#chances are all gone on the romance front bud

[cheerscoops]

Wherever You Point To I’ll Find ~ Steve Harrington x Chrissy Cunningham

Nobody expected a budding romance between Steve and Chrissy when they were invited on this graduation road trip. But, as the two spend more and more time together away from the pressures their families, they just might find that they’re the perfect match.

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Tags: modern au, road trip, mutual pining, fluff, angst, discussion of mental health and body issues, eventual smut, adult themes and swearing throughout

Word Count: 8.7k

A/N: Perhaps the best part of writing this chapter was the bit that came afterwards when I got to hear @quinnkeerys read it out loud and react to it in real time. This chapter has some of my very favorite bits of the story in it, and I hope you all love it as much as I do <3

In the morning, the group ate a quick breakfast at the hotel before checking out and loading up the car. They had a long drive to Cincinnati ahead of them once they factored in the two hour detour to the World’s Largest Rocking Chair since Eddie insisted that it wasn’t a real road trip if they didn’t see the World’s Largest Something, and they wanted to get on the road as soon as possible so they could combine that detour with a stop for lunch.

Of course, getting Eddie out of bed early enough to stay on schedule meant that he was not ready to face the day when they got in the car. Soon enough, he was dozing off in the backseat, and Nancy fell asleep cuddled up next to him. The silence in the car was deafening, and it only left Chrissy to obsess over every little interaction she’d had with Steve.

It was bad enough that she'd fallen asleep on him the night before, and it only got worse when they'd left the hotel. Steve had put his arm on the back of Chrissy's seat when he'd turned to back out of their parking space, and she'd come close to swooning. She felt like a silly little school girl with a crush, and it was embarrassing. She'd just graduated. She should be over obsessing about this kind of thing by now.

But every time she'd talked herself down from the blushing mess that she'd become, Steve smiled at her as he offered her the aux cord or asked her if the air conditioning was too cold for her, and she was right back at square one again.

She was considering pretending to fall asleep just so she could avoid looking at him when he spoke up.

"So, Jason Carver, huh?"

And just like that, her butterflies were gone. Instead, she could feel the anxiety eating away at her. That horrible, gnawing feeling that appeared whenever anyone mentioned him or wanted her to talk about him. She'd gladly spend the rest of her days as a giggling idiot, embarrassing herself in front of everyone she met if it meant that she never had to hear that name ever again.

"I will literally give you every last cent in my account if you promise to never bring him up around me," she told him. She started picking at the frayed edge of her shorts and avoided looking away from her lap.

"Bad breakup?" he asked.

"Among other things."

"I'm sorry. I won't bring it up again."

"Don't be. It's not your fault . . . You know, he never had a nice thing to say about you."

Chrissy regretted bringing up Jason's opinions of Steve immediately. There was no reason for him to know about that, and now she was going to ruin any chance she had of things ever not being awkward between her and Steve all because she didn't know when to shut her mouth.

"I barely remember anything he said," she told him in an attempt to backtrack and erase her last statement. "I tended to tune him out when he got like that, and you're very obviously nothing like he said you were anyway. He just wasn't your biggest fan."

Steve huffed out a laugh and shook his head.

"He was always like one of those yappy little ankle-biting dogs," he told her. "Just loud and annoying and so desperate to make people pay attention to him. I never really liked the guy either, so whatever he said about me doesn't bother me. If he needed to try to bring me down to make himself feel better, it says a lot more about him than it does about me."

"So you're not mad at me for bringing it up?"

"Not even a little bit."

Chrissy was finally able to relax for a minute. She let out a sigh as she turned slightly to look out her window.

"I wish it was that easy for me to just not care about what other people thought of me."

She said it quietly enough that she didn't know if she was saying it to Steve or to herself, but he still heard her.

"It'll get easier for you now that you're hanging out with the right people."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

She offered up a small smile. Maybe he was right. Maybe being on this trip and spending her time with people who didn't expect a certain image from her was exactly what she needed to start brushing the harsh words off her back.

"Since talking about that is off the table, I have to ask," he started to break the silence. "How did you and Eddie start hanging out? I've come up with maybe half a dozen theories and none of them seem plausible."

"He never told you?"

"All he's ever said is that you were one of his little lost sheep, and you ended up being his favorite of the flock. Whatever that even means."

Chrissy stifled a laugh.

"That sounds like something he'd say," she replied. "And honestly, it's not even that inaccurate."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. It was maybe a little over a month into my freshman year, and auditions for the first play of the year were after school. I stayed after my last class ended and went to the drama room to get started on my English homework while I waited for auditions to start. Eddie came in and found me sitting on his throne with my nose buried in my copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He immediately pointed out that I was sitting in his spot and that most freshmen were smart enough to avoid the school freak. I was terrified."

"You were?" Steve asked. "I can't imagine being scared of him."

"Well yeah. That's because you're you, and you know him. I'd barely been at the school, I'd never met him before, and I'd already seen him give three speeches while standing on top of his table at lunch. He was the most intimidating of all the upperclassmen to me. So I'm just stammering and trying to explain that I didn't know it was his spot, and of course, he could tell that I was scared. When he really realized it, it was like a switch flipped. He sat down on the armrest and his whole demeanor changed. Made some comment about how I was shaking like a little bunny rabbit and asked me to scrunch up my nose so he could get the full effect. Used the overdramatics that I'd seen in the cafeteria to make me laugh until I was at ease around him. Once he could tell that I wasn't afraid of him anymore, he told me that he guessed it was okay if I sat on his throne for the time being, but if he ever caught me there again, he'd pick me up and move me himself.

"I didn't even realize that he was part of the drama club until auditions started. We were paired to read together a couple times during the auditions, and the director kept commenting about how we had this natural chemistry that she hadn't been expecting. 

"When the auditions ended, I couldn't get a hold of either of my parents to come and pick me up, and none of my friends were in the drama club, so Eddie offered me a ride. After that, we were cast opposite each other as the sort of leads in the play, and the rest is history. We've been practically inseparable ever since."

“So, he essentially adopted you?” Steve asked.

“Kind of?” she said with a laugh. “Adoption feels like the right term. I consider him and his uncle as family at this point, and I’d like to think that they feel the same way. I know that our friendship makes no sense to anyone looking in on it from the outside. We’re so different, and we traveled in completely opposite social circles for the entirety of high school. On paper, this friendship shouldn’t work, but Eddie is the only person I’ve never felt like I had to hide the real me from. He’s the big brother I never wanted and the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“That’s actually kind of sweet. I’ll be sure to tease him relentlessly for it.”

“Be prepared for the most overly dramatic reaction you’ve ever seen from him then.”

“I don’t think he can get any more over the top than I’ve already seen him. You forget that I also spent four years in high school with him, and I saw many many lunchroom outbursts over the years.”

“Oh yeah? During the first play my junior year, one of the new freshmen assumed that Eddie and I were dating because of how attached at the hip we were all throughout rehearsals. After opening night, the kid asked him if he was going to take me out on a special date to celebrate our performance. When he asked the kid what he meant, his response was that obviously we needed to celebrate as a couple for putting on such a good show. He spent maybe fifteen minutes running around backstage making vomiting noises and moaning about how he could never date his sister. I was laughing so hard that I started crying, and Eddie yelled that the kid was tearing his family apart. It’s one of my favorite and most ridiculous memories from our friendship.”

“Wait. People actually thought you two were dating?”

“You know how Eddie is. Personal space has no meaning to him, so he’s always been an affectionate and physical best friend. Lots of hugs and sitting practically on top of each other and hanging off of each other for no reason. He was my ride home every day until I started driving, and even when other friends tried to make plans with either of us, Sunday afternoons were always specifically reserved for us to spend time together. It’s always been an unwritten rule of our friendship. Put all of that together, and I can maybe see why people thought that there was something more going on there. Plus, when he first started flirting with Nancy, I had to spell it out to her that we weren’t a couple, and he was actually into her. She was convinced we were seeing each other, and she’s maybe the smartest person I’ve ever met. And, for the record, half the school thought Robin was your girlfriend for similar reasons until one of the football players cornered her in the bandshell before one of the games and asked her how she bagged Harrington. She yelled that you two were platonic with a capital P, and then threatened to shove her trumpet up the nose of the next person who insinuated that you two were into each other.”

Steve choked on his laughter, and Chrissy felt a little sense of pride that she could get that reaction from him even if she was just repeating something that one of his friends had said. And with Steve laughing, she couldn’t help but laugh along with him.

Their laughter woke up Eddie and Nancy, and the group decided that they were close enough to the World’s Largest Rocking Chair that they could find somewhere to stop off for lunch before finishing the last little bit of the drive there. Nancy pulled up an interesting looking diner up on her phone and directed Steve on which way to go.

It was only once they were inside the diner and being led to their table that Chrissy realized the seating dilemma. Up until this point, they’d sat at open tables or outside where she’d still have some semblance of personal space no matter who she was sitting beside. But this time, they were given a booth. Eddie slid in on one side and pulled Nancy to sit down beside him leaving Chrissy no other option than to sit beside Steve. Normally, this wouldn’t have been an issue for her. She could share a booth with a friend like that easily. She’d done it with Eddie anytime that they went out with the other drama club kids, and she’d done it with other cheerleaders during many different hangouts. But Steve was different. With the beginnings of a crush making her already feel so incredibly awkward around him, the idea of being trapped between him and the wall with no escape route both scared and excited her.

She slid into the open side of the booth, and Steve followed after her. Their knees bumped under the table as he took his seat, and Chrissy felt her heart skip a beat. She busied herself with staring at the menu in front of her in the hopes that finding a decent lunch option would be enough of a distraction from being this close to Steve that she could act normal.

She shouldn’t have been worried though. She was sitting across from Eddie, and her best friend was always up to something that would keep her from dwelling on whatever she was wrapped up in for too long. This time, he was very enthusiastically ordering a drink off of the kids’ menu and making sure that this was allowed even though he was in fact a twenty year old man and not a six year old.

“What’s so special about a Shark Attack?” Chrissy asked after their waitress had walked away with their menus to place their orders.

“You’ll see when it gets here,” Eddie told her.

She didn’t have to wait very long because the waitress returned shortly with their drinks. The only visual difference that she could see between her glass of ice water and the drink in front of Eddie was that his drink also had a tiny plastic shark sticking out of the ice and floating on top.

“Oh, I get it,” she said. “It comes with a toy and they make it look like it’s crashing out of the water.”

“That’s not the best part. Just watch.”

Nancy and Steve shared a look and an eye roll as Eddie carefully lifted the shark out of his glass and started softly singing the Jaws theme song, but Chrissy was captivated. Eddie plunged the shark headfirst into his drink as he made the accompanying shark attack noises, and the grenadine that was hidden in the shark’s mouth spilled out into the drink turning his Sprite red as if it were the ocean and the shark had just attacked someone and spilled blood.

As soon as she realized what was happening, Chrissy started giggling. She’d never been allowed to order anything like that when she was a child. Her mother always said that anything like that on the kids’ menu had too much sugar, so she had no idea that’s what was to expect from Eddie’s drink. The performance that he put on only enhanced the experience, so she couldn’t help but laugh.

Eddie was beaming at Chrissy, happy that he’d been able to pull such a reaction from her, and normally, Nancy’s attention would have been on the two of them as well. How could she not be paying attention to her boyfriend when he was making a spectacle of himself? This time, however, she found herself glancing over at Steve, and she found that he was entranced by Chrissy, too. He was just sitting there and watching her with this goofy smile on his face, and the inkling that she’d had the night before about there maybe being something starting between them only grew stronger.

Truthfully, it was the first time that Steve had looked at Chrissy that way. Maybe he didn’t notice it before because he was laughing just as hard as she was back in the car, but she was absolutely beautiful when she laughed. She scrunched up her nose, her shoulders shook, and her smile was maybe the biggest he’d ever seen it. If he could, he thought he’d maybe spend every moment with her trying to get her to look that happy for as long as he knew her.

He pulled himself away from those thoughts as quickly as he could though. She’d just implied that her last relationship wasn’t exactly the greatest, and from what she’d said when Eddie brought up making herself a dating profile, it didn’t seem like she was ready to get herself involved with anyone else right now. He didn’t even know if what he was feeling right now was attraction. All he knew was that the little voice in the back of his head was telling him that he’d never grow tired of seeing her smile.

After lunch, they made it the rest of the way to the World’s Largest Rocking Chair. Unfortunately for Eddie, there was no actual way for anyone to sit on the chair, so they had to be content with just taking photos of themselves posing in front of it.

“All I’m saying is that it wouldn’t have hurt anyone if you guys had let me try to climb up there myself,” Eddie pouted once they were back in the car.

“Except it would have hurt someone,” Nancy told him. “Specifically, you when you fell and broke every bone in your body, and I refuse to explain to your uncle why we had to cut our trip short and bring you home in a full body cast.”

Eddie didn’t have time to retort because it was at that moment that someone cut them off in traffic, and Steve had to slam on the breaks. Chrissy tensed up and braced herself for the yelling. Whenever anything like this happened when she was in the car with Jason, he spent the next five minutes honking his horn at the person who cut them off and yelling about how they needed to get their head out of their ass and learn to drive. The reaction to the offense always scared her more than anything else, and she was ready to fold in on herself until she could calm herself down from it.

But the yelling never came. There were no loud noises, and Steve didn’t lean on the horn for an extended period of time. His only reaction was to mutter something under his breath about the driver being a jackass before checking to make sure if everyone was okay. Nancy and Eddie were fine in the backseat, but when he glanced over at Chrissy, she was wide-eyed and stiff as a board.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked.

Chrissy nodded slightly.

“I thought you were going to yell,” she said barely above a whisper.

“I’m not gonna yell,” he said as he reached over and placed a comforting hand on her knee. “I promise.”

At first, she seemed to tense up even more under his touch, but after a moment, he felt her relax as the tension left her body.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked her again.

She nodded again, and he squeezed her knee slightly before withdrawing his hand.

“Thank you.” 

Her voice sounded so tiny, and Steve couldn’t tell if it was because of the car that cut them off or whatever it was that was going on inside her head. He just knew that he never wanted her to look that scared around him ever again.

From the backseat, Nancy and Eddie shared a pointed look. They’d have to discuss this when they had a little more privacy. Neither of them could deny that there was some sort of electricity buzzing in the air between Steve and Chrissy, and Nancy was very interested in figuring out what was going on.

The rest of their drive to Cincinnati passed without any major incidents, and the group was able to enjoy their dinner at a normal hour. After they were done eating, Nancy mentioned something about them passing a cute little ice cream shop about five minutes before they made it to their dinner spot, and they should head back that way and get some dessert before heading to their hotel for the night.

Nobody was going to turn down ice cream - even Chrissy who could be content with a single scoop of plain vanilla if they didn’t have any low fat options - so they piled back into the car to head over there.

Once inside the ice cream shop, Eddie made a point of asking for samples of the six different flavors that he was interested in trying just so he could be sure that he chose the right flavor.

“What are you gonna get?” Steve asked Chrissy as he nudged her with his elbow.

“I don’t know. Probably just vanilla.”

“Nope. Absolutely not.”

“What do you mean nope?” she asked with a small giggle. “You can’t dictate my order.”

“Plain vanilla is too boring.”

“But I like plain vanilla.”

“C’mon, Chrissy. You’re on vacation. Live a little.”

Chrissy scanned the ice cream case in front of them. Nancy still had to order before it was her turn, so she had a little bit more time to change things up if she really wanted to. A few flavors stuck out to her, but she was a little overwhelmed by the options. Add in the fact that her mother would be losing her mind over her even thinking about choosing something so rich, and it was going to be a difficult decision to make.

“Okay, then what are you going to get if you know so much?”

“Mint chocolate chip. It’s superior to all other flavors.”

“You go before me then. Give me a little more time to decide since you’re forcing me to change my order.”

“I’m not forcing you to do anything. I’m just trying to be a good influence and get you to enjoy your vacation to the fullest.”

Chrissy waited behind Steve as he ordered his double scoop cone of mint chocolate chip, and when it was her turn to order, she chose a single scoop of salted caramel pretzel in a cup. Steve was right. It was her vacation, and she was allowed to have a little treat if she wanted. They had so much planned for the next day that she’d burn off all the calories from this ice cream and then some, so there was no way her mother could get mad at her for a small indulgence.

“That’s not vanilla,” Eddie pointed out when Chrissy sat down at the table that he, Steve, and Nancy were already occupying.

“I know.”

“But you always get vanilla,” he continued. “I’ve never seen you get anything other than plain vanilla.”

“I’m on vacation,” she said with a small shrug of her shoulders. “I’m living a little.”

Steve smirked and nudged her with his elbow.

“Oh, you hush,” she said as she giggled and nudged him back.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Yeah, but I know what you’re thinking.”

“I’m just glad you listened to me is all.”

“You know,” Nancy started, “it makes sense that Steve would be the one to get you to try something new. He’s kind of an ice cream expert.”

“He is?”

“Oh yeah,” Eddie continued. “He’s even got the little uniform to prove it.”

“What am I missing here?” Chrissy asked.

“You don’t know?” Nancy asked before turning her attention towards Eddie. “How have you never taken her there?”

“Completely slipped my mind. Usually, we just hang out at the trailer or the school. I’m only ever over there when I need to go to the music store or we’re bothering Steve. There’s no other reason to be there.”

Steve groaned. “Do we really have to talk about this?”

“Absolutely, we do,” Eddie replied. “I mean, we’re in an ice cream shop. I can’t think of a more appropriate place for us to be talking about this.”

“Can someone please fill me in on it then?”

Steve looked up at the ceiling and let out an exasperated sigh.

“Do you remember that ice cream shop in the mall?” he asked her.

“Kind of? I can’t say I’ve ever been there, but isn’t everything sailor themed with super dorky puns for the flavor names?”

“Scoops Ahoy. I kinda worked there for the last year.”

“Well, that explains why the other cheerleaders wanted to spend so much time there.”

“And you didn’t go with them?” Nancy asked.

“I don’t really eat a lot of sweets.” Chrissy stared down at her hands in her lap. “And I always figured that there was no point in going if I wasn’t going to be buying anything, so I skipped those hangouts.”

She neglected to add that the main reason she didn’t go to most of those hangouts was because of the things she’d heard from both her mother and Jason about spending time at the ice cream shop. Jason had always been more subtle in his cruelty, but whenever Chrissy had mentioned that the girls were planning on getting ice cream after a game, he’d always had something to say about how it was fine if the other girls wanted to do it, but questioned if Chrissy really wanted to have to have an extra work out session over something as silly as a little S. S. Butterscotch. Even if she had been thinking that it was maybe okay for her to get a treat, his comments always left her feeling undeserving.

Steve was too busy being grateful that Chrissy had never seen him in that goofy sailor getup to realize how quiet she’d just gotten. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed that he had worked there. He’d gotten over that a while ago. Now it was just some job that he’d had to suffer through and was glad to be rid of it now that he’d finished his last shift there. It was just easier for people to still think he was cool if they hadn’t seen him as an ice cream-slinging sailor, and part of him hoped that Chrissy thought he was maybe just a little bit cool. 

Those hopes were dashed the second she spoke again.

“So, who has pictures of Steve in uniform, and when can I see them?” she asked.

“Absolutely not,” Steve replied. “You have to earn the right to see those pictures.”

“And how would one go about earning that right?”

“For starters, you could give me a taste of your ice cream,” he said as he reached for her cup. “Which only seems fair since I’m the one who convinced you to get something interesting.”

Chrissy moved to hold her ice cream out of his reach. “I don’t think so. If you wanted to try a new flavor, you could have gotten something other than mint chocolate chip.”

“But what if I wanted my favorite flavor and to try something new?”

“I mean, Eddie had like six different samples before he made his decision. You could have done that, too.”

“C’mon. Just one little taste and maybe I’ll let them show you one picture.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her closer to him on the bench seat that they were sharing in an attempt to be able to reach her ice cream better. Having him hold onto her like that caused her brain to short circuit, and by the time she realized what was happening, he’d already stuck a finger into her cup. Just before he was about to stick his finger in his mouth, she grabbed his wrist and accidentally made him swipe the ice cream across his own nose instead.

“I am so sorry,” she told him through her giggles. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

Part of her thought that maybe she should go and grab him some napkins or something, but she couldn’t will herself to move. His arm was still wrapped around her waist keeping her pressed up against his side, and the part of her that was harboring a crush on him wouldn’t allow her to get up.

Eddie started to say something, but he was cut off by Nancy gripping his thigh under the table. She shot him a look in an attempt to silently let him know that she wanted to see how this was going to all play out.

Across the table, Steve still had his arm wrapped around Chrissy, and neither of them were making any moves to do anything about the ice cream smeared on Steve's face. Chrissy could feel her face heating up from the intensity of the eye contact that they were making. It would have been so easy for her to just wipe it off his face herself, but she couldn't bring herself to cross that boundary. Which only made her start to think that she was being ridiculous. What boundary was left in this situation when he was still holding her so close? She was making things so awkward by not saying anything or moving, and surely, he was going to avoid her for the rest of the trip.

On the other hand, Steve was starting to think that Chrissy's silence meant that she was uncomfortable. He'd made things awkward by trying to steal her ice cream, and she was too polite to tell him off. She was probably sitting there thinking he looked like an idiot with that smear on his nose, and that's why she couldn't tear her gaze away from his face.

Steve's arm retracted from its spot around Chrissy's waist, but she didn't even have time to register that she missed it because he had chosen to wipe away the ice cream by lifting up the bottom of his shirt to use it as a napkin. Seeing the exposed skin of his chest had her thinking about him half-naked again, and she was trying very hard not to think about that as it was.

To keep herself from staring, Chrissy got up from her spot and went to grab some napkins. As he watched her rush away, Steve couldn't help but think she was desperate to put some space between them and the awkward situation he'd created.

But, when she came back to the table, she sat right back down next to him like she had been before. She handed him a couple napkins, and then produced a second spoon for her ice cream. She scooped up a little bite and held out the spoon for Steve.

"You really don't have to do that," he told her.

"I know. But I feel bad that I essentially shoved ice cream up your nose, so I think I can spare a little taste. Just this once."

Steve thanked her and took the spoon. As he ate what she offered, he promised himself that he'd do whatever it took to get Chrissy to joke around with him like that again.

"Can I ask you what's maybe a weird question?" Steve asked Eddie once they were alone in their hotel room for the night.

"Sure. What's up?"

"This morning, I brought up Jason in the car just trying to make conversation with Chrissy, and she was really vague and weird about it."

"That wasn't a question. That was a statement."

"I just wanna know why. She said it was more than just a bad break up, but she wouldn't go into detail about it. And then there was that whole thing in the car where she was afraid I was going to yell. I never wanna do anything that makes her look that terrified, you know? And I promised her that I wouldn't bring him up around her again, so I figured that I could maybe ask you about it instead."

Eddie paused in the middle of getting changed and let out a deep sigh.

"Listen," he said as he sat down on the edge of his bed. "I care about Chrissy more than I care about pretty much anyone else, and the last thing I want is for her to be scared or relive any of that bullshit, but it's not my story to tell. If she doesn't want to talk about Jason and her relationship with him, it's for a good reason, and you've gotta respect that."

"I just . . . I know you won't share all the details, but I just want to know if there's anything I can avoid doing to make her feel safe . . . Did he hurt her?"

"I told you. It's not my story to tell." Eddie got up from his spot on the bed and moved to lean against the bathroom door in an attempt to put some distance between them. He ran a hand over his face trying to wipe away the frustration he was feeling over whether he should tell Steve anything or not. On the one hand, if Chrissy hadn't wanted to talk about it with Steve, it was pretty clear to him that Steve didn't need to know the whole story. Nancy didn't even know the whole story, and Eddie typically told her everything. This was different though. He just couldn't break Chrissy's trust.

On the other hand, Eddie watched the way Steve and Chrissy played around together. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her laugh as hard as she did with Steve in the car that morning, and he could tell that these questions were coming from a place of genuine concern and not a need for gossip. So while he couldn't tell Steve the full story, he could talk about the details that he was involved in and hope that gets the point across.

"You remember how I always said that Jason was a Capital A Asshole? And how you always thought he was annoying and too focused on impressing the basketball guys over actually being a decent person? Well, take all of that and everything you assumed I was exaggerating about and make it at least fifty times shittier. He's worse than any of us ever imagined, and I didn't do anything about it because I made a promise to Chrissy that I'd stop fucking up my life on her behalf.

"So, when you ask me if he hurt her, all I can say is that I know he never laid a hand on her because if he did, I would have thrown that promise out the window, and Jason would have spent his senior year in a full body cast. But that doesn't mean he didn't put her through it, and that doesn't mean I didn't turn a blind eye to a lot of things because she told me that she could handle him on her own. And I really can't say anything more than that without betraying Chrissy's trust, and that's something I'll never do."

Steve stayed quiet after that. As much as he wanted to ask more about what Chrissy had gone through, he knew that he was dangerously close to overstepping a boundary, and he'd rather not piss off Eddie right before he was supposed to share a room with him. But he couldn't resist asking one more thing.

"So she wasn't scared of me in the car?"

"No. It wasn't you. I'm pretty sure it was just the situation. Besides, if she was scared of you, I don't think she'd have done whatever it is you two were doing with that ice cream."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Uh huh. Sure. 'Oh Chrissy, you have to let me try your ice cream. Let me just pull you up against me so you can feel how muscley my arms are.'" After impersonating Steve, Eddie switched positions and raised his voice in pitch to mimic Chrissy. "'Oh Steve, I'm ever so sorry that I turned your nose into a booger sundae. Let me sensually feed you a bite as an apology.'"

Steve grabbed a pillow from the bed that he was sitting on and hurled it at Eddie's head.

"That's not what happened and you know it. And it's not like there's anything between us anyway. We just met."

"Keep telling yourself that, Stevie," he said as he tossed the pillow back. "But I know what it looks like when you're into someone, and I definitely know what it looks like when she's into someone, so I'm pretty sure I can tell when the two of you are blatantly flirting in front of me. Do with that information what you will."

With that, Eddie ducked into the bathroom to leave Steve alone with his thoughts. He was certain that he hadn't been flirting with Chrissy. They were just a couple of buddies messing around with each other. That's all.

But no matter how much he wanted to believe that, he couldn't deny that there was a part of him that wanted to spend more time with her. That wanted to be the reason that she was smiling just like she had been earlier that evening. There was something special about her, and he was eager to learn more.

The first stop the next morning was the Newport Aquarium, and despite his best efforts, Steve was still fixated on what Eddie had said the night before. It didn't help that Eddie had dragged Nancy off to do their own thing the second that they were inside. He told himself that he was only going with Chrissy because it would be rude to leave her to wander the aquarium alone when they could easily walk around together. That was the only reason.

But then he saw the way that her face lit up when they walked into the jellyfish gallery. The lighting in the room bathed her in this purple glow, and he had to stop himself from staring at her while he was supposed to be watching the jellyfish. 

That's what Chrissy was doing anyway. She wasn't gawking at Steve like an idiot the way he felt like he was staring at her. He pulled out his phone and took a few sneaky candids of her without her noticing. He knew that he was supposed to show her every photo that he took of her immediately. That was the deal they'd made anyway. She had to approve of every photo, or they had to be deleted. Those were the rules.

But he didn't want her to decide those pictures weren't worthy of saving. Not right now when he was in awe of how one person could be so beautiful. So he pulled Mister Fibbley out of his pocket and took a picture of the tiny squirrel with the jellyfish, pretending that he'd never been focused on Chrissy at all.

When he stepped around the same jellyfish enclosure that she was looking at, Chrissy waved at Steve through the glass before sticking her tongue out at him. He feigned offense before mimicking her expression, and he felt something grip inside his chest when she started giggling and making more funny faces at him. Who knew that Chrissy Cunningham was such a dork, and who knew that that was exactly Steve's type? Both of these were revelations to Steve, and he was starting to think that maybe what Eddie had said the night before wasn't as ridiculous as he'd originally thought.

He didn't know how to deal with that though. The last thing he wanted to do was make a move on her if that wasn't what she wanted and Eddie was wrong about her being interested in him. That would lead to the most uncomfortable road trip of his life, and he'd had enough of those with his parents over the years.

But he could talk to her and joke around with her. He could let her pull him around to the different exhibits and go at her pace to keep her company. He could just enjoy getting to spend time with her on her terms. And, if Eddie was right, and she was interested in him? Well, that was just a bonus.

When they'd made it through the aquarium, they separated to look around the gift shop. Steve had pretty much determined that there was nothing he wanted to buy there when he looked over at Chrissy and saw that she had the biggest smile on her face as she was looking at a small gator plushie and wiggling its paws back and forth. He watched her play with it a moment before she left it abandoned on the shelf. 

The next thing Steve knew, he was at the checkout counter buying the plushie for her. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he thought that maybe he could express his interest in her in subtle ways like that, and if she was open to what he was doing, she could make the first move.

When they got back in the car, Steve passed his souvenir bag over to Chrissy.

"For you."

He watched as she pulled out the plushie and her face lit up again.

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I wanted to."

"Thank you. That was really sweet of you."

"Don't mention it."

He thought he could see a little bit of a blush starting to grow on her cheeks as she grinned down at the plush and wiggled its little paws again, and he smiled to himself. He thought that maybe he could be content with just being the one to make her look that happy. For now.

The next stop on Nancy's itinerary was Loveland Castle. She was hoping to explore a little, and Eddie figured he could use it as inspiration for a future campaign. Chrissy just wanted to find a shady spot to relax and enjoy how nice of a day it was, and Steve offered to keep her company. They planned on making the drive to West Virginia that night, and he figured he could take the time to relax since he'd be the one doing the late night drive.

The two found a tree to sit under, and Steve sprawled out in the grass with Chrissy sitting beside him. He just looked so peaceful laying there with his eyes closed and his arms back behind his head that she couldn't resist taking the opportunity to snap a couple candids for him.

As she was taking her last picture, Steve opened his eyes.

"Oh, are we taking candids now?" he asked.

"Just a couple. I hope that's okay."

"Doesn't bother me. It just means that I should probably take a couple of you."

"You don't have to do that. I don't need more pictures of myself."

"C'mon, Chrissy," he started as he sat up. "How are you ever gonna have a decent Bumble account if you don't have any pictures for it?"

"Fine. But I still get to choose which ones get deleted, okay?"

Steve nodded before pulling out his phone. He took his first picture a little too early and caught Chrissy mid-stretch.

"I wasn't ready yet!" Chrissy said as she moved her hands to cover her face. "You have to delete that one."

"They're not candids if you're posing for them though. Just trust the process. Relax and ignore the fact that I'm here."

So, that's what she did. She ignored Steve and played with her phone. She leaned back and looked off into the distance. She tried to be relaxed and calm and casual and cool and everything that she thought she should be in pictures. She let Steve work his magic.

But, with every picture that he took, Steve couldn't come up with a good reason why he was doing this. There was something special about Chrissy. She joked around with him and made goofy faces. She had the best smile, and she was so easy to talk to. She was beautiful, but she was so much more than that, and the idea of some other guy getting to experience all of that because of pictures he took made him sick. He wanted to be the one to make Chrissy blush, and with every picture he took, he felt a pang of jealousy echoing in his chest.

"Can I see them now?" Chrissy asked, biting down on her lower lip.

Steve hesitated. He hated that he did it, but he hesitated. Even in the photo where she was stretching, she was maybe the most beautiful person he'd ever seen. He didn't want some other guy seeing these. He knew it was selfish and wrong of him the second he did it, but he lied to her.

"I don't know," he replied. "I don't think they turned out very good. They're kind of blurry. I just dont think I'm very good at catching just the right moment, you know? But we can try again later if you want."

"That's okay," she said as she stared at her lap. "I understand."

And maybe if Steve wasn't feeling so guilty about lying to her, he would have seen the way her face fell.

He might have said that the pictures were unusable because they were blurry, but in Chrissy's mind, she knew the real reason. She just didn't photograph well. She could hear her mother's voice in the back of her mind telling her that she didn't have any good angles, so there was no point in trying. No picture of her would ever be good enough, and Steve was too nice to tell her the truth. He only said they were blurry to protect her feelings.

As much as she hated those thoughts, they stayed with her, and she stayed quiet. As her mind played tricks on her and attacked the very little self-confidence she had, she didn't speak much throughout dinner, and she spaced out in the car afterwards.

Nancy and Eddie had fallen asleep in the back seat, and Steve was focused on the road, so that left her to stare out the window alone with her thoughts and the musical theater playlist that she'd convinced Steve to let her put on playing softly in the background.

"You're really quiet over there. What's on your mind?" Steve eventually asked her.

"Nothing."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

She had pulled out her phone and flipped through her camera roll. With every single picture of herself that she saw, the voice in her head got louder as it pointed out every single imperfection - real or imagined. The voice in her head didn't care. It just wanted her to feel as small and insignificant as it knew she was.

Steve glanced over at her and noticed what she was doing. He also noticed that she looked close to tears, and that nearly broke him. He didn't know what was going on in her head, but he knew it couldn't be good from the look on her face. He wasn't stupid. He noticed how quiet she got after he'd taken her picture earlier, and he noticed how quiet that she'd been since then. More quiet than she usually was. And he had a feeling that it was probably his fault. The guilt from earlier resurfaced, and he knew that he had to do something to keep her from crying. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He unlocked his phone and passed it over to her.

"Open my camera roll and then open the favorites tab," he told her without looking away from the road.

Chrissy was hesitant, but she followed his instructions and was surprised to find that all of his recent favorites were of her. There were a handful of the photos that he'd taken outside of the castle, but there were also a bunch of photos she hadn't realized he'd taken. Ones of her all throughout the aquarium. One of her laughing at one of Eddie's stupid jokes. Just a bunch of tiny moments that he'd wanted to preserve.

"If it isn't already obvious, I lied earlier," he told her. "There was nothing wrong with any of the photos I took of you, and I'm sorry for whatever my lies made you think. I just hated the idea of you asking me to delete them, and I really couldn't stand the idea of another guy seeing them. That doesn't justify what I did, but you deserved to know the truth. It was a dick move, and I'm really sorry. You can text whichever ones that you like to yourself and delete them off my phone if you want. And you don't have to save your number or anything if you think I'm a jerk. I'll understand if you don't really wanna talk to me anymore after that."

Chrissy stayed quiet as she flipped back through Steve's favorites folder again. She tried to see herself the way that he did, and while it didn't fully quiet her mother's voice, the fact that Steve liked the way she looked enough to consider pictures of her his favorites helped to make it a little quieter.

"So you don't think I look terrible?" she asked.

"Terrible? How could anyone ever think you look terrible?" he asked. "You're beautiful, Chrissy, and anyone who's ever made you feel otherwise is clearly blind."

"For the record, I don't think it was a dick move," she said after a moment. "It's actually kind of sweet."

"Oh yeah? Does that mean you've got a bunch of photos of me that you haven't shared yet?"

He glanced over at her and noticed that she'd started blushing again. He'd never get tired of having that effect on her.

"It's fine," he told her. "Keep them to yourself if you like. I'm starting to think that maybe dating apps aren't really my thing."

"It's the same for me. Who needs 'em?"

"Yeah, who needs 'em?"

The pair shared a smile before Steve turned his full attention back towards the road, and Chrissy went back to looking at Steve's camera roll. She sent herself every single picture that Steve had saved of her. Maybe if she looked at herself through Steve's eyes, it might be a little easier for her.

She was about to tell him that she was saving her number in his contacts when she realized he was softly singing along to the song that was playing - "Her Voice" from the Little Mermaid stage musical - and she whipped her head around to face him.

"How do you know this song?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"You're singing. And maybe this is me making a silly assumption, but I really didn't think that the Steve Harrington was a musical theater guy. Especially a musical theater guy who knows a song that only appears in the stage adaptation of a Disney classic."

"I had this nanny as a kid who was really into musicals. I don't remember most of the stuff she played for me, but she was really into The Little Mermaid, and I guess this one song just kind of stuck? It just sounds nice." He shrugged. "Maybe a more important question, but why don't you ever sing along? Someone who's passionate enough about musicals to have created their own musical theater playlist definitely seems like the kind of person to sing along to said playlist in the car."

"Oh, I'm not much of a singer. I love musicals, but I'm not really the kind of person to be in them."

From the tone of her voice, he could tell there was something else going on there, but he didn't want to press her any further. He could ask her more about that another time.

When they finally made it to the hotel, they woke Nancy and Eddie up, and the group made their way into their separate rooms.

Nancy was back asleep almost as soon as she climbed into bed, but Chrissy stayed up for just a little bit longer. She found herself scrolling through the photos that Steve had taken of her again, and she couldn't help but smile. She picked her favorite of the ones that he'd taken at the castle earlier, and she posted it to her instagram account. No long and wordy captions. Just a single smiling emoji surrounded by hearts.

Just as she was about to set her phone down, her screen lit up with two notifications. The first let her know that she'd been followed by the account of one Steve Harrington, and the second let her know that he was the first to like her photo. She bit her lip in a smile as she sunk down into her pillows, and she fell asleep thinking that maybe the little voice in her head was wrong. Maybe she really was beautiful.

[februaryflowers]

with you

order up: a mint coffee with tapioca pearls for seokmin + anon !

a coworkers assassins drama

check out the (now closed) carat writers club summer fair event!

warnings: another seventeen member is a betraying double agent, language, a non descript shot is fired + hits a major character, implied blood mention

drama, angst, fluff if you squint (maybe ?); 631 words, assassin!seokmin x assassin!reader

Catching Seokmin’s eye across the ballroom, you give him a small nod. And just like that, he turns his head, not a single sign of recognition in his eyes. But that’s how it is.

You haven’t seen him in weeks, maybe months, away on your own respective missions. Perhaps that’s just what happens when headquarters finds out about the budding romance between its two star assassins. Yet, even now, your love for him hasn’t waned. It’s probably grown, in fact, your heart wanting to plow through this crowd of snobby businessmen to just feel his arms around you once more despite your years of training and experience echoing in your brain that tells you that would be the worst idea right now.  

But alas, even a single wrong breath could put these kinds of people on your scent, often finding any possible reason, no matter how outlandish, to oust other “unbecoming” socialites from their circles. And you have a mission here, after all: to find and eliminate the double agent who’s supposedly given their allegiances to one of the CEOs in the room and become a rogue assassin for hire. Apparently they’re here to find another target that both agencies want gone. 

So, as hard as it is for your usually stone heart, you put aside your thoughts of Seokmin. Instead, your eyes wander the scene, feigning a bitter superiority as you try to analyze members of the crowd. 

As your gaze brushes over the tailored suits and custom-made dresses, one man does catch your attention. Quickly doubling back, you let your eyes grow wide. He was just there… Nobody here would dare move that fast, let alone be able to. Where did he go?

Unless…

“Shit,” you mutter, holding your back a little straighter as you shuffle over to the bathrooms. 

Kim Mingyu knows you’re here. Kim Mingyu knows you’re on to him. And if there’s anything the two of you have learned over the years, it’s that you do not leave witnesses. 

Fidgeting with the watch on your wrist, you press the knob that normally is supposed to adjust the time, hoping that Seokmin can answer. 

But you never have to worry with him. He comes seconds after you, joining your pacing in front of the restroom doors.

“What’s wrong?” he murmurs, trying to keep his voice low and calm, but, even still, the words fall quickly.

“The rat is Mingyu. He knows that I know.”

“What?”

You nod frantically, your head bouncing up and down. “I saw him. It’s just supposed to be us and the double agent here. It has to be him.”

Sighing, Seokmin runs a hand through his hair. “You’re sure it was him?”

“It couldn’t have been anyone else. I’m sure.”

“Did you see where he went?”

“No, when I looked back he was gone. We have to—”

The bang rings out, wet warmth growing around the palm splayed over your abdomen. The footsteps behind you grow fainter and fainter, but Seokmin is still here, frozen in front of you.

“Go,” you grit out. “You’re our only chance.”

“I can’t go,” he croaks. A tear falls down his cheek, one he quickly shakes off. “Not like this. You need help.”

Your gaze flickers to his, and you swallow when you find his eyes, no longer guarded by the years of training as he presses his hand over yours. You know this shot won’t kill you. But, even if it’s selfish, having Seokmin with you here, it makes your heart swell and, maybe just a little, hope that he doesn’t leave. Maybe, just for a second, after all you’ve done to make the world safer, the world can grant you this moment, just this once. 

“Just stay with me, y/n.”

“I’m with you, Seokmin.”

[deanharlan]

𝐢.    introduction.

Name: Dean Harlan

Age:  37

Faceclaim: Boyd Holbrook

Neighborhood: A hotel downtown

Occupation: Singer, songwriter, producer

Other: Voice and music claim is Morgan Wallen. Some music claims of Thomas Rhett as well.

𝐢𝐢.    biography.

As the oldest son and child in the humble Harlan household, Dean always felt the weight of responsibility. Some of his earliest memories were of his parents telling him to look out for his little bother, and then eventually his baby sister. Growing up, he was the babysitter, the guardian, the teacher, and the first friend to his two younger siblings. They were roles he never took lightly, strong familial bonds had always been pressed upon with upmost importance.

Even though Dean may have been the first one to pick up a guitar and learn the chords, it was Samuel, his brother, that had the most passion when it came to music. Rather than take the reigns he took a thoughtful step back and let his brother shine. On his own, either under a tree on the Montana property or in the comfort of his bedroom Dean would create melodies and write songs with ease. It came naturally to him. Fame and chasing down a recording career had never factored into his plans, however. That was all Samuel. Where his younger brother had dreamt big, Dean was practical in his approach to life. He wanted to own and work a ranch.

Somewhere along the way fate had intervened. Samuel had always struggled with stage fright. No matter how talented he was getting front of a crowd was a challenge, so Dean would usually go up on stage and play with his brother. Usually he tried to stay to the background and be a supportive presence, often he'd have to take the reigns and carry on the show, switching roles with Samuel. All it took was one performance at a fair in Missoula when Dean was 17 for someone in the crowd with influence to change not only his life but that of his entire family's.

A recording contract came with a big label. Dean wrote his own songs and played his own music, then set out on the road to promote and find an audience for it. He'd tried to turn it all down when he was scouted, but his parents and Samuel all gave him the blessing and encouraged him to take the chance. Everyone knew singing and songwriting was innate for him. It turned out to be a big thing. His records were big hits, songs and albums topped the charts, and his live shows really brought in the success. Dean had a charisma on stage, something that came out of him as in general he was a bit more of a quiet and stoic type.

With the growth and success of his music career; best selling albums, awards, top grossing tours, Dean went on to become one of country music's biggest and brightest. Aside from a breakup or two, his career was relatively drama free and without scandals. For him, the growing pains would hit much closer to home. Within his own very small circle, in fact. As Dean had gone on to live the life that Samuel had dreamt of his brother's envy had grown ugly with his skyrocketing success. It had never mattered that Dean had shared the spoils of it all with his family and closest friends, Samuel had begun to secretly hold Dean's success against him and began to poison the ears of anyone he could to harm Dean.

Real love had come in the way of a rising star he'd set to do a couple of songs with at the label's request in Nashville. Neslihan was a beautiful old soul that he'd connected with like no other and when they sang and made music together Dean had fallen in love almost instantly. At first they kept their budding romance a secret, not sure how their label and the fans would react, they eventually came out at the insistence of their managers and were met with a lot of love from country music lovers. They even toured together at first and Dean watched on with pride as Neslihan's star began to shine. As good as their relationship was it wasn't without some ups and downs sometimes. Relationships in general could be difficult but they were also touring entertainers with so much else to manage.

What Dean hadn't known was that Samuel had a crush on Neslihan, not before or even after he and her began seeing one another. It became one more thing his younger brother had held against him. To make matters worse, their relationship began to feel the pressure of his management telling him that he shouldn't be "carrying" the career of a young starlet. They were worried that over time she'd slow his career because much like how he was with Samuel, he was more than happy to take a backseat and let her shine in the spotlight. Likely in knowing how Dean would react no one communicated these things to him, at least not in anything more than a passing comment that he would shoot down. Instead, he'd never learn that they were going to Neslihan with their ideas.

Without his knowing it, a whole conspiracy came together behind him to push Neslihan out. His management and reps from the label were telling her that Dean had no real use for her and that things had run their course. Samuel, his own flesh and blood, poured some poison in her ear about Dean wanting to get together with an ex he was still in love with. Somehow even one of his exes was roped into it all, for her own selfish reasons, and told Neslihan he only really thought of her as a kid and didn't know how to let her go. It was all lies, all fabrication, a plot against their relationship, and none of it was his thoughts or feelings. They'd been living together, Dean was that serious and in love with Neslihan, but when he came home one day she and her things were gone.

Calls and voicemails when unanswered. Texts were left on read. Dean figured this was all Neslihan telling him it was over between them, he just needed her to say it to his face. A one way ticket from Nashville to Atlanta, Dean headed for the place he figured she'd go. Covington. It was her home town, her dearest friends and family were there, and he needed an answer.

[windowlessatmosphere]

My Best Friend's Boyfriend, Ch.2

Summary: Payu takes it upon himself to get to know Sky better, seeing as he’s Rain’s best friend. Once Prapai starts dating Sky, he and Rain try to bond, too. Meanwhile, Rain is incessantly campaigning for a double date.

When Rain had first found out about Prapai’s interest in Sky, he’d been hesitant. Of course, the man had shown up to Payu’s place and refused to leave without his number, so it was only natural. He was feeling guilty, squirming in place and wondering if it had been a good idea to give out his friend’s info. Payu noticed immediately, of course, and asked him what had him so worried. When he voiced his concerns, Payu simply nodded in understanding.

“Don’t worry,” he brushed Rain’s hair back. “Prapai’s a good guy. He’s one of my closest friends.” Rain smiled gratefully at the reassurance and leaned into Payu’s chest, content with the knowledge that he hadn’t just set a wild animal upon Sky.

When Prapai showed up in person, Rain was ready to wingman for the both of them, though he couldn’t quite tell if Sky was on board. He seemed hesitant at first, but eventually left with Prapai rather than getting a ride from Rain, so he must have been at least somewhat interested. Rain headed off to see Payu, reminding himself that he had something important to deliver, and glowing with the knowledge that he’d helped their budding romance to grow.

He very quickly found out that this was not the case, from a very upset Sky. After enough kneeling to make his joints sore and a lot of groveling, he was finally forgiven, after promising never to do it again. He still wasn’t sure how Sky felt about Prapai, though he was very clear on how Sky felt about Rain giving out his number.

He eventually came down on the side of encouraging Sky to give Prapai a chance. He had a lot of good qualities, and was one of Payu’s best friends, which won him a ton of points in Rain’s book. He attempted to extol these virtues to Sky, but was swiftly rebuffed, finally getting a clear and concise picture of how Sky felt about Prapai. Not interested.

Rain took this in stride, soon able to adjust his view of Pai to align more closely with Sky’s. True, Payu and Prapai were friends, but Rain didn’t see Prapai all that often, and Payu would understand. Sky seemed downright venomous when Prapai’s name was mentioned, and Rain did his best to stay in the same boat. He was supportive, dammit.

Weeks later, he was utterly shocked when given the news that Sky was now dating Prapai. Seriously, he groaned internally, could Sky pick a side? At least that way, Rain would know how he was meant to be acting. He didn’t entirely believe it at first, wholly aware of the way Sky had reacted toward the mere mention of Pai’s name in prior weeks. Sky eventually convinced him that this was what he truly wanted, that he was happy, and that Rain should get on board with it. If, that is, Rain wanted to be a supportive friend. Which, he was seriously trying to do, okay? He felt like a pinball, constantly bouncing between Payu and Sky’s opposing views on Prapai. He just wanted to be a good friend and boyfriend, but they were apparently set on making that very difficult for him. Though, they finally seemed to be on the same page regarding Prapai, so Rain resolved to be supportive, and at least try to get there with them. He and Prapai eventually ended up in an easy acquaintanceship, neither affectionate nor antagonistic, simply getting along for the sake of their partners.

Rain banged insistently on the door in front of him, glancing at his phone as he did so. He’d sent five texts to Sky, and all of them had gone unread. He’d called twice, too, but Sky hadn’t picked up the phone either. He banged louder, only stopping once the door was opened.

“P’Pai!” He exclaimed, taken aback. His indignation was temporarily bottled up since Sky wasn’t there for him to unleash it on, but he made sure not to get rid of it entirely.

“Nong Rain,” Prapai greeted him, smiling widely.

“Um, is Sky here?” Rain asked hesitantly, shifting his backpack.

“He’s asleep,” Prapai informed him. “He’s been so busy lately, I told him to nap until dinner.” Rain nodded at that, rocking back on his heels slightly. He didn’t want to wake Sky, but they were supposed to meet, and Sky would probably be mad if Rain bailed.

“We have a project,” he told Pai, though it came out a little like a question.

“Do you want to come in?” Prapai asked. “You can have dinner with us and work on your project afterwards?” Rain nodded gratefully, coming in when Pai stepped back and opened the door wider, waving him inside. “Do you have any homework?” Prapai asked, watching as Rain plopped himself on the couch.

“Nothing besides the project,” Rain said. “But you do a great imitation of P’Payu,” he teased.

Prapai snorted at that, shaking his head as he cleared away some of Sky’s clutter. He opened the door to Sky’s bedroom a crack, peering in.

“Still sleeping,” he let Rain know before taking the seat next to him. Neither of them spoke for a few moments, unused to spending time together without either Payu or Sky to connect them to one another.

“How was your trip?” Rain asked, searching for something to say.

“It was all right,” Pai shrugged. “I missed Sky,” he added, glancing fondly towards the bedroom door. Rain smiled at that, shaking his head slightly. A definite positive to Prapai was how utterly head-over-heels he was for Sky.

“Can’t survive a week without him?” Rain teased.

“You’re one to talk,” Prapai replied, laughing. “You sulk every time Payu’s away on business.” Rain’s mouth dropped open at that, clearly indignant. “Don’t worry,” Pai soothed. “He’s the same way with you. I’ve never seen him this way with anyone else.”

Rain perked up at that immediately, his interest clearly caught.

“Really?” He asked, eyes wide. Prapai snorted at his eagerness, shaking his head slightly.

“Of course,” Pai confirmed. “I almost didn’t believe it at first.”

“How long have you known P’Payu?” Rain tilted his head to the side, trying to recall if Payu had mentioned anything to him.

“Since high school,” Prapai told him, thinking it over for a moment.

“Really?” Rain had a tone of surprise. “Were you racing back then?”

“No, that didn’t start till later,” Pai explained. “I went to university in England, and when I came back, Payu had gotten involved in the racing scene. That’s how I ended up getting into it.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t know that,” Rain frowned.

“He never mentioned it?”

“No,” Rain shook his head. “What was P’Payu like in high school?”

“Not that different,” Pai told him. “He was…assertive, even then.”

“Assertive?”

“How he is with you,” Prapai clarified.

“Oh.” Rain blushed at that. He wasn’t sure if Payu had explained their dynamic to Prapai, or if it was just that obvious, but he was feeling shy about it either way. He shifted a bit on the couch, avoiding eye contact with Prapai.

“He got a smoothie poured on him one time,” Pai offered, flashing a cheeky smile when Rain glanced in his direction.

“A smoothie?”

“I guess he was a little too assertive with this guy he was hitting on, so…smoothie.” Rain blinked at him in disbelief for a few moments before letting out a shy giggle.

“That really happened?” Rain was grinning by this point, awkwardness completely forgotten in the face of stories from Payu’s past.

“Of course,” Prapai replied. “And did you know he’s afraid of moths?”

“No,” Rain gasped, looking shocked and delighted by this information. “Moths?”

“Moths,” Pai confirmed, unable to help a wide grin. If this was his method of winning Rain over, it was absolutely working.

“Anything else?” Rain questioned eagerly, leaning forward.

“Hmm,” Prapai pondered for a moment, brow furrowed before a look of realization dawned on his face. “There was this one time,” he started, smirk fixed firmly in place.

“Yeah?”

“Well, one of our juniors had a crush on him. She never said anything, but it was pretty clear.” Rain nodded along, now resigned to the fact that Payu had a whole host of juniors in love with him at all times. “He just treated her like any other junior, thinking she’d eventually move on.”

“But she didn’t?” Rain jumped in, trying to anticipate the end of the story.

“Nope,” Pai affirmed. “She decided to confess instead.”

“Ohhh,” Rain grimaced, feeling second-hand embarrassment despite himself.

“In a song.”

“Nooooo,” Rain groaned, burying his face in his hands. “What did he do?”

“Well,” Prapai started. “He told her he only saw her as a junior.”

“In front of people?”

“In front of everyone.”

Rain groaned at that, feeling a sudden grateful urge that he’d never felt the need to serenade Ple. That rejection would not have been pleasant.

“That’s horrible!” He moaned, laughing slightly as he pictured the scene. Prapai chuckled along, covering his mouth with his hand.

“You think it’s horrible?” Pai questioned, raising an eyebrow. “I was standing right next to him the whole time!”

“Was she a good singer, at least?” Rain asked, hoping for some kernel of dignity in this story.

“Terrible.”

Rain couldn’t help but crack up again at Prapai’s deadpan delivery, burying his face in his knees as he tried to keep quiet. Pai was in a similar situation, trying to muffle the sound of his laughter in the crook of his elbow. Apparently, their efforts were for naught, as Sky emerged from the bedroom a minute later, hair ruffled and with a disgruntled expression on his face.

“Rain?” He tilted his head to the side, clearly caught off guard by his best friend sitting on his couch.

“You’re finally awake,” Rain scolded, thrilled that the tables had turned for once.

“What?” Sky glanced at Pai for clarification, looking confused.

“We have a project, ” Rain emphasized. He was already coming up with ways to tease Sky for finally being the more irresponsible one of the two.

“I thought we were working on that on Thursday?”

“...It is Thursday.”

“No, it’s Wednesday.”

Rain hesitated at that, jerking his head to the side quickly to check with Prapai.

“Wednesday,” he confirmed, giving Rain a consolatory pat on the shoulder.

Shit.

[msommers]

elena at the dinner table trying to process all of the Drama that is donny ghosting her for a year while he enters the family crime business, admitting to her that he and his family have been werewolves the entire time that she’s known them (so essentially for nearly two decades), that he’s apparently been in love with her for a long time, and also he’s got the slayer’s cake re-opening in a few days so she should stop by if she wants like

[wordofthewicked]

Switched- A Fred and George Weasley Fan Fic

Fred and George Weasley are the most infamous duo at Hogwarts- you'll never find one without the other trailing close behind. Many people can't even tell them apart, and even fewer try to figure it out. However, there is more to the twins than meets the eye. Perhaps being two halves of the same whole isn't their choice in the first place. When a date with George's longtime crush leads to a new budding romance, chaos ensues within the Gryffindor house. This girl holds some key to George's future, but can he outrun the danger that comes with loving her?

~All characters, places, objects, and events that happen in the Harry Potter Universe are property of J.K Rowling. I own none of them. This book is purely a work of fan fiction.~

General Master List

Switched Master List

~~~

Chapter One: The Astronomy Tower

Fred's POV:

"Are you lot even paying attention?" Oliver snapped, turning away from the chalkboard to glare at the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Mate- we've been doing this for hours. No, we're not paying attention anymore." George sighed, standing up from the bench beside me and stretching his arms above his head.

"Anymore? You weren't paying attention to begin with." I snickered, rolling my eyes at Oliver's frustrated face.

"In my six years at Hogwarts, we have never won the house cup. This is my last chance and I'm not letting it slip past us because we didn't strategize." Oliver put down the chalk and slumped onto the bench directly in front of him.

"Maybe a break would do us all some good? George was right- it's been hours since you called us here. We haven't even gone out on the field and no offense- Binns would be more interesting at this point." Katie scooted past Alicia, and gently put her hand on Oliver's shoulder.

"Yeah... yeah alright. Go on then, I'll see you all at dinner." Oliver stood up and walked out of the changing rooms, heading off towards the castle.

"You reckon he's gonna go jack off to his playbook?" I sniggered, standing up and joining George, who was beside me.

"You're disgusting, you know that?" Angelina tried, but failed to hide the smirk that crossed her face.

"Ahhh.... admit it." I slung one of my arms over her shoulders and pulled her closer "You love it."

"In your dreams, Weasley." She pushed me away, following Oliver's footsteps out of the room. The remaining two girls went quickly with her, leaving me, George, and Harry alone.

"Mate, maybe she'd give you the time of day if you stopped joking around and actually asked her out." George sighed.

"Jokes on you lot- I don't even like her." I argued, crossing my arms.

"Yeah, alright. Whatever you say, lover boy." Harry snickered as he walked passed me.

"Oi- watch it Potter. I know where you sleep!" I mockingly threatened.

"Ooooh I'm so scared now. C'mon- we're going to be late for dinner. I heard Dumbledores making some big announcement." Harry starting walking towards the castle, George and I following close behind.

"Actually, speaking of lover boy, what's with you and Chang?" George quipped, walking in time with Harry.

"Cho? Nothing's going on with us. Why? Did Ron say something to you?" Harry glanced between the two of us, as we were towering him on either side.

"A birdy told me that wittle Harry's got a crush. Just wondering, that's all." I smiled.

"Well I don't." Harry muttered, walking even quicker now.

"Mm, that's a shame." George began.

"Your babies would be great Seekers." I added.

"Heard Diggory's after her as well..." George winked at me over Harry's head.

"Diggory?" Harry questioned.

"Cedric Diggory? Hufflepuff Seeker, Portkey aficionado. Heard he's had his eye on Cho for a bit."

"Well- I guess their babies will be good Seekers as well." I punched Harry lightly on the arm as we entered the Great Hall.

The rest of Hogwarts was already there, spread out among the four house tables. The three of us quickly found ourselves to our usual seats, moments before dinner was set to begin. Harry immediately began talking with Hermione and Ron, their heads close together. I scanned my eyes across the table, before making eye contact with Angelina. I winked at her, and she quickly turned away, a small blush creeping across her cheeks.

"You shouldn't play around like that, you know." George whispered to me. "If you really aren't going to ask her out, then you're just leading her on."

"Please save me your 'holier than thou' speech, I don't need it. We've always been like this with each other- it's our friendship." I responded.

"It was fine when we were 12, but we're 19 and things hold a little bit more weight now."

"As soon as you ask out that girl you like, I'll ask out Angelina." I turned my head away from him, hoping he'd drop the subject.

"I'm not into Stevie like that." He argued.

"Oh yeah? Funny- there's a whole school to chose from, and you automatically assumed I meant her."

"You set me-" before George could finish, Dumbledore cleared his throat at the podium in the front of the Hall.

A hush fell over the room, everyone turning their heads to look at him. He smiled slightly, his eyes scanning the faces staring up at him.

"I hope you all have enjoyed the first week of the new school year. First years- I'm sure you have managed to figure out your way around the grounds by now. Hogwarts holds many secrets, some of which I'm sure have shown themselves to you." Dumbledore took a moment to pause before continuing.

"I have very exciting news to share with you. As I am sure you have heard whispers, as rumors so easily spread, Hogwarts is going to be housing some new guests this school year. Students of the fine wizarding schools Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will be joining us in our castle. I am proud to announce that Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament."

Chatter sprang up across the hall, everyone talking animatedly to one another about the guests and the tournament.

"I've heard about that! I hear that you get a ton of money if you win!" Lee piped up, looking at us wide eyed.

"Why haven't we hosted one before?" Ginny questioned.

"Because it's foolishly dangerous!" Hermione cried. "I cannot believe Dumbledore is letting them bring it back. So many student died while competing, the tasks are supposed to be ridiculously hard to complete. They stopped doing them in the 1700's after all three champions were too injured to continue."

"Wicked!" George and I said simultaneously, grinning at each other.

Dumbledore cleared his throat before continuing on.

"As I was saying, the Triwizard Tournament is a competition in which the winner receives eternal glory. It is a series of three tasks- but be warned. They are not easy, nor will they be safe. Your entry into this competition should not be taken lightly, and I advise all of those who wish to enter, to think deeply about it before doing so. If your name is pulled, you are constituted to a binding magical contract and must compete. Our guests will be arriving this Sunday afternoon, and the Triwizard Cup will be available for all those who want to enter on Monday morning. However- due to the nature of this competition, the Ministry has decided that no witch or wizard under the age of 19 may compete."

"THAT'S RUBBISH!" I yelled.

An uproar surrounded us, every house table filled with rage.

"THAT'S RUBBISH! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" George shouted from beside me.

"SILENCE." Dumbledore bellowed, gaining everyone's attention once more.

"I implore you all to be welcoming to our friends when they arrive. You are representing Hogwarts as a whole- it would do you well to act as such. Now, enjoy your dinner and your well deserved weekend break." He nodded his head before stepping away from the podium.

The food appeared suddenly on the tables before us, everyone immediately jumping on it.

"I can't believe there's an age limit." Lee choked out through mouthfuls of chicken.

"I can't believe you'd want to compete." Alicia sighed, her nose wrinkling in disgust.

"You don't? Eternal glory doesn't entice you, eh Spinnet?" George joked, reaching over me to grab the mashed potatoes.

Suddenly, the room began spinning around me. George quickly put the bowl down, knowing what was coming next. In a split second, I felt myself being ripped away from my body, and sucked into the one beside me. George looked at me and blinked,  unimpressed with the switch that just occurred. After almost 19 years of randomly switching bodies with him, I never got quite as used to it as he did. It didn't feel any different to be in either of our bodies- we are identical after all. Still, suddenly being in a different body while trying to eat dinner isn't the most fun way to pass the time during meals.

"For your information George, no. It doesn't. Not at the possible cost of my life." Alicia handed me the mashed potatoes, rolling her eyes.

"Oi- I'm not George, he is." I jerked my head to my right and picked up the chicken leg that George had set down on the plate beside him.

Alicia glanced quickly between the two of us, examining our faces. We stared back at her, waiting for a response. She just shrugged her shoulders, and picked her fork up.

"I'm glad none of you could enter," Ginny smiled "I couldn't bare to listen to you talk about 'eternal glory' for the rest of your lives."

"That's only if they won," Hermione glanced between us and Ron and grinned back at Ginny "so I don't think that would have been a problem."

Ginny giggled, shaking her head slightly at Hermione's words.

"Well, we're going to figure out how to enter either way. There's gotta be some way around that age rule!" I puffed my chest out, confident in George and mine's ability to come up with something.

"Good luck with that." Hermione rolled her eyes and looked back down at the book open on the table in front of her.

"What about an aging potion? We only need a couple more months on us until we're of age." George wondered out loud.

"Have you got any idea how to brew one?" Katie asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Nothing we can't learn quickly." I winked at her.

"Right... good luck with that then. Just try to focus on your classes as well. Failing won't help you learn how to brew an aging potion." Katie stood up, grabbing her bag. "I'm going to see if I can find Ollie. He seemed weirdly tense today."

"Ollie? Merlin- you two are gross." I gagged.

"Oh piss off, Weasley. At least we don't undress each other with our eyes during Quidditch practice." She laughed, running off before I could respond.

"She's getting a dungbomb in the post for sure." I grumbled, sinking into my seat.

"Doesn't mean she's wrong mate." Lee laughed, wagging his eyebrows at me.

"God somethings in the air with you all tonight," Alicia shook her head before standing up "I'm heading off to my room. Snape gave us an essay due Monday morning and if I don't start it tonight, I'll never get it done."

"Oh! I'll come with. I need to start mine too." Lee dropped the chicken he was eating onto his plate and quickly followed behind her.

"Merlin- he trails around her like a lost puppy." I mused.

"At least he's honest about his feelings!" Angelina immediately shot back, gathering her things and storming out of the Hall.

George smirked from beside me. "Told you."

~~~

George's POV:

I stared up at the ceiling of my four poster bed, unable to fall asleep. I knew it was sometime after five, but I couldn't be bothered to check. It was useless to just lay there, so I decided to get up and get ready for the day. I thought the castle was better at this time anyway- before anyone else was up. I was always an early riser, some days it was just worse than others. The sun was just beginning to peak out over the horizon, and I made the decision to go up to the Astronomy tower to watch it. I threw on whatever clothes I could find in the dark, and scrambled down the stairs, and out the portrait hole.

The paintings in the hallways were mostly asleep, though some stirred a bit as my footsteps echoed around them. There was something tranquil about the silence that fell over the grounds in the mornings, like the castle itself had sunk into a deep sleep during the night. Soon enough, the other early risers would begin waking up and leaving their dormitories. Though many students don't wake up until after breakfast begins- especially not on Saturdays.

As I opened the door to the tower exit, I jumped back slightly, seeing a figure already standing out there, leaning against stone wall. They whipped their head around hearing the door open. I quickly recognized her as Stevie- a Slytherin girl a year below me.

"M'sorry," I mumbled, "I didn't think anyone would be up here this early.

"No worries." She smiled, "its George- right?"

"Y-yeah."

"Can't sleep either?" She turned back around to look out over the grounds.

I shook my head, before vocalizing a soft no, realizing she couldn't see me.

"I'm not usually an early riser. In fact- I tend to never wake up on time for anything." She sighed, leaning forward more.

I gently closed the door behind me and slowly walked over to stand next to her. She looked ethereal in the morning light, her black hair moving slowly in the breeze.

"I'm usually up around this time." I mumbled, forcing my eyes off of her. I silently cursed at myself for not being able to think of something better to say.

"I prefer the night, much more peaceful to me. Everything's waking up in the morning, too much energy getting ready to bloom." She smiled, looking over at me.

I couldn't find the words to respond, so I just nodded.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Stevie joked, meeting my eyes. "It's odd- we've gone to school together for five years and I don't think we've ever talked before. It's astounding how much division the houses really cause."

"I don't think I've ever really thought of it." I cleared my throat and looked away. I've been all too aware of the fact that we've gone to school together for five years and never spoken; all too aware of the knowledge that I could never pluck up the courage.

The sky had turned a bright shade of pink, the sun breaking across the horizon. The rays of light began to warm my already hot face, and I closed my eyes at the feeling. My heart was beating too loudly for me to think about anything else, aside from the fact that her pinky was mere inches from mine. The fact that if I moved at all, we'd be touching.

"Are you going to enter the tournament?" Stevie broke the silence, folding her arms and turning away from the railing to lean her back against it.

"I- uh. I hope so." I stuttered.

"You hope so?" She smiled slightly as she raised her eyebrows at me.

"Well, technically I'm only 18. But, my brother and I are going to figure out a way around the age line, guaranteed."

"Mmm... good idea. Let me know if it works for you. I can't imagine being that close to 19 and not being able to compete."

"You'd do it then? If you had the chance?" I quipped.

"Maybe. Between you and me though- I don't know if eternal glory is all that grand. I do, however, love a good competition." Stevie admitted, smiling slightly.

"Oh trust me- I've heard you at Quidditch matches, and you're not even playing. We all know you're competitive. Plus, Malfoy very loudly complains about your chess games." I took a step closer to her, suddenly confident.

"My reputation proceeds me then." She beamed.

"I guess so."

Suddenly, I felt the world begin to spin. My eyes went wide, knowing what was about to happen. I silently begged for it to go away, just this one time, let me stay in my body for a bit longer.

"George? You alright?" I heard Stevie question, her head tilting to the side.

Before I could answer, I was suddenly laying in bed, occupying the body that Fred was in just moments ago. I groaned in frustration, covering my face with a pillow. Panic quickly took over as I sat up, realizing that Fred was now alone on the Astronomy Tower with the only girl that I was ever too nervous to talk to. And she thought she was with me. I slammed back down against the bed and shoved the pillow onto my face again, shouting into it.

The curtains of the bed were pulled back, Lee's concerned voice sounding from next to me. "Freddie? You okay mate?"

I removed the pillow from my face, looking into his eyes.

"Oh! Sorry, George. I didn't realize you had switched. Where were you anyway? I woke up and your bed was already empty."

Lee was one of the very few people who knew about the fact that Fred and I switched. He somehow learned to always tell us apart, regardless of what body we were in at the time. Angelina had taught him some trick, and now he was even quicker at recognizing us than she was.

"I was on the Astronomy Tower. Talking to Stevie." I groaned, covering my face with the pillow once more.

"Stevie? Oh man."

"I know."

If Freddie fucked this up for me, I swear I was going to suffocate us both with this pillow.

[deniigi]

Lando The Nosy Neighbor AU

Title: good fences make good neighbors

Summary: Modern AU based off the premise presented to me as ‘Han and Leia move into the same neighborhood and start a feud, only to eventually overthrow the local Homeowner’s Association.’

Relationships: Pot-farmer!Han/Lawyer!Leia; Farmboy!Luke/Survivalist!Din; Lando & Breha Organa & Chewbacca

This is based off a rural community in Washington which has local cults.

Lando POV

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

A hippy has moved in next to the Organas.

It’s a good one, too. This one hasn’t even rented a moving truck, they’ve just come on over with all their furniture tetris-ed in on top of itself and wrapped tight with rope, blankets, and prayer.

Lando’s petunias screech for watering as the hippy throws open the truck’s door and comes staggering out, cracking his lanky back. Out of the other side comes an even hairier, even lankier person. He closes the truck door and looks right at Lando.

He stares.

It is a challenge. But of course, not one that Lando is not prepared to handle.

He points at his watering can.

Hippy Two seems to scoff.

Lando waits until he’s distracted by the first hippie struggling with the blue house’s doorknob to dump the remaining water into the pebbles under his ornamental bridge.

He returns inside and goes about his busy business, tying back the curtains.

It is always good to have someone new in the neighborhood.

--

 It takes the hippy couple a few weeks to get settled into their new home, and in that time neither has ingratiated themselves to Lando.

The stupid one with the floppy hair caught onto Lando’s tricks at the weekly poker match held in the local bar. Lando may have lost his irrigation system, but he has not lost his dignity. It was old anyways. He’s been planning to replace it for nearly a year now. There is never a better time than the present to start making your dreams into reality.

And anyways, the floppy haired out-of-towner will get what is coming to him. Lando has already sown the seed of his demise.

Leia Organa returned home to look after her poor, sick, stubborn mother just two months ago. Breha is fine, of course, not even cancer could snuff out her fires, although she is bored of her husband and daughter trying to trap her indoors. Her immunocompromised escapades have been delightful to watch.

The Organas are always a lively group. There is never a dull moment or lack of machinations among them—especially the lady of the household. She, like Lando, appreciates a good tussle. Which is why he has pointed out to Leia that her new neighbors’ greenhouse is mighty interesting, is it not?

Lawyer Leia’s ears pricked up like a horse’s, and Breha’s sharp eyes took on new sheen.  

Lando watches Leia in the mornings now, struggling to find upper-body strength and purchase on the wood of her backyard fence, among the roses and bougainvillea. She’s so tiny, Leia. Breha is not an overly large person either, and thus is no help in this endeavor to collect data on the greenhouse of questionable origins and purposes on the other side of the fence. Leia doesn’t need her, though. She needs no one. She’s seen what she needs to.

Lando pours tea from a glass pot given to him by someone in his company who wishes for their secrets to remain so and beautiful, clear amber liquid fills his cup.

He looks up to see Leia holding her phone out as far as she can without relinquishing her grip on the fence. She fumbles, trying one-handedly to document the crime before her, but alas. Even the mighty sometimes trip on the red carpet.

The phone slips. She grabs after it in slow-motion, horror filling every pore of her face.

It is gone now, that phone.

The Public Nuisances will know what she has been up to.

Lando sighs and leans back in his seat.

--

 It is no time at all before the dropped phone is returned graciously over the white, waist-height fence that separates the Public Nuisance’s yard from the Organas’. Leia snatches her phone back and wipes it off with her hand and sleeve. The shorter public enemy, Han, he calls himself, smiles at her cheekily. He retracts his hand and gestures to the taller fence, barely visible for the fruit trees and vines, between their backyards and says something that makes Leia go very, very still.

It is, undoubtedly, a challenge. Not unlike the one that that the more polite public nuisance, Chewie, opened his and Lando’s relationship with.

Chewie has explained without mincing his words, that he and Han have come here because their last venture was lost in a snowstorm. Chewie will be damned if his precious seedlings are so callously frosted over again. The Pacific Northwest has no chance of freezing over, he says. It provides a better setting to grow stock.

Weed, he means. Marijuana. Chewie is again, not shy. He and Han make good money supplying dispensaries with their organic, hand dried leaves. It is apparently ‘artisan’ like in quality.

Lando isn’t sure he’d go that far, but yes, it is nice stuff. And yes, Leia, bastion of justice, does need to see the men’s permits.

Lando opens the window for a breeze and catches Han telling Leia that he’ll produce them if she arm wrestles him for the right to witness their authenticity. Leia agrees. Han fetches a small worktable from the house’s garage and sets it between them.

The match is over within seconds. Leia has never been so insulted in her life. She demands a rematch and, out of sheer indulgence, Han gives it to her.

He is nearly a foot taller than her. He could lift her up and over her own fence with ease if he so desired. He wins the next round. And the next one. He loses the last one by reason of having his leg deadened under the table but stands abruptly to renegade on his earlier promise.

“You watch yourself, princess,” he calls over his shoulder with his hand on his front door’s knob.

“Oh, I’ll be watching,” Leia snarls back.

Han slams the door. Chewie looks from him to Leia standing fuming in the shade of her family’s pine trees.

“Unbelievable,” she snaps at him before stomping off herself. “UNBELIEVABLE.”

Lando flicks his eyes up to see Breha’s dining room window wide open. She too, has a cup of tea. She lifts it his way and he lifts his back.

Finally, some quality entertainment once more.

--

 Han and Leia’s hatred has become neighborhood gossip. They have begun going to extraordinary lengths to gain the others’ attention. For example, Han, in weeding his sparce flowerbeds, was careful to shove the fruits of his labor between the fence slats into Bail’s well-tended herb garden. Bail, ever the gentleman, does not mind, but of course Leia feels that her family honor has been spat upon. She collects the weeds and returns them to her owner, via mailbox. It is kind of her to put the flag down, so Han knows that he’s received a message.

The retaliation is a mural in rainbow colors commissioned by Han and painted by one of the budding young teenagers from a school about a thirty minute drive downtown. It is...psychedelic. And facing Leia’s bedroom window.

Han asked the youth who painted it to add in a figure in the center of the composition; it is a brown-haired woman dressed all in white, surrounded by thorny vines, and attempting to climb a fence. The young artist must have felt like Michelangelo in the application of those delicate strokes of artistry. They knew they were creating something holy.

Han helps that along by bracketing the figure with solar lanterns that light up at night and keep the image fully illuminated.

When Lando arrives to Breha’s side to go on a walk, arm in arm, with her and her beast of a terrier, she giggles like a schoolgirl behind her hand.

“Han is very handsome,” she tells Lando.

“He’s alright,” Lando says.

“I think he and Leia are a perfect match. Will for will. No one’s ever dared to cross her like this.”

Now that is a fact.

“I wonder if this is the start of something more,” Breha says.

“What does your husband think?” Lando asks.

Breha waves him off dismissively.

“Oh, you know. He’s convinced that Leia will kill Han in his sleep, and we will be forced to post bail, but I told him—as I’ve told you, Lando—Leia’s too smart to get caught committing axe murder. Now poisoning, that’s a different story.”

--

 Lando wakes up and makes coffee. He turns on his computer and opens his curtains to let the light pour in and warm his hardwood floors. He stands at the window, hiding a smirk behind his mug.

Leia has had enough. She has called the Home Owner’s Association and they are standing at Han’s front doorstep.

--

 It is about three weeks before Han and Leia have overthrown the Home Owner’s Association for interfering in their escalating romance—ahem—bloodfeud. By then, Lando’s work-from-home situation is suffering. It is impossible to focus with those two cluttering up his view with distractions left and right. He determines that, for the sake of his finances, he must direct his attention to something a little further afield.

The Lars’s vegetable stand is becoming something of an institution.

It’s about a mile or so out of Lando’s way, tucked smack in the middle of the battlefield that is the stretch of land between the survivalist cult that lives in the forest and the pseudo-Buddhists that live in their compound. The farm itself is a few acres and the Lars’s son can be seen walking around, herding livestock out of the road and into pastures.

Lando has heard whispers that this son is none other than Leia’s twin brother, but no one has the nerve to directly ask the Organas about the truth of such a scandalous idea. The most that can be said about Luke Lars-Skywalker is that he is a master of social media.

He has created a Youtube channel and an Instagram to document the practices of his family’s farm and the products they produce. He is in a twitter-war with many communities online for his videos on small-scale bee-keeping, and his family’s stand is proudly boycotted by the vegan association in the city on farmer’s market days.

It has become well-known among the farm-to-table restaurants in the city, though, and that is why Luke keeps on keeping on with his cows and his fowls and his silly camera holder.

But all that means little because Luke Lars-Skywalker is in love.

Anyone with eyes can see it.

He is in love with an ancestral enemy.

See, in this area there are not one, but two cults and naturally, they abhor and reject the others’ teachings. To the south are the pseudo-buddhist, clairvoyants who have fashioned themselves more or less as monks preoccupied with meditation, self-development, and a few fairly mystical beliefs among the rather terrifying devotion to martial arts. To the north are the survivalist whack-jobs who don’t believe in electricity or running water, but who are also, somehow, preoccupied with self development and a terrifying devotion to martial arts.

Both groups have publicly denounced the other as misguided extremists.

The rumors say that Luke and Leia’s biological father is one of the clairvoyants, and this is where the heart of the current delightful irony lays.

Luke Lars-Skywalker is in love with one of those survivalists.

Lando knows this because he has seen it with his very own eyes.

He took a trip a while back to purchase some greens from the vegetable stand and he was there for a little while, picking through the selection, when he looked up and saw Luke’s posture explode out of its lax boredom. Lando looked over his shoulder to see what Luke’s tan, freckled attention had latched onto and lo and behold.

It was a man. And not only a man, a man with a baby.

Luke stuffed knuckles into his mouth to keep from cooing as the father of the child nodded at him and meandered over to have a poke through the produce piled up on the stand. The baby, dressed carefully in layers of warm, water-resistant clothing, watched Luke right back. He smiled and grunted, waving his dark, stubby arms and Luke melted—literally collapsed into a fraction of his size behind the paystation.

The father, a white rugged guy with dark curly hair and a great deal of stubble, shifted the baby to his other arm. His worn, heavy clothing and the military-style canvas sack on his back marked him as one of the Cabin-In-the-Woods people.

Lando felt like he was watching a country romance flick in real life.

Luke gathered his courage and approached the dad and baby to ask if they were looking for anything in particular. The baby immediately held hands out to him. Luke asked the father if he could hold the little one. The father said ‘no.’

Lando nearly choked on his own spit.

“Oh, sorry buddy,” Luke said to the baby. “Daddy thinks I’m gonna eat you up.”

“He just got a bath.”

Luke gooey expression hardened in an instant.

“Excuse you. You sayin’ I’m dirty?” he asked. “You sayin’ I smell like horseshit?”

The father stared at Luke wordlessly.

“Pigshit,” he corrected.

“WHAT.”

Lando no longer needed only greens. He had to pick a cheese from this bountiful pile. Oh dear, so many to choose from.

“I said, you smell like pigshit. And he just got a bath,” the survivalist father said. “How much for the tomatoes?”

“Twenty a pound,” Luke said viciously.

“That’s steep.”

“There’s a discount for people who smell like pigshit.”

“You get a lot of those?”

“No, but I know how to wallow in the time between buyers.”

“Are you angry or something?”

“Take your damn tomatoes.”

“I didn’t pay yet—”

“Just take ‘em. Go. Go.”

“Twenty—?”

“Hey, Mr. Calrissian, that’ll be ten-fifty,” Luke said over the protests.

That was then. This is now. And Luke Lars-Skywalker has not let up on his tirade against this survivalist. Nor, it is important to note however, has the survivalist stopped coming to the vegetable stand when Luke is working it.

What is even more is that Lando can see with his own two eyes that the survivalist is not holding his baby at the vegetable stand now, as Lando closes his car door a little ways from the stand. Luke smiles at Lando as he draws near; he is bouncing at the knees. He waves the baby’s hand in greeting and the child gurgles and twists back to grab at his face.

Lando smiles and does not say anything.

He finds Chewie inspecting a sprinkler at the edge of his and Han’s yard on the way back and crosses the street to inspect it with him. It sputters. Chewie suspects outloud that their squirrels are getting stronger and more destructive by the day.

Lando asks him if he’s been the Lars’s vegetable stand since moving into town.

He has.

Lando asks if he’s ever seen Luke there, holding a baby.

He has.

Lando is smug.

“Mr. Rugged Mountain Man is falling for the farm boy,” he tells Chewie.

Chewie lifts a thick eyebrow.

“One day soon, that baby is going to go from living off the grid to living in a barn,” Lando tells him. “Mark my words.”

Chewie tells him that that is impossible without a kidnapping charge because the Rugged Mountain Man is the straightest man that he’s ever seen. Lando tells him not to judge a book by its cover.

Weirder things have happened. Han and Leia, for example.

Chewie tells him that he knows that Lando is somehow responsible for those two’s newly inescapable sexual tension and he will never forgive him for it.

Lando cannot believe his ears. Him? An instigator? Of course not, Chewie. He is but a humble spider, waiting around in his house for a fly to shake things up. He is an observer, nothing more, nothing less.

Chewie just points a finger at him.

Lando points a finger-gun back. He fires it with a click of his tongue.

[foodieforthoughts]

Third Time's The Charm

Summary: Walter sweeps you off your feet with his voice, making you both give your romance a third chance.

Pairing: Walter x Reader

Warning: lots and lots of feelings

A/N: This piece includes the song "In case you didn't know by Brett Young". Can you imagine Walter singing? Ugh. Puppy. 🥺

Title: Third Time's The Charm

It was a look of utter disbelief and shock that Walter had all over his face when your friends had extended an invitation to join your group for karaoke night. A bunch of your friends from the station were going to sing the night off at a regular watering hole and they wanted the Detective to join too.

You had awkwardly stood behind the group with your hands in your pocket, unsure of what you were supposed to feel. Things had turned platonic between the two of you after a failed second date. Your sour mood after losing a lead on your case and Walter's ever present love-hate relationship with his ex-wife was a disaster waiting to happen; escalating your budding romance to a halt on that faithful date night.

But your feelings for the grumpy cop never died and your were ninety-nine percent sure he felt something for you too. Although you had never voiced your displeasure, it had hurt you immensely when Walter started dating Rachel. You hated to admit it, but when things went south for the two of them, you had been delighted with a renewed hope of reconciling things with Walter. It was a lack of courage on your part and probably Walter's sheltered persona that had you both only exchanging fleeting glances throughout your days at the station.

After getting coaxed by others to join for a fun night out, Walter had agreed, much to your silent joy. Men being men had huddled together on an adjacent table for majority of the night, leaving you glancing towards Walter more frequently than it was acceptable for friends. Your heart fluttered everytime he caught you looking, sweeping your entire body with tingling warmth. After a series of drinks and everybody getting tipsier by the minute, someone challenged Walter for a song.

"No." He had blatantly refused only for everyone to protest.

"Come on! Don't be a sour puss!" His best friend had exclaimed. You meet his gaze at the same time as he had looked at you. You could see the corner of his mouth twitching to form a smile, the tip of his nose a faint pink and his cheeks flushed from the drinks. He ran a hand through his curls with a sigh, making you wonder if they would feel as soft as they looked against your skin. You had felt a glowing heat spreading to your cheeks as soon as the thought crossed your mind.

A series of hoots and applauses resounded in the bar when he stood up. Walter pulled the lapel of his jacket close, chugging the remnants of his beer before going up to the small stage with a microphone and a computer to select the song. You had no idea if Walter could even sing. It was difficult to make the stubborn man open up; his quirks urging you to fall for him even more and explore his deep seated thoughts.

When the slow strumming of the guitar emitted through the speakers, your group fell silent. The stage was illuminated with soft blue lights above it, fixed to cast a gentle glow on anyone singing. Walter looked angelic despite being build like a strong wall.

You thought you were ready to hear Walter sing, but when his lips parted and the lyrics poured out of his mouth in a string of mellifluous words, your heart skipped a beat.

I can't count the times

I almost said what's on my mind

But I didn't

Walter wasn't looking at you, but it felt like he was speaking directly to you. You felt your heart thump as he continued singing. The reason for him selecting a song that spoke about wanting to tell the person they love but being unable to do so, felt more like a choice than a coincidence. And the way he could sing the song without even looking at the lyrics on the screen, meant he knew this song by heart.

As the song progressed your friends who were recently married, stood up and started slow dancing to the tune. You swayed from side to side with your friend throwing her arm around your shoulder, glancing at Walter who had a rare smile on his face as he sang.

The way you look tonight

That second glass of wine

That did it

Walter looked up to peer at you, stealing your breath and piercing your soul with his glimmering blue orbs. He looked away though when a few other patrons in the bar stood up to cheer Walter on, raising his hand to wave at them. Being a place that the police department frequented, the regular customers must have recognised Walter almost immediately which explained the applause from them.

You've got all of me

I belong to you

Yeah, you're my everything

The way he could hit the notes, it was apparent that Walter could sing, or had been singing all his life. When he sang the bridge of the song, the intensity radiating off his emotions was undeniably transparent. He had one hand on the mic, the other holding the stand with his eyes closed. His foot tapped to the tempo picking up the pace, in sync with your own heart beats.

In case you didn't know

I'm crazy bout you

I would be lying if I said

That I could live this life without you

Even though I don't tell you all the time

You had my heart a long long time ago

In case you didn't know

You couldn't help but silently gasp when he opened his eyes, cerulean beauty digging into yours as he crooned the words. It didn't seem like it was possible, but you could swear that for a moment everyone and everything had just faded away. It was only Walter and you in that room, in that blissful split second, with the symphony of the song playing in the background as he declared his love to you.

The thunderous claps and the accompanying whistles pulled you back to reality as Walter strutted his way back to the tables. The guys patted his back with the ladies complimenting him while you could only smile along.

Walter and you were the last one's to leave, standing on the side of the curb as you bid your friends goodbye. You could hear your heart drumming in your ears with cold shivers running down your back with the wind and your nervousness. Taking a deep breath, you turned slightly to look at Walter who stood towering next to you.

"Hey-"

"I-"

You both spoke at the same time, chuckling awkwardly at the blunder. Walter nodded for you to speak, adjusting his beanie over his curls and pocketing his hands to shield against the wind.

"I didn't know you could sing so well." You rubbed your hands together from the cold but mostly due to the anxiousness.

"Thank you." He flashed a genuine smile before falling silent again. But his eyes bore into yours with an expectancy, finally making you muster up enough courage to speak.

"I know we ended things...in an unpleasant way. But, if you don't mind, I would like to try again." You gulped to wet your throat that had gone dry with anticipation.

Walter smiled at you, taking a step forward until he was right in front of you. Bringing his finger under your chin, he tilted your face up and bent down to capture your lips for a kiss. Your eyes widened at the unexpected, but welcomed, contact. Melting at the fervid passion of his kiss, you moulded against his body and wrapped your arms around his waist.

Walter rested his forehead against yours when your lips parted. His gloved hand felt hot against your cheek with his thumb caressing your skin as he caught his breath. You didn't want to let go for it felt like the thirst for Walter's affection had only grown by ten folds after that kiss.

"Walter," You whispered, resting your head against his chest as he stood up straight, "I take that as a yes. Third time's the charm, right?"

Walter chuckled, the deep rumble in his chest echoing through to your ears. He engulfed you tighter in his arms, pulling the hood of your jacket over your head as the wind howled.

"So I've heard." He said before kissing your forehead and raising his hand to hail a cab.

[plant-flwrs]

i just read house unity and i am in tears!! it's so beautifully written, you must be an author bc that is pure TALENT 😭✨ if you don't mind can i request george x soft hufflepuff reader? she's kinda pure and george is like ily let's be together. thx!!

budding romance // george weasley

masterlist!

a/n: um UR TOO NICE!!! thank you so much!!! I do not mind in the slightest, so I hope you like it hehe! um i also love hufflepuffs so much they are like the best house (coming from a ravenclaw) my sister is a hufflepuff and like three of my good friends are hufflepuffs so y’all are the best and i have a major soft spot for u. 

i’ve always found something about botany and plants incredibly romantic, so if this just sounds like a fanfiction for plants, you know why lol. I also made George a bit soft in this so i hope you don’t mind that either <3 n e ways, i hope you enjoy this! thanks for requesting! also sorry this took so long :( i had a bit of a hard time finding a solid idea but i think it worked out :) like, reblog, or leave any feedback if you’d like!

summary: George needs a tutor for Herbology, but has no plans on learning.

(3k)

--------

The back of your neck was particularly warm, and you hadn’t decided if it was because of the blazing sun shining through the Herbology classroom glass ceiling, or the fact that George Weasley was staring at the back of your head.

Your delicate fingers traced the back of the Dittany plant, feeling the bumps and lines of the veins that trailed to the stem. You wrote down some observations in your worn notebook, before glancing back at the plant. You picked up a pair of garden scissors, prepared to cut the plant at the stem.

“George Weasley is looking over here,” your friend whispered to you, casting a glance over her shoulder.

“I know, he does it often,” you replied, using a pair of tweezers to pull apart the Dittany.

“Do you think he needs something?” she asked, returning back to her own plant.

“I just figured he was copying what I was doing,” you wiped a bit of moisture off of your hand and onto your apron, taking the opportunity to look over your shoulder.

George’s eyes met yours, and his face flushed with an embarrassed blush. You offered him a kind smile, your eyes falling down to his mangled Dittany plant. You looked back up to his eyes, this time sympathetically smiling at him.

You returned to your own plant, jotting down a few more notes in the stained journal next to you.

Herbology was a strong suit of yours, you had always found it relaxing and simple. The plants offered so much to people, and all you had to do was understand how to care for them properly.

After your eventual dismissal, you rubbed the back of your neck and felt a sunburn, cursing yourself for not bringing some sort of sunscreen in your bag.

You heard an awkward cough from behind you, followed by a weak “hello”. You turned to face the noise and was a little surprised to see the tall redhead it came from.

“Hello,” you said kindly, closing your bag.

“Hi,” he repeated, and you waited for him to continue.

An awkward amount of time passed before he realized he had already said hello.

“Oh, right, um” he coughed again, clearing his throat, “well, I just wanted to introduce myself.”

He paused, holding his hand out for you to shake.

“I know who you are, George,” you replied before he had the chance, smiling at his sentiment, “we’ve gone to school together for 6 years.”

“Yeah, I just usually say it formally,” he retracted his hand after he held onto yours for what he felt was too long, “you know, with an identical brother and all.”

You nodded your head, still smiling at the nervous boy.

“Well, I wanted to ask you something,” he said, his hands gripping the leather straps of his bag nervously.

“In addition to the introduction?” you said, trying to make him less nervous.

He laughed lightly, shifting from one leg to the other.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind,” you pushed a piece of hair behind your ear, finding it impossible to wipe the smile off your face.

“I was wondering, since you seem so good at it, if you would help me out in Herbology?” he spoke fast, and you nearly missed what he said.

“Oh,” you were surprised by his question. He and his brother had a bit of a reputation at this school, and tutoring didn’t seem to align with it.

“I get if you can’t or something, I know you must be busy with your own studies,” he began, but you waved your hands, cutting him off.

“No, no, I don’t mind,” your smile widened as he let out a relieved breath of air, his chest deflating.

“So you’ll tutor me?” he asked, a crooked smile dawning upon his lips.

“Yeah, I don’t see why not,” you replied easily, nodding your head.

There were many reasons not to tutor George, you found later. For one, you fell in love with him. Not that you could be blamed, he was incredibly charming and adorable. The other reason was that he actually had very little interest in the plants, and his efforts seemed more geared towards you.

You had asked Professor Sprout if you and George could meet in the Herbology room every Wednesday after her classes. She was skeptical, but she trusted you and allowed you access as long as you promised to keep George in line.

This particular Wednesday seemed no different than the others, besides the growing crush you had formed on George. You waited for him at a stool by the door, a textbook open in front of you, along with your Herbology journal, a few quills, your apron, your gardening equipment, and a dying Dittany plant you planned on showing George how to save. You had been waiting for a while, but George was usually late. You had pulled some Arithmancy homework from your bag and worked on it in the meantime.

“Sorry!” George burst through the door of the greenhouse, a book falling from his fumbling hands, “Sorry, I got caught up with Fred, I’m sorry I’m late.”

More and more apologies flooded from his mouth, like they did most days, as he made his way to the stool next to you.

“It’s alright,” you put away your homework and pulled your textbook to rest on the table between the two of you.

You stood from your stool and began putting on your apron, and moved over to the cabinet with the spare aprons. You got one for George and his hands fumbled behind his back, his focus on you. He watched the side of your face as you peered into the textbook, your fingers tracing the words as you read. You lightly tapped it, pointing it out to George.

“We’ll start here,” you said, sitting back down in your stool.

Your wand hovered over a watering jug on the table, and you cast the Aguamenti charm. Water poured from your wand, filling the jug.

George watched you, nervously turning his fingers over in his lap. He glanced down, noticing the habit, and smoothed his hands over his legs. He brought his hands to his hair and raked them through the red locks, rolling his shoulders back, trying to relax in your presence. He never was able to, and he knew this, but it didn’t stop him from trying.

George couldn’t care any less than he already did about Herbology. He thought it was boring and useless. Not many of his pranks required extensive knowledge about plants, and when they did, the plants were already in use. But, when he saw you from across the room, your glasses teetering on the edge of your nose, your fingers tracing over the lettering in the textbook, hair falling into your face, and that wonderfully sweet smile etched onto your beautiful face, he had to talk to you.

It took him a week or two of staring at the back of your head before you even noticed him. The first time that beautiful smile was for him, he could only think of you for the rest of the day. Fred was tired of it, honestly, George was desperately infatuated with you. George had worked up the tutoring plan with Fred, with the promise that he wouldn’t actually study anything. “We have a reputation to uphold, Georgie!”

“Okay,” your sweet voice pulled George from his thoughts, and his eyes flickered from your face to your hands on the book, “so this is a Dittany.”

Your hands moved from the book to the dying plant. Its previously green leaves were now brown and wilting. Your fingertips moved over the delicate leaves, to the stems, and you raked your fingers through the dry dirt.

George leaned forward on the table, putting his chin to rest in his palm. He listened to you talk about the plant, describing just about everything there was to know. He wondered how you knew all of this from memory, and admired you even more than he thought possible.

You reached over the table to grab the garden scissors, but they were just out of your grasp. George leaned forwards and picked them up, turning them to you. You hadn’t retracted your hand, so when he pulled them from the table, they slid open and you felt a sharp pain on your fingertip.

You pulled your hand away and nursed it in your lap. A red stain appeared on your apron, and soon it spread as your fingertip was flowing with blood. You heard the scissors clatter on the table and George turned to you, already spouting apologies.

“Shit!” he cursed, his body turning towards you and he slouched to become eye level with you in your seat, “I’m so sorry!”

You whimpered involuntarily, bringing your finger to your mouth to suck away some of the blood. You removed your finger and wiped it on your apron, only for the blood to continue flowing.

George was panicking, he felt absolutely awful.

“Can I see it?” you looked up to see his creased brow and guilt- flooded eyes.

You swallowed hard and nodded, offering him your hand timidly.

He gently placed his hands over yours, they were so large they nearly covered them completely. His hands were warm and calloused on the palms from years of gripping his Beater bat. He brought your hand to him, holding it close to his chest as he looked at the small cut.

“I am so sorry,” he repeated, and he rubbed his thumb soothingly on our palm.

He pulled out his wand and looked at you for wordless permission, which you granted him curiously. He hovered over your finger and mumbled a spell you hadn’t heard before. The broken skin on your finger began to mend together, and the stinging had been replaced with an odd numbness. There was still the remains of blood, but George brought his apron to your finger and wiped it away. He still held your hand, looking at your face.

“How did you know that spell?” you asked, surprised when your voice came out as a whisper.

“You learn a lot when you have siblings like mine,” George responded in a whisper, looking at you sheepishly.

His hand was tightening around yours, and his palm rested against the back of your hand. You wrapped your fingers around his thumb, squeezing it lightly.

“Thank you,” you mumbled.

George’s eyes flickered down to your lips, and it was so fast you had thought you might have imagined it. Your eyes moved to his lips, noticing that his bottom lip was trapped between his teeth.

“Well, it’s the least I could do,” he responded coolly, dropping your hand back into your lap and straightening his tie as if it had become too tight.

You looked down at your aprons, each stained with small drops of your blood.

“Ew,” you said, trying to wipe off the dried red stain, “Sprout will kill me!”

Pulling his wand back out, he placed it on the table.

“Here,” he moved close to you and wrapped his arms around you. You stiffened, breathing in deeply as his mouth was inches away from your ear. You felt him fumbling with the bow that tied your apron, and his hands grazed your lower back.

Soon the bow was untied, and George hovered for a moment, and he couldn’t help but smile as he smelled your wonderful perfume.

Your apron became lose and he pulled back, his hands moving to your neck as he pulled it off. He did the same with his own and laid them both on the table.

“Tergeo,” he said, pointing his wand at the aprons.

Your apron was as good as new, and so was his, all the dirt and blood removed from the cloth.

You swallowed hard, trying to push the moment of intimacy from your brain. You forced a smile at him, thanking him as you took the apron from him.

“You’re a much better student than you let on, George,” you said, holding the apron loosely in your lap.

He made a scoffing noise, but a genuine and flushed smile fell on his face.

Neither of you felt inclined to nurse a dead plant back to life, in fact, you had no idea what to do. George just stared at you, as if he were waiting for something.

“Um-” George spoke at the same time as you, and you closed your lips.

“No, you go ahead,” he said, bowing his head to you slightly.

You laughed and insisted that you weren’t going to say anything important.

“I was just going to ask if you wanted to take a walk around the grounds,” he said, already standing from his stool, “it’s awfully warm in here.”

George was right, the greenhouses seemed to be particularly warm. You thought some fresh air would be nice.

“Not very interested in the Dittany?” you teased, standing from your stool and moving to clear the table.

“Oh no!” George said nervously, hoping he didn’t offend you, “No, its wonderful-”

“I’m only teasing George, I know Herbology can be boring,” you smiled at him and laughed to yourself when you saw him visibly relax.

He was always so nervous around you, no matter how hard you tried to make him comfortable.

The two of you put away all the supplies, cleaning the table off for Professor Sprout. You had used the water left in the watering jug on any dry looking plants. George watched you going around the greenhouse, the sunshine making you seem like you were glowing. You held your hair behind your shoulder, peering into each pot.

“Alright,” you dusted your hands and tucked away your apron, “let’s go.”

George held the door open for you, and you ducked beneath his outstretched arm as you crossed the threshold. You followed his lead as he led you down a hallway.

“So you like Herbology a lot, right?” George asked you, casting a glance down at your side profile.

“Yeah, I do,” you replied.

“There’s a boy in my house, Neville, he’s great at Herbology,” George spoke fondly, his eyes turning to look out the tall windows.

“Sprout has talked about him,” you said, looking at George’s side profile, “says he’s quite talented.”

“Yeah, he’s great,” George said awkwardly, feeling quite uncertain in your presence.

“What’s your favorite class?” you asked, still trying to make some conversation.

George raked his mind, trying to decide if he should make up an answer to sound smart or be honest. He decided to be honest.

“I quite like lunch,” he said, casting a smile down at you.

You giggled, rolling your eyes playfully. He bumped his shoulder against yours, and you giggled even more.

You were eventually able to fall into a comfortable conversation, walking around the castle with ease. His hands tucked themselves into his pockets, and you crossed your arms over your chest. You eventually stopped in the courtyard, and George led you over to a bench under a large tree.

You sat close to each other, and he was painfully aware of the way your leg rubbed against his. He looked down at the spot where your skirt ended and your tights began, a lump forming in his throat. He looked at the side of your face, you seemed wonderfully content. Your eyes scanned the array of plants in front of you, looking at each of the vibrant flowers that were beginning to bloom.

“I really am sorry about your hand,” he said, partly as an excuse to pick up your hand and pretend to look at the healed cut.

Your felt tingles shoot down your arm at the unexpected touch. You looked at the hair that fell over his forehead as he peered down at your hand, holding it delicately.

“Oh, it’s alright,” you said reassuringly, “accidents happen.”

He smiled at your kindness, your eyes meeting. This time, you were sure he was looking at your lips. Your eyes danced around his face, and you felt your lips curling into a smile as he watched them.

“Would you mind if-” he croaked out, but the words seemed to be caught in his throat.

You giggled, and he dropped your hand, his head rolling back as a bought of laughter came from him. He suddenly seemed the most relaxed he had ever been.

Suddenly, when his head came to face yours again, his hands snaked up to hold your cheeks. Your eyes widened, and your smile did too. He brought your face to his, and you had realized what he was going to ask you just a second ago.

His hands were warm, and the callouses felt nice against your soft cheeks. His kiss was soft and gentle, and he waited for you to reciprocate. Your hands traveled up to wrap around his neck, and the second your fingers tangled themselves in his hair, his kiss intensified.

One of his hands traveled down to your neck, and his thumb grazed your jaw. The other slithered to your hair, and he lightly pushed your face even closer to his. Your nose pressed into his cheek and you leaned closer, your shoulder bumping into his. His tongue trailed over your bottom lip, and you sighed, opening your mouth to his.

“Ew! Get a room!”

You heard two voices shouting towards you. You pulled away, much to George’s dismay, who stayed in the same place with his eyes closed.

You looked over George’s shoulder and saw his brother and his friend.

“George,” you nudged him, casting your blushing cheeks and sheepish smile down at your lap, “I think you’re needed.”

George groaned, opening his eyes slowly. His hand was still tangled in your hair, and he slowly removed it. You felt chills as his hand raked over your neck and down your yellow tie, attempting to keep your close.

“What?” he said so poisonously, that your eyes widened.

“Keep it in your pants!” the younger redhead called out, shoving his shoulder against his friends, laughing.

“I swear to-” you heard George mumbled, already moving from his seat next to you and off to his brother.

The smaller redhead shoved his books into Harry’s chest, setting off in a run. Harry laughed loudly as George chased after his younger brother. George pulled his wand from his waistband, pointing it at Ron and easily casting a spell that bound a rope at Ron’s feet. Ron fell to the ground with a thud and George stood over him, smiling evilly.

He looked back at you, watching as you covered an entertained laugh with your hand. His face melted into pure admiration, and he abandoned Ron, leaving him tied up in the grass. George broke out in a jog, determined to hear your sweet laugh.

[betterreads99]

I could probably go all day and night talking about this book...

As an avid reader, I haven’t encountered as good a book as this one in quite a while. I have often called it Neo-Gone Girl and no one can tell me that Rosamund Pike wouldn’t be the perfect actress to play Verity. 

Now, we all know Colleen knows what she’s doing. We can usually count on her to tell a compelling story involving characters with gut-wrenching backstories and incredible trauma. Another thing we have come to expect of Colleen’s novels is a wholesome ending (note that I didn’t use the term “happy ending” but more on that below). 

Verity is quite a detour from Colleen Hoover’s other books, yet she did not disappoint. I think that taking a chance on this indie novel that differs greatly from her previously quite successful stories was a great idea and I'm sure she would agree. 

Note that if you are thinking of reading this book, please check the trigger warnings first. 

Warning: Spoilers Ahead ‼️

The idea of the “villain” is a recurrent theme in Verity, if not the most poignant concept of the novel. As you dive into Lowen’s “adventure” at the Crawford house, her budding romance with Jeremy and reading Verity’s manuscript, you are certain that Verity is indeed the villain of this story. I mean, she hated one of her children, killed the other and is currently faking being completely indisposed due to an accident. Through Lowen’s eyes, we learn how truly vile Verity was and surely still is from the looks of how unhappy she was when she witnessed this new woman cozying up to her husband. The same husband that planned her attempted murder, might I add. 

Analyzing all of the scenes in Verity would probably take countless posts but we can all agree that Verity is not a normal, sane, kind woman. She is the bad guy. Right?

Anyone I have spoken to about this book says that they do not believe Verity’s final letter, the one Lowen finds much after her and Jeremy kill Verity. If she even had half a mind to write such terrible things in her manuscript, then there is no way that that letter was sincere. But we’ll never know. Colleen knowingly wrote this book without a definite ending, reflecting the way Lowen will carry this burden with her for the rest of her life. Will she tell Jeremy about that letter? Does she regret ruining it? Could the letter have actually contained the truth? Will Lowen and Jeremy tell their child that they are murderers? 

Which they are. Lowen and Jeremy killed Crew’s mother out of pure rage. Did she deserve it, even if the manuscript did represent her true feelings? And, if we're keeping score, Jeremy already previously attempted to get rid of Verity, resulting in her “incapacitation”. That gives him a point or two. 

What I’m trying to get at by all this is that this book was written in a way that you are sure you know who the villain is and you would not doubt that because how could the main character - the character whose point of view we are reading from - be the villain? Let's remember that Lowen didn’t care much for her mother, emulated the very definition of anti-social and didn’t blink an eye when an innocent bystander got run over right in front of her on the street. The most noteworthy outcome of that incident was that she met a hot guy that cleaned the blood off of her in a café washroom. 

Now, I’m not saying that Verity is the hero here, but Lowen and Jeremy are definitely not innocent. Maybe this has to do with the fact that none of us are the villains in our own stories; we are the innocent Lowen’s while our enemies are the evil Verity’s. Either way, Colleen wants us to mull this story over in our heads until we can’t anymore which is what we shall do. 

Finally, would you say that Verity (the book) has a happy ending? This is quite different from the ending of, say, Ugly Love. Should Lowen and Jeremy go on living happily ever after with Crew and their upcoming newborn baby? I think this will haunt them for a long time and the ghost of Verity will loom over them for the rest of their lives. 

As you can tell, I can talk about this book forever so I'll stop here but don't be shocked if I post a random rant here and there. 

Rating for Verity by Colleen Hoover: ⭐️ 6/5 ⭐️

[merakiaes]

The One For Me - Aaron Hotchner

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x reader

Requested: By @nuvoleincielo​

Prompts: #16, #30 and #63 from the fluff-list. 

Warnings/notes: This is my first time writing for Hotch and Criminal Minds in general so please be patient while I get used to these new characters, might be slight OOC😭 It’s also the first piece I’ve written in a few months now and I’m a bit rusty, so please let me know what you think. Not proofread so I apologize in advance for any possible mistakes. Send in more requests for Hotch, Reid and Morgan and let me know if you want to be added to the Criminal Minds taglist! I hope you like it💕

Wordcount: 4118

Summary: Hotch has doubts about letting your relationship go further and you reassure him that he’s what you want. 

After being raised in one of New York’s worst, most crime ridden and low poverty neighborhoods by a family who was constantly targeted by the law enforcement, the last thing you’d expect was that you would become an active worker of said law enforcement.

Your mother died ten minutes after giving birth to you and your father had never been a part of the equation, most likely having ran the second he found out your mother had gotten pregnant. With no other immediate family, you ended up in the system, where you were stuck for the first seven years of your life.

You jumped back and forth between families of all kinds but for reasons unknown, no one wanted to keep you. It wasn’t until a couple adopted you two days before your eight birthday that you finally felt like you belonged.

They had many children of their own as well as more foster children, all between the ages of ten and twenty-five at the time of your adoption. On top of that, the children had children of their own and aunts, uncles, cousins and friends stayed with you more often than not as they struggled to hold on to homes of their own.

It wasn’t the most ideal way to live, a dozen people staying under the same roof of a two bedroom house, but you had dinner on the table every evening and the love for family was strong, so despite the conditions you lived in and the struggles you were forced to face on a daily basis, you guessed you couldn’t complain; you’d had it better than most.

The people who lived in those parts were always getting pinned for various kinds of crimes, just so the police could get it out of their hands and go on about their lives.

The male members of your family and the company they kept were some of the biggest targets even though they rarely did anything wrong, but despite the injustices they faced every day, they remained respectful when staring in the face of a cop.

You, on the other hand, despised them. You were an outspoken little girl, too feisty for your own good and on more occasions than one, you’d ended up pissing off some rich kid in school for which your dad and uncles were forced to pay the price.

You’d always hated the injustice the less fortunate suffered every day, but it wasn’t until you witnessed your first murder at fifteen that your interest of making the world a better place really piqued.

The victim had been one of the boys living in your neighborhood. He was two years older than you and he always gave it his all to make something out of himself. He walked with you and your younger brothers and cousins to school every day to make sure you got there safely, studied hard, kept out of trouble and always remained respectful.

The only reason he died was because his skin was the wrong color in the eyes of the law and because he was born into a less fortunate neighborhood, and it was then your eyes truly opened to the police brutality and misuse of power plaguing your country.

You joined the police force when you were nineteen years old and you stayed there, on top of your game and determined to do it better than the bad ones, until you were twenty-one. 

At that point, most of your family had passed away either out of old age, or simply from being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and your determination to help people was stronger than ever.

But even you, the tough little firecracker as your uncles had always called you, could only tolerate so much.

After two years on the force, you got tired of being undermined by your male co-workers and set out to step up your game, taking up studies of criminology and psychology among several other subjects.

You studied your ass off and was just barely able to get by with the money you had saved up over the years, and at twenty-four, you finally had your degrees and clearance to begin working in higher places.

Starting off in New York, you stayed there for six months before you were transferred to Quantico, Virginia, where you were recruited by the one and only Jason Gideon who had heard word of your talent in the field.

You had worked with the team for little over a year now and Jason, who had always acted as a kind of mentor and father figure for you, was gone, having left only a letter for you and Spencer each.

Taking his place was Aaron Hotchner, a fellow agent to which you hadn’t paid much personal attention before the departure of Gideon. But things changed when he left, a lot of things.

Hotch was fresh out of his divorce, moodier than ever and in a really bad mental state. He stayed in his office until the late hours of the night, sometimes even the early hours of the next morning, barely slept and often forgot to eat if he wasn’t reminded by his team members.

Everyone urged him to take some time off, to go home and get some sleep and to take care of himself, and although he always told them that he would, he never followed through.

Up until then, you still hadn’t spoken much with him except for when you were working on a case. You were just an agent and he was just your boss, there was nothing else to it. But you couldn’t just sit by and watch as he neglected himself, so you followed your team-mates’ example and approached him.

He dismissed you at first, like he had done everyone else who had tried to offer him their support. But as time passed by, in some miraculous way, you made him laugh, and as you continued your attempts on offering him your ear to listen, he opened up to you, and you grew to become more than just colleagues.

Your first and only date had been on your initiative. You invited him to dinner at your house during your weekend off, to which he agreed.

You cooked together and although it started off as kind of awkward – more from his side than yours – you ended up kissing later that night after having had a bit too much to drink, and fell asleep together on your couch while you were flicking through your childhood photo albums.

The next morning, he was gone. You had always been an extremely light sleeper so you found it strange that he had managed to slip off without alerting you and also having managed to wrap you up in a blanket before he left.

He didn’t leave without a word though. A note was neatly placed on the coffee table in front of you, on which he explained that he needed to pick up Jack and that he didn’t want to wake you, finishing it off with a thank you for the night before.

That was the first and last time you spent time together, just the two of you, but it wasn’t like it was intentional.

You wanted to do it again, to continue exploring the budding romance between the two of you and to see where you could take it, and although you knew nothing of his feelings, he wanted the same thing.

But work got very stressful; stressful to the point where you could never find a moment to talk to each other if it wasn’t in the presence of the entire team. But the spark between you wasn’t gone.

It was still there in the way he would let his hand hover above the small of your back when you were walking side by side and step in front of you if you were ever in danger, and in the way you would always take a second to ask how he and Jack was doing, if they were eating enough and getting enough sleep, whenever you were heading somewhere; no matter if the team was with you.

It was there in the way he would always encourage you to go on the less dangerous tasks while he took the ones that were more life-threatening and in the way he would always smile, the slightest of smiles, whenever you were exchanging jokes or sarcastic remarks with Morgan, or messing around with poor, clueless Reid.

It was there, but it was unspoken. At least until now.

The case you had been working on for the past two days was that of Gilbert Stratton; a serial killer who had targeted young women, killed them, drained them of their blood, and then proceeded to hang the bodies up by their feet in trees all around the city.

You had caught him just in time to save the last kidnapped girl and you had originally been the one assigned to question him, but Hotch had stepped in last minute after the man had made a crude comment about how ‘girls like you always tasted the best’.

You had attempted to tell him that you could take it, but before you had even been given a chance to state your case, he had shut the door in your face and you had been whisked off by JJ.

You were the one out of the entire team who was the most interested in the psychology of a serial killer so you really wanted to be the one to interview Stratton, but you knew that Hotch had taken over for the sake of your safety and not because he underestimated you, so you couldn’t even bring yourself to be mad.

While he did his job, you settled at your desk with a sigh, getting to work on the heft stack of paperwork that had been building up throughout the week. 

The first ten minutes you kept close track of the clock next to you, wondering why it was taking so long, but the more time that passed, the more focused you became.

Soon enough, you only had a few reports left and you had completely lost track of time, when there was a sudden bang behind you, sounding an awful lot like a door slamming shut.

And your suspicions were proven correct, when you looked up to see Hotch march straight the bullpen.

The corners of your lips tugged up at the sight of him, but the arising smile quickly fell again when he walked right past you, without even an acknowledging glance, heading into his office and shutting himself inside without as much of a word to anyone.

Left behind with dumbstruck looks on their faces were the team, glances of bewilderment being exchanged.

“What happened?” Reid asked the question you were all thinking after a moment of silence, just as Emily walked in from the interrogation room.

Rather than answering Reid’s question, she looked right at you, offering you a small, comforting smile. “I think you better go talk to him.” She said simply, and as confusion and anxiety bubbled up inside of you, you slowly drawled.

“Okaaay…”

They all watched you as you stood up from your seat, brushing down your shirt and turning off the lamp at your desk before heading for the stairs.

You could feel their eyes following your every move and you would be lying if you said you weren’t nervous of what you were about to walk into.

Everyone had gotten negatively affected by a case or unsub at some point during their career, most more than once. They were all very good at getting into your head, no matter how little you wanted to admit it. But you had never seen Hotch react this strongly to anything before. The only time you had really seen him snap was during one single case, right after Haley had filed for a divorce.

Still, you kept walking until you reached his closed office door, stopping only then to peek inside the blinded windows to see him sitting at his desk, hands rubbing over his face.

You knocked on the glass gently and in any other case he would have looked up and meet your gaze, but when his head kept hanging this time, you let yourself in, only when closing the door behind you cutting off the curious eyes of the others.

Once you were inside, you wasted no time in approaching Hotch where he sat by his desk, analyzing his every move which led you to only one question.

What the hell had Stratton said to him to make him this distraught?

He didn’t even look up as you reached him, keeping his eyes closed as you came to a stop beside his desk.

Treading carefully, you reached out and gently put your hand on his shoulder.

“What happened?” You asked softly, the sound of your words instantly bringing a long, heavy sigh out of his nose.

“Why are you doing this?” He wasted no time in replying, causing a crease to form between your eyebrows.

“What?” You asked back, confusion lacing your voice.

Finally, he brought his hands down from his face and slowly spun around in his chair, forcing you to drop your hand from his shoulder and to take a step back.

He stared up at you, face wiped free of emotion as always. But the eyes said it all.

“Why are you so adamant on being with me? Why do you try so hard?” He questioned you, taking you by surprise.

Your eyebrows shot up and your eyes grew slightly wider, and you took a moment to regain your composure after the, to say the least, unexpected question.  

“What kind of question is that?” You asked once you finally regained your senses. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do when you want to be with someone? Try?”

One of your eyebrows sank again, leaving only one raised in question.

Hotch’s face softened slightly and for a moment, he averted his eyes, letting out another, smaller sigh from his nose before looking back up to meet your eyes once again.

“What I mean is, why do you want to be with me?” He asked again, clarifying and slightly shaking his head in what seemed to be disbelief. “The second you walked into this office, both Morgan and Reid had their eyes on you, and they still do. They’re closer to your age, they’re energetic, humorous, full of life, while I’m ten years your senior, and can’t offer you what they can. So why do you want to be with me, when you can have them, or anyone you want?”

“What is it that they can give me that you can’t?” You didn’t waste a second in firing back.

You had no idea what had brought this on, but it was clear that it was bothering him and quite frankly, you found it ridiculous even though you didn’t like making it a habit to judge other people for what they were feeling.

“They can make you smile-“ He started explaining, and you instantly cut him off.

“You make me smile, all the time.” You shook your head, but your affirmation only seemed to fuel his frustrations even more as he was up on his feet within the next second.

“But I’m not- I’m not fun.” He stated, staring you down. “My clock is ticking. I’m ill-tempered, irritable, too serious for my own good. I’m barely capable of taking care of myself at this point much less my son. I’m miserable and I’m a bully, who only cares about this job. Why would you want to be with someone like that?”

“Where is this coming from? I thought we had something good going.” Your face fell slightly, and you carefully reached your hands out to grab a hold of the front of his suit, taking a small step closer.

“Is this because of Stratton? Is he the one putting these doubts into your head?” You asked, keeping your eyes on your hands for a short moment before looking up to meet his heavy gaze staring down at you.

And once your eyes met his, he knew there was no point in lying; you were a profiler after all, and a good one at that.

“He did.” He confessed calmly, his lips pursing into a straight line.

“Aaron…” You began, the softness of your voice matching the one in your eyes.

“But everything he said is true.” He quietly interrupted you. “I’m not fun to be around, I push people away. That’s what I do, what I’ve always done.” His eyebrows rose and he stood still.

You knew about the doubts he had about himself. You know he felt inadequate as a friend, as a colleague, as a father, and more than anything as a partner after the way Haley had left him. You were aware of all of it, and yet the sound of those self-doubts being voiced aloud saddened you nonetheless.

Silence fell over the two of you for a moment as you took another step closer, flattening your palms out on his chest and your eyes never leaving his.

“Those people didn’t deserve you in the first place. They knew what they were getting themselves into when they started building a relationship with you, whether it be a romantical or purely platonic one. They knew how passionate you are about your job, how much you value it. Them leaving… That’s on them, not you.” You said softly, shaking your head. “I’m not about to give up on you, on us, just because you happen to be a few years older than me. Derek, he wants to have fun, to be young. He may be attracted to me but he doesn’t want anything serious. Spencer isn’t ready for a relationship either, for obvious reasons, and either way, they’re not the ones I want.”

He watched you intensely as you spoke, lips still tight and strained. “What is it that you want?” He asked you, and you wasted no time in replying.

“Something serious and stable, someone who’s ready to settle down, and for me, the best chance to get that is through you.” You smiled, breaking your eyes away from his to follow your hand as you moved it up to his face. “Regardless of what other people say, you’re an amazing person. You’re passionate, driven, kind, loyal, gentle, and so much more. Despite what you may think, you do have a sense of humor and you’re the only one who can make me smile until my cheeks hurt. If that’s not a good man, a good person, then I don’t know what is. I wouldn’t change a single thing about you.”

By the time you finished, the remaining doubt was wiped free from his face, a small, gentle smile instead having taken its place.

It was a funny thing, Hotch only ever spared the tiniest of smiles, and yet it was them that brought you the biggest and most intense amount of happiness. It was so rare to see his ever-stoic features reflect joy that you couldn’t help but light up like a kid on Christmas every time it occurred.

And true to what you’d always been told growing up, your smile was just so contagious that he couldn’t help but to smile wider at the sight.

“Thank you.” He whispered, and visibly relaxed where he stood.

Your heart swelled in your chest when you took note of the way he was slowly but surely shuffling closer to you, picking up a significant amount of speed when you then felt his hand brush against the side of your hip.

But he didn’t dare touch you, hesitation still lingering in the air. So you did what your heart told you and grabbed a hold of his hand, and pushed it down into the curve of your waist.

From then on, he moved on his own, raising his other hand to mimic the same position at your other side, and you let your hand drop from his, instead raising them to busy with his crimson red tie.

“I know you’re struggling, with yourself, with Jack, and that you’re still processing the divorce. And if it’s time you want, then I’ll wait.” You spoke quietly, feeling your skin flush hot under his touch as his thumbs began to move over the thin fabric of your shirt. “But if you want to keep going and see where this can go, then I’ll be here every step of the way to support and help you in any way I can. You just need to let me in.”

More shyly then before, you dared loo back up at him through your lashes, hands stilling on his chest.

His smile was gone and his eyes creased together in concentration, but his eyes were soft and his head slowly nodded. “You’re right.” He said, and you allowed yourself to smile again.

“Aren’t I always?” You lightheartedly teased, tilting your head to the side.

In return, a smile spread across his face, his head shaking. “Don’t make me take it back.”

“No, no take-backs. What’s said is said.” You kept joking, your smile only widening.

He kept smiling down at you for a few seconds longer, but then his face fell again, just like that, out of nowhere, completely sudden. The gaze he held on your face grew absent as he got lost in his thoughts, and before you could question him about the sudden change of mood, the words spilled from his lips as if there was no tomorrow.

“I think I love you.”

Your mind instantly broke into a flurry of thoughts, countless emotions battling in your body. Nervosity and excitement ended up coming out on top, the mixture of the two creating an uncomfortable, sickly feeling in your stomach.

Your face fell in disbelief and your eyes searched his as he came back to reality.

“You do?”

Your voice came out so quiet and small, you mentally cursed yourself for sounding so pathetic, but luckily, you didn’t get much time to beat yourself up over the anticlimactic reacting as he continued.

“You don’t have to say it back if you don’t feel the same way, but I needed to say it. Every day, this job puts all of our lives in danger. I couldn’t bear it if one of us died before I got the time to let you know how I feel.”

You sucked in a breath, feeling yourself growing weak at the knees as he absentmindedly rubbed your waist with his thumbs.

“Just a minute ago, you were trying to end… whatever this is, and now your proclaiming your love for me?” You asked. 

It was meant to be a joke, an attempt to ease the anxiety you were currently feeling, but you realized quickly that said anxiety made it sound like the exact opposite of a lighthearted, teasing joke.

Luckily, the man standing in front of you was a profiler and knew that you meant no harm, understanding how shock could render your ability to react appropriately.

“I was never trying to end what we have. I just wanted to be sure that you were sure. That I won’t be holding you back.” He explained, and you finally managed to pull yourself out of the state of shock.

“Being with you motivates me. And I love you, too.” You confessed, the smile once again returning to your face as you moved your hands from his chest to wrap around the back of his neck. 

“I’m happy to hear that.” He smiled right back. “Can I kiss you?” He quietly added, and your face instantly lit up in a mischievous expression.

“In the office?” You gasped dramatically, bringing your arms down, taking a step back and lightly slapping his chest. “Aren’t you feeling frisky today?”

A large smile stretched across his lips, his chest shaking as he chuckled. “Come here.” He said simply, and before you got the chance to argue, not that you would’ve if given the opportunity, he sat back down in his chair and pulled you down with him. 

The chair spun in the process, causing you to let out a squeal of surprise. Your arms wrapped around his neck and your small laughs of glee quickly became muted as he placed his lips on yours, replaced by low hums of contentment. 

You clung to him as if your life depended on it, basking in the feeling of his lips moving against yours and his arms tightening around your waist, and as your entire body burned with passion, you realized that he really was the one for you.

Tagged: @must-be-a-weasley-92​ @zizzlekwum​ @cozytruecrimeaddict​ @lovelynervouskingdom​

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[mediocre-writerr]

lonely heart [leah rilke]

pt.7 of bring us through

leah rilke x reader

requested #1: Part 6 of Bring us Through where we see more of just all the girls together as a group working together? Maybe more of the reader with like Dot, Fatin, Rachel, Martha and Nora?

requested #2: Omg the part 6 was absolutely amazing! It hit me right in the feels, I love angst. Would you maybe do a continuation of it?

*not my gif*

You didn’t know what it was. If it was a break or a breakup. Leah didn’t seem to be making an effort, but neither were you.

Of course your insomnia started coming back. Unable to sleep, but rather stared at the fire. This night wasn’t any different. Leah’s arms weren’t wrapped around you so you felt empty. The comfort you once found in her arms were long gone.

“You’re still up?” Toni asked, groggily. She got up from her spot next to Shelby placing herself next to you.

“Insomnia’s back...” you mumbled and she just nodded. Time went on as the two of you just sat in silence. The fire crackling and the oceans lapping were the only sounds you could hear, “Does it ever stop?”

“Does what stop?” Toni questioned, tilting her head to finally look at you.

“The hurting...I know about you and Regan. She was your first love and all.” you explained.

“Shelby told me you already experienced a first love. I didn’t know Leah was the one.” she said, more confused than anything else.

You shook your head, “She’s not, but it hasn’t stopped hurting. Not from my first love, not after this fight with Leah. So does it stop hurting?”

Toni sent you a sad smile, shaking her head, “No, you just make room for it, as pessimistic as that sounds it’s the truth.” you let out a disappointed sigh, running your hands over your face, “But...whether happens, forgiving Leah or finding someone new, your heart will be ready. You’ll just have to listen.”

The next morning you were hanging out with Fatin. Shelby and Toni off on their weekly rendezvous, so you were left alone. You would usually spend this time with Leah, but obviously that was out of the question.

You and Fatin were trying to listen to the instructions that Dot was giving. The two of you stared at Dot like she had three heads and sighed before turning your head to look at each other. Fatin’s mouth slightly open. ‘Do you understand what she’s saying?’ Fatin mouthed with furrowed brows.

You shrugged your shoulders as you shook your head. Both of you stifiling a laugh to look at the girl in front of you. Leah’s eyes glanced between the two of you as her jaw clenched. She shouldn’t be feeling this way, she’s the one who picked a fight for the same reason she’s angry now.

But if there was a budding romance between you and Fatin it wasn’t alright with her. Leah has been trying to figure out ways to talk to you and apologize. But it seemed like all of the words in the world could not express how sorry she was.

“Shelby?” Leah called out as she followed her along the shoreline, after they got back from their alone time. You weren’t the only one who had stopped talking to her, “Shelby please!” she exclaimed pulling on her wrist to face her.

“What do you want?!” Shelby snapped as she looked her way.

The brunette seemed to shrink at her words, but nevertheless pushed on with the subject. “I just wanted to apologize...”

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” she shot back. Anger gleaming throughout her eyes.

“I know, I know, but it’s more complicated than that.” Leah sighed as she looked down at her hands.

The blonde Texan rolled her eyes. “And what exactly is complicated about it? It’s not too hard to say ‘I’m sorry’.”

“But it is hard to say ‘I love you’ when I don’t even know if we’re still together,” Leah confessed, “Shelby, I know I fucked up. And I know I broke the one thing that I promised you, but I need to know how to get her back. We haven’t talked since and it’s killing me. I need her in my life.”

Shelby sighed as she looked at you. You were smiling, but your eyes didn’t have that sparkle they used to. In fact, you looked more tired again, like you haven’t been sleeping again. At least not since what happened with Leah, “Well you aren’t going to get any closer to getting back together by wallowing in your sorrows. Don’t make me regret giving you another chance Rilke.”

You sat along with Fatin, Dot, Martha, Rachel, and Nora around the campsite as Dot tried training all of you to keep watch on the fire. Your leg bounced up and down as you watched Dot’s makeshift Ted Talk on firewood.

“So make sure you get the driest pieces possible. One slightly wet wood will cause the fire to diminish.” Dot explained.

Fatin snorted, “Sounds familiar, like a lovely pe-“

You laughed along with the rest of the girls as Dot cut her off, “Alright, moving on! Y/N, you’re on inventory with Martha. Rachel, you’re with me. And Fatin and Nora.”

Martha’s suitcase washed up on the shore not too long ago. She unzipped it to reveal a froggy type poncho. “Yes! Froggy! I used to wear this thing whenever I was stressed and it would calm me down!”

She slipped it on, “Awe that looks so cute on you!”

“Thank you!” she said, doing a little twirl. There were a few little moments of silence before she finally spoke up, “So what happened between you and Leah? You guys are like dating right?”

You swallowed before answering, “Yeah? I don’t know...we just got into a really rough fight and I don’t know if we’re dating anymore.”

She noticed how sad you looked and smiled at you sympathetically. “Dinosaurs eating people,” she began singing the song you would sing to all of them when they were upset and your lips quirked upward, “Dinosaurs in love,”

“Dinosaurs having a party. They eat fruit and cucumber!” the two of you sing together.

“Wait! You guys are singing the song without me?!” Fatin screamed from where she was and her and Nora ran over.

Fatin pulled you up from off the ground and spun you around, “They fell in love. They say ‘thank you’.” Nora sings.

“A big bang came and they died!” Fatin sang, doing this weird lyrical dance. Your smile grew even wider as she danced all over the place.

“Dinosaurs dinosaurs fell in love! But they didn’t say goodbye!” the four of you sing as Fatin continued to dance.

“But they didn’t say good-BYE!” Rachel and Dot sing loudly coming out of nowhere.

All of you laughed with one another and for the first time since the fight, you felt okay. All of you sat back around the campfire, much to Dot’s disappointment of you and Martha not doing the one task she asked you to do.

You felt someone tap your arm from behind and you turned around to come face to face with Leah. Your heart skipped a beat as your breath hitched. The two of you hadn’t talked since and it’s been consuming you.

You took a deep breath, “What’s up Leah?”

“Um...I have to go scavenging for fire wood and uh you’re the one who got the infamous Dot’s Wood Ted Talk. I was wondering if you’d like to come with me?” you were silent for a beat before she started talking again, “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

You shook your head, “No it’s okay. I’ll go help you, strength in pairs you know?” you say.

A small smile formed on her face, “Yeah strength in pairs.”

You got up and wiped the sand off your butt, before falling into step with Leah towards the jungle. Toni gave Shelby a look as the two of you walked away, “Are you okay with this?”

“I’m giving her one last chance.” Shelby answered and Toni nodded, “Can I chew her ass out next time if she fucks up again?”

“Wait I want in on it!” Fatin exclaimed, interrupting the girls’ conversation.

“So do I!” Dot confessed looking at the couple.

Shelby just laughed, before nodding, “All of you could take part in it.”

You and Leah barely talked the entire time. Embarking in comfortable silence. The humid jungle making you grow tired by the second and Leah could notice.

“Hey did you wanna take a break? It’s getting pretty humid out here.” she suggested and you smiled at her before sitting along the trunk of a tree.

She sat down next to you, but maintained her distance. She didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.

You stifled yet another yawn, “Have you been getting sleep?”

You shrugged your shoulders and stared out into the forest, feeling somewhat embarrassed, “No.”

“Love, you haven’t?” she asked and her eyes went wide at the nickname she said, but you didn’t seem to mind. All you did was shake your head, “If you want you can rest here, I’ll keep watch and wake you up when I think it’s time to head back.”

You pondered this question for awhile, before ultimately nodding. Leah was about to give you room to sleep, but before she could you immediately rested your head in her shoulder as if on instinct. Leah tried to make you as comfortable as possible, placing her head softly on you.

Soft snores started emitting from your mouth, making Leah smile softly. This meant that you didn’t feel awkward around her. That meant that she might have a chance with you.

Leah sighed as she hung out with Fatin a couple nights after. The two of you would go on missions together like usual, talking more and joking around more, “So she didn’t seem awkward around you?” Fatin asked, trying to figure out what was going on between you two.

She shook her head, “No...I don’t know. It just seems like she’s not interested in me anymore.”

“You just gotta grow some balls and tell her how you feel, dude! That’s the only way to actually know.” Fatin put her hand on Leah’s shoulder.

The blue-eyed girl sighed, “But I just got back to being friends. I don’t want to ruin it.”

“I know this line has probably been told by everyone here, at some point or another, but look we’re on a stranded island. We don’t know what’s gonna happen to us, if we’re gonna get saved or not. You gotta take the leap of faith.”

Leah nodded and sighed, going back to stare at you and Shelby.

You laughed as Shelby was telling you her champagne problem with Toni “Can you believe Toni wouldn’t let me be the small spoon? Like you put on this big ol’ tough girl front, but you can’t be big spoon once?!”

“I think its fitting.” you teased as your gazed rested on Leah, who was already staring at you. The orange hue from the fire lit up her face, but you could still see a small blush forming on her cheeks. She smiled before looking down at her hands.

“You still love her?” Shelby asked.

You hesitantly nodded, “Yeah, I don’t know. I just-what if I get my heart broken again. Or everything falls apart...again. I can’t go through something like that again.”

Your best friend put her hands on your shoulders, shaking you lightly, “Love is terrifying. But if you’re constantly terrified about getting your heartbroken, you’ll be stripped of love your entire life.”

She looked at you dead in the eyes, all seriousness, no lightness, “I mean look at us Y/N, we were stripped of loving who we wanted our entire lives. Now is our chance to finally change that. And if Leah’s not the one and you get your heartbroken then we’ll get through it. Because if God brought us to it?”

“God will bring us through it.” you say with a smile on your face.

“Hey can we talk?” a voice calls out from behind you. You turned around to see Leah standing there with a nervous smile on her face.

You nodded, “Yeah of course.”

“I’ll leave you two alone.” Shelby said as she got up from the spot next to you, bringing her voice to a whisper, “Don’t fuck this up.”

Leah bit her lip and sighed, “I still have feelings for you.” your breath hitched immediately, “I know that I fucked up and I’m so sorry. For all of the things I’ve said and just all of it. I guess I just self imploded because the only love I’ve ever felt was with someone I shouldn’t have been with in the first place. He took my heart that was fragile like glass and just dropped it.”

Her eyes started tearing up, “But you, when everyone thought I was insane you were there. You broke down my walls and you liked me for me. I think I’m in love with you Y/N and that terrifies me.”

You take a few steps forward, gently putting your hands on her shoulders and pulling her closer and pressing your lips against hers softly. Leah’s breath hitched against your lips before she shut her eyes and moved them against your lips slowly. You smiled against her lips and pulled away after a few moments. “I love you Rilke. So much.”

Her smile grew more and more, “If you want we can take things slower. We can figure everything out together.”

You leaned closer and gave her a chaste kiss, “I’d like that.”

///

tag list:

@yourssincerelyj @shalifoestilinski @greysky22 @hstoria

[inseongsfoxybae]

It was worth it

Pairing: Boyfriend Youngbin + Female Reader; secret relationship

Genre: Soft Smut, a bit of angst

Warnings: Making out, oral (female receiving), fingering, male masturbation, a couple of curses

Words: +1,4k

Requested: Hi! I could imagine with Youngbin or Taeyang you choose! Where he secretly dates a staff, except SF9 who know about their relationship, sees that his girlfriend is very overwhelmed because of work and decides to give her an oral (smut) so she can relax.

Author’s message: Hi, dear anon. Your request is finally here and it was really fun to write. Hope you like it and send in more requests later. Thank you for your support. Foxy kisses 😘

P.S: As english is not my mother language, it may contain misspelled. Also, sorry for any other mistakes :)

Synopsis: You have been really stressed about work, so your boyfriend Youngbin helps to relax even if only for one night. 

After three years as one of SF9’s staff, your life was never so hard as now, since the boys accepted the invitation to join Kingdom. You were always running between meetings and practices, checking their SNS’s, keeping up with all the articles and gossip spread out on the internet. 

All of this was making you extremely stressed, and all you could do when you arrived at home late at night was take a hot shower and sink into your bed. You didn’t even have time for your boyfriend, although he was always around you at work. 

You were secretly dating Youngbin for some months now and no one but the members knew about your relationship. Both of you struggled at the beginning, scared of doing something wrong or geting caught, but the overwhelming feelings you felt for each other were stronger and you just took that chance to live your romance with no regrets. 

But the overwhelming feelings you had now are different, very different, and Youngbin wasn’t the cause of it - well, at least not directly. You were exhausted, your body hurt, you had headaches constantly, you barely had time to eat or sleep properly, and you felt like you could explode any time. 

In one night, when the sun was long gone and the moon shone sadly in the sky and all the other staff had already finished their work and left, you found yourself alone in one of the meeting rooms, reading and rereading a ton of articles and checking comments on SNS. 

All the work seemed endless and you were about to cry in despair when you heard the door opening and Youngbin’s head poking into the room. 

“Hey, baby! Why are you still here?”, Youngbin gave you that sweet eye smile of his, making your heart ache. 

“Hey…”, you weakly answered trying to control your tears. “I have to finish this”, you pointed to the laptop in front of you, dozens of tabs open in the browser. 

“Wanna company?”, Youngbin asked, closing the door behind him and walking to sit next to you. 

“You better go home, Binnie. It’s late and you should be exhausted after all these practices”, you slowly replied, feeling his strong arms wrap around your shoulders. 

“So do you, Y/N. You’ve been working so hard these days and you need to rest too”, he whispered softly in your ear, fingers playing with your hair. 

“I know, but there’s still so much to do”, you murmured and then you realized you were crying, sobbing, in the crook of his neck.

“It’s okay, baby. Everything’s okay. Let it all go”, Youngbin comforted you, drawing slow patterns on your shoulder as you finally broke down on him. 

“It’s so hard, Youngbin”, you said when you calmed down a little. “I’m always so tired, my whole body hurts, I don’t know what’s resting anymore and we don’t even have time for ourselves anymore”, you paused and parted to look at him, reaching for his cheeks. “I miss you so much, baby. I miss your kisses, I miss your touches, I miss your body on mine, I miss you making me complete during nights”, you whispered, fighting against the urge to kiss him right there.

“I miss you too, baby… So bad”, Youngbin cupped your face in his large hands and pressed your lips together, slowly at the beginning, but with passion right after, kissing you hungrily and desperately, as if he was trying to remind you of your sweet taste long forgotten. 

Youngbin pulled you to his lap and you automatically straddled him, feeling his bulge growing into his pants and against your core. “Youngbin, stop! We can’t do this here”, you suddenly pushed him, breaking your hot kisses. 

“Why not? There are only you and me here, babe. Everyone else is already gone”, he quickly said before chasing your lips again. “We can enjoy ourselves tonight”, you murmured into your mouth, his warm tongue effortlessly taking control over you. 

“Youngbin, no… That’s not right”, you breathed and your boyfriend immediately stopped, looking at you with concerned but still needing eyes. 

“Tell me you don’t want to, Y/N”, he said, trying to hold in his own desire. 

“I want to, but I just can’t… I… I still have work to do, Binnie”, you explained, limbs slightly trembling with need.

“Shh… Take a break, huh?”, Youngbin pleaded and you reluctantly nodded. “At least let me take care of you”, he gave you a smirk that ran right to your heat before placing you on the top of the desktop. 

You sat there and watched him moving your laptop and a pile of papers away, waiting for any sign of what he was going to do next. 

“Open your legs for me, baby”, Youngbin commanded with a lust voice. Your eyes widened at his request, but you were too horny to even think about rejecting his order. You lifted your skirt and spread your legs as much as you can, while Youngbin adjusted his swivel chair to be on the same level as your pussy.

He ran his long fingers over your soaked panties, drawing slow patterns on your clothed clit. “Shit, you’re so wet”, he groaned, pushing the lacy fabric to the side to touch you raw. A gasp escaped from your lips as Youngbin locked his eyes with yours. “Can I taste you, babygirl?”. 

“God, yes”, you breathed quickly as he continued his motions on your clit. You let go a loud moan when his hot mouth finally attached to your pussy, licking and sucking your swollen bud as his fingers traced your entrance. “Youngbin”, you moaned his name, one finger curling into your pussy and brushing on your g-spot. 

With his free hand, Youngbin managed to pull down his sweatpants and set his hard dick free, palming himself in the same pace of his tongue on your clit, his groans reverberating on your sensitive nerves. Your whole body was in flames, legs loosely hanging on your boyfriend’s shoulders at his point, while he abused your womanhood and touching himself under the table. 

A second finger was inserted into your hole, thrusting exactly on your sweet spot, making you see stars under your shut eyelids. Youngbin had barely started, but you were already so close, feeling his fingers and tongue moving easier against you as your legs slightly shook around him, tugging hopelessly in his hair.

You could tell Youngbin was reaching his high as well, his breath ragged into your searing skin. Now, his tongue sucked harshly on your clit, setting a desperate pace as he felt you clenching around his fingers.

“Bin, I’m close”, you whined into the room, body collapsed on the desktop, hips shaking due to pleasure. 

“Cum for me, baby”, Youngbin moaned against your nerves when he barely could hold himself anymore, speeding up the pace of his fingers into you. And with a couple of right thrusts, you came undone into his mouth, gladly tasting your waters. 

“Fuck”, Youngbin moaned right after, coming all over his stomach and pants, resting his exhausting head on your thigh as he recovered his breath. He looked up at you and gave you a proud smile. “Feeling better?”, he asked, caressing your quivering hips. 

“Oh yeah”, you breathed. “I feel so good, so relaxed now”, you replied with a tired smile gracing your face too. “You made a mess of yourself”, you giggled looking at his cum on his shirt. 

“It was worth it”, Youngbin grinned, pulling his pants up again, putting back your panties and skirt to their places right away. He got up and took your hands, helping you to sit down. “Let’s finish work for today, okay?”, he softly said, cupping your face. 

“Okay”, you agreed, taking his hands in yours. “Binnie, you don’t have anything scheduled in the morning… Wanna spend the rest of the night at my place? So we can relax in my bed”, you suggested, raising your eyebrows. 

“Are you serious?”, Youngbin couldn’t believe the blessed words he just heard. When you confirmed, he always jumped in excitement. “Okay… I’ll change my clothes. Meet me at the parking lot in five minutes”, he didn’t wait for your answer, already leaving the room towards the locker room. 

You laughed to yourself and organized your things, heading to the parking to wait for him. Youngbin showed up punctually in five minutes, clearly happy to be spending the night with you after a while. And what a beautiful night you shared, with all the pent up passion finally overflowing from your chests and bodies. 

You felt wanted, loved, relaxed. And about letting your work behind tonight.... Well, it was really worth it. 

[comic-book-jawns]

The Romance of a Certain Old Hat

Follow-up to Midnight Moon

It’s not that Dani’s trying to steal Moon’s thunder. You only turn 21 once, after all. Or maybe twice. Or maybe not yet.

The local vet, unsurprisingly, had zero experience with tortoises… or turtles. Dani hadn’t actually been sure which one he was at the time — which, yes, Jamie still teases her about. The vet Dani had found in New York to treat his cracked shell had been able to identify him as either a young adult or adult Marginated Tortoise, meaning he might grow more but not to 500 pounds.

So, Dani had picked 16 as his age and July 16 (the day she met him) as his birthday. And, yes, half a decade later, she’s hoping the date will become doubly commemorative. But she’s not sidelining Moon. Quite the opposite.

“You’re taking this to Mum, okay?”

It’s a 50/50 chance as to whether he’ll move at all, let alone leave his outdoor enclosure (formerly The Leafling’s parking lot) and go into The Leafling’s greenhouse (that also serves as his indoor enclosure), in which Jamie is preparing his birthday treat: hibiscus and brussel sprouts.

The box should stay secured, in any case, on top of his dark, mottled shell and beneath his stringless party hat.

She could walk him over theoretically — he’s reached about the size of a snapping turtle and doesn’t seem to be getting bigger — but he doesn’t like being picked up. And, frankly, Dani kind of wants the moment to be between just Jamie and Moon, for a moment.

Moon hadn’t actually been that much smaller than he is now when she’d found him; and she’d grown increasingly concerned about her apartment being adequate for him, especially once the school year started and she couldn’t take him outside as frequently. Then, Jamie came into her life. And Moon’s.

Jamie had offered to renovate her own store to accommodate Moon before he’d even woke up from that first hibernation, and then shown up on that very wake-up day with “samples” — no less than 15 plants, including species she’d never grown before, as well as vegetables that she had literally no monetary reason for growing.

It took less than a month of Moon living at The Leafling for them to stop pretending that Dani hadn't also moved into Jamie’s apartment right above. She may have been the one to ask Jamie out, but Jamie is the reason they became a family. All three of them.

“So…”

For the first time in her life, Dani wishes Jamie had dawdled.

Where’s that “I emptied out half the boxes onto the living room floor, did a couple dishes, fixed the leaky faucet, put in a load and threw the clean clothes on the couch... instead of assembling our bed” energy when she needs it?

“Figured soakin’ ’em in vodka couldn’t hurt?”

Still crouched in front of Moon’s shell, Dani looks over her shoulder and instantly melts at sight of the love of her life pointing down at the gray feeding tray while sauntering towards them in a ruffled white button down, black slacks and undone suspenders.

Despite the nerves, or maybe because of them, Dani reacts as she always does — she’d never realized how much a person could laugh before meeting Jamie — and she’s rewarded with that crooked smile that makes her heart flutter, even still.

“Did you lock up?”

“Ah, fuck.”

Thank fuck.

Dani bites her lip as Jamie comes to a stop a few feet away, grumbling.

“If there’s people...”

Like clockwork, Jamie kicks her right leg out and spins on the ball of her left foot, and Dani beams at her back. The best part is that Jamie doesn’t even seem to realize how ingrained it is, that she never turns around in any other fashion, nor obviously how adorable it is.

“’M kickin’ ’em out.”

“Enjoy.”

Jamie lets out a bright chuckle, the one reserved for Dani succeeding in trying to be funny, too. It’s a sound she hopes to earn for the rest of her life, with Moon by her side.

“Okay, bud.” She speaks just above a whisper, still watching Jamie. “I know Mum walks slower than me.”

With a tortoise for a pet, Dani thinks she ought to have learned by now how to slow down. And she has — courtesy also of Jamie’s influence — though only to the point of not actively power-walking.

“But she also has a head st- ”

Dani faces forward, realizing she’s being rude to Moon, only to find him gone. No longer in front of her but brushing against her leg. Walking in the direction she’d just been looking. And starting to look blurry.

“Thank you, Moonie.”

She resists the urge to kiss his black, bumpy little head, not wanting to start the next phase of her life with Jamie — if she wants it too, if it’s enough for her: a commitment absent a certificate — with a shared case of Salmonella.

[lottiejames]

Reunion

After months of internal work (and Viperion's good word), Ladybug has granted Chloe Bourgeois the bee miraculous, much to Viperion's surprise. Sequel to Call on Me

Or read it here: on AO3 (Call on Me)

Chloe stared at the simple box in front of her, seemingly innocent against the expensive fabric of her duvet. She didn’t know which was racing faster: her thoughts or her pulse. She didn’t actually think she’d be here again, no matter what her wildest fantasies contained, no matter how much it was talked about within herself, between her and him, between them, between any combination of the other holders. Yet, Ladybug had come and gone with a promise, and perhaps a warning, that she’d be back. The weight of it all sat heavily on her shoulders. Steeling herself, she reached for the box and opened it.

A golden glow swirled, then suspended in the air, was one of the beings she had hurt the most, “How may I serve you, my queen?”

The tears she hadn’t realized she’d been holding back sprung from her eyes, trailing down her face. Blue eyes followed their paths with concern, “Don’t cry, my queen,”

“Oh, Pollen,” Chloe whined, arms wrapping themselves around her legs, “I'm so sorry for everything I put you through,”

The yellow kwami floated up to her, wiping away a tear, “Oh, Chloe, I’ve been around a long, long time. I’ve seen many things, I’ve done many things. While it doesn’t justify any of it, I understand. I’ve seen the fear, the insecurities overcome my own holders and holders of the other miraculous,”

“It doesn’t make it...I shouldn’t have...I’m so sorry. I know words won’t ever be enough,”

Pollen smiled at Chloe, “Then show me with your actions, with changed behavior,”

“You’ll really give me another chance? Will you really forgive me?”

“I will. Ladybug and I have spoken at length about you, as well as the other kwamis giving me updates from their perspectives. I’ve long since forgiven you, Chloe,”

More tears spilled with a chuckle, “You are truly miraculous, Pollen,”

An overexaggerated sigh escaped the kwami, “Puns? Have you really been hanging around that cat so much in my absence?”

“Oh, Pollen, I don’t even know who that is,” She wiped away her tears, “I still only know the ones from...that day,”

Pollen nodded wisely, “Ah, yes. How are things going with Sass’s holder?”

Chloe’s cheeks suddenly burned as she picked at the loose thread on her duvet cover, “I’m not sure I know what you mean,”

“You’ll tell me, sooner rather than later,” Pollen shrugged, “I thought I overheard Ladybug saying she’d be back to pick you up for patrol?”

Chloe nodded, cheeks still stained, “Yes, she should be back soon,”

“And we are surprising him, yes?” Pollen pretended to be looking at her nonexistent fingernails, much like Chloe used to do around her.

“Yes,”

“Just say the magic words then, my queen,”

Despite the lingering guilt, the bundle of nerves, the schoolgirlish glee, Chloe smiled brightly, “Pollen, buzz on.”

***

“The end of your sector will be just over there,” Carapace pointed into the distance, after consulting the map in his hands.

“Where that wig shop is?” Viperion clarified, eyes squinting trying to see it from their rooftop view.

“Right there, yes. I was trying to have it by the gelato shop you like so much, but Ladybug didn’t like that idea,”

“I let Chat convince me to take one break during some random patrol and now it haunts me all the time,” he waved around dramatically.

“To be fair, it’s probably more him than you. His sector is getting changed too,”

Viperion turned around, “Why all the sector changes? We just changed them a few months ago,”

Carapace shuffled his feet, “Reasons,”

“Reasons?”

“Yep,”

Viperion folded his arms and continued to stare, “Care to elaborate?”

“Nope,” the map of the Parisian streets was quickly put aside.

Before he could question Carapace any further, separate blurs of orange and black flew past them.

“And that is how the fox outsmarts and outruns the cat,” Rena Rouge announced, her face beaming with a triumphant smile.

“Cheater! There was cheating!” Multiple raised eyebrows fixed on Chat Noir’s face, “There’s no way you knew about the alleyway shortcut, unless...Carapace, you dared betray me?”

Carapace looked away from him as Rena Rouge hugged his arm, “It was well worth the betrayal. Sorry, Kitty,”

As Chat Noir continued his theatrics, Viperion heard muffled voices coming from the stairwell door. His furrowed brows were lost on his companions.

A loud groan of aged metal revealed Ladybug, a knowing smile on her face. It was when she stepped aside, that Viperion felt the breath get knocked out of him.

With the setting Parisian sun as her backdrop, blonde hair gently swaying in the warm breeze, stood a figure draped in yellow and black, gold and night.

“Chloe?”

“Tsk, tsk. You know just as well as everyone else, it’s Queen Bee,” her voice tinkled through the air.

The world blurred at the edges, the voices surrounding him were muffled as if underwater. The only sight he could focus on was the renewed Miraculous holder and she stared right back.

She drew closer to him and before his thoughts caught up with his limbs, he was holding her close. He could smell a faint floral scent, reminiscent of her perfume. Her arms wrapped around him, breathing a sigh of relief at the welcoming.

He pulled away after a moment, eyes taking in her features, missing the light freckles hidden underneath her mask. Amusement looked back at him.

“But how?”

Queen Bee shrugged a shoulder, “Something about patience, dependability, redemption. It seems to have helped to have someone on the inside speaking to my many, many virtues,”

Viperion was vaguely aware of a tension on his cheeks, a product of his grin no doubt.

Coughing rather forcefully, Carapace drew their attention, “Now you know the reason for patrol changes,”

“And I expect,” Ladybug’s blue eyes shifted back and forth between the pair, “that there will be no tomfoolery or ridiculous antics,”

“Of course, you don’t have to worry about any of that,” Queen Bee said with conviction, her posture much like that of a soldier receiving orders from a superior.

“I, also, expect that there will be no secret rendezvous for make out sessions or hero date nights,”

Though her mask hid her freckles, it did nothing to conceal the growing blush on her cheeks. Viperion let out a strangled cough as Chat Noir laughed in the background.

“Understood?” Queen Bee and Viperion nodded quickly, avoiding eye contact with each other, “Good. We need to take in these budding romances in stages after all. Well, Viperion knows the drill. You're free to go home once your sector is done, barring anything happening,"

With that said, Ladybug turned towards Chat Noir, spoke a few words, and soon he was chasing after her. As if on cue, Rena Rouge and Carapace nodded to them and ran off into the night together.

Soon, only the noises from the streets below sounded around them.

“I had no-”

“I must say-”

Both of them chuckled, finally looking at each other.

“You first,” Viperion whispered, eyes skipping across her features.

Queen Bee took a breath, “Thank you. I know that I’ve been trying for a while now, but I really don’t think any of this could have happened without you, your input, your kindness,”

He scratched the back of his head, “I only shared the truth when asked. You’ve done a lot of growing, Chlo, even I can see it,”

“Queen Bee,”

Viperion’s face darkened again, “Ah, yes, of course. It’ll take me a minute to get used to that,”

She reached out and touched his arm, looking up at him to make eye contact, “Thank you, really. I don’t know how to repay you,”

“I’m sure one of us will think of something,” he replied, his thoughts jumping to all the various ways that could happen.

Her features shone with a warm radiance as she stepped closer to him. She raised herself onto tip-toe, closing much of the distance between them. Queen Bee, who soon would be known for her impeccable aim, missed her target on her second first-day as a hero. Viperion, as if on auto-pilot, as if one of her facial features were a magnet, followed her. She leaned in, so did he. She leaned right, so did he. A simple kiss on the cheek was met with lips instead.

It was fleeting, a brief second, but blue eyes flew open when she pulled away. They’d never had a seemingly telepathic connection, not like Ladybug and Chat Noir. In that moment, though, their eyes searched one another and with the most discreet of nods, their lips met properly, purposefully. Viperion’s arms wrapped around her waist as Queen Bee pulled him closer to her. It felt warm, it felt dizzying, it tasted surprisingly sweet - her lip gloss, no doubt. And neither of them knew how long it might have lasted, this culmination of months and months of secret glances, lingering touches, but it was cut short, nevertheless.

A catcall and a forced cough broke them apart, the heat of Paris no longer being the only thing that surrounded them.

Ladybug raised an eyebrow at them, her face conveying all the words she wasn’t saying as Chat Noir made all sorts of jokes and puns in the background.

After the duo left, it was a minute or two before either superhero made any sound.

“So,”

“So?”

“Patrol?” Viperion’s voice cracked ever so slightly.

Queen Bee smirked, regaining control much more quickly than he, “Patrol. Come on Rumplesnakeskin, lead the way, it’s the only time you’ll get to,”

He looked at her, “Really? Rumple-SNAKE-skin?” She shrugged, “Anything but Rumple-SNAKE-skin, please,”

The air carried her laughter.

[yelenasdog]

romance and espionage (eggsy unwin x fem reader)

genre: fluff w/ whole lotta angst

summary: who knew names could be such a touchy subject?

words: 2.4k

warnings: literally saying fuck everyother sentence, kissing, golden circle spoilers (is that a thing? idk), mentions of harry’s supposed death, mentions of roxy’s death, guns, and i think thats it.

ok, all my cm moots don’t judge me. 

a/n: ight so uhh as i’m posting this i’m finding out taron is an incel so that’s kinda oW but uhh i haven’t seen the secret service, i just rewatched the golden circle the other night and hyperfixated on taron so... uh here’s this LMAO. also! this takes place after the golden circle, and reader took roxy’s spot as lancelot. ok enjoy!!

♔♂♔

“God, Eggsy, would you quiet down?!”

He snarled meanly in a way that could make Bennie and Jet’s metallic forms cower in fear, his thin lips turning into a grimace.

“Don't call me that here. It’s Galahad, and Galahad only.”

The other agent only scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Lancelot’s surroundings were dark, although quite stunning nonetheless. It was clear and starry night sky, perfect for romance, the worst for espionage. The air felt so refreshing on her skin, allowing her to feel free in some way, even just for a moment, which she savoured, as a feeling such as that was rare in her line of work.

Now, if the girl had been with someone other than the annoying, prickish, and (even though it pained her to the highest degree to say it) handsome fellow, she maybe would have tried to have a little fun to pass the time. Maybe fool around a bit, fraternize with a coworker, eh?

But alas, ever the one with amazing luck, she was stuck with him. 

Which meant rather than perhaps getting crescent shaped markings on her hips from a quick rondevu under the indigo sky and sparkling stars, so roughly placed to match the moon that hung in it, she was crouching uncomfortably, only wishing that the former scenario was taking place.

 Not that she meant with fucking Eggsy, of course.

Well ok, maybe, just a tad.

“Fine, have it your way, Galahad.” She flailed her arms about in a jazz hand motion, making the blondy roll his twinkly eyes in a boyish manner. She fought the urge to grin widely, a warm feeling blooming in her chest, even at his obvious arrogance and upset towards her.

She wanted to blame his feelings towards her on her being a freshmen agent, recruited right after the convergence of Kingsman and Statesman in an effort to rebuild the organization. She had been childhood friends with Roxy, who had long ago tried to get Y/n to join the agency. When faced with her friend’s death, she wanted to honor her wishes, even if this wish was a little, well, extreme.

He only sighed in response to Y/n, tapping the side of his thick rimmed glasses twice.

Y/n’s eyes followed his hands as he did so, enjoying what she was seeing a great amount. She bit her bottom lip subconsciously, losing all focus that was there to begin with.

“Lancelot? Lancelot? For fucks sake, Y/n!”

She snapped her head up, her eyes becoming magnified even further through the faux tortoise shell glasses that Unwin would never admit framed her face wonderfully.

No, not a chance.

He wouldn’t dare even let the thought about how the soft skin of her freckled nose looked even more kissable, her eyes even more full of depth and wonder, or how kind and sweet she looked when she tucked a stray strand of hair away from her face. All because of the damned glasses. Never.

So rather, he settled for pointing over to where the subject of their stakeout was now standing, gun in hand as he conversed with one of his comrades.

But although her body followed his, listening to his directions, most of the information was going in one ear out the other, her brilliant mind occupied by a certain agent and his endeavors.

She was hard in thought, wondering about names of all things. A simple subject, easy to address, you would think. But apparently it was not so, not at all.

You see, Eggsy never had called Y/n by her name. It was always either “Lancelot”, or “Agent”, Y/n only being used for the exception of if he needed to quickly grab her attention.

And on the flip side, she was never allowed to call him anything other than Galahad. Agent was sparse, it put her on very thin ice, close to splitting at any second with no prior notice.

Now obviously, with Y/n being Y/n, she was determined to crack his rough exterior, despite however much he presented himself as “unbreakable”. (His words, not hers.) So, much to his displeasure, she often called out a quick “Oi, Unwin!”, or a “Jesus, Eggsy!” whenever he got in her way, which usually resulted in a similar distasteful glance to what she was recieving now being shot in her direction.

“Alright, Eggsy, I’m thinking that his partner is-“ She used her glasses X-Ray feature, confirming her suspicions. “The partner is in the abandoned pharmacy across the street, should we wait or go now?” He was silent, staring straight ahead, scrutinizing nothing in particular with a stare that was set in stone. 

She whistled lowly, waving a hand in front of his face.

“Eggsyyy-“

“Lancelot, would you shut the hell up! Don’t fucking call me that!” He stood up, leaving a vulnerable feeling Y/n in his wake.

Y/n’s jaw was suddenly like it was wired shut. She was paralyzed, unable to speak, only keeping her gaze fixated on Galahad.

“Look, I’m sorry-“

“Yeah, well good, then! When will you ever learn, we’re not friends, nor will we ever be. Get it through you’re fuckin’ head. It’s like you think you’re Roxy or some shit-“

Sadness and guilt turned to anger rather quickly for Y/n at his unfortunate choice of words.

“Stop it! Would you please, just stop it! For fucks sake!” Her voice was harsh, something he never would had never expected out of Y/n. Tears sprung into her eyes, and her teeth sunk into her bottom lip, no doubt drawing crimson liquid in the process. She tasted iron on her tongue, feeling it seep into her taste buds.

“Lancelo-“

“Fucking hell, shut the fuck up! Really, please, Galahad, listen to me, for once in your life.” She was the one who shot up, inching closer to him with every word. The sticks and leaves crunched under her feet, causing her to cringe at the sound, hoping it didn’t alert the targets.

He nodded solemnly, his jaw locking up, and his hands she had been admiring only seconds before clamped into fists at his sides.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, Harry’s words of “remember your training” ringing through her head. She internally began chanting it like a mantra of sorts.

But if she was being honest, she couldn't quite remember a chapter in the Kingsman handbook (that she most definitely did read during training) that talked about emotional distress due to your coworker who you’re extremely attracted to calling you only by your dead best friend's name, but hey, who knows.

“I know I'm not Roxy. Nobody else could ever be Roxy. I know that, you know that, hell, she knew that. And I would say that you have no idea how it feels to be reminded of one of your closest friends who is dead every time someone calls you by a name that feels as if it isn’t your own, but you do, Galahad. Or you did. But now Harry is back and- and Roxy, well Roxy is gone!”

A single tear slipped out of her left eye. The agent in front of her felt a strong urge wipe away the tears he now felt guilty for playing a large part in. But he resisted, his hands remaining stuck to his side.

“So why would you do this? Say these things, act this way, when you know I have to live every day with you for some reason calling me Lancelot in every situation and me having to call you Galahad all the same! Maybe I shouldn’t have stepped up to be Lancelot when Roxy was killed, if I can’t handle it, can’t handle the dehumanization that comes with only being known as an emotionless fuckin’ agent to you.” 

She stopped, hanging her head. She looked over to the flickering neon lights of the pharmacy, watching the outlines of the targets move around.

“I honestly have no idea if any of that made sense, or if I’m just rambling, I don’t fucking have the slightest idea what the fuck I’m even doing anymore.” Her voice got significantly more quiet, her sentences reduced to mumbles.

Aside from the target and his partners yelling at each other, it was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

His usually stern tone he took with the girl was softer now as he spoke, “You made perfect sense.”

She gave him a half smile before continuing, feeling oddly validated by his words. 

“But what I’m trying to say, Galahad, is that I’m a fucking human being. I have a life outside of this Godforsaken job, and-and emotions, too! I mean, I might even have kids that you don’t know about!”

He internally rolled his eyes, yet again fighting another urge, this time to smile widely at Y/n. Weird.

“Do you have kids I don’t know about-“

“Of course I don’t!”

They shared a short laugh as their words overlapped, harmonizing in a sweet way, their voices like thick and golden honey. Weird.

The two were then succumbed to a blanket of comfortable silence, but only for a short moment before the hushed whispers of Unwin’s voice were heard.

“D’you wanna know why?”

Y/n cocked her head, beckoning him to go on with whatever it was he was going to say. “Why what?”

“Why I only call you Lancelot, why I don’t let you call me Eggsy.”

She nodded, sitting down once more and tucking her leg under her chin in a manner that Eggsy found endearing and adorable. It distracted him slightly, but not long enough for his starry eyed staring to become creepy. Not that Y/n would have it in her capacity to ever think that of him, if she was being honest.

“If I start to think of you as ‘Y/n’, rather than Lancelot things get too real. If you hurt, o-or if you get kidnapped, or God forbid- die.” He momentarily paused, looking up to meet Y/n’s eyes.

“It would make it all too real. I can’t do that, Y/n. After what happened to Harry and then Roxy, and everyone else,” he shook his head, his expression showing him close to crying at the thought of what he was speaking of.

“I can’t lose you too.”

It was like her soul had become visibly lighter, feeling an unimaginable relief flood throughout her system at his proclamation. She was able to come down from her, so to say, “high” almost as soon as she had started it, placing her hands on his, using them as leverage to pull herself up.

“You can’t be so afraid, Galahad. You gotta, you know,” she shrugged, offering him a small smile.

“Live a little.” She moved to look down to meet his eyes where his head was suspended in shame, forcing him to look back up.

“And also, try not to let your fear turn you into a dick, which is by all means just a suggestion.” Y/n laughed at the last bit, smiling and glancing to the side slightly.

They both shared a second laugh together, and it seemed as if for a short while, time stopped. It was just the two of them, features illuminated by the pale moonlight. No target, no saving the world, nothing. Just them. 

So he reached forward, unsure if what he was doing was the right thing, just like always. The damn question of righteousness was engrained in his brain, restricting him like it did majority of the time. But for once, he decided to disregard it in it’s entirety.

So throwing all caution to the wind, unable to contain himself any longer, he closed the small gap left between the two, connecting their lips in a long awaited kiss.

One of his hands flew to the side of her face, the other wrapping around her waist, pulling her closer with a squeal. He laughed into the union, and she only smiled. One of her hands went to entangle itself with his on her waist, the other resting on his shoulder.

She could smell his cologne that he most definitely should not have been wearing per Kingsman on the job regulations, and welcomed the scent, doing her best to commit it to memory, a permanent reminder of what it felt like to be so close to the man.

After what seemed like a long time (but never long enough, honestly) they pulled away, panting for breath. Their foreheads rested on each other’s, the cool night air flowing around them, calming the pair completely.

Still struggling to catch his breath, Eggsy reached forward, taking both of her hands. He ran small circles over her knuckles in a way that made her heart flutter, before dropping them gently, reaching a hand out.

“Let's start over.”

She giggled and widely grinned, and he swore it was becoming his favorite thing in existence when she would do either of those wondrous things.

“Come on, put her there.” He shook his hand slightly making a silly face as well, widening his eyes and looking back and forth from his hand and her face. She placed it in his, proudly smirking as she did so. Their shiny rings clanged, which resulted in another small giggle errupting from her throat.

 He shook it back and forth, a sly smile painting itself on his lips. 

“Pleasure to meet you, Eggsy Unwin.”

She quirked an eyebrow, retracting her hand momentarily, letting it linger in the air.

“Eggsy, hmm? Bit of an odd name, don’t you think?”

He scoffed, placing his hand over his heart in false offense.

“Well if it’s so bad, what’s yours then?”

“Y/n Y/l/n.”

He looked to his feet momentarily, lifting his hands on either side of his head. “I digress, you win.”

She bit her bottom lip again, wincing as she hit the same spot from before. She ran her tongue over it, breathing out quickly.

“I’m not so sure. I think Eggsy is growing on me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

They smiled at each other like lovesick teenagers, still lost within the moment.

And although the bubble of ignorant bliss they were in was something the two of them never wanted to leave, it was sadly inevitable that it would be popped at some point in time.

And almost like an alarm to wake them up from a beautiful dream, gunfire was able to be heard ringing throughout the building across the way.

They pulled apart with a groan coming from Y/n, and a “For fucks sake” from Eggsy. With displeasure lacing their expressions, they began to run towards the pharmacy when Y/n felt a hand tug at her wrist.

“Y/n wait!”

Her eyes widened as she looked at him as if he was a mad man, only slowing to a backwards jog. She gestured around her to the burst of red and orange explosions that were now going off around her, screaming “What?!”

He sprinted to catch up with her forcing her to come to a complete stop with a firm hold on her shoulders.

“Eggsy, come on! Lets go- Ah!”

He cut her off with a firm kiss, gripping the sides of her head, scrunching his fingers in her hair. She let a small moan slip out at the feeling, which he responded to by chuckling. He then pulled away, a shit eating grin written on his face. 

She stood in shock, unable to move from her place. He started running, turning over his shoulder.

“Come on, Y/n, keep up!”

Not focusing on where he was going, he tripped over himself, letting out a small yell of surprise. Y/n laughed loudly, going to chase after him with a miniscule shake of her head at his antics.

But nonetheless, the only thing going through Y/n’s mind during that situation that should have been horrifying, was that maybe she was wrong all this time.

Romance and espionage did go well together, especially when it was with Y/n and Eggsy.

♔♂♔

hello!!! so this was a multi-fandom account to begin with anyways so honestly i feel like i should start a seperate masterlist for “hj’s hyperfixations”. but yah this was my first fic for him and idk if i’ll do another but i hope u enjoyed this! also it’s my bday tomorrow (sept 7th) so this is a self indulgent fic. as a treat. ok love u bye!

xx hj

also avery asked me to tag her so @spideyspencer​ LMAO i’m so sorry for this mess.