him leave. To your surprise he continued.

“The wrong guy gets the girl anyway, so it’s not a great ending.”

You cocked your head at his odd assessment of the movie.

“How is he the wrong guy? She loves him, not the other guy. And he loves her. I think they’re a great match.”

Taehyung’s face was blank.

“The other guy is more handsome, older, less serious… maybe he’s the one she needs.”

You furrowed your eyebrows together as he shrugged and turned back to his game. He had always believed those characters were meant for each other, even in the past stating he wanted a love just like theirs. Taehyung was the most romantic person you knew, you wondered why he seemed to have a change of heart.

Nevertheless, it was clearly evident he didn’t want you there nor was he coming back to the living room. You turned to leave.

But what Taehyung mumbled next shocked you.

“Just like you and Jin-hyung…hmm?”

You stopped in your tracks.

“Wait, what?”

There was a pause as Taehyung ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t respond.

You sighed. He could be so mysterious sometimes.

You opened his bedroom door to leave.

“Please just be honest with me,” Taehyung quickly spoke up again, “Do you… like Jin?”

He had turned back around and was fiddling with his fingers in his lap.

You paused, taking in his chiseled features, his tan skin, his soft hair. He was so beautiful.

“Taehyung…” you swallowed hard, “why do you think I chose that movie? Why do you think I came here to check on you?”

His deep brown eyes met yours again, confusion and hope laced in them.

“But… you could have sat next to me, shared popcorn with me,” he hated himself for how desperate and needy he suddenly sounded, “why do I feel like you avoid me?”

You rolled your eyes, annoyed with yourself at how obvious you had been attempting to control your emotions. You figured it was now or never.

“Because I didn’t want to get my hopes up of you… having feelings for me, too.”

You took a deep breath, waiting for the inevitable rejection about to come.

But Taehyung’s mouth suddenly formed into a large boxy smile.

It warmed your heart. His wide smile always had that effect on you.

“I do have feelings for you, (y/n)-ah.”

Oh.

This made you smile too, chuckling awkwardly and staring at the ground. You hesitated.

“Well… I guess we should have been more honest with each other then.”

Taehyung moved his head so he could look at your face again, the smile never leaving. You weren’t sure what to do next so you asked,

“Do you… want to go finish the movie?”

He got up and took your hand in his. Then he brushed a strand of hair from your face and tucked it behind your ear.

“Yes,” he paused, a cheeky grin on his face, “But… will you sit next to me this time?”

*

Other members coming soon!

Masterlist

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 66: Bond

There was a certain bond that formed between two people when all of your friends were paired off and dating someone. When the two of you were the only single people so you got paired off to share food, and be partners in games, and all other manner of things.

Harry supposed that tonight would be just one more of those nights as he arrived at Ginny and Luna's. And he wasn't complaining (not anymore, at least) it had taken a couple of years but he and Draco had warmed up to each other. They had compatible styles for partner games, Draco always gave Harry any treats with nuts and Harry gave him any treats with mint, and Harry genuinely enjoyed his dry sense of humor.

If he was being honest, he'd started looking forward to all of the time that he got to spend with Draco on Friday nights.

But things felt different the moment he entered the house, even though he couldn't quite put his finger on why. He spotted Ginny first, standing against the counter, pouring a couple glasses of wine, "Hey," he called.

She looked up and bit her lip.

"What?" he asked with no small amount of dread. He knew that look; it was the look she'd given him right before she'd told him she might be gay and in love with Luna, a look that said she was afraid of breaking his heart.

Ginny opened her mouth but no words came out.

"Ginny, what?" he said, taking several steps toward her.

"I don't know how to say thi-"

"Oh, good," he heard Draco say from behind him, "You're here."

His mouth stretched into a grin even before he turned around "He-" he broke off when he saw that Draco was standing with his arm around some bloke who Harry had never met before. "Hey," he finished.

"This is Matt," Draco offered.

And frankly, Harry would rather die (again) than shake his hand but before he could have any say in the matter Matt had stepped forward into his space and was gripping his hand. Hard. "The Harry Potter," he drawled. "My, my."

(Read more below the cut)

Harry glanced over at Draco who looked vaguely uncomfortable.

"Draco has told me so much about you. I could hardly believe that he was telling the truth." He leaned toward Harry conspiratorially, "He's known for embellishing the truth, you know?"

Harry wrenched his hand from Matt's grip, "Actually, I've found Draco to be honest to a fault. Hardly anyone else will tell me when my outfit doesn't match or I've got something stuck in my teeth."

Matt's eyes flashed and Harry's proverbial hackles stood on end he didn't like that look, "I-" Matt started

"Hey," Draco said, taking Matt's hand and drawing his attention, "Let me introduce you to everyone else."

"Nice meeting you, Mark," Harry called.

Draco narrowed his eyes at him, "Matt," he corrected, before mouthing, 'behave' at Harry.

"My mistake," Harry said, maintaining eye contact with the other man until he turned away and followed Draco into the other room.

"Okay," Ginny said, drawing his attention away from them, "First. Men are disgusting; I can't believe I thought I was attracted to them for so long."

"What?" he asked, slumping over to the counter and sliding onto a stool across from where Ginny was still mixing up drinks. He was feeling a little nauseous, fire rushing under his skin.

"That," she said, gesturing to where Harry had been standing talking to Matt and Draco, "The little pissing match to decide who's dominant."

"What?" Harry asked, "that guy is just an asshole."

She rolled her eyes, "Second, you're still an idiot."

"Wow. I'm just going to go home," he said. "Between you and the dude who was trying to break my fingers, I don't think it's going to be a great night."

Ginny leaned across the counter and instinctively Harry leaned toward her, "How long are you going to continue denying you have feelings for Draco?"

His brow furrowed, "I don't. We're just mates," he added.

"I rest my case. You're still an idiot," she said as she leaned back and started mixing drinks again.

Harry slouched on his stool turning that thought over in his mind, "That actually would make sense," he admitted.

"Harry, I love you, you know I do," she said. "But honestly, I can't believe you're just figuring this out. The rest of us have known for ages. We were all shocked when he walked through the door with Matt; he told us he was bringing someone but we thought the two of you were just making a joke."

"Well now what am I supposed to do?" he asked. "Why couldn't anyone have said something sooner?"

"Because we thought it was obvious," she hissed.

"Let's just get through the night," he sighed. "Then we'll deal with the rest. We'll need to come up with a plan."

-----------

He spent the rest of the night calling Matt the wrong name (Miles, Maurice, Mike, Max, Moses, Mitch, Mason) to the point that Ron either caught on and decided to help or got confused enough that he started calling him the wrong name, too. Harry also couldn't help but rub it in Matt's face how much better he knew Draco; telling inside jokes, asking Draco specific questions about his work and his parents, and reminiscing about fond memories.

Draco seemed a bit exasperated by it but Harry couldn't help himself. Once he started, he just couldn't seem to stop.

Eventually as everyone was getting ready to leave and Luna was saying good bye to Matt, Draco cornered him, "Do not move a fucking muscle," he hissed, "I am not done with you."

"Dra-"

"I mean it, Potter. Stay right here," he said, jabbing him in the chest with his finger before he turned and made his way over to his date.

"Hey," Matt said, smiling at him much the way Harry imagined an alligator might smile at his prey.

"Hi," Draco replied softly. "I'll floo you tomorrow, yeah? There are a few things I need to take care of."

Matt frowned, "I thought we were going back to my place."

"No," Draco replied steadily. "I have a five date rule." He stepped back, "I'll floo you," he repeated.

And Matt looked pretty pissed about it, but he seemed to take the hint and disapparated on the spot without so much as a goodbye to anyone.

"You're all the literal worst," Draco fumed. "Except you, Luna," he added. "You're a goddess."

Luna gave a little curtsy.

"Seriously," Draco said, glaring at the room even though none of them looked especially repentant. "And you," he spat, spinning to glare at Harry, "You're the worst of all."

"Does that make me special?" Harry quipped, arms folded across his chest.

Draco groaned, "Bloody fucking Griffyndors. I hope you're all happy," he grabbed Harry's arm. "Come on we are going back to mine to have a chat."

"I thought you had a five date rule," Ginny called.

Draco flipped her the two finger salute before apparating them to his house.

Harry always liked being in Draco's house; it was small and cozy, and it always smelled vaguely like chamomile. Just being here made his soul feel lighter, calmer.

"Alright," Draco growled, "Spill. What the hell was that?"

"What?" Harry asked innocently.

"Potter," he warned.

Harry sighed, "He's an asshole."

"And you know that how? You didn't even give him a chance".

"Draco his handshake was like a vice!"

Draco stared at him, "You've got to be kidding me. Are you that much of a child? He hurt your hand so you thought you should bully him?"

"I didn't bully him!" Harry exclaimed.

"No?" Draco asked. "You didn't use his given name even once." Harry winced, maybe that was overkill. "You spent the entire night trying to make him feel stupid and inferior to you. Which, let's face it, everyone does anyway because you're Harry fucking Potter!" Draco exploded.

"That's not fair," Harry said, betrayal slicing hot through his gut. Draco knew that he hated being famous, hated the preconceived notions attached to his name.

"Yeah well, neither was what you did."

"Draco, I-"

"No," he said, holding out a hand, "That was such bullshit, Harry."

"But he's awful."

"You didn't even give him a cha-"

"I didn't have to!" he exploded. "The first words he said to me were to disrespect you. He's an asshole and I will chase a million of them away from you."

"That's not your job."

Harry threw his hands up in the air, "I'm your best friend! Whose job is it, if it's not mine?"

"You don't just get to decide things for me!" Draco cried.

"Fine," Harry spat. "You want to date that wanker, go ahead. But I have seen his type before. Don't come crying to me when he's beaten you to a bloody pulp for looking at someone the wrong way." He pushed past Draco and made his way to the door, walking out and slamming it behind him.

He started down the sidewalk, debating trying to figure out where Matt lived and have a chat or maybe go over to Ron and Hermione's to get some advice and regroup.

But the further he walked, the more the anger faded from his veins, and the guilt settled in.

There was no choice really, he turned around and headed back to Draco's house once more. When he arrived he knocked on the door even though he normally would have just let himself in.

"Go away!" Draco shouted.

He knocked again, "Draco, please."

"No! Go away. You're the worst."

"I know," he called back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Please."

After a few seconds, during which fear settled heaving in Harry's gut, the door opened and Harry slipped inside, Draco was curled up on the couch, hugging a pillow to his chest.

Seeing him looking so small and sad made Harry ache. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Which part?" Draco asked bitterly.

He sighed and came over to sit on the couch beside Draco, "I'm not sorry for chasing him away. But I will always be here for you, no matter what. You can always come to me."

Draco leaned over and put his head on Harry's shoulder, "I know," he whispered.

"Forgive me?"

He nodded and they sat together in silence for a few minutes, both trying to collect their thoughts. Eventually Harry said, "I really wish you wouldn't date him."

Draco sat up, "Harry look at me."

Harry turned on the couch to look at him and raised his eyebrows.

"I won't ever floo call him, we'll never go on another date, and I'll never see him again." Something eased in Harry's chest. "But it's not because of what you said or did. It's because I, too, have had shitty relationships. I have also lived through trauma and I have had to learn from it just like you."

Harry looked down at his hands.

"And if you have concerns about someone, there is a better way to tell me than what you did tonight."

He nodded, suitably chastised, "You're right."

"I appreciate your concern, though," he added and Harry looked up to see that Draco's mouth was quirked up, he really must be forgiven, apparently. "And I genuinely forgot how petty you can be."

He shook his head and reached out for Draco's hand, "Draco, I want you to be so, so happy," he said. Then he added, "I'm an idiot."

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"And everyone knows it, you included, so you can't really hold it against me," he said.

"I'm pretty sure I can."

He huffed, "Just hear me out. I'm an idiot and I didn't realize until tonight that I'm a little bit in love with you. And it's fine if you don't feel the same but you are my best friend and I had high standards for you even before I knew I had feelings for you. It hurt me to see you with someone who treated you so poorly."

"Sorry," Draco said, "I need you to repeat that."

"I said, I'm an idiot," Harry started.

"Not that part."

"It hurt me to see you with someone who treated y-"

"Not that part either," Draco said.

Harry swallowed, "It's fine if you don't fee-"

"Harry," he grumbled. "Say the other part."

He rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm in love with you," he whispered.

Draco blinked at him, a smile blooming at the corner of his mouth, "Say it again."

A grin tipped up the corners of his mouth as well, "I'm in love with you."

Draco launched himself into Harry's arms and covered Harry's lips with his own, "say it again," he mumbled into the kiss.

"I love you," Harry repeated, murmuring the words into Draco's mouth.

Draco pulled back slightly, "I love you, too."

"I hoped that was the case," Harry replied.

After he kissed him again, Draco said, "Alright, fine. Now you get a say in who I date."

Harry grinned, "Is that so?"

He nodded.

"Will you date me, Draco Malfoy?" he asked, brushing his nose along Draco's.

"Yes," he whispered. Then with a smirk he added, "But we'll have to get my best friend's approval and rumor has it that he has very high standards."

---------------

Day 65: Question | Day 67: Soulmate (Take 1)- Your traditional soulmate trope or Day 67: Soulmate (Take 2)- just using the word 'soulmate' as a prompt, not the trope.

[hercleverboy]

the waiting room

spencer reid x fem!reader

summary ↠ the three times Y/N waited for spencer, and the one time he waited for her. (based off of this blurb)

category ↠ angst

warnings/includes ↠ mentions of death as a result of potential illness, spencer’s headaches, mri scans, swearing,  indefinite ending. 

word count ↠ 2.9k

dedicating this one to two of the literal loves of my life, @voidsfilm + @ellesgreenaway ♡

“What is stronger than the human heart, which shatters over and over and still lives.” — Rupi Kaur

Spencer had always hated hospitals.

He found it so conflicting, how a place could hold so much hope for life and promise for the future, and yet also hold so much heartbreak and despair and agony.

The strong disinfectant smell wasn’t his favourite thing, either. He hated how the bright lights always irritated his eyes, and how the hallways all just looked the same, so bleak and lifeless.

Most of all, he hated the waiting room. 

The navy-blue carpet that lined the floors, wooden chairs that were always, without fail, extremely uncomfortable to sit in. The way that nurses and doctors would walk past the room, eyes full of pity and sorrow. With his job, he’d seen more waiting rooms than he would’ve liked. He spent more time than he wanted to in hospitals, talking to victims’ families, and even sometimes having to witness them receive such heartbreaking news. On one or two occasions, he’d even had to be the bearer of bad news himself, the one who had to tell expectant family that their loved one was gone. It only added to the list of reasons why he despised hospitals.

Then there was the other side of the coin. He took frequent trips to the hospital, but unfortunately more oftenly as a patient than an FBI agent. He wouldn’t say he was reckless, but he didn’t exactly put much value on his life. Or at least, he never used to. He figured it was because he was the only one on the team without a family to come home to, without people who were dependent on him. And so, if it came down to it, he would willing take off his Kevlar vest and put down his weapon while talking down a gun-wielding unsub. Of course, he’d get the third degree from Hotch later, but he could live with that. And then he met Y/N, and he realised that now he had someone counting on him, someone waiting for him to come back home to them, he couldn’t afford to be so careless in the field.

Though sometimes, despite Spencer’s best attempts, things still went wrong. Y/N had seen the inside of the hospital waiting room more than most, often because she’d get called by one of his team mates to alert her that he’d been injured in the field. And without him ever asking, she’d drop everything to be there for him, even if it was his own stupidity that had landed him in those situations. 

The first time was after he’d been shot in the knee. Y/N had been midway through her workday when she’d received a call from JJ telling her that Spencer had been injured. She knew that it was only a leg wound, that he would be absolutely fine, but that didn’t stop her from being worried. She’d been sat in the waiting room, waiting anxiously for a nurse to come by and update her. 

As soon as she got the all clear to see him, she’d breathed out a sigh of relief and made her way to his room,  catching his attention as soon as she entered.

He gave her a tight-lipped smile, grimacing slightly at the pain shooting through his leg. “Hi.” 

She chuckled at that, moving to stand at his bedside. “Hi baby, how are you feeling?” 

“I’m ok.” He smiled, reaching up to tightly grasp one of her hands in his. “You didn’t have to come all the way down here, you know.” 

“Oh, stop.” She mumbled with a smile. “You know how much I worry about you.” 

He grinned at that, the warm feeling that he always got when he was with her spreading through him. He used the grip he had on her hand to pull her down to him, so his lips could meet hers in a sweet kiss. “Hotch has demanded I take some time off to rest, or whatever.” He murmured against her lips. “So, I’m all yours.” 

“Hmm, and what you mean by that is that you need someone to take care of you at home for a few days?” 

“Well, I did get shot in the leg, you know. Taking down the bad guy...” He gestured to his bandaged-up knee, a pout on his pretty pink lips. 

She let out a laugh at that, amused. “Alright, Superman. Let’s get you home, shall we?” 

The next time Y/N found herself in the hospital waiting room was a year later, when Spencer had been suffering from painful, unexplainable headaches. 

Initially, Spencer hadn’t wanted her to attend his MRI scan appointment, but it didn’t take much convincing for her to assure him that she wanted to be there for him. He’d held her hand in a vice-like grip on the drive to the hospital, only letting go when the nurse called his name to tell him they were ready for him. She’d kissed the back of his hand before he’d left, a whispered promise leaving her lips before he went, “I’ll be right here waiting.”

She looked around the empty waiting room, took note of its greying walls and stained carpet, and how awfully uncomfortable the chairs were. She thought of anything and everything that could distract her from the way she was feeling at that moment- knowing how scared her boyfriend was that there was something was wrong with him. 

Spencer came back to the waiting room an hour later, both relieved to see that his girl was indeed still waiting for him but frustrated with what little the doctor had told him. 

“Hey!” Y/N sat up straighter, putting on a smile for the sake of her boyfriend. “How’d it go?” 

Spencer just shook his head. “He says there’s nothing physically wrong with me. He suggested I should consider that it’s something more mental, but he’s wrong- he’s wrong, Y/N.” He sat down in the chair next to her, seeking comfort in her arms as he whimpered into the crook of her neck. “I’m not- I’m not crazy, am I?” 

And the truth was, she didn’t know. She was so afraid for him, worried that he was sick, dying, perhaps of something that the doctors hadn’t detected yet. It terrified her. Her hands ran up and down the expanse of his back, attempting to soothe his weeps the best that she could. Spencer grabbed fistfuls of the back of her shirt and breathed in the scent of her hair as deeply as he could to try and ground himself.

“I’m scared, Y/N.” 

That broke her heart to hear, but all she could do was nod in understanding, hoping her words would offer him some form of comfort. “I know, I know. We’ll figure this out, ok? Everything is going to be alright.” 

The next time Y/N inside of a waiting room was on what she could only refer to as the worst night of her life.

There were no words that could encompass the plethora of emotions she went through when she’d received a phone call from JJ, “Spencer has been shot. It’s- It’s pretty bad, Y/N. You need to come quickly.” 

When she got to the waiting room, she saw JJ and Alex sat opposite one another, a worry that made Y/N’s stomach sink on both their faces. She hurried towards them, tears blurring her vision. “Have you had any updates? Is he ok?” 

JJ looked up, shaking her head sadly. 

“What happened?” Y/N asked, her voice wavering. 

“He got shot in the neck. He pushed me out of the way.” Alex sighed, as though she was still in disbelief that he’d done that to save her. 

Y/N stared ahead in shock, dropping down into the seat beside Alex. Of course, of course, Spencer would risk his life to protect Alex. Y/N knew how fond he was of his colleague, how he idolised her, saw her as a sort of mother figure, even. 

Eventually JJ got called back to work, with Alex insisting that she’d stay with Y/N and wait for Spencer to wake. 

Y/N was so sick and fucking tired of the waiting room. Before, she hadn’t minded it, it had even bought a sense of comfort to her- because she was in a hospital, where they saved lives. But now? The familiar walls and dull navy-blue carpet made her feel nauseous. Not knowing whether her boyfriend was going to live or die was incomparable to any other time she’d found herself waiting in the same four walls. She was feeling everything and nothing all at once, she wanted to cry and scream, curse the universe for once again hurting a man that had done nothing in his life but protect others. Hell, part of her even wanted to laugh- laugh at the absurdity of the situation. If he died, - god, if he died - the world would’ve robbed him of a lifetime with her, the chance to live the life that he deserved.

She barely registered that Alex had left her side to bring her a coffee until she sat back down beside her. Y/N looked over at her, giving her a small smile as she gratefully accepted the coffee. 

Y/N brought the cup to her lips, relishing in how the hot liquid brought her a sense of warmth, and she wondered if she’d ever feel Spencer’s warmth again. She sucked in a shaky breath, speaking the first words she’d said in all the hours they’d been waiting. “You know he wants kids?” 

Alex looked over at her, sad smile tugging at her lips. “I do.” 

Y/N nodded, sniffing. “He’d be a phenomenal father.” 

“He would.” 

Y/N let out a small cry, trying desperately to hold herself together. “What if I never get the chance to give him that, Alex?” She cried, body finally giving in to the painful ache that consumed her entire being. 

Alex placed an arm around her, allowing the younger woman to lean on her shoulder for support. “You’ll get the chance. Spencer is strong, he’ll pull through.”

And sure enough, Alex had been right. When Y/N had been told he was awake, she couldn’t describe the relief that flooded her. After meeting Penelope in the hallway and being given a much-needed hug, she took a few deep breaths before walking into Spencer’s room. When her eyes landed on him, she felt the tears start to well again. She had to remind herself that despite the bandage on his neck and the numerous machines hooked up to him, he was there, and he was alive. 

She came towards him with the best smile she could muster, and he looked up at her with a drowsy smile.

“Hi.” She whispered, standing beside his bed. 

He grinned up at her, reaching out for her hand just like he always did. “Hi.” 

She squeezed his hand gently, reminding herself again that he was ok, though she couldn’t prevent the tears that began to tremble down her cheeks. 

Spencer’s heart throbbed at the sight, and he allowed himself to imagine the pain she must’ve been through, having to wait for hours to see if he was alive. He wouldn’t wish that on anyone, especially not the woman he loved more than anything else. “It’s alright, sweet girl. I’m alright.” He promised, wishing more than anything that he could pull her into his arms and soothe her, though the pain in his neck prevented him from doing so. 

“I could’ve lost you.” She whimpered, her other hand coming out to delicately trace the side of his face. 

“I’m right here.” He gave her hand three squeezes just to emphasise his point. 

She leaned forward, pressing a light kiss to his forehead. “You can’t ever scare me like that again.” 

Spencer chuckled lowly, nodding. “Yes ma’am.” 

“Promise me?” 

And though it was a promise they both knew he couldn’t keep, he granted her the reassurance that she craved. 

“I promise.” 

Y/N knew that wasn’t the last time she’d be sat in the waiting room, scared and anxious and hoping that the love of her life was ok. She knew there would always be a ‘next time’, no matter how many self-serving promises she asked Spencer to make. What she didn’t plan for, was that the next time she saw the inside of a hospital, it would be her fighting for her life. 

It had been a slow day at work for Spencer, with him managing to complete a majority of his withstanding paperwork. He sat at his desk, focused on how he twirled his pen between his fingertips, willing the clock to move faster so he could go back home when his phone rang, Y/N’s name flashing across the screen. 

He answered eagerly, though all eagerness was wiped away when it wasn’t her voice on the other end of the line. 

“Hi there, I’m looking for a Dr Spencer Reid?” 

Spencer’s mind raced, and he swallowed thickly before squeaking out an answer. “That’s me.” 

“I’m calling on behalf of Y/N Y/L/N, you’re registered as her emergency contact.” 

“Is she ok?” He croaked out, begging and pleading internally that all the worst-case scenario’s running through his head wouldn’t come to fruition. 

“She was involved in a severe road collision. You’re going to want to come down here-”

Everything past that was drowned out by the sound of Spencer’s heart beating quicker, so loudly he could hear it. He hung up, gathering his things together as quickly as he could and rushing toward the doors of the bullpen- running directly into one Derek Morgan. 

“Woah, easy there, kid. You got somewhere to be?” He joked at first, but erased all hints of a smile from his face when he saw the tears filling the younger man’s eyes. “What’s going on? Talk to me.” 

Spencer couldn’t form a sentence, only managing to splutter out a few barely strung together words. “It’s Y/N, she’s- she’s been in an a-accident and I need, I have to get to her.” 

Morgan’s eyes widened, nodding in understanding. “Alright, ok. You’re in no condition to be driving, let me take you.” 

Spencer wasn’t about to argue, already making his way toward the elevator. 

*

Spencer had always hated hospitals. 

But he’d also decided that he really fucking hated the waiting room. 

The doctors didn’t have any updates for him, no matter how many times he asked. So, he’d been forced to sit in that damned room and wait. 

He thought of how cruel the concept of the waiting room was. Waiting for either good or bad news, waiting to hear the words that would either fill him with relief or dread, signify the start of his life or the end. How cruel was it that people had to sit and wait, with the weight of the world on their shoulders and just hope their loved one was ok? 

With the first hour brought Spencer’s upset, tears trembling down rosy cheeks and whimpered words of disbelief that he could lose the woman he loved. He’d sat in the uncomfortable blue chair with his head in his hands as sobs wrecked through his body, with Morgan sat next to him, a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

The second hour brought with it a slither of hope, as a doctor came out to update them. Though it wasn’t good nor bad news, just that Y/N was still in surgery and was expected to be so for the next few hours. Spencer had again buried his head in his hands, his thoughts racing. The rest of the team arrived, joining the sombre atmosphere of the waiting room. 

The third hour saw Spencer grow agitated, angry with himself for not being with her, for not protecting her, despite how many times the team attempted to reassure him that there was nothing he could’ve done differently. They brought him cups of coffee with gentle reassurances, empty promises that Y/N would be fine, that she would pull through, but how could they possibly know that? 

In the fourth hour, Spencer sat staring blankly at the wall. He reminded himself of the future he’d dreamt of time and time again, and how he couldn’t imagine himself having that life with anyone else but her. He recalled the location of the velvet purple box he’d bought just a few months prior, hidden amongst pairs of his mismatched socks in the second drawer of his nightstand. What if he never got the chance to propose? To give her the life that he’d promised her time and time again when it was 3am and he was holding the love his life as close to his chest as he could get her. After all he’d done, the years of his life he’d given to helping to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves, this was the thanks he got? What a sick twist of fate that was. 

By the fifth hour, he was exhausted. His eyes drooped but he fought to keep them open, choosing to ignore the pitiful looks JJ shot him when she saw him fighting sleep. He would wait for her, just like all the times she had waited for him. He recognised how the way that he felt must’ve been how Y/N had felt after he’d been shot the year before, and the thought almost made him sick. He ran over all the possible outcomes in his head, allowing his eyes to close for a single moment as he mentally calculated the statistical probabilities of each outcome. He despised how helpless he felt. For a man whose job was to help others in need, he’d never been a position before where he didn’t have the answer, where he couldn’t come up with a solution. His heart ached as the realisation that he could very well lose her settled over him, the statistic he’d calculated of her survival being a number that was way too low for Spencer’s liking. 

For the moment, he had no choice but to wait. 

It was all he could do. 

*

permanent taglist: @beyonces-breastmilk​ @pinkdiamond1016​ @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto​ @thelovelyrose​ @averyhotchner​ @cynbx​ @calm-and-doctor​ @reidyoulikeabook​ @katexrichardson​ @jemimah-b99​ @muffin-cup​ @shadyladyperfection​ @rigatonireid​ @amoeebaa​ @mggsprettygirl​  @alltooreid​ @s1utformgg @awritingtree

spencer reid taglist: @reidtome

[siriusmydeer]

hello love, i was wondering if you could do a james potter x slythering fem!reader? one where she is working so hard on getting her life together. she is trying to be different than her family and working so hard but it is getting to her. she feels like she is failing and every turn she takes is a dead end. she feels like there is no purpose to what she’s doing. i think some super fluff is required, like james boosting her up and loving her. plzzzzz & thx

his slytherin

james potter x slytherin!fem!reader

summary: when you overwork yourself james is there to save the day.

word count: 2.4k

warnings: mentions of insomnia, mentions of sleep deprivation, mentions of not eating, mentions of over working yourself, angst, sad!james, house stereotypes, bad grades, implications of smut, WOLFSTAR😍, mentions of food, a breakdown, THERES FLUFF I PROMISE

seventh year was quite literally, a mess. maybe not for others, finally done school or they were super excited to travel around the world seeing things they’ve never seen before. you’re dream had consisted of constant studying, and working that barely made any time for yourself.

for the prior three years you had studied and practiced with madam pomfrey in the healers wing to eventually become a healer yourself, and it took a lot more than you thought it anticipated.

you knew as a healer, later in life you would have to deal with artefact accidents, dementor attacks, creature-induced injuries, magical bugs, potion and plant poisoning, dragon trainers with injuries, and incredulous spell damage.

with that you had to be prepared, which meant more time hitting the books and less time spending your final year at hogwarts with your best friends and your staggering boyfriend.

(hahah u see what i did there?)

james had qued in on your restless nights by gazing across at you in the great hall. the colour of emerald green becoming frequent in his life now; surprisingly to everyone else. where you were sat at the slytherin table, your eyebags already deepening by the day and your nose buried in some sort of school book.

the thought of even being like your family, made you nauseous. you didn’t want to be like your strict, immoral family, the death eaters, the murderers, and the ministry officials. who worked like machines without feelings or care.

as a slytherin born into a pureblood family those were the expectations that were almost nailed into your back like a sign said, ‘here’s the pureblood slytherin, shame her even though you don’t know her!!’

of course those were the stereotypes, ones that had been built on for centuries since salazar slytherin himself. that you of all people had to inherit. so you had to fall, and rebuild yourself entirely for even a chance. the restless nights, insomnia, caffeine and studying was your way of rebuilding.

of course that had an effect on your grades, not sleeping, not eating and barely focusing made your grades tremble a great deal to the point where professor slughorn got concerned by his best potions makers, recent poors in his class.

you were too focused on being better that you couldn’t even focus on your own well-being, that you couldn’t even see you were hurting yourself on the people around you. almost self isolating yourself from everyone entirely.

“darling?” james whispered, his body sitting across from yours at one of the mahogany tables in the library. pince set him a warning glare not to cause any mischief as she turned around.

“hmm?” you mumbled, barely acknowledging his prescence and continuing to read your defence against the dark arts textbook, something about the ‘chameleon ghoul.’

he had barely seen you all week, and when he did he saw your agonized face scrunched up in a book and your mauve dark circles that rested below your eyes clear as day.

“why don’t you take a break, dear? have a rest, you’ve been working non-stop. ve’barely seen you.” he murmured the last bit, embarrassed for feeling ‘needy.’

“can’t jamie, newts are soon i need to be prepared.” you looked up in his direction for a moment, barely catching his saddened eyes through his spectacles at your denial of his request to finally see his girlfriend.

if this were two maybe three years ago, james would not be caught dead having a conversation with a slytherin, let alone a relationship with one. the stereotypes blinding his vision for along time before he could see what was truly in-front of him.

i mean the gryffindor pride genetically ran through his veins as he was born into the etiquette pureblood-gryffindor family himself. it was almost destined for the both of you to be corporeal enemies.

but... something about your altruistic and considerate attributes subtly changed his mind. thanking merlin, and horhace slughorn for pairing the both of you in potions in fourth year. there was always something about the way you were so gentle and benevolent with him in potions class might’ve flipped a switch in his mind.

“right then... see you later?” he muttered disappointed in himself, you work so hard to prove yourself meanwhile he didn’t even have a glare in his way because he was the perfect headboy gryffindor student; with absolutely no judgements thrown his way despite his actions towards others in previous years.

“dunno, i’m studying.” you replied, your voice monotone and dull almost raspy from barely using your voice unless answering questions in class to almost being a know-it-all and pushing yourself to the tops of all your classes.

he got up from his chair, it scraping against the floor as he walked to the exit almost like a dog with its tail between his legs. he just got so mopey by your dejected less merry self. he had to do something, he had to make you understand that being a slytherin wasn’t just you.

it was a part of you sure, but ambitious just meant you strived for your goals and you were cunning which showed your amplified skill.

that didn’t mean you were— evil? being a proud reckless gryffindor was one in his heart but nobody ever thought he was malicious.

so, james fleamont potter did the only logical thing he could think of; going to his bestfriends for help. of course at first they were not over the moon glowing in delight when they found out he was dating a slytherin, especially sirius.

but that was expected, his family being his only views on how a pureblood slytherin acted only projected onto you. giving you almost a conscientious reason to work, the thought of someone james felt was his brother perceiving you as despicable only made you pursue your self judgements.

but after your book swaps with remus, you and peters athrimancy study sessions and music bonding with sirius they grew quite fond of your personality and thought that you were due with a chance with the marauders.

“moony, i need help.” he spoke desperately as remus’ face was also buried in a book, except out of his own free will.

“james needs my help? hear that sirius? prongs needs my help.” he declared proudly as the brown-haired gryffindor groaned crossing his arms.

“it’s y/n.” he mentioned, glancing in sirius’ direction before sitting on the vermillion love seat across from the fawn haired boy.

“what about her?” remus was more-so confused, what would be so wrong with you that james had to ask him for help?

“she’s suffocating herself, the books, the studying, not sleeping, not eating, nothing. i dunno what to do anymore remus, she’s so pent up on wanting people to stop looking at her like she’s heinous she’s working herself to death!” he ranted, all his anger and agitation spilling out in one fast-paced sentence that james needed to catch his breath by the end of.

“i just dunno how to make her catch a breath, take a break. what do i do?” james panted, looking at his mates for an answer.

“imperious curse?” sirius proposed, a bad proposal but his intentions were... thoughtful. “yeah let me go use an unforgivable curse on my girlfriend so she can have a study break. no thank you, next.” james sarcastically humoured him, james didn’t want to compromise your education or use an unforgivable curse on you for that matter but you looked so incredibly burnt out he didn’t know how to help you.

“body-bind curse? so she’s like.... forced to stop?” peter suggested, looking up from his transfiguration essay catching onto the conversation as he twirled his quill between his fingers.

“or, y’know something actually logical you could do is take her books. get her lavender tea or something, let her talk.” remus finally spoke, shrugging then looking at the ‘lord of the flies’ book in his hands a smirk lying on his face knowing that would he james lucky choice.

“moony, you genius! i could kiss you!” james hopped up from his seat, on his way back to the library.

“oi! i’m the only one he’s going to be kissing, prongs!” sirius yelped as james walked out of the portrait hole with a distant chortle.

on his way to the library, where you were previously seated, james made a stop to the kitchen to grab a few of your favourite snacks and some water. he dropped them back at his dormitory, but not without a mini lecture on ‘kissing moony.’ from sirius.

what a drama queen.

the castle was slowly darkening, the only light pivoting from the floating candles in the air. he saw your frozen-like figure in the same spot you were except looking over your history of magic textbook, learning about the ‘emeric the evil.’

“y/n.” he stated firmly, you almost jumped from your seat in surprise, due to your recent sleep deprivation. “merlin james, give a girl a little warning first.” you chastised before returning to your next book that was slammed together right in-front of your eyes.

“james! i was—“ you were cut off quickly by him gathering all of your books and placing them in his left arm. “what are you doing?” you questioned, looking at him with furrowed brows, to exhausted to argue with him.

“you’re not taking care of yourself, you’re not eating, you’re not sleeping, your basically a study.... that muggle thing- robot! you’re a study robot! so i’m taking care of you.” he got sidetracked as he spoke in a gentle yet firm tone.

“but i have too-“ you were cut off again by his pointer finger shushing your lips together. “no, either you sit here in silence because i’m taking your books either way or you come with me to my dorm.” james spoke, resisting to your complaints.

“fine, but you have too—“ you started off, annoyed that your study time was ruined by james incessant comments about you ‘overworking yourself.’ he though, was not having any of that. “nope.” he grabbed your hand, dragging you off to the gryffindor tower.

you gave a small tired wave to sirius, peter and remus on the way to the dormitories as they were all either on the floor or splayed across the scarlet-coloured couches. sirius following with a teasing wolf whistle and wink seeing the both of you walking up the stairs.

“don’t do anything i wouldn’t do!” he chuckled, looping his arm over remus’ shoulders.

“ha, bloody, ha, padfoot. so, so funny i’m on the floor laughing.” he teased, sarcasm lacing his words in a monotone voice almost mocking snape.

you playfully rolled your eyes before being dragged up the stairs to the boys dormitory. the only noises heard were the clacks of your shoes and the soft breathing emitting from both you and your boyfriend.

your eyes were met with candies sprawled all over his poorly made bed, one of his quidditch sweatshirts paired with your favourite joggers; the ones he probably stole from your dorm room one night; because he was keen on you just staying there with him and ‘subtly’ moving all your things into his dormitory with the rest of the boys.

you looked at him with an arched brow, a silent question of ‘why are you doing this?’ ignoring your questioning look he sprawled himself on his twin-bed, his hands clasping in his lap waiting for you to change.

you put on the clothes he layed out, feeling james’ left hand tug you onto his chest when you were done. oh his soft, pillowy chest, you almost felt tempted to fall asleep right then and there.

“darling girl, tell me what’s going on?” he softly questioned while stroking your hair with one hand, his other arm stroking your back.

“i just—“ you stuttered, feeling a wave of tears glossing over your eyes. “i feel like everything is going so, so, wrong. m’so afraid of failing, i want to be better! i don’t want to be like m’terrible family, but it all feels like so much!” you mewled into his shirt, his grasp growing a bit tighter in an effort to psychically comfort you.

“baby, you’re nothing like your family, you have to know that?” he directed your vision to his gaze, the soft marks of mascara down your dampened face only made his gaze softer.

“you work so hard on trying to be not like your family, you don’t even know how amazing you truly are. you’re so generous, you’re always willing to help someone even if you don’t like them, i know i wouldn’t have that patience!” he softly chuckled, seeing a faded grin on your lips.

you sniffed as he continued his praise, “you’re such a hard worker, and i’m truly in awe of you. you’re the one person who truly puts her best foot forward and it’s so incredibly amazing, but you’re working so hard your exhausting yourself. y/n, it’s breaking me to see you like that.” you saw small wet streaks around his eyes, not truly realizing your self destructive habits had been harming people around you; had been harming him.

“jamie, i’m— im so sorry!” feeling the wash of emotions suddenly bundled up wash all over you, your nervous system feeling overwhelmed with the emotions of sadness, guilt and anger bubble up all at once. you whimpered into his shirt, spewing out mumbled apologies that were barely coherent due to all the sobs.

“shh- shh, don’t apologize.” he articulated, shifting his hips up and grabbing a folded parchment from his back pocket.

“w—whats that?” you questioned, trying to calm down the mewls and whimpers that wanted to escape your throat.

“this, darling, is a schedule.” he pointed out, a week schedule with times on it that labeled your subjects as well as times of the day. he also dedicated certain parts of every single day with “james!!” in bright red ink.

“so those,” he pointed out, directly at all the times he wrote his name leading up to the newt dates, “are times you and me spend together, no studying, just loving. so i can remind my beautiful, smart, and amazing talented loving girlfriend how astonishing she is.” he said with a grin, proud of himself.

“you really know how to charm a girl, potter.” you may have teased, but without him you don’t know what you would’ve done. james was truly your saviour, your light, stars to your moon; if you will.

he was yours, and you were definitely his. 

taglist: @fathermarty @kittykylax @terr0rizer @aspiringsloth20 @dear-luna @famdomhideout @hufflepogue

[squiggledrop]

Lies - Spencer Reid x Reader

Masterlist

Summary: Reader and Spencer are dating, but when Reader sees him with someone else, she becomes extremely self- conscious and ignores him. Spencer tries to figure out what he did wrong.

Word Count: 2.7k

Pairings: Spencer Reid x Reader

Category: Angst, Fluff

Warnings: Mentions of anxiety, panic attacks, being self-conscious

Notes: literally just me writing down all my insecurities so

Salty tears hit the cold tiles of the hotel bathroom floor. With your back against the tub and your head in your hands, you let yourself succumb to the voices in your head. You thought you had been doing better, sure some days were worse than others, but you felt like you were making progress. But now, after having your heart obliterated by the man you love so deeply, all of your insecurities darted throughout your brain, pounding at the sides of your head. 

You felt like such an idiot. Of course he would find someone else. How could you have let yourself believe he really loved you when there were so many women out there who were better looking and more fun to be around. Why would anyone want to be with someone who was as self-conscious and shy as you? Spencer deserved someone who wouldn’t shy away from taking pictures with him because you hated the way you looked or cancel plans dinner plans because the thought of anyone but him seeing you made you nauseous. That’s why it didn’t surprise you when you saw the way he flirted with that police officer today. 

You were reading through some case files with Spencer when he noticed your coffee cup was empty. He had gotten up to get you a refill, which you smiled and thanked him for. You watched as his tall, lean body walked over to the coffee machine. He brushed his dark curls out of his face as he waited for the mug to fill. You knew you should be working to find the unsub, but you couldn’t pull your eyes away from the man in the purple cardigan. You softly chuckled to yourself as you scanned down to his dirty converse, where his mismatched socks peeked through the bottom of his mahogany pants. You bit back a smile as you took in the sight of your adorable boyfriend. You were so lucky to have him. He knew about your mental health struggles and always supported you, which you were thankful for. But, that still didn’t relieve any of the guilt you had at making him put up with you. That’s why, when you saw him laughing the way he always laughs with you, due to something that extremely beautiful cop just said to him as she placed her hand on his arm, your world shattered.

You know Spencer did nothing wrong and that he was just being his quirky, lovable self, but, seeing how she made him smile caused you to think how much better off he would be with someone like her. She probably didn’t have panic attacks at night that made his tired eyes sulk into his head even more. She would probably love to wear a beautiful dress out to dinner so he could show her off. She could probably make him so much happier than you ever could. Your mind swarmed with voices telling you how you weren’t enough and that Spencer probably resented you. You tried to focus on the papers in front of you and reassure yourself that you were being irrational and that it was all your head, but it was no use. Your anxiety consumed you, drowning you in all of your insecurities. You tried to gasp for air, but all you could do was sit idly by as you watched the man of your dreams flirt with a beautiful woman through the tears that swelled in your eyes.

When Spencer returned with your coffee he set it down and placed a kiss to the top of your head. You wanted nothing more than to hug him and feel his reassuring body consume you, but you didn’t want him to see your tears, so you remained silent with your head down.

“Hey, is everything okay?” he asked, concern lacing his voice. You bit your lip and couldn’t think of anything to say. “(Y/n), talk to me. What’s up?” He reached out to touch your arm in hopes of getting you to answer him, but you flinched at the contact. “I’m-I’m sorry”, he stammered, terrified he had done something wrong.

“I-I have to go help JJ”, you said softly, as you bolted out of the room, making sure he couldn’t see your tear-stained cheeks.

“(Y/n)...”, he called after you, standing up. You couldn’t bring yourself to put all of your problems on him, just to make him feel bad for doing nothing wrong, so you kept your head down as you walked out of the precinct. Spencer followed you, calling out your name, but you got into the black SUV and sped away before he could even make it to the door.

You avoided Spencer for the rest of the day. You hated yourself for ever letting your mind convince you Spencer would cheat on you, and you hated yourself even more for how guilty you were making him feel by not talking to him about how guilty you felt for thinking it. Spencer tried to talk to you, but you kept brushing him off, his devastated face making you hate yourself even more. You didn’t deserve him. He deserved someone who made him feel as amazing as you knew he was. He didn’t deserve to be treated like this, but you didn’t know what to do. You would hurt him if you talked to him about it, but you were hurting him by saying nothing too.

“Hey, is (y/n) okay?” Derek asked Spencer as they were on their way to the most recent dumpsite.

“I don’t know. She was fine one second and then all of a sudden completely shut me out. She won’t even look at me… I don’t know what I did. I just, I need to make sure she’s okay.” Derek gave him a sympathetic smile as he placed a reassuring hand on Spencer’s shoulder.

“I’m sure she’ll come around. I know she struggles with some stuff, but, you are the only person I’ve seen make her smile as big as she does when she’s with you”, Spencer gave a thankful nod in return. “And in any case, I always find flowers and some chocolate are always a good idea when a woman is giving you the silent treatment”, Spencer rolled his eyes as Derek chuckled.

When you all regrouped at the station later that night, Hotch had told everyone to head back to the hotel so you could start fresh the next morning. As everyone was leaving, Spencer chased after you, reaching for your hand, but you pulled it away. In defeat, he let you go and the two of you rode in separate cars back to the hotel for the first time since you joined the team three years ago. On the way there, Spencer replayed every moment from the day in his head over and over, trying to figure out what happened to make you so upset. He hated seeing you hurt like this, and all he wanted to do was take away your pain.

Once at the hotel, everyone went their separate ways to get some much-needed rest. You walked about ten paces ahead of Spencer, not daring to let him see you. When you made it to the room, you tried to use the key card, but the door wouldn’t open. Ugh! I can’t even work a stupid door! you mentally yelled at yourself. Seeing your struggle caused Spencer’s face to fall and his heart to clench.

“Here, you just have to-”, he said softly as he took the card and opened the door. Without acknowledging him, you pushed through into the room. Spencer slowly closed the door, before turning around to face you. You had your back to him, sitting on the edge of the far bed, opening your bag to get ready for bed. “(Y/n), please talk to me”, he begged. After not receiving any form of a response, you heard him walk towards you and, without thinking, you snapped.

“Just leave me alone!”, you said, definitely loud enough for the entire floor to hear.

“(Y/n)...”, he chocked out, tears running down his face.

“Just go! I don’t want to talk to you.” Your enraged voice hid the sadness you felt, and your heart sunk even lower as you heard Spencer huff as he closed the door behind him. You finally let the tears fall that you had been holding back the entire car ride. You walked into the bathroom, not wanting him to see you like this in case he came back. That’s when you realized it: if he came back. Your stupid self had pushed Spence away for no reason and now he was gone. You cursed yourself for hurting the man who had done nothing but love you and care for you. At least now you knew the voices were right. You didn’t deserve Spencer. At least now he could find someone whose beauty complemented his. Someone who was confident, smart, and made him feel loved. You sank down on to the cold tiles and wished that you could have been enough for him because he deserved the world.

You didn’t notice when the hotel door opened, because all you could hear were your loud sobs and the voices telling you how much happier Spencer must be now that you weren’t there to bother him. You only noticed he was standing in front of you when you heard his gasp at the sight of you on the floor. You looked up to see him standing there, tears streaming down his face matching yours, with a box of your favorite chocolates and the most beautiful bouquet of flowers you had ever seen in his hands. A pit formed in your stomach and you began to cry even harder. You were so undeserving of this man. After you had ignored him for the whole day and yelled at him to leave, he decided to go out and buy you gifts, and all you could do was cry. He came and sat next to you, causing you to shift away from him, not wanting to meet his gaze. 

“Look, I know you don’t want to talk to me, and that’s okay. But, please, just listen to me”, after not receiving any form of response from you, he continued, “(Y/n), I have been replaying everything that happened today, trying to figure out what I did. I’m so sorry for whatever it was that hurt you this bad. I want you to know I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you. I love you so much. You mean the world to me.” He paused for a moment to quickly wipe a tear off his cheek. “I got you these because Derek said it always worked for him. I just- I want you to tell me what’s wrong so I can apologize and try to fix it.” You closed your eyes, his words making you feel even worse about yourself. After all the pain you put him through today, he was the one apologizing to you. You didn’t understand how someone so perfect could say they love someone who was anything but.

“Spencer…”, he looked up at you with his big, sad eyes, “I’m so sorry”, you choked out. “I don’t deserve you. I’m so sorry”, you cried.

“Hey, no no no. Don’t say that”, he said as he brought you into his arms, grateful that you finally let him touch you. “I love you so much, and you deserve everything and more, okay?”

“No, I don’t! I’m a terrible girlfriend, and I hurt you and made you cry. I ignored you and you repaid me by bringing me gifts.” You pulled away from him and looked him in the eyes. “Why are you even with me when you deserve so much better?”

“How could you even say that”, he looked genuinely hurt.

“Because! I’m stupid and annoying and I’m no fun to be around, and you are so great and you should be with someone who is pretty and likes to go out and have fun and doesn’t get anxious, or-”, at that, Spencer knew what was really going on.

“(Y/n), why didn’t you tell me you were feeling like this. You know I would have been there for you. I know it’s hard, but you can’t listen to the voices telling you lies okay? They are wrong, they are so so wrong.” He cupped your face and ran his thumb across your cheek, “I know you don’t always see it, but you are the most beautiful person I have ever met, inside and out. You are the only person who will listen to my rambles and you are my favorite person to spend time with. You are my entire world, (y/n). You are more than enough.”

“But that’s not true!” “Yes. It is.”

“What about that police officer today. The really beautiful tall one? She made you laugh and your eyes lit up the same way they do when you are with me.” 

“(Y/n)-” Spencer was about to interject but you continued over him.

“And I know you would never cheat on me or do anything to purposefully hurt me. And you did absolutely nothing wrong and I’m so sorry for hurting you when you did nothing to deserve it. It’s just, whenever I see you with another girl, I think about is how easily she could take you away for me. All I’m saying is that I would understand if you did leave me for someone prettier and more fun, like her, because you deserve someone who makes you happy and not someone like me who makes your life harder.” You were both silent for a moment before Spencer took your hands in his.

“Please look at me”, you did as he asked and painfully met his gaze, “I don’t want anyone but you. You are a ray of sunshine in my life. You make me the happiest I have ever been, even when I know you struggle to see yourself how I see you. You are never a burden to me, okay? I want you to always tell me what’s going on in your head because your problems are my problems, and nothing would make me happier than helping you and supporting you through them. I don’t care that sometimes we change our plans and just stay in because my favorite place in the world is snuggling with you on the couch. I don’t care that sometimes you wear my sweatpants and t-shirts because you don’t like how your clothes look on you because I think you look adorable and I feel so lucky to have a girlfriend as beautiful as you. I don’t care that we don’t always take a picture every time we go out on a date because I have an eidetic memory and don’t need a physical picture to get to see all of our memories together whenever I want. And I don’t care that sometimes you get anxious and your mind convinces you that you aren’t good enough because I know how amazing you are and I’ll always be there to help you through it and remind you of much I love you.” By now you were sobbing again, but this time they were happy tears. Spencer pulled you into his chest, as you breathed in his warm scent that instantly comforted you. 

“I love you”, you mumbled into his shirt.

“I love you. So much”, he said, placing a kiss to your cheek.

“And Spence?” You asked, lifting your head up, placing your hands in his hair.

“Yeah?”, he said, looking up at you with lust-filled eyes as he rested his hands on your hips.

“Thank you for loving me”, you smiled, your heart so full you thought it would burst.

“Thank you for letting me love you”, he brought you in for a gentle, yet passionate kiss and you melted into him. Although you knew you would always have rough days like today, as long as you had Spencer there to hod your hand, you knew you would be okay.

[skyeet-the-writer]

Can you write a corpse x reader when she finds out she's pregnant and she's playing among us and she imposter with corpse and she kill someone and someone sees and reports it right away she get all nauseous and let's it slip to everyone while she go to throw up and corpse doesn't know what to do but he's excited to be a dad. You can change it up and add thing if you want, I was writing everything down, sorry if this is weird.

And If You Wanna Stay … Please Stay

yes finally a pregnant request! also, i’m gonna be waiting to get the triggered pro-life people in my asks and DMs about how ‘iT’s A LiViNg BeInG”. like what’s the baby gonna do? tell it’s mom??

corpse x female!reader 

summary: when the reader gets morning sickness during an Among Us game, Corpse and her expect the worst. And they get it. 

word count: ~4.8k 

warnings: swearing, vomiting, mentions of abortions, mentions of being pregnant, a little bit of suggestive content near the end but nothing happens

He’s finally asleep, you think to yourself as you watch your boyfriend’s chest rise and fall. He needed it.

Recently, Corpse has had trouble sleeping for more than three hours. You two had tried everything you could think of. You had tried staying up late to get him tired, you tried subliminals and music to get him to sleep. You even tried to give him a massage one time, but that led to other things.

You look over at the drawn curtains and pull them back a little. There, on the window, you have tin foil covering them. It’s a trick you learned from your dad when you were younger. When he worked night shifts, he had to sleep during the day, and he had trouble sleeping since your parent’s room had thin curtains. And so your father taped tin foil to all of the windows in their room so that he could sleep.

You’re not exactly sure why this seemed to work for Corpse, but you’re certainly not complaining. He looks so peaceful when he’s sleeping. He doesn’t look stressed, he doesn’t look sad. He looks so calm.

You lean forward and peck his nose. His breathing stutters and his nose wrinkles. You giggle and slowly, he opens his eyes. He blinks a few times and his brown eyes look around the room before settling on your face. He grins and your smile widens.

“That’s a pretty face to wake up to,” he mumbles and his morning voice makes you blush. “Oh my god, you’re already blushing.”

You blush even harder and bury your face in his neck. He laughs and hugs you around your waist. “Don’t make fun of me, asshole.”

He kisses your hair. “Morning, baby.”

“Good morning,” you mumble into his skin. You pull away so that you’re only a few inches apart. He leans forward and nuzzles your nose against his. Instead of kissing in the morning--you can’t handle his morning breath--you nuzzle your noses together.

“How’d you sleep?” you ask after you two pull away.

He smiles. “Really good, actually.” He chuckles and looks up at the window. “I guess the foil worked.”

You laugh and sit up. You’ve been awake for a little while and your stomach growls. “You hungry, babe?”

He nods and sits up as well, running a hand through his hair and shaking it out. “Can we have pancakes?”

“You can eat those, right?” you ask. You stand up out of bed and walk to the kitchen, your boyfriend trailing behind you.

“Yeah,” you hear him say. “Even if I couldn’t, I’d still want to eat them because you make really good pancakes.”

You smile. “Really? Thanks, babe.” 

You get out the ingredients to make the pancakes when Corpse announces that he’s going to take a shower. You give him a kiss on his cheek and notice it’s a little scratchy. You grab his chin suddenly and he blinks at you as you run a thumb against his cheekbone. 

“Want me to shave?” he asks softly.

You shrug. “If you want.”

He grabs your hand and presses his lips against your finger. He gives you a sweet little smile. “I’ll shave.” He squeezes your hand before walking back to your room.

After mixing all of the ingredients, you drop a few droplets onto the buttered up griddle. When it sizzles, you pour two medium-sized pancakes before going to search for the spatula. 

When you find it in the dishwasher, you flip both of the pancakes and grin. They’re both perfect. You notice it’s quiet in the kitchen and call out, “Alexa.” You hear her go off in the living room. “Play some fall lofi.”

“Playing ‘Midnight Lofi - Fall Vibes’.

”You smile when it starts to come from the living room. It’s a little quiet, so you say, “Turn it up.”

The music starts to play a little louder and you smile more. It’s so aesthetically pleasing, lofi music. It’s probably one of your favorite music genres. Before you moved in with Corpse, you had to listen to something and you eventually began to fall asleep to lofi. But now that you’ve been living with him for almost a year, you don’t listen to it as much. Usually when you’re cleaning the house or playing music when you study for school. 

You cook a few more pancakes and when you’re putting them on a plate, you have an idea. Corpse can’t eat chocolate because of his health, but you can. And you usually have a secret stash of chocolate in the back of the pantry. You’ve been craving chocolate a lot for the past week which is weird because your monthly hasn’t started yet even though it should have a few days ago. But you don’t dwell on that thought and pull up a chair from the small island and stand on top of it to reach the very back of the pantry. Your fingers skim the edge of the chocolate chip bag and you grab it between your middle and index finger. You grin at it and go to hop off of the chair when suddenly--

“What are you doing?”

You yell and you almost slip off the chair. Luckily, you land on your feet and wobble. You look up at your boyfriend when you regain your balance. He’s smirking and looking between you and the bag in your hand. 

“Chocolate,” you tell him, making your way back to the griddle like nothing happened. “You know, just because you can’t eat it doesn’t mean I have to suffer with you.”

He laughs and leans on the counter next to you. “I know you have a stash, y/n.”

You look at him with wide eyes, stopping in your tracks. “You do?”

He nods. “Yep. I knew since the first month you moved in. You’re bad at hiding it, you know.”

You blink at him before shrugging, walking over to the griddle. “Well, you’re not allowed to have any.” You stick your tongue out at him and sprinkle the mini chocolate chips into the remaining batter. There are enough pancakes for Corpse, so you’ll just cook up the rest for yourself.

Usually, you and Corpse don’t wake up until after breakfast time since you have a habit of sleeping in. But when you can wake up early enough for breakfast, you both like to sit out at the small balcony and eat together.

“What are we doing today?” you ask Corpse, sitting across from him at the small metal table.

There’s a breeze and it ruffles his hair. “I was gonna stream Among Us later. You can play, too. My fans love you.” He smiles and looks down at his plate.

“As they should.” You flip your hair and the two of you laugh. “Yeah, I can play for a little while. I’ve got classes to do and a paper due tomorrow, though.” While Corpse is a Youtuber and a streamer, you’re a college student taking classes at San Diego State University, trying to get your major in anthropology and a minor in Spanish and engineering. “God, I have a test at the end of the week, babe. I’m gonna fail it,” you mutter, putting your face in your hands. 

“What’s it in?”

“Spanish,” you tell him, pushing a blueberry with your fork. 

He gives you a stare. “Babe, I’m literally half Mexican.” He laughs.

You throw the blueberry at his head and it bounces off onto the floor. “Shut up, stop making fun of me!”

He grins. “I can tell you the answers as you take the test. It’s online, right?”

You nod. “Yeah, I chose all online classes this year. I mean, you could. But that’s cheating.” You flip a piece of your pancake over. “And I don’t wanna cheat. I cheated all the way through high school. I want college to be different.”

Corpse grabs your hand and you look up at him. He’s smiling at you. “You’re smart, baby. You’re gonna do fine. You’re gonna get your degrees and you’re gonna be the best... what are you studying again?”

“Anthropology,” you tell him quietly.

“You’re gonna be the best anthropologist ever.”

You crack a small smile. “Do you even know what an anthropologist is?”

“No.”

You laugh and that gets him to smile. You lean across the table and press a gentle kiss to his lips. It’s a little sticky and sweet because of the syrup, but you’re not complaining.

Later that morning, after taking a shower while Corpse cleans breakfast up, Corpse says that he’s going to stream and you come and join him. There’s a monitor across from his that you use from time to time and a headset as well.

Your boyfriend sends you the code for the Discord and the Among Us game. Corpse looks at you from across the desks and you smile. He grins back and your stomach churns. You blink and wince at the feeling. You’ve been feeling nauseated for a few days now and you don’t want to get sick during a stream.

“Hi Corpse,” someone says as you load into the waiting room. You look back at the screen as someone gasps. “y/n! Best friend!”

It’s Sean and you laugh. “Hi, Sean.”

“y/n!” exclaims someone else and you realize that it’s Lily.

“I thought I was your best friend, Jack!” says Sykkuno and he sounds hurt.

You smile and move your character to the customization. You choose yellow and choose the leaf hat. Since your gamer tag is “lemon” you always try and be a lemon.

“Aw, y/n’s a lemon,” says Dave.

You laugh and run circles around him. “Hi, Dave.”

You hear him laugh and Corpse chuckles in front of you. You look at him and be flashes you a smile.

The round starts and the red “IMPOSTER” text lights up your screen. You’re paired up with Felix. You haven’t been the imposter with Felix too often, so you don’t know what to expect. You mute your headset and head down to storage to fake wires before going to fake another task.

 You’re standing in the electrical room pretending to download data when Sykkuno walks in. You pull up the sabotage map and close the door before killing him and venting. You come out in the medbay and head over to the cafeteria.

 When a body is reported, it’s Lily’s. You unmute yourself and bite your thumbnail as your stomach churns even more. You’re starting to get worried that you’re going to get sick.

 “I found Lily in admin,” says Sean. “And I didn’t see anyone around.”

“Sykkuno is dead, too,” Julien points out.

 “Oh shit,” you mutter and hold a hand over your mouth. You try to keep the bile from rising while everyone talks and you don’t bother to listen. You do hear someone say that they’re going to skip voting and you do the same.

When no one is ejected, you mute your mic once again and go to follow Corpse down to the shields. You stand beside him while he does his task. Sorry, babe, you think and kill him just as your kill cooldown reaches zero.

 You smirk and run away in the opposite direction and you can feel him staring at you. You glance up at him and your smile widens. “What?”

He just shakes his head and you laugh.

You meet up with Dave and follow him around and fake wires with him. At one point, you and he cross paths with Felix and Toast. You may not know Felix too well, but any good imposter knows to go for a double kill. So as you run by each other in the cafeteria, you close the door and both you and Felix kill who you were with before venting away. 

By the time you’re out of the vent and running away from admin, Dave’s body is reported. Your stomach feels awful now and you’re almost certain you’re going to throw up in the next thirty seconds.

 “Fuck.” You unmute your mic. “It was me, I killed Dave. I’m the imposter. I’ll be right back.” You practically throw your headset off and run for the bathroom.

 ~

Corpse watches you practically run out of the room. For a second, he’s not sure what to do. Should he go after you? But he’s in the middle of streaming.

“y/n?” Sean asks. “Corpse, where’d she go?”

“Is she okay?” Julien wonders.

He nods even though no one can see him. “Y—yeah. I’m gonna go check on her. I’ll be right back.” He mutes his mic and takes his headphones off before leaving the room to go check on you.

He finds you on the tiled bathroom floor vomiting into the toilet. He curses and kneels behind you, pulling your hair back.

When you finish, he says, “This is the third time this week you’ve gotten sick, baby.”

You groan and lean your head on your arm. “I know. I don’t know why. Well, I—“ You cut yourself off and go still as if you suddenly had a realization.

Corpse tilts his head. “What is it?”

It takes you a few long moments to respond. “…My period is late. And I’m getting morning sickness. Plus I’ve been moody.” You turn back to look at him and he can tell you’re about to cry. “Corpse.”

You don’t need to say anything else. He’s already standing up, trying to ignore the pit in his stomach and his shaking hands. “I’ll go get you some tests.”

You grab his hand. “Corpse, no! I’ll go.”

He shakes his head and gets on his knees in front of you. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll be okay, don’t worry about me.”

Your lip quivers. “You don’t have to do this. I know how much you don’t like going outside. Really, it’s not a big deal, I can go get some.”

But then he kisses your forehead. “y/n, it’s okay. You need to rest. I won’t be out for very long.” He stands up after squeezing your hands. “I’ll be back in, like, twenty minutes.”

Before you can do anything to stop him, he turns around and goes to grab his mask and his wallet before grabbing your car keys. He doesn’t like to drive, but you’re worried and driving is quicker. And right now you’re the most important thing for him to be thinking about.

~

When Corpse leaves, you sigh and stay sitting on the floor for a few more minutes while your stomach settles itself. Afterward, you get up and brush your teeth after flushing the toilet. Deciding to get some school work done, you grab your laptop and head to the living room.

When you pass by his recording room, however, you see his monitor still on. You curse and head inside. He’s still streaming. You sit down and put his headset on and unmute his mic. “Hey, guys.”

You glance at the exploding chat as Sean asks, “y/n? Where’s Corpse? Are you okay?”

I’m probably pregnant. “Uh, I’m kind of sick, so Corpse went out to get me some, uh, stuff. Sorry, but we gotta go. Uh, it was fun streaming.”

“Okay,” says Sykkuno. “I hope you feel better, y/n.”

“Thanks,” you mumble. “Bye, guys.” You leave the chat and close the game before looking at Corpse’s stream chat. “Sorry about this, guys. I had fun streaming, though, I’m sure Corse did too. Have a good day.” You smile even though they can’t see you before ending the stream. You go over to your monitor and leave the game and chat in your own game. You lean back in your chair and press your hands in your eyelids.

You want to cry. You want to scream. You can’t be pregnant. You’re still a kid, you haven’t completed college yet. You and Corpse aren’t even married.

You suck in a shaky breath and wipe your damp eyes. “I’m probably not pregnant,” you whisper and stand up to go into the living room. “I probably just ate something bad. Yeah, that’s it.”

You sit in the living room on the couch with a blanket around your shoulders, trying to focus on your schoolwork. But you can’t. Your mind is too overwhelmed with the possibilities. You hope Corpse is okay. You know how much he hates going outside and being around other people.

You turn back to look at the lecture your professor posted and sigh. You just need to relax and calm down. Just wait until Corpse gets back and focus on schoolwork until then. 

It takes a while, but he does come back. Some small voice in your head thought that he wasn’t going to come back, but you quickly pushed it away. Corpse loves you and he’d never leave you. 

The front door opens and you look up from the paper you’re in the middle of typing. You meet him in the hallway where he’s taking his mask off, a plastic bag in his hand. He meets your eyes and cups your face in one hand. 

“Are you okay?” he asks softly. 

Your chin wobbles and you shake your head. Tears form in the edges of your eyes and you suck in a deep breath. “Did you get some tests?”

 He nods hand hands the bag to you. But before you can take them, he grabs your wrist. “Hey. I’m not leaving, y/n.”

You nod before taking the bag from him and quickly walking to the bathroom. You’re scared to say anything because you know that if you do, you’ll start to cry.

 Ten minutes later, you’re sitting on the bathroom floor with Corpse, leaning into his side as he rubs your shoulder. There are three tests on the counter and your boyfriend has a timer running on his phone for five minutes. So far, three minutes have passed. To you, they’ve felt like a lifetime.

 “Are you okay?” Corpse asks quietly, finally breaking the silence.

 You shrug, not entirely sure how you feel. “I don’t know. I’m scared.” You glance down at your stomach and place a hand on your naval. “If I am pregnant, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m young.” You look at him. “We’re young. I’m still in college. I can’t afford to have a kid!”

“I know.” He draws you closer to your shoulder. “But whatever you decide to do, I’m going to support you. And I’m not going to leave you, either. In case you were worried about that.”

Even though you shouldn’t have been, you were.

Luckily, Corpse changes the subject, going on to say, “I’ve been working on another song.”

 “Really?” 

He nods. “Yeah. It’s kind of a lofi type song. I can show you the lyrics, later, if you want.”

 You smile a little and look up at him, staring into his shining, dark eyes. “I’d like that.”

He smiles back and leans down to give you a small kiss. When you pull away, his phone rings, signaling that the timer is done. He turns his phone off and you stand up, walking towards the counter where the tests are. You pick one up. 

One line.

 You let out a breath of relief and turn to Corpse where he’s leaning on the sink. “Negative.”

He smiles a little. “What about the other two?”

 You look back down at the other two tests. You pick one up and your heart drops. Two lines. You swallow and gently place it down as your hands begin to shake. Maybe that one is a false positive. There’s still another one. Whatever this one says will probably determine if you’re pregnant or not.

 And so you pick it up. And you smack a hand over your mouth when you see two lines. You’re pregnant. You’re pregnant. The test falls from your hands and you fall to your knees, tears streaming down your face.

 “Baby, what did it say?” Corpse asks, coming to your side and trying to coax your face into his hand. “Babe?”

“I don’t want a baby!” you exclaim through your tears. “I can’t handle that. I’m too young, I’m not ready. We’re not ready.” You lean into his arms as he pulls you towards him. “Corpse, I don’t want it.”

He nods and you feel him run his fingers through your hair. “It’s your decision, babe. It’s your choice. And I’m gonna support you either way if you want to keep it or not. If you do decide to keep it, then we’ll figure something out. If not, I’ll drive you there and get you In-N-Out or something.”

That gets you to laugh as you tighten your arms around him. “You’ll really buy me food?”

“Yes. I’d do anything for you.”

Your stomach churns that night as you’re scheduling an appointment to get rid of the clump of cells in your body. You’re nervous and Corpse was sweet enough to order you whatever you want for dinner. 

You get off the phone as Corpse grabs the food from the delivery person and walks into the kitchen. He looks at you as he places the bags down on the counter. “So?”

You swallow and lean on the counter. “My appointment is in a couple of days.”

He nods and approaches you, placing his hands on your hips and drawing you to his chest. “It’s going to be okay, love.”

You lean your head on his chest. “Am I a bad person?”

“Of course not. It’s your body. You can do whatever you want with it. And besides, it’s not like it’s living anyway.”

You giggle as you try not to cry again. “What’s the baby gonna do? Remember it?”

Corpse laughs his deep and rumbly laugh and you grin. “True. But I seriously will buy you In-N-Out if you want. Or McDonald’s.”

You laugh again and tighten your arms around him. “Okay. And, Corpse?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for being so supportive of wanting to get rid of it.”

He kisses your head. “Don’t thank me.”

When you and Corpse are laying in bed after watching a true-crime documentary, he’s gently dragging his nails up and down your back as you’re nestled into his chest. The tinfoil is still on the windows and it makes the room even darker. Which is actually the entire point.

 Something had been rattling around in your head for the past few hours and you hadn’t gotten the courage to ask Corpse. But here, in the darkness of the bedroom the two of you share, you often ask each other stupid questions late at night when neither of you can fall asleep.

 And it feels like it’s going to be another one of those nights because you’re wide-awake and you know Corpse is as well. And so you ask, “Do you ever want to have kids together?”

His hand abruptly stops dragging his nails on your back. “What?”

 You regret asking him, but there’s no going back now. “When we’re older, would you ever want to have a family together?”

His hand begins to slowly go up and down your back once more. “Maybe. If you want to. If you want to have kids one day when we’re older, then I’ll definitely have kids with you.”

This makes you smile and you tighten your arms around his middle. “I love you, Corpse.”

“I love you, too.” He kisses your head. “Before we have kids, we should get married first.”

You grumble and say, “We’ll see who proposes first, then.”

He laughs and wraps his arms around your waist. “It’ll probably be you, baby. I’m too anxious.”

“Excuses, excuses,” you huff but the two of you laugh. “I’m too broke to afford a ring, though. You might have to settle with a Ring Pop.”

“If you propose to me with an onion ring and I would say yes.”

You giggle as something else comes to mind. “What about those cheap, plastic spider rings? Or the ones that come on cupcakes.”

Corpse laughs again and begins to scratch your back again. “If you do that, we would get married on the spot,” he says in that deep and gravely voice of his.

 You grin. “I’m keeping that in mind.”

Corpse hums into your shoulder. “You’re not going to fall asleep anytime soon, are you?”

 You shake your head. “No. Are you?”

“Nope.”

“What do you want to do?” you ask him, pulling away from him to look at his face through the darkness.

 Even though you can’t see him too much, you know he’s smirking. “Well, there’s already a fetus in you. Want to see if we can get another one?” 

You laugh and push his chest. “You’re disgusting, Corpse!”

He laughs and grabs your hands and lifts your arms up so he can roll on top of you. “Maybe. But it got you to laugh.”

You blush and turn your head to the side as he sits on top of you, holding your hands above your head. He starts to kiss down your neck and you sigh. “Corpse.”

He hums against your skin.

 You bite your lip. “I’m not really in the mood, babe.”

Immediately, he stops what he was doing and lifts his head. “Okay. That’s fine, babe. It’s been a long day. Can we still cuddle, though?”

You nod and smile. “Of course. You can be the little spoon.”

“Yay!” he exclaims and climbs on top of you and rolls on his side. You get yourself situated behind him and throw one arm over his stomach and use the other one to play with his incredibly curly hair. Your legs get tangled together like they always do and you bury your fingers in his hair while he lets out a deep breath through his nose. 

“Happy?” you ask him quietly and he nods. You squeeze his stomach with the arm you have there and kiss his head. “Okay. Try to sleep again, babe, okay?”

He nods, but both of you know you’re not going to fall asleep for a while. And that’s okay. You both sit there in the darkness talking about everything and nothing while you play with his hair and he holds the hand around his stomach with one of his hands. You don’t say anything else about you being pregnant or kids or how you want to get rid of it, and you’re glad. You don’t want to talk about it because you feel like a bad person for not wanting the baby. 

Of course, you’re not going to change your mind. Neither you nor Corpse are ready for a child. But that small voice in your head tells you that you’re making the wrong choice or a bad decision.

 But you don’t listen to it. You don’t listen to it that night while Corpse falls asleep again in your arms or when you’re in class the next day. Not even when you’re listening to a demo of Corpse’s new song in the car on the way to the clinic.

 “It’s really good!” you exclaim as he parks in the parking lot. “I love it, babe.”

He smiles at you before glancing at the clinic. “Want me to go with you?”

You shake your head. “No, I’ll be fine. It'll take little while, though. So you can go do something else if you want to.”

He nods and leans in to give you a kiss. “Okay. I love you. Text me if anything goes wrong at all, okay?”

You laugh gently and nod. “Okay, I will.”

“Love you,” he tells you again as you’re putting your mask on.

 You pull it down and smile at him softly. “You already said that, babe.”

He blushes and looks away. “O--oh. Sorry.”

You just kiss his cheek. “It’s okay. I’ll be back.” You pull your mask back up and gather your things before getting out of the car. You wave to him and then make your way into the clinic.

 And Corpse did stay true to his words about getting you In-N-Out after your appointment. He even paid for it and got you a milkshake, too. 

That night, after finally dragging Corpse away from his computer so he’ll at least try to fall asleep with you, you begin to think. You feel better after your appointment. Before, you were incredibly stressed out and even a little depressed. But afterward, you felt so much better. You felt like you could breathe and no have to worry about throwing up or eating the wrong thing.

 And you didn’t regret getting an abortion. You and Corpse both knew neither of you are ready for one and that’s okay. You’re both still young and still new to being together. But as Corpse hums some song against your neck with his nose buried in the skin there, you feel the vibrations from his throat against your shoulder. You sigh happily and push a hand into his hair and gently scratch at his scalp. You feel him smile against your neck and you can’t help but mimic it.

 Yeah. You and Corpse aren’t ready for kids. But maybe you will be one day.

---------------------

I’m sorry, but the tag list is closed. It’s just too stressful for me to keep adding them. I’m sorry, guys. Also sorry to everyone who messaged me to add them because I didn’t write them down and can’t access my messages now. Still love you guys! x. 

@honeysuger @chubby-dumpling @polahorvat @annshit @simonsbluee @dad-ee-drea @save-the-sky @wibblytimey @thegirlwholikestomanythings @yagorlnessa @alilshit @majolittlemixgurl18 @the-bunny-anon @hufflepuff-always-and-forever @loraleiix @artist-bby @ellomellows @pillowjj @matthew-gray-g @myherotrashbin @sunnsetteeee @lxdybyrd @cultofandom @anngelllla @tododokizuku @pachowpachowbucket @gaysludge @bethpiercwhy @marvelkatwoman @c0rpsew1fe @your-cherry-bomb @bi-andready-tocry @redosmo @gracehaileym @helena-way07 @nekomacam @fadingprunebagelfestival @fifiyau105 @easygoingtheatre @satanwithagenda @gracehaileym @oumachii @mythicalreader @this-isnt-living-anymore @punkrainbows @kitsunedarian @crapimahuman @honestlyimstilllivinginthe90s @realnicoleworld @scarswideworld @bluewneptune @weeblyheaux @beebo-at-the-church @melmachh @abbiesthings @peterparkerspjsuit @mitchiesdungeon @theeerealpunkin @kaitlynw011 @bookoffracturedghosts @beebeomgyu @tooturntashbash @hughugh20 @spideys-gurl @reddeserths @heartbroken-writer @chimchimsugakookies @danny-devitowo @susceptible-but-siriusexual @moonnei @crystalbaby12 @cherry-pieee @girl-obsessed-with-things @sokkas-paintings @yobroitsjayden @boba-king-iroh @chouxfleur @bbecc-a @tayloryorkscurls @getdevils @nightly-daydreamer @beegobuzzbuzz @dxffxdils @mae-musicbitch @fangirlmisanthrope @bipolarbisexualdisaster @taliyahvermillion @unded-bride @kguerrero-23 @cold-deep-water @demoiselle-en-detresse00 @motheroffae @jokenotfunny @yongboxerrr @theolwebshooter @hawkssnugget @yoyoanaria @babyhoneystvles @rjwinterfell @simp-for-corpse @benjaminka @sailor-earth-1 @mmimozaa @zirvel @bombardia @parkchaeyoung1997 @tetsuluvbot @killuaz0ldick @xibrokensunriseix@fuckbuckyyy @luv-buggie @moneybagmara @betabeta0031 @adorkably @angelic-blxssom @littlebabysandboxburritos @thebriarpatch @i-have-arrived-bitch @alexandrium

[not-me-simping-for-blasty]

I Melt With You - Bakugou Katsuki

All Parts:

Part 7:

You don’t see him for nearly four weeks.

Apparently, Bakugou actually listening to your request was a one time deal- and you’d already used it up a month ago.

You watch him though- once again leafing through newspapers and headlines and hero highlights. Day by day he looks a little more angry, high-strung and volatile as he brushes aside nosy press and zealous citizens. He’s never mean to them, Dynamite never is, but he is short- no longer sticking around to bask in the praises so many seem to heap onto him. You begin to think that maybe that’s a hint of Bakugou showing though; a bit of whoever he is when he shows up at your door. The thought leaves you checking your balcony at night, hoping and praying not to see him standing there half-dead.

You think you understand now: no matter what he agreed to, Bakugou was still trying to fix his problems himself. And that’s perfectly fine, you know full well you’re not anyone special, but still, a part of you can’t help but hurt for him. Can’t help but wish he wasn’t so intent on running himself ragged for the entire world to see. 

When you see him next, Bakugou is knocking on your balcony door. Knuckles against the glass, sluggish and slow as he wraps another arm around his abdomen. He’s still in costume, but forgoing the mask- it’s hard to miss the purpling under his eyes, even harder to miss the blood dried up across his forehead.

“C’mon, did we not just have this conversation?” You sigh, ushering him in quickly. “The whole reason I told you to start coming over more often is because of this. Believe it or not, but I actually take no joy out of seeing you hurt.”

“Yeah. Whatever. Stop complaining. It’s a few busted knuckles and some blood- no need to bitch about it like I’m fuckin’ dying.”

Bakugou shuffles past you, hunched over and slow. He’s grunting, huffing in pain, twitching fingers clutching at the seared edge of his costume. There’s a hole burned through the material. His exposed ribs are covered in pink, angry skin.

“No, it’s burns too. Apparently.” You tell him, hovering just behind him. You help him settle on your couch. “Sit tight, I’ll go get the first aid kit. Maybe a few damp towels too.”

You follow a quick routine, gathering your med kit, and dampening a few towels with cool water. You’re back at his side in record time, cracking and shaking an instant cold-compress between your fingers. You wrap it in a towel, handing it to him.

“Just hold it. And don’t fight, please. If your knuckles swell up anymore it’s just going to be an even bigger mess for me.” You stare him down until he relents. “Actually, on second thought- wait on that. Take your shirt off first.”

“What the hell? No.”

“What do you mean, no? You’re wasting time, just take it off already. The burn isn’t gonna clean itself up and I can’t help you if all the fabric is in the way and I-“ 

You pause, looking up at his face. Bakugou won’t meet your eyes but he’s blushing. Just slightly, but you see it and you roll your eyes.

“Seriously? Now is literally the worst time for shame. Just do it. I don’t care. I see people’s bodies every day of my life.”

It’s Bakugou’s turn to roll his eyes, but then he huffs, sitting taller. He sucks in a harsh breath, biting out a curse as he shifts, arms rigid and tight when he shucks the costume off.

Under normal circumstances- you would probably be flustered. Although you were telling the truth, you did see people’s bodies every day, theirs never looked like Bakugou’s. Never looked like his defined pectorals and utterly ridiculous abs. Fortunately though, this wasn’t normal circumstances. Instead of smooth skin, Bakugou was covered in a large burn. A nasty looking one sprawling wide across his ribs, lines of irritation continuing to crawl red and angry up his back. You wouldn’t focus on anything but that.

“Sorry if this hurts. Really. But I have to.” You mutter, pressing a cool rag to the burn.

Bakugou sucks a breath, hissing before he screws his eyes shut. You try to apply gentle pressure, but even so, you’re sure it still hurts. It must if he’s hardly even fighting your treatment.

“The good news is, it’s only second degree.” You murmur, removing the rag gently, careful not to accidently drag it against his skin. “But, it’s across your ribs so it’ll probably hurt while you’re doing just about anything.”

“Coulda told you that my fuckin’ self.”

“I’m just saying. Just telling you what I think. Can I- can I ask you something though?”

He opens his eyes, squinting for a moment before he nods.

“It’s- I’m not sure how to say this, but these look identical to the burns you cause. Did you- did you do this to yourself?” You ask softly, delicately. “Are these from your quirk?”

Bakugou’s glare seems to intensify, red eyes seething and angry. You try not to shrink up, but truth be told, Bakugou cut an intimidating figure. A moment passes, and then he relents- eyes softening just a tiny bit as he averts them.

“Villain had a stupid quirk. Called it repel or some shit. Got blasted before I even knew what was happening.”

“So they’re yours, sort of, but not really. That’s alright. I only asked out of curiosity. Wasn’t trying to insinuate anything.”

“Yeah whatever, leech.”

“Hey, can you at least try to be nice to me?”

“No.”

“Yeah, probably should’ve guessed you’d say that.” You sigh, before backing away from him. You turn, digging through the first aid kit to find some gauze and medical tape. “Alright, sit up for me.”

Bakugou grunts, but does as he’s told. He hisses when the burned skin shifts, and you feel sorry for him all over again. It truly did look painful.

“Hey- uh, do you,”

“Spit it out already.”

“You barely let me even start- actually, you know what? Never mind. What I was gonna ask was,” You pause, looking up at him. “It looks like it hurts. Do you want my help? Like, my quirk I mean.”

“Fuck no.”

Bakugou’s face contorts into a sneer, jaw set and lips drawn thin across sharp teeth. He looks wild, and the tiredness in his eyes isn’t helping.

“Okay- okay, I get it. I won’t. I was just asking.” You assure, pressing some gauze lightly over the burn. Bakugou hisses again, and you wish he’d just let you help him already. “But really, it looks like it hurts, and I can see how tired you are on top of that. The option’s open, is all I’m saying. I wouldn’t mind.”

He just nods tightly before averting his eyes. You try to smile reassuringly at him, but something still doesn’t sit right with you. Maybe it’s the way his eyes look panicked, darting and tracking every shadow of your apartment, or maybe it’s the slight tremors you can feel under your fingertips. You wonder what happened- if he’d even tell you at all.

You shake the thought from your head, making quick work with the gauze. With gentle pressure you cover the large burn, securing the cloth with thin strips of medical tape. Under your hands, Bakugou seems rigid. He’s twitching and tensing, muscles contracting with every breath, his hands fisting the fabric of your couch. You watch him bite back another wince, squeezing the couch cushion until his knuckles go white. You finish covering the burn, resolving to try your earlier question again.

“Burns are one of the most painful injuries, you know. And yours is nothing to laugh at. So even if it’s only a little, just my skin and not my quirk, I’d still like to help you.” You start, sitting back on your knees to look up at him. “Only if you’d let me, though.”

Bakugou just stares, breathing slowly. His eye twitches, and then he speaks. “Why do you keep helping me?”

You blink back at him, the wind almost knocked out of your lungs. You’d already answered a similar question, several times, but this didn’t feel like those other times. Now his voice was quiet, defeated and grumbling, bitten out through uneven breaths. He wasn’t asking about everyone else- Bakugou was asking why you kept helping him.

You begin to wonder all over again- where he’d been, who he’d been fighting. Whoever if was seemed to still sit with him; puppeting him into asking things the Bakugou you knew would never ask.

“Because I meant what I said earlier. I don’t like seeing you hurt- especially not when I know I can help you.” You sigh, crossing your arms around your stomach. “I don’t like seeing anybody hurt, you know? And I mean, I know I’m not exactly saving people on the scale you are, but I still like to try. In my own way.”

Bakugou seems to just look at you for a moment, before his shoulders are slumping.

“Fine. Leech.”

“Huh?”

“Take your glove off.” He says flatly, hardly even blinking as he regards you. “One. And don’t use your quirk.”

You straighten a bit, nodding minutely. Bakugou watches you with intense focus, tracking you as you slip a glove off. You’re not sure what to do next, but then he’s grabbing hold of your wrist, curling his slightly shaking fingers around it. For a moment you assume the tremors must be residual adrenaline- but the feeling coursing through your veins next feels anything but that.

Your side feels hot, a burn crawling across your ribs to mirror Bakugou’s; but almost as soon as the heat rises, it’s snuffed out. Instead of the subtle warmth you’d come to associate with him- it’s cold. A chill through your veins as if you’d been out in the snow for too long. It’s not overwhelming, but you feel it, shivering slightly as goosebumps claim smooth skin. It’s fear- but more than anything else, it’s sadness. Something slow and sluggish. Makes your blood feel like gelatinous sludge until he lets go of you.

You feel a little sick, a little nauseous, and when you look at Bakugou it only makes the sinking feeling worse. He’s got his eyes closed, huffing a deep sigh of relief. Something that covers his entire face in solace and has your heart shattering.

You didn’t use your quirk- but you could tell, from a single touch, that whatever he was feeling, whatever he was dealing with, should’ve taken just about anyone out- but there he was. Solid and stubborn like always.

You wonder where he gets that strength from. What possible reserves Bakugou could possibly have left to drawn from.

He must see the look on your face because then he’s averting his eyes. “Don’t fuckin’ say anything. I already know, and I’m not gettin’ into it with you of all people.”

His insult hardly holds any bite, just defensiveness and strange apprehension. You steamroll right on past it.

“It’s- are you sure? Bakugou, that’s- I’ve never,”

“No.”

His tone is steel, eyes boring into yours with a resolve you’d never seen before. Bakugou seems unmovable in that moment, unbreakable, even as his body nearly collapses from exhaustion. It’s an impressive thing; to watch a fire catch on embers you could’ve sworn were doused already.

You think there’s a quiet strength in that- a power all his own that has nothing to do with explosions, or shouting, or fists.

“Yeah. Okay.” You nod. “That’s- I get it. Not tonight.”

Bakugou seems abated by that as he sinks back into the couch. He looks at you expectantly, and then flicks his eyes back to his bruised knuckles.

“Gonna fix this shit or not?” He grumbles. “It’s your fuckin’ job isn’t it?”

And just like that you’re shocked back to life. You slip your glove back on, pulling his bruised hands toward you.

His hands are a mottled mess of bruises and burns and scabbed over scrapes. They’re warm, nearly pulsating with heat, and you try your best to handle them delicately. Luckily, the cold compress seemed to have helped the swelling, and all you have left to do is press a few butterfly bandages into the larger cuts. It’s quick work and before you know it, you’re wrapping his knuckles up with an ace bandage.

“Hey, I have a question.” You start, carefully weaving the bandage around his hand. “You don’t have to answer or anything, but I am curious.”

Bakugou rolls his eyes, but he looks a little more tired then before. Less combative. “Go. Ask.”

“It seems like you’ve always got these bruises? Do you not wear gloves?”

“No. Course not. How the hell am I supposed to make a massive fuckin’ explosion wearing those piece-a-shits?”

You look at him, and Bakugou’s eyes are a little more lidded than before. His voice sings sincerity though. More conviction than ever.

“Yeah. I didn’t think of that.” You laugh under your breath. “Sorry- dumb question, I guess.”

“Yep.”

“You’re not supposed to agree with me!”

“Had to. It was true.” He just shrugs, watching you intently. Then he’s sitting up a little, shifting to get more comfortable. “You fucked up the left one. Do it again.”

“I- I just finished that one!”

“Yeah? And? I’m telling you to do it again.”

“And I’m telling you it’s fine.”

“God, you fuckin’ suck at this. I’m a pro-hero, aren’t you supposed to kiss the ground I walk on?”

“No. Tried that already, remember? You still didn’t seem to like me when I was playing nice at work.” You roll your eyes, but start rewrapping his hand anyway. “You know, if all of the pro-heroes are as difficult as you, I might as well just quit now.”

“What- you haven’t fuckin’ met ‘em yet?”

“Nope. Just you.”

Bakugou doesn’t say anything, but when you glance up at him, he’s not looking at you. His eyes are staring straight past, focusing on a spot on the wall. It might just be the low lighting, but you swore you could’ve seen a smile edging at the corner of his lips.

“Not missin’ much.” He says, clearing his throat. “They’re all losers compared to me.”

You nearly balk at that- the brazen tone catching you by surprise almost as much as the words themselves did. You’re about to scold him, for his hubris and for his attitude, but when you look at him he’s smiling openly. A grin that only widens when you scrunch your eyebrows up.

“You’re too easy, leech.” Bakugou smirks. “Could say anything and you’d flip shit.”

“I would not!”

“What the hell do you call that then?” He nods in the direction of your hands, the way one of them is curled into a fist. “Look pissed to me.”

“That’s not even- and who even gave you the right- you hypocrite!” You sputter, almost growling when Bakugou’s smile just widens. “God, you know what, no- I’m not giving you the reaction. I know that’s all you’re after anyways. Jerk.”

“Been called worse. Gotta up your insult game, dumbass.”

“No, I think jerk suits you fine.” You finish with his bandage, placing his hands on his lap. You stand. “It’s a good name for someone who actively enjoys watching the world burn.”

“To fuckin’ ashes.”

You just rolls your eyes at his confident tone, trying not to screech as he suddenly tips to the side. Just a little, just a teeny bit, but more than enough for him to almost rub the dried blood on his forehead into your cushions.

“Oh my god- where you raised in a barn?” You scramble to tip him back upright, careful to avoid his burns. “You’ve got somebody’s blood! All over your face! Don’t just lay down on my couch!”

“What the hell do you want me to do?” He grumbles tiredly, rubbing a bandaged hand down his face. “Not- ‘m not gettin’ up again.”

“Why?”

“Your stupid quirk fuckin’ zapped me, leech. Your fault, you fix it if there’s such a fuckin’ problem.”

“There is a problem!”

“Okay- so you fix it.”

“You’re- seriously?”

“Yep.”

“Oh my god, you’re irritating.” You sigh, muttering a swear under you’re breath.

Then you’re heading towards your kitchen, tossing the rags you’d already used aside, and grabbing new ones. These are just as soft, because you’re way nicer than deserves, and you run them under warm water. Because, once again, you are way more considerate and kind than he deserves.

You squeeze the excess water out, striding back over to him. You stop behind the back of the couch, gently guiding his head back until he’s looking up at you. In any other situation, you’d probably just tell him to take a shower, but now you can see Bakugou wasn’t kidding- he didn’t look like he was getting up any time soon. Not if he continued to be as boneless and pliant as he seemed at that moment.

When he nods at you insistently, you roll your eyes. You think it’s rich that he’s trying to speed along a process that he’s entirely uninvolved in.

“Jesus, did you have to get so much of it all over you?” You gripe, gently pressing the rag to his cheek. “What’d you do? Stab the guy?”

“No.” He mutters darkly, almost pouting. “And it was a woman. A stupid woman who I had to use my fists against! Bitch could repel my quirk.”

“Okay- well, let’s maybe not call women bitches please-“

“What’s the big deal? I call you a bitch all the time-“

“Yes! I know! That’s the problem!” You sigh, already knowing it was a lost cause. “But still- this is a lot of blood. You really didn’t have to bash her brains in like that.”

“Didn’t. Hit her once- in the nose. Not my fault she fuckin’ sprayed everywhere.”

“No- I’m pretty sure that’s exactly the definition of your fault.”

“Yeah. Whatever. Shut up, leech.”

Then he’s squinting his eyes, falling into silence. You almost want to talk again, but once the quiet settles you find that it’s nice.

He’s a lot calmer now, tilting his head slightly to accommodate wherever you were cleaning. Bakugou mostly keeps his eyes closed, only peeking them open occasionally. It’s a rare glimpse, and he’s careful only to look when you’re not, but you don’t need your quirk to tell what he’s feeling. There’s vulnerability there- the same type of surrender you’ve seen from so many patients before.

You wonder if that would anger or soothe him- the fact that, at his core, Bakugou wasn’t all that different from the people he saved.

“I see you opening your eyes.” You speak quietly, dabbing at a spot of blood near his hairline. “Not falling asleep this time?”

“Nope.”

“Really? Because your eyes are closed right now.”

“And?”

“Kinda makes it seem like you’re falling asleep.”

“I- ‘m not. Shut up.”

You just smile a little bit, wiping away the red staining his forehead. You try your best to be gentle, but a part of you doesn’t think it really matters all that much anymore. Bakugou seemed to be entirely relaxed, going soft and languid into the plush cushioning of your couch.

“You’re lucky I’m nice.” You say, running the rag over a particularly persistent spot of blood. “And that I’m not making you do this yourself.”

“Mhm.”

“That’s all you got? Nothing else to say?”

“Nope. Tired.”

“Go to sleep then. I won’t mind- nothing’s stopping you.”

“Nah.” He breathes out, eyes fluttering beneath his lids. Bakugou goes quiet, so quiet you nearly believe he’s actually fallen asleep, but then he’s clearing his throat, grumbling slightly. “‘s nice.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Shut up.”

“Fine. Fine, whatever you want. You know, since you seem to be pretty intent at making yourself at home here anyways.”

He smiles a little at that, but it’s soft and quickly fading. You think he looks like a different man in that moment- someone much softer and smaller than he really was.

“Stop.” He mumbles. “Stop complaining.”

“Says the man who uses his oxygen to bitch more than he breathes.”

“Oi-“ He peeks an eye open lazily, red eye focusing on you intently. “Watch it, leech.”

“What’re you gonna do? Bleed all over my apartment again- oh, wait.” You joke softly, moving your rag so just the tips of it brushing over his closed eyelids. The way his eyes flutter at that makes you smile. “You already did that, didn’t you?”

“That’s fuckin’ it.”

“What is?”

“Say your prayers.” He threatens vaguely, voice hardly more than a grumble. “You’re dead when I wake up.”

“Meet me at 3 PM in the school parking lot?”

Bakugou cracks another small smile at that, but then he’s smoothing it out. Just as he always does. “Show up late ‘n I’m killing you twice.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You know where I live, right?”

“Damn straight, woman.”

“Not gonna add shitty in front of that?” You laugh indulgently, swiping the rag near his ear. “Usually that’s your tagline.”

“Nah. Not bein’ that shitty- right now. Still too nice though.”

“Hey, everyone is too nice compared to you- I really don’t think you’re a fair judge.”

“I am.”

“Because you say so, right?”

“Yep. Kill ya if you disagree, so watch your mouth.”

“Colorful threat. I’d almost be scared if you didn’t slur your way through the entirety of it.” You smile, dabbing away the last bit of blood and soot on his cheek. “All done now- so go to sleep. Stop fighting it.”

Bakugou nods. He’s still, much more still than you’ve ever seen him, but there’s still fight in him. He seems determined not to let sleep catch up with him, rubbing loosely at his eyes with a fist; blinking away the bleariness as he regards you once more.

“Thanks.” Is all he mumbles, before closing his eyes, falling back entirely boneless once more.

You’re shocked- rooted where you stand just few inches above him.

“Did- did you just-“

“Say anythin’ and it won’t happen again.”

His tone is a little harsh, but the sleepy grin stretched across his face betrays him. Helps you see through the name calling for what it really is: childish mischief.

You think that’s rather fitting. The Bakugou you’d come to know was rather juvenile, after all.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, I’m a bloodsucking parasite. You gotta come up with new material, man.” You flick his forehead lightly. He has almost no reaction, doesn’t even flinch when you make contact. “Alright, now go to sleep. Because, and I mean this with full offense, Bakugou- you look like shit.”

You wonder if you’re toeing the line, playing with dangerous fire, but Bakugou just grins again. A tired, lazy, unbidden thing, that licks rolling warmth at the heels of his next words.

“Only look like shit because I keep associatin’ with you. Rollin’ in it at this point.”

“That’s- Hey!” You sputter, indignant as he peeks an eye open. “Don’t be rude!”

“Kiddin’, leech.”

“You better be.”

“Mhm. Now go away. I’m fuckin’ tired.”

When he tips sideways again, you let him. Bakugou’s still in the bottom half of his hero costume, sure, but he’s not disturbing the bandages on his ribs. There’s no more blood either, so you count it as a win. It takes all over seconds before he’s out, and you wonder just how long he’d been fighting it. Why he’d even do such a thing in the first place.

There’s still something biting at you though- a bit of that cold he’d left you with earlier. Something sympathetic in you aches, and your fingers itch in your gloves. Almost without thinking, you grab the blanket for him. Bakugou hardly reacts when you tuck the cloth around his shoulders, just barely flutters his eyes and snuffles a bit. He pulls his limb in a bit, nestling into the couch and mumbling something you can’t hear.

A part of you knows it pointless, but still, you hope whatever he’s dreaming about is warm.

 --/--

sorry about the wait y’all!! had exams n felt a bit burnt out :// 

all good now tho!! refreshed n excited haha,, i hope u all enjoyed!!

taglist:  @fluffyviciousbunny @definitelynottrin @imsuperawkward @i-need-air @ahbeautifulexistence @brennabooz @jazzylove @flattykawadoorusmilkbread @katsuki-bakubabe @sorrythatspussynal @bakugouswh0r3 @cloudsgathering @un-limit-edd @thekatsukisimp @pollayra21 @the2ndl @officialtrashbusiness @waffleareniceandfluffy @monempathieetmoi @koiwoshinai @christianagrace9  @the2ndl @the-shota-king-masayuki @shy-panda02 @devastyle @shoto-supremacy00

[janetbrown711]

"She can't hurt us anymore," Yakko?

Yakko held Dot’s hand as they walked away from where the star had been, his mind still spinning trying to process what had happened in the last ten minutes.

Running, the gunshot, Dot dying, his parents, Dot died, Mom ran away with Dad’s sword, came back empty-handed, and then Wakko made a wish, and Dot was... alive again. Not even in pain. It was... like it didn’t happen.

Except it did. His gloves and pants still had her blood on them, as did her clothes. As did Dad’s. As did the snow.

Dot died.

But through the power of the Wishing Star, she was alive.

He squeezed her hand.

His parents were alive too, even after all this time... they were... alive. He had so many questions for them, but despite how hard he tried, he was simply speechless.

He could hardly get himself to look at them. They looked like how he remembered, though a bit weaker and a bit skinnier, and a bit more sadness behind their eyes, though they were plenty happy in the moment.

Still. It was like looking at a ghost and he just... he just couldn’t do it. Instead, he held Dot’s hand. He would’ve held Wakko’s too, but Wakko was being carried by their mother at his assistance. Meanwhile, Dot’s other hand was being held by their father, who Yakko was pretty sure was trying to talk to him, but again, he couldn’t speak. William didn’t mind though, as Dot was plenty happy to chat away, despite having literally died minutes before.

Dot died on his watch.

He was supposed to protect his siblings while his parents were gone. It was his job as older brother to keep them safe and he couldn’t even do that-

Wakko was neglected, and Yakko did nothing to prevent him from being locked in the tower again. Dot was yelled at, verbally abused, and died and Yakko just let it happen...

He squeezed her hand again.

Dot was alive.

“Daddy, how are we getting home?” Dot asked. William looked at Lena.

“Well... I suppose we’re taking your grandmother’s carriage,” He shrugged. Yakko blinked.

“W-what about Grandmummy?” Wakko asked nervously. Lena stroked his back in a comforting motion.

“She can’t hurt you anymore, darling. She’s long gone now,” Lena kissed his cheek.

Gone? Gone how?

Is that what-...

Oh.

So that’s where she went...

Yakko thought he noticed blood, but he assumed it was... well... Dot’s.

Good.

Yakko was glad she was dead, though she deserved far, far worse.

He glanced at his mother.

He couldn’t begin to imagine what she was feeling.

He looked away.

“Okay,” Wakko nodded his head, resting it back on her shoulder. Slowly they made their way toward the vehicle where a royal guard and coachman were waiting.

“Y-your... majesties..? Y-you’re alive?!” The coachman was losing his mind.

“Hello Henry,” William nodded at the guard.

“Oh my god- William? What on earth- Is the princess okay?” He asked. Dot squeezed Yakko’s hand.

“Thanks to the Wishing Star, yes... though I have reason to believe you had something to do with it,” William glared.

“I wasn’t aiming for any of them, I swear. I was just... biding my time... The queen practically ripped the gun from my hands and it fired- and... I’m sorry, your highness. I know what I’ve done and am willing to accept punishment,” He kneeled on the ground in front of Lena.

“There’ll be none of that... not now anyway,” Lena sighed. “But you will make up for what you’ve done. However... seeing as Dot was able to be brought back, we’ll be merciful. All we ask is that you say my mother, Queen Angelina the First, died in the avalanche, understood?” She looked at the two of them.

“Wait- what happened to the queen?” The coachman asked.

“Nothing she didn’t have coming,” Lena stated firmly. “But it was the avalanche, understood?”

“Of course, your highness,” The guard nodded, and the coachman wisely agreed to it as well.

“Good,” She nodded at them, going to the door, which the coachman quickly opened, allowing the family of five in. For once, their grandmother’s frivolity paid off, as there was more than enough room for all of them.

Once in, his parents sat together on one side, with Wakko still in his mother’s arms, and Dot and Yakko sat on the other, with Dot snuggling up on his lap.

Dot was alive.

“Where to, your highness?” The coachman asked.

“Acme Falls. We have some business to take care of,” Lena and William exchanged a glance.

“What kind of business?” Wakko asked as the coachman closed the door.

William chuckled tiredly. “We accidentally destroyed a dear friend's elixir cart,” He stretched the back of his neck.

Friends?

They didn’t have any friends... not that Yakko knew of anyway. Or remembered. Where even was Acme Falls? Is that where they’ve been this whole time?

A headache flared in his brain as more and more questions began to swarm. Yakko grumbled a little and tried to shut it off. This, however, only got his parent’s attention.

“Are you okay, Yakko?” Lena asked softly. Yakko forced a nod, preferring to look out the window instead as the carriage began to move. He could feel the glances his parents were exchanging.

“How’d you do that?” Wakko asked.

“Avalanche destroyed it. We’ll pay them back though... we’ve burdened them enough already,” Lena sighed.

“Lena...” Willam placed his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

“Don’t pretend it isn’t true,” She said. William didn’t fight further.

“We’ll be stopping by to get Dot a check-up, make sure everything is okay, thank them for everything and then we’ll be on our way,” Lena told Wakko, stroking his head as he slowly closed his eyes.

There was a long moment of silence after that, mostly due to exhaustion. Once the carriage really got moving, Wakko and Dot fell asleep practically instantly. Yakko couldn’t say he blamed them, in all honesty, he was exhausted too, but his headache and questions kept him up. Plus, his parent’s worried glances were driving him insane too, and he did his best to avoid them. Instead, he tried to focus on other things.

Like how weird it was that they were riding in their now-dead grandmother’s carriage. It still smelled like her perfume. Something about sitting where she sat didn’t feel right. If Yakko would have his way, he would burn it when they got home. Hell- he’d burn all traces of their grandmother. She deserved far worse than what she got... though it was probably cathartic on some level for Lena.

He glanced at his mom.

She was holding William’s hand tightly. He could tell she was almost trembling.

Yeah... that must’ve been quite the thing to go through...

“Yakko..? Are you okay?” William asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Yakko blatantly lied, shoving down the hurricane of emotions buried in his chest.

“Try that again,” Lena looked at him.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Yakko crossed his arms. He was beginning to feel nauseous from the swirl.

“...Not here, anyway,” He added, stroking Dot’s ears softly. Lena sighed, understanding.

“You must have a million questions, of which I don’t blame you for in the slightest. So much has happened...” Lena looked out the window and squeezed her husband’s hand again.

“Yeah...” was all Yakko could muster.

The carriage ride the rest of the way was silent, as they all made their best attempts to sleep, but they simply weren’t as lucky as Dot or Wakko. Nobody made any attempts to conversate though, as they all seemed okay with the silence, which Yakko was grateful for. The last thing he wanted was to start shouting and getting upset and waking his sibs.

Eventually, they reached the little town of Acme Falls, and when they rolled into the town square there was a notable tension in the townsfolk, and Yakko was reminded yet again, they were in his grandmother’s carriage. He had no idea what the townspeople thought of her, but if it was even a sliver of the hatred Yakko felt for her, he could understand.

The coachman opened the door, waking up Dot and Wakko instantly with the winter air, and slowly the family all got out, the townspeople relaxing when they didn’t see the dead queen, some even congratulating their parents (mostly William though, for some reason).

The family then walked their way to a building with the sign “Dr. Scratchnsniff and Nurse Nerz’s”. Right, the doctors. Their father knocked on the door.

“Willaim! You’re back, thank goodness,” A blonde shapely woman opened the door and gave their father a tight hug.

“Yes, yes, all in one piece,” William laughed and returned the hug. The woman stepped back and examined all of them.

“You say that... but who’s blood is that?” She pointed at him.

“There was... an incident at the star. We’re just here to apologize about the cart, and to give Dot a quick check-up just to make sure she’s okay,” Lena said.

“The cart? What happened to the cart?” A man’s voice with a distinct German accent spoke from beyond the door.  

“Avalanche,” Lena sighed, as the nurse allowed the family in.

“Oh... right, yes. We heard about that,” The doctor scratched his bald head from behind his desk.

“How on earth did you get here without the cart?” The nurse asked.

“We took my mother’s carriage,” Lena said.

“Oh dear- she’s not... is she?” The woman and doctor exchanged a glance.

“She is, and I don’t regret a thing,” Lena stated sharply, ending that conversation.

“So... a check-up, ya?” said the doctor, standing up. Quickly, he examined Dot up and down. “Nothing seems off or broken from a glance... what happened, exactly?”

“W-well we dug our way out of the snow from the avalanche and then we were running towards the star and then there was a gunshot and she got shot in the back and then...” Yakko couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Ah... I see... so the Wishing Star..?” he asked William and Lena. They nodded.

“I’ll give her a quick exam. However, the rooms are fairly small, so only one parent please,” He said, picking up a clipboard from his desk.

“I’ll go,” William said. “C’mon Dot,” he smiled softly at her. Dot glanced at Yakko once before going to her dad, and they went down the hall and disappeared with the doctor.

So... great.

“You can just wait here if you’d like, it surely won’t take long,” The nurse smiled softly at Yakko.

“My name is Helloise, by the way,” She said.

“Oh right! I’m so sorry- these are my sons, Yakko and Wakko,” Lena gestured to both, though Wakko was still in her arms.

“Pleasure to meet you,” She nodded at both of them. Wakko smiled back. Yakko said nothing.

They sat there a moment in silence, with Helloise going back to her desk and doing some work, and leaving the boys and their mother alone to talk.

“So... Wakko, what’s the first thing you want to do when we get home?” Lena asked.

“I wanna have a big fancy picnic in the garden,” Wakko grinned up at his mom.

“That sounds lovely dear,” Lena smiled and nuzzled his nose. “What about you, Yakko?”

“I uh... I don’t know,” he shrugged. Sure, he had come up with an idea of just sitting and being in a room with his parents this morning, but now the idea felt ridiculous, but at the same time, he couldn’t really think of a replacement activity that could make up for the time lost. The headache flared again, and Yakko slumped a little in his seat.

Good god, he wanted to go home.

Another moment of silence passed. Yakko wished he knew what to say, he usually never shut up, but now...

Today was a lot, to say the least. 

He was probably just tired and needed to go home. 

Eventually, William and Dot returned with a thumbs up, though the doctor stopped Lena momentarily and whispered something to her. She nodded her head once, thanked him, promised they’d reimburse all the supplies they’ve used over the year tenfold, and they were off again.

On the way home, the sun began to set, and this time Yakko found it much easier to close his eyes, figuring he probably wore himself out. The soothing rhythm of the carriage moving along the path lulled his mind to a stop for once, and he drifted off into a dreamless sleep. 

He was woken by his mother when the carriage came to a stop. Slowly all of them got out and went in. 

Maids and guards alike gasped and gawked at the sight of William and Lena, reminding Yakko yet again that they were gone a year, not dead. People asked for information on the queen, and Lena told them what had happened. 

So Yakko had been right, Angelina had hired assassins to kill his parents... they were just unsuccessful. 

Huh.

After a while, Lena ordered them to let them rest for the night and that they could finish early today and the maids and servants and guards dissipated as quickly as they had gathered. 

“Well... now that they’re gone... I believe it’s bedtime now, isn’t it?” William looked at Wakko and Dot. 

“Aww, do we have to?” Wakko pouted. “I don’t wanna be alone.”

“Alone? Don’t you share a room with..?” Lena looked at Yakko, who shook his head. 

“Well... here, I have an idea. How about we all sleep together in our room tonight, hm? The bed is plenty big enough and it’ll be just like old times,” Lena smiled. 

“Really?!” Dot and Wakko beamed. Lena laughed. 

“Of course,” She said. “Just go get your pajamas on and wait for a few, I’ll come to get you when you’re ready.”

“Thanks, mommy!” Dot said, giving her mother a powerful hug, which Lena returned. Wakko did the same before they both ran off to their rooms. Yakko started to go, but Lena stopped him. 

“Yakko, what’s wrong?” Lena asked.

“I dunno,” Yakko kicked the rug beneath his feet. “I just- I guess I have a lot of questions.”

“As do we,” William sighed. “Here- let’s talk in the study. It’ll feel more private,” he said. Nobody argued with that so they went into the familiar family study, and they sat down in the comfortable chairs. 

“So... what’s on your mind?” Lena asked. Yakko bit his lip. 

More like what wasn’t on his mind. 

“Just... how, and why and why and how,” Yakko rubbed his arms. “I-i mean... a year with her. I-i just... I knew you’d never leave on purpose, and I knew about the assassins, but... yeah...” 

“Hey,” Lena softly placed her hand under his chin and made him look at her. “Don’t feel bad for feeling this way- you have a right to be upset and confused. It’s... a lot, I know,” She sighed. Yakko nodded. 

“Well... what happened was that mother hired attackers to kill us, though for some odd reason she didn’t want it to be in the castle,” William explained. 

“Probably didn’t want to stain the tapestries,” Lena snorted.  “But yes... we were taken away, though not without severe injuries... a few of which you saw...” She looked at Yakko, and his eyes went to the scar on her shoulder. 

“Right,” he said. 

Lena took a deep breath. “It had been snowing so ice covered the roads. The only way we were freed was because the carriage slid and crashed against a tree and we ran for it. Eventually, we reached the town of Acme Falls, the town your father grew up in,” she looked at William. 

“I was friends with the nurse throughout my childhood, so when we came half-dead, she was quick to help, though it took roughly a year to recover from everything,” William said. 

“Well, for me anyway,” Lena muttered to herself. “Still... we missed you three every day and wished we could come home with all of our might. I can’t count the number of times I wept thinking about what that awful woman was doing to the three of you...” Lena looked off, her eyes becoming foggy at the memory. William held her hand and gave it a squeeze, stroking it with his thumb. She didn’t phase. 

“S-so you really were alive? Huh...” Yakko tried to process it all. “A-and it’s not like you could’ve come back because grandma would’ve just said you were imposters and that’s treason, right? It just would’ve gotten you killed again.”

“That’s exactly right, Yakko,” William nodded. Yakko flopped back in his seat, still thinking about it. 

“Yakko, I’m so sorry... I never meant to leave you with her- any of you. I should’ve killed her years ago...” Lena said that last part mostly to herself, but they still heard. 

“Mom, it’s okay... really...” Yakko reassured. 

“No, it’s not. None of this should have happened. You three deserve so much better... You deserve to be safe and happy and loved...” Lena rubbed her arms. 

“Lena, my love...” William said, but she still didn’t look at him. 

“Grandma can’t hurt us anymore, it’s okay Mom,” Yakko said. “We’re gonna be okay now because we’re together, remember? We’re all here.”

Lena blinked. 

“You’re right- of course, you’re right,” Lena laughed a little, more sad than happy. “We’re together again. You’re here, I’m here, we’re here,” her grip on her arms tightened. 

She was shaking. 

Yakko didn’t even hesitate to get up and wrap her in a tight hug. 

“It’s okay mom. You dealt with her, she can’t hurt us anymore. You’re back... you’re alive,” Yakko said, tears coming to his eyes.

His parents were alive. 

His grandmother was dead. 

They were safe. 

“Yakko, I love you so much,” Lena hugged him tightly, crying tears of her own. 

“I love you too, mom,” He sniffled. “I’ve missed you a lot.”

“I missed you too,” She kissed his forehead, and a wave of comfort and nostalgia washed over him. 

He missed her so much...

“Would you like to join your siblings in our little sleepover tonight?” Lena asked him. Yakko nodded, still hugging her. 

“Good, now go get into your pajamas, and meet us in a few,” Lena kissed his head again, and let him go. Yakko got up and gave his dad a big hug too. 

“I missed you too Dad,” He smiled a little. 

“I missed you too, Yakko,” William hugged back. 

Yakko then ran off to go change, feeling relieved and happy. 

His parents were alive and his grandmother was dead. 

This was the cause for a giant celebration. 

He ran to his room and was about to change when he looked down at his gloves and saw the blood once more. 

The feeling of joy was sucked out as he remembered Dot’s weak pleas to go home...  how much she shook and cried... how cold she felt when she... when she...

They were home. 

They were together. 

A big happy family. 

Dot was alive too. 

Yakko took off the gloves and put them deep into his laundry. He never wanted to see that much of his sister’s blood ever again. Especially not on his watch...

They were home. 

They were together. 

They were safe. 

Yakko repeated that in his mind until he felt calm again, changing into his pajamas, burying his bloodstained pants also in his laundry. 

A big happy family. 

God, Yakko hoped so. 

Quickly, he finished getting ready and ran to join his sibs in their parent’s room, which to his surprised looked like it hadn’t been touched in a year, outside of fixing any damage the attack could’ve done. Still- it was just as he remembered, which felt nice. 

“Haha, you’re slow,” Dot stuck her tongue out at Yakko. 

“Am I now?” Yakko raised an eyebrow as he climbed onto the bed. 

“Oh settle down you three, it’s late enough already” Lena rolled her eyes and chuckled tiredly. 

“Lullaby! Lullaby!” Wakko and Dot chanted in unison, which only made Lena laugh more. 

“Alright, alright. I know it’s been a while... I’ll have to choose one that makes it worth it...” She thought to herself, tapping her finger on her chin. Yakko made his way in between his two sibs, who were sitting completely upright in anticipation. 

“You know the rules you two, you have to lay down, or else it doesn’t work,” Lena pointed out. Quickly and giggly, the two younger siblings laid down, kicking and practically bouncing with energy. 

“Let's go in the garden, you’ll find something waiting. Right there where you left it, laying upside down,” She started, and Yakko felt an ocean of relaxation and comfort enter him. He missed her singing more than he could’ve ever said, and hearing it again- well... it was indescribable. 

“When you finally find it, you’ll see how it’s faded. The underside is lighter when you turn it around,” Yakko didn’t remember her ever singing this one, but he didn’t care. 

“Everything stays, right where you left it. Everything stays... but it still changes. Ever so slightly, daily and nightly, in little ways, when everything stays,” She continued, her voice visibly relaxing and tiring out Yakko and his sibs. She really was the best. 

“Go down to the ocean... the crystal tide is rising. Water’s gotten higher, as the shore washes out,” She continued, the kids slowly closing their eyes. 

“Keep your eyes wide open, Even when the sun is blazing. The moon controls the tide, it could cause you to drown.”

“Everything stays, right where you’ve left it. Everything stays, but it still changes. Ever so slightly, Daily and nightly, In little ways... when everything stays...” she finished, kissing each of them on their foreheads. 

“Goodnight my loves,” She whispered. 

“G’night mommy,” Dot smiled sleepily, as she cuddled against William, who himself was also practically asleep. Lena chuckled tiredly as she laid back down, humming another verse to herself, and Yakko felt his eyelids go heavy and he slowly drifted to sleep. 

.o0o.

“Y-yakko, you’ll go home too, right?” she sniffled, but regretted that. 

The pain was sharp. Her whole body was on fire and being consumed by it. She could feel herself growing weaker as the pain only got stronger.

“O-of course. All of us- we’ll all be there, okay? We’re gonna get our wish and we’re gonna go home, okay?” 

Some of his tears fell onto her face. 

“O-okay... We-we’re gonna go home, a-and be together- a big happy family,” she smiled at the thought of it. 

“Y-yeah Dot. A big happy f-family,” he stroked her face with his thumb. 

Another wave, this one hurt more. She all but collapsed back into the snow. Oh god- please make it stop- please make it stop-

“Yakko, I don’t wanna die- I’m not ready to die.” 

She wanted to reach out- to cling to him- her arms couldn’t move.

“Dot- no. Y-you can’t die-” 

He looked so sad...

“Yakko I wanna go home,” 

She squeezed his hand with all she had. She wanted to hug him, to have this agony taken away. Good god, it hurt. 

“It’s gonna be okay, Dot. Y-you aren’t gonna die.”

Her father lied. She was dying- she knew it- good god, it was consuming her-

She was so tired...

No... No, she couldn’t- She had to stay- they were getting so sad-

Say something!!! They need you, Dot-

“I-i l-love y-you...”

No- that’s not enough- 

No-

“No!!!” Dot shot up in her parent’s bed, tears streaming down her face, and her breathing heavy. She put a hand on her chest and flinched. 

She could still feel how it felt when she was dying. 

“Dot..? Sweetie, what’s the matter?” William rubbed his eyes and to Dot’s horror, she realized she woke everyone up. 

“I-i’m so sorry-” She apologized, wiping her face. “I-i didn’t mean- please don’t get mad,” she pleaded. 

Wiliam and Lena exchanged a look. 

“Dot? What’s the matter?” Wakko frowned and sat up, placing a hand on her shoulder, which she shook off, which she immediately felt guilty over. 

Good god, what was happening?

“I-it hurts,” She cried. 

“What hurts? Dot, are you alright?” William sat upright and got in front of her. 

“I-i can still feel it i-in here,” she pointed to her chest, right where the pain was. 

“Oh no... Dot, honey, I’m so sorry,” William gasped, quickly wrapping her in a tight hug. Dot wanted to push away at first, but it turns out the hug did help to make her feel better.

“Mummy? What’s wrong with Dot?” Dot heard Wakko ask. Lena squeezed Wakko’s shoulder. 

“It has many names... but let’s just say a nightmare for now...” Lena sighed. 

“Oh...” Wakko said, turning back to his little sister. 

“It’s okay, Dot. We’re all here, you’re safe. It’s okay,” Wakko patted her head lightly, as it was all he could think to do while she was wrapped in her dad’s arms. Dot sniffled. 

“I-i’m sorry for waking you- you should go back to sleep,” She said. Wakko frowned. 

“I-is it about the..?” Wakko didn’t need to finish his sentence. Dot nodded. Wakko’s head lowered. 

“Oh...” He looked away. Yakko put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I-I’m sorry Dot. I-it was meant for me- I-i should’ve-”

“No, Wakko. This is not your fault,” Yakko stopped him. 

“B-but she was-”

“’But she was’ nothing. This is nobody except your grandmother’s fault, and she’s already paying the price,” Lena said. 

“Y-yeah Wakko, it’s n-not your fault,” Dot sniffled, feeling better as the pain was going away slightly, though it was still there. 

“O-okay...” Wakko sniffled and wiped his face. “A-are you okay, Dot?” 

“I-i’m okay...” she stretched the truth. She knew she wasn’t dying but it still frightened her.

William and Lena shared a look with each other, holding a silent conversation. Eventually, Lena nodded and got up, giving Dot a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“It’ll be okay Dot... we’ll find someone really good to help you so this doesn’t happen, okay?” She smiled softly. Dot nodded, not really knowing what she meant, before Lena went to her desk and started writing a letter. 

“It’s okay pumpkin. After all, we’re right here, just like you wanted,” William kissed the top of her head. 

“Y-yeah Dot, just like you wanted,” Yakko said happily.

That did bring a smile to her face. 

They were together, at home, safe and sound. 

The pain faded, and Dot broke the embrace with her dad to open her arms to her brothers, who then turned and hugged her. William and eventually Lena joined this hug too, and Dot smiled. 

They were home, they were together. 

Their grandma was dead. She couldn’t hurt them anymore- nobody could. Not anymore. 

They were together now, 

That’s all that mattered. 

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 The End

[atlafan]

Office Neighbors - Part Ten

a/n: okay A LOT happens in this part, lots of tension, please don’t be mad at me (reblogs and feedback are super helpful!)

warnings: angst, fluff, and smut

words: 17K

masterpost

“They’re gonna know.” You say as you frantically try to fix your smudged makeup on the car ride back to the cabin.

“They’re not gonna know.” Harry chuckles.

“They’re gonna know!”

“How would they know?”

You make a scoffing noise at him.

“Let’s see, my mascara has run down my cheeks, and my hair looks awfully fucked up. We’re also later than we said we’d be.” You look at him and reach your hand out to smooth out some of his hair.

“We’ll just tell them we got a bite to eat. Just go straight to our room. The lights will probably be dimmed when we get in anyways.” He takes your hand and kisses it. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s embarrassing, I don’t want them to know.”

“What’s embarrassing about having a quickie in the car?”

“It’s like we were teenagers with no self-control.” You mutter.

“Was kind of nice to do something so spontaneous. Suppose it was my fault for making things difficult in the gondola. If Mum and Dad scold us, I’ll take the blame.” He smirks.

“But if you do that, they’ll never let me see you again! You’ll have to start sneaking in through the window.”

“It’ll be worth if it means I get to see you.” He winks and you start laughing. “Oh! Just say you laughed so hard you cried if they ask.”

“They’ll never believe that! You really are a narcissist if you think you’re that funny.” You smirk. Harry glares at you and it makes you laugh harder.

“Yeah, I’m not funny at all.” He says facetiously.

You take a deep breath once you’re back at the house. The lights were definitely dimmed, so maybe no one would really notice how fucked up you looked.

“Hey, you two.” Paige smiles. She was all snuggled up with Noah on the couch. “The kids are in bed already, they were exhausted. You should have seen it, Harry.” She pouts. “Noah had to carry both of them off to bed, and Andy even let me tuck him in, it was so sweet.”

“He sure is cute when he’s drowsy.” Harry agrees. “Well, we’re gonna go to sleep to, so-“

“How was the gondola ride?” Noah asks.

“It was great, I would highly recommend it.”

“Maybe we should take everyone tomorrow night since it’s our last night.” Noah says to Paige.

“Yeah!” She squints over at you. “Are you feeling alright, Y/N?”

“You know,” Harry puts his arm around you, “she got a little nauseous on the way down, it’s why we’re a little late coming back, I had to drive slower. So we’re gonna head to bed now.” He smiles and starts walking with you to your room.

“Hmm.” Paige says. “She goes to bed early a lot and now she’s nauseous.”

“You think she’s pregnant?”

“Maybe.” She shrugs. “We’re all going out for dinner tomorrow, we could see if she orders a drink or something.”

You and Harry scurry into your room, and you feel like you can breathe again.

“Nice save.” You say to him as you start to get undressed. “Mind if I use the bathroom first? I have to pee so bad.”

“Go for it.” He chuckles.

Once you’re both settled in bed you lay your head on Harry’s chest with a sigh. He rubs your back as you both slowly drift off.

//

After getting some skiing in, and taking the kids tubing, you all get ready for a nice dinner in the small resort town. It was a Chinese food place that offered buffet, so it was perfect for everyone. The kids loved piling up their plates. You did order a cocktail, so that squashed any thoughts Paige and Noah had of you being pregnant.

The kids talk about what they liked most about their week away, as do all of the adults. The food is excellent, and everyone has a good time.

“Andy, did you wanna come back with us tomorrow, or go with Dad and Y/N?” Paige asks as Harry and Noah quietly squabble over the check.

“Um, well, I think Brandon wanted to hang out tomorrow night, so I’ll go with Dad.”

“Alright, honey. What did Brandon do over break?”

“His family goes skiing at Loon.”

“What about Caroline?”

“Mum, why is this turning into twenty questions?”

“It’s not, baby, I was just-“

“Well, stop.” He picks around at the peas on his fork.

“Andy…” You put your hand on his shoulder. “She was just asking you a question.”

“She doesn’t need to know every little thing.” You give him a look, and he rolls his eyes before he looks at Paige again. “She stayed home, went sledding a few times, and her sisters drove her down to the mall, okay?”

“There’s a boy at Hebrew school that thinks I’m cute.” Rachel says. This catches Noah’s attention, which means Harry wins the bill, just like he wanted.

“What?”

“Yeah, you know David? He told me so.”

“Rachel, you’re way too young for boys to be telling you that you’re cute.” Noah frowns.

“But it’s okay for Andy to have a girlfriend? He’s only a year older than I am.” She huffs.

“Okay, what do you say we head out, yeah?” Harry says. “Everything’s all set.” You and Harry stand up as does everyone else.

“You get everything you want.” Rachel mumbles to Andy as they leave the restaurant.

“What are you talking about?”

“Everyone’s extra nice to you, and then when it comes to me I have a ton of rules to follow. It’s not fair.”

“Sorry your dad is more strict than mine, that’s not my fault.”

“No, it’s because I’m a girl and you’re a boy, and boys get whatever they want.”

“Rach, I-“

“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes.

Everyone gets in their cars to head back to the cabin, and Andy follows Rachel into the bunk room.

“Do you really think I get whatever I want?”

“What does it matter what I think?” She sits down on her bed and looks at him. “You know, I’m glad you’re going back with your dad for the rest of the weekend. It’s better when you’re not around.”

“Do you really mean that?” He sits down next to her.

“You don’t care.” She looks away. “You don’t even like me, Andy.”

“That’s not true…I like you.” She looks at him and gives him an unconvinced face. “I do! Look, I know when you and your dad first moved into my mum’s house, I wasn’t-“

“You literally asked to move out a month later. I was excited to not be the only kid around because my dad works so much, and you just left! You’re not the only one that feels sad sometimes, you know? And I hate it when you say ‘my mum’, guess what? She’s mine too.” She crosses her arms and Andy’s eyebrows raise. “You can be such a brat sometimes.”

“You sure are just letting it all out…”

“Yeah, I’m gonna keep letting it all out. You’re not even nice to my dad half the time, do you know how much that bothers me? He tries so hard to make sure you’re happy, and you don’t even care.”

“Maybe he should try less then. I don’t need him trying to impress me.”

“No, but it makes Mom happy to see you happy, so that’s why he does it. Y/N does the same exact thing.”

“No she doesn’t.” Andy scoffs. “Y/N’s my friend, she understands me.”

“You just like her because you like your dad better.”

“That’s not true!”

“Yes it is! It’s so obvious, and you don’t even care how much it kills Mom!” Rachel stands up and so does Andy.

“Stop calling her that! She’s not your mum and she never will be!”

“Newsflash, this summer she officially will be and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

The two of them stare at each other angrily. Rachel had never really spoken up to Andy like this before. Guess she was sick of his shit.

“You’re a spoiled brat.” She spits. “You never speak to Mom nicely, or it’s rare if you do.” She starts tearing up. “You have no idea how lucky you are to have a mom that loves you as much as she does, and now you have Y/N. I may have been little when my mom died, but I miss her every single day, and your mom…well…she takes a lot of that way.”

“Shit…it was around this time of year…wasn’t it? When your mum-“

“I don’t wanna talk about.” She wipes a few tears away. “You know what’s really annoying? I still feel like that you’re basically my brother. I just wish you felt the same way about me.”

She goes into her dresser, grabs her things for bed, and goes into the bathroom to do her thing.

“Kids! We have ice cream for you!” Paige shouts.

Rachel comes out in her pj’s and looks at Andy.

“Well? Are we having ice cream?” She says.

“Wait…” He puts his hand on her shoulder. “I’m really sorry.”

“No you’re not.”

“I am…I…guess I don’t always realize when I’m being rude. I’ve been coming around to things a lot more. I’m happy that Mum is marrying your dad because he makes her happy. That’s all I want for her, for both my parents. I know how lucky I am…and…maybe I didn’t want a sister at first. When you both started coming around more, I felt like I was being replaced. Like Mum liked you better because she finally had a daughter or something, and then when you moved in…I took the easy way out and ran to my dad instead of dealing with everything. But…it’s the best thing I could have done. I’m a lot happier with him.” He smiles at her. “Isn’t this what brothers and sister do? They fight sometimes…”

“You don’t see me as a sister…”

“Sure I do.” He shrugs. “You’re my annoying little sister, and I’m your bratty older brother. It’s perfect.” He throws an arm around her. “Come on, let’s go get some ice cream.”

“Okay.” She smiles and walks with him. “Sometimes you need to remember that we’re on the same side.”

“Yeah…we are, aren’t we?”

“Was everything okay in there?” Harry asks. “Thought I heard shouting…” He sizes the both of them up.

“Oh! We were just fighting over who could use the bathroom first, Uncle Harry.” Rachel giggles. “I won, though.”

The kids smile at each other and sit down at the table to make up their bowls of ice cream. After everyone’s done, Andy helps Paige clean up in the kitchen.

“Mum?”

“Yes, honey?”

“I’m sorry for being rude at the table earlier…”

“Oh…well, I’m not going to say it’s alright because I really don’t like it when you speak to me that way. You do it your father too, and I really don’t like that.”

“I know…I don’t know why I do it, it just happens. I feel really bad about it…” He looks up at her, and she smiles at his sweet face. “I…I love you, Mum.”

“Oh, baby, I love you too.” They throw their arms around each other. “I hate that you’re getting older. Your attitude is only going to get worse.” She chuckles.

“And you’ll still love me?”

“Of course I will, do you promise to still love me?”

“Yeah.” He smiles up at her. “I promise.”

//

It was a great week away, and you enjoyed bonding with everyone, but you were happy to be heading home.

“Har, just drop me off at my place, yeah?” You say as he takes the exit for your town.

“Oh…really?”

“Yeah, I wanna do laundry, and I need to go grocery shopping, and then I need to get some work done.”

“You can literally do all of that back at my place.”

“Harry, I’d like to go back to my place.”

“Okay.”

Harry gets out of the car to help you with your things once he’s pulled up to your complex. He walks you up to the door.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“What?! No, babe, I just, you know, it was a really social week. I’m tired and I have things to do. It’s nothing personal.”

“Alright.”

“I love you.” You smile. “I had such a good time. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” He nods and lets you kiss him goodbye, but you knew he wasn’t thrilled you weren’t coming back over. “Please don’t be upset.”

“I’m not.” He kicks some rocks on the ground. “Was just sort of hoping to be alone since Andy’s going to the movies with Brandon later.”

“Come over later then.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” You smile. “We can, uh, finally use that candle.” You wink at him and go into your building, leaving him completely flustered.

Harry smiles and gets back in the car.

“Dad, I’m gonna need some extra money tonight…”

“Oh? Gonna load up on snacks at the movies?” He chuckles.

“No…we’re going on a double date, and I’d like to offer to pay for Caroline like how you do for Y/N.”

“A double date at the movies?! You can have the money, but there better not be any funny business. I want a full synopsis from start to finish, and-“

“I’m not going to make out with her, no worries there.”

“Good…it’s not nice to swap spit like that in such a public space.”

“So, you’ve never made out at the movies?”

“Uhh, well, I was a little older than you so-“

“Enough said, I don’t need to know.”

Harry and Andy get into the house and put some of their things away. Harry ends up laying down on his bed for a bit to read and relax, and Andy comes in lay down next to him, twiddling his thumbs.

“What’s up, buddy?”

“Nothing…does something have to be up?”

“No, but you don’t exactly come in to snuggle with me anymore.” He smirks.

“You can read me like a book, Dad.” Andy sighs. “I’m nervous for my date…”

“Why?”

“What if Brandon and Molly start kissing, and then Caroline expects me to kiss her?”

“You could tell B beforehand to maybe cool it with that stuff. Kids your age really shouldn’t be doing that as it is. Do you want me to talk with his parents?”

“No, that would be so embarrassing!”

“What movie are you even seeing?”

“The newest Pixar movie…”

“Alright, I bet it’ll be fine. If it gets weird at all, just call me, and I’ll come get you.”

“Thanks.” Andy says with relief. “I’ll probably sleepover at B’s after the movie, is that okay?”

“Sure.” Harry shrugs. “Just text me and let me know for sure. I’m gonna go to Y/N’s after I drop you off.”

“How come she didn’t just come here?”

“She just needed a little alone time. She gets tired when she’s been really social.”

“Have you talked with her about moving in at all?”

“I have, yeah…we talked about a lot of things a couple of weeks ago. She was thinking maybe July when her lease is up, how would you feel about that?”

“Yeah…why would she wanna wait that long?”

“She has a lot of work to do on her PhD. You may not remember when I was working on mine, but it’s a lot of hard work, and sometimes she needs her own space to get that work done. She’ll be done next May, though. We’re gonna paint together during our spring break, and we’re gonna go furniture shopping soon. Oh! She even wants to take you on a little day trip to Boston sometime soon.”

“Really? That would be so much fun! We haven’t been to Boston in forever.”

“I know! See, it’s all working out. She just needs some time and I wanna make sure I don’t put too pressure on her.”

“I’m really glad she came with us this week. She was so much fun when we went tubing.”

“Yeah, thought she was nearly gonna bounce outta that thing.” He laughs.

“Were you just reading in here?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Do you mind if I just lay in here for a bit? Forgot how comfy your bed is.” Andy yawns and pulls one of the quilts up over himself.

“Course.” Harry smiles and smooths some hair away from Andy’s face.

//

“Andy, thank you so much for paying for my ticket, that was so sweet of you.” Caroline tells him. “At least let me pay for the popcorn.”

“No worries, I got it.” He smiles. “Do you want to, um, share a slushie?”

“Sure.” She blushes. “I like getting the blue and red mixed.”

“Me too! It tastes like grape.”

“Yeah!”

They both giggle as they get into the snack line. Brandon and Molly were just getting their snacks. Brandon’s parents were off seeing a movie that was for adults. They all go in and grab their seats. The boys sit next to each other, and the girls sit on their other sides. Brandon almost immediately puts his arm around Molly and she giggles. Andy rolls his eyes and tries to get comfortable. Caroline reaches for his hand and he smiles as he takes it.

“You have a little tan from skiing.” Caroline points out. “It’s cute.”

“Oh, uh, thanks. The goggles will do that.” He leans forward to take a sip of the slushie. “I…missed you while I was gone. I’m sorry I didn’t get to call you much.”

“Oh! That’s okay. I know you were busy. I missed you too.” She smiles and leans in to give him a kiss on the cheek. “How were things with your…do you call her your step-sister?”

“Yeah, and her name’s Rachel.”

“Since when do you refer to her as your step-sister?” Brandon butts in.

“We had a heart to heart.” Andy shrugs. “She’s not a baby to me anymore, she’s pretty cool, actually.”

“Oh, well, that’s good, I guess.” Brandon says. “I’m glad you guys are doing better.”

“Me too.”

The theater gets darker as the previews come on, and they all pay attention to the screen. Andy felt at peace, he wasn’t sure why he was so worked up before. This was totally chill.

//

Harry shows up to your place with a bottle of wine and pizza. He lets himself in, and is very confused when he sees all the lights off.

“Y/N?!” He flips the lights on and sets everything down in the kitchen. “Baby?!” He goes down the hall and sees the light on in your office. “Babe?” You were passed out with your face in a book and a highlighter in your hand. Harry sighs and comes over to lift you up.

“Huh?!”

“It’s just me!”

“You nearly made me shit myself, Harry, Christ. You can just so easily pick me up?”

“You’re not that heavy.” He chuckles and sets you down. “I was just gonna tuck you in.”

“Well, I’m awake now. Sorry, I was working and I must have fallen asleep.”

“I brought pizza…and wine, but we don’t have to-mph!”

You tugged Harry close to you by his collar, and slotted your mouth over his.

“Pizza and wine sounds incredible.” You grin. “You always know exactly what I need.” You walk out of the office and he follows you. “Oh, and you got the white, you must really wanna get busy.”

“Why do you always think I have an ulterior motive?” He grabs two plates and two glasses.

“Because all men do. Sex is always on your minds?”

“And it’s not on yours?”

“Well, it wasn’t until I started dating you. Now I just always feel absolutely feral.” You smirk as you bite into a slice of pizza.

“Feral, huh?”

“Mhm, although, as a woman I can hide it much easier. I don’t have to worry about an appendage getting excited.” You take a sip of wine and so does Harry.

“No, but…” He comes over to stand behind you to speak into your ear. “You do have to worry about your panties getting wet.” His fingers trail down your body and up under your shirt. They skim the waistline of your sweatpants.

“That would involve me having to wear panties.”

“How do you feel about cold pizza?”

“Love it.”

“Fantastic.” Harry takes the pizza box and shoves it in the fridge, and then grabs you to throw you over his shoulder.

“Harry!” You squeal.

“You know me, I get a little excited.” He chuckles as he carries you into your room. “Babe…” He puts you down. Your room was a fucking mess.

“Okay, before you say anything, it looks like this because I’ve been going through my stuff.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t wanna do it last minute when we eventually move in together. Plus, I have a ton of clothes I don’t wear anymore that I can donate…I’m sorry, you must think I’m so messy.”

“I don’t.” He tucks some hair behind your ear. “I just hate that you’re basically staying here for your home office. You have no problem using mine at the house.”

“But what if we both need to work at the same time?”

“Plenty of room for your desk up there, baby.”

“I feel like we’re rushing and it kind of scares me a little.”

“There’s still no rush…move when you’re ready.”

“You say that, but I know you hate it when I’m here…and I sort of hate it too. I prefer sleeping next to you.” You bite your bottom lip.

“So do I.” He sighs. “What about…over spring break?”

“We’re supposed to paint, moving will take so much work. I don’t know what I wanna do with all my furniture yet…I was thinking of bringing some of it to the consignment shop.”

“What if we put your living room furniture up in the loft? It could look really nice up there, and the TV could go into the basement.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I want you there, and so does Andy. I know it’s stressful and scary, I’m a little scared too, but I want this. I just want you around.”

You pout up at him and wrap your arms around his neck. You hug him close to you.

“I’ll think about it, okay?”

“Sounds good to me.” He kisses you. “Now, I think we came in here for a reason.”

“We sure did.” You peck his lips and let him go. “Take your clothes off.” You go over to your side table and take out a candle and a lighter. “Feel like getting a little freaky?”

“Will it hurt?” He asks, already taking his shirt off.

“Harry, you have a fuck ton of tattoos and you’re scared of a little wax?”

“What kind of wax is it?”

“It’s, like, rose oil. It doesn’t hurt, it’ll just feel warm. You can use it for massages and stuff too.”

“Are you telling me you’re offering to rub my back?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, I’m in.” He smiles and strips down to his boxers. He gets on the bed and lays on his stomach. He puts his glasses on the night table.

You sit on top of his bum and let the candle burn while you get some lotion on your hands. You knead Harry’s shoulders and work your hands down his back.

“Feels so good, baby.”

“Are you ready for the wax?”

“Yeah, go for it.”

“Okay.” You feel giddy. You get off him and take your clothes off. “Flip onto your back, and get your underwear off. If I’m naked, you’re naked.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He smirks and does as you say.

You straddle him and grab the candle. His hands grip your hips, and he squeezes you in anticipation. Your pour the wax, carefully, onto your chest and let it drip down onto his. His mouth hangs open as he watches. It sort of mimicked his come dripping down your body, and that pleased him very much.

“Do it again.” He says.

“You liked it?”

“Yeah…it’s really sexy.”

You smile and pour a little more over your chest and watch it drip onto his. You stick your hand in the wax and let the droplets fall from your fingertips onto his torso. You watch as his stomach tightens.

“Not too hot?”

“No it just feels like warm water…I thought the point of these were for them to hurt a little.”

“That’s what some people use them for. I just like how warm it feels on my skin.”

“Yeah, it does feel kind of good. Do a little more.”

You pour just a little more onto him and set the candle down. You lean down and kiss him, and his hands slide up your back. You suck on his bottom lip and grind yourself against him, making him groan.

“Gotta get a condom.” He mumbles against your mouth.

“Yeah, we probably should.” You say into his ear as you kiss on his neck. “Or…you could pull out and come on back.”

He smiles and nods at you. You get off him and lay on your side, looking over your shoulder. He gets on his side behind you, and lines himself up with you so he can slide in.

“You wanted it like this, huh?” He asks as he grips your hip and rocks in and out of you.

“Yes, Harry.” You hook arm around his head so you can grip his hair.

His hand on your hip slides to your clit, and he rubs slow circles on you. You moan out from the feeling. He sponges his lips on your neck, biting and sucking on your tender skin. You both were grunting and panting. Feel Harry raw was like nothing else, and this angle was sending you.

“Fuck, oh my god.” You moan and your head rolls back against his shoulder. “Say it, Harry, please.”

“You’re such a good girl, Y/N.” He says right into your ear.

“Whose good girl am I?”

“Mine, you’re my good girl.”

“Fuck, yes, I’m yours, I’m all yours.” You start panting more as he rubs your clit faster. “Fuck, I’m gonna!” You arch into him as you release around him.

“Y/N, I need to pull out, I can’t hold it much longer, baby.”

“Okay.” You breathe.

He pulls out and you roll onto your stomach for him. You hear him grunt and groan and you gasp when you feel his warm come shoot onto your back. You look over your shoulder and smile at him.

“Better than the candle?”

“Way better.”

“Let me go get a rag, be right back.”

“I have a better idea.” You say as you get up. “Let’s go take a bath together.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” You peck his lips. “Let’s just enjoy each other tonight.”

//

The movie was great, and Brandon’s parents let Andy and Brandon wait with Molly and Caroline to be picked up from the theater before driving them home. Once they’re at Brandon’s, they get settled into their pj’s and with some video games.

“That was a good movie.” Andy says.

“Yeah, it was really funny. We’ll have to all do it again.”

“Definitely. Would you ever wanna go to the pottery painting place? Y/N said she would take Caroline and I there.”

“You know, not everything needs to be a double date, Andy.” Brandon rolls his eyes.

“I thought you liked double dates.”

“I do, but…I don’t know, I don’t always need to hang out with Molly. I like when just you and I hang out.”

“Me too, I feel like we haven’t done anything just the two of us in a while.”

Brandon pauses the game and looks at Andy.

“Yeah, it’s like…girls have taken over.”

“I don’t even wanna hear it.” Andy laughs. “When you first dated Molly she was all you talked about, and you wanted me to go out with Alexis!”

“I just wanted you to feel included, and I missed you.” He shrugs.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.”

“How come you guys broke up in the first place? Couldn’t have been that bad if she wanted to go back out with you.”

“She…she thought I liked spending time with you better, and she wanted me to basically not be friends with you anymore, and I chose to be friends with you instead of being her boyfriend. When I asked her to the dance I didn’t think we’d be full on back together, but I guess we are.”

“And does she still have a problem with me?”

“We haven’t talked about it.”

“I can’t believe you chose me over her.”

“I always will, Andy. You’re my best friend.” Andy blushes at that. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.”

“Why haven’t you and Caroline kissed yet? I know you said you didn’t want it to be public, but…”

“Y/N said it was okay not to rush into things.” He shrugs. “I just don’t feel ready for that.”

“You two act like you’re just friends…”

“Friends don’t hold hands and kiss on the cheek. I wanna kiss her, it just hasn’t felt right. Like…I feel like I wouldn’t even know what I was doing.”

“It’s not difficult.” Brandon laughs. “You just sort of smoosh your lips to hers, stay there for a few seconds and then pull away.”

“No way, I’ve seen enough movies to at least know you have to move your lips a little. What if she wants to open mouth kiss or something?”

“Like with tongue? It’s not that gross.”

“You tongue kiss with Molly?!”

“Sometimes.” Brandon shrugs. “It’s nice.”

“I feel like you know everything.” Andy rolls his eyes.

“Well, Andy, when you’re twelve you sort of just figure it all out.” He smirks.

“You’ve been twelve for a month, get over yourself.” Andy laughs.

“Seriously, though, kissing isn’t that scary.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“You know…if you ever wanna, like, know how to do it so it’s good for her, I could show you how.”

“Like…practice?”

“Sure.” Brandon shrugs. “Only if you wanted.”

“Wouldn’t it be like cheating on her, though?”

“Not really, it’s not like it would count.”

“So…you’d show me how to kiss?”

“Yeah, what else are friends for?”

Andy’s heart was racing. Deep down he sort of knew he shouldn’t be doing this behind Caroline’s back, but Brandon was offering something he really wanted on a silver platter and he wasn’t sure he wanted to pass it up.

“Okay, show me what to do.” Brandon scoots closer to him, and furrows his brows. “What?”

“Your hair is just kinda in the way, here.” Brandon reaches forward and pushes Andy’s hair back. “There.” He was blushing and so was Andy.

“Thanks.” He swallows.

“You’re sure about this?”

“Yeah, I wanna know how to do this right.”

“Okay…so…basically, you just sort of…” Brandon cups Andy’s cheeks and leans in closer. “You’re okay?”

“Yeah.”

Brandon nods.

“So, you close your eyes and pucker your lips, but not too tight.”

Andy closes his eyes.

“Like this?”

“Yeah.” Brandon smile, but Andy obviously doesn’t see it. “I’m gonna do it now.”

“Okay.”

Just as Brandon’s about to press his lips to Andy’s, there’s a knock on the door, they both scoot away immediately.

“Boys, it’s getting late.” Mrs. Stewart comes in. “Time for bed.” She smiles and closes the door.

Both boys start laughing.

“I think we should go to sleep like your mum said.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah…I mean…I guess Caroline and I will just figure it out together when it happens, but thanks anyways.” Andy rolls out his sleeping bag.

“You know you can sleep on the bed with me…”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because…one morning when I slept over I woke up, like, ugh, see I do this thing when I sleep where I hold onto something. Like, I have a body pillow at home, you’ve seen it. The same thing happens to my dad, I don’t know why. So one time when I was here I woke up holding onto you and I don’t wanna do it and make you uncomfortable.”

“It didn’t.”

“Wait, you…you knew that happened?”

“Yeah, I just didn’t say anything because I didn’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”

“It didn’t weird you out?”

“No…should it have?”

“I don’t know.”

“Girls do that and share beds all the time. Molly told me that her and Alexis do it all the time.”

“Oh.”

“Sleep on the floor if you want, but you can share my bed with me.”

“Well…I guess if you really don’t care if it happens…”

“Andy I was willing to kiss you, I don’t really care if you accidentally hold me in your sleep.”

“Okay, then, uh, I’ll sleep on the bed then, but I’m gonna use my sleeping bag still.”

“Whatever works.” He shrugs. The boys both get into bed, and lay there staring at the ceiling. “What we did, well, what we almost did…that should probably stay between us…”

“I agree.”

“Pinky promise?” Brandon raises his pinky.

“Pinky promise.” Andy locks his pinky with Brandon’s and they rest their hands together on the bed, neither of them letting go.

//

You and Harry enjoyed a nice, long bath together, and then went to bed. You felt unbelievably cozy in his arms. Yeah, you were definitely going to be moving in sooner rather than later. This is what you wanted every single night, and he felt the same way.

The next morning you wake up with Harry’s hard-on pressing into your ass. You know he’s awake when he starts grinding into you, and groping at your breast. You smile as he kisses on your shoulder.

“Someone’s awake.” You giggle and he hums his response.

“Very much so. Is this alright?”

“Very much so.” You say his words back at him.

“What do you say we-“ Harry’s cut off by the sound of his phone going off. He groans and grabs it. “What’s up, Andy?”

“Dad…you were supposed to pick me up, like, fifteen minutes ago.”

“Oh, shit!” Harry sits up immediately. “I’m so sorry, I’ll be there soon, just hang tight.”

“Where are you?”

“I had a sleepover of my own…I’ll be there soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Fuck, I’m late picking Andy up. I never set an alarm, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, baby, go get him.”

“Are you staying here today?”

“Yeah, but I’ll come over to sleep tonight. I wanna finish up the work I was doing last night.”

“Okay.” He smiles and kisses you quick before throwing some clothes on. “Text me later, I can have dinner made.”

“Sounds good.” You smile and watch him walk out.

Harry picks Andy up, and Andy gets into the car.

“I’m so sorry I was late, you know that never happens.”

“It’s okay, where’s Y/N?”

“She’s at her place, she’ll be over later though. She said she may move in during spring break instead of waiting until July.”

“Really? That’s great! Um…do you think if I called Mum…like would you care if I go to her place?”

“Not at all, I’m sure she’d love to have you home. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just feel like being with her, I guess.”

When they get inside, Andy goes to his room to call Paige.

“Hi, honey, how was Brandon’s?”

“Good…are you busy today?”

“Not really, why?”

“Could you come get me? I wanna stay with you tonight.”

“Yeah! Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, I just feel like I miss you, Mum.” Andy had spent an entire week with his mother, and he really didn’t want to wait another week to see her again. “Got used to being around you and now you’re not here, so-“

“I can be over in a few hours, does that work?”

“Yeah.” Andy sighs. “That’s fine.”

“And you’re sure everything’s fine?”

“Yeah, I just wanna come hang out with you…”

“Okay, baby.”

Andy hangs up and gets up to close his door. There was one more call he needed to make before going out to the living room with his father.

“Andy?”

“Hi, Y/N.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

“Well…it’s a bit odd for you to call me…oh my god, is your dad okay?!”

“He’s fine, chill! I just needed to talk to you about something and I’m going to Mum’s later.”

“Oh, you are? I’m coming over for dinner…”

“I know, I just feel like being with her.”

“Alright, well, I’m glad you’ll see her then…so, what’s up?”

“Something happened last night.”

“At the movies?”

“No, after, at Brandon’s…”

“What happened?”

“We almost kissed.” Andy groans.

“What?!”

“Yeah! We were talking about kissing, and I told him I was nervous about kissing Caroline because I don’t know what I’m doing, and he…he offered to show me how.”

That sly son of a bitch. You think to yourself.

“Andy…you’re dating Caroline.”

“I know! We didn’t kiss, his mom knocked on the door and told us to go to bed. And when we went to bed we fell asleep holding hands.”

“How do you think Caroline would feel if she knew about that?”

“She’d probably feel bad.”

“Right.”

“I really like her, Y/N…but maybe I just like her as a friend, and Brandon as more than a friend. I like having Caroline around, we have a lot in common, and we have fun together.”

“Maybe now just isn’t a good time for you to be dating anyone. It’s not fair to anyone involved, you know?”

“I guess so…but I don’t wanna hurt her feelings.”

“You’ll hurt her more if you do something behind her back with Brandon.” You sigh. “Think things over at Mum’s…maybe you could even talk to her about it. She may have better advice than me, your dad could too.”

“No, they won’t understand.”

“They could if you tried talking to them.”

“But I like just talking to you about this stuff.”

“And I feel so honored that you feel comfortable with me, Andy, I really do…I just think this is starting to get heavy, and you have so many people that love you and care about you that just want to help. I’m one of those people, but so are your parents.”

“It’s just awkward to talk about…”

“I know, sweetheart. None of this is easy. Could you just try? For me?”

“Yeah…I’ll try…thanks Y/N.”

“You’re welcome.”

Andy hangs up the phone and takes a deep breath. Harry was up in his loft, and Andy goes up to join him.

“Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“Mum said she could be here in a few hours.”

“Okay.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” Harry turns around and gives Andy his full attention while Andy sits down on the loveseat, pressing a pillow to his chest.

“How do you breakup with someone?”

“Oh no, you don’t like Caroline anymore?”

“It’s not that I don’t…I just think I…Dad, Brandon and I almost kissed last night, and I don’t wanna do anything behind her back because I like her and I don’t wanna hurt her feelings.”

Harry gets up and sits down next to Andy. He puts his arm around his and rubs his shoulder. He wasn’t entirely sure what to say.

“Have you and Brandon talked at all about how you both might feel about each other?”

“Not really.”

“I know it can be awkward, but it seems like he may like you the way you like him.”

“The times Caroline and I have almost kissed I’ve felt really scared, but I didn’t feel scared with him.”

“I think you’re right to end things with her, I’d hate for your first kiss to be a dishonest one.”

“So…you don’t care that it was almost with Brandon?”

“Of course not! We’ve talked about this, Andy. No matter who you are or who you wanna be with, I’ll still love you. I just want you to be happy.”

“What does it mean when you like boys and girls?”

“Um, well, the term is called bi-sexual.”

“Is it normal? I feel like such a freak.”

“It’s very normal! A lot of people like boys and girls. You’re not a freak, Andy. You also don’t have to have it all figured out right now.”

“Everyone keeps saying that, but it doesn’t make me feel better.” He sighs and leans into Harry more.

“I know…but I promise, at some point, it will get better.” Harry smooths some hair away from Andy’s face.

“It will?”

“Yeah.” Harry smiles. “You know when I was younger, I used to be afraid to paint my nails, or wear things that were seen as girly, and then when I got to uni I just stopped caring. I grew my hair out really long, and just did what made me comfortable, and it helped me really realize who I was. Now I don’t care what people think when they look at me. I do what makes me happy and comfortable, and I want the same for you. I don’t know if you kids have easier or worse nowadays. Things are more accepted, but you also have all that social media and cyber-bullying.”

“There are plenty of other kids in the school that know who they are already. There’s even a trans kid in my class. No one cares, she’s really nice. I guess I just wish I could have it figured out like them.”

“These things take time. I know it’s not exactly the answer you wanna hear, but…”

“No, I get it.” Andy sighs. “I’m sorry I haven’t really been talking to you about all of this, it’s just so awkward to tell my dad I like boys…”

“I suppose.” Harry chuckles. “But just know I’m never gonna judge you, and neither will your mother. She’s just as understanding and accepting as I am. If she wasn’t we never would’ve gotten together.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, she needed help with her nails one night and I helped her. Next day she kissed me.”

“Wow…Mum made the first move?”

“Technically, yeah, but I used to flirt with her all the time. She knew I liked her, but she had just broken up with someone else so she was taking some time before jumping into something else. I know it seems like Mum sort of stands in the shadows, but she’s one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”

“And what about Y/N?”

“She’s very brave and strong too. It take a lot of courage to move somewhere new and start over just to get another degree. I tell her all the time how proud I am of her.”

“Is she your person?”

“Have you been watching Grey’s with Mum again?” Harry groans.

“No! Okay, sometimes we watch it together when I’m home, but I wasn’t thinking of that when I asked the question.”

“Yeah, Y/N’s my person.” Harry nods. “I think we complement each other nicely, and she’s great with you. That’s the most important thing to me.”

“I like her a lot. Sometimes I wish I could have the relationship I have with her that I have with Noah…”

“You can, you just have to work at it. Meet him halfway a little more.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“Andy, I’m always gonna be your father, your dad, Noah’s not going to replace me in any way, but I think it would be good to let him in a little more. He’s not going anywhere, you know?”

“Right. Maybe I could ask him to watch a movie with me this weekend.”

“I bet he’d really like that.”

//

Paige picks Andy up, and he’s quiet in the car at first. He was drained from all the talking, but he knew he needed to fill her in on things.

“Mum?”

“Yes, honey?”

“I don’t really wanna talk about it anymore, but I like boys and girls, and I think I like Brandon more than Caroline, so I need to break up with her, and I’m scared, but I know it’s the right things to do, so I’ll do it.”

“Oh…oh my, um, okay.”

“Do you…do you still love me?” Andy’s voice cracks just as Paige pulls into her driveway. She turns around to look at him.

“Of course I still love you! You never have to worry about that.”

Andy nods and gets out of the car. Paige hugs him immediately before going inside. Once Andy’s put his things away in his room he comes down to the kitchen and smells something delicious.

“What’s for dinner?” He asks.

“Well, since we knew you were coming we decided to get some of those spinach raviolis you like, and Rachel requested garlic bread.” Noah says.

“You did that for me?”

“Course, buddy.” Noah smiles.

“Thanks, Noah, that was really nice of you.” Andy sits down at the table next to Rachel. “Hey.”

“Hi.” She raises an eyebrow at him. “I thought you wanted to stay with your dad this weekend.”

“I did, but…I sort of missed Mum, so…”

“Must be nice to do that when you can.” She mumbles.

“I was gonna ask your dad if he wanted to watch a movie together tonight, would you wanna join?”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, sure, but why?”

“I’m trying to make more of effort. I’ve been acting like a baby.”

“I believe I said spoiled brat, but baby works too.” She smiles. “I think a movie is a great idea.”

“Hi, precious.” Lydia comes to the table and gives Andy a kiss on the top of his head.

“Hi, Gram.”

“Alright.” Paige says as she puts everything on the table. “Everybody dig in.”

“This looks really good.” Andy says. “Thank you.”

“More than welcome.” Noah says.

“Would everyone be up for watching a movie tonight?” Andy asks.

“Sure, honey, what do you feel like watching?” Paige says.

“It doesn’t matter.” He shrugs.

“How about Ratatouille?” Rachel says.

“Oh, I like that one.” Andy says.

“Ratatouille it is then.” Noah smiles.

“Andy, after dinner, there’s something I wanna talk to you about. Noah can set up the movie.”

“Okay.”

“What is Ratatouille about?” Lydia asks.

“It’s about this rat named Remy who’s really good at cooking, and then he hides under the hat of this guy who isn’t good at cooking, and he helps him cook in this fancy restaurant.” Rachel explains.

“Perhaps I’ll read something instead.” Lydia chuckles.

After dinner Paige goes into Andy’s room with him, and sits on his bed.

“So, what’s up?” He asks her.

“Well, the wedding’s going to be in July, as you know.” Andy nods. “And I’ve been fleshing out some of the details. There’s something I’d like you to do.”

“What, Mum?”

“If you felt comfortable with it, I’d like you to walk me down the aisle and give me away.”

“I…I thought you wanted me to walk Gram down the aisle.”

“I did at first, but Uncle Ned is gonna do it.”

“You really want me to do it?”

“I can’t think of anyone else I would want to give me away at my wedding, baby.” She smiles at him.

Andy’s eyes well up. This was the breakthrough he had been needing. He knows his mother loves him, but for a while he felt like she was moving on without him.

“Okay, Mummy.” He says and they throw their arms around each other. “I’d be happy to.” He snuggles into her and she holds him close, rocking him gently.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me.” She kisses his cheek. “I love you so much, Andy.”

“I love you too.” He looks up at her. “I’m really sorry Gramp won’t be there to do it, but he’ll sort of be with us, right?”

“Right, baby.” She blinks a few tears away. “Well, I think Noah said something about ice cream sandwiches, so we better get down there.”

Everyone gets comfortable on the couch to watch the movie.

Paige: I asked Andy to walk me down the aisle, and he said yes! Thanks for sharing him this weekend

Harry was knuckle deep fingering you when Paige texted him, so it took him a bit to respond.

“Oh! Andy’s gonna walk Paige down the aisle at her wedding.” Harry shows you his phone as you both get settled into bed.

“That’s great! I’m glad he went over there.”

“Me too. Let me just text her back.”

Harry: Amazing! And no worries, he really wanted to hang out with you

Paige: I can bring him back to you tomorrow so you don’t have to

Harry: you sure?

Paige: yeah, it’s no trouble :)

Harry: alright, thanks

“Okay, putting this on do not disturb.” Harry sighs.

“Are we, um, going to the wedding?”

“Slow down, we?” Your face drops and he starts laughing. You smack his shoulder and he laughs harder. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. We’ve been invited, but I haven’t made up my mind yet. It’s going to be a little tough for me. Maybe we’ll just go to the reception, skip the ceremony.”

“Whatever you wanna do is fine with me.” You give his hand a squeeze. “It would be cute to see Andy walk her down the aisle.”

“You know I was nervous Paige was gonna ask me to do it when she was still a little vulnerable after Nathan died. I’m really glad she didn’t.”

“I feel like that would be crossing a line.”

“Just a wee bit.” He takes your hand to kiss it. “I think she forgets where the line is sometimes, but it’s hard to correct her.”

“If she had asked you to do it, would you?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “I would have told her to ask Andy. I’m glad she thought of it on her own.” You both slide down in the bed and you rest your head on his chest while he cards his fingers through your hair. “So, you wanna get married at some point.”

“Correct.” You giggle.

“What kind of wedding do you think you’d want?”

“Something small, honestly. Just close friends and family.”

“I like the sound of that. No sense in blowing an arm and a leg on it.”

“Exactly! I’d love for it be in the fall so it’s not too hot, like, at a nice gazeebo in a park. Oh! And I could really see myself in, like, a white pair of slacks and a blouse.”

“You wouldn’t wanna wear a dress?”

“Not really.” You shrug. “I mean, I could change my mind, but I like the idea of doing something a little different. I’d do the veil and all that.”

“You’d look lovely no matter what you’d wear, baby.”

“Thanks.” You kiss his chest. “What would you want?”

“Pretty much everything you described, something simple with close friends and family. I love the idea of having it in a park. We probably wouldn’t be able to do it in the fall because of school, but maybe in the late spring when the weather feels the same? We could have a nice reception at a local hall so people could dance, or we could rent a tent or something? Lots of really good food, buffet style so people can just take what they want.”

“And we could get assorted cupcakes, I like when weddings have those.”

“Me too, it’s just enough dessert.” He looks down at you and tilts your chin up, pressing his lips to yours. “When do you want to get married, Y/N?”

“Oh, god, I don’t know, baby. Probably after I get my doctorate. As simple as things would be, it would still be a lot to plan along with my work, you know?”

“Mm, definitely. Although, you wouldn’t be planning it on your own. It would be our wedding, so we’d both plan it.”

“You’d really wanna help with all that?”

“Sure! Seems like it could be fun.” He smiles. “And then…I mean, when do you think you’d wanna start having kids? I know I’m still young, but I wanna be too old that I can’t even play with them. That was the most fun part about being young with Andy. I had all the energy in the world when we’d go to the playground and stuff.”

“I’d say by the time I’m thirty would be good, but I mean, if it happens sooner I wouldn’t be mad.”

“Even if we weren’t married yet?”

“Yeah, I mean, ideally I’d at least like to be engaged, but if I got pregnant before we got married it would be fine. Is it weird that I’m not really worried about it?”

“So if you missed your period you wouldn’t freak out?”

“I mean right now I would, I’m way too busy for a baby, but once I’m done with my work I could definitely handle it.”

“I love hearing you talk about wanting to have a baby with me.” He kisses your forehead.

“It’ll be so nice to feel you come inside me.” You bite your bottom lip as you look up at him.

“I’m sorry, did I not make you come enough times earlier? Are you still in the mood?” He smirks.

“Mmm, maybe?” You slide your leg over his and lightly grind against it. “I wouldn’t mind if we went another round…we need all the practice we can get if we’re gonna make a baby at some point.”

“I like the way you think, darling.”

//

During the beginning of March, you and Harry work to get the living room ready for painting. Andy was a big help, and it was fun to watch how serious he took painting. You played music and had a pretty good time getting it all done. Many hands make light work.

Noah came over to help move some of the furniture. The couch and love seat needed to be moved to the basement to make room for the new furniture you had ordered. That was a fun day too, Andy had a ball flopping down onto the different couches. You found a set that had recliners. You also went a curtain and blind store to update some other things.

Then came yours and Harry’s spring break, it was time for you to officially move. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to your apartment. It had been an excellent place to live, but Harry’s house was home now. You set up the loft to have both of your desks and you both loved that no matter what you’d be office neighbors. Andy was a huge help with moving too. He honestly needed the distraction. Things with Caroline…weren’t great.

“Andy, it’s sweet you wanted to go for a walk after school, but it’s a little chilly.” She laughed.

“Sorry, I just wanted to talk privately. Wanna go sit on the swings?”

“Sure.” She shrugged and they walked over to the school playground. “So, what’s up?”

“Caroline, I’m really glad you’re here, and I’m happy we’ve gotten so close, but I don’t think I can be your boyfriend anymore…”

“Wh-what?” Her eyes welled up and her bottom lip quivered.

“Please, don’t cry.” He reached for her hand, and she let him hold it.

“I thought we were having fun…”

“We were! I…I’m really confused about things right now, and it wouldn’t be fair to keep dating when I’m not one-hundred percent sure.”

“What are you confused about? Do you like someone else?”

“I really like you, a lot, Caroline, but there is someone else I also really like, and I liked them before you came here, and I thought that feeling went away, but it didn’t. I’m really sorry.”

“Who is it?”

“I don’t wanna say…I haven’t talked to them yet.”

“Well, this isn’t what I thought we’d be talking about at all…”

“I…don’t wanna stop hanging out with you, though. I like when we do stuff together, you’re so much fun, and-“

“So you just wanna be friends?”

“If you’re okay with that.”

“Um…I think it’s gonna take me some time to wanna be friends, Andy. I feel…really blindsided.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you, I feel terrible.” She nodded at him and stood up, so did he. “Will you think about it? Being friends?”

“Yeah…I mean, I don’t wanna lose you. You were the first person that talked to me here and made me feel welcome.”

“I don’t wanna lose you either.”

She threw her arms around him and they hugged.

“I hope things work out with the other person.” She whispered.

“Me too.”

Things were awkward at school for a bit, especially since people wanted to know why, but Caroline was coming back around slowly to Andy. Anyways, he was just thankful for the creative distractions of painting and rearranging furniture. It made him happy to see his dad so happy too. He could tell Harry was trying to contain his excitement of you moving in.

Things with Brandon were…a tad strained too. It was a little awkward after the almost kissing thing, and even though Brandon was there for Andy after breaking things off with Caroline, he still seemed to be with Molly, and Andy was more confused and annoyed than ever.

The topic of Andy’s April vacation had come up, and Harry and Paige agreed to split the week so that both of them would only have to take a few days off from work. That’s when you and Harry decide it would be good to take Andy to Boston for a little trip. You could spend a few days at Julian’s hotel for next to nothing, and Andy could meet your parents. Harry could meet your friends too, maybe not in the bar atmosphere you were hoping for, but they could meet him nonetheless.

Things were going really well. You were able to get more work done than you thought at the house, and your classes were going incredibly well. Living with Harry was a breeze. He was such a chill and easy going person. You never had a relationship where you could communicate with someone so easily. You rarely fought, and it made for a really happy and healthy environment for everyone.

You were having a peaceful Saturday morning, working away up in the loft while Harry was downstairs reading on your new couch. He loved the recliners.

“Hey, Dad.” Andy plops down next to him.

“What’s up?” Harry closes his book to give his son his full attention.

“So, um, my birthday is a month away, as you know.” Harry hums his response. “My grades have been really good again this year, don’t you think?”

“They’ve been exceptional, I’m really proud of you.”

“Thanks…so…you know how you and Mum usually get me something?” Harry nods at him. “Well, there’s really only thing I want this year.”

“Oh? And what might that be?” Harry sits his chair up straight so he can turn to face Andy.

“A smart phone.” Andy mumbles.

“Hmm, are you turning thirteen this year?”

“No…I’m turning twelve.”

“Right, that’s what I thought. So, no smart phone, Andy.”

“Dad, please?”

“We had an agreement. Your mum feels the same way, I’m sorry, my hands are tied.”

“What’s the difference between now and one more year?”

“If a year doesn’t make a difference, then you can continue to wait.”

“Ugh, you’re being so unfair!”

“Don’t raise your voice at me, I’m being perfectly reasonable. There must be something else you want?”

“No, that’s literally all I want.” Andy huffs. “All of my friends have them, why can’t I?!”

“First of all, smart phones are very expensive, your phone now only costs thirty dollars a month. I’d have to add your line to mine, and that could be over one hundred extra a month. Second of all, I don’t care what your friends have, it’s not happening.”

“You get paid like ninety grand a year!” Andy stands up. “No way money is the issue. I’ll get a paper route or something to help pay for it.”

“That’s really not a lot of money to make when you own a home and have a child. You can wait another year. What do you even need one for right now? You have your own laptop, you have all the internet you could need.”

“I wanna be able to go on Instagram like my friends can!”

“Instagram?!” Now Harry’ standing up, and you can’t concentrate on your work anymore, so you stand up and lean against the banister to see what’s going on. “Who said you’d even be allowed to download all of those apps when you get a smart phone?!”

“Are you kidding me?! That’s the whole point!”

“You won’t be allowed to have any of that until you go to high school!”

“You’re living under a rock, Dad! Everyone my age uses this stuff! I wanna be able to see what my friends are posting, I’m always left out of the loop! I can’t even group text properly!”

“Who do you need to group text with?!”

“My fucking friends!”

Harry was fuming now. You had never seen him like this. You creep down the stairs to maybe see how you could help. You had never seen them fight like this before. Usually it was playful. This was very serious.

“Give me your phone, now.”

“What, why?”

“Because I said so.” Harry holds out his hand for it, and Andy reluctantly gives it to him. “You want a phone so badly for your birthday? You can have this back next month.”

“What?!”

“You heard me.” Harry puts the phone in his pocket and crosses his arms. “You can use the landline if you need make calls.”

“What if Mum needs to text me or-“

“I’ll tell her what’s going on, and she’ll either call me or she’ll call the landline if she needs to speak with you.”

“I can’t believe you’re getting upset over a simple question! I just asked for a phone!”

“We’ve been over this a million times! You’ll get one when you’re thirteen, and that’s final.”

“And you’re really going to take my other phone away until my birthday next month.”

“That’s right.”

Andy was fuming now. He looks at you, almost pleading to say something to his father, but you bite your inner cheek and look away.

“You’re being unfair!”

“I think I’m being plenty fair! This phone isn’t even yours, it’s mine! I pay for it, don’t I?”

“Harry.” You finally step in. “That’s enough.” He turns to look at you with raised eyebrows. “Andy, you shouldn’t talk to your father like that…I don’t like hearing you use cuss words. Also, the rules have been pretty clear, you need to wait another year for a smart phone. Try to think of something else you may like for your birthday, yeah?”

“But-“

“I think you should go cool off in your room for a bit.” You nod in that direction.

“You can’t tell me to go to my room, Y/N.” He scoffs.

“Actually, she can, so go.” Harry says.

“Everyone’s against me! Jesus Christ.” He grumbles and storms off to his room, slamming the door shut.

“I wish you had stayed upstairs, I was handling it.” Harry says to you.

“Were you? Because it seemed like you were throwing daggers at him. You can’t say that to a kid.”

“What?”

“That his property isn’t really his because you pay for it. That’s like saying his room isn’t really his because this is your house. My dad used to say shit like that when he’d get really mad at Phil and I. It doesn’t exactly make for a safe environment when you don’t think anything is yours.” You bite your bottom lip. “Did you really need to take his phone away?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because he was acting like a spoiled brat, and I can’t stand it when he does that. Maybe that’s on Paige and I for rarely saying no, but I’m saying no now and he needs to respect that.”

“And you’re really not going to give it back to him until his birthday?”

“That’s right. It won’t kill him to be a little unplugged. If I need to get in touch with him at school I’ll just call the office, and he knows he can do the same. The secretary has a community phone for the kids to use.”

“You didn’t flip out until he mentioned Instagram, why?”

“Because he’s too young for all that. If he gets one then I’ll need to get one.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ll need to monitor what he’s posting.”

“Oh my god.” You shake your head. “You know what that leads to? Him just making a finsta that’s private and all his friends will follow him on there, and he’ll post whatever he wants and have the real fun, and then he’ll post what he thinks won’t get him in trouble on whatever account you follow him on. Come on, Harry, only helicopter parents do shit like that.”

“What in the fuck is a finsta…?”

“It’s a fake Instagram. Look, instead of doing that, we could just talk to him about the importance of privacy settings, and what’s appropriate to post. Instagram can be a lot of fun for kids, you can post aesthetically pleasing photos, although it’s not as fun as it used to be. I remember when I got mine, like, god almost ten years ago, people just used to post cool pictures of food, now it’s a place for influencers and models, which is really annoying, but-“

“Y/N, please, you’re giving me a headache.” Harry sighs. “I’m his dad, so what I say goes.”

“Right, and I’m just the woman who lives here that fucks you, is that it?”

“Don’t twist this into an argument between the two of us, it’s not necessary.”

“You picked a fight with him for no fucking reason, Harry.”

“He started getting-“

“I don’t care! You’re the parent, like you said, act like the adult you are. You could have handled that ten times better, but instead you chose to be petty, and for what? I know it’s scary that he’s growing up, and maybe right now you can protect him by not getting him the phone, but you can’t protect him from every little thing. What you should do is teach him how to properly use all of that stuff so he doesn’t get hurt. Don’t talk to strangers applies in the real world as it does virtually, stuff like that.”

“Wow, been living here a month and you’re an expert on parenting, that’s incredible. You should really write a book on it.”

You narrow your eyes at him. Harry had never, not once, spoke to you like that. Something had really crawled up his ass today, and you clearly hit a trigger for him. This had to be about Andy growing up, and Harry being sad about it. You look him up and down and smirk before going back upstairs to your work. If he didn’t want you to be involved, then you wouldn’t be involved.

After a couple of hours, Harry knocks on Andy’s door.

“Come in…” He mutters as Harry enters.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Can we chat?”

“Are you gonna yell at me again?”

“Are you gonna yell at me?”

“No.” He mumbles, and Harry nods. He sits down with Andy on his bed.

“I know I was harsh earlier, and I know it seems unfair that I’m being so firm about this, but I’d appreciate a little trust here. You do not need a smart phone yet, trust me. All of those apps and stuff just rot your brain. Right now you read before you go to bed, and you’re able to relax. Smart phones are really tempting and can keep you up for hours if you’re not careful. I just think you could handle it better a little later on.”

“My friends are able to take pictures and post them, and then someone always has to show them to me. It’s embarrassing.”

“I’m sure you’re not the only one in your grade that doesn’t have one.”

“You’re probably right, but it’s still annoying.”

“I know.” Harry sighs. “Here.” Harry gives Andy back his little phone. It was the kind that slides open to have a keyboard to text. “You have no reason to really be punished, you didn’t do anything that would warrant not having your phone.”

“Thanks.” Andy sets it down on his bed.

“Social media can be really scary, and I know you think it’s fun, but it can turn to not so fun fast, and my biggest fear is that something could happen to you because of it.”

“Dad, I’m not gonna talk to anyone I don’t know…”

“Well, I should hope not.”

“Is Y/N mad at me? I shouldn’t have said that to her…”

“No, she’s mad at me actually for how I handled things. I’m sorry I said that too about the phone being mine. It’s not, it’s yours…and I don’t mind footing the bill.”

“It’s okay…is she still working, can I go see her?”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind the visit from you.” Harry smiles. “Can we agree that you’ll get the phone next May? Please, I don’t want to keep having this same fight.”

“Okay.” Andy nods. “But there’s something else I want then.”

“Name it.”

“Ariana Grande is touring again soon, and I’d like to go to her concert.”

“Do you wanna bring a friend?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Harry sighs. “I’ll see what I can do, alright?”

“Really?!”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my god!” Andy squeals and lunges himself onto Harry for a hug. Harry chuckles and hugs his son back. “And don’t worry about having to chaperone, Y/N told me if Ari ever toured here again she’d take me.”

“Thank god, I really don’t think I could sit through it.”

Andy rolls his eyes to get up and go see you.

“Y/N?”

“Hey.” You smile at him.

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

“Oh, please.” You scoff. “It’s fine, I would have said the same thing. Did you and Dad figure things out?”

“Mhm.” Andy grins. “He’s gonna try to get tickets to see Ariana Grande for us!”

“That’s great! Better than a phone, huh?”

“Way better.” He comes over to you to hug you, and then he heads back downstairs. The Styles men, you were starting to notice, are a special breed.

You don’t’ say much to Harry for the rest of the day, although you could tell he trying to butter you up. He made lasagna for dinner, one of your favorites. You mostly spoke with Andy at the table. You wanted a formal apology for what he said to you, that was it. When you had still barely spoken to him by the time you both got into bed, he sighs heavily and looks at you. You raise an eyebrow at him.

“What do you want to hear, that you were right?”

“No, I want to hear you say you’re sorry for being a facetious little shit when I was just trying to help. I’m fully aware that I don’t have as much experience parenting as you do, but don’t discount me like that. I’ve been in that kid’s life long enough now, also I’ve read a few parenting books since we started dating so-“

“You have?”

“Of course I have! I went into this blind, I had to do some research, Harry.”

“I’m sorry I said what I said to you, I was frustrated that you…that you just read the situation to a T. I’m petrified of him growing up, it sucks. I hate it and there’s nothing I can do to stop it, and I have control of the phone thing, so I flipped out when he challenged me on it.”

“I didn’t like hearing you yell. You never get that mad.”

“I have my moments, you’re just more privy to them now.” He sighs. “It’s hard for to stay calm sometimes when he starts yelling at me. It’s only going to get worse, so I know it need work on keeping my cool.” You nod your head. “I gave him his phone back.”

“You did?” You features soften.

“Yeah, it was stupid of me to have taken it in the first place. He didn’t really do anything wrong.”

“I’ll always respect your decisions, I mean, you’ve been doing this alone, sort of. But I want you to remember I’m your partner in this, we’re a team, babe.”

“Yeah, we are.” He smiles. “I really am sorry for speaking to you like that.”

“It’s okay.” You shrug. “You backed me up while he was still in the room.”

“I’m glad you butted in, who knows what else I would have said if you hadn’t. I feel like for so long, like, because he wanted to be with me, and I got used to it, I didn’t really discipline him as much. I wanted to keep him happy so he’d want to stay. It was so hard for years only seeing him for small chunks of time. I’ve been trying to form better habits.”

“And you’re doing a great job, I think you’re doing as best as you can. I just want you to know it’s not all on your shoulders anymore.”

“Thanks, baby.” He kisses your cheek. “So…we’re good?”

“Yeah, we’re good.”

“Good, I couldn’t stand the silent treatment.”

“I just didn’t really know what to say to you, honestly. Upside is I got a fuck ton of work done.” You chuckle.

“Oh, well, thank god for that.” He laughs. “So, you’re not gonna deprive me of the booty tonight, then?”

“No, you can still have some booty.” You giggle and shift down in the bed, and turn over so he can wrap himself around you. The sound of his sigh makes me you smile. “I feel like even if I was so mad at you that I didn’t want you to hold me, you would in your sleep anyways.”

“My plan is to never make you that mad, so we don’t have to worry about that.”

“Oh good, I’m glad you have a plan.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.” He kisses your cheek again before really getting cozy with you.

“Goodnight, Harry.”

//

Since you were going for a few days, you decide to drive down to Boston. You were a little worried that it might be awkward sharing a room with both Harry and Andy, but neither of them seemed all that concerned. Julian said he’d hook you up with a good size room, so that put you at ease.

“What are we doing first, Y/N?” Andy asks excitedly from the back seat.

“Well, first we’re going to check in to the hotel to drop all of our things off, and then I was thinking we could go to the aquarium, would you like that?”

“Yeah! I haven’t been there in forever. Can we do the touch tank?”

“Of course.”

Harry puts his hand on your thigh as you drive. He was over the moon about doing something just the three of you. Even though you all lived together now, a trip would be a good bonding experience.

“Holy shit.” You say to yourself when you go inside the room. “He gave us a full suite! Look, there’s two bedrooms.”

“Sick!” Andy says as he runs in, and claims one of the rooms.

“Well, this is a pleasant surprise.” Harry says. “We’ll have to make sure to say thank you.”

“Definitely.” You text Julian immediately to tell him how amazing he is. “Okay, bathroom break and then we’ll head to the train?”

Andy didn’t get to go on the train very often, so hopping on and off was really exciting. He got to use the tube in London, but this was still fun for him. His eyes light up when you get the aquarium. He waits for you and Harry to get your tickets before going up to the touch tank that was on the outside of the building.

“They brought us here for a class trip when I was in the fourth grade, I think this and the penguins were my favorite part.” He tells you as he gently touches the various animals in the tanks. “It’s so cool.”

Once Andy’s had his fill, you all head inside. He nearly squeals when he sees the penguins, and Harry takes his phone out to take some pictures, chuckling to himself.

“What?” You smile at him.

“Nothing, he’s just gonna sleep so well tonight.” He kisses your cheek. “I’m really glad we’re doing this.”

“Me too. I thought this trip could be sort of educational for him, so I got us tickets for the museum of science tomorrow.”

“I thought your friends were meeting us tomorrow?”

“They are.” You grin. “It’s going to be fantastic.”

You and Harry hold hands as you walk through the aquarium with an enthralled Andy. You stop off for a quick snack in the small food court, and keep going.

“What are we doing for dinner tonight?” Andy asks.

“Bud, you just had a bag of chips and a candy bar…” Harry says. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hungry for more?”

“I’m not, it just got me thinking about food later.”

“Happens to the best of us.” You chuckle. “We’re going to have dinner at my brother’s place so you can meet my family, how does that sound?”

“Wow, really?” Andy asks with wide eyes.

“Mhm, and brother is a really good cook, so you’re gonna eat well tonight.”

“Are your parents gonna be there too?” He asks.

“Yup.” You smile and so does he.

After the aquarium, you all go back to the hotel to freshen up before hopping in the car to go to Phil and Julian’s. You were happy it was a Sunday evening so Phil didn’t have to physically be at the restaurant. Andy gets a little shy as you walk into the complex, sticking to Harry’s side.

“Hello?” You say as you key in.

“Hey!” Julian says as he greets you. “Come on in, hi, Harry.” He smiles. “And oh my goodness, you must be Andy! Hi, I’m Julian.”

“Hello.” Andy says, politely shaking Julian’s hand.

“Phil’s made so much food, you’d think it was Thanksgiving all over again. A little birdy told us you like pasta, Andy.”

Andy’s smile grows as you all come into the kitchen. Phil had made homemade raviolis and bolognaise, along with a meatless option for you and Harry.

“Hey, everyone.” Phil smiles as he strains the raviolis. “Mum and Dad should be here any minute, think they got stuck in traffic.” He looks at Andy. “Hi, I’m Phil, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Hello.” Andy shakes his hand as well. “So…you’re Y/N’s big brother.”

“That’s right.” He throws an arm around you. “She drove me nuts growing up, but now I don’t know what I would do without her.” He kisses your temple and lets you go. “You’re on April vacation, right?”

“Mhm.”

“Must be nice to just have an entire week off, enjoy it while you can.” Phil chuckles.

“Babe, do you want me to get the table set?” Julian asks.

“Please, that would be great. Garlic bread’s almost done and then we can put it in that nice basket you got.”

Julian nods and gets to work. A knock on the door signals that your parents have arrived, and you go to open it for them. It’s hugs and kisses all around, and then they say hello to Harry.

“Good to see you both again.” Harry says to them.

“Same to you.” Your dad says.

“Andy, c’mere, I want you to meet my parents.” You say to him and he stands in front of you. “Mum, Dad, this is Harry’s son, Andy.”

“Well are you’re you just the most precious thing!” Your mom says. “Y/N’s sent us some pictures of you, but they don’t do you justice. Look at those curls!”

“Oh, thanks…I use a special mousse for them.” Andy says shyly. It makes both of your parents laugh.

“Andy, we heard you enjoy painting.” Your dad says to him and Andy nods. “Well, we couldn’t help ourselves, especially since we also heard your birthday was coming up soon.” He takes a bag from behind his back and hands it to Andy. “Go ahead and open it if you like.”

Andy looks up at you and you nod. He opens the bag and gasps.

“Whoa! It’s that washable paint stuff! Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.” Your mom says. “We saw it and just had to get it.”

“Okay, dinner’s ready, let’s sit.” Phil says.

Everyone sits down at the table, and the conversation stays around Andy. He answers questions about school, friends, what his favorite subject is, what he does for fun (other than painting), and he talks about how much he likes living with Harry.

“Sometimes I miss my mum, but I like living with Dad more. It’s just calmer.” Andy shrugs. He was thoroughly enjoying the food as well.

“Can’t be much calmer with Y/N there now.” Your dad chuckles. “With the way she’s always running around like a chicken with their head cut off.”

“I do not do that…” You mumble.

“Sure you do honey, you always used to run around the house never able to find anything, and we’d tell you not to run because you always had socks on too, and one time you completely wiped out!”

“Wow, I didn’t realize we’d be telling embarrassing stories about me tonight.” You roll your eyes.

Andy thought it was interesting seeing you interact with your parents. You sort of did what Harry did, in that you acted like a kid again. He also liked observing Phil and Julian. Maybe things would get better.

//

The next day, after enjoying a nice breakfast at the hotel, you all head to the Museum of Science. Claudia, Nora, Darcy, and Mark would all be meeting you there. The three of you wait inside for them.

“Y/N!” Nora squeals and runs over to you. You open your arms and you hug each other. Everyone else comes following from behind.

“I swear she turns into a cheetah when she sees you.” Claudia says.

“Oh, shut up.” Nora says, letting go of you. She looks at Harry grins. “Well, well, well, look who have here.”

“It’s so nice to meet you all.” Harry says.

“Oo, boy, that accent.” Mark giggles to Darcy.

“This is my son, Andy. We’re both excited to spend the day with you.”

“Hello.” Andy says. He was feeling a little shy, but less so than last night.

“He’s so handsome!” Nora says to Harry. “Not surprised though.” She looks Harry up and down.

“Okay, enough flirting with my boyfriend.” You say. “Harry, Andy, this is Nora, Darcy, Claudia, and Mark, my best friends in the world.”

Everyone gets properly introduced, and you all head inside to the main area. Nora and Mark loop arms with Harry, and it makes you giggle as they walk with him, and talk his ears off. Claudia and Darcy do the same with Andy, and he loves it. Everyone helped make all of the science and exhibits extra fun for Andy. His favorite part was the lightning show.

You all were pooped by the time you got to the planetarium. Andy sits in the middle of you and Harry, and Nora sits on your other side. You two giggle and she makes you laugh so hard you cry while trying to be quiet during the show, which makes your other friends laugh too. Harry enjoys all of it.

“Okay, we were thinking Mexican for dinner, does that work for everyone?” Mark says.

“I love tacos.” Andy says. “Sounds good to me.”

“Yeah, we eat Mexican all the time.” Harry says.

“Great! You’ll love this place. They have the best margaritas.” Claudia says.

Andy was eating good this weekend. He wondered if you did this a lot when you used to live here. All of the adults order drinks, and Harry lets Andy get a virgin pina colada for his drink. Everyone got all different types of food. Luckily the restaurant had a kids menu with more traditional Tex-Mex that he was used to.

“So, Harry, talk to us about this cabin. Is it used in the summer?” Darcy asks.

“Yeah, it’s great for all seasons.” The friends all look at each other. “You all will have to come up some time this summer.”

“Oh, well, we wouldn’t want to impose.” Nora scoffs. “But I have to say, we’re incredible house guests.”

“Good to know.” Harry smiles. “So, what do you all do for work?”

“I’m a preschool teacher.” Claudia says.

“I’m an executive assistant to this CEO downtown.” Mark says. “At a marketing firm.”

“I’m an insurance agent.” Darcy says.

“And I also work in higher ed, but I work in Alumni Relations.” Nora says.

“Did you all go to school together?” Andy asks.

“Nora and I became friends in high school, and went to the same undergrad, that’s where we met Darcy and Mark, and then Claudia and I met in grad school, and she and Darcy, um, saw each other for bit…”

“But we realized friendship was the way to go.” Claudia says.

“That’s right.” Darcy says. “And we’ve all just been a little group ever since.”

“That’s kind of how my friend group is. My best friend is Brandon, and we have this other friend Tyler. And then Caroline became friends with us because she and I were boyfriend and girlfriend, but now we’re just friends.” Andy explains. “It was awkward at first, but everything’s normal again.”

“It can definitely be awkward.” Mark agrees. “You’re in sixth grade, right?”

“Mhm.”

“My god, the drama.” Claudia snickers to Darcy.

The group asks Harry questions about how he got into academia and how he ended up in New England. It was a great conversation all around. The food was excellent and everyone seemed to be meshing well. You and Nora had got up to go to the bathroom together, it was a chance to consult.

“Well?” You say to her as you both wash your hands.

“I can’t find a single flaw, Y/N.” She says. “I mean, on the outside, ten out of ten, that man is gorgeous, but he can also carry a conversation. He’s not one of those condescending know-it-alls, you can tell he’s really listening. God, and that Andy…so adorable.”

“Right? Sweetest kid ever.”

“You can tell how comfortable he is with you too by how comfortable he already is with us. He was shy at first, but he opened up. Living together has been going well so far?”

“Yeah, for the most part it was seamless. I’ve never felt this sure in a relationship before.”

“Clearly! I don’t think you’ve ever lasted this long in one.” She jokes and you roll your eyes. “I like them both a lot, well done.”

“Thanks.” You smile and walk back to the table with her.

“Well, this has been fun, but every night as to come to an end at some point.” Darcy says.

“Yeah, not all of us have a week off.” Mark says.

“Hey, I’m using vacation time same as you.” You say. “But I appreciate you all coming out today.”

“It was so nice to finally meet all of you.” Harry says.

“You both better come back down soon. We can show you a really good time nightlife wise.” Nora says.

Harry nods, and Andy says goodbye to everyone before you all go to your separate trains. Andy can barely keep his eyes open as he sits on the train between you and Harry. His head falls to Harry’s shoulder, and Harry pouts down at him.

“M’gonna have to carry him.” He says to you. “What a treat.” He puts his arm around Andy to keep him comfortable.

“I didn’t realize just how much walking we did today.” You chuckle and run your fingers through Andy’s hair.

“Think that big meal we just had did him in. It’s alright, he’s having a great time.”

“Are you going to be able to carry him?”

“Oh, sure. He’s not that heavy.”

“I know…he’s just getting lanky.”

“He’s due for a growth spurt, that’s for sure.”

Once you reach your stop, Harry’s able to pick Andy up bridal style and carry him out cuddled to his chest. It was one of the sweetest things you had ever seen. You weren’t always pricy to the more tender moments between them, and you were living for this one.

“I’m just gonna get him settled into his bed.” Harry whispers to you once you’re in the hotel room. You nod and go start your nightly routine.

Harry’s able to get Andy changed, and tucked into bed. Just as Harry kisses his forehead, Andy fidgets.

“Dad?” He mumbles.

“Shh, go back to sleep, buddy.” Harry coos.

“M’having a lot of fun with you and Mum.” He yawns and rolls over. “Goodnight.” He mumbles again before passing out.

Harry’s eyes widen and his mouth falls open. Did Andy mean to say that? Why were people always making confessions to him while they were half asleep? He slowly leaves the room and heads into yours. You were just sliding into bed.

“He all set?”

“Yeah, I’m just gonna go do my thing.” He points to the bathroom and you nod. You had gotten your period yesterday, and you were sort of thankful so that there would be minimal funny business. It wasn’t necessary on a family trip.

“Are you alright?” You ask as Harry gets into bed.

“Yeah…he just…he mumbled something in his sleep, that’s all.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he was having a lot of fun with us, um, just made me happy to hear.”

“Aw, he’s so sweet.” You peck Harry’s lips and settle down into bed. “Love you, baby.” You yawn.

“Love you too.” He says as he spoons you.

On your last day in the city, you and Harry decide it would be fun to bring Andy to the Quincy Market Place so he could do a little shopping. He nearly sprinted when he saw the Newbury Comics. You spent quite a bit of time in there, and Harry let Andy pick out a couple of things he wanted.

“Do you guys mind if I go into The Loft?”

“I thought you didn’t really shop for clothes.” Harry says to you.

“I don’t, but they’re having a sale, and I’d like to go check it out.”

“We can go with you, Y/N.” Andy says.

“So, I’m really annoying to shop with.” You laugh. “Go on to another store. I can meet you in, like, fifteen minutes?”

“Sure, let’s meet outside The Loft.” Harry says and you nod.

You really did hate to shop for clothes, especially with other people around. You were extremely picky and indecisive.

“Alright, where should we go? Need a bathroom break?” Harry asks Andy.

“No, I think we should go into one of these jewelry stores.”

“Why?”

“So you can look at rings, duh.” Andy scoffs.

“Oh, Andy…I…”

“Rip the band aid, Dad, come on, let’s just go look.” He tugs on Harry’s arms towards a jewelry store and they start looking around. “She only has, like, two rings she always wears, so this one definitely needs to be good.”

“Are you telling me you want me to propose to her already?”

“She’s living with us, why not?”

“It’s a big deal to marry someone.”

“But you both want to, right?”

“Well, yeah, we talk about it enough.”

“Okay, then. No harm in looking.” Andy shrugs. “She likes wearing silver…”

“I know.” Harry nudges him. “I have no idea what style she even would want…”

“She wears that necklace you got her every day, I don’t think she’ll care that much.”

“True, I got lucky with that one.”

Harry’s eyes scan over the various rings as the women behind the counter watch him. Nothing was really catching his eye until he saw a silver band with small diamonds studded in it, and large square diamond in the middle.

“Hey, what about this?” Harry asks Andy. “It’s…elegant, like her.” Andy tugs Harry’s shirt down so he can whisper in his ear.

“Take a sneaky picture of it so you can just order a similar one online.” Harry nods and does so swiftly before leaving the store. They both walk over to The Loft where you were standing already.

“No luck?” Harry asks when he doesn’t see any bags.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” You shake your head. “Trying clothes on while bloated was not a good idea, let’s just leave it at that.”

After a bit more walking, and a quick lunch, you all decide it’s time to hit the road. Just like last time, you drive through the city, and pull over at the rest area to let Harry drive the rest of the way. Andy was conked out in the back seat. You hold Harry’s hand as both of your arms rest on the console.

“This was a great few days.” Harry says.

“I know, I almost wish we just took the whole week off from work.” Harry chuckles at that and nods his head. “Is Paige coming to get him tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna let him sleep in, and then she’ll come grab him while we’re at school.”

“Alright, sounds good. My family loved meeting him by the way, so did my friends. I got a ton of text messages saying so.”

“Ah, so you have all the official approval you could need then?”

“I’d say so.” You nod. “I think my parents are still a little uneasy about it, but they’ll get used to it.”

“It was really nice of them to get him that paint.”

“They’ve been dying to become grand-parents, so I’m not surprised that they jumped on the schmooze train.”

“Still, they didn’t have to do that.” He squeezes your hand. “It’s not easy to just treat someone as your own right away.”

“He doesn’t make it difficult, trust me.” You bring Harry’s hand up to your lip to press a kiss to his knuckles and he sighs.

//

With Andy at Paige’s for a few days that guaranteed no one just walking in, as soon as your period was over, it was like Harry went feral. It reminded you of that first weekend you actually slept over where he just wouldn’t let you leave the bedroom. He tried to be subtle about it, but he wasn’t very good at it.

“Feel like taking a break?” He says to you one night as you’re working.

“Do to what?” You say to him without looking.

“Me.” Your hands freeze over your keyboard, and you slowly turn to look at him. “You looked so pretty today, and I barely had time to tell you with all my advisees coming in and out.” He tils your chin up so you can look at him easier. “What do you say?”

You look at your computer quickly to save whatever you’re working and then you reach for the button on his jeans, but he backs away.

“Let’s get comfortable, darling.”

“You know, a break implies that this will be quick.”

“I meant break as in you’re done for the night, was I not clear?”

“Harry…”

“You’re going to burn out if you keep coming home and working until an ungodly hour.”

“I can’t help it.” You pout up at him.

“Come on, come down to the bedroom with me. We don’t have to worry about being quiet tonight…”

“Alright.” You sigh and get up to go downstairs with him.

Once you’re in the bedroom he cups your jaw and starts kissing you. It’s slow at first; soft. Your hands splay on his chest as he licks into your mouth. Before you can meet his tongue with yours he pulls away and nuzzles his nose to yours.

“Baby.” He whispers with a smile, and that all about melts you into a puddle.

He kisses from your cheek to your jaw to your neck, feather light, causing goosebumps to grow on your covered skin. You tug at the hem of his shirt, and he steps back so he can take it off. He reaches for yours and you lift your arms up. He cups your bare breasts (who wears a bra at home?), and kneads them as his lips find yours again. He gets you on the bed, and kisses down your chest. He tugs at your leggings and wriggles them down your legs along with your panties.

“Yours too.” You toe at his jeans and he smirks at you. He does as you say and gets rid of his jeans, leaving him in his boxers.

“Happy?”

“Yes.”

He goes back to kissing on your body, nipping where he feels like before sucking a bruise into your inner thigh. You grit your teeth and try not to buck your hips towards him. You gasp when you feel his tongue on you, sucking and swirling around your folds before he makes his way to your clit. He moans into you and your hands grasp at his hair. You bite your bottom lip as two fingers slide inside you, and you grind against them.

“Feels so good, don’t stop.” You say to him as he sucks on your clit and curls his fingers inside you. Your legs were starting to shake around him. “H-Harry.” You groan as your head rolls back. He keeps his pace steady, not changing a thing so you can get there. “Oh, fuck!” Your chest heaves as you release around his fingers.

He sucks his fingers into his mouth and looks at you with a smirk.

“What?” You breathe.

“Can I put the handcuffs on your for a change?”

Your eyes widen as you look at him. You really didn’t like being the one restrained, and it just looked better on Harry the times he’d let you cuff him.

“Um…maybe use one of the scarves, I don’t like the handcuffs on me.”

“But you’re okay with the scarf, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He nods and goes into the drawer to get it.

“I’m not even gonna tie to you to bed, I’m just gonna put your wrists together.”

“Alright.”

“Sit up for me so I can tie them behind your back.”

“Oh?” Your eyebrows raise as you do as he says. He ties your wrists together and sits on the edge of the bed. “What do you want me to do, ride you?”

“Please.” He puts his arms out for you to help you. “Can I just come on your stomach?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

He helps get you lined up, and you sink down on him. You use your knees on either side of his thighs to help you move up and down. You could feel yourself trying to reach for him, but you couldn’t. He sits back with the palms of his hands flat behind him on the bed as you bounce up and down on him. He watches how the features on your face change as you basically use him.

“Harry, please put your hands on me.” You groan.

“Only because you asked so nicely.” He reaches for you but stops when you speak.

“Don’t be cute with me.” You smirk at him. “Or next time I’ll just have to tie you to each bed post again and ride you like this. Remember how much fun that was for you?” Your lean forward and ghost your lips over his, making him shudder.

“Okay, sorry, I’ll touch you.” He pouts slightly. His hands slide down to your ass and he helps you move on him.

You slot your mouth over his and lick into him. He moves you so you’re grinding back and forth on him and you moan into his mouth.

“Like that, baby?” He says to you as he sponges kisses to your collar bone.

“Yes, fuck, keep going.”

He looks up at you as you squeeze your eyes shut and bite your bottom lip. Your head rolls back, and you squeeze around him.

“That’s it, baby, be a good girl and come for me.”

Your mouth falls open, and you cry out as you reach your high. Those were the magic words, and they worked every single time. Harry pecks your lips before lifting you off of him and settling you on your back. He has you place your arms comfortably above your head, your wrists still tied together. He throws both of your legs over his shoulders, and thrusts back into you. He looks down to make sure you’re alright, and you nod at him to let him know he can keep going. Both of your moans and groans fill the room, along with the sound of his skin slapping against yours. Your clit was throbbing, and you need to give it some friction, but you knew Harry wanted your hands to stay put.

“H-Harry, please, could you, ah!” His tip your g-spot. “Fuck, please, rub my clit.” You groan.

He drops one of your legs so he can do so properly, and you moan out with relief. He thrusts were fast and deep, and it was going to send you over the edge any second with him rubbing you as well. Your eyes roll into back of your head when your orgasm reaches.

“Harry.” You whimper as you come down from your high.

He lets your other leg drop, and he comes down to you, chest to chest. He sucks on your bottom lip as he rocks in and out of you, and you wrap your legs around his waist. His hands come to yours, and he pushes down on your wrists as he continues to fuck you. You were breathing heavily underneath him, and you couldn’t help but look up at him and just watch. He looks down at you too, and it’s insanely intense, but neither of you can think to look anywhere else.

Harry keeps one hand on your wrists as the other snakes between the two of you. He rubs circles into your clit, and moves his hips in the same motion. Your mouth falls open and the whiniest moan comes out. He smirks at you.

“Harry, fuck, I’m gonna come again.” You groan.

“Yeah? Just feels that good, huh?”

“So good, baby, so good.” You start panting. “You treat me so well, Harry. I love you so much.”

“Fuck, I love you too.” He kisses you sloppily, teeth clanking and everything.

You moan into each other’s mouths as you come to your fourth release. You squeeze him a little too tightly, and he nearly loses control.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit.” He says as he pulls out, coming immediately onto your stomach. You were in such a daze you almost told him he could just come inside you, but that was the orgasm talking. “Fuck, baby.” He breathes and kisses your forehead. “Let me go get a rag.” Harry comes back with a warm washcloth to clean you up. “Feel like watching a movie, darling?”

“Sure.” You giggle as he cleans between your legs. “I can do that you know?”

“I know, I just feel like it’s the gentlemanly thing to do. I made a mess, I should clean it up.”

“Remind me to thank your mother some time for raising your right.”

Harry chuckles at that and tosses you one of his shirts before putting on a pair of boxers. He opens up his armoire and grabs the remote for the TV, and gets into bed while you go properly clean yourself up.

“What do you feel like watching?” He asks as you get back into bed.

“Something funny. Hmm, how about Step Brothers?” He scrunches his face at you. “Come on! It’s funny.”

“It’s mind numbingly stupid…”

“That’s the point.” You rolls your eyes at him. “I’m not watching another documentary, Harry, I’m just not.”

“But you learn so much from them, and they’re fascinating.”

“Maybe to you, I find them to be boring as all hell.”

“You can’t tell me the documentary we watched about prohibition was boring!”

“The only interesting part was when they got into the speak-easies.”

“You said you enjoyed the whole thing, you even laughed at certain parts.”

“Faked it.” You smirk and he gasps.

“You didn’t.”

“I did. Faked the whole thing.”

“Why would do that?”

“To keep you happy of course.” Your grin grows as he glares at you.

“Better be the only thing you’ve faked.” He says as he puts Netflix on to watch Step Brothers.

“Harry, you’re nuts if you think I would fake an orgasm with you. I’m not in the business of doing that anymore.”

“Anymore?” He raises an eyebrow at you.

“Did it a lot when I was younger, it’s the fastest way to get someone else to finish when you’re not super into it. I used to not be as vocal as I am now. Sometimes it takes a girl a while to feel comfortable enough to find her voice in the bedroom.”

“Fair enough.” He says as he puts his arm around you, pressing his lips to your hair line for a few kisses. “I love how vocal you are.”

“I know you do because you like hearing how good of a job you’re doing.” You look up at him and start laughing.

“What?”

“Do you get a stiffy when you read your good course evaluations?”

“No, I do not!” He starts laughing. “Why would you even ask me that?”

“Because it just seems like something that would happen to you. All of that praise must go right to that big head of yours.”

“Do you wanna watch this fucking movie or not?”

You burst out laughing as he holds you closer to him, pressing play on the movie. You kiss his cheek and settle down.

“And by the way”, he starts, “I enjoy American documentaries because there’s a lot I didn’t learn in school growing up, and it helps me know what some of the students are talking about. I get a few history majors now and then and I can happily say I can carry on a conversation with them.”

“Harry, it’s okay to be a nerd all on your own, you don’t to blame it on your students.” You give his chest a little pat, and gives your hip a pinch. “Aw, I’m just teasing, sweetheart.”

“Teasing is my thing, get your own.”