#can't get a job because i haven't had an internship; can't get an internship because i'm not in college anymore

[t3am-r0adk1ll]

— Honeymoon with Daisuke! (nsfw!!!)

Note: Ok so uhm this is for a friend heheh~ I'm still working on reqs don't worry! rn i just did this for her bday <3

Daisuke x afab!reader

CW: smut, Daisuke is kind of a bottom?, he CRIES when he cums and that's the whole appeal of this, no pronouns used but reader does wear a dress and have a 🐱

Summary: Your boyfriend arrived from his internship in outerspace with all the intention to settle down with you. Now, you're making up for lost time.

It had been months since you last saw Daisuke. That fucking internship in space was something you’d never forgive his mom for. Why’d she come up with that? Seriously? She couldn’t have just get him a job as a secretary or something?

That was in the past, anyway. What mattered was that as soon as those eternal months passed and the Tulpar landed back on Earth, you could see your beloved boyfriend again. After picking him up from the station, you two went to share a nice meal at a fancy restaurant, had a good time, and Daisuke took you off-guard with a marriage proposal. Of course you were surprised, and of course you said yes.

It all happened a little fast after that, maybe because of the excitement for the wedding. A few months after the proposal, you were already exchanging votes at the altar, both dressed in all white, Daisuke’s hair slicked back with gel that made him look more handsome than usual. It was like a dream, one you never knew you had, but you sure as hell were enjoying.

But the best part? The best part was the honeymoon.

After Daisuke came back, you two were still too busy to spend nights together. Whenever you did stay at each other’s place, all you did was cuddle and sleep because of how exhausted you were. You hadn’t touched him in months, and it was taking a toll on you. You hadn’t noticed how much you missed him until you two were alone in the hotel room his mom had booked for you, in Tokyo, as a honeymoon present. It was fancy and there was a thermal pool and everything, but you couldn’t care less about that right now, when you were full-on devouring your husband’s mouth like you never had before.

You were slowly heating things up, your kisses and movements more eager, and this obviously didn’t go unnoticed by Daisuke, who was already panting. Once you gave his lips a break, going down to kiss his neck, he catches his breath and a few moans and whimpers escaped here and there.

“Haah… someone’s needy, aren’t you..?” Daisuke tried to sound smug and tease you, but your assault on his neck was making it hard for him to talk without a moan or two.

You giggled, giving a hickey you left one last teasing nip, making his back arch. "Haven't had you in a while, baby... can't blame me..." you pant against his skin, and he shudders under you.

At this point you're straddling him on the bed, both knees on either side of his body, sitting on his thighs. He's shaking a little bit with anticipation and arousal, you do that to him. You always have that way to get him so horny he's shaking, and even if he doesn't admit it out loud, he's missed you an awful lot too.

His hands give him away, eagerly finding the hem of your dress to slowly drag it up your thighs, his fingers carefully tracing the skin until his hands get to your butt and give a slow, tempting squeeze, coaxing a soft moan out of you. Your little noises always motivate him to go on, and that look you give him when he looks down at you just screams "please continue." And as the good boy he is, he obeys. His hands trail your waist under the dress, caressing you gently a few times, slow and earnest.

You loved his gentlemanliness, but today you were fucking starving for him. So you leave his neck unattented, marked by pretty hickies and lovemarks, but unattended, to sit up on his thighs and pull your dress off yourself. All that covers your body now is matching underwear you obviously are wearing for Daisuke. When his mind was just clear enough to take in the sight before his eyes, his face blushes but his eyes darken, eyeing you up and down before biting his lip with a teasing smirk.

"Aw, for me, babe? You shouldn't have..." he obviously loved it, did he think you didn't feel his cock throb under his pants? So you giggle in response, leaning in for an open-mouthed kiss again, and this time he had no shame in bucking his hips up to get some friction against yours, making you feel the heat that was concentrating on his lower belly. You smirked into the kiss, knowing damn well what you were doing to him, and it just got him more eager. One of your hands wandered down to his crotch, immediatly earning a groan from him. You loved how vocal he was for a guy, never shy to groan or whimper for you. Slowly you unbuckled his belt, only parting from your kiss to concentrate on fully undoing his pants.

Daisuke was breathless, his cheeks blushed a pretty shade of carmine, and all his attention was on you. Fuck, was he a sight. So pretty and so fucked up already, just for you. It was making your mouth water, but what made you gulp with eagerness was the sight of the wet spot on his boxers, evidence that he was just as eager, if not more than you, for what was to come. You hurriedly took his shirt off, ripping it in some places, but none of you could care less. Trailing kisses down his chest and abdomen was quick too, but that doesn't mean you didn't leave some more marks in the way. He'd be proudly flaunting those in the beach tomorrow, you were sure. You spent more time kissing and marking his navel, knowing this was a sensitive spot, which made your husband whine and arch his back under you, his hand shakily tangling in your hair to encourage you to keep going.

Of course you teased him over his underwear, licking along the outline of his cock. He downright moaned at that, hips bucking up eagerly, and his eyes were already watering because of all your teasing.

"Babe... please... too much... need you..." Daisuke panted, making you smirk, but you obviously complied, eventually pulling his boxers down to let his member out.

It was leaking already, much hotter than the rest of his body, and absolutely throbbing for you. As you had many times before, you started by taking the tip in your mouth, swirling your tongue around it and sucking slightly now and then. All your husband could do was whine and arch his back, tears already overflowing his eyes, causing him to cover his face with his free hand. His whines only encouraged you, slowly taking more of him in your mouth. By the time you started gently bobbing your head up and down his length, he had recovered his breath just enough to speak in ragged breaths and whimpers.

"I... I missed you so much, love... couldn't stop thinking 'bout you when I was up there... I missed your... your warmth so much... f-fuck..." he trailed off, but what you heard was enough for you to understand what he was saying. You couldn't be patient anymore, and you knew Daisuke couldn't either. Your mouth was only a temporary relief, but he needed to be in you.

"I missed you too, baby... so much..." you answered after llifting your head, now straddling his hips again, sliding your panties to the side. You were too eager, and Daisuke liked to keep your lingerie on whenever you wore it, he said it looked hotter that way. You were dripping wet, so you didn't need much more prep, and with his pre already leaking out his cock it was also much smoother. You slowly lowered yourself on his cock, sighing with relief once he bottomed out. So did he, the feeling of your warm cunt swallowing him and your walls fitting him tightly was never any less good than the first time. You were even tighter today, since it had been a while without the stretch.

"f-fuck... baby... s'tight..." he managed to hiss, hands instinctively moving to hold your hips in an encouraging grip for you to ride him. And yes, you were desperate to feel him ravaging your insides, but you missed the closeness too, so you lay closer to his body, only moving your hips back and forth slowly to start the motion. You two are so close your breaths intertwine, looking lovingly at each other's eyes, reveling in the way your bodies connected again after so long. You pick up the pace slowly once Daisuke starts thrusting up into you, a sign he wants to go faster.

Not even ten minutes pass before you're fully riding his cock, bouncing on him while he desperately meets your hips midway, thrusting into you with whines and moans that sometimes get even louder than yours. He notices how one of your hands goes down your body to stimulate your clit and the way your insides clamp onto his cock greedily, signaling you're close to your climax without even having to tell him. He's your husband, after all. One of his hands quickly pushes yours away, his thumb expertly drawing circles on your clit the way he knows makes you crazy. Slow circles, quick circles, then he spells his name. And right when he finishes doing so, you let out a nice cry of his name he's missed, he hasn't heard you moan like that since before that Tulpar internship. Daisuke let's you slowly come down of your high, holding your hips tenderly. Once you're lucid enough, you look up to his face, and just the sigh of him is enough to make you want to keep going.

He was about to ask how you felt, if you needed any aftercare or a moment before continuing, but you caught him by surprise when you resumed your previous pace, just this time your pussy was much tighter and sensitive after your orgasm. It felt so good, way too good, that it made Daisuke yelp at first--surprised by the unepected action and the unexpected overwhelming pleasure. He was starting to get overstimulated, he was way too close to coming for you to keep bouncing on him like that.

"B-babe! S-Slow down..!" Daisuke whined, yet his hips contradicted his words and betrayed his mind, sloppily thrusting up into you. "I... Imma come inside if... if you keep going like th-that..." his voice cracked, giving away the overstimulation tears that were starting to flow down his face.

"S'okay, love..." you panted, mind way too fucked out and horny to care for how your words were delivered. Needy and desperate. "Why don't you... why don't you fill me up, huh..?" you only slowed down for a moment to get closer to his ear, still grinding your hips down. "Want you to knock me up..." you nipped at his earlobe for good measure, and if you were thinking a little better, you would've sworn that broke something in him.

Daisuke shuddered at your words before letting out one more pathetic whimper, and his hands gripped your thighs so tight you knew there would be bruises. He started a sloppy but fast pace, a desperate and hungry one. Was he getting off at the idea of getting you pregnant? You couldn't possibly think of an answer to that with your brains being fucked out, eyes rolling back as Daisuke's cock hit the deepest part of your cunt over and over. If it could get bruised in there, it definitel was now. You reveled in the way you could feel your whole lower body being slammed by his cock, over and over and over, until you reached your climax unexpectedly again. This time it was weaker, all you could do was choke out a moan, while the way you tightened impossibly more made Daisuke cry. Literally cry. His back arched off the mattress and he full on cried your name out loud as he came.

You'd never heard him do that before. And it didn't get out of your head.

Not when he pulled you off him and laid you down next to him. Not when he put your knees to your chest and told you to keep them there so you'd have better chances at getting knocked up, because you'd reassured him that's what you wanted, after all. Not when you two drifted off to sleep cuddled up against each other, his tear stained face so peaceful and handsome under the dim lightning of the moonlight.

Maybe you'd make him cry again one of these days.

[saturnbellfromhell]

Roasting your Moon Sign

Welcome back everyone to a little silly goofy post. I haven't been on the app for a long time because of my school, work and internship, but now I can proudly say I've finished a big chapter in my life and can't wait to be back writing, posting, chatting! Hope you all enjoy this easy-going post and don't take it to heart, it's just a fun time, not a serious time.

〰️ If you're easily offended by jokes and giggles don't read this post, most of my friends, family and people I know are some if these signs, so don't take it so far. In the end I will ne roasting myself as well. :)

➰️ARIES MOON

Why so explosive all the time? I know your emotions run wild, but being so dramatic won't get you anywhere. Take a nap sometimes will ya. No nobody thinks you're annoying all the time, just sometimes. We still love our divas.

➰️ TAURUS MOON

Sleeping again? Shopping again? Fighting over food with your significant other, aren't you? No, you can't get that puppy, you're too lazy to take care if it. Also, we get it, you love art and have the best taste in movies. You do have a nice decorated house, I'll give you that.

➰️GEMINI MOON

Yes, you're so different. Yes, we are all boring in your eyes. No, it's not cute to have an avoidant attachment style. Yes, your shoes are amazing, no, I wouldn't wanna go shopping with you. Why are you constantly buying new apps on your phone? Did you forget about your old friends again because you found a new group of people?

➰️ CANCER MOON

The moody bitch you are, always complaing about how stressed they are even though they cried 2 years ago. Do you always wake up and remember what food you didn't eat in a long time? I know for a fact you would be mad if I showed up at your house without an invitation. Do you also hate traveling because you're too scared to leave the safe place of your house or because you hate leaving your house?

➰️LEO MOON

We get it, you're always right. Yes you are loud yes you are annoying at times, but lovable aswell. Does everybody need to know your bf/gf treats you like a princess? Stop buying so much gold jewerly! You're moving in with a celebrity?

➰️ VIRGO MOON

So how was your day? No,no not work, not the new cleaning appliance you bought, how was your day? O the Turkish eggs at brunch were too cold when served and your dermatitis came back? And you deleted your "sad girl playlist? Damn that's harsh, but your eyeliner is still phenomenal, hope you have a good week even though I know you haven't had a normal week in a long time queen.

➰️LIBRA MOON

No I can't remember all your situationships, boy toys and playboys and wasn't Mark your ex in fucking elementary school, how'd you find him again? I know you're into pilates, you told me that 5 times already. No I don't want to get botox after 2 shots of tequila. Tramp stamp tattoos are cute, sure.

➰️SCORPIO MOON

Ok...yes your ex was a whore and that ex best friend really did lie to you. No don't get in your car and crash it into their house and than set it on fire and watch the flames feather out. Stop looking at me with those serial killer eyes! No, we will not stalk your boss because you think she's having an affair. Yes your knife collection is hot.

➰️ SAGGITARIUS MOON

We get it...you love porn. Yes we get it, you're so loose and easy going and so open and so talkative. No, blondy at the bar is not staring at you, she literally is sitting with her husband...You're moving to Malta? And you got a job in Thailand? And you're 2nd wedding is on the coast of rural Australia??

➰️ CAPRICORN MOON

Is your favorite movie still American Pyscho? O really, you still have the same routine as him, interesting. We get it, yes, you're an introvert. Yes people are gross, yes your cat is amazing. You got into Harvard Law?? On a random Tuesday and you got your Masters? Still fighting with your dad eh...yea, he's a cunt.

➰️AQUARIUS MOON

Can you stop being in your head for 10 minutes damn. And also can you stop talking about your feelings and just start you know...feeling them? Still trying to figure out why society is weird and you feel left out? You spent all your money on your library cards, are you serious..

➰️PISCES MOON

You broke up with your dismissive,back stabbing, crazy ex again? That's the 10th time this month. No, you don't love her, she's literally using you. No, we are not doing MDMA at a carnival to forget everything. Where have you been, why were you taking a walk for 5 hours?

That's all for now, hope you giggled a little. Love all my signs at the end of the day, we are all a little too much at times. Can you guess which I am...😅

[neptuneiris]

cardigan (epilogue) (2/2)

and I knew you'd come back to me, you'd come back to me

pairing: modern!aemond × best friend reader!

summary: being in love with your best friend since high school becomes a strong and unavoidable feeling. until it starts to become more difficult when you get to college and the two of you, especially him, meet new people.

word count: 9.9k

previous part •

thank you so much to all those beautiful people who read this story, it meant a lot to me all those comments full of love and emotion to read each chapter. i'm so sad that it's over, but you will always have the story here to read it whenever you want to.

we'll see you in the next stories, for now we'll give a moment to the end of cardigan, where i'll be anxious to read your opinions. again, thanks for everything, you guys are amazing!

"Can you give me some time, please?"

You had asked him that day, that day with tears still in your eyes and still hugging him, to which he had lowered his gaze to look at you, his gaze soft and understanding, nodding at the instant you asked him.

And you had explained your reasons.

"I-I need to think, Aemond. I-I don't know if I can... do-this... right now. I-I just... "you bite your lips, nervous and embarrassed, "I need some time, I-I need....

"Yes, of course," he assures you softly, "You don't need to ask me, you take it. Do what you think you need to do, I won't pressure you. I will respect your space and each of the decisions you make when you are ready, whatever they are, all right?" he observes you honestly, "Don't worry about me. Take all the time you need."

You nodded in his direction, thanking him with your gaze, to which he had left a soft kiss on your forehead and finally separates from you.

After that, it doesn't take him long to leave your room, to which you had closed your door, watching him walk away down the hallway, feeling something in your chest, a feeling you didn't know exactly what it was.

And he had felt it too as he walked away.

And still surprised and with a bewildered expression in your gaze, that day you still hadn't processed one hundred percent of everything that had happened.

That day you lay on your bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time, thinking about everything and at the same time about nothing. Until eventually you fell asleep.

And now three months have passed.

Three months have passed since the time Aemond showed up by surprise in your room once you came back from Highgarden and you both confessed your true feelings for each other.

Three months since you asked him for time and to this day you haven't seen him or talked to him again.

You still have him blocked from all your social media, so neither of you know what each other is doing, however, you both know that you are either for Helaena or for Aegon.

And as he promised, he hasn't been looking for you again, hasn't pressured you, and has given you your space. And you have also complied with clarifying your ideas and your feelings, what you really want and what is best for you.

However, you are still not done with that matter of yours.

You still have some thoughts here and there, also some mixed feelings and indecisions.

But it's not the only thing you think about, sometimes you can't even think about it because of college, your internship here at King's Landing and also because of your job at the boutique.

Fortunately you've been hired at the boutique that Helaena told you about and everything has been more than fine in your life in those two fields of school and financially.

But you still think about Aemond and the current situation with him.

You thought about asking someone for advice, your friends and even Helaena, but honestly... you want to make this decision by yourself, without anyone else's opinions about what you should or shouldn't do.

You would ask for advice if you didn't know what to do, but you are considering all points, the before and the now.

Until an extended weekend arrives with Monday and Tuesday off for holidays, so you have more time to think about him and yourself.

Your friends invite you to go out partying considering there will be a lot of them at the frat houses for the long weekend but you're not in the mood, plus you know he'll probably be there.

But once talking to Helaena when you went for coffee together, she herself told you that Aemond has been going more on the weekends to his parents' house.

And you're not avoiding him, in fact you've seen him a few times on campus, obviously because that platinum hair is so easy to spot. He hasn't seen you but every time you see him... it disturbs your thoughts a little.

That's why you'd rather not see him.

When on a Saturday afternoon, you head to your room with a basket of clean clothes coming from the laundry, you open the door and Vhagar watches you comfortably between your pillows start to hang the clean clothes in your closet.

And once you're done, you sit on your bed, grab your phone and go to Facebook, when the first post you see is from the weather in King's Landing, warning that a horrible storm will hit tonight and will last until Sunday afternoon, so they ask for precautions to all the population.

You quickly pull aside the curtain of your window and in the distance you see some black and gray clouds approaching, causing you to shiver.

When just at that moment, you get a message and when you look at the screen, you see that it's Aegon.

Egg🥚: hey little demon

Egg🥚: tomorrow we're going to dinner, hel, daeron and jace

Egg🥚: you know who isn't coming so what do you say 👀?

You watch the messages for a few seconds without replying and doing nothing, just watching them and nothing else.

And you don't know why but reading the "you know who" made you feel something in your chest, something that you don't even know, but that makes you feel and makes you think more about him.

You look around your room, remembering just how everything happened here, the last time you saw each other and everything you talked about. His feelings and how you reacted.

Again that strange feeling gets stronger in your chest, a pleasant but sharp pain that runs through your whole body and is… inexplicable.

And suddenly… you feel a need.

You look again through your window at the horrible storm that will start in a couple more hours and let out a long breath, pursing your lips.

Afterwards, you don't really know what's wrong with you, but at half past seven in the evening and only with hope and Vhagar in your arms you get out of the Uber and head to quickly enter the huge building.

The wind has already reached the city, a strong one announcing that it will rain soon.

Your hair is flying in all directions, Vhagar is fidgeting in your arms and as you cross the doors of the building, you are finally okay but through the windows you see all that wind and some lightning reflecting.

The sky is already getting completely dark and you hear some thunder in the distance, all of it approaching.

You hug Vhagar and head for the elevator, again with that hope and longing.

Or otherwise… you'll have come all this way for nothing.

Soon enough you ring the bell, as you cuddle Vhagar and wait impatiently, worried that you'll probably stay out here since you can't go back to your dorm in this weather.

Uber fares go up considerably high because of the rain. And considering it's a storm… you'd have to stay here or at the reception of the building.

You let out a long breath, waiting. When at that moment a loud clap of thunder rumbles through the entire building, tensing you up and causing you to freeze in fear.

Vhagar stirs frightened in your arms and you hold her tighter against you, caressing her, swallowing hard and looking at the door with a hopeful and suffering face at the same time, beginning to despair.

You don't like to be alone when this kind of weather happens.

Then to your enormous good fortune, the door opens and again after a long three months you are face to face with Aemond.

The surprise is more than evident on his face when he sees you, clearly not expecting it to be you, now with the roles reversing as you are the one looking for him after months.

And you smile a little in his direction, though it's not entirely genuine because of the nervousness of being in front of him again and also because of the storm out there.

As Aemond watches you with his lips parted, his gaze lit up and wearing comfortable clothes, a white t-shirt and gray pants.

"Y/N?"

Vhagar stirs fully in your arms, watching Aemond intently, as you hold her tighter and swallow hard, watching him with some sorrow and also hope.

"I'm sorry," you stir nervously, lowering your gaze, "I-I had to come and….

You bite your lips, as Aemond takes a step towards you, hopeful, but still very surprised that you are here. And when you again raise your gaze to him, you both stare at each other for a few seconds without saying anything, with a look of hope.

His lilac eye watches you again with that glow while his beautiful sapphire shines and sparkles completely in your direction. That sapphire you love so much.

He doesn't seem to intend to send you away, not at all, not with the storm out there and if there wasn't, he still wouldn't have done it.

He wouldn't let you go a second time, not in his greatest madness.

That's why you light that spark of hope in him again, watching you intently and with complete adoration, even though he hasn't sung victory yet.

And you finally finish your sentence by watching him with a look of hope and affection at the same time.

"And I just hate storms."

Aemond places a small closed-mouth smile, one barely visible, then fully opens his door and allows you to pass through.

"I know."

Is what he says to you so that you then enter the apartment.

You set Vhagar down on the floor and realize that nothing has changed as everything remains exactly the same. As Aemond watches you behind you, cautious to take his distance as he doesn't want to ruin this, to then hold Vhagar in his arms.

And then it's as if you both go back in time.

"Would you like a cup of coffee or something to eat?"

He offers you in a soft voice, as your gaze focuses on the huge windows, watching as the rain hits the glass hard and lightning illuminates some parts inside the apartment.

And you turn to him.

"Yes," you nod, "Coffee would be nice."

Aemond nods to then go down to Vhagar, but first quickly goes to close the curtains, since he knows you don't even like to look when it rains so brutally.

Then he makes you comfortable in what used to be your home too.

You take a seat on the stool at the table while he starts getting everything ready and that's when you both again start catching up after the three months.

You thought it would be awkward and weird, but it's not.

He's clearly happy that you're here and you feel the same way about the two of you now being in each other's company.

The conversation makes you forget a bit about the weather, even though you hear some thunder, but Aemond distracts you by asking or telling you something, pouring you a cup of coffee and offering you some sweet bread as well.

There really isn't much to catch up on, but you have a very good and pleasant time, finally feeling at ease being with him.

As the night begins to grow late and Aemond takes you to your room, because for him it has never stopped being your room.

When you open the door, everything is just as you left it the last time. Everything is empty, there are only the unoccupied furniture, the lamps on each one, the empty desk and also the bed with the sheets and pillows that have not been used by anyone since you left.

"I'll get you a T-shirt and some socks, so you can sleep comfortably."

You look at him and nod, watching him gratefully.

"Yes, thank you. I-I know I should have brought my clothes, but…

"No, it's fine," he assures you instantly, "No problem."

And he walks away down the hallway toward the door to his room as you watch him then go inside, take a seat on the bed and look around the room for a few more moments.

You felt so strange when you left this room and saw it this empty last time. And now you feel the same way.

When he soon returns with his clothes and hands them to you.

"Here you go."

"Thank you, Aemond."

He nods to you and then scratches the back of his neck, which he does out of nervousness, watching you, suddenly having an impulse, wanting to say something to you.

But he controls himself, again telling himself that he mustn't fuck this up, that he mustn't scare you. So he starts to leave the room.

"I'll be in my room if you need anything."

"Yes," you murmur, "Thank you."

"It's nothing," he smiles softly at you, "good night."

"Good night."

And he closes the door.

It's only a matter of time before you're covered with the sheets, with Vhagar sleeping with you, watching the rain through part of the window with the curtain open, lowering your gaze to place your nose in the collar of Aemond's shirt you're wearing so you can breathe in more of the detergent and clean smell of him.

You can't sleep.

The sound of the rain doesn't leave you, neither does the lightning that reflects from time to time, much less some thunder that is not constant, but when you hear it, it makes you tense up and gives you chills.

You know you're not alone, but you still can't.

So you try one more time. But unconsciously your eyes stay open and you tremble with fear when the thunder is louder this time and the lightning longer and more constant.

Everything is like a horror movie for you.

You really hate and are terrified of storms.

Unable to stand it any longer, you stir to get up, to which Vhagar does so too, watching you intently, she too watching the window for the sound of the rain and the strong wind, probably just as terrified as you are.

Undecided, you go back to watching the window sitting on the bed and bite your lips, telling yourself that what you want to do is not bad and that it is just what you want after so long thinking about it.

When a huge, loud, horrible thunder rumbles throughout the building and probably all of Kings Landing.

You tense up and become completely paralyzed with fear, also the thunder makes Vhagar bark in fear, while you feel the uncontrollable urge to cry, because it terrifies you and does not let you sleep.

You get up with Vhagar in your arms, definitely not taking it anymore and as you try to move forward to get out of bed, your feet collide with something.

You lower your confused gaze, stopping, seeing how there is a medium sized box sticking out a bit from under the bed, as if it had been stored there.

Confused and curious, despite the horrible storm out there, you gently set Vhagar back down on the bed and bend down to pull the box out and pick it up.

Cautiously, you think to yourself that maybe it must be something of Aemond's, something he wanted to keep here and you know you shouldn't snoop around because it's his stuff and this is his room since you left.

But you ask yourself; why keep something right here? Why not in his room?

With everything he has told you and if he really felt bad about you leaving here, maybe he couldn't even bear to see this room without your stuff being here.

That's how you would have felt.

When you then look at the box, in the center of the lid you see how there is a white folded card. You frown, slowly open it and read:

For my best friend, the best of all.

Happy birthday my pretty one. Thank you for always being there for me, even though many times I don't deserve you. I love you, now and always.

You stand completely frozen, staring at the card in surprise and bewilderment, only to look at the box in your hands that is actually your birthday present.

The gift he was never able to give you.

Months have passed and yet it's like it happened yesterday. And you've moved on. But Aemond isn't.

Maybe in all this time remorse was eating him alive, knowing perfectly well that your present is under your bed, in the room that was once yours. Thinking that day must have been very special and that he must have been there for you.

However, nothing was like that.

That's why he placed it here, because he couldn't bear to see it, just the same way he couldn't even bear to see the door to this room every time he walked through the hallway.

You're surprised that he didn't get rid of your gift, but still, unable to cope with curiosity and with a strong, sharp feeling in your chest, you dare and open the box.

And the first thing you see are old photos of the two of you together.

You delicately take the first picture, a photo of you both in high school, where you smile with utmost happiness and he makes a funny face next to you.

You smile a little, remembering that day just as if it was yesterday.

This is the first picture you both took together after you both started spending more time together in school and then became best friends.

He didn't even want to take a picture with you, he said he didn't like them, but you convinced him and then over time he didn't deny you any picture you wanted to take of him or both of you together.

The next picture is both of you in his car, both eating ice cream, where earlier he had warned you that if you dropped ice cream on his baby, his car obviously, you would have to wash it yourself and everything, not just the inside.

Then the next picture is both of you at school with a bunch of friends from back then, friends of his more than anything, but he and you are in the middle of everyone, hugging and smiling.

And so continually there are more photos of the two of you, especially together on your relatives' birthdays, there's even one of the two of you with your parents.

You planned a little trip to visit your parents because you missed them so much and Aemond in an instant wanted to join you.

You didn't want to bother him, but he assured you that he was no bother at all and the moment your parents finally met him, they loved him completely and he loved them too.

Another photo is him at the amusement park, smiling at you, and then another one he took of you, also smiling with a cotton candy.

And at the end are the pictures you took together at his family's balls at Dragonstone, both of you smiling, him in his suit and you in your more than ideal and perfect dress for that night.

He has the color of his tie the same color as your dress in each photo, going through the years, both of you together and in different colors of ties and dresses.

There are also photos of the two of you here in the apartment, together, smiling and happy, to which you smile too, looking at the photos with a lot of feeling, tears starting to form in your eyes.

And you realize the different meaning these photos would have had, if the two of you had confessed your feelings to each other from the beginning.

And that's what gives you the most feeling… the time lost and how wrong the two of you were about each other.

You sniffle, not letting the tears run down your cheeks, realizing that there is something else in the background that was covered by the pictures.

You take another but smaller box in your hand, a small black and velvet box.

Not having the slightest idea what it could be, you swallow hard and open it, instantly the slight surprise reflecting in your gaze as you see what's inside.

A beautiful silver necklace with a drop-shaped pendant of a blue sapphire… a blue sapphire just the same color as the one he has in his eye.

Incredulous, starting to breathe a little faster, you look at it in complete surprise, realizing what he would have given you at the time as a gift.

But you don't even know if you would have accepted it. You know that this must have cost him a lot.

And even though you know that money is no issue for him, it still seems too much for you because it's a real sapphire, just like the one in his eye.

You tilt your head to the side, feeling like you really want to cry now, but then a few words on a small letter underneath the necklace catch your eye.

An important part of me for you,

A vulnerable part of me that has been placed in good hands with you, my soulmate. A part that I have learned to overcome and a pain that thanks to you, has turned into something beautiful. You are special to me.

You are pure magic, my beautiful pretty one.

That's when you lose it again completely. And you start to cry uncontrollably.

You try not to make your sobs so loud, especially since Aemond's room is right next door, but you doubt that he can hear you with all the horrible sound of the storm outside.

You gently run your index finger over the precious sapphire and read his words over and over again.

My soulmate.

He has written to you… but back then it would have meant soulmates in a friendship. But now considering the truth, he always thought differently and has always been that way.

You wonder what you would have done at that moment if he had spent your birthday with you, maybe in sorrow you would have refused this expensive gift, but in the end you know he would have convinced you one way or another.

When at that moment, again a huge, terrifying and loud thunder makes you terribly scared.

Vhagar again barks, frightened and trying to find your touch.

You wipe your tears and leave the gift on the bed, then take Vhagar in your arms and leave the room, heading towards Aemond's room.

At first you think about knocking, but again another clap of thunder, not so loud this time but still frightening, makes you simply open his door.

Instantly you think he is asleep, but the reality is that he has been as awake as you have been all this time.

And with his back to you, he turns to you as he hears the faint sound of his door opening and also draws your attention as the light from the hallway slowly enters his darkened room.

"Y/N?"

You are relieved to realize that he was not asleep, as he looks at you a little confused, beginning to sit up, watching you carefully.

In other circumstances he would not have understood you, but by the expression in your face in an instant he knows because of the horrible storm accompanied by the loud and terrifying thunder outside.

You are about to explain yourself, but as you stand there watching him, remembering all that he told you and explained, even though you are more than aware of the beautiful gift he was destined to give you, you realize that you can't find the words to speak.

Much less when out there the storm seems to intensify, increasing your anxiety and your fear, calling for your attention.

But he has his full attention on you.

So simply acting on impulse and that same need you felt hours earlier in your dorm, deciding to come here by finally making a decision, you head towards him.

You leave Vhagar on his bed, walk around the bed to get to the right side as he watches you intently without saying anything to you and you lie down next to him.

And the two of you simply say nothing.

Aemond settles back into the same position he was in before, while you cover yourself with the sheets that have that unique, clean, fresh smell of his.

Then you move closer to him, snuggling up next to him, draping one of your arms across his stomach and placing your head on his chest, as he gladly welcomes you and locks you in his arms.

And again neither of you say anything. Because there is no need to say anything.

Simply the actions speak for themselves, Aemond realizing that you have already made your decision, a decision that fills him completely and makes him a happy man, finally.

Because you are trusting him again completely, giving him your heart in his hands. And for that he feels privileged.

And in that moment he makes a promise to himself, and that is that he will not fuck this up again, he will not hurt you again, because this is all he has ever wanted.

And the first thing he will do is to prove everything to you with actions and not with words, words and promises that were worthless before, but now… now things are different.

Now they are without Alys in the middle and without his immaturity holding him back anymore.

And what you need from him is this, to feel his closeness, his presence, just the way you are now, hugging and now feeling so much better to get through this horrible storm.

Vhagar settles between both of your legs, to which Aemond smiles tight-mouthed, resting his head more against yours, running his fingers gently down your back, over his shirt, sending shivers but comfort throughout your body.

You move your face closer to him, hiding your face between his chest and neck, inhaling the comforting scent of his clothes and hair, making you smile a little softly.

You have never been in such an intimate position with him before, not even in your times of friendship, because you were afraid that if you started doing this, he would notice.

But now… you realize that this is all you've ever wanted.

When suddenly another huge thunderclap makes you startle in fright and hide your face further into his neck, but Aemond quickly pulls you tighter against him, covering you and protecting you from everything.

"Shh," he murmurs softly in your ear, stroking your back, "Easy, my pretty one. It's okay, I've got you."

And his words couldn't have comforted you more.

Especially since he then turns his face slightly towards yours and begins to leave soft, tender kisses all over your cheek, making butterflies appear in your stomach.

He doesn't go any further, fearing to scare you, when the reality is that you had long desired this. But you don't make him go any further either, this being enough and perfect.

"I love you so much," he murmurs sincerely and lovingly in your ear, "You don't know how much I had wanted this, Y/N."

You smile softly against her cheek and neck, gently stroking her hair with your right hand.

"Me too," you murmur," And I love you too, Aemond."

And there it is… finally. The first I love you from both of you.

Aemond had already told you, that's why you reacted the way you reacted, but now hearing those words come from you only makes him feel more alive and realize that this is real.

With you in his arms and Vhagar asleep in his legs, he knows this is real.

Inevitably, now he is the one who feels the urge to cry, your "I love you" filling him completely and making a tear escape from his eye, feeling very happy but at the same time very afraid of losing you again for a silly thing.

Only he knows how much he suffered when you left and their friendship ended, that now he doesn't even want to make the slightest mistake, because he doesn't want to and wouldn't bear to lose you again.

"I'm not going to fuck this up again, Y/N."

He tells you with a slight tremor in his voice, calling your attention, without ceasing to caress his hair, especially at the moment when you feel something wet fall on your shoulder, being his tear.

"I don't want to lose you again, not with more words and empty promises. No, I-I want to make this right, I want you to be with me, I want to deserve you, to be worth it to you. And I'm going to prove that to you."

You open your eyes slowly, not really being able to see anything, only the shape of his face covering half of your view, while the rest is the room, watching the lightning reflecting from time to time.

You let out a long breath, continuing to run your hand through his hair, then gently lift your face towards him, without pulling away from the embrace, wanting to look at him face to face.

And you are right the moment you see the wet path of his tear running down his cheek and his eye slightly red as he looks back at you.

And he lets you see it, lets you see his vulnerability and how terribly honest he's being with you right now. And you believe him. You really do.

You raise your hand and place your thumb on his cheek, wiping away the trace of moisture gently, watching him lovingly and in understanding, then nod, letting him know it's okay.

Then you are the one who starts stroking his hair back as you lean a little closer to him and start leaving soft kisses on his right cheek while caressing his left cheek with your hand.

He leans closer to you, closing his eye and letting himself be carried away by the feeling of your caresses, holding you tighter against him, not wanting to let you go and wanting to feel you as close as possible.

This is comforting for both you and him, but he has always wanted this, always longed for this and now that he is receiving it, it feels like a dream.

And he loves this. He loves that he has you and that everything is finally all right, despite the terrible storm out there.

But the storm was the main reason you're both here now so… he doesn't know whether to be grateful for that or hate the storm as much as you hate it for scaring you and keeping you awake at night.

Then again it's you who dares and leaves a soft kiss on his lips that takes him completely unaware and he opens his eye to watch you intently and slightly surprised.

But before the two of you, especially you, can process it, you watch him with some fear, hope, fondness and need.

"We won't go through the same thing again as before, will we?"

You ask him in fear and his gaze contracts in understanding and concern for your worry.

"We will talk and consult each other about anything that worries us. We won't be led by anything or anyone without asking each other first… right?" you look at him a little more serious, but still concerned, "There won't be anyone else in the way anymore."

Aemond watches you for a few seconds in silence, observing you or rather admiring you gently, completely understanding this concern of yours.

And if he were you, honestly he too would be worried about the same thing considering everything that happened between you.

"Right."

He assures you afterwards with a sigh, bringing one of his hands to a lock of your hair, placing it behind your ear, then caressing your cheek watching you with adoration and then placing his fingers on your chin.

"We're going to do this right," he assures you, "I'm going to do this right."

"You promise?"

"I promise," he assures you again in an instant, "I'll never get another chance with you if I screw up again, I know that and that's why…now that I finally have you, I don't intend to let you go. Not until you decide so."

You smile softly in his direction, your gaze full of affection and adoration, thinking about how much you love him and how perfect this feels, this thing you've wanted for years, being the same thing he wanted and feels too.

Your lips are almost touching and having no intention of separating because you want to feel the closeness of the two of you, his words filling you up.

"So this is official now?"

You ask him with some amusement in your gaze but equally excited, trying to keep yourself from smiling big and looking like a silly little girl in love.

"I've waited too long already, Y/N. I don't want to waste any more time. But I'll understand if you still don't want us to take this any further," he lets you know, "Just because you've already made up your mind and taken some time doesn't mean you can't take more to clear your head if that's what you need. I'll still keep waiting for you until you're ready."

He tells you so honestly and with such determination that your heart melts with affection.

And more so because he continues to look at you as the most precious thing to him in the whole world, really not wanting to scare you away from the matters of a relationship so soon, but he wants to be honest with you from the beginning.

And you appreciate that, because you know how terribly serious this is both for him and for you….. finally.

"No, I-I…" you nod slightly and smile a little, "I want this too."

He watches you intently and with all the fondness in his gaze.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes… yes, I-I… this is all I've ever wanted" you sigh, "I don't want to waste any more time either. I just want everything to be okay now and for us not to go through what we went through last time. I want us to talk and be there for each other."

He nods slightly, understanding, smiling.

"That's how it will be my pretty one, you'll see."

So now it is he who makes with his fingers on your chin to bring your face closer to him and kisses you.

He really kisses you.

You let yourself be completely carried away by the movement of his lips and you move closer to him, letting all your weight fall on top of him, kissing him as softly and affectionately as he kisses you, it being a kiss not at all hurried but deep and full of feelings.

He kisses you so sweet and so soft, treating you as if you were made of glass.

He then places both of his hands on your waist, embracing you and pulling you tighter against him, while you place your hands on his cheeks, both kissing without separating an inch.

And now all you can hear is still the sound of rain and thunder outside, along with the sound of your mouths moving, both of you clinging to each other.

The two of you finally feeling complete as you share your first kiss.

"Fuck," he sighs into your lips, completely delighted by your lips and your closeness, "I love you…so much."

He tells you in between kisses to then caress his lips with yours again in a desperate, deep movement, making you smile and giggle a little, pulling you apart a little to again leave steady kisses down his cheeks, his nose and again kiss his lips.

"I love you too."

And again you resume the long, lingering kiss, not meaning anything else, just being about the first innocent kiss… for now.

All they both need now is to feel that closeness and affection for each other. And that's exactly what they do, until they eventually fall asleep.

The next morning, neither you nor Aemond get out of bed.

With the weather completely cloudy as a result of last night's storm, the mood is to stay in bed and stay there all day. And that's exactly what you both do.

It is Aemond who wakes up first, with you in his arms, your face buried in his neck and your arms around his body, while Vhagar sleeps in both of your legs more than comfortably.

He smiles at the sight, more than pleased and more than happy, not needing anything else for this day and definitely not needing more in his life than this… you.

You the person he wants to spend the rest of his days with if possible, with Vhagar accompanying you at every step, the mere thought making him smile and yearn like an idiot.

Then he carefully removes you from his body, which fortunately you don't wake up to because you are not used to going to sleep late and waking up early the next day like he is.

Vhagar doesn't wake up either, which he also appreciates and as soon as he gets out of bed, he quickly covers you with his sheets, making sure you're okay, and then leaves a kiss on your neck and forehead.

He also caresses and leaves kisses on Vhagar's head before heading to his bathroom to take a shower.

And by the time he finishes, you are still asleep, but Vhagar wakes up and he takes her in his arms to go together to the kitchen to make breakfast.

The whole time he's cooking he can't stop grinning like an idiot, thinking about last night and also happy with the thought that you're here with him, right now sleeping in his bed, the two of you finally together.

And he knows it's real as he paces back and forth in the kitchen with Vhagar lying on the floor, watching him, making him smile and feeding her every moment he sees her, not resisting.

As he is about to finish cooking, he feels small hands and arms wrap around his back completely, making him smile like an idiot again, more if possible, instantly placing his hands above yours on his chest.

He feels you drop your head on his back, needing his touch, just what he needs from you as well.

"Good morning, my pretty one."

"Good morning," you say back to him with your voice hoarser and still sleepy.

He laughs and turns to you, holding you in his arms, instantly embracing you as you cling completely to him. And he leaves kisses on your cheek and in your hair.

"How did you sleep?"

You let out a long breath.

"Very well until I woke up and you weren't next to me."

He smiles, pulling you closer to him.

"Don't worry, we'll have more mornings together where you'll wake up and I'll be right next to you, I promise," he leaves a kiss on your forehead, "Now… do you want breakfast? I made pancakes."

You raise your gaze to him, watching him with all the adoration in the world with a small smile, then nod.

"Okey," he leans in and leaves a soft kiss on your lips, "Give me a few minutes, I'll serve everything."

"I'll help you."

The two separate, at that moment the two realizing that they can't even keep their hands to themselves as they need to touch and be close to each other, turning out to be ridiculous but more than necessary at the same time.

Aemond thinks about how if Aegon could see them right now, he would call them in need of affection when literally the two of them are in the same place and even then it's not enough.

It's not like you're going to be stolen any second from his side or Aemond is going to be stolen from your side.

And the moment they start serving everything, after having breakfast together, in the place that was home to both of you and fortunately still is, everything went back to the way it used to be before.

Except this time… finally Aemond is yours and you are his.

And then pretty soon the people around you know it.

It's not as if you both wanted to hide your relationship, not at all, rather you wanted to shout to everyone that at last the two of you are together and happy.

Helaena was the first to find out after she showed up by surprise at the apartment and found you there with Aemond's clothes on, where the two of you were watching movies.

And you didn't even have to explain anything to her, she immediately deduced that something else was going on.

But when you confirmed to her that it was so, she could no longer control her huge smile and her excitement, hugging you tightly, telling you how very happy she was for both of you, then hugging Aemond as well.

But his happiness vanishes and in the blink of an eye she grabs him by the collar of his shirt in a furious grip and threatens him not to commit any of his foolishness with you again.

And as soon as she is done threatening him too, she returns to her happy state and keeps them company for a while, happy to see them both so comfortable, so happy and finally so at peace with each other.

Then the next to find out were Aegon, your friends and also apparently "the rumor" started to go around the campus, among the girls more than anything else, announcing that Aemond Targaryen has a new girlfriend.

And it was confirmed the moment you and Aemond are seen walking across campus towards your apartment, both holding hands and not really caring much about the stares of others.

And because of how extremely popular Aemond is, he didn't hesitate for a second to show off, just a little bit, his relationship with you also on social media, uploading pictures of you or both of you together.

You also started posting some pictures with him, it's not like you have the same amount of followers as him, but you know almost the whole psychology department and you only confirmed more your relationship with him.

And with only a few weeks left after you and Aemond finally formalized everything, neither you nor he talked about moving back in together.

There was nothing Aemond wanted more, but he didn't want to pressure you if you didn't feel ready.

Gradually though, staying at the apartment so late and deciding to sleep over started to become unconscious, also staying in the mornings to have breakfast together and also bringing some of your things or clothes with you.

Aemond only suggested Vhagar to stay with him now and you accepted, that's why going to the apartment started to be more frequent, also sleeping over.

Both of you didn't say anything, but little by little that fact started to happen even for both of you not to agree on something. Aemond was giving you time to adjust and you were doing it without pressure.

Until it got to the point of always staying with him and having to leave your room in the residence free for someone who really needed it. In the end you talked it over with him and he gladly agreed to let you go back to the apartment.

You also talked about your job. You were not willing to quit and he understood you, he didn't reproach you for it or anything, you even agreed that some days he could pick you up.

And so things finally, little by little, between the two of you began to take shape after making the relationship official.

And honestly… the two of you couldn't be any better off.

"Wait, no, so… you're telling me… you and your best friend have been in love for years and neither of you knew…" Sara looks at you serious and incredulous, "Until now."

You let out a small laugh, swinging your feet back and forth constantly.

"Yes, that's exactly how it happened."

But Sara is having none of it, she questions you in disbelief and stares at you in total disbelief.

"Are you kidding?"

"You can't blame them either, that's what usually happens when they're best friends," Aileen tells her with more understanding.

"But wow," Ryan says now, slightly surprised, "You being the Targaryen boy's girlfriend is like you're a celebrity girlfriend. All the girls will be all over you knowing his reputation from before."

"He already explained that to me, so I'm not worried," you assure him.

"And how has it been going?" asks Sara with a smile, taking a sip of her drink, "You didn't date any Highgarden boys but you're dating Aemond Targaryen, who…" she makes a thoughtful face, nodding, "Yes, it's true, he's like a celebrity."

"As far as I know, everything's fine," Hel suddenly appears from the kitchen with a smile, drawing everyone's attention, "And if it isn't, the first thing I'll do is go against Aemond."

You smile at the arrival of Hel, who looks as radiant and striking as ever in a beautiful red dress and her platinum hair in a simple but pretty updo.

"Guys, this is Helaena, Aemond's sister and my advisor… pretty much in everything."

"'Her sister-in-law,' Hel says with a proud smile, waving to your friends.

You laugh and so do your friends, as you can see Ryan fidget a little nervously at Hel's arrival who talks to Sara and Aileen as if they've known each other all their lives, watching her a bit embarrassed, making you smile, knowing full well that Hel also has many admirers all over campus.

But that doesn't make you smile as much as when Aemond crosses the kitchen doorstep as well, looking for something or someone, but when his gaze meets yours, that little smile appears on his lips and you smile back at him.

He makes his way through all the people at the party crossing between the main living room of the huge fraternity house and the kitchen to get to you.

And when he does, you immediately wrap your arms around his neck and he wraps his hands around your waist, leaving a chaste kiss on your lips that you reciprocate with a smile.

"Here's my pretty one," he murmurs against your lips.

You smile some more.

"I missed you."

"Me too," he leaves one more kiss on your lips, "But people came who I didn't even know were my family, all the way from Oldtown and mom wanted us to stay and meet everyone."

"And how did that go?"

"Hmm… fine, yeah," he shrugs, "Nothing interesting, really."

You laugh at his unconcern when you can imagine his mother going crazy having so many guests from Oldtown.

"And where is Aegon?"

"He met some girls at the entrance, one of them he must be sticking his tongue down her throat by now."

You laugh again as he settles between your legs and you hug him by the shoulders, then he turns and greets Ryan, who is right in front of you and they both start talking and catching up.

Also little by little Hel corroborates in the conversation of both of them and so on until also Sara and Aileen also talk to him, finally your friends and your boyfriend having a conversation and getting along well.

At all times Aemond doesn't move away from you and doesn't fail to feel your touch as he takes your hand and intertwines his fingers with yours, those simple actions filling you up and making you feel more than happy.

Until at one point you can see how a group of girls also in the kitchen are watching the two of you and whispering constantly to each other, but watching especially you.

Ryan's words come to your mind and you try to distract yourself from thinking about it, but with their gazes on you it becomes impossible, while Aemond doesn't even notice.

When Aemond catches your attention and makes you forget about them as he turns to you and watches you with all that affection and all that adoration.

"Wanna dance?"

"In a moment. I want to play something first," you point to the beer pong tables.

"Babe, at the last party with just one round of beer pong you were already feeling dizzy," he tells you amused.

"That's not true," you say instantly indignant, "It must have been the heat, the people or something."

He laughs.

"Yeah, right."

"Besides, who was the last one who had to take care of whom?"

"See? You don't even remember," he says amused, "I took care of you last time."

You look away from him and grimace a little, smiling.

"Fine, now I'm the one at this party who's taking care of you."

"Hmm… nope," he leaves a kiss on your cheek, "I don't plan on drinking. I have to take care of my girl."

"Are you serious? Because I am taking it serious," you warn him.

"Yeah, if you want to drink, I'll take care of you," he assures you.

"You sure?"

"Very sure."

You smile and again the two of you share a slightly longer kiss, neither of you really caring that you're among friends and lots of people.

You did care at first, but Aemond didn't and he started to slowly make you stop caring too.

"There are my two love birds!"

Aegon's voice makes both of you break off and look at him, also your friends, as he enters the kitchen already with a drink in hand and completely smiling, heading towards where you are.

"What's up man?"

He gives Ryan a friendly high-five and makes his way over to head towards your friends and Hel.

"Sis, I already told you, you look good, girls you too, beautiful," he says in a flirty tone and finally his gaze falls on the two of you, "Sister-in-law! First time we've seen each other since you've been with my brother and you don't know the satisfaction it gives me to call you that."

You laugh and Aegon wraps you in a hug.

"Also finally seeing you, again, Egg."

"Don't call me that if you want to continue to have my approval, you little demon."

"Oh come on, even if you didn't want to, we'd still still be approved by you."

"I hate you."

And even though Aemond doesn't have to feel jealous, he still has that instinct and also the protective one, so he interferes, wanting to feel close to you again, nor him bearing himself.

"Okay, that's enough."

Aemond interrupts their moment by pulling Aegon away from you and settling back between your legs, him being the barrier between his brother and you or anyone else actually.

"So soon we've already started with your jealousy, little brother?"

"Hands where I can see them."

"Okay, Officer Targaryen," he says with a pout, "Dude, this is a party, relax."

You smile and leave a kiss on Aemond's cheek, that being enough to make him content again.

"And mom already knows about this?" asks Aegon interested, "You know she'll go crazy, right?"

"Why?" asks Aemond.

"She'll go crazy and probably start crying from happiness, obviously," he says obviously, "And not just her, but Nyra, Daeron, Jace too, Baela, Rhaena, even Uncle Daemon-oh my god, I can already see what he'll say-you know what? I'll send him a picture of you two right now," he quickly grabs his cell phone and starts typing like crazy, "the fucker is going to love this."

You can't help but laugh loudly at this as Aemond also puts on a smile and not too soon after, the party really starts to get going.

Aegon is the one who starts to set the mood more and pretty soon you find yourself dancing with Aemond and your friends.

Or rather you are hugging him, with him having his hands on your waist, both of you moving from time to time to the rhythm of the music but kissing.

You also sing a few songs together, even Aegon joins in the fun in every person who is dancing, but you can't help but not kiss.

Drinks fly here and there, Aemond drinks too, but it is you who drinks too much and soon enough you find yourself dizzy, sitting on a couch with Aemond next to you with one of his arms around your shoulders and your head on his chest.

Your friends keep you company, also Hel. You don't talk as you are recovering because you don't want to get really drunk while Aemond laughs and talks to your friends, but still from time to time he talks to you and watches you to ask you if you are ok, leaving kisses on your forehead or cheek.

The minutes pass and you observe all the party around you, until your gaze meets again with a whole group of girls watching Aemond and you, but more you.

And it catches your attention that right in that group of girls is Alys, in the middle of all of them, murmuring and having a funny little smile on her lips, watching you.

You press your lips together, letting out a long breath, not wanting to make a big deal out of it but finding it impossible because of the mocking way you know she's talking about you.

Honestly, you didn't even remember Alys anymore. And you know Aemond doesn't even think about her anymore either.

But seeing her now, you teleport back in time to your high school days with the rich girls being mean to you.

And at that moment you try not to let Alys get to you.

You know you shouldn't be ashamed, rather she should be ashamed of what she did to Aemond and with that you feel at ease, knowing that you are not a disgusting person like her.

But being a little drunk and dizzy at the moment, it's a little hard for you not to care.

"Babe? Are you listening to me?"

Aemond's words snap you out of your trance returning to the party and you look at him a bit confused.

"Mmm?"

He smiles at you in amusement.

"I asked you if you need anything."

"Oh," you close your eyes, sighing, "No, I'm fine, thanks."

"Sure? Don't you need a glass of water, go to the bathroom or get some air?"

"Hmm…" you say thoughtfully, "No."

He chuckles a little at your behavior and leaves a soft kiss on your lips.

"You want to go home already don't you?"

"What? No, of course not," you quickly tell him confused.

" Babe, I know perfectly well when you lie to me and believe me when you're drunk, I know it even more."

You let out a sound of frustration, closing your eyes tighter, hiding your face in his neck.

"I'm not drunk and I don't want to ruin the party for you. We can stay a little longer," you tell him apologetically.

"No, babe, it's okay," he assures you, "Come on, can you get up by yourself?"

" Babe, no, it's okay, we can stay…".

"I want to go too. Right now I want to be home, with Vhagar and you, so come on, can you get up or not?"

Soon enough, the two of you say goodbye to your friends and his siblings, and Aemond helps you with your balance as you both head to your car, as yes you can walk but at any moment you can go more to the left or right than you need to.

"I love you," you murmur to him as he sits you in the passenger seat and buckles you in.

He smiles.

"I love you too, my pretty one," he says to leave a kiss on your forehead and close the door.

And again very soon you find yourselves arriving at the apartment, where a happy Vhagar greets you, while Aemond leaves you on one of the sofas and goes to the kitchen to get you some water and something sweet to make the dizziness go away faster.

"Here you go, love."

"Thanks."

He also takes a seat next to you and you start eating the sweet bread he brought you, while Vhagar climbs up on the couch with both of you as well.

"Do you want to watch a movie before we go to sleep?"

He asks you watching you carefully and you nod with your mouth full.

Aemond turns on the TV and starts searching for something on Netflix, while you're almost done eating and drinking water, honestly starting to feel better without noise and with some food in your stomach.

When Aemond switches from Netflix to HBO to put on your favorite movie, Harry Potter.

And it's not even ten minutes into the movie when you finish eating and all of a sudden you say:

"I want to hug you."

Aemond smiles beside you.

"You can hug me, babe. I'm right here."

And with that you don't need to hear any more, you quickly move towards him.

But Aemond thought you would want to lay your head on his chest and he would want to hug you around the waist so you could watch the movie, however, you sit right on his lap, your arms around his neck and your face hidden, your back to the TV.

That takes him by surprise but he doesn't complain, on the contrary, he pulls you tighter against him, slipping his arms around you to wrap his arms around your waist.

"I'm sorry we left the party so early," you murmur in his ear, apologetic.

"No, it's okay," he murmurs softly and lovingly in your ear too, " This is how I want to be with you. This is how I always want to be."

You let out a long breath, clinging a little tighter to him, leaving a soft kiss on his neck, feeling so loved.

Then, unable to help yourself, you again leave a kiss on his neck, then begin to leave more in a trail down to his cheek and lips, holding his face with one of your hands.

Aemond smiles all the time, especially when you kiss him with so much need and so much passion that you drive him crazy and he kisses you with just the same feeling.

He pulls away from you to catch his breath and you continue kissing his neck, stroking his hair and stirring in his lap, which makes Aemond alarmed hold you tightly by the waist, preventing you from moving too much.

But you continue with your kisses, on his neck, all over his face and finally on his lips, kissing him in a way you have never kissed him before and Aemond corresponds happily.

When your breathing and also his starts to get heavier and your kisses more… needy.

You again want to move on top of him, but Aemond again stops you by stopping you from kissing and watching you with some alertness and also warning.

"Y/N."

"What?"

Again you kiss him, clinging more towards him if possible and Aemond kisses you too.

But your need clearly starts to mean something else and Aemond stops you again the moment you slip one of your hands under his shirt to feel his body.

"No, wait," he murmurs, stopping you from kissing, breathing hard.

"What? What's wrong?"

You look at him confused and he lets out a long breath.

"You're drunk," he says softly, wanting to make you understand.

"Aemond, I'm not drunk," you insist, "I just felt dizzy, that's all."

You look at him with all honesty and clearly with all willingness, but Aemond continues to look at you with some sorrow and hesitation, also a little serious, because he is not quite sure about it.

"Aemond, please…" you plead, bringing one of your hands to his cheek, " I am thinking, I am conscious and believe me I have never been so sober in my life."

He lets out a long breath, pulling his gaze away from yours, that definitely catching your attention and now watching him with confusion and some disappointment.

"Or is it that you…" you are embarrassed in an instant, "you don't want to do it?"

And at this Aemond immediately looks at you again, worried.

"What? No, no, no, it's not that, babe, it's just that….".

He looks at you unsure, while you continue to watch him attentively, wanting to know, your lips parted and swollen, as well as your whole look willing and full of desire, your eyes more than anything else, just the same way he is.

But he can't do it, not this way without first talking it out and you being sure to take that big step.

"Yet you drink and I can't and won't do this if you're not sure."

"But I am," you insist, "I'm more than sure."

And even though you've said so and you're totally showing him how sure and willing you are, he still doesn't feel convinced, watching you carefully and with some regret.

"I promise, I'm very sure," you say again to kiss him again with the same need as before.

And Aemond reciprocates your kiss, but still continuing to hold you tightly around your waist, preventing you from moving and making him lose control completely.

Even he doesn't know why he keeps resisting nor does he know what else he needs to hear from you to do this, but your drinking earlier stops him completely.

He thinks you're telling him you're safe but you may still be influenced by alcohol and that's just what he doesn't want.

But you really are sober. You really want to do this.

You kiss him with such longing, passion and determination, to continue leaving wet kisses all over his neck, making him sigh and even more reason to control himself at that moment.

"Y/N," again he warns you.

"I want this, please," you beg, "I want this so badly," you murmur in his ear, leaving a few more kisses, caressing his abdomen over his shirt, "Let me show you how much."

His words alert you, but in an instant, you pull away just a little from him and remove your shirt, exposing your breasts covered by your black bra, watching him with desire and even with all that willingness.

Aemond holds his breath completely, surprised, watching you seriously, not being able to avoid looking at your breasts just for a second to look you in the eyes again.

"If you don't want to do this, say so now, Aemond," you ask him.

Then you, there in front of him, half naked, makes his gaze darken and his pupil grow larger, filling him completely with desire at the sight of you and definitely unable to resist any longer.

And now it is he who attacks your lips in a needy kiss, wrapping his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him, while you respond in the same way, pleased.

You begin to move on top of him and this time he doesn't stop you, no longer able to control the notorious desire in his pants that begins to grow and that you begin to feel, only making you want more.

"You're so pretty," he murmurs against your lips, completely aroused, running his hands down your back, reaching for the clip of your bra.

"You're so beautiful too, Aemond," you reply between kisses, "I love you."

"I love you too."

You do the work for him and remove your bra in one motion, dropping it somewhere on the couch, not really caring.

Aemond grunts, definitely not being able to take it anymore and in an instant he places both of his hands on your ass and lifts you up to get up himself as well, carrying you towards his room, both of you without stopping kissing.

And that night, Aemond caressed every part of you and treated you like the petal of a flower, taking care not to hurt you and making you feel good at all times.

And you loved every moment, clinging to him, kissing his scar and repeating over and over again how much you love him, while he continued to make sure you were okay.

You took all the time in the world, there was nothing rushed and nothing forced, the two of you more than comfortable and letting yourselves be completely carried away by the moment, feeling so loved and so lucky.

That night… Aemond was yours and you were his, completely.

And in the end, you both couldn't have felt better, looking forward to what awaited you next, finally together.

[self-indulgent-paw-patrol]

Most of you guys know me for my art on the Paw Patrol askblog @diy-fire-water-pups, but I can draw a lot more, like furries, 2D characters from any kind of animation, I can turn 3D characters into 2D as well (I mean, that's what I do with Paw Patrol already anyway lol), cartoon/anime humans, I dare drawing even Transformers!

I have a part time odd job as an English teacher for Brazilians, but it pays only for the months I'm actively teaching. This job doesn't pay much either, it's not supposed to be an actual job (more like an internship of sorts), so I'm constantly offering art commissions and coming up with YCHs and other offers all year long, since no one in my house has a job as of right now. I've been doing all I can since early 2019 to keep paying the bills, buying food and supplies, but it gets harder and harder each passing month and I've been having constant burnouts. I keep hurting my wrists, my back and shoulders, I lost any fat I ever had due to lack of decent food/meals, haven't exercised properly in ages, only spending most of my days sitting by my laptop and drawing. It's exhausting, but it's what I can do. Brazilian currency is almost 5x cheaper compared to American Dollar, so selling to Brazilians doesn't get me much at all. I'm trying here on Tumblr once more to see if I can get a bit more.

I know the first months of the year are hard for everyone, after all the expenses with Christmas and New Years, and that most people are focused on donating for Gaza survivors nowadays (bless them), but right now, I need something too. I'm trying other ways to get food, so whatever else I can get I'll spend to acquire these items I've listed. I need computer stuff to work better and my dog got ticks and fleas again and I don't want to lose yet another dog to these pests, not again, so I need to medicate her ASAP before it gets bad.

I will NOT discuss prices, sadly I can't afford making these any cheaper, so, for ONE character (no matter if half or full body, in US Dollar):

Sketch - U$6 Doodle - U$10 Rendered Doodle - U$12 Fully Rendered - U$20 Traditional - U$10 (includes shading)

One additional character: +50% Two additional characters: +75%

No background, or just simple colors/patterns/gradients - Free With background/location - U$10

Example: Two characters, Rendered Doodle, with background. One character Rendered Doodle (12) + one additional character (6) + background (10) = U$28

Payment is through PayPal only. Brazilians get to pay through PIX though. I can't give refunds because I don't have a valid credit card to make payments over with PayPal, I can only receive, so make sure you know what you want to ask me for before paying!

Traditional art will be e-mailed a scanned copy, but if you want, I can mail the original to your address (that's on you if you're comfortable giving me an address to send it to). In this case, there will be an additional to help cover the costs of mailing it (I need to take a bus to the nearest post office too). I always send something extra as thank you along with your purchase, so I promise it's worth it!

Even if you can't commission me, please reblog so others can see it! I have faith the day will come when I won't need to sell commissions to survive anymore and then I'll just be drawing for my love of it and gifting fanarts all around, but until this day comes, I need to keep doing this. Thanks for all the support and love!

[dylawas-reblogs]

My sperm donor, literally the first chance he gets to see me as soon as he's back: So what's the update on the job hunting? Me:

Me: I am fine and normal

Also me: not getting hired anywhere despite having a degree and I turn 26 next year so I need insurance

Also also me: wildly depressed due to said lack of job hunting success and abusive father's lack of understanding

Also also also me: still stuck living in abusive parent's house, again, due to said lack of full time work

Also also also also me: constantly drowning in tasks beyond work and no longer know how to relax

Also also also also ALSO me: just dodged getting COVID from my mother two weeks ago by fleeing her house, but now my older brother has COVID and there's nowhere for me to go

Also also also also also ALSO ME: All plans to treat myself since abusive father isn't in the country are canceled due to brother's COVID and my potential exposure

ALSO ALSO ALSO ALSO ALSO ALSO ALSO ME: STAYED UP FOR TWO HOURS PAST MIDNIGHT TROUBLESHOOTING WIFI BECAUSE THE ISP SAID THERE WERE NO OUTAGES AND I NEED WIFI TO WORK FROM HOME, ONLY FOR THE ISP TO ANNOUNCE AN OUTAGE ONLY AFTER I CALL MY ABUSIVE PARENT ON VACATION

Me: I AM FINE AND NORMAL I AM FINE AND NORMAL

[ask-postcrash-curly]

Anyway. I'm back, had to do some job applications and then do some wedding planning stuff with Daisuke. I really don't care for weddings too much, but between us two (mostly Daisuke) we got a lot of family, most of which is excited for a wedding so. Yeah. Anyway, storytime of how me n Daisuke came to be <3 We met after I saw you off for your last haul. We were both nineteen at the time, and you introduced us. Said you didn't know him well but thought we would make good friends. We talked for a little bit before we decided yeah, why not. We exchanged snaps (dunno if you have something similar in your universe) and omg we instantly hit it off. Talked every day. He told me about how things were going, what was happening on the ship, etc. Apparently one time you (well, my universe you) were leaning against a wall and Daisuke was a tad confused on what you were doing. Turned out you fell asleep, some fucking how. Guess all Curlys are cursed with insomnia. Side note, you once told me as a kid you pretended to be a horse sometimes and would try to fall asleep standing up lol. Anyway yeah, wormhole happens. Daisuke was really shaken up over it and had horrible survivors guilt for a long time and he also closed up a lot. But due to the lawsuit, he had enough money to afford therapy and go to art school like he always wanted to. Before the accident he took a gap year because he felt like he wasn't really sure of anything, but his parents insisted he had to do something with his time other than laze about, so he got the internship and that's how he came to be on the ship in the first place. Then he took another year off between the accident and going to college because he was still hella traumatized. And then he got into art school at 20! (Hooray Daisuke!) Anyway, the school he ended up going to was in my state so started hanging out a lot and ended up dating right after he turned 21. We've been dating since, but he actually accidentally proposed a few months ago and it was really cute lol. We were watching some movie (It was a Japanese horror movie called Kairo. There's an actor in it who looks a lot like Daisuke. (note for mod: That character is who Daisuke is actually based on!)) and Daisuke stood up to used the bathroom and a neat little box tumbled out of his pocket as he did so. He kinda panicked and sorta half yelled "Did you drop this?!" while picking it up and holding it out to me. I tried really, really hard not to laugh but I failed. Daisuke thought I was rejecting him (poor guy) but I just opened the box and put the ring on my ring finger and pulled him into my arms. God, I love him so much. I asked him about it after and he was really embarrassed because he was "waiting for the right moment" and honestly, he could've proposed to me if I was throwing up violently and I still would've said yes. We're gonna combine our last names cuz I wanted to keep mine and Daisuke wanted me to have his. We played rock paper scissors over whose would come first and I won lmao. Some of the lawsuit money is going towards the wedding. (I'll consider it your wedding gift) Anyway, have a song (It's in japanese, I'll turn on the subtitles for you) https://youtu.be/3CXjujyQXbY?si=CAmPmCXuxo3jqSDI -Madz

Hey there, Madz. Nice hearing from you.

Hold on, so in your world you've got live communication with us while we're up here? Brilliant. Have to say, I'm very jealous. Haha. I fell asleep against a wall? Damn. I can't even fall asleep lying down. Some Curlys have all the luck. (Oh. Wait. Nevermind. Sorry.) Hmm... Can't recall if I ever tried that, but I tried a lot of things to fall asleep as a kid so it stands to reason.

Poor kid. He does know it wasn't his fault, yeah? Glad he was able to get help... And art school? Wow. Good for him! Hooray Daisuke!

Accidentally? This I have to hear. Kairo... haven't heard of it. He— "Did you drop this?" Hah! Aw, poor Daisuke. Glad it all worked out. Congrats on the rock paper scissors win too, hah.

Good, good. (Least I can do, hah.) Another song? Let's hear it!

Wow, that's intense. Wasn't expecting such exciting visuals. Not complaining though! It's fun! Thank you very much for it.

[lunion]

To be a writter is to drown in endless drafts and honestly, I can see now why finishing something is much harder than starting it.

I planned to write a multi chapter fic and built the skeleton for it. Ok. Turns out that I got a paid internship and I won't have as much time as I hoped I'd have for this, so instead I decided to just write a oneshot.

Now I'm having trouble finishing this oneshot and I can't seem to find a way to write the next scene and I started going over it to see what was wrong and why I couldn't get it to feel right.

Well, turns out I wrote my way out of the desired conclusion,

Context:

This chapter is set in a work place and they have a new hire who's failing spetacularly on every task they give her due to misaligned expectations. Basically, she has a unique skillset because of her abilities, but because they're putting her in "regular" job positions, she's not up to the task because these don't play to her strenghts.

I wanted the conclusion of the chapter to be of the characters realizing the unspoken qualities of new hire and having things improved after they stopped trying to get her to do her job like everyone else and instead using her strenghts to achieve what others couldn't do before.

The problem comes from how I structured the chapter. It was split in 4 scenes.

1: New hire being introduced to the work place 2: New hire shown to be struggling. Lazy colleagues see her failing and are later assigned by their boss to show the ropes to the new hire so she better adapts to the new place. 3: A week of problems later, the colleagues are complaining and discussing convincing the boss to fire the new hire. a third party listens to the conversation and brings attention to how despite the colleagues owns shortcomings, the boss still keeps them because they're resourceful and the boss trusts they can become better employees if given the chance (things which are true) and that they should probably give the benefit of the doubt to the new hire and actually help her better utilize her strenghts to everyone's advantage. 4: The boss and the third party are chatting and observe in the distance the new hire and the colleagues, now having a blast as they creatively solve their previous problems and are now bonding and becoming friends, content at the resolution and seeing everyone thriving.

nothing wrong until you factor in a few hardships I accidentally put myself through.

a) On scene 2, the boss, because they're meticulous and thorough in their work and words, explicitly tells the older employees to keep a close eye and help the new hire to learn the ropes. This causes a problem on scene 3 because then the only way of having the older colleagues still haven't noticed the new hire's qualities now would be willful neglect, be it out of actual disdain for the new hire, which makes the scene much more mean spirited than I'd like, or out of actively ignoring their task, when their laziness is closer to "I'd rather not have to do this" than "I'll ignore work given to me", because the boss would have certainly fired them at this point. The colleagues are meant to be capable, but somewhat uncommited workers, not actual burdens and especially not so self centered that they'd leave a newbie who they had the explicit task of helping to fend off for themselves.

b) On scene 3, they have this talk with the third party, which is meant to help the older employees to realize that they don't know the new hire's skills and that they should give her a chance. The problem is that the third party, at least based on the original draft of the multi chapter story, the third party cannot have (or at least would be weird) to have the insight of "different people can achieve things through different means", because one of the core personality traits of said third party is being very judgemental about their own shortcomings on more "traditional skills", their main character arc revolving around the fact that despite him not being skilled on the traditional skills other people have, his resourcefulness allows him to achieve what others don't.

The reason that's the case it's because this chapter was meant to foreshadow this third party's (who is the main character of the main arc of the story) journey about realizing that even if he isn't capable like the others, he's no less capable than others, because there are many ways to make a meaningful change in the world besides the more obvious, ableist ways. Having him tell other characters of the lesson he's supposed to learn at the end of his own journey sounds a bit weird to be.

So this whole situation leaves me in a conundrum. I like how my characters are characterized and the only way to make the draft work right now is by removing the boss's meticulousness, which breaks characterization, having the older employees be too lazy or mean, which also breaks characterization or having a character be way more insightful on a life lesson he has no business being this aware of.

Of course, technically, I could scrap this scene and start it from scratch to solve these problems so I'm not confined to the chapter planning I already made, but at this point, the reason I quit the multi chapter idea was not having enough time for that. if I had to start over, then I might just scrap it.

Not sure if I'm looking for solutions or venting, but I thought it'd be interesting to share.

[queenof-3rd-wheels]

My new girl-fail character! The system is mutants and masterminds and we are playing in the DCU. It's during the period of batman beyond, but we are in Coast City and some of the world history is different (might follow up with that elsewhere because I love my partners world building).

Harper used to be a clairvoyant, but magic is dying in this world, so her visions have deteriorated greatly. She was inspired by Huntress, but did not feel worthy of taking up the mantle, so she chose The Hound instead. She can't afford many gadgets or a costume so she just wears a black hoodie and a mask out. She smudges eyeshadow around her eye to imitate the Huntress's mask. She is hopeless at crime fighting, and routinely gets her ass kicked (this look is the start of the campaign, so these are just her most recent injuries).

She lives with her aunt (parents still alive, just not a good relationship), and works 2 jobs to try and help her aunt. She works an underpaid internship at Stagg Industries during the week. Her other job is waitressing during the weekend.

Her waitressing job is actually the result of the only "successful" fight she has had so far as a vigilante. The original Condiment King (96) is trying to stir up trouble, she doesn't fight him but tries talking him down. He ends up slipping in his own mustard and breaks his hip (and his relish tank which he is more distraught over). Neither of them can afford an ambulance so she takes him to the hospital herself. She doesn't like talking about this "victory". When Condiment King gets released, he uses his life savings to open his own restaurant "Kondiment King's Krazy Kastle". Despite the food being very good, and it being one of the few legitimate businesses on the block, it is failing. She begins working there to help out anyway she can, she works there for very little pay and no tips. Whatever money she makes here she tries sneaking back into the Condiment King's pocket. Condiment King is probably one of her only friends besides her Aunt at the start of the campaign.

Her haircut is choppy as hell, as her aunt does them at home. Her vigilante hoodie is stained with blood, ketchup, and mustard. Her nose was broken and never healed right so it's crooked. She has 0 or -1 in all of her abilities.

First game is tomorrow so we will see how it goes. Harper will not be the Hound for long, as she will be scooped up by another force that will make her a bit better at all of this crime fighting. People on the campaign follow me so won't be saying more until it's happened in campaign.

(Still have been playing WoD with Audrey, just haven't gotten around to any art. It is hard to draw people in action. But uh she is either going to be dead soon or no longer be mortal. We will see)

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

I had an argument with a friend. He keeps reminding me how lucky I am that I get an allowance monthly and that "I get to be picky with the job I want to have or if I even want one." And while that's true, I'm very aware of that to the point that I feel guilty for the privilege, he knows this. I asked him why he thinks I don't work. He responded with "because you're not. You're a full time student" I interpreted that as him saying I'm not working because I am a full time student, I said that other full time students work though. He quite harshly and passive aggressively said that "he's sorry that he didn't realize that I represent all other full time students" and that I should just "carry on and do whatever." I explained my point of view as to why I said that to which he just said that he never claimed that that's why I don't work and I should "read the message in full." Throughout his texts he has the emojis 🙄 and 😒 spread around. I didn't respond. He sent me another message hours after apologizing for "being a bit harsh." I also haven't responded to that. I'm annoyed, hurt and frustrated. Am I wrong for how I interpreted the message and how I'm feeling? I was already having a bad day. Me asking why he thinks I don't work was to see if he remembers what I told him; I can't simultaneously work and study without my mental health going under. I feel extremely guilty for not being homeless, being able to afford food, getting a hefty allowance and my parent paying for insurance. And yet he always sees everything in such black and white or pragmatic terms. I know I'm lucky. I want to work, I want to work so badly but I can't. Everyone in my social circle works and I'm just not able to handle it. It hurts to constantly be reminded of this and "how lucky I am." I don't allow myself so many things because I haven't earned the money myself. I'm 27 and only ever babysat and did one internship in my field. I feel so fucking guilty and lazy all the time.

Okay, to me it sounds like this conflict is more about your insecurities getting triggered than about your friend objectively being mean. So maybe what you need to do is calmly communicate that you know you're lucky, but that it's triggering for you to constantly be reminded of "how lucky you are", because it's actually a more complex situation with more factors than pure luck playing into why you aren't working also. I think communicating this clearly is likely to be more productive than continuing to argue about it to the point of getting hurt and upset. I also think that the guilt you seem to be feeling due to not currently being forced to work is completely out of proportion, and that this might be why it isn't obvious to your friend why this discussion is hurting you so much

[evangiline122]

It's been a long time since I posted anything but this is my only safe space that isn't Meta or Twitter. I have something to say that I can't talk to anyone about.

I wake up in the morning and I think about him. How he made me smile and how we've had all these glorious experiences. You walked me around your own stomping grounds and told me about yourself and I couldn't help but to hang on to every word as we walked through the forest that featured a broken gate that led to one of your past schools. Stopping at the nearby Dairy Queen and listening to the trollies and people's enjoying the spring weather. I remember when we explored a witchcraft store together on a day that we both were off work and curious. There I had given you my first gift ever a silver pentacle with runes surrounding the star and a red fake gem planted squarely in the middle. A little cheap trinket and yet... it meant the world to you so when you lost it... it sent you into a frenzy searching for it. I thought you were silly for it... now not so much.

Remember when I was thrown out of the homeless shelter and you spent whole nights worried about me even though I was only five minutes away from you. How every morning, though it would be freezing, you would take the short walk to meet me at a run down McDonald's. The same McDonald's where weeks earlier my best friend had called you a librarian due to the way that your glasses rested in your face and we both shared a laugh realizing how right she was. Remember the night we spent in that motel room? The first night we ever spent together outside of the shelter? The night we were suppose to smoke and have pizza but only the pizza came? It felt like a huge loss and yet you made it feel like it wasn't that big of a deal.

What about the times you pulled me out of a funk by making some silly joke that made no sense. You understood me. You knew how to make a smile break out in me like a silly disease. And it was a disease to me. You'll never know how many times I've walked into a pole, or tripped over a fire hydrant, or left something somewhere cause I was smiling at my phone or thinking about getting back to you.

And then things got bad. I started to take you for granted. Every word felt like you were trying to change me to be another you. I thought since we grew up so differently you couldn't understand me as a person or what I wanted.

Now my bed feels empty despite the person who sleeps next to me. They are no you... I made the worse mistake of my life. Thinking I knew what was best for myself. I now look back and wish I could turn back time... just know I would not have taken you for granted again. I would follow you to every family event happily instead of fighting you because I spent my life isolated. I would have followed you to job corp clean as a whistle. I would have loved to leave with you. Come to do an internship in NY with you. I should have kept my baby. I shouldn't have spit in you face. Every time you had me pinned to the bed and was screaming in my face about something I said or did it was justified.

I've called... I've texted... I've messaged through anything I could... PS4, email. If you ever see this... I know you're doing well and I don't want to mess that up. I love you. I've truly realized that no one can compare to you. You're my "one that got away." I think about you everyday and haven't stopped feeling these severe feelings. I just... I can't stop sobbing. I'm sorry. I'm just... so sorry for what I put you through. You deserve the world. And I hope you find it... even if it's without me... 🥹❤️

[elliethejellie]

The Lovebug Virus - Chapter 1: KitKat

Yandere! Sun and Moon x Reader

Masterlist || Prologue || Chapter 2

*****

"And be sure to continue to practice reading Python, class. Your first major project is coming up in the next month," the professor says as the class begins packing up their stuff. You find yourself sighing heavily as you put your laptop away in your bag. This upcoming project will be the least of your worries if you can't keep going to school here.

"Hey, chipmunk," a deeper voice calls from a few tables away. You smile as your best friend, Kat, makes her way over to you rather quickly.

"What's up, KitKat?" you ask, slinging your bag over your shoulder and making your way out of the classroom with her in tow. She huffs before smiling wide and shoving her shoulder into yours.

"Sooo? Going to the party tonight?" she nudges for the millionth time in the past few days. You sigh just as you had all the other times. But before you can reject the invitation, Kat continues. "Come on, meatball! You haven't gone out with me since the first few months of school! I hear it's going to be huge because it's the official start of football season!"

You bite the inside of your cheek to hold back another sigh. You don't have any real reason not to go, and you hated having to let Kat down over and over like you had been. And plus, she did have a point. The two of you hadn't gone out together since the first couple of months of school, back in June when you first moved in together off-campus. Then, you two hadn't been as close. But a wild night at the local bar had brought you closer than anything, and you've been through everything together since. And with both of you going to school for engineering, you spent almost every day helping each other out with schoolwork.

You roll your head back as the two of you make your way out to your shared car. Kat leans on top of the car and contorts her face into an awkward pout that very much does not suit her features. It makes you laugh. "Fiiiine, but you owe me," you finally say, before climbing into the driver's seat.

The ride back to the apartment is filled with Kat's hopes to get laid by some sporty girl at the party, while your mind wanders to your very uncertain future. You haven't had the guts to tell Kat that you were fired from your job at the local bikini bar last week. Apparently, you were "too shy" and that made the guests "uncomfortable." Luckily, you were good enough with your money that you have the funds to keep paying the utilities at the apartment. But you can't continue to go to school if you can't find another job. 

The search has been unsuccessful so far, with absolutely nobody seemingly hiring within a thirty-mile radius that had decent pay. You would think that within a city as large as this, there would be plenty of reasonable options, but every single job listing continued to prove  the opposite. One had even basically described an unpaid internship, but it threw so many big, fancy words into the job description that if you weren't so smart, you would have certainly fallen for it.

You pull into your designated parking space and the two of you make your way up to the apartment, Kat still rambling on (although now she talks of some soft girl she met in one of her other classes). You unlock the door and head inside, Kat immediately going to make herself something to eat, while you retreat to your room. Once the door is closed, you throw your backpack onto the floor and flop down onto your bed. Between job hunting and school, you haven't had a moment to just relax and let go. Why does being an adult have to be so hard? Well, it probably isn't this hard for most people with the support of their family. But you just didn't have that luxury...

You sit up and drag your backpack to the edge of your bed, retrieving your laptop and resuming your search. You can't give up this easily and you've got a few hours before you have to start getting ready for the party anyways, so you might as well spend it being productive.

*****

"Oh wow," Kat says, stepping out of the car and ogling at the sheer mass of people surrounding the house in front of the two of you. She decided on a loose-fitting dark tank top with baggy lightwash jeans. You, on the other hand, had decided to stick with your usual oversized band tee and shorts. It's your go to outfit because it sorta makes you look like you're not as uptight as you feel you always are. But you seriously second guess your decision as you watch a group of girls wearing tight clothing or close to nothing at all walk past you.

Nobody will notice you. You look like a damn prude.

"Are you sure this is just a normal house party?" you ask nervously as Kat grabs your hand and drags you towards the front door. She laughs.

"Oh shush, meatball, you're going to make some friends with me today," she says once you guys step through the doorway.

"You mean I'm going to cower away in a corner while you find some girl to fuck around with?"

Kat glares at you playfully as she leads you to the kitchen. An assortment of different punch bowls line the countertop and several open bags of various snacks litter whatever remaining space there is. Despite this being where all the alcohol is, it is quieter here. You ponder spending the entire time sitting at the dining table and zoning into your phone. Kat narrows her eyes at you, as if reading your thoughts.

"Come on, please don't be like this. You need a break, so just let go and have some fun, okay?" When you don't respond, she grabs one of the red plastic cups and fills it to the brim with one of the mystery drinks before shoving into your hand and repeating the process for herself. She lifts hers up in front of you. "To a good night," she says, smiling.

You can't help but sigh and join in. "To a good night," you say, connecting the cup with hers before taking a long swig of the red liquid. It's pretty awful, tasting very vaguely of fruit punch but the taste is practically drowned out by the sheer amounts of vodka. It stings on the way down, but you find comfort in the warmth that follows. "Okay, I'll try to make some friends."

"Atta girl!" Kat says. "If you need anything, just text me, okay? My phone isn't on silent so if I don't respond, feel free to call!" She disappears out of the kitchen doorway and leaves you to your own searching. Maybe you could let loose and have some fun for once. Whatever is in this drink surely is fast acting, because you feel lighter already as you force your way through the mass of young adults, drunk or high off their asses. There's a sliding glass door into the backyard, and you can make out the faint glow of pool lighting from where you stood inside. Target spotted.

You head into the backyard and are relieved to feel the cool air on your skin again. The music is muffled out here, and the few people that are in the pool seem to be enjoying the cool water instead of being complete idiots. There's a group of people sitting around a fire pit, and you decide to join them.

For most of the party, you actually enjoy yourself. The group you approached was more than happy to let you join them, and they talked of some pretty interesting things, much to your surprise. You haven't seen Kat since the two of you split earlier, but you assume she must be fine since she hasn't texted you at all. 

Suddenly, you hear some playful screams coming from the back door. One of the bigger guys is laughing, surrounded by a rather large group of people, carrying none other than Kat herself.

"Put me down!" she screams, but there's a large, goofy smile plastered across her face that makes you relax a bit. The guy seems satisfied by her reaction.

"Aw what's wrong?" the blonde guy standing next to the fiasco says. "I thought you were just 'one of the guys' huh? Then surely you'd be fine doing what we normally do!"

And before you can even process his words, the guy holding Kat throws her into the pool.

You stand immediately, worry plastered across your face. But Kat emerges unscathed, and... laughing?

The other guys jump into the pool as well, and you notice a shy looking girl giggling from one of the lawn chairs. Something clicks in your head and you realize it was nothing more than a ploy to allow Kat to be noticed by that girl. You roll your eyes, but feel something pull at your heart. 

Why can't you be more like her? She gets the attention of everybody. And here you are, hiding away with some quiet people that you'll never talk to again instead of partying.

You sigh and excuse yourself to refill your drink. Once inside the kitchen again, one of the guys you had seen outside seems to have had the same idea, because he steps into the kitchen right as you try to leave it, promptly spilling your fresh drink across your shirt. "Oh, fuck, I'm so sorry bro, I didn't even see you," he slurs, reaching for a roll of paper towels and ripping off a few. 

You begin sopping up the liquid the best you can. After a moment, you realize the guy hasn't left. He's actually staring at you. "Is there something you need?" you ask, looking up at him with an annoyed expression.

Way to go, if he had anything nice to say, he probably won't say it now.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" he asks, brows furrowed in thought. It throws you off.

"I-I.. Probably n-not.." you stutter.

"Wait, yeah I do! You're that bitch from the bikini bar! Oh fuck, what did we call you? Uh.." He snaps his fingers. "Timid Tammy!" he says, seemingly proud of himself for remembering.

You feel your cheeks burn. Timid Tammy? That's what everyone had been calling you? An overwhelming surge of emotions overcomes you as you push past the guy, embarrassment tickling the back of your neck. 

See? You're nothing but a prude. Why can't you be normal like everyone else? 

The guy seems to find the entire situation rather comical, however, following you back to the backyard. Before you can get Kat's attention, he starts yelling at the guys in the pool.

"Bro! Look who's here! It's Timid Tammy!" Several of the guys pop their heads up in curiosity, different levels of amusement plastered across their faces. Kat locks eyes with you, immediately sensing your discomfort and begins getting out of the pool. She grabs her discarded clothes and tries her best to rush you out of the party before anyone can continue mocking you, glaring and insulting anyone she can on the way out. You don't exactly enjoy the amount of attention she's drawing to the two of you but god, what would you do without her?

You don't deserve her friendship. What have you ever done for her? You're even lying to her right now.

Once safely in the passenger seat of the car, you fall into a fit of tears. Kat begins the drive back home, unsure of what to say for a while as she lets you break down. You hate that you had to work at that stupid bar. 

But you loved the attention, you stupid whore.

Does Kat think you're nothing but a slut for working there? Why couldn't you just get a normal job like her, being a security guard or something? 

Because that's all you're good for. Your body gets the attention. Nobody cares about your mind.

"Hey, chipmunk," Kat says slowly, interrupting your negative self talk. You can't help but feel slightly grateful for the break of silence. There's nothing you hate more than silence. "Whatcha thinkin' about?"

You scoff before you have much of a chance to think about it. "Oh, nothing. Just the fact that I'm good for nothing but my body. But even that's not good enough because I'm not outgoing and friendly like you." Kat flinches at your words, making you immediately regret them. "I-I'm sorry."

"No, you're angry. And rightfully so. What they said back there was fucked up, girl." She pulls into the gate to your apartment complex, parks, turns off the lights, but doesn't shut off the car. Instead, she turns to you. "Why do you even work there if you hate it so much?" she asks, and you shrink back under her curious gaze. Guess you don't really have much of a choice but to tell her now.

"W-Well, that's the thing... I kinda don't anymore?" The statement sounds more like a question with the way you say it, and Kat's curiosity turns to confusion.

"What? Did you quit?" You shake your head. "Seriously? They fired you? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know how," you say sheepishly.

Kat puts her face in her hands for a moment. "So what have you been paying the utilities with?"

You slide further down into your seat. "M-My savings..."

The brunette takes a deep breath before speaking again. She grabs your hands and locks her blue eyes with yours. "Y/N, I'm going to ask my brother if there's any openings at the Pizzaplex. And if there is, you're going to take it. I assume since you're dipping into your savings, you can't afford anything for class?" You nod. "Yeah, I'm sure there's gotta be something in the plex that needs help. There's always something open. I just wish you would have said something, girl. You know I'm here for you."

You feel small under her gaze. Stupid. Childish. She always knows exactly what to do, and you always shut her out when you need her most. God, why haven't you just gotten a therapist yet? Oh, right. Can't afford one. 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, KitKat," you whisper, feeling tears stinging your eyes again. Kat only smiles. 

"Shush, none of that. For now, lets go eat some ice cream or something and fall asleep watching a Disney movie."

"But you hate Disney movies."

"But you love them," she retorts. You smile and she finally shuts the engine off.

*****

A/N: So, the first chapter! Ahhh! I know, there's no Sun or Moon yet, but be patient, my lovlies. I meant it when I said slow burn. I have so many good ideas for this book. But it was absolutely necessary that I set up your good friendship with Kat first, so you don't underestimate how much she cares about you! Oh, and yay for trauma!! Gotta love that negative self-talk, am I right?? 

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed, and stay tuned for chapter two, because that's when you get to meet Sun! Until next chapter, my lovelies~

[drawberry03]

Sorry if this is super annoying but I just found your TSoF comic and was wondering if it was ever coming back, of if it's been finished and I just can't find the ending

Hello anon, don't worry it's not annoying. Glad to hear you like it so much ❤️ . Unfortunately TSOF is far from being finished 🥺. I haven't been able to work on any of my art for months now actually.

It's not out of laziness though! In fact I've bought a display tablet back in June 😗. The shorthand answer as to why I stopped posting is because I have health issues specifically with my hands and wrist. I meant to post this update months prior but I kinda just forgot about it sorry 😵‍💫.

Anyways, a few months ago I was both working and had my internship at the same time (12 hours + of work 😩). I was a UI/UX designer intern and if that wasn't enough my job required using the computer as well. Due to that my hands have been really tired 🤔. It's either my wrist from using my mouse for long hours or the joints of my fingers from typing and tapping left click and whatnot. This went on for about three months give or take. There have been mornings when I wake up with trigger fingers and it's kinda scary.

If you don't know what trigger finger is, basically the tendons are swollen and I wake up with my finger joints 'locked" into a curled position. And when you try to uncurl it, it's pretty painful and curls back on its own. One time I had to support my finger with a makeshift splint from a popsicle stick and yarn pfffttt.

https://www.brisbanephysiotherapy.com/news/trigger-finger-physiotherapy-management

Sometimes I don't even need to overwork them, holding my phone for too long or even something like cold weather makes my joints slightly ache. Basically my hands have been overworked and though I haven't gotten them checked, I'm pretty certain experiencing these symptoms in my early 20s isn't okay.

As soon as I could, I've avoided drawing (and writing and crochet and pretty much all my hobbies that use my hands). It sucks cuz that pretty much means it'll be a while before I can really have fun with my new tablet (which would've been another learning curve delay). Thankfully with my internship over with, I've been using the extra time to either rest my hands or find ways to support them (I've bought wrist casts, a heating pad and sports tape thus far). Yeah, so I've been trying to take it easy (as much as I can anyways I still have work after all).

Low key it kinda brought up a fear in me of never being able to draw again. And the problem with me is that when I'm in the zone you can expect me to draw for HOURS and I'll barely even notice 👁️👄👁️ . Plus trying to accomplish anything under 1 hour never seems enough to me. So I decided it was for the best to stop completely. To my fellow artists out there I hope you never have to go through the same thing 😵‍💫. Please rest your precious hands, don't be like me 🤣🙏.

For more happy news, I graduated 🎓 last October!!! 🎈 And I have continued working in my job 👏. I'm building my career and doing well generally speaking. My busy schedule is very much still busy but I really miss drawing too 😭.

I'm not really sure when I can go back to posting 🥲 cuz overworking myself again will set my recovery progress back to 0. However I can tell that my hands are definitely getting better (still not a full recovery but at least waking up with trigger fingers has stopped).

Be assured that all my unfinished works (whether its for gojohime, astelle, shortaki etc.) are still in the back burner of my brain. And I will get back to them when my health gets even better 😗.  And a big thanks to anyone that is still waiting by the time I come back 😌 💖.

[truexnfootball]

Hi all I'm back.

So I have a lot to unpack here some sad, some happy.

Unfortunately, my best friend, Robin passed away May of 2023. She had breast cancer and went into hospice not too long after I visited her at our friend's house.

I've decided to keep riding at my old barn and quit the new one because the lady was getting rude and was only judging me when I was just doing what I thought was correct. Others were doing what I was doing and they didn't get corrected.

I adopted another cat (no surprise there) so now I have 3.

We got our heads out of water with our finances. Slowly, but surely, were getting back on our feet.

I started a welding job with my neighbor. And I'm taking an internship for my senior year this summer.

I broke up with my toxic ex boyfriend and haven't been with anyone else. I'm taking time for myself to think of I'm ready to love another man or stay in my delulu world of these celebrities I can't have haha.

I have a crush on one guy who's 4 years older than me (21) so I might shoot my shot later this year.

Im gonna be honest with y'all, that about it. I promised a Cowboy Travis Kelce and dammit I'm gonna give it to you. I'm going to get right to work on it soon. I love you all and haven't forgotten a single one. Have a blessed/good day, whichever you prefer!

[our-magical-world]

❀ My Ace Attorney DR ❀

NOTE: I haven't shifted yet, this is based on my script and ideas for this DR

I come from a family of musicians, but for some reason I decided to study Law (*insert backstory I haven't thought/remembered yet*) and start an internship as Edgeworth's assistant. I wasn't really expecting he'd accept me when I applied, because I had heard he liked working alone and didn't take assistants or interns, but I looked up to him and had to try anyway, and shomehow I get the job. When Edgeworth is accused of murder, I help Phoenix and Maya investigate and prepare for the trial, and we become good friends. Maggey also becomes my best friend, just because she's my favorite character and I say so. Now, in my DR Edgeworth doesn't leave right after his trial, he does it later and in different circumstances so I can spend more time with him and it's not as traumatic when he leaves (I'm changing the timeline a little bit but still keeping the major events).

After Edgeworth disappears, I end up working as Phoenix's assistant. We get along really well and make a great team along with Maya, who is like a little sister to me. For some reason I also scripted Phoenix loves karaoke, just like me (don't ask...), we often see each other at karaoke bars from the beginning and then we start going together on purpose (usually with Larry, Maggey and other friends). As in all my other realities, I'm a good singer and music is an important part of my life. I also play the piano, maybe other instruments too, I had a good musical education. Phoenix becomes my karaoke buddy, and we both end up participating in a big karaoke contest with several rounds and competing in the finals.

I may or may not end up dating Edgeworth and/or Phoenix... I can't choose, I love them so much. I have many little scenarios in my head for both of them and I wouldn't want to let them go to waste.

[cryinginmyroomsposts]

Be My Valentine | Ch- 3  Turbulent Traditions

pairing: Vernon x fem!reader

genre: fluff, angst, slight crack, friends to lovers, non-idol!au, college au

summary: College was hard enough and the thought of spending Valentine’s Day alone and sad was not your style. And the best solution was to go on a platonic date with your best friend Vernon. It goes so well that it becomes a tradition until it gets messy… nothing ever goes wrong by pretend-dating your best friend right?

prev chapter | masterlist | next chapter

status: ongoing

a/n: This is almost entirely angst and I tried my best to write it. Let me know your feedback and thoughts.

warning: time jump (almost a year), swearing

pictures from Pinterest!

"Another one bites the dust huh."

You groan from your spot on the floor in the middle of the living room in the apartment you share with your friend, Olivia. Now that you were in your senior year and both of you had part-time jobs, you decided to move out of the crusty dorm room. It is barely enough for both of you but it works as it is close to your university and your respective internships.

Life has been filled with the highest of highs and lowest of lows in the last year. You managed to stay on top of almost all your courses, your internship was going great albeit strenuous, but it gave you the freedom to live where you want and achieve all your dreams. Well, all but one that is.

While it has only been highs in the academic, career and friendship aspects of your life; it has been nothing but an exponential downfall in your love life. From jocks to nerds, online dating to blind date setup from friends- you'd tried it all, but luck was not on your side. It was either a disappointment, heartbreak, or a combination of it all. You had sworn off men since freshman year but the platonic Valentine's Day date with Vernon had left you craving romantic validation and you started putting yourself out there.

You heavily regret that decision now as you stare at the ceiling trying your best to not puke as you remember the most recent... mess up.

"Can't believe he, of all people, had you wrapped around his finger ." You hear Olivia's voice come from the sofa again.

You get up from the floor slowly and glare at her. "I am not proud of it either Liv. But," You put your hands in your hair and tug at it in frustration, "he sweet-talked the shit out of me in that New Year's party. What a fucking idiot I was... UGH!"

She sighs and you feel her move from the couch, sit down next to you and wrap an arm around you.

"Hey... babe look at me." You turn to face her as she wears the pained and sympathetic expression that you knew all too well by now.

"I'm sorry this keeps happening to you but please know none of it was your fault. Okay, maybe choosing idiots is your fault but it's still not a big deal. Don't beat yourself up over douchebags okay?" She sounds soft and empathising and you just nod as you hug her. Both of you stay in the embrace for a moment or two before she pulls away to face you.

"What's Vernon's opinion on this?"

Another groan leaves you. "I haven't told him."

"You haven't told him about the breakup or about even the relationship," both of you pretend-gag, " Sorry I meant the 2-week situationship or whatever," she says with her hands vaguely flailing around to depict just how vague and annoying the whole ordeal had been.

"I haven't told him abt the whole thing." She raises her eyebrow as you give a guilty smile. "Y/n come on. That's not..."She shakes her head unable to finish the sentence, which both of you know would sound hurtful and true.

"I know... I know Liv. I messed up. But I just couldn't say it. It never goes well when I bring up my dating life. And if I tell him how it ended now, he'd flip out." She rolls her eyes and you brace yourself for the harsh truth that you know is coming- because that is what you and Liv do for each other, although you have been at the receiving end of harsh truths a lot more recently.

"Y/n are you-" she breaks off in the middle and sighs. "You know what, never mind. No matter how many times I say, you're gonna be in your own denial. So yeah do what you want to."

Without waiting for your response she gets up and goes to the kitchen. You sigh and follow her there. "Liv come on, you know that's not what this is. Will you please stop trying to convince me that Vernon likes me." She turns from the stove and looks pointedly at you.

"Yeah sure keep believing it."

You sigh knowing this is a losing battle so you leave her to be with a frustrated sigh. Sure things had been slightly different between Vernon and you since last year's platonic date and he keeps snapping at you every time you tried to talk to him about any of the guys you liked or were dating. And without fail, every single time, he would tell you that he warned you about not making bad choices. All that you got from this was he was being needy and also a good sensible friend. Olivia has convinced herself is proof that Vernon loves you. She's technically been on this agenda since sophomore year when she claims to have seen the "look of love" on Vernon's face during a party night.

Cute story, but not real. Hopefully not.

When overthinking starts clouding your mind, you do the only thing you can right now- avoid thinking by sleeping.

--------

"Hey, y/n wake up."

You open your eyes to see a very concerned Liv staring at you. "What happened?" you ask groggily.

"Vernon is here."

"WHAT?" She just nods in response and you immediately jump from the bed and straighten your hair before heading to the living room.

He is sitting on the couch in his signature black hoodie staring at his feet with his back to you. You consider running back into your room and jumping out the window for a minute. But you don't.

"Hey," You see him turn around and give a tight-lipped smile.

"Hey, y/n. Can we talk in your room?" he says as he gets up from the sofa and you nod as you look at Liv, who is smiling at you with sympathy and confusion.

Once you're both in your room, he settles down on your chair near the desk and you sit on the edge of the bed.

"You haven't changed anything in the room since you moved in and that was months ago." He notes assessing your room and turning to face you.

"I was busy."

"Dating douchebags." He says it silently as if hoping you'd not hear but unfortunately for both, you did hear it.

"What?" He looks up at your sharp tone and slightly winces when he sees your glare.

Sighing he says, "I heard." You roll your eyes. "And I suppose you are here to give another lecture on my 'horrendous decision-making skills'."

He looks at you for a minute, air-quotes and all, gets up and sits next to you on the bed as he takes your hand in his. "I'm sorry." You turn your head in surprise. "For what?"

"For being an asshole of a friend and driving you away. It didn't feel good hearing about you getting hurt from a third person and I know it's my fault."

You sigh and give him a small smile, leaning your head on his shoulder. "I am too. Wasn't entirely your fault. And... I agree."

"Huh?" You look up at his confused face turned toward where your head is on his shoulder.

"I agree that I do date douchebags." He laughs and you follow suit.

It was always easy with Vernon. Sure you both fight a lot, especially since your dating drama has been on a high. Both of you are loose-lipped and say things you don't mean but you always did go back to each other at the end. You don't think you could ever go without talking to Vernon for more than two or three days no matter how angry or scared you are. And neither can he.

"You've been busy." You tell him, now playing with the band he's wearing on his wrist. "Kind of, I guess. I just had a hard time balancing all the assignments, coding tournaments and of course, my internship."

You hum in acknowledgement. "You work too hard Vernon."

"Hmmm maybe. But if I don't. then who's gonna buy you the things you want?" You scoff at his words, "As if!"

He raises his left eyebrow with a smirk playing on his face.

"Alright, then I won't give you this." You eye him for a minute weighing the possibility of it being a mere prank but then curiosity gets the best of you.

"Give me what?" His smirk grows bigger and reaches into his pocket, takes out a small piece of paper and hands it to you.

No way.

"Vernon, did you just get me passes to the club I've been trying to get into for monthsssss!" You exclaim as your jaw dropped to the floor and his smile now lights up his whole face.

"I got us both in. I figured it would be a good gift plus our annual date is in two more weeks anyway." He explains shrugging.

"Oh My God! This is going to be amazing! I can almost forget that it will be Valentine's Day!" You scream as you hug him and get up to excitedly jump around the room.

"Why are you always a Valentine's Grinch," he says with a small laugh and you stick your tongue at him, too happy to bicker.

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

The two weeks since Vernon gifted the club tickets passed by in a blink. Everything went smoothly at uni, at work and at home. Once again you find yourself swearing off love during the month of love (the pattern is not good, is it!), but it feels less annoying with the knowledge of having tickets to the hottest club in town.

The same knowledge plagues you currently as you throw away the tenth outfit from your cupboard onto the bed as you deem it "too gaudy" for the night. Vernon told you it was okay to show up in whatever you feel good but what does he know about fashion. Plus, he looked annoyingly good in almost everything. For someone who is extremely quiet and a nerd who is slightly insane, he has a surprising number of fans. Most of them get harshly rejected when voicing out their interest to him, he really is insane.

"Still didn't find an outfit?" Liv pokes her head through your room door and takes in the state of your room's avalanche-level mess. You shake your head negatively with a pout which makes her sigh. She enters the room and brings in two hangers of clothes with her. Your eyes grow wider in shock as you see two of your favourite dresses from Liv's closet.

Before she can begin to explain, you run to meet her in the middle and grab the black satin dress she has in her left hand.

"Hey! I didn't even say you can take it!" She says with mock anger which only makes you sheepishly laugh.

"Well, what are friends for if not sharing Livieee..." You coo in what is hopefully a cute tone.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. But don't you dare ruin it." She warns and you nod your head. "Got it. Thank you, Liv."

"Buy me food later. Now go and enjoy your date." This earns a glare from you and she corrects herself with an eye roll. "Oh right, your 'platonic' Valentine's Day date at the hottest club with your 'best friend'." The air quotes are way too exaggerated and you push her out of the room before you question everything again.

Why didn't you question things more, you think as you try your best to not freeze in the short satin dress and jean jacket on your way to the club. Vernon had insisted on picking you up but you refused stating that the club was only a couple blocks away. Now you understand that being the passenger princess is always the right option, especially when dressed in the shortest possible clothes in the middle of a cold February.

You see Vernon standing in front of the club, a few steps away and wave at him. He doesn't wave back. He looks like he has frozen on the spot, even though he is covered from top to bottom in winter-appropriate clothes- a stunning jacket with a plain black t-shirt and his favourite pair of ripped jeans. You eventually reach him and he seems to finally come back to life.

"Did you get a frostbite or something right now?" You question as you punch him in the arm slightly. "Uh, no no. Just lost in thought. But you look like you are gonna freeze if we don't go in right now."

"Yes, please. I need warmth." You say as you both rush into the club.

The club is all you expected it to be in terms of ambience but it was definitely far too crowded for your liking and before you could start feeling claustrophobic you felt Vernon's voice near your ears.

"I got us VIP passes, let's go up." You gawk at him with wide eyes knowing that would've cost a lot and let him guide you to the far less crowded area upstairs with more space and fewer people. He leads you both to a table with a semi-covered booth where you both settle down next to each other. Even without your jacket on you feel a lot warmer and better now.

Both of you get started with a set of cocktails to get the night started. Time goes on as you switch between drinking, dancing on the floor and convincing Vernon to join you. Eventually, you give up on making Vernon dance and head off to the dance floor to enjoy some alone time dancing.

But the thought immediately gets squashed as you see a tall, dark-haired man on the dance floor near you. He's built like a literal Greek god but something about how his hair falls in soft curls on the side of his face and he smiles at you to make you feel like he's a good man. But then again you are inebriated so let's not be hasty about your questionable decision-making skills. The very same skills that lead you to move toward him and extend your hand for a dance. He looks between your hand, and your face and gives you a bedazzling smile before accepting your offer.

As you both start swaying to the beat, you feel his hands roam over your waist and you hold onto his shoulders. You feel light, not thinking much- just enjoying dancing with this hot piece of a man on a good day in a hot outfit. It feels good and so you let him hold you like this and keep dancing. You were slightly out of focus and don't notice that his hands are slowly moving to spots you would feel uncomfortable had you been a little more conscious. You were a little too caught up in the vibe that you break out of it when you feel a harsh pull and stumble into another pair of arms before you can fall flat on your ass.

"What the-" Your words die in your throat as you see one man throwing a solid punch at the one in front of you. You blink twice to get rid of the haze and realise that Vernon had punched the stranger while holding onto you with his other hand.

A very drunk, red-faced and unstable-looking Vernon.

Your senses take over before the much taller and definitely stronger man can punch Vernon and you step in. "Hey, I- I'm so sorry. I don't know why my friend did that. I am sorry. Just let him go, he must've drank a lot. Sorry."

The bigger guy retreats at your words with a glare toward Vernon and the people around go back to their business. You drag Vernon by his arm to the nearest door which led to a balcony.

"Y/n I-" You slap him before he says another word and it silences him as he put his head down.

Even though you are confused and pissed off, you still love Vernon- because he is your best friend, so you move to caress the cheek you slapped. When he eventually looks up you can see that he is still slightly drunk but not too far gone.

"What the hell was that Vernon?"

He blinks at you for a second. "I'm sorry."

"You should be. But why the fuck did you do that?" He sighs in frustration and runs his fingers through his hair as he steps back. You stand there searching his face for some kind of answer.

"I- It's so annoying how easily I lose control when it comes to you. Ugh!" He punches the wall in frustration as he says this and you are too scared to move. You have never seen Vernon lose his patience in all three-plus years of knowing him and this was him in pure rage.

Even though you are scared you still try to calm him down by turning him to face you. "Vernon, please don't hurt yourself. Tell me what happened." Your voice comes in a broken plea and it makes him look at you and your wet eyes.

"What happened?" He grunts again. "Are you kidding me Y/N! How can you be so reckless all the time? Do you not realise how messed up it could get!"

"What are you even saying?" You hear yourself begin to shout, completely sober and confused now.

He gives a dry chuckle. "That guy was feeling you up the whole time. Did you not even realise that?"

All you can do is blink at him. He stares at your confused expression and you see his rage turn into something sullen- you're not sure if it's worse or better. When he speaks again his voice is an octave deeper and strained.

"Why do you keep putting yourself in danger's way all the damn time? Don't trust every guy you see Y/N. It fucking pisses me off to see you go off with every loser on the planet. You have no clue how much it sucks to see you get hurt by every idiot and keep putting yourself down. You're such a smart, amazing and gorgeous woman and you let all those bozos make you question your worth. As much as I just hate the idea of you with someone else I at least wish it were with guys who know to treat you right. The way I-" he throws his head and takes a shaky breath," You know what, never mind."

"Oh my god Vernon. It was just a dance in a club. Of course, his hands were on me, and so was mine. Why are you so worked over this like you are in love with me or something."

You are ready to laugh at the ridiculous suggestion you made but the sound gets caught in your throat when you see him freeze and his eyes widen like a deer caught in headlights.

Oh?

Oh...

Shit.

[thebreakfastgenie]

misc. tag game...

Thank you @the-cinnamontography-is-amazing for tagging me!!

a band you don’t like that many others do:

The Killers. To be fair I only know one of their songs but I hate Mr. Brightside.

a childhood memory that you remember vividly:

Watching Rugrats in Paris on the TV in my friend Christi's parents' room.

least favorite animal and why:

Mosquitoes. Maybe they're necessary for the ecosystem but like are we sure?

hot fandom take:

The dominance of M/M slash cannot be separated from misogyny. That's not to say you must write about women if that's not what you're interested in, that just produces bad results anyway. But you don't only love male characters and M/M ships in a vacuum. We're just more primed by everything in society to see men as people with interiority. And you can't blame female characters being underdeveloped and poorly written because there are so many underdeveloped poorly written male characters who have been turned into blorbos. Misogyny is systemic and it affects everything, including fandom and shipping.

do you wear any jewelry, if so, what’s your favorite piece:

I don't wear any regularly but I do wear it! I was trying to wear earrings more often but I haven't been doing that much the last couple months... I should really start again. My favorite piece of jewelry I own, besides the Bead, is a tourmaline ring my grandma left me in her will! Unfortunately all my rings are a little loose right now and I'm paranoid about losing them so I don't wear them much.

a movie others liked but you didn’t:

The Lord of the Rings. I'm a fan of the books, but I don't like the movies.

three things you love about yourself:

My chaotic creativity

My high standards for my work

My niche, eclectic taste

a place you hope to visit in the future and why:

Oceania!! I've always wanted to go there it just looks so beautiful and interesting!

an actor that gets on your nerves and why:

Dakota Johnson. I have no reason I just don't like her.

things you’re excited for in the nearby future?:

I'm going to New York on Saturday to see Spamalot!!!

least favorite ship in a fandom you’re in:

beejhawk 😇 also CJ/Toby

what’s the most toxic fandom you’ve been in?:

Hamilton. It was actually fun in the beginning but then it exploded and shortly thereafter became the worst cesspit I've ever experienced.

list three things you find beautiful about life:

food

cats

sunny days

any dreams for the future?

Right now I really want this internship I'm applying for. Mostly I want to get my degree and get a job. Have a living situation where I can decorate the kitchen however I want. Travel. Write a book.

how are you really feeling today?

I felt bad for most of the day, the usual drowsy/headache thing I've had going on all week, but I feel okay now!

Tagging anyone who wants to do it, please tag me if you do so I can see it!! I'm just too tired to tag people personally. <3