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#completely buried because they (Disney) wanted them gone
gilbirda · 2 years
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Saw your tags
You've seen strange magic too? What were your thoughts? Personally I really liked it story wise though I feel a few things could've been changed to make it go from decent movie to great movie. But overall it was great
BRUH what I DONT have to say about the movie. Before I went down the DP and DPXDC rabbit hole, I watched that movie once a week and im not kidding. I know it by heart.
Pros: Music slaps, voice acting by ACTUAL voice actors that know how to do their jobs, animation is beautiful, plot refreshing and I love how the romance is made in that movie (and how the "beast" doesn't magically become beautiful at the end!!!!)
Cons: Some of the humor doesn't land and the plot is very simple, and the whole "im strong independent woman" feels kinda... void? I hate this trend that to be a strong woman you have to reject romance forever because that makes you weak. Or how they pitch the sisters as the "helpless romantic" vs the "bitter sword lady".
But that's my opinion.
This movie, I don't know if you knew, was buried on purpose. Is a Lucasfilms production, so big money, and this was after Disney bought the company.
Why did it flop so much?
It wasn't properly advertised.
Is a weird movie, the 3D models are an acquired taste, and is too silly sometimes - but that's what makes it interesting. Is not whatever Disney was pumping at the time and it shows; and advertising made it look like some kind of Barbie silly fairies story and it's nothing like that.
Also, of course, people don't like things if they aren't the Disney formula, so there's that.
I have SO MANY opinions about Strange Magic.
(I also have written fics for that fandom!!!!! Including a rewrite with what if Bog and Marianne had been friends since the wedding day and how he helps her out!)
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msclaritea · 5 months
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Shelving Movies for Fun and Profit
Destroying Movies for Fun and Profit
If you ask any director, screenwriter, actor, stunt performer, gaffer, editor, cameraperson or other Hollywood worker, they’ll likely tell you a variation on the same story: “My dream, ever since I was a little kid making home movies, was to one day grant Warner Bros. a deduction for a loss sustained upon the abandonment of property (reported on Form 4797).” Yes, little is more exciting for an aspiring filmmaker than the idea that—with a lot of dedication and a pinch of luck—their years of driving Lyfts and waiting tables could pay off, resulting in a star-studded line item that will be shelved forever so that a major studio can claim a tax write-off. Ah, the magic of the movies!
This practice is back in the news because the powers that be at WB have gone back to their original decision regarding the hybrid live-action/animated Looney Tunes movie Coyote vs. Acme. Despite the film testing well and generating plenty of buyer interest, a team of execs who haven’t seen the finished movie look like they’re going to “unceremoniously delete it” for tax purposes. Sorry, filmmakers, but apparently it actually looks better to stockholders if WB doesn’t actually put movies out. “Hollywood accounting” has its reputation for a reason, but it’s never been so obviously broken.
It might seem like Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is a true innovator of idiocy, but the man behind the permanent shelving of movies like Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt is just ramping up a long tradition of burning art to save a quick buck.
After buying up DreamWorks, Universal decided to bury the musical-comedy Larrikins instead of selling it to Netflix. Universal president Jimmy Horowitz told Tim Minchin that “It’s schmuck insurance – if someone made a lot of money out of it, we’ll look like schmucks.” That mindset certainly applies here: Coyote vs. Acme is a creation from an earlier group of WB leaders, and would naturally be on the chopping block from a spiteful new C-suite who also happens to hate movies.
Even more relevant is a case from almost 100 years ago: Charlie Chaplin literally torched the film negatives of A Woman of the Sea back in 1933, in front of multiple witnesses, so that he could claim the movie as a loss for tax purposes.
The tax code may have changed since then, but the logic remains the same: Get rid of the movie so you can avoid all the final complications and lingering expenses associated with its “useful life.” If you cut that life short, pulling off an accounting assassination, you save a little immediate cash at the low, low cost of…art. It’s always been a crass practice, more often performed by resentful new regimes or moneygrubbers who’ve found themselves attracting the gaze of Sauron’s IRS. But now shelving movies, completed films that other companies want, is picking up steam as standard practice. Actually making things is such an outdated, small-time business model. It’s far more lucrative to remove things other people made.
For example, if Disney keeps all of its movies and TV shows on Disney+, it has to pay residuals to the people who made them. They’ve also spread out the costs of a movie like Crater (which was available to watch for a mere seven weeks during the summer of 2023) over the years that the movie will ostensibly be available to the public and, therefore, creating value for Disney. Remove these movies and shows from the streamer, or better yet, remove them permanently (like Disney did with Crater), and their value can be added to an impairment charge—basically, a claim to the tax man that something a company owns has become, suddenly, worthless.
Disney recorded a $1.5 billion impairment charge last year. As Julia Rock points out, this means that Disney is claiming something pretty odd: Both “that the assets were producing so little value that it’s cheaper to destroy them than to keep them and that the assets were worth $1.5 billion.” Huh. There’s no push for anyone to justify this contradiction. The IRS isn’t asking questions. It doesn’t matter if a movie is good, or bad, or somewhere in between. It doesn’t matter if it had the potential to one day be rediscovered as a cult classic. It certainly doesn’t matter that even the worst pieces of Z-grade trash are still worth preserving as cultural artifacts. As an aside, the HBO Original Fahrenheit 451 is still streaming on Max.
And sure, you can say that you didn’t want to watch those movies anyways. Kid movies! Superheroes! Cartoons, yuck. I get it, you’re tough and cool. But one day, this will happen to something that you were looking forward to. It will happen to something that would have moved you. Something you’d have remembered fondly, something that would’ve turned your day around. But even if you’re the most jaded, anti-art, movie-hating curmudgeon, you should remember that, released or not, you’re helping pay for this scheme anyways.
“When intertwined with public funding through state and federal tax incentives, the practice of movie and television write-downs represents a troubling exploitation of taxpayer funds,” writes tax attorney Andrew Leahey. “Coupled with rapidly expanding state tax incentives, it represents a multibillion-dollar Rube Goldberg machine that culminates in a nickel being pulled from your pocket, strapped to an Acme rocket, and fired directly into the bank accounts of movie studios.”
Every loophole taken by these studios doesn’t just rob us of art. It burns the work of countless artists. It steals from our quality of life by monkeying around with our broken tax system, allowing our most powerful corporations to skip out on their bills. It picks the remaining shreds of flesh off the bones of our culture, all to further fatten a few vultures at the top.
Politicians like Texas Representative Joaquin Castro are calling for the government to “review this conduct,” but the only people who seem to have the power here are those actually creating the movies. They can boycott the guilty studios, and we can support them, but there are so few left that aren’t exploiting this practice to its most predatory extremes. Cooking the books has always been a Hollywood practice. Burning them is new.
Jacob Oller is Movies Editor at Paste Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter at @jacoboller.
For all the latest movie news, reviews, lists and features, follow @PasteMovies.
It's too bad that this Paste article was written by a Leftist, who let their biases show, ie pushing Castro, and the 'Sauron's IRS'. But otherwise, it is spot on. What the studios are doing to Intellectual Properties is a SIN. It's cruel, it's greedy and so fucking unnecessary. Just how much money do these studios and their shareholders, NEED? I better not find out that the Supernatural Planet Series was destroyed.
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imthebadguyyy · 3 years
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God, I Love You
Lewis Hamilton X Reader
Summary - Its been a tiring couple of race weeks, and you just want to love on your man
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Stretching, you slowly opened your eyes as the first bright rays of sunshine peeked through a gap in the curtains, that you had drawn shut the previous night. As you slowly regained complete consciousness, you became aware of the slight weight around your waist, and the feel of warm breath on the back of your neck.
Suddenly remembering the events of the previous day, a smile etched itself onto your lips, as you rolled over to see a sight you had sorely missed for the past three weeks. Lewis was still fast asleep, head buried in your neck, and arm slung around your waist. Smiling as you took in the sight, you became faintly aware of the sound of paw steps down the hall, as Roscoe's face peeked in through the open door. Sitting up very slowly so you didn't wake your sleeping boyfriend, you extended your arms towards the dog, who came trotting forward for a morning cuddle.
After some morning loving for the dog, you decided to get up and start your day, and let Lewis sleep off the exhaustion, exhilaration, stress and jet lag from the races he had won. He had only come home yesterday, and it had been so late in the evening that you had just eaten dinner together, and talked for a bit, but sensing how hard it was for him to even keep his eyes open, you had simply gone to bed. But today, you had planned to simply spend time together, to make up for the time he had not been there.
Stepping into the bathroom, you did your morning routine, of brushing, using the toilet, and tying your hair up into a ponytail. Then you made your way into the kitchen, the bulldog following right by your side. When you had begun dating Lewis, Roscoe had simply started treating you like his mom, and once, when Lewis had referred to you as 'Mumma' while talking to him, you cried. That was the moment you knew that this was always going to be your family. Ever since then the dog had become your fur baby as well, and Lewis often joked that Roscoe loved you more than he loved his own dad.
Deciding that waffles and fruit was the way to go, you quickly whipped up the batter, and poured it into the Mickey Mouse shaped waffle iron that you had bought at a Disney themed store. Picking out some strawberries, mango, orange segments and blueberries to put in a bowl on the side, you also decided to prepare Roscoe's bowl, so the doggo could eat with you guys. Soon, the smell of waffles wafted through the air, and you took out two perfectly shaped waffles to put onto the plate. Quickly pouring more batter into the pan, you began to set up the breakfast tray, and then make your way back to the bedroom.
With breakfast eventually ready, you picked up the tray laden with waffles, cut fruit, tea, maple syrup and a bowl of dog food and walked up quietly to the bedroom. The curtains were still drawn, although the gentle breeze kept moving them to the side, causing little rays of sunshine to peek through and shine on Lewis's face. To combat the light, he had simply pulled the fluffy white blanket over his head to keep the light away from his face, and you mentally "awed" at the sight. Setting the tray down on the bedside table, you climbed into the bed, and wrapped you arms around his torso, peppering kisses onto his neck, and moving onto his face, kissing his chin, nose, cheeks, forehead, eyes, and then finally, just above his lips.
Stirring as you kissed his face, Lewis's eyes slowly fluttered open, taking in his surroundings. After momentary confusion about where he was, he remembered that he was back home. Back with Y/N and Roscoe. A feeling of happiness and pure joy began to spread through his body, as he turned to see Y/N's e/c eyes looking at him with pure love and adoration. "Good morning bubs! Did you sleep well?" she asked, fingers tracing shapes over his bare skin. "Morning baby. I did" he replied, snuggling into her warmth, burying his face in her chest, as she began to softly play with his hair. "I made breakfast"
"You didn't have to" "I wanted too" 'MmmHmm"
As you basked in each others warmth and cuddled up to each other, Roscoe, deciding that he wanted some loving too, jumped onto the bed, right between the two of you. "Hello Roscoe" Lewis said, reaching out to pet the doggo. Wagging his tail, he trotted up to your body, and sat down near your tummy, resting his head on Lewis's shoulder. Feeling loved up and comfortable between both your boys, you let out a sigh of content, and rested your head on your boyfriend's shoulder. Humming something under his breath, Lewis began running his fingers along your bare arms, causing goosebumps to erupt over your skin.
"The foods getting cold" you suddenly said out loud, hopping out of bed to go and get the tray from the bedside table. Getting out of bed, Lewis made his way to the bathroom, and eventually came back to the room in a couple of minutes, to find Roscoe munching away at some treats, while you had picked up a little folding table and placed it on the bed to rest the tray on. Feeling extremely happy once again, he climbed back onto the bed, and grabbed his share of the food on the table.
His phone began to vibrate, Toto's caller ID flashing across the screen. Groaning, he put the phone face down on the table, and ignored the call. "Why aren't you picking up ? It could be important you know" Sighing, he turned to you, "I spoke to him yesterday, and if its that important he can simply text me after I don't pick up. Plus I've seen him for three weeks straight, and now I want to spend time with YOU" pouting, he looked back at you, making you let out a snort of laughter at the look on his face. "Ok drama queen. Now eat your breakfast and then we can take a shower"
Smirking, he looked at you from the corner of his eye, "we?"
"Yes, now shut up and eat" you said, nudging him with a glint in your eyes.
"Yes ma'am"
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After taking a shower together, and washing the dishes and the general monotonous household work, the both of you decided to take a walk along the beach, and take a frisbee along with you.
Dressing in the appropriate attire for the beach, you put Roscoe in his "ROSCOE 44" harness and walked out of the house. The beach was only five minutes away from your house, and you enjoyed the salty smell of the ocean air. It was a bright and sunny day, accompanied by a pleasant, cool ocean breeze as well. As you neared the golden sand, the bulldog bolted towards the sand, and ran right up to the water, and turned back to look inquiringly at the two of you. Laughing, you caught up with him, setting down the beach bag Lewis had packed for your beach day on a towel. Deciding to just relish in the Sun rays, you laid down a second towel, and removed your wrap around dress to lie in your bikini.
Lewis on the the other hand, decided to go for a swim in the water, and stripped off his t-shirt, so he remained in just his swim trunks. Looking over the top of your sunglasses, you couldn't help your gaze wandering all over his toned and muscled body, letting your eyes drink in the sculpted muscle and the tattoos that adorned his body, eyes lingering over each and every one, teeth unconsciously sinking onto your lower lip. "Enjoying the view?" his cocky voice made you look up at his face, still feeling slightly dazed.
"Yeah, because its mine to enjoy" you replied, throwing him a smirk. Rolling his eyes, he ran to the water to join Roscoe for a swim, while you watched with a smile on your face, as you watched your two boys chase the waves together. Whipping out your phone, you opened Instagram, to film the pair, and uploaded it onto your story with the caption : beach days with these two make everything better 🤍🤍
When the rays became too hot, you guys packed up your bags and made your way back home, stopping to buy some ice cream to beat the heat. Deciding to simply order some Chinese takeout food for dinner, with a bottle of wine, you settled down in front of your TV to have a movie night together. Lewis was in the kitchen, making some popcorn, and bringing you guys some wine as well.
Settling for 'Lion King' for your first movie, you let Lewis sit down, and prop his feet up on the pouffe in front of the sofa, while you tucked your feet up in the sofa, and laid your head down on his chest, his arm coming round your shoulder to hold you tightly. Roscoe sat by Lewis's feet, already asleep from the tiring day he had had at the beach. As Simba met Timon and Pumba, Lewis turned to look down at your face, "God, I Love You" smiling back at him, you leaned up to press your lips to his jaw. " I love you too"
Leaning his head down, he pressed his lips to yours, setting down the bowl of popcorn, to wrap his hands around your back, to keep you in place, as you pushed yourself up, wrapping your arms around his neck, as his hands began sliding up your back to finally rest in your loose hair, while yours slid down to his toned shoulders, and straddled his lap. The kiss grew more and more desperate, until you two finally broke apart, for the need of oxygen, resting your foreheads against each other, breathing heavily. " I love you. You're so good to me"
"I love you more"
"Not possible"
The moment was broken by a loud "wuff" as you both turned to look at the dog, who had stood up and was now looking up at the two of you with a look that said 'get a room parents!' "Roscoe!' Lewis whined, "We were having a moment" Laughing, you got off his lap, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I love you. Now, we have to feed to dog"
'Mmhmm' he mumbled, leaning into your touch.
"If you get up now and set the table, I promise I'll lock the door so Roscoe doesn't come in tonight" you said, looking over your shoulder, to wink at him. Eyes darkening slightly, he turned to look at you, and walked right up to you, pressing his palm onto your waist. "You better lock that door tonight. No doggy trauma in this house"
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OK OK OK OK FIRST F1 FIC. let me know what you thought !
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NO I HAD TO ADD THIS BECAUSE IT SUITS THIS STORY SO WELL. im soft 🥺❤
Thank you thank you thank you to @grandestrategia for the idea ❤
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georgiapeach30513 · 3 years
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don’t get me wrong…. present blade is hot asf and i would marry him in a heartbeat if i could! but sometimes, i miss little bladey and his wuv you’s 🥺 can we please please see sweet young bladey again 🥺🥺🥺 maybe this time, getting into trouble? ((;
Wait a minute! Are you suggesting that the sweet wittle Bwade Dwysdawe got in trouble?? The little boy that ran into his baby Stowy and cried before she did because when she fell down it took her breath away? Are you talking about the little boy that would just lay on his mama while she was napping and suffering with PPD just so he could be close to her? The same little boy that had the sweetest speech pattern and his mama love to squeeze his cheeks? Or the same little boy that would sit with his mama as she put his baby to sleep, and Blade would lean over and give Story a kiss? You know if Blade was getting in trouble it wasn't from hims mama, right? Blade does no wrong. Like how Ransom is with the girls. Blade is the most precious angel to Kitten.
🖤🖤🖤🖤
He Had A Moment
Summary: Ransom has to deal with Blade without you
Pairings: Ransom Drysdale X Blade and Story Drysdale
Rating: fluff
Warnings: soft!Ransom, Blade's tears, 18+ ONLY
Word Count: 800
Desperate Lives AU Masterlist
Blade Drysdale Masterlist
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After the loud crash happened, Ransom runs into his office, his laptop broken in the floor. A five-year-old Story rushes over to her dad, burying her face in his leg until he picks her up, but Blade just stands there. His lower lip jutted out, quivering, and his eyes so full of tears he's amazed at how he's able to hold them in. Ransom completely understands now why you can never get onto the boy.
"Blade, what happened buddy?"
"I'm...I'm, I'm sowwy...sowwy, sowwy," his voice cracking and the tears finally leak down his cherub cheeks. "I didn't...didn't, didn't mean to...to, to."
"Buddy just breathe."
"I...I, I can't...can't, can't. Daddy...daddy, daddy I'm s-s-s-s..." Ransom walks calmly over to Blade, squatting down to wrap his free arm around his son. His cries soaking his shirt, and Story reaches over to rub her hand along Blade's back. "I'm s-s-s-..."
"Bladey, buddy."
"I want my...my, my, my, my..."
"He wants mama, daddy."
"I know Story book. Buddy mama is with the twins at gymnastics."
"I can't...can't, can't, can't...bwea...bwea, bweath. I need my...my, my mama. You hate...hate, hate, hate me."
"Buddy, I can never hate you. You know you're not supposed to be in here, and you'll work off the damage that was done to the computer. But I don't hate you," Blade buries his face even deeper into Ransom's chest. His body heaving and sniffling.
"It's okay bubba. Daddy, he just wanted to see if he wanted a laptop like yours. Bubba...bubba it's okay. Daddy loves us always."
"I want...want, want my...my, my, my, my mama," his voice shrill as the cries fully take him over. Ransom is half tempted to call you, but you had only been gone fifteen minutes, and his daughters would not be left at the gym.
"Story, when Bladey is like this what does mama do?"
"She makes us hot chocolate and let's us watch Lightyear. Bubba, daddy still loves you."
"Him mad...mad, mad at me...me, me."
"Do I sound mad? I told you we'll figure out a way for you to pay me back for the damage. I can't make hot chocolate, but I'm really good at some sundaes. Plenty of whipped cream, some melted cookie butter, hot fudge, a Biscoff and cherry in the whipped cream, and we'll watch Lightyear."
"You'we...you'we, you'we not mad?"
"Buddy, no. Let's get these sundaes made, watch your movie, and get you to breathing again okay?" they both give their daddy a nod, and he stands walking them both in the kitchen. Setting them on the counter while he gets to making his famous sundaes. Story leans over on Blade's shoulder, singing him some Disney song so soft and sweet.
"Don't forget the sprinkles daddy. Blade likes the ones with stars and moons in them," Ransom smiles, opening up his favorite drawer full of his "magical sprinkles", pastel pink, gold, white roses and crowns just for Story, while Blade's navy with gold moon and stars, plenty of gold and cream pearls. "Where's your sundae?"
"You are sharing with your old man."
"Daddy you're not old," Story says making grabby hands for Ransom when he helps the two of them down, grabbing up their ice cream to walk in the living room.
"Well thank you Princess Story book. Here, sit down," they lean up against Ransom as he turns on the movie, both offering up little bites to him. Blade's panic attack exhausting him, and he's ready to fall asleep before halfway through the movie.
Bowls abandoned Ransom kicks back the recliner, both kids crawling even more on him, when all three fall asleep. Sticky ice cream faces and all. Chocolate and cookie butter smeared all across their faces when you and the girls come home. Falling more in love with him at how soft he is with his babies. "They've been like that for awhile," Harlan whispers. "I came in here to talk, and they were passed out. Who is your biggest baby?"
"They're all my babies. But you know Ran is the biggest of all."
"I heard that Kitten."
Walking over to the couch, you lean over his head to give him an upside down kiss, noticing the drool coming from Story's mouth and onto his shoulder. "Why sundaes? Cookie butter too, what happened?"
"Blade broke my laptop," you gasp needing to make sure your baby boy's heart isn't racing. "He's fine now. He had a moment, cried for you."
"You should have called me."
"I need to be able to handle our son too. I see now why he doesn't get in trouble often."
You give Ransom a pout, "He's sensitive baby. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and he doesn't want to disappoint you."
"Or you."
"No, baby, he knows I'm always in his corner, it's you he doesn't want to disappoint. You want me to take them?" Ransom shakes his head no. "You're enjoying being the favorite for once huh?" he gives you a smile and nods. Leaning back over you give him another kiss. "I'll start dinner then."
Masterlist
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imagine-that-100 · 3 years
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Why No Answer? | Part 2 |
Description of Part 1: Alex Turner x Reader (Female) | You’re woken up in the middle of the night to find Alex drunk and high on your doorstep. Looking after him proves to be a tiring and revealing ordeal.
Word Count: 12.8k
Warnings: Angst (from the past) but lots of fluff.
A/N: So this was requested by the lovely @psychkunox​, really hope you enjoy this. I don’t know what happened, but I got very carried away with the word count yet again sorry about that ahha. I would recommend watching the Restaurant scene from When Harry Met Sally either before or after you read. It’s quite comical and will give you more context. Anyway though, Likes, Reblogs, and Feedback is always appreciated, but thank you all for reading, I really hope you all enjoy xx
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Read Part 1: | Here | 
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“Al stop.” You scorn him in a whisper as he once again kisses the back of your neck as you stand in the queue for Space Mountain.  
You really tried not to indulge in the feeling of his lips on your skin because it was an extremely addicting sensation. But you were in public, in Disney World of all places where everyone had their phones and cameras out, and the band were all standing in front of you in the queue.
“Alex.” You whisper shout again and pull yourself out of the hold he had on your hips when you felt him do it again.
You turn around and shake your head when you note the mischief in his eyes and the slight smirk gracing his pretty lips. You wanted nothing more to have them on your own in such a beautiful place but that couldn’t happen since you both decided you wanted to keep your relationship between yourselves for a while longer.
You were their photographer which meant that you didn’t want things to get weird with them on tour. And after you and Alex both decided to keep your relationship on the downlow when you initially started going out with each other, you sort of wanted to keep it that way, so nothing changed the dynamic of your group.  
You were only 2 years younger than Matt and Alex, 3 years younger than Jamie and Nick, so you’d always been pretty close with them all. You thought of them all as your brothers as you were growing up as Alex had gone to the same primary school as you and Matt and they had been best mates since the beginning.
They met Jamie and Nick in High School along with Andy who was obviously initially in the band, before he stepped down and Nick took over. They had always been your family who’d taken good care of you and you knew just how lucky you were to have them all.
But obviously to them you’d always been Matt’s little, and sometimes annoying, sister. When they were 14/15 they all wanted nothing to do with you and you were certain Alex had hated you once upon a time, but that might have been because you were a 12 year old who’d started growing up having crushes on all of your brothers friends.
Thankfully they didn’t disown you completely as when you reached the less annoying age of 15, they didn’t seem to push you out as much. You liked hanging out with all of them, and you saw them more because they always had to come to your house because Matt couldn’t move the drum kit unless it was for a gig.  
You’d always liked music as it had always been an escape for you. Like when the band were first starting out when you’d go up to your bedroom to escape the utter shit music they were making, and you’d have your Pulp and Blur records on.
There was a new band you actually introduced them too at the time which was The Strokes, which is comical in hindsight because if you’d never told Alex and Matt to listen to that record when they caught you humming along to Barely Legal, you weren’t sure Alex would have had the motivation to keep the band going and get it as big as they had become.
It wasn’t a secret that Alex’s hero was Julian Casablancas.
A few years later the band was getting bigger and the excitement in your household at them potentially making it big was intense. So much so that your Mum and Dad threw a party for them all when they got scouted and got the record deal.
It was at that party that Matt and Alex drunkenly agreed to let you be their photographer as soon as you were done with your photography apprenticeship. It was something they never forgot though and they did actually let you become their photographer.
So as soon as your apprenticeship finished in the summer of 2006, your 18-year-old self joined the lads on their tour. To say it was a dream come true would be an understatement.
Both you and Matt had loved photography your entire lives, stemming from when your Grandma bought you both a digital camera each one year for Christmas. Since then, it’d become your passion and your plan was to be a photographer anyway.
But being the photographer for Arctic Monkeys meant that you got to travel the world and see places you never thought you would, and you never got home sick because you already had your family around you.
You honestly adored your job.
In the breaks between their tours and them writing new material you would take other photography jobs in the years off, but that didn’t really happen for the first four years of them all being big.
Alex asked Domino if you could do their The Age of the Understatement tour too which you were surprised by, but of course you did it. A job was a job and you weren’t going to turn it down just because your brother wasn’t there.
Usually on the tours you’d stay in a separate bus from the lads because after the first week into the first tour you joined them on you saw what an absolute shit tip they all created. They were all revolting and all typical lads, being messy, every other sentence was a sex joke, and they were just revolting creatures.
To you it was genuinely a surprise they actually showered after every gig.
But thankfully with the years passing and being on tour busses became a constant for them instead of something new and exciting, they all got better. So, their Suck It And See tour was the first full tour you’d actually stayed in the bus with them.
Although sometimes you wished you hadn’t because that tour was where he met Breana and you definitely heard things you’d never want to hear again. You don’t know how the other lads weren’t scarred from the noises that came out of Matt’s bunk those nights.
All you had to say about it was thank god for earphones and ear defenders.
But you think it was on that tour that you started getting closer to Alex and the other lads. Mostly due to Matt being a love stuck puppy who spent most of his time with Breana but also because you didn’t want to burden him with your emotions.
About a month before the Suck It And See tour started in the February of 2011, your arsehole of a boyfriend texted you saying that he didn’t want to see you anymore. He was an arsehole for doing it over text and then not answering your calls afterwards, but he was an even bigger arsehole for getting with who you thought was your best friend as soon as the tour started.
Matt and the lads obviously knew about the breakup but due to them all having no social media none of them knew what your best friend had done to you. So, you cried about that betrayal in your bunk at night when you knew everyone else was asleep and you cried when you found moments of solitude.
They had enough going on with interviews and tours and you didn’t want them to burden them with your issues too. But that stopped when Alex walked in on your crying in the back lounge of the bus about a month into the tour.
Your ex best friend had just posted a picture of her and your ex who you still had the misfortune of having feelings for and you just crumbled. When you saw it you just couldn’t bear the thought of being around anyone else, so you slipped out of their presence and cried your way back to the tour bus.
Thankfully no one followed you in your time of crisis which meant that you got your uncontrollable sobs out of the way alone. But of course, someone came back to the bus and found you.
And that person was Alex.
He’d come back for another pack of fags needing the extra nicotine in the hours before a show. But all thoughts of that stopped when he heard crying come from the back end of the bus.
He walked past the bunks and opened the door into the back lounge to find you sat on the floor with your head buried into your knees and sobs were ringing in his ears. His heart dropped at the sight.
“Y/N what's wrong?” Alex asks, rushing over to you.
And when you didn't answer he called your name again. “Y/N?”
But you just shake your head and continue sobbing into your knees. So he begs, “Please talk to me, love”
He was kneeling down beside you, his hand coming to the back of your head as if to slowly coax you out of your hiding stop. And after stroking the back of your head for a minute, your head rises from your hiding spot but your eyes remain shut and you continue to sob.
Alex tries his best to coax you out of your sobs but you’re pretty much hyperventilating in front of him. After another one of the longest minutes of Alex’s life he manages to get you to slow your cries enough for words to fall from your lips.
“My life’s falling apart” You sob, still refusing to look at him. Your breathing is better but still erratic when you continue to tell him in a pain stricken voice, “I can’t carry on crying myself to sleep like this every night... I- I just want to feel normal again”
“What’s happened? Why are you upset?” Alex begs for you to tell him, ripping the tears from under your eyes.
The only thing that comes to mind is your previous relationship, so Alex asks, “Is it about your ex?”
You nod, tears still pouring down your eyes, “He’s taken everything Alex... My life is fucking ruined”
“No he hasn’t Y/N. You’re here, you’ve got us” He tries to assure you, but you just shake your head.
After a second you open your watery eyes and Alex can see how much pain they hold. They somehow contain even more when you speak the words out loud, “He’s going out with Y/B/F.”
Even Alex’s blood runs cold when he hears that. His words almost get caught in his throat when he asks, “What?”
You nod, sniffling a bit and wiping your own tears from your cheeks when you repeat, “He’s going out with Y/B/F.”
“Please tell me you’re joking” The words fall from his mouth before he can stop them.
You and your best friend had been together since day one, like you’d practically been friends since birth. You were practically sisters.
It was only the odd time Alex would come to yours and Matt’s house growing up and Y/B/F wasn’t there with you. You were the annoying girls he couldn’t escape.
Not that he still felt like that as you yourself had become a really good friend but back when you were 12 you were both so fucking annoying. But everyone knew that your and Y/B/F came as a pair.
You were the best of friends, and completely inseparable.  
“I don’t think I’d be on the floor crying if I was joking Alex.” You whine, trying your best to stop your tears now someone else was with you.  
You nod towards your phone that you threw on the sofa when you walked in the room and say, “Just look”
So Alex does. He takes your phone off the side and unlocks it knowing your password was your birthday and he quickly puts the numbers in and watches as it unlocks.
And his heart sinks at the proof that lays in his hands. There on the screen he can clearly see the picture of your best friend and your ex-boyfriend quite clearly together.
They were posed in the way couples typically posed for pictures and then there was another of them at the same party and they stood kissing, and Alex found it repulsive.
“This isn’t okay.” Alex looks up from the phone to see your head no leaning back against the settee, tears falling freely down your cheeks now.
You make no effort to look at him when you say, “I know.”
“Why didn’t Matt tell me?” Alex asks, a little confused.
Surely this was something that was to be at least hushedly whispered to the people closest to you.
“Because he doesn't know.” You say simply.
“Why?” He asks, locking the phone so you didn’t see the pictures again.
You told Matt everything these days. There was no point in secrets between you as you were adults and you cared for the other’s well-being.
You’d always been open with each other, minus the time that you went out to a party when you were 16 and came back with a series of love bites on your neck. All of the lads had been really shocked when you walked in a little bit tipsy with those on your skin.
Matt had been furious and a little disgusted knowing someone had been touching you in a romantic sense. So, it was no surprise to the other lads that when you were questioned on if something more happened, you pressed your swollen lips together and slipped up to your room denying that anything else had happened.
It was comical because it was clear to everyone else that it had gone further than someone kissing your neck.
Everyone took the piss out of Matt that night saying that someone had just taken his sister's virginity and it left the drummer mortified. But you always denied it to the full band until about 6 months later when Alex had asked you in the kitchen if you were actually lying or not.
Of course, Alex didn’t actually tell any of the others when you confirmed what everyone already knew. But that was the last time you’d ever lied to your brother.
So, hearing that your brother didn’t know about this shocking and frankly disgusting news in your life was concerning.
You looked up towards your brothers’ best mate and told him the truth, “Because I can’t ruin his time with Breana…”
You had to trail off because the lump in your throat was getting too much. So you swallowed it away before continuing, your voice still pained, barely above a whisper, “He really likes her and he doesn’t need to be worrying about me... She could be the mother of his children for all we know... I’m not ruining that chance because my life has fallen apart.”
“He’d understand Y/N/N.” Alex told you, once again leaning forward to wipe away your tears.
You shake your head, “It’s not fair.”
“And you think what’s happened to you is fair?” Alex questions, knowing full well that it wasn’t.
No one deserved this type of betrayal. Especially you.
You just started weeping again then and Alex brought you into his arms, needing to console you in a hug. Thankfully you didn’t resist his hug and Alex let you cry into his shoulder as you clung to him.
After a while of him rubbing your back and whispering you sweet nothings, he had to tell you, “You could have told me Y/N/N.”
You shake your head into his neck then, Alex could still feel the tears falling onto his skin. He just about hears you say into his shoulder, “You’re happy with Arielle, I don’t want you dealing with my shit either.”
“Your family, what hurts you hurts me” Alex tells you, “You’ve always got me Y/N… Always.”
After another five minutes of you both on the floor, Arielle walks in and is immediately worried seeing you sat on the ground crying into Alex’s arms. Alex just politely asked her to go and get Matt though which she did, and you didn’t oppose it.
You couldn’t deal with that on your own any longer and you were thankful for Alex being so kind to you. Your heart just fully melted in your chest later on after everything had been explained to everyone and he pulled you aside and gave you another big hug.
He whispered to you, “You’re going to be okay Y/N/N.” before placing a kiss to the top of your head.
The rest of that tour was filled with him making sure you were always okay and so did the other lads. But maybe it felt more personal to you when Alex checked on you because he was the one that found you.
It was him that just told you to cut them from your life completely and block them on everything as ‘they weren’t good enough for you anyway’. After you did that you felt better about your life. You’d cleared them from your Instagram, leaving no trace on your page that they were ever in your life and it was a difficult purge, but it definitely helped you in the long run.
The years without them in your life were tough but it had proven to be for the best in the end.
Because once upon a time you thought you were going to marry your ex-boyfriend, but now you were standing in Disney World with your boyfriend trying to steal kisses from you. And you wouldn’t change it for the world.
You give your boyfriend of 4 months a warning look, but his eyes just held mischief. You had to remind him, “They are going to see.”
“Then let’s go somewhere else.” Alex says moving back towards you, and ushering you to move up the line a bit.  
“After this we’ll try and escape.” You promise, but he was really shit at turning you down and you wanted it to be believable. “But you have to actually pretend you don’t wanna go.”
He rolls his eyes but sighs, “Fine.”
After Space Mountain you announced to the lads that you wanted to go see the Disney characters next which they all groaned at. You first of all pleaded with Matt to come with you knowing he wouldn’t before the rest of the lads and one by one they all dismissed you.
The last person you asked was Alex and he surprisingly put up a good fight until you ‘wore him down’ and got your own way. You spent the rest of the afternoon going round with him and getting pictures of the both of you with the characters and you got a nice lady to take a  few pictures of you both outside the castle.
Those were your favourites, especially the one where he was kissing you.
As you were walking back to meet the others who were already back at the bus, you felt the need to tell him something which you’d yet to say. You didn’t think you’d find a better time than walking hand in hand in front of the Disney castle after one of the best days of your life.
So you pause your walk back for a moment to kiss him one last time before you make it back to the others. The kiss was sweet, just like the whole day had been, and you definitely felt like it was the right time to say, “I love you Alex.”
Immediately a smile found its way onto his lips, and he was practically beaming with joy. “You love me?” Alex asks you in a little disbelief.  
“Yeah…” You nod, a massive smile on your lips “A lot as well.”
Alex leant down and kissed you again then, this time though his arms wrapped around your waist and lifted you off your feet, spinning you around in his arms. It caused you to giggle into the kiss a little but you loved it.
When your feet touched the ground again Alex told you, “I love you so much Y/N”
“I know.” You grin as he’d already told you once before.
Alex just chuckles at you, “Alright Han Solo” which made you giggle.
“I love you more than anything Al, thank you for making me happy.” You tell him wrapping your arms around him, needing a tight embrace just so he knew you meant every single word.
His arms obviously snake around you, making you feel secure in the warm hug. And your heart melts once more when he kisses your head and says, “I love you more Angel, thank you for letting me make you happy.”
~*~*~*~
“Al.” You said attempting and failing to pull away from the kiss he’d trapped you in.
If you were honest, you really weren’t really putting up much of a fight to stop the kisses. You were in one of their many tents that this festival they were performing at had given them.
There was one for chilling out in, one that was essentially a bar, and a few more you’d yet to explore. But Alex had pulled you into one with the mass of beanbags in it and he wasted no alone time to have his lips connect to yours.
“Yes baby?” He says in his low voice and you could hear his hunger for you in his voice before he kissed you again.
It made your stomach flip as you knew exactly what he was thinking as you’d heard his voice like that many times since you started seeing each other. You both had to show some restraint though as anyone could walk into the tent, there was only a flimsy curtain between inside and outside.
You pull on his hair to make him pull away as you couldn’t do it yourself as he’d trapped you between him and a beanbag. Once his soft lips parted from yours, you told him seriously,  “Wait until the hotel.”
“But I want you now.” Alex then pouts at you, confirming the explicit thoughts that were running through his head.
You tell him truthfully, finding his pout very cute, “And I want you, but I’m not shagging you in a tent.”
“Why?” Alex questions, looking around for a moment before his gorgeous brown eyes meet your Y/E/C ones again. He chuckles, “It's a really posh tent.”
You guess it was too post to actually call it a tent. It was huge for a start and looked very expensive. You definitely felt privileged to get to experience all of this with him and the band.  
“Hun you had me all last night...” You shake your head whilst smiling like an idiot, “You can retrain yourself until we get back.”
“Not easily.” He pouts again and it makes you giggle which he once again finds adorable.
Another kiss is exchanged then but you don't let it get to what it just had been like. You stop it after he tries to distract you and deepen it again but you’re having none of it.
“You need to go or there gunna be like ‘what’s he doing in there?’” You say knowing he’d be asked to drink with them sooner rather than later.
Alex smiles knowing you’re right, but he chuckles when he tells you, “You know we have to tell them at some point, right?”
“Yeah I know, I just want as much of this tour to be as normal as possible.” You say, aimlessly stroking your fingers up and down the short hair on the back of his hair. You grin when you say, “I’d like to escape Jamie’s jokes for as long as possible.”
Alex just laughs then before he pecks your lips once more. “I don’t blame you Angel… But you can handle yourself. We’ll be fine.”
“I know.” You smile, feeling very content in this moment that you had with him. “I love you Al.”
“I love you too.” He tells you before he steals another kiss and gets himself up. “Do you want a drink?”
You shake your head whilst you get yourself comfy on the beanbag, also reaching to the nearby blanket to cover yourself with. “Nah, I’m good thanks. I’m gunna have a nap before the show.”
Alex smiles at you then, turning back towards you when he gets near the curtain to leave. He just stops by the curtain that divides him from outside and when he sees you getting curled up under the blanket.
He can’t help but nod and say, “Yeah.”
“Yeah what?” You ask looking back up to him standing there grinning at you.  
Alex nods down at you in your cosy spot and continues, “Yeah, you were definitely meant for me.”
You grin like an idiot then before you tell him, “Love you baby.”
“Love you too.” Alex smiles and sends a wink your way before he heads out of the tent.  
You can’t help but shut your eyes and snuggle into your new ‘bed’ with a massive grin on your face. But when you hear Miles say, “Oi Al, you dickhead. Come and have a shot.” you just start giggling.
~*~*~*~
You were absolutely plastered, and it was really making Alex laugh. Even more so than it usually would because you were trying your best not to be obvious that you wanted his affection.
You were a clingy drunk which was absolutely fine, and all the lads knew that, but watching you slip up around him and having to make up for it with the other lads was really comical for Alex.
You’d just come over to Alex after you’d beaten him at pool and teased him for being shit. To which Alex was shooting digs back at you but all you did in response was laugh, call him a sore loser and ruffle his perfect hair up which you knew annoyed him.
So Alex had just forced your hands out of his hair by grabbing your wrists and stopping you from doing anything more. He gave you warning looks like he would have done any other time you annoyed him before you got together but you also noted the looks as a reminder of the secret that you’d set out.
That was what led you to sitting on Jamie’s lap and talking his ear off about Katie whilst playing with his wavy hair. He threatened you to get off it, saying he’d cut it all off which you at first drunkenly pleaded with him not too but then you changed your mind saying he could definitely pull off a Peaky Blinders cut.
Once off Jamie you went on to have some flirty banter with Miles as Nick and Jamie played pool. Alex was watching you with an amused look on his face as his best mate was teasing you about not being on the pull whilst being in a bar with everyone.
You came back with things like, “Aw Miles, I couldn’t do that to you. I know you’d cry yourself to sleep if I entertained anyone elses flirting besides yours.”
Alex also found your laugh adorable when Miles kissed you on your cheek and Matt told him to leave you alone and to stop flirting with you. It was times like that that made Alex glad his best mate didn’t know about the two of you yet.
But after Nick’s game of pool finished and Nick won, he was calling it a night, despite it being relatively early. It seemed that you knew your tolerance though and decided to head back to the bus with Nick.
So you then went around the other 4 lads who were staying and made a bit of an effort to kiss them all goodnight, Alex presumed so you could kiss him. Something which proved to be correct because you came to him last after kissing all the other lads, including your brother, on the cheek and came to give him one.
“Thank you for my drinks” You drunkenly smile at him and Alex grins down at you in an amused way.
“You’re welcome love” Alex chuckles at your tipsy state and you then force a hug upon him.
He obviously hugs you back but he’s aware of his mates looking so he doesn’t make it completely obvious that he’s enjoying the hug as much as he is despite him really wanting to. He wanted nothing more than to kiss your lips instead of you leaning in to kiss his cheek.
When you left his arms, he smiled at you and you moved back to your brother and made him give you a hug. Something which Matt did but not without a roll of his eyes, but Alex could tell it was a playful one.
“See you in the morning guys.” You say with a smile after linking your arm through Nick’s so he could help you walk back.
Everyone said bye to you then and their attention was on the new game of pool again. But whilst it was Matt’s go Alex let his eyes focus on you.
You were so cute, he wanted nothing more than to take you back to a hotel away from the others so he could just be with you all night. But Alex also understood why you wanted to keep it a secret for a while longer.
Tours were long, and he knew you’d both be bullied about it for a while from the others, which you were both prepared for. But you were due to be on the road for the next year with AM due out in September.
The plan was to tell them as soon as interviews back home started so you didn’t have to be around the joking for long. Alex was used to it after Alexa and Arielle, but he knew you weren’t, and he respected that.
So that was why he denied it when the lads began to question him on it about 5 minutes after you left.
“What’s going on?” Matt asks as Alex pots another ball into the pool table.  
Alex grins thinking Matt was just fuming he was losing. As Alex moves around the table to eye up another winning shot, he says, “I’m beating you at pool
“No.” Matt shakes his head, earning eye contact from his best mate. “I mean with Y/N/N.”
“What do you mean?” Alex asks as he leans over the table to play his next shot, “She’s just gone back with Nick.”
“Don’t think he means that.” Miles grinned at him after he missed the tricky shot he’d chosen.  
Alex raises his eyebrows in a questioning way, getting the feeling that people were catching on to how you were around each other.
And that suspicion is confirmed when Jamie says, “You’re very touchy with each other.”
“Touchy?” Alex laughs, as he watches your brother take another shot, “Jamie mate, she was on your lap earlier.”
“Yeah, but she keeps like teasing you and messing with your hair and shit.” Matt chips in with his observations after missing his shot on the stripped balls.  
Alex rolls his eyes, “Matt, you literally fucked with my hair earlier today and Jamie did it yesterday... You all like to fucking annoy me by doing that.”
Alex continues to defend the both of you even though he wishes he didn’t have to. “You know what she’s like when she’s drunk, she doesn’t leave anyone alone.”
“He has a point; she didn’t shy away from me kissing her.” Miles points out raising his pint to the drummer.
Matt fakes a gag then and says, “Leave her the fuck alone Kane.”
“But she loves me.” Miles pouts, resting a hand over his heart like Matt’s words had hurt him. “You definitely want me as your brother-in-law.”
Alex smiles to himself knowing that he was now 6 months ahead of Miles in that category. God, he loved you. He could definitely see a bright future with you, and he had every intention to marry you one day in the years to come.
“I’d rather go to a Radiohead gig.” Matt says which earns a laugh from everyone, knowing how the hatred between the bands still hadn’t died out.
~*~*~*~
A month later you thought you were doing well. You were very careful around everyone after Alex told you about the questioning he got after the bar.
You were just normal with each other throughout the days, not overly interacting with each other. But when Alex’s eyes were hidden by his sunglasses, he couldn’t help but let his eyes wonder.
And it definitely helped that it was your job to take pictures of him. You could stare at him all day that way, even if it was through a camera lens.
Moments alone came when you’d stay in the bus when they went on nights out and Alex would venture back early meaning on nights like that, he actually got to give you goodnight kisses like he loved doing. Other moments took place when he would wander off at the multitude of festivals they were doing.
You’d say you were going getting pictures of different acts that no one else wanted to go watch. Alex would say he was going for a walk about 20 minutes later. Purely coincidence that you met up with him on his walk after you’d taken a photo or two.
Other times you snuck into each other's hotel rooms about an hour after you’d all gone your separate ways. But it was your nights in the hotels that you loved the most.
You got your privacy, and it was secure. The same as it was when he came to your house before the tour or when you went to his.
You loved being alone with him.
And tonight, all the other lads had gone out to a party somewhere and Alex had been faking an illness all day so he could stay in and they wouldn’t ask questions. They wouldn’t think it was weird you not going because you rarely went out with them.
They knew you valued your sleep too much.
So that was why you were alone in the back lounge with Alex tonight. And you’d honestly had one of the best nights being your normal cuddly selves.
You’d just watched a film with each other whilst being cuddled up on the sofa and you very nearly fell asleep in his embrace, but you weren’t wasting a full night alone with him. After the film you both went out and got yourselves a takeout from a place just down the road.
You made it into a full date night which was fucking adorable. After food, you coexisted normally for a little while, Alex letting you lean back against him whilst you edited your photos on your night off.
You were a pro at it after so many years, so it took no longer than an hour for the ones promotion wanted of them all. Alex was quite happily watching you edit the pictures of him and his friends as he absentmindedly played with your hair, placed random little kisses on your neck or on the back of your head, and at one point he even sang.
It was a really beautiful song, one that you’d only heard once before when he let you listen to the album when it was finished.
You only knew the title because he said it often in the song but having your boyfriend softly sing Mad Sounds into your ear as you worked you wished you could freeze time and appreciate it. His voice was amazing as everyone knew, but hearing it so close and so soft, it was hard to keep shivers from running down your spine.
“Such a beautiful song Al.” You smile closing your laptop as you’d finished what you needed to do and he’d finished singing.
You turn to him a bit more and he smiles back at you, tucking a stray strand of your hair behind your ear. “Like you then.” Alex grins before pressing his lips to yours.
You smile into the kiss as the comment was very adorable of him, but when you pulled back bullying was in order, “You’re so cheesy.”
“You love it.” Alex grins as you get up and put your laptop away, but you grab your small Lumix camera and come to sit back down.
You grin as you come and sit back down, this time straddling his lap so you could get a few close ups of him looking cute. You bring the viewfinder up to your eye and once you see his adorable smile on the other side of the lens you capture the perfection.
“I do.” You grin back at him.
You like that Alex never shies away from you when you have a camera in your hand. You knew after this much time that he trusted you with what you were capturing, especially in these moments together they wouldn’t be seen by anyone else.
“However…” You say, putting the camera down for a moment, “Me and your music are nothing alike.”
Alex frowns at you a little then, his hands running up your thighs, pulling you a little closer, “I think a certain track and our text message history would claim otherwise.”
You roll your eyes then knowing he was talking about Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? But when he grins at your eye roll you quickly snap another picture of him.
“I guess I shouldn't have got involved with a lyricist if I didn't want songs about me, should I?” You ask with a knowing smirk as you pull the camera away from your face.
You don’t bother checking it on the screen as it pops up, you already knew it would be a good picture. Not because you took it, but because it was of him and he was happy.
“No, probably not.” Alex chuckles as he takes the camera from you before raising it to take one of you.
You give him a pointed look after the photograph and joke, “You better hope you get to release your B-sides before Matt catches on.”
“I’ll be murdered, I have no doubt.” Alex grins and you burst out laughing at him being dramatic.
Alex thinks you look gorgeous though, so he raises your camera back up and you let him, not having a problem with him taking your picture. You smile at first but after he gets the first picture, he keeps looking through the viewfinder so you then puff your cheeks out jokingly and move closer to the camera.
Alex chuckles from behind it and he moves the camera from his face so you can both giggle together. He steals a kiss from you which you gladly accept, and you can't help but bite your lip afterwards.
He just looked so good. His skin was flawless these days and the fact that all of his fair wasn’t around his face anymore made his stunning jawline stand out. His brown eyes that were usually always hidden by sunglasses were shining brightly and the smile on his lips really showed how happy he was.
And seeing him happy made you happy. You could safely say you truly loved him. You’d do anything to keep you both as happy as you are now.
Whilst you’re deep in thought, Alex raises your camera back up to his eye which breaks your daydreaming about his features and you playfully roll your eyes.
“Smile for me Angel.” He asks and you do for one shot because he is pretty cute and pretty impossible not to smile at.
“Beautiful.” Alex confirms when he quickly looks down at the screen seeing the picture, he just caught of you.
“Like you then.” You use his own words against him with a playful smile.
Alex then puts your camera down to the side and with his newly free hand he cups the back of your neck and mumbles a ‘very good’ before bringing you in for a kiss. Playful and sweet were the only ways to describe it.
You just adored this alone time with him, sitting on his lap at the back bus, which was usually a very crowded area for you all to use, and you were kissing each other like it was just yesterday you got together. Everything still felt just as exciting and new and you never wanted his lips off yours.
You loved that it was you who got to run your fingers through his hair and pull on it when you wanted a kiss to carry on longer, like you just did. You loved the way his large hands held your hips, keeping you close to him.
But mostly you loved that he was always wanting affection. You’d not been in a relationship for a very long time so it made you nervous initially but there was something about Alex that you craved, and his affection was definitely one of those things that you were addicted to now.
You never wanted moments like these to end. But of course, that wouldn’t be realistic.
“I fucking knew it!”
You both pull away from each other to see Jamie with his jaw agape by the door. And your heart dropped to the ground.
“Jamie.” Alex says before Jamie can run out of the room.
“Oh I can’t fucking believe it.” He says, still stood there with his jacket in his hand but he looks like his whole world has ended. “I’ve gotta go get Matt.”
The panic in you rises then and you practically just off Alex’s lap and grab your intruders’ arm before he can turn back, “Jamie no, don’t.” You plead, pulling on his arm to come into the room.  
He turns back towards you then and he lets himself be pulled into the room. His head is still baffled though which leads him to say rather loudly, “You’re shagging, aren’t you?”
Your eyes go wide at the volume of his voice and you scorn, “Jamie.” quietly as you pull him further into the room so you can shut the door once more.
His eyes go wide impossibly wider though and he gasps, “You are!” looking from you to Alex who was still sat down.
“Matt is going to fucking murder you.” Jamie chuckles looking Alex dead in the eye as you ensure that no one else is on the bus by looking down through the bunks (thankfully all the curtains were still open) to the front lounge and you saw no one down the other end.
“Jamie please don’t start.” You hear Alex say, evidently not wanting this to get out of hand.
You close the door and turn around to the still very shocked man and say, “I’ll explain just please shut up and sit down.”
So you did explain that you’d been seeing each other for months. Jamie was shocked because he only started to suspect something a month into the tour.
But after he’d let the information sink in, it wasn’t really so shocking anymore. Which is why you’d got onto the conversation of why it was still a secret after you’d been going out for months.
“You know he’d be fine.” Jamie tells you, sitting down opposite you both, trying to persuade you to tell Matt. “He wouldn’t actually kick off, you can both do what you like.”
“It’s not really just about Matt.” You tell him honestly from your point of view. “It’s about all of you making jokes and shit for months. I didn’t want that.”
“Y/N we wouldn’t do that.” Jamie says leaning towards the both of you from the other sofa, but you’re having none of it.
“Cookie you’re the worst one for it.” You say with a pointed look.
You then point to Alex, who you were sitting beside now and say, “I remember what you were like with him and Arielle.”
And it was a lot. They joked about it all the time to start with, and it was annoying for you, let alone Alex and her.
“Him and Arielle were different.” Jamie states, a little on the defensive side, but then he follows it up with, “You don’t make funny videos for a living, I actually respect you a hell of a lot for putting up with us.”
You shake your head and tell the tipsy, but now definitely more sober man, “You’re not that bad.”
“Oh, we are.” Jamie says and you laugh because you were just being polite.
They could be a handful sometimes if you were telling the truth. But you wouldn’t change anything about any of them. You loved them all because of who and how they were, and they were all your family.
Jamie follows up with, “I'm genuinely surprised you actually want to go out with him after knowing what he’s like.”
You giggle at that and just pout as you joke, “I know, but you’re taken Cookie, so I went for the next best thing.”
“Hey” Alex scoffs, looking towards you, pretending to be offended.
You and Jamie just laugh at him though, and you intertwine your fingers when you grab Alex’s hand to hold as a little apology. You’d be sure to actually swear to him that you were joking later though.
Jamie notes the gesture and he can see the little knowing smiles on your faces and his heart melts a bit for the both of you. You were both pretty cute with each other to be fair and the more that Jamie had been playing detective about it he thought that the two of you would be a pretty good match.
So he was genuinely happy for the both of you.
“And as for the jokes…” Jamie continues, causing the two of you to look back around at him. But Jamie looks at you as he says, “If it upset you, you know I wouldn't do it”
“I don’t mind the odd joke about me sucking his dick or whatever, but I’ll go crazy if that's all I hear about for the next year.” You tell him honestly.
You could handle jokes, it wasn’t anything new. They joked about your first boyfriend to Matt for the longest time and had done each time you got a new one.
You could take a joke. But not 24/7 like this tour would promise it would.
“Okay, never say that again.” Jamie pleads, the shocked look not coming off his face, but you and Alex just laugh at his reaction.
His head goes into his hands for a moment but afterwards he looks at you both and says, “Yeah, you don’t have anything to worry about, joke wise, until I get comfortable with this dynamic because that was strange coming from your mouth.”
“You’ve heard me say worse than that, surely?” You ask, very amused by his discomfort.
Jamie just blankly says, “Not about Alex… And you’re practically my sister.”
“Sorry Cookie. I’ve got a right to say rude jokes about my boyfriend when I want to. He can say ones about me but from your reaction I don’t think you want him to.”
He then looks Alex dead in the eye and begs, “Please don’t.”
You both just end up laughing.
~*~*~*~
You decided after that night that you would think about being more open to telling Matt about everything that was going on. Thankfully Jamie was quite respectful of the whole thing and actually kept your secret.
He didn’t make things awkward for you both either, if anything he helped you both out a lot. Sometimes when you were out with them Jamie would keep the others entertained so you could escape with Alex for a little bit on a ‘fag break’ which would consist of stolen kisses.
Other times when you were all out, Jamie would lowkey guilt trip Alex into going back with you early so no one asked questions which you loved him even more for.
During this month that Jamie knew though, you’d been trying to come up with a way to tell Matt. Because you weren’t stupid, you knew this couldn’t go on for much longer.
Each time you tried to tell him though something would happen which meant that you didn’t. Once you froze, unable to tell him because you just genuinely didn’t know how to.
It wasn’t exactly something that you could drop on him and expect him to be fine with. Your nerves probably didn’t help but other times when you worked up the courage to do it, other things would go wrong.
Matt was in a foul mood one of the times, so that was a no go. Miles and Nick came in and interrupted another time before you got the words out and it was like a never ending series of unfortunate events that stopped you.
Alex had politely offered to do it after a few failed attempts but you said that you’d be more comfortable doing it. Partly because you thought that you should be the one to tell your brother and partly because you knew Matt wouldn’t hit you.
But there had been multiple failed attempts since then so you thought that you may actually make it to the end of the summer festivals at this rate.
It was nearing the end of August now and you were all staying in a hotel again tonight as you’d got to the city they were performing in the day before the show. You were pleased because it meant another night in with Alex so after you’d all had your dinner downstairs you’d given him your spare key card for your room so he could come to you whenever he liked.
Alex told you that he was looking forward to using it and he was excited to spend another night with you. It warmed your heart hearing that and when he rang you at 9:30 saying he was just running to the shop to grab the both of you some snacks, he said he’d let himself in about 20 minutes when he got back.
And that is why you were a little surprised when there was knocking on the door about 10 minutes later. You thought that was fast for a start but you gave him the key card so you wouldn’t have to get up and answer the door.
“Come in!” You shout across the room hoping he would hear you.
It seems that he does but his muffled response is, “It’s locked.” when the handle doesn’t budge.
You roll your eyes and mumble, “That’s why I gave you a key.” under your breath as you get up off your bed and head to the door.
And you’re about to scorn him but when the door opens you don’t find your boyfriend. You find your brother.
“Hey.” Matt says, stepping into your room after the door opens.
You’re shocked by his presence but try and act as calm as possible when you say, “Hey, you alright?”
Thank fuck you were still dressed. And thank fuck Alex wasn’t already here because you didn’t want him to find out like that.
But then you realised he’d be here in 10 minutes or so. And that made you want to get Matt out as quickly as possible.
“I’m fine, are you?” Your brother asks once he picks up the complimentary chocolate that the hotel had put on your bed which you were saving for later.
Any other night you would have ripped the shit out of him for coming in and doing that but now was not the time. You were borderline panicking as you were about to be caught out. But you try and disguise that as best as possible.
“Yeah, great thanks.” But really you’re just thinking, Shit.
Your brother asks you, “What do you have planned for tonight?”
Thinking on your feet all you can come up with is, “Just editing more pictures.”
“Fancy blowing it off and watching Netflix with me?” Matt questions and you all of a sudden feel really guilty that you want him to leave as much as you do.
You pull a little bit of a face at his question and try to carry on your lie, “Oh, I would but I’m honestly not feeling all that great after tea, so I was just gunna get an early night after I’ve done a few more pictures.”
“Funny that.” Your brother states when you turn away from him to grab your laptop from your bag as he sits himself down at the end of your bed.
You move towards the little desk that was in the room though and ask, “What is?”
“Alex isn’t feeling too well either.”
Well shit. You were too alike for your own good, coming up with the same excuses without telling the other.
“Oh?” You question, shitting it at this point, so you just open up your MacBook to distract you. “Maybe it was something we ate downstairs?”
All your brother replied was, “Doubt that because I had the same thing as you both.”
You choose no response as your best response and just continue to pull up a picture of Matt you hadn’t finished editing on photoshop yet. Being creative always eased your nerves so hopefully him watching you edit a picture of him would distract him.
“Y/N.” Matt says, trying to gain your attention.  
You instead just carry-on messing with the photograph and suggest, “Maybe you should go check on our friend bro, could be being sick for all we know. Wouldn’t make for the prettiest show tomorrow”
“Y/N…” Matt says once more, and you know he wants you to look at him.
So you do and you see your brother sat on the end of your bed, looking at you. He asks in a serious yet calm tone, “Is Alex really ‘just a friend’ anymore?
Well. You guess you didn’t have to find a way to tell him anymore.
You sigh and shake your head, “No.” and as you close your laptop you tell the truth, “He’s a lot more.”
Matt can tell you’re serious straight away just by the way you were looking at him. And it makes him shake his head a bit in disbelief. He says calmly but in a tone that worries you, as he also runs a hand through his hair, “I knew it.”
“Please don’t be angry Matt.” You all but beg as you turn in your chair towards him more. “It’s my fault we didn't tell you sooner... I didn’t want things to be different with the group, so I was the one who wanted to keep it a secret.”
“You know you didn’t have to do that, right?” Matt has to ask you, feeling awful that you felt like you couldn’t tell him something. “I just want you to be happy... Al’s practically family so of course I want the same for him.”
“I know, I’m really sorry…” You trail off for a second, “It just got to a point where I didn’t know how to tell you and when I tried to things always got in the way.”
Matt nods completely understanding that. At least you wanted to tell him.
“When did it start?” Is the question Matt asks you next.
“New Year’s Day” You say quickly before wincing a little, hearing that it has been 8 months out loud.
You felt so bad.
Matt is shocked by that news too, “That long...? Really?”
“Yeah.” You nod, feeling awful, “I’m sorry.”
Matt ends up asking you a few more questions after that which were pretty much big brother sort of questions, making sure Alex was treating you right and stuff like that. Thankfully this had all gone very plain sailing and Matt was happy for you like you both knew he would be.
And he had forgiven you for not telling him for so long too which was a big relief. It felt like a massive weight off your shoulders.
So much so that you had to get up off your seat and give him a hug. Matt stood up for the embrace, so you got to hug him properly and it was such a lovely warm hug that you felt like you hadn’t had in such a long time.
Halfway through that long hug though, both you and Matt hear the door to your room unlock. You press your lips together and wince a little knowing exactly what is about to happen.
“Hey Y/N/N.” You hear Alex say from somewhere behind you and you let go of Matt and both of you look towards Alex now closing the door, not yet noticing the situation.  
After he closes the door though, he begins to say before he turns towards you, “I got you thes- oh”
Matt smiles though seeing your favourite flowers in his best friend’s hand. You can’t help but smile at the sight of them too, and his face falling realising Matt was here was a little funny too.
He looked a little scared.
“I’m glad you’re treating her right Al.” Matt tells him, and Alex struggles with his words for a second and he looks to you for help.
“I just told him.” You nod confirming it out loud for him.  
Alex’s eyes go from you back to his best mate then and he starts, “Listen Matt, I’m sor-”
But Matt interrupts, “No no I don’t need an apology.” He shakes his head, “Just don’t fuck it up.” He then looks between the both of you, “Either of you... Because that would make for a really awkward tour.”
You smile at that and say, “I don’t plan on doing, and I know he doesn’t either.”
Matt grins at you then and he looks back to Alex and takes a few steps towards him. He points a finger to his chest and says very seriously, “Make her cry Turner, and I'll castrate you.”
Alex slowly nods, “Noted”
Matt must then break into a grin because Alex does too, and your brother then heads over to the door.
Matt turns back towards you and says, “Have a nice night love birds.” and walks out with a grin and he shuts the door behind him.
Both you and Alex stay silent for a second looking at the door almost in disbelief that the thing you’d both waited 8 months to do, was now over. Alex turns around to look at you and you’re both just awkwardly smiling at each other.
Alex puts the plastic bag filled with snacks down on the table he was standing beside and says, “Well you could have pre warned me.”
You shake your head, “I didn’t know he was coming. But he asked me to watch Netflix with him and apparently I gave the same excuse as you.”
“Oh fuck. Clever, aren’t we?” Alex chuckles a little and you nod in response.
Alex holds up the flowers he got for you and you can’t help but smile, “Well, I was hoping to surprise you with these, but you definitely won on the surprise front tonight.”
You giggle at that and you lean up to kiss him after taking the flowers from him, “Thank you my love.”
You briefly put them down whilst you say, “At least we don’t have to stay away from each other anymore.”
“Never going to let you go now Darling.” Alex chuckles before picking you up in a hug and spinning you around. You can’t help but giggle.
The next morning you both ventured downstairs to have breakfast with the others and found that they were all there waiting for you at your table with knowing looks. You and Alex just had grins on your faces knowing Matt would have gone around and told them all before you even got the chance.
They were all of course happy for you but of course you got some jokes and some questions. Jamie had got a bit used to it now, so he was starting with his jokes in private to you but when you sat down, he asked the both of you, “Suck his dick last night?”
“Wow, you’ve been waiting for that one, haven’t you?” You laugh, sitting yourself down next to him, immediately reaching for the menu so you could see what was on offer for breakfast.
The table obviously all laughed, and it was all fun and playful as you imagined it would be. You were glad Matt wasn’t cringing at all the details that you were giving out, as it was things like how far back moments happened, like when Alex asked you out officially and stuff like that.
All of the lads seemed really happy for you and even some of your other friends that were a part of the crew were shocked but buzzing for you. Alex got loads of people saying, ‘You better treat her right’ which made you laugh a lot.
But thankfully it was business as usual, just with the addition of getting to hold his hand and kiss him the odd time when you wanted. You’d rather most of your affection be in private though so not much had really changed on the social front.
Even when you were trying to be discrete about it, you didn’t find it too hard because you were still just the same Y/N and Alex. You’d been friends for years, so the dynamic shift wasn’t all that drastic.
You both were just the same friends that you could walk next to each other and it just be normal. You didn’t have to be touching each other all the time, you’d go walk with Miles or Nick and just go spend time with Alex every now and then.
You were glad that things never felt too different.
You guess the only thing that marginally was different was the first night back on the bus after you’d been staying in the hotel. You were all heading to bed and when you came out of the bathroom after changing, you headed to your own bunk, but then realised you didn’t actually need to.
Alex’s bunk was the top bunk in the middle, so you walked right past your own and straight to his. He was just in his boxers like most of the lads usually were when they slept on this bus.
“Hey.” You say with a big smile.
“Hey.” Alex grins, his messy hair almost falling into his eyes. He makes you smile when he says, “Was just about to come kiss you”
“Vile.” You hear Miles gag from the bunk directly below and you look down at him and frown.
“Miles, he kisses you... What are you on about?” You question, not understanding.
They were literally always touchy feely with each other which you thought was cute and adorable. They’d always been great mates and were close enough to actually perform together using one microphone.
So it made you laugh when Alex lent down over his bunk to say, “Little offended there mate.” to his friend.
Nick bursts out laughing at your backchat and Alex’s hurt and you chuckle along before you glance back to your boyfriend. Once his head was the right way up again you smile at him.
“I can join you for the night now, right?” You ask him and you love the smile that comes to his lips.
He nods, “Course you can.”
So Alex shuffles back in the bunk, enough for you to comfortably jump up and once you lay beside him you can’t stop grinning. It definitely felt weird to be in a bunk with him for everyone to see but it definitely makes you happy, even if it was a tight squeeze.
“Hi” You grin at him as he’s on his side, his back pressed to the wall of the bunk, looking down on you.
“Hey beautiful.” Alex says before he leans down and kisses you.
You of course kiss him back but after a second you quickly part so you can reach down to the curtain and pull it closed. You doubt that Nick wanted to watch from the bunk opposite.
As soon as your lips were back attached to Alex’s though you hear Nick whisper shout to everyone, “It’s starting!”
If your eyes were open, you would have rolled when but you just try to keep the smile off your lips, so you don’t ruin the kiss. And thankfully you both controlled yourselves enough to hold your smiles so you could indulge in a very nice kiss.
“If I hear anything come from that bunk, you don’t want to know what will happen.” Matt calls out loudly and you break apart from the kiss to laugh.
It seems like everyone else found it comical too, but it was even funnier when Jamie asked him, “What are you gunna do? Cry?”
“Fuck off Cookie.” Your brother says back, and you chuckle at that too.
You and Alex keep your curtain closed as the rest of them chat away and you get yourselves comfortable in the bunk. You are basically cuddled together in the bunk, with the duvet over you both, you still on your back and Alex tucked into your neck as he lay on his side.
You were glad you didn’t feel like you were about to roll out of the bunk, so it definitely made sense you were that way around. That and Alex quite liked to pick his head up every few minutes and trap you in another kiss.
A trap you certainly didn’t mind.
Usually when you all got in your bunks, curtains would stay open as you would all chat to each other and one by one curtains would close until you were all knackered and pass out until the next day. So, it wasn’t a shock that tonight you were all talking for quite a while, you and Alex just chatting to each other quietly in your bunk, liking the privacy that the curtain provided.
But after about 15 minutes someone shouted your name, popping yours and Alex’s bubble.
“Y/N?” You hear Jamie call you.
You smile knowing a joke was bound to come your way and respond, “Yeah?”
“I’ve got a question for you.” He informs and you can practically hear him smiling.
You grin at Alex and shout back to Jamie, “Okay, go on.”
“You know because you’re a photographer... Does that mean you take pictures of you and Alex in the bedroom?” Jamie asks teasingly and your immediately roll your eyes, but it doesn’t stop you from playing along.
“Shit.” You say jokingly loud, “How do they know?” You scorn Alex jokingly and he’s just silently laughing.
“Matt.” You call and joke, “Maybe don’t go through that SD card tomorrow.”
Earlier on he asked to see some of the pictures after the gig tonight and you said he could look through them before you started editing them tomorrow.
“I’ll burn it” Matt says back, and you just start silently giggling.
“What are you both up to in there?” You both hear Nick ask.
Alex says in a teasing voice, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
Both of you have another few kisses in the time between those jokes and the next time you were heckled. But you were just cuddled when they next started joking.
“They are very quiet up there.” You both hear Miles say.
You shake your head and Alex sighs a little as you hear the rest of them chuckle.
“You doing good? You getting it up, Al?” Miles asks and you both feel him punch the top of his bunk, subsequently the bottom of yours.
You aren’t surprised when Alex doesn’t grace him with an answer.
“Very quiet indeed.” Nick laughs, more than likely looking down at Miles so they could share a laugh.
Jamie seems to jump in then with, “They are definitely biting their tongues.”
“Fuck off all of you.” Matt gets defensive but that just makes it comical.
You decided to upset your brother then by pretending to be annoyed when you scorn them, “You’re all really ruining the mood.”
Alex chuckles at that then, even though you weren’t doing anything. That is what made it funnier to him though.
“Sorry, do you need silence for Alex to get you off.” Jamie asks and it makes you roll your eyes at the question.
You reply, “No.” as an idea comes to mind.
“So you don't mind us carrying on talking then?” Miles asks teasingly. You can practically hear the smirk.
You backchat with, “Not if yous don't mind some noises too?”
“Fire away Hun.”
You brother almost shouts in distress, “No don’t. Both of you stay very fucking quiet.”
Jamie defends you both then, “Oh right so it’s alright when you and Breana fuck but when it’s Alex and Y/N you’re suddenly a prude.”
An argument starts out then with Matt defending himself and then Jamie defending you and so on and then it becomes a big thing. But you find it quite funny that Matt is getting annoyed, so you decide to make your own joke too.
“Al” You whisper, and he looks up at you for you to ask him, “Have you ever seen When Harry Met Sally?”
“Yeah, I watched it with you on the last tour.” He whispers back, reminding you.
You remember him doing now. You’d all had a movie night on the bus during the Suck It And See tour and because you were a little depressed they let you choose the film and you chose that one because it made you laugh.
“Okay, good.” You smirk knowing exactly what you were about to do.
Your boyfriend doesn’t yet get it though, so he asks in a whisper, “Why?”
“Alex” You say a bit louder, a smile you couldn’t hold back drawing to your face.
“What babe?” He asks you and you have to close your eyes, so you don’t break and start laughing.
You try to make your voice sound sultrier and you fake moan louder, “Oh god.”
At that though the boys arguing dies down as Alex whispers, “What are you doing?”
You hold your laugh and, “Alex.” falls from your lips in a breathy moan. And it’s loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Y/N, fuck off.” You hear your brother shout, clearly not amused.
You however come straight back with a very load moan of, “Alex fuck.”
“Matt I’m not touching her.” Alex shouts and you open your eyes to see Alex propped up to the side of you, looking at you like he was scared.
You don’t give it a second thought before you gasp even louder, “Right there Al”
You can hear Miles cackling below you both and you don’t let up with the moans you’re making despite wanting to laugh too. Next you raise your hand up to the ceiling of the bunk as if you’re using it to brace yourself, “Fuck.”
“Oh my god, don’t stop.” You plead in a desperate way as you look to your mortified boyfriend.
“Y/N shut up.” Alex whispers, but it just makes you carry on more.
The fake moans fall from you lips, filling the bunks with your pleads and gasps. Alex is still mortified, but the laughter coming from Jamie, Nick, and Miles just fuels you on.
You go fully Sally Albright on them. A series of loud moans leave your lips like:
“Yes Alex yes!”
“Faster.”
“Oh god.”
“Don’t stop!”  
Alex shouts over your loud voice, “Matt, I fucking swear I’m not touching her!”
The way you moan, “Fuck Al” seems to just dismiss what Alex said straight away though.
“Stop!” Matt shouts back, obviously angry now.
You immediately contradict in a fake moan, “Don’t stop!”
“Alex!” You all but scream as you bang on the ceiling of the bunk again a few times.
You go to take it a step further, but you’re apparently not allowed, “Fuck, Alex plea-”
Your boyfriend puts his hand over your mouth so you can’t carry on. However, you just start dramatically fake moaning, and it sounds a lot dirtier because his hand is over your mouth.
You carry on until you get a rise out of Matt despite Alex pleading with you to stop with a scared look on his face. But you know your brother was about to stop so you just looked at your boyfriend’s gorgeous brown eyes and carried on.
And before you know it Matt is swearing getting himself out of his bunk and the curtain of yours is practically ripped open. As soon as you see sight of your brother you stop the fake moans completely as if it never happened.
Alex holds both his hands up in the air as if he’s being held at gunpoint. Matt can quite clearly see you're fully clothed and have a massive shit eating grin on your face.
“Damn that was good, thanks Al.” You joke to your boyfriend but you’re looking at your brother.
Matt holds up a finger at you and warns, “You’re on very thin ice right now.”
He looks angry and embarrassed all at once. He’s bright red but looks absolutely fuming so you can’t stop your laugh.
You giggle questioning, “Why because you know your best mate can fuck your sister?”
Jamie bursts out laughing at that and you crumble into a louder laugh.
“Stop it.” Alex gasps, playfully hitting your shoulder once again looking petrified as he glanced from you to your brother.
“I don’t need to hear whatever that was.” Matt scorns you and you’re very quick to give him some backchat.
“Did you just admit to us all that you’ve never given Bre an orgasm? Because if you don’t know what those sounds were then I feel sorry for her.” You joke back trying to be cocky.
Jamie’s laugh echoes through the bus and you can hear Miles cackling from below. You could see Nick gasping for breath in a fit of laughter and Alex gasps in shock from beside you.
“You need to fuck off Y/N.” Matt gives you one more death glare before he stalks back to his bunk.
“Oh pull the drum stick out your arse!” You say getting a little annoyed at how your brother couldn’t take a joke. “You better hope our hotel rooms are never next to each other.”
“Shut the fuck up. I won’t tell you again.” Matt says as he gets back into his bunk and shuts his curtain in a strop.
“Aw…” You pout turning back to Alex in your bunk. You give him a quick kiss and then joke, “Better save the next orgasm for the next hotel Darling.”
“I’m begging you to stop talking.” Alex shakes his head, still looking at you a little shocked that you’d actually done what you just had.  
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from Matt.” You giggle, and you say louder so the bus can hear you, “He’s not that scary... Just gotta bring up the time he shat himself when we were in the bat house in Chester Zoo and he quietens right down.”
You all hear Matt shout, “Fuck off!”
You and everyone else on the bus, bar Matt, started laughing then and you were still giggling away when you cuddled yourself into your boyfriend's body. Jamie and Miles begin to applaud you during their continued laughter which just makes your giggles difficult to silence.
Alex is still half shocked as he cuddled you into him, loving your humour but not actually believing you just faked an orgasm that loud on a tour bus surrounded by all your mates and your brother. He shakes his head and kisses the top of yours before telling you, “You’re gunna be the death of me.”
“Least it’ll be a fun death.” You joke and Alex laughs.
“You’re right.” Alex chuckles when you look up at him. You're grinning like an idiot and Alex tells you, “I love you, you psycho.”
“Love you too, weirdo.” You grin and proceed to kiss him sweetly.
After the kiss though you actually want to go to sleep in your boyfriend's arms peacefully. So despite Nick, Miles, and Jamie all still chuckling away, you turn back towards the curtain to redraw it and as you do you catch Jamie’s eye.
You wink at him before drawing the curtain and Jamie wolf whistles, which has you and Alex giggling away together as you cuddle yourself into him once more. You kiss Alex once more before playfully calling out to the others who were still laughing, “Night boys”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Thank you for reading x
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Text
Hey hey! here’s a little something I wrote for Eli a few months ago. They convinced me i should post it, so here i am lol
———
Tw: Descriptions of a Cold, sickness (non graphic), feelings unwanted, coughing, headaches, misunderstandings, hurt/comfort. Let me know if I need to add more!
Words: 5.2k
Pairing: Prinxiety (Written as Romantic but could be read as platonic i guess)
“Virgil is miserable. Its the middle of the night, and Virgil is stuck in bed, unable to sleep, with a horrible cold. The actual cold isn’t why he’s miserable, though.
Is it selfish to want to be cared for?”
Through Sickness and Health
Virgil could hear the clock on the opposite wall ticking just a tad too fast, and didn’t need to even look over at it to know it was way too late to be awake. Sure, he didn’t have the best sleep schedule, but at least he was usually enjoying himself when he stayed up, and it was rarely this late. It wasn’t even his fault this time.
But here Virgil was, laying in bed curled under all the blankets he owned, wishing he was dead. On paper, that sounds a lot worse than it really was, but who could blame him? The sweet release of death sounded like heaven compared to suffering here any longer. His throat was sandpaper dry, nose clogged with snot, and what felt like a small bomb went off in his skull with every movement.
That, though, wasn’t the main reason he was suffering.
He’d been sick before, he knew it would be over soon, but no physical pain could compare to the hurt he felt, knowing that the others knew of his illness, and didn’t give a single damn.
There was no way they didn’t know what was happening - even if he’d tried to hide it, which he hadn’t, it’s not like acting was ever his specialty - but not a single one of them had batted an eye since he came down with this stress induced cold.
Well, that wasn’t completely true. Patton had asked if he was feeling alright on day two, when Virgil had shuffled downstairs around three in the afternoon to grab a snack, hoodie flipped up as he dug around, his hands clearly shaky from fever yet he’d been too tired to try and hide it. He’d told Patton, in the least shaky voice he could muster, that he just wasn’t feeling very well.
In hindsight, it had probably been incredibly selfish of him to expect Patton to come to his aid and comfort him, maybe offer to tuck him in on the couch and make him something healthy to eat. He’d seen Patton do just that plus more when Logan or Roman were feeling under the weather after all. But despite knowing it was selfish, he couldn’t help the disappointment and sinking feeling he’d felt when Patton had simply responded with a gentle, almost pitying, “I’m sorry kiddo, thank you for telling me.” before walking away rather hurriedly, leaving it there.
The conversation rolled around in his head, as it had been for the past 5 days. Nobody had come to check on him, not even the resident fatherly side to see if he was feeling any better. He’d been downstairs one other time since that little exchange with Patton, but when he’d walked in on Roman and Logan talking casually in the living room, they’d both given him short, obviously forced smiles, and sunk out. That’d been on day three, and Virgil hadn’t gone back down there since. He wasn’t that hungry anyway.
Maybe they didn’t want to get sick? Or maybe they thought he was gross, and didn’t want to be near him. Did they think he would be rude to them?
All this thinking was making Virgil’s head hurt more. And it really didn’t matter the reason. They didn’t care, they clearly wanted to avoid him.
It hurt, worse than his actual sickness, having to stay away from everyone for days on end. It reminded him of the old days before he was accepted, when he wasn’t welcome anywhere else but the confinement of his room. He missed Patton’s warm greeting each time he walked into a room, or the rants Logan would get lost in that were strangely so calming. Most notably, though, he missed Roman.
He missed their stupid banter that always left him feeling more confident, and the never ending singing that Virgil pretended not to adore. Hell, he missed just talking to the creative side. He’d give anything just to have a conversation with him, just to lift his spirits a little. He longed for one of the warm, solid hugs that only Roman could give.
He would probably even give up his Disney posters, his entire MCR song library, or get banned from every Hot Topic in the country, just to be held and cuddled right at this moment. To be held in warm, secure arms, wrapped in the scent of cinnamon and roses, and drift to sleep knowing he wouldn’t be alone in the morning.
That last one had about a zero percent chance of happening, even if he wasn’t sick and contagious, but Virgil’s sleep deprived, fever ridden brain had decided to be sentimental, and Virgil couldn’t even stop it. At least he wasn’t gone enough to consider asking for any of that comfort he craved. it’d be easier for everyone to just wait in his room until he was better. Then maybe things would be normal again.
And that was his plan, until someone knocked on his door.
The anxious side’s gaze shot over to the clock, grimacing when the quick movement made his eyeballs throb. Who the Hell was knocking on his door at nearly 3:45 in the morning?
“Who-“ Virgil cringed at how his gravely voice broke, cleared his throat, then tried again. “Who is it?”
“I knew you were awake!” Romans voice, surprisingly enough, came from the other side of the door. He was clearly trying to stay quiet, but for some reason, he sounded really… relieved, and chipper. A second later, the Prince added a bit more bashfully, “Uh, unless i just woke you up by knocking, and if that’s the case I sincerely apologize, I didn’t mea-“
“No, I w’s already awake…” Virgil interrupted with a slight slur, groggy brain trying to keep up with what was happening. Being the embodiment of Anxiety, though, meant he didn’t get to stop being anxious just because he was sick. Why was he here? Was he angry? Virgil couldn’t recall doing anything that could offend anyone since he’d been self-quarantined, but then again, he couldn’t really remember his last name at the moment either. He mumbled to himself as he untangled his legs from the covers, cursing the universe under his breath because his head felt two times it’s normal size. Then he took a deep breath and sat up. He didn’t want to make Roman uncomfortable or grossed out seeing him all sick in bed, cause holy shit would that be embarrassing. He still didn’t look great, but it was a small step. “Come in Pr’ncey.”
The door swung open, revealing a timid, bed headed Roman, who seemed to relax a little when noticing Virgil sitting up in bed. “Hey there.. sorry to barge in, I hope i’m not bothering you.” he said, voice still lowered and really quite gentle as he shut the door behind him.
Virgil went to shake his head, but stopped himself before he could cause himself fucking brain damage and just shrugged instead. “ y’re not both’ring me. ‘sup?” yikes, all this sitting up and trying to look presentable business was making him realize how exhausted he was. His eyelids felt heavy already.
Roman took a few steps forward, keeping his eyes steadily on Virgil like he was waiting for him to keel over and die, or cough on him. It seemed pretty damn dramatic, even for Roman. “I… just wanted to check on you. I’ve uh, been a little worried about you, and i couldn’t sleep.” The Prince said, hesitant as he lowered himself on the foot of the bed.
Virgil blinked a few times, curling his legs up so his knees were to his chest to make sure Roman wouldn’t touch his feet under the 5 layers of blankets he had over him. Or maybe it was the sudden, treacherous hope that was rising in him, a hope he was trying to stifle. Roman was… worried about him? Roman of all sides? I mean, he wasn’t surprised that he cared, he and Roman were friends now after all. Virgil was just surprised he cared about this. He thought they were all in agreement to avoid him or something.
Virgil was about to open his mouth and say… something - he didn’t really know what he was going to say. It felt like his train of thought was chugging along through molasses - but he was interrupted before he could get any words out.
“Dude… no offense, but you look like actual death. And why in the name of Hades are you buried under so many blankets?” The Prince asked with what sounded like genuine confusion, at least for the second part.
Virgil huffed and pulled the blankets tighter around him, the movement causing him to shiver. He couldn’t decide what to focus on; The cold air on his back, the rising sensation of relief knowing Roman cared, or how weird that question had been. Quite honestly, Virgil wasn’t offended because he knew he looked like shit. he was just a little confused. He thought Roman would have known he’d look like shit. “What do you mean why do I have so many blankets. I literally feel like ’m freezing to death. ’s part of the package, shouldn’t you know this?” He practically deadpanned, not even for the snarkiness like usual. His speech was just dull.
But that only left Roman looking more confused, and probably a good deal more concerned if his expression was anything to go by. “I-... I didn’t know that, no.. I’m sorry. Do you want another blanket or something…?” he asked carefully, still awfully and almost painfully cautious.
And Virgil… was at a loss for how this could possibly be new information to Roman. it was pretty common knowledge even if you’ve never had a fever before. But instead of dwelling, Virgil once again stopped himself from shaking his head, sighing instead. “No, it won’ help.” he said shortly. The effort would be futile, but it was endearing that Roman at least asked. “Thanks though. That’s.. really nice of you t’ offer.” The anxious side offered a bit more quietly.
There was an awkward silence that followed, Roman shuffling his feet against the carpet slightly as he looked around the room. Virgil saw the other’s eyes catch on the pile of used tissues in the floor, another bout of confusion flashing in his bright green eyes, but he didn’t mention it this time. Maybe it was a lack of sleep making the Prince act so clueless at the moment. “I… I guess i’ve just.. i don’t know, everything is more boring without you around. Nobody to insult without actually offending them.” Roman spoke again after a moment, sending a half smile in Virgil’s direction.
A little smirk matched with a snort is what the Prince was rewarded with, Virgil's spirits lifted regardless of his misery. It felt nice knowing he was missed, and it made his chest warm knowing it was coming from Roman. For some reason, knowing he could make things more bearable for his counterpart was.. rewarding, in a way. And Roman looked proud of himself, before he continued a bit more solemnly. “You’ve been cooped up in here for so long, like what, 5 says now?”
That got Virgil to sigh, and maybe there was some defensiveness laying beneath the surface, made worse thanks to being miserable, but all he managed was a mildly annoyed side eye to Roman as he responded in a mumble, still doing his best not to run Roman off. “‘t’s not my fault.”
Roman was quick to shake his head, slight guilt in his expression. “I know! I-I’m not trying to make you feel bad, i guess i just- i don’t know, i’m just talking out loud… sorry.” Roman’s voice had quieted, eyes trained on the floor somewhat shamefully as he seemed to search for his words. “I just.. I just wish…” but once again, he trailed off, shaking his head and seeming to give up. “I’m sorry.”
“‘s fine, Princey.” Virgil mumbled back, eyes dropping to his lap where he picked at a loose string on his bedspread. Another silence followed, Virgil trying to sniffle as silently as he could. Despite how weird this interaction had been so far, and how slightly awkward it’s gotten, Virgil was honestly just trying to soak in the mere presence of another side while it lasted. He’d never liked being alone for so long. His stomach was starting to hurt for a reason aside from sickness. This sure was a good way to get Roman to leave early, the others were probably right for leaving him alone so far.
Suddenly, Virgil squeezed the blankets in his fist to try and stop a sudden tickle in his throat, the sensation coming out of nowhere. Unfortunately though, his instincts won out just seconds later as he was forced to cough, the sound gargled and gross even when he covered the whole bottom half of his face with his covers. Dammit, dammit, stupid fucking cough. And Roman just got there too. He wasn’t ready for the creative side to leave again yet.
“S- Sorry, sorry ‘bout that. Shit.” He mumbled rather quickly, hoping to by just a few minutes longer of the creative side’s company before it was taken away again for who knows how long. His head felt like it was being split open, no thanks to the effort it took to cough. Who the Hell’s idea was sickness? They should be fired.
Much to his surprise though, when Virgil hesitantly looked up to gauge how put off Roman was by his display, he only saw an overwhelming about of worry, but even more importantly, alarm.
“Apologies, but is this like- normal??” Roman asked with eyes noticeably wider, studying Virgil's pained expression, hunched over posture, the mess of dirty tissues around, and the way the bright numbers of his digital clock on his nightstand was covered carefully, with a washcloth no doubt.
Virgil drew in a deep, slow breath through his nose as he rubbed on his temples to try and alleviate some pain, eyes closed and head tilted down. Roman’s ridiculous questions were just making his headache worse, and honestly he didn’t even understand how the Hell he was so confused. Was this his plan? To come in here and confuse Virgil and his already incapacitated brain? ‘Cause if so, he was doing a brilliant job. “Roman, what the hell are you talking about.”
It came out less like a question, more like a very tired statement, but he was answered with confused stammering, Roman gesturing almost desperately to Virgil and his state. “What do you mean what am I talking about?? Dude, you’re clearly not doing well. I mean, I wasn’t gonna bring it up, but you’re sweating like a sinner in church, you’re covered in a thousand blankets, you were just hacking up a lung and you’re barely able to speak right from, what i’m assuming, is a nose full of mucus!”
“Yeah, okay, I get it. I look like shit, Pr’ncey, enough said.” Virgil snapped, glaring up at Roman and accidentally moving his head up to look at him too fast, sending a flare of agony through his skull. He cursed under his breath and winced, but powered through it even as Roman lifted a hand to- to what, help? It didn’t matter, Virgil moved away from the effort. “No, don’t touch me, alright? I don’t wan’ your pity.”
Virgil knew all of this was coming out more aggressive than he ever would allow if he was feeling himself. Hell, even now he was begging himself to just shut up and stay calm. But after almost 2 full days with no sleep, and 5 days of nonstop pain, coughing, being unable to breath properly, the feeling of fire in his throat every time he tried to eat, and then on top of that, being shunned by the 3 people he wanted- needed, more than anything. Well, he really couldn’t stop his composure from cracking and shattering.
Roman looked ready to respond, seemingly struck with more pity than before, but Virgil’s hand shot up to stop him. “I don’t want to hear it, Princey. Why the Hell are you even here anyway? If you’ve missed me so much, why did you wait 5 f’cking days to come see me? T’ come ‘check on me’? And, by th’ way, so far you’ve really only been fucking with me and making me feel worse, so in reality it probably would ‘ve been better had you just kept up your streak of avoiding me like ev’ryone else!”
Virgil was breathing heavily, head pounding and lungs burning after raising his voice just a bit too much at the end of his rant. He replayed the words back in his mind, heart sinking when he realized how aggressive he’d gotten. He couldn’t slow down his breathing, why couldn’t he slow his breathing?? Jesus christ, he wasn’t about to break down on top of all that other shit he just unleashed. Perfect, he was just proving the other side’s point for them.
With his body now starting to shake, jaw clenched to hold back tears because this week has been bullshit, and he felt like curling up and disappearing, if not to escape his aching body then to at least escape the anger he knew would result from that whole verbal meltdown he just had. Obviously Roman would be leaving, but would he yell first? Tell him how annoying and selfish he was, and how he didn’t get to be a huge asshole just because he was feeling a little under the weather? Or would he leave in silence, just exit the room with that silent, cold anger that Roman only showed when he was really upset.
Maybe he’d tell everyone else what happened, how he’d tried to extend an olive branch, test it out just to see if maybe his illness hadn’t made him into a pathetic prick, but Virgil lashed out as expected and ran him off. Would Logan and Patton get mad at him too? Come in and tell him off for being so horrible to his own family, that he couldn’t even be a decent person for 5 minutes.
Maybe things wouldn’t go back to normal even after he’s recovered, all because he couldn’t just control himself.
“Virgil, what are you talking about?” Roman asked exasperated, and Virgil dragged his hands down his face. He meant to make more of a growl in frustration, but it came out closer to a pained whine. His eyes stung for a new reason now. He just wanted this to stop. Why wouldn’t Roman just stop?
“What. What am I talking about what. I can’t do this- this whole vague shit righ’now, jus’ spit it out.” He hated how short tempered he was sounding, but Roman didn’t seem to be fazed. Virgil could see the Prince waving his hands around in his peripheral, looking tongue tied.
“The- The part where you think i’m fucking with you?? Why you think we’re avoiding you?? Why you’re so-... so….” Roman trailed off, a look of realization crossing his face, which quickly turned to horror and guilt. “Wait a… w-wait a second, Virgil, are you- are you sick??”
To say Roman sounded appalled would be an understatement, his eyes wide in shock, brows drawn, mouth slightly agape. Virgil’s head spun, suddenly dizzy as his brain tried to figure out why Roman sounded so horrified- why he sounded so surprised. He couldn’t stand it, he couldn’t understand what was going on. He felt nauseous and he just wanted to sleep. Before he knew it, tears were trekking down his face, thick tears springing from his eyes making the pressure behind them even more unbearable. A sob tore painfully from his throat, instantly catching the Prince’s full attention.
“Oh my… Virgil-“
Virgil shrunk away from the Prince’s voice, curling up once more into a ball, trying to hide from everything. His lip wobbled, he could feel it, but he was too tired to be embarrassed or feel pathetic. He pulled the covers closer around him. “R-Roman, please jus’-“ He hiccuped on a sob, hissed through his teeth as the action sent a sharp pain through his lungs. “I don’ know i-if you’re tryin’ to joke ‘r somethin’, but— but ’s n- not funny, o-okay?”
Instead of speaking clearly at a normal volume, Virgil was nearly mumbling the entire time he was speaking, slurring through words even worse than when the conversation started. Was it just him, or was the room spinning? “Please, i… i need you t’...” Virgil huffed for breath, exhaustion wearing on him like a switch was just suddenly flipped. It nearly took all his energy to try and get a deep breath.
“Ro…”
Virgil was met with a warm, broad chest, and strong arms wrapping around him before he even knew he was slumping forward. His ears were ringing, drowning out what sounded like a familiar voice speaking to him. They sounded distressed, he hoped they were okay. What was combing through his hair? He couldn’t quite remember what was going on before then, but all he knew was, he was safe now.
Then, the world went dark.
———
Virgil came into consciousness a little while later, his brain the kind of blissfully empty that only comes after passing out, apparently. He couldn’t grasp where he was before, existing in a reality where there is no past for a few moments. His head was vaguely aching, like a dull throb faded into the background, and his lungs stung only a little when he breathed in deeply. In his sleepy state though, Virgil didn’t concern himself with those feelings.
Virgil couldn’t see anything, he noticed not long after, but he could hear murmuring and the distant sound of water running.
Next, he realized he knew he wasn’t in his own room anymore, both because this wasn’t his mattress, and the room didn’t smell like his own.
He could smell.. cinnamon… and peaches… and ink. Somewhere in his groggy brain, Virgil recognized the smell, but at the moment it was just out of his reach. It didn’t bother him, though, not when he was so relaxed and calm. He felt like he was one with the bed, and the soft, fluffy sheets encasing him.
A few more seconds of coming to, and Virgil realized his eyes were covered with something damp, and cool… soft too. It felt amazing against his warm skin. oh right, i’m sick, a thought entered his mind gently.
Then, a lot less gently, the events from before he passed out rushed to the forefront of his mind, practically smacking him in the face. Because yes, he’d passed out, right in front of Roman like an idiot, oh shit, why isn’t he in his room, where is he-
“Virgil? Hey woah, calm down buddy- here,” Virgil heard someone quickly cross the room, and tended his body for all of two seconds before the washcloth over his eyes was being lifted.
Virgil blinked blearily, squinting his eyes even though the room was almost completely shrouded in darkness, save for a thin line of light coming from the cracked bathroom door. Someone was sat beside him on the side of the bed, but he was too blurry for Virgil to make out details.
“There you are. Hey Hot Topic, how are you feeling?” the person asked, speaking more gently than anyone had spoken to Virgil in a long time. Strangely though, Virgil wasn’t upset by it. It was.. nice…
Wait a minute, he knew that voice.
“R- Roman..? I.. Where…?” Distantly, Virgil knew he sounded like shit, which meant he probably looked like shit, and directly after asking that half assed question, he realized he had to be in the Princes room. “Oh.. fuckin’- I passed out on you..” he groaned, moving his hands up to scrub the blurriness from his eyes.
It worked, surprisingly, and now that Virgil could see, he realized that yes, Roman was the one sitting next to him, and yes he was in Roman’s room, in Roman’s bed. He also noticed how tossed Roman’s hair was, and the bright red with little snowmen pajamas the Prince wore. They were really adorable.
“Yes, I’m afraid you did.. and I’m also afraid that I am partly to blame for it.” Roman sighed, casting his eyes down as he pressed his lips in a line.
Virgil’s brows drew together, and, because he was so delirious, he reached out to grab gently at Romans sleeve. “How is it your fault that I passed out?” he asked incredulously. At least he could speak properly now. Now? Now since when? Oh geez, “Wait how long have I been out? A few hours? Days? Years?! Did I fall into a coma?!”
The corner of Roman’s lip lifted in amusement, and he gently lay a hand over Virgil’s, on his sleeve. “No, no nothing like that, Dark Knight. It’s only been an hour or so. I.. hope you don’t mind, but I had to bring you in here. Your fever was… really high.” The Prince of Creativity said, solemn by the end.
“I think i’ve managed to get it down, so it’s not so dangerous anymore, but Logan will definitely have to keep an eye on it today.”
That got Virgil's attention. “Wait- Logan? Uh.. yeah, not to burst your bubble Princey, but I doubt that’ll be happening.” There was a slight bitterness to his tone as he wrapped his free arm around his midsection, and though there wasn’t as much bitterness as there usually would be, Roman still picked up on it loud and clear.
He inclined his head, as if in agreement, and Virgil stomach only sunk a little bit before Roman was speaking again.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Virgil. You see, there seems to have been a grave misunderstanding. This is how I’m partially responsible for your passing out, same as Logan and Patton are also partly to blame.”
Virgil’s eyes widened, breath hitching at the sheer ridiculousness of that suggestion. No!! How could it be their fault? He’s the one that got so sick and couldn’t keep himself healthy enough not to fucking pass out. He opened his mouth to say as much, but Roman held up a finger before he could get out a single word, silencing him.
“A few days ago, 5 to be exact, it came to Patton’s attention that you weren’t feeling yourself. He told me and Logan that you told him you weren’t feeling very well, and that we should all give you some space the next few days.” Roman said carefully. Ah yes, that conversation. The one that’s haunted Virgil for nearly a week. Virgil remembered it well.
With a hesitant, still very lost nod from Virgil, Roman continued. “It seems that Patton, and in turn, Logan and I, assumed that your strange behavior was linked to.. well, anxiety.” He gave Virgil’s hand a light squeeze, any sign of a smile gone and replaced with pained regret. The Prince swallowed, just as Virgil pieced it together.
“Because of these more stressful times Thomas is experiencing, we wrongly thought that you were having a rough week, leading to worse anxiety. So… we’ve been leaving you on your own, thinking we were helping you..”
Virgil.. didn’t know what to say. He looked up and found Roman’s red, sorrowful eyes. When he focused, he could see they were just a little bit bloodshot, even in the dark. Proof that he had previously cried, no doubt about this. When Virgil didn’t speak, still too shocked as his slowed brain processes this, Roman continued, quietly choking back a sob just after he averted his gaze to the floor.
“V-Virgil-“ he voice cracked. Virgil’s heart was sinking in his chest. Roman had never looked so heartbroken. “Virgil I’m so sorry, I had no idea you were sick, none of us did! I-I swear I didn’t know, I would have never left you alone if I had, Virgil, Star, i’m so so s-sorry,”
Roman was practically full on crying by that point, though he clearly tried to keep it to himself and stay quiet. Virgil was grateful for the effort, but there were much more important things to focus on at the moment. He may not be completely himself, but he still couldn’t let Roman be so sad.
It was because he wasn’t completely himself that Virgil automatically sat up (taking his time to do so, trying not to upset his head), and leaned himself right against Roman, chest to chest, looping his arms around to loosely hold Princey in a hug.
It all made sense now, why he’d been ignored all week, and why nobody came to check on him or try to help. He felt a little (read: a lot) stupid for thinking that anyone in his famILY would do anything but show him the upmost care and attention when he needed it. They thought they were helping, and honestly, had he in fact been having a bad week of heightened anxiety, giving him space would have been the right thing for them to do.
Roman was quick to return Virgil’s hug, though to his credit, his hug was a lot stronger and more secure than Virgil’s. He buried his face in Virgil’s hair, a steady stream of teary apologies spilling from him. A steady stream that Virgil hastily tried to end.
“Roman, it’s okay… i’m not upset, I promise it’s okay. I know you were doing what you thought would help me. Please don’t cry, Princey.” He said softly.
It might have been a few more minutes, or a few hours, that the two sides sat together in each other’s arms. Roman’s cries and apologies slowly quieted to a stop, though the gentle combing of fingers through Virgil’s hair only continued as they sat.
“Hey… Roman?” Virgil whispered after a few more moments, the whole mindscape quiet, save for the quiet sniffles from both Virgil and Roman every once in a while.
“Yes, sweet Midnight?” came an equally gentle response. Neither side moved, Virgil too content with his face snuggly buried against his counterpart’s shoulder, and Roman too content with having Anxiety safe in his arms.
“Would… well, you can say no, but would you mind.. if I stay in here..? I don’t… really want to be alone…” a hint of Virgil’s usual anxious tendencies showed itself despite the tiredness that was starting to cover the darker side. Instead of head-swimming exhaustion though, this time Virgil felt pleasantly heavy and relaxed.
Without uttering another word, Roman pulled them both down to lay their heads on the pillows, lifting one hand to gently flick his wrist and manipulate the covers around them. The light in the bathroom turned off with a soft click of Roman’s fingers, one that Virgil hardly registered as he shuffled somehow closer to the Prince, still tucked safely in his arms.
As he fell softly and smoothly into the first restful sleep he’s had in days, Virgil noticed that he wasn’t freezing cold anymore. The dull throb in his head had gone away almost entirely, and it felt that much easier to breathe. But most importantly, Virgil felt less alone than he had in a long, long time.
Needless to say, Virgil was feeling better already.
249 notes · View notes
havin-a-wee · 3 years
Note
can you make a frat boy harry x reader where the boys were at hazs stepdads house (yeah they are famous too) and youve been hazs gf for a while and you and harry went out to skinny dip around midnight while the boys were watching a movie and then like a um scene where the girl would get eaten and stuff please?? sorry if its a bit confusing lln
Soaked
warnings: oral, female receiving 
word count: 1.4k
send me a request!
check out this new one shot i wrote, A Lifetime Of You
im so sorry this took so long! i changed it up slightly but i hope you like it!
also i would really really appreciate it if you checked out A Lifetime Of You (linked above) its my first one shot that isn’t a request!
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“There she is!” 
You were greeted by the sweet voice of your long-term boyfriend, Harry, and you bounded into the movie room, taking a seat beside him. The chairs were large and velvet, and it didn’t take much time to get comfy in your seat.
“So we can start the movie now?” Zayn peeked his head behind his chair, looking at you and Harry for approval. The two of you nodded simultaneously and he turned back to the large screen in front of him.
You always loved spending time at Harry’s stepdad’s house, mostly because he was absolutely loaded with money. The in-home theater you were situated in was only one of many amenities that his California mansion had to offer, and it was a nice change from the small off-campus flat you shared with your roommate. Harry, Niall, Liam, Louis, and Zayn all lived together in their frat house. It was great for Harry because he was living with his best mates, but both of you sort of wished you could live together. 
The familiar Disney intro played out on the screen and it slowly faded to the movie, which was Tangled tonight. 
The big chair was a lot comfier than you had remembered, and you found yourself dozing off within the first fifteen minutes of the movie. Harry adjusted himself to allow you to lean on him while you slept, his warm body providing a comfortable and safe feeling.
----------
“Bubs? Y’awake?” 
You stirred slightly, your eyelids still heavy from the nap you had just been woken from. “Mhm” Your confirmation was muffled by the sweatshirt Harry was wearing that you had your face buried in. You let out a small whine of protest as Harry moved to stand up, towering over your curled-up body.
“Baby, the movies over, the boys already went t’bed.” You managed to lift your weary eyes at Harry’s words and gave him a meek smile. 
“Sorry I slept through it,” you whispered, just loud enough for Harry to hear.
“Nonsense, I love cuddlin’ with y’babe.” His reassurance gave you butterflies, your body fully awake now although your actions weren’t reflecting that. “M’actually thinkin’ we could go fo’ a swim, know how much y’love swimmin’ at night.” Your entire head perked up at his suggestion, especially because he was always too tired to go for late-night swims. 
You jumped up excitedly, causing Harry to step backward in shock. He chuckled at your quick change in mood and wrapped his arm around your waist, guiding you to the door. 
You ignored the tired aching of your muscles as Harry guided you to the pool. You turned to him in confusion, stopping his movement as well as yours. “Wait, we need swimsuits, Harry.” He just looked down at you and smirked, shaking his head before continuing to guide you outside. It took you a second to understand, but once you did a giddy feeling erupted in your tummy.
Soon enough the two of you were stripping naked beside the pool, leaving your clothes on a white lounge chair that sat by the pool. A loud splash made you whip your head around, only to see Harry’s face bobbing above the water at the deep end of the pool. You laughed as he smiled dopily at you, clearly very pleased with himself.
“Babe, c’mere, sit on the edge f’me.” He had swum to the edge of the pool, patting on the tile that bordered the edge of the water. 
You pouted slightly, wishing you could get in the water with him, but you obeyed nonetheless. You sat down on the smooth surface, the freezing tile causing goosebumps to cover your bum. Your knees were pulled up to your chest, and you peered over them to look at Harry in the pool in front of you.
His large hands grabbed your calves, the metal of his rings pressing into your skin. He moved your legs to hang over the edge and into the water, a small shiver wracking your body at the cold temperature. 
“Before y’swim w’me, will ye’ lemme get a taste of yeh? Been wantin’ this all day long.” His action finally made sense, and a wave of heat rolled through your body due to his dirty words. That heat was directed straight to your core, which was already quite wet from watching Harry undress earlier. 
“Yes, please Har,” you breathed out. He had this effect on you like no other man had ever had, and it was hitting you like a truck. 
His hands met your calves again, spreading your legs apart at an agonizingly slow pace. He was at a place in the water where he could stand perfectly well, and his head was at just the right level to put his mouth on you. He dipped his head in, starting by leaving small kisses on the sensitive flesh of the inside of your thighs. He sucked and bit over certain areas, ensuring that there would be a mark left there. “Love tasting yeh,” he spoke between each kiss he placed. “so much angel,” He breathed heavily before going back down, his kisses getting closer and closer to where you need him most. “Y’taste so sweet, y’know tha’?” 
“Harry, please,” your words were choppy and breathy, your lungs having trouble keeping air as pleasure rolled through you. 
“Please what love? Tell me what y’want bubs.”
“Want- I want your mouth..” Your words trailed off at the end because you were cut off by Harry’s harsh sucking on your clit. He had finally placed his mouth on your heat and you mewled at the feeling. Harry moaned in harmony with you, and you could feel the vibrations of his noises hitting your swollen button
“Fuck, just like that-” Your hand made its way to Harry’s chocolate brown curls, gripping down on them harshly. His hands rubbed on the outer portion of your thighs and you threw your head back in pleasure, placing your arms behind you to keep you from falling over.
His tongue moved from its place on your clit and dipped into you. He caressed your soft walls with his mouth, lapping up everything you had to offer. He lifted his head from you for a brief moment, sucking in a deep breath. “Y’always so good f’me, such a good girl.” His mouth found its place back on your core, his tongue dipping in and out of you as if he hadn’t eaten in a year.
His nose bumped your clit and you groaned loudly, prompting him to repeat the motion. Your legs were shaking around his head when he brought his attention back to your clit, sucking and nibbling on it softly. 
“H, I- I’m close, shit,” you whined, cursing when he applied a short burst of hard pressure onto your sensitive nub. You could tell your words encouraged him, his mouth working even faster than it had been. 
“Come for me Y/N, all over m’tongue.” It only took a few more seconds before you were sent tumbling over the edge, the knot in your stomach releasing and tingles ran through your body. Harry worked you down from your high, slowing his movement until coming to a complete stop. 
After a few minutes, his head was no longer between your thighs, and he rested his head on the tile next to you as both of you attempted to catch your breath. 
The tingling in your body had finally subsided enough that you could speak, so you turned to Harry and he did the same. “So that was your plan all along?” You smirked and pushed his shoulder playfully, eliciting a laugh from him.
“Well, it worked didn’t it?” You were the one to laugh this time, running your hands through his hair as he smiled up at you. You swiftly slipped yourself into the pool, giving your body a moment to adjust before turning to your boyfriend. He turned towards you as well, tucking some wet hair behind your ear to keep it out of your face. You leaned in for a kiss, but you were interrupted.
“You guys didn’t tell me you were going swimming!” Niall’s voice vibrated through your eardrums and your eyes widened in panic. Niall walked through the glass door and smiled at the two of you, unable to see anything but your faces. He turned his head and pointed towards the beach chair, his head tilting in confusion. “Hey, aren’t these the clothes.. oh.” His eyes opened wide and his cheeks flushed pink at the realization of what you were doing there. “I’ll just-” He pointed to the glass door behind him and ran in quickly, not allowing you or Harry to say anything. 
After you were sure that Niall was gone, you turned to each other at the exact same time and burst out in a fit of laughter. 
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So Far Away (part 2)
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Part 7 of the Boys with Luv series
Pairing: Yoongi, Jimin, Jungkook and Jin x reader; Yoongi, Jimin, Jungkook and Jin x Yoongi, Jimin, Jungkook and Jin; Hoseok, Namjoon and Taehyung x Hoseok, Namjoon and Taehyung
Summary: We have some make ups, some losses, some fluff and a tiny bit of angst
Warnings: Mentions of smut, some swearing
Tags: @calling-dips-on-j-hope, @fic-recs-by-moon​, @luvtaeha, @aretha170, @xicanacorpse​, @kookieebangtan, @fangirl125reader, @seoul9711, @channiespup​ ​​​​​, @lindsayjoy444​ 
AN: I decided to make this a 3 part chapter because I like leaving y’all in suspense. Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist and what you think of the series so far :) I purple you guys!
Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
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Yoongi POV:
As soon as the words left Y/N’s mouth, my eyes widened and my grip on her hand tightened. This was not going to be good. For all I knew, they could yell at her and make her feel like she was unwanted, which is completely untrue.
“Jungkookie, take Y/N to the food place and get yourselves something to eat.” I said, making Jungkook frown at me in confusion. “If it is them, I don’t want her getting hurt by any argument that might happen.” I explained. “Now go and get some food, and I will meet you both there later.” I kissed Y/N’s forehead and Jungkook’s cheek before watching them walk off hand in hand. I let out a breath and readied myself for the confrontation, knowing that there was going to be arguing that we may not be able to come back from.
Jimin was pouting slightly. “Pretty boy, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“I hate all of this fighting.” Jimin admitted. “I just want all of us to go back to normal... Or as normal as we can be.”
“Well, we just need to talk to them and see if we can sort out this mess.” Jin said, rubbing Jimin’s back. “So let’s go talk.”
We approached them slowly. They didn’t realise we were behind them until I cleared my throat. 
The three of them turned around, eyes wide. It was then I realised Taehyung looked awful. He had bags under his eyes that were still visible under the concealer and his lips were drawn in a small permanent pout. Whatever was going on between us had to be sorted now. 
“Hyung, w-what are you doing here?” Jimin asked, playing with his fingers as he attempted to try and start the much-needed conversation.
“Fuck, Yoongi hyung, I am so sorry.” Namjoon said, looking down at his shoes in shame. “I should have never kicked you out of the dorm. I should have let you explain and let you make the decisions. I never wanted to make you feel unloved and unwanted by us, or to make our whole dynamic awkward.”
“And I should have stood up for you and said something against what Namjoon said. Fuck, hyung, I should have come to you the second I knew something was wrong and we had upset you.” Hoseok apologised, his eyes wide and pleading. I bit my lip, my eyes sliding towards Taehyung who was trembling, his eyes filling with tears.
“Hyung, we’re so sorry-” Namjoon started to speak again.
“Just shut up you two and come here!” I allowed them to come towards me and I leaned up and kissed them both. “I accept your apologies, but I don’t fully forgive you yet. I’m just going to need some time. What you said really hurt me.” I said. 
“Of course, hyung. Of course. Take your time.” Hoseok said, hugging me again. He released me, going over to Jimin, who still looked unsure. “Hey baby boy.” He said, making Jimin let out a small sob and jump into his arms. Hoseok sighed in relief and held him close, his face buried in his hair.
Namjoon was embracing Jin, leaving Taehyung stood there, looking unsure of what to do.
“Taehyung, let’s go somewhere else to talk, okay?” I said, extending my hand for him to take. He gingerly reached out and took it, allowing me to lead him to a more private place.
We ended up at the food courts. I led us over to a small cafe and stopped just outside. I sat him down in a chair and sat down opposite him. “Why do you look so sad?” I asked.
“I’m a horrible, disgusting person. That’s why.” Taehyung said, not making eye contact with me.
“Taehyung...” I reached over and grabbed hold of his hand. “You said some things that were hurtful and not nice but you will never, ever be a disgusting or horrible person.”
“Yes I am, hyung! I told you to reject your soulmate, knowing full well how much pain it would cause both you and her.” He said. “I didn’t give you a chance to explain what you were going to do, and what your plan was, and I’m sure if I had, I would have heard that you had planned to do something that made both parties happy. And to make matters worse, I lost my soulmate. After I saw you both in the mall, I could suddenly see colour. Me, Joonie hyung and Hobi hyung could.”
“Tae, you know that someone can have multiple soulmates, right?” I said, making him cock his head to the side, tears dripping down his face. “That’s what happened with me, Y/N, Jiminie, Kookie and Jin. It happens when people are very close.”
“So, me, Joonie hyung and Hobi hyung could be her soulmates as well?” Taehyung asked, his voice small.
“Yes, Tae baby. We are all soulmates with her.” I said, making him slowly smile and sniffle slightly. 
“I missed you calling me that.” He whispered. “I missed you so much, hyungie, I’m so sorry for what I said to you.”
“Baby, come here.” I stood up and opened my arms, allowing him to run into them.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He said over and over again.
“Shh, baby, it’s okay.” I said, stroking his back. “It’s okay, don’t cry.”
“It’s not okay. I was jealous.” He said, his head resting against my shoulder. “I didn’t want to lose you or have less of your time.”
“Taehyung baby boy, you were my first, you are so important to me. You’re never going to lose me.” I held him away from me for a second to look at him. “You’re so beautiful.” I said, stroking his cheek. He leaned into the gesture. “My beautiful baby boy.” I leaned forward to kiss him gently. He made a noise as our lips connected, sounding like a needy whine.
As I pulled away, I wiped away his tears. “I want to apologise to Y/N.” He said. “And I want to meet her properly and let her know that I don’t hate her.”
Y/N POV:
I sighed as I stirred the straw around my empty milkshake glass, my head resting in my hand. I stared over at Jungkook, who was sat opposite me, looking equally as bored. 
“Do we have to stay here?” I asked, making him look at me slightly confused. “Like we’re at Disney, let’s go on some rides. I don’t want to be stuck in a restaurant all day.”
“I don’t know, gorgeous. They might get annoyed.” Jungkook looked unsure. 
“We’ll be fine, Koo.” I got up and tugged on his hand. “Please.” He still looked unsure. “Please, oppa, I will give you lots of cuddles when we get back.” I said, doing an aegyo. He chuckled.
“Okay, fine. Fine.” He allowed me to pull him up from the table. “I’ll text Jimin hyung and tell him what we are doing.” He pulled out his phone and typed out a quick text before pocketing his phone and grabbing hold of my hand. “Where to first?”
It was then I got a sneaky prank idea to pull on Yoongi, Jin and Jimin oppas. “Let’s start from right at the back of the park and ride every ride there and take our time. But don’t tell them where we are going exactly. Let’s prank them.”
Much to my surprise, a cheeky smile flooded Jungkook’s face. “That sounds like a great plan!” He said. “Let’s go!”
After we had been on a few of the rides in the Magic Kingdom, Jungkook led me to the Cinderella castle and sat down on a bench, pulling me down beside him. The sun was beginning to set, the light reflecting off his necklace that was settled just under his collar bone, between the tips of his pectorals, that were exposed from his half-buttoned shirt. 
“Are you having fun?” He asked, cupping the side of my face in his hand and stroking my cheek. I smiled gently as his soft, brown doe eyes made a comfortable contact with mine.
“Yes, thank you.” I said, my voice barely a whisper.
“Good.” He said, his thumb brushing over my cheekbone. I leaned into the gesture, his hand supporting the weight of my head. “You look so pretty in the sunlight.” He took hold of my hand and pulled me up. “I’ve always wanted to do this.” He set up his phone and stood us in front of the castle. He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine before kissing me gently.
“Kookie.” I breathed as he pulled away, resting our foreheads together. My stomach felt weird, like there was a nest of butterflies living there. I cleared my throat, pulling away from him slightly, not liking the unfamiliar feeling. He frowned at me, trying to decipher what was going on with me.
“What’s wrong, carrot?” He asked, making me raise an eyebrow at the nickname.
“Nothing’s wrong. Just worried about the others.” I replied. They had been gone a long time and I knew it wasn’t because they were looking for us; they would have called us if they couldn’t find us.
“Yeah, they haven’t tried to find us. Maybe they have forgotten about us?” Jungkook shrugged. 
I hummed. “What was that nickname before?” I asked him.
“I don’t know. I just wanted to call you that, because hyungs call me bunny, and bunny’s like to eat carrots, and I like to eat you out so...” My cheeks flushed red as I thought back to how he had woken me up that morning, with his head buried between my legs and his tongue inside me. He chuckled when he saw my expression. “Aww is my little carrot embarrassed?” He teased, making me slap his chest playfully. He looked at me in surprise, making me giggle.
“You look like a lost bunny.” I commented, making him laugh. I looked around for a second. “You know what I am really craving? A churro.”
“Me too.” Jungkook rubbed his stomach. “Shall we go back and get some food, we haven’t really had lunch.”
“Mhm.” I agreed. “Don’t forget your phone.” I reminded him. He grabbed it and smiled at the screen.
“We’re cute.” He said, showing me the picture of us kissing in front of the castle. “We might be the cutest pair.” I giggled and kissed his cheek before holding his hand as we walked back to the food court.
Jimin POV:
Yoongi hyung was in a state of panic. We had all met up at the food court, but Y/N and Jungkook were nowhere to be found. Yoongi had tried calling them both, but neither of them had replied. 
“Where could they have gone?” Yoongi sat down on one of the chairs, pulling at his hair in frustration. I knew why he was so worried - Y/N’s abusive ex could have found out where she was and taken her, hurting Jungkook in the process.
“Maybe try calling them again?” Namjoon suggested. Yoongi opened his phone and called Jungkook again, but it went straight through to voicemail. I bit my lip as I checked my phone to see if I had any messages from either of the youngest ones.
“Ah hyung!” I said, waving my phone around. “Jungkookie texted me about an hour ago. He and Y/N have gone on some rides because princess was bored.” I said, reading the message aloud. 
“Did he say where?” Yoongi asked. I scanned the message again and shook my head. “Of course he wouldn’t.” He rolled his eyes and tried Y/N again. Still no answer. “Well, at least we know they are safe...” He blew some air out through his mouth. “I’m going to go and find them.” He said. 
“I’ll come with you.” I volunteered, standing up and taking hold of his hand. Yoongi nodded and together we walked out of the food area to try and find the missing two.
We didn’t have to go very far as we found them walking together, hand in hand, laughing with each other. They froze when they saw us, knowing that they were in trouble from the look on Yoongi’s face.
“And what do you two think you have been doing?” He asked, his voice deep and dangerously calm. 
“Going on rides...” Jungkook said slowly, knowing that he was going to get punished for this. Y/N looked between the two of them, her throat bobbing as she swallowed.
“And what is the rule about answering your phones?” Yoongi folded his arms across his chest.
“Always answer them when they ring, but hyung, our phones didn’t ring, so I really don’t understand why you are so mad.” Jungkook said, shrugging. 
“You don’t understand why...” Yoongi scoffed. “Both of you take out your phones now and check them.” They both did it, shaking their heads.
“No calls from you to either of us.” Y/N replied. “Oppa, really, I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“Yoongi hyung has been calling you for the past hour.” I replied, making her frown at her phone. 
“Then there is something wrong with my phone.” She said. “I have signal, I’m connected to the park wifi, but it’s not picking up your calls or texts...” She frowned as she tapped the screen a few times. “Or your contact...” She tapped and scrolled a few more times before she started shaking her head and murmuring no under her breath. 
“Princess, what’s wrong?” I asked, rushing to her side. I saw that it was open on a contact who had sent a picture of her getting buckled into a ride. She was smiling and the sun was giving a golden hue to her skin. She looked beautiful. But I knew it wasn’t Jungkook who had taken the picture because I could see his hand on her thigh.
“What’s going on?” Yoongi asked, walking over to us. “What the hell? Who is this?” He looked at Y/N, his eyes softening once he saw how traumatized she looked.
“It’s my ex.” She said, her voice shaking. Yoongi’s jaw set in anger. “I think he was here in the park. Yoongi he has my number and my location. I’m scared.”
Yoongi wrapped an arm around her waist protectively. He turned off her phone’s location and blocked the number. “Jimin, go tell the others that we will meet them back at my apartment. We’ll talk to them there. Jungkook go with him, make sure he’s okay.” As Jungkook and I walked away, I heard Yoongi talking to Y/N to comfort her. “I promise you, jagiya, no one is ever going to hurt you again, I promise. Not while I’m around.”
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maxwell-grant · 3 years
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Captain Fray: The Trash Superman
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Look up in the sky! Is it a bird? A plane? No, it’s... an ugly, homeless bald man cackling evily while raining trash on the city with an army of sludge monsters, shortly before getting beaten up by a group of meddling kids. It’s just dumb old Captain Fray again getting foiled by Monica’s Gang, nevermind him. He does that every Tuesday. 
Monica’s Gang are arguably the most iconic of all Brazilian comic book characters, having maintained popularity for 60 years and with unmatched worldwide recognition. They’ve had cartoons, a cinematic universe of films both cartoon and live-action, plays, a long-running manga spin-off that turned them into teenagers, crossovers everywhere ranging from The Big Two’s superheroes to Osamu Tezuka’s properties (as Monica’s creator Mauricio and Tezuka were acquaintances), at least one theme park, and much, much more. Even past Brazil’s borders, where they are a cultural institution on a scale matched only by Disney, these are some of the world’s most popular characters, starring in just about any kind of adventure imaginable and then some. 
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However, if you go into the world of Monica’s Gang, and look for a flying man with a chest logo, a cape and impossible superpowers, you’ll instead find their greatest arch-enemy: Captain Fray (actual name Capitão Feio, which translates to Captain Ugly), real name Feioso Araújo. Who will be happy to remind you time and time again of what a rotten, no-good scoundrel he is, even if he has to pick a fight with the Big Blue himself to prove it.
So let’s talk about perhaps the most iconic “caped superhero” of Brazilian comic books, even if he’s ultimately a long, long shot from being one.
Despite the long, worldwide spanning history of the superhero, the idea of the superhero as a cape-wearing uniformed superpowered do-gooder has remained a largely American concept, as different regions have their own unique icons. The titular 4 members of Monica’s Gang have on many occasions taken the role of superheroes, and they’ve built up a massive Rogues Gallery over decades, despite not looking like the usual idea of a superhero. Monica, Jimmy Five, Smudge and Maggy, for the most part, look and act like kids, with odd quirks. 
To briefly describe the 4: Monica is the pudgy, bucktoothed ruler of the group as well as the neighborhood, being super strong and more than willing to hit people who mock her with her stuffed rabbit “Samson”. Jimmy Five has a speech impediment, and he constantly schemes to take Monica’s role as leader, best described at times as a junior Lex Luthor to Monica’s Superman. Maggy is Monica’s friend with an uncontrollable appetite, and the witty and perpetually dirty Smudge is Jimmy Five’s friend and accomplice in schemes. Smudge is defined by his complete and total refusal to take a bath or even come into contact with water under any circumstances, and some stories play up Smudge’s dirtyness to the point of superpower.
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It’s Smudge in particular who’s gonna be relevant to this post, because the first time Captain Fray was introduced, he was introduced as Smudge’s good-natured and humorous uncle, a comic book addict surrounded by piles of dusty comics, particularly those of Smudge’s favorite superhero, Captain Pitoco, a sort of Superman/Buzz Lightyear analogue. Eventually, Smudge’s uncle is surrounded by dust, and out of it, he transforms “back” into a former alter-ego, Captain Fray, a megalomaniac supervillain horrified at just how clean the world is, and who decides to sully it as much as possible, flying around the city spreading dirt rays and even transforming the population into pollution-fanatics. Eventually he’s defeated and transformed back into normal, only thinking he had a weird dream. 
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Upon subsequent appearences, Fray would acquire things like sludge minions, underground lairs and ever increasing powers (like in the above sequence where he somehow destroys a rainbow and darkens the sky with a single gesture), although he would eventually gain a Kryptonite-esque weakness to water. Captain Fray would go on to become the most reocurring villain of Monica’s Gang for the next 40 years, as the former concept of him being Smudge’s uncle was dropped and he became instead the ruler of an underground race of sludge monsters created by him, who’d occasionally come on to the surface in order to engage in supervillain plots to take over the world and spread dirt and pollution everywhere, sometimes in stories with an environmental angle, and often when the story calls for superhero antics. 
Fray’s got a very standard Grinch/Captain Hook cartoon villain personality, all cackles and snarls and shaking fists at the meddling kids who ruin his plans everytime, proud of being evil and rotten, but never too rotten to the point he betrays the kid-friendly nature of the stories he’s in, nor too rotten that he can’t do something nice for a change like allow his monsters to celebrate Christmas even if it ruins his bad guy image, or begrudingly do a nice thing for Smudge. 
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Although for the most part, the “mainline” comics have dropped the angle of Fray being Smudge’s uncle, the two having a particular dynamic has stayed consistent still. Sometimes, Smudge is portrayed as the only member of the Gang who’s got little to no problem with Fray, even welcoming the change of scenery he brings, although he will stick with his friends, as often he’s the only one who’s got no problem being hit by Fray’s dirt rays. While sometimes Fray singles out destroying Smudge so his claim as the dirtiest being in the universe can never be challenged, he is more often depicted as having a soft spot for Smudge, sometimes considering him a pupil or potential successor to inherit his powers, and plenty of times, Smudge has done just that, although inevitably it never sticks, partially because Fray gets jealous or misses his former life, and partially because Smudge gets bored of supervillainy and just wants to go play with his friends again. 
The dynamic between Smudge and Fray has led to a lot of adventures between the two, and it’s something that’s been played up in the aforementioned manga spin-off, Monica Adventures. In it, the cast’s all been aged up to teenagers, and the adventures they get into respectively have taken much more of a shonen manga edge, much darker and weirder than anything the original kid comics could get away with, although not necessarily to it’s benefit, because I could not begin to describe just how much grimdark nonsense is in those, let’s just call it the Monica’s Gang equivalent of Jorge Joestar in terms of lunacy and leave it at that (although, to be clear, even the original “mainline” comics could get very, very weird themselves). Captain Fray has been a mainstay of said manga from the start, going through a series of redesigns, including one where he turns into a bootleg Sephiroth, and one where he tries rebranding himself into a suit-wearing gangster named “Black Dust”, which nobody really takes seriously. 
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It’s also granted Fray a backstory: As a kid, when he’d gone to the basement to read comics, his house was buried in a landslide. Afraid of death, he was met with a milipede claiming to serve “The Serpent” (the in-universe stand in for the devil, maybe, just bear with me here), claiming it would protec him so long as it returned the favor someday. He was afterwards transferred to an orphanage, teased by kids over his lack of hygiene and liking for superheroes and nicknamed “Captain Ugly” (again, his name, Fray is just the English translation), with rumors that his touch granted disease. After the orphanage closes, he’s adopted by a nurse and gains a step-brother in Smudge’s dad. 
Years down the line, and Feioso’s managed to acquire a house and make a decent living. He spends a lot of time with his nephew Smudge, teaching him how to build toys out of garbage (a habit of Smudge in the strips) and fly kites and so on. Until one day, in an update of his original story, he’s cleaning his house packed with dusty comics, and a shelf falls atop of him. The millipede from his childhood appears to recollect the debt:
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"Your mission is to pollude the Earth...rot it's soil...change it's atmosphere...darken the skies with smoke...so that the sun's rays may never again hit the surface of this planet!
"No! No, please! I-I don't want to hurt anyone!"
"You think you can refuse? You think you have a choice? Do you think you can escape your destiny? Evil does not tolerate weak servants. If you don't fill your end of the bargain, if you don't pay your debt...it will be transferred to the person you love most."
"Smudge? NO!! H-How do you know about my nephew?"
"We know of all that happens. Our eyes...are everywhere."
"Smudge has nothing to do with this. Leave him alone, please...I-I'll do anything you guys want!"
"So be it...Filthy powers will corrode your soul...This is the day of your rebirth! How would you like to be rebaptized?
"The nickname I was given at the orphanage...it's perfect! Captain Ugly strikes again!"
How “canon” the events of Monica Adventures are is a question best left unspoken, since it ultimately doesn’t change anything about the original strips. But regardless of what made Fray who he is, he would spend the following decades in many, many attempts to complete his mission and defeat Monica’s Gang, to be foiled and stopped time and time again by his nephew and his friends, little more than a dumb, cartoon villain there to be smacked again and again, too dumb to quit and too mean to stop. So he was, and so he will always be.
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But something interesting’s happened recently with him. As part of the Graphic MSP initiative that’s allowed creators to reinvent the many, many characters of Monica’s Gang for stand-alone graphic novels, Captain Fray’s received one in the form of Capitão Feio: Identidade, which isn’t so much an origin story as it tells the story of a homeless man with no knowledge of his past or where he acquired the superpowers that force him to be on the constant run from society, and it tells the story of how said man eventually became the infamous supervillain, despite his many attempts to be a superhero. 
The comic and it’s sequel, Tormenta, acted more of a proof of concept to test whether or not a serious reimagining of Captain Fray can work, and considering their reception and the newfound love that the Captain seems to have attained in recent years, I’d say they succedeed pretty damn well. He’s ostracized for his appearence, poverty, smell and bad manners, and there’s hardly anything he can do about it because his powers make him a toxic abomination by default. He spends portions of the book trying to create living beings with his powers, and once he succeeds in creating a Godzilla-esque monster to protect him from the authorities, he ends up having to put the monster down, before getting fed up with constant rejection and promptly announcing that, if he’s just gonna be known as an ugly monster by the people, even after he saves them, he’s gonna make it a point to be Captain Ugly Monster, the most rotten supervillain they’ve ever seen. 
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The comic constantly grants upon Frey iconography of several of the biggest icons of comic books, from Batman and Superman to AKIRA, playing up not just Frey’s association with comic books but also the fact that he's been mired in that aesthetic from day one. He wanted to be a hero, he wanted to be like Captain Pitoco, and regardless of continuity, all that he ends up as is becoming a gross caricature of a superhero. And still, Frey owns it. He owns his grossness, his rage, his bitterness at everything that he understands to be the opposite of himself, everything clean and good and decent, and he tries time and time again to tear it down, even if he ultimately can never get far enough to accomplish his goals, or lose all of his humanity in the process.
I’ve remarked once that, to many in some regions of South America, the “traditional” superhero does not hold much appeal, and most of the more popular protagonists and icons tend to be outlaws far away from caped antics. Which is why it’s particularly interesting that, not only is the most famous caped superman of Brazilian comic books a villain, but also that, perhaps unintentionally, Fray has undergone the kind of development that most reocurring cartoon villains never get, and one that seems almost poised to last. In a current zeitgest of villain protagonists, it’s successes and failures, I could very easily see Captain Fray becoming the star of a popular film or series, one that takes a look not just at his personality and role, but also at Brazilian culture’s relationship with superheroes and supervillains. Maybe Fray as an anti-hero, trying to make the best of the horrendous powers he’s burdened with, could work.
So long as it’s not revealed that he likes dirt because his mom got pushed off a cliff by cleaning products, I could see it working very well.
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the-fae-folk · 3 years
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What is a Fairy?
I suppose they probably need some explanation, especially nowadays. Fairies (Faeries, Fay, Fey, Fae, or even Fair Folk) could be considered a type of mythical being. Some have described them as spirits, others as ghosts of the deceased, some deified ancestors, prehistoric precursors to humans, personifications of nature, pagan deities, or even angels and demons in the way of Christian traditions. Often they encompass a metaphysical aspect, being depicted as spirits or beings who transcend the physical universe and world that we know. Or given features of the Supernatural, such as magic or extrasensory perception, which allow them to violate or go beyond the laws of nature. Even sometimes Preternatural, which something abnormal or strange and explainable but still within the boundaries of the natural laws of the universe (for example I could say someone is a preternaturally good cellist, and mean that they are impossibly good beyond expectations or even belief, but I’m not saying that they are actually magical...just that their apparent abilities and how they gained them are unknown and very strange to me.) But what is a fairy? Well you already know what some of them look like. Many people might immediately picture Tinkerbell from the animated Disney feature film, or even from the original Peter Pan novel by J. M. Barrie. And they would be correct, in part. Tinkerbell is a depiction of a Pixie, a specific type of fairy. But there are lots of fairy types, I don’t actually think there’s a complete list. (I should probably try to make one at some point, but no promises.) During some points in history the label of fairy was used to mean magical beings who had a mostly human shape. Gnomes, leprechauns, goblins, pixies, dwarfs, elfs, etc etc etc. And at other points it also included non humanoid magical creatures such as Unicorns, Dragons, Kelpie, Basilisk, and more (Sometimes these were referred to as Fairy Creatures). So where did they come from? Well the funny thing is that Fairies don’t actually come from only one area or set of myths. They are a strange combination of the folklore from all over Europe (and possibly beyond) and include ideas and stories from Celtic, Scandinavian, Nordic, Germanic, French, and English Folklore and Mythology. As these stories were passed around and intermingled and changed they brought about the collective creatures we know today as the Fae or Fairies. The Renaissance, Romantic Era, Victorian Era, Edwardian Era, and even the Celtic Revival Movement of the 19th and 20th centuries all had their influences on the stories and ideas connected with the Fairy folk, some significantly less helpful than others. Even the Fantasy Literature Genre, with Tolkien at its forefront, has added and changed much about people’s view on these creatures. So lets talk about some basic things you’ll want to know when dealing with Fairies. The first thing you might want to remember is that many people view the Tuatha Dé Danann (Supernatural gods, goddesses, heroes, and kings of Irish Mythology) as being the source for Faeries, or at least one of the strongest influences. Celtic Folklore and culture is easily one of the most visible bits of Faerie lore that you can find these days, but there’s a lot more that starts showing up when you begin to dig. Another thing to note is that the Renaissance, Romantic Era, Victorian Era, Edwardian Era, and the Celtic Revival Movement had a massive influence on how people saw fairies. They would mix folklore from different areas of Europe, attempted to prove the existence of fairies through scientific means, created artistic depictions of fairies, and much more. Often they sanitized and shrunk the fairies until they were mostly harmless or relegated to the outskirts of human life as a curiosity. Which brings me to the next point. In a lot of older folklore, from all over Europe, fairy beings are often depicted as being incredibly dangerous. Kidnapping humans or human babies, causing crops to wither, water to dry up, food to rot. They could lure people in with magic into a fairy ring of mushrooms and make them dance forever or make them forget their life. Sometimes they even played with time itself. A person could dance with the fairies only to find that they’ve been gone a hundred years when they try to go home. And many beliefs have depictions of some kind of Otherworld, a world apart from our own, or layered over it like an extra dimension we are unable to perceive or directly interact with. Sometimes its a land of the dead or a hidden underground kingdom, other times is a strange and fantastical country with its own laws and ways of doing things. As these stories meshed together we got what is known as Fairyland. The land which the fairies dwell in. Though some believe they simply live on Earth, hidden in the wild, or among us. Some reoccurring ideas are often connected with fairies, though not all have stayed the same as the original lore they were born from. The idea that Faeries, for whatever reason, are unable to or will not lie. This is a very important idea because the Folk are also simultaneously depicted as deceptive. Like particularly vicious lawyers they will play with words, never quite lying, but purposefully leading you astray or tricking you into a bad deal. They will often obey an oath, promise, or deal exactly to the letter, but ignore the intent behind it in order to twist it to their own benefit or amusement. Whether or not fairies are immortal depends entirely on where you draw your folklore from. Sometimes they are immortal; deathless, not mortal. Unable to die in spite of starvation, terrible wounds, age, or anything else. They are bound to life for all time. But some stories depict the stranger Fae Folk as being Eternal. Beyond time, always having existed and always existing, sometimes cycling, sometimes directionless and boundless and everything. Some tough concepts to get your head around, but nobody really agrees which one fairies are. In some folklore they’re even depicted as mortal, same as you and I, but a lot longer lived and harder to kill. A reoccurring motif in older Folklore is the need of humans to try and ward off fairies with charms and totems. When they were not depicted as outright malicious and dangerous, sometimes being thought to cause illness and death or bring about disastrous misfortune or steal a person’s name and voice, fairies were still mischievous and valiantly unhelpful. So people had all kinds of lucky charms to protect from them: like four leaf clovers, various plants, or actions like wearing your clothes inside out to confuse them. Iron is said in many beliefs to burn them, and certain herbs they view as sacred and will refrain from touching the bearer. A few more things. Christianity plays an important part in this discussion, though many people don’t like that. In many places myths and legends were wiped out by Christianity, either intentionally or simply by the very fact that it was trying to convert people in Europe and old pagan beliefs were seen as nonsensical. But still stories persisted despite this. Many old Myths and Folkloric beliefs were recorded for posterity by Christians, and some stories were altered and we are unable to see exactly how much (Beowulf). A lot of fairy stories remained too, only Christianity painted them as fallen angels or even demons of a kind, who could be kept away from Holy Ground, or were forced to kidnap humans to pay a tithe to Hell (or be taken themselves if they couldn’t pay). So folk beliefs, though generally discouraged by the church as superstition, remained quite strong all over Europe for a very long time. The last three things you need to know. One, there are many people who still believe in Fairies, though their beliefs often vary, sometimes wildly. Witches who claim to work with them. People who believe in them through their religions (usually pagans and other non christian groups). People who claim to have encountered or been abducted by them. And many others. While I personally do not believe in Fairies (though I like to keep an open mind, just in case), I do believe that the beliefs, cultures, and and rights of these people ought to be respected. Which leads me to other mythical beings that are similar to Fairies but hail from cultures and peoples outside of Europe. It might be tempting to label some of the spirits from various Native North American Tribes or from Chinese Folklore (or many others) as fairies. Don’t do that. If Fairies are real, you have to consider that there might be other mythical beings who fall under different categories and groups. And even if they are not real, it is extremely disrespectful to the people of those cultures to take their stories, myths, beliefs, and folklore and try to mesh it in with European Folklore. (this is exactly what the Victorian and Edwardian Era were guilty of.) And finally... Some people might tell you that they know everything there is to know about Fairies. Don’t believe them. Even I, who have spent years and years studying European Faerie Folklore, find new things about them every day. I have sources I’ve found and haven’t yet had the time to look into, areas of study I’ve had to neglect. There is so much about Fairies to explore that it’s quite literally impossible for any one person to know all of it. Personally I’m doubtful that a single person can even know an eighth of it all, you can hardly imagine how much there is. And while there is a great deal of it buried on the internet, there is even more offline. Books which are out of print or have never had their contents uploaded, cultural stories passed down in various European groups which are saved from oblivion only by the oratory tradition, and the remains of all kinds of long dead or vastly changed civilizations who believed in the Fairies and tried to work with or avoid or appease them. All the misinformation and personal gnoses out there also make it a lot harder to find accurate information about traditional folklore. And that’s not even counting the multitude of inventions and ideas spawned by fictional literature surrounding fairies. There is simply too much. But of course... Since when has something being impossible ever stopped a human from trying anyway? If you’re still interested, then who am I to discourage you? Go, jump right in. There’s so much to learn about the Faerie Folk.
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jenoptimist · 3 years
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you may have only gotten half a pudding cup but you got yourself a real life Disney Prince, so who’s the real winner?
✮ Pairing: kunhang x reader (gender neutral)
✮ Genre: fluff
✮ Word count: 5.8k
♡ Yakult says: hendery!!!!in!!glasses!!!!!!! pls i love him sm 🥲
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There was a phone number in you calculus textbook that you were one hundred percent sure you never wrote down. Not that you could, anyway, considering that it was a library book. Well, no, techincally you could write it in but you wouldn’t dare. The longer you stared at the handful of digits, the more you freaked out. You absolutely could not afford to be fined! The whole reason why you borrowed it from your college library was so that you didn’t have to spend money in the first place!
After gathering your materials and stuffing them into your bag, you hurriedly left your local library. You fished your phone out of your pocket, scrolled through your – admittedly pathetically short – list of contacts and called the person who you suspected wad the source of your small dilemma.
“‘Sup?” Yangyang greeted.
“Be honest with me,” you said seriously, immediately cutting to the chase, “were you the one who wrote the number?”
There was a beat of silence, and then, “what number?”
“You know,” you urged as you neared the apartment complex that the two of you lived in. “The one in my calculus textbook? I borrowed it from the college library and I don’t want to get into shit if they find it.”
“That wasn’t me!”
“Oh really?” You asked in disbelief as you hopped into the elevator and punched the number to your floor. After what you dubbed as, ‘The Spaghetti Incident of 2018’ you could never be too sure with him. When he replied that he didn’t, you asked him another two times. Throughout your friendship with Yangyang, you found that the trick to getting him to admit the truth was to keep badgering him until he either: got fed up or thought that whatever he did was no longer funny.
“I swear on my Hot Wheels!”
You hummed in consideration. His Hot Wheels collection was his utmost pride and joy - second only to his large sneaker collection - especially since he owned a handful of exclusive and rare ones. They were all displayed neatly on several shelves on one of the walls in his bedroom. They were even color coordinated and everything! Sometimes, when you went to offer him some food, you found him staring at them with a wide smile, his eyes full of admiration.
“Oh,” you frowned as you grabbed your keys from your jacket pocket but before you could slot your key into the lock, the door opened. Yangyang, the dork, greeted you over the phone even though he stood in front of you, a boyish grin displayed on his face. You rolled your eyes, not able to smother your smile as you hung up and stepped inside, locking the door behind you. It was noticeably warmer than usual and the apartment smelled if something toasty, which only meant one thing. “Pizza?” You guessed confidently.
Just as he gave you an affirmative, the oven began beeping to signal that it was finished. As Yangyang brought everything to the coffee table in front of your couch, you slipped off your shoes, dropped your bag and shrugged your coat off. While he cut the pizzas into almost even slices, you grabbed two cans of soda from the fridge.
Although it was still piping hot, you couldn’t help but take big bites. Your slice of doughy goodness was diminished within seconds. Solving calculus problems did thay to you. It was your least favorite module of the semester and brought on a headache whenever you left your lectures.
“This is so good.” You remarked as you took another slice. You loved a good margherita from Dominos but there was nothing like a frozen pizza from your local supermarket—the additives was probably what made it delicious, the cheap price just happened to be a bonus. Yangyang definitely felt the same, seeing as how the two of you devoured both pizzas within minuts, silence taking over the room.
You took a sip of your soda after popping open the top. “I”–you didn’t like the mischief that danced in uour room-mate’s eyes–“dare you to call the number.”
In your haste to swallow it, the soda passed through your throat uncomfortably, as if it were a large stone. “Nuh-uh.” You said with a shake of your head. There was absolutely no way you were going to call that number! You were just going to forget that it was even there. Or maybe you would return the book and hope that the next unfortunate student who will borrow it would be the one to pay whatever fine they had for ‘defacing public property’, as the college liked to call it. You didn’t know how many people had a calculus module in their course but you sure hoped that it was a large number.
“Awh come on, y/n!” At the firm shake of your head, he folded his arms and pouted slightly. A moment of silence passed and then, “I’ll give you a twenty.”
You took another sip of your soda as you mulled it over. “How about a ten and your last mango pudding cup for a text?”
Yangyang sucked a breath through his teeth. “That’s a tough bargain.” You shrugged, he hogged the other five pudding cups for himself so if he really wanted you to call this mystery person, he would have to give up the remaining one. “Okay, what if I give you fifteen and we split the pudding cup.”
“Better than nothing.” You conceeded after a second of thinking it over.
Yangyang’s grin stretched from ear to ear as he held out his hand for you to take. Once you shook it, the two of you quickly cleaned up. Not even ten minutes later, the last pudding cup and two spoons were on the table along with the textbook, opened on the page with the number on it. Yangyang leaned closer to your shoulder, his head practically resting on top of yours as he watched you type in the number and text.
to: 13X XXXX XXXX
hey! i found ur number on a textbook i borrowed from the library so i thought i’d say hi i guess?
“Now we wait.” Yangyang said as he returned to his seat and opened the pudding cup. He handed you your spoon and the two of you dug in, eventually fighting for the last bit.
The reply came when you and Yangyang were watching Into The Spiderverse. Neither of you paused the movie when you heard the notification sound your phone let out—you had seen it countless times; twice when it was in cinemas and every so often whenever it was on Netflix.
You were slightly nervous about the reply, which was silly considering that you didn’t even know the person, but you opened up the text anyway so that it would be over and done with.
from: 13X XXXX XXXX
Hi. My friend just told me he wrote it in there before I transferred. I’d be grateful if you could rub it out or use correction tape to get rid of it. Also, please delete my number.
You pursed your mouth at the response. It wasn’t as if you were hoping to be best friends or anything but the prospect of befriending someone had definitely excited you. You had college friends but that was liferally what they were: friends who you only saw in college. None of them hung out with you outside of college and whenever you did offer, they would either say yes to humour you – which, unfortunately, was blatantly obvious – or came up with an excuse. Which sucked, for obvious reasons but you would survive. The only people you had actually managed to successfully befriend were Yangyang (because he was looking for a room-mate at the time) and his best friend, Dejun.
“Uh-oh,” came Yangyang’s voice. “What did they say?” He was quick to read the text after you turned your phone to show him the screen. “Whoever it is, they’re very, um,” he paused for a moment while he thought of a fitting description, scratching his head, “grammatically correct?” At your nod of agreement, he added, “at least he said ‘please’.”
You shrugged as you typed a quick reply. “I guess.”
to: 13X XXXX XXXX
sure thing
from: 13X XXXX XXXX
Thank you.
The two of you refocused your attention to the movie, the texts completely forgotten once you received his reply. Later that night, you did as you were requested and used correction tape to hide the number—which was written in neat, tiny green ink. You were aware that covering the numbers in correction tape would also be considered as ‘defacing public property’ too, but it was for the sake of the stranger’s privacy. It seemed as though you were the fiest to contact the number but, still, if you were in their position, you wouldn’t like your number to be in public property either.
As for the text, you took a screenshot of it for Yangyang, who asked for it so that he could show Dejun while he typed away in your groupchat, and then erased the number from your phone.
*
Two weeks later, you found yourself sitting at the study desk in your room, staring helplessly at the blank answer boxes of the calculus assignment you had been told to complete and submit before the end of next week. You wanted to cry in frustration as you redirected your gaze down to your notebook where you had been trying to solve the equations. The entire page was a mess and your desk was coverd with eraser bits. It had gotten to the point where some parts of the page had gone grainy, like it always did when you repeatedly erased something on the same area. There wasn’t a single problem that you managed solve—no matter how hard you tried. It was pathetic, really.
With a sigh, you decided to take the break that you had put off, not wanting to take one until you solved a problem (ha!) as a reward. Maybe you would rewatch the entire Twilight saga again (Dejun had managed to convince you to read the series a couple of months back and the movies had become something like a guilty pleasure of yours,) because it was clear that you were going absolutely nowhere.
Just as you had started Eclipse, you heard the door open but didn’t bother moving from your spot. In fact, you hadn’t moved since you started your movie marathon a few hours ago because you were all too comfortable buried inside your fluffy blanket on the couch.
“Perfect timing!” Dejun’s rich voice bellowed, “it just started.” There was the sound of socked feet running towards the couch and then he lifted your legs, sat down and laid them down on top of his lap.
“Hey Dejun.” You greeted, raising your hand for a high five.
When he slapped his palm against yours, he asked, “how’re you doing?”
Just as you opened your mouth to answer, Yangyang spoke up. “Judging from the Twilight marathon that’s going on,” there was a hissing sound of a can opening and the audible sound of him taking a quick sip of whatever canned beverage he was holding, “not very good.”
“Hey!” You exclaimed but your your friend only shrugged, smiling amusedly. “He’s right though,” you grumbled, “I’m really struggling with calculus at the moment.” Struggling was an understatement. You really wanted to pass it because you definitely didn’t want to repeat the exam. That would be a nightmare.
Dejun looked at you sympathetically before he made an affronted noise in his throat, one that you felt deeply in your soul as he turned to face Yangyang. “The Twilight saga is a cinematic masterpiece and you absolutely cannot change my mind.”
“Okay,” the blond replied, clearly up for the challenge. “But it’s not better than Shrek now, is it?”
“Shrek?” Dejun repeated incredulously. “Shrek is an iconic classic but the Twilight saga? Definitely on a different wavelength. The scene in New Moon where Bella just sits on her chair looking out the window soullessly? Perfection! It was a fantastic book to movie adaptation. And don’t even get me started on—”
“As thrilling as your debate is becoming,” you said, interrupting the point that the brunet was about to make, “I’d really love to continue the movie so I can hear young BooBoo Stewart say, ‘newest, bestest, brightest’ to help me feel a crumb of joy.” You were unable to find it in yourself to feel guilty about cutting in. They could take their debate somewhere else while you continued to wallow in your feelings of failure.
The pair read your mood easily and shrugged at one another in concession. Dejun patted your leg lightly in comfort as Yangyang jumped on the couch to sit on your other side, giving you a quick side-hug before focusing on the movie. It was silent up until Rosalie finished telling Bella her the story about her past.
“I’ve been thinking,” Dejun spoke up.
“Uh-oh.” Yangyang muttered playfully to you, his voice purposefully loud. You huffed out a laugh before lightly digging your elbow into his side, knowing that he’s had an awful share of ideas in the past.
Dejun stuck his tongue out at him but continued with what he began saying instead of retaliating. “Why don’t you text that person? The one whose number was in the textbook you borrowed? They must have done the module or something.”
You considered what he said seriously, even pausing the movie so that you could discuss it with him. “What if they didn’t though? What if it was their friend who borrowed the textbook? They did say that it was their friend who wrote it there.”
“Then you could just ask their friend for help.” Yangyang piped up. It was a statement that you couldn’t counter but that didn’t mean that you wouldn’t try to.
“I don’t have their number anymore,” you said to them. “They asked me to delete it, remember?”
“And that’s where you’re wrong,” Dejun told you as he reached into one of the pockets of his jeans and fished out his phone. Yangyang leaned over slightly and the two of you watched as Dejun quickly swiped his finger up his phone. “Here you go!” He said brightly, turning his phone so that you were facing the screen. And there it was: the screenshot that Yangyang asked you to take so that he could send it to Dejun. There was no way you could weasel your way out of this situation now.
“Okay,” you relented, “I’ll text them after we finish this saga.”
“If you text them after this movie, I’ll pay for take-out.” Yangyang bribed, eager for this idea to take place.
You weighed out the pros and cons briefly before agreeing with him. It would be a win-win situation: you would get take-out and a possible tutor. It seemed as if time moved quicker because the movie felt as though it finished within a few minutes. As Yangyang dialed the number for a local take-out place, you slowly typed out a text, him and Dejun watching you with hawk eyes.
to: 13X XXXX XXXX
hi! it’s me again. i know you don’t know me but could you please help me with calc? or your friend, whoever borrowed the textbook. please. i feel like my brain is melting
You flung your phone on the table, laid back down on the sofa and released a long sigh. It would be a lie if you said that you weren’t hoping that they would say yes. You were trying your best but it was as if your brain refused to coorperate with you when it came to calculus. If only Yangyang or Dejun were enrolled in the same course as you. It was often that you thoughr that wistfully, especially during times such as this.
It was when you were about to shove a huge lump of lo mein into your mouth that your phone lit up, indicating that you received a notification. You stuffed the noodles into your mouth and grabbed your phone off of the table, dropping your wooden chopsticks into the rest of your dish.
“What did they say?” Dejun asked as he bit into an egg roll.
“Depends,” you read out. “Would I get paid for it?” You practically exclaimed the last part. It was fair that they were wondering about payment after all, who would want to tutor for free? The thought of the amount in your bank account had you cringing, you couldn’t afford to pay for a tutor at the minute. Although, you couldn’t afford to fail your module, either. So it was a lose-lose sotuation. You sighed before shoving another chopstick full of noodles into your mouth as you thought of a reply, eyes never leaving your screen. “How can I say, ‘no I cant’t but I really need your help’ without sounding desperate?”
“You can’t.” Yangyang replied matter-of-factly, chewing on his mapo tofu.
to: 13X XXXX XXXX
no but u’d have my gratitude forever???????
from: 13X XXXX XXXX
Oh.
[typing. . .]
I’ll have to think about it.
[typing. . .]
Just kidding! I’ll help you out, free of charge. Would you like to do it over the phone or meet IRL?
You cheered loudly when their last text delivered. “I’m guessing they said yes?” Dejun said, smirking smugly. You nodded, grinning widely as your fingers flew on the keyboard in your phone.
to: 13X XXXX XXXX
omg ur a lifesaver!!!!! maybe over the phone?? it’ll probably be more convenient foe the both of us :)
from: 13X XXXX XXXX
Gotcha. We can discuss our schedule sometime tomorrow.
*
Your tutor, Wong Kunhang, was surprisingly really helpful. He was much more friendly than you thought he would be, immediately introducing himself after greeting you over the phone. For the entire three hours that the two of you were on the phone, he was nothing but the epitome of patience. Not only that, but he explained everything in a way that you could easily understand and even cracked a lame joke or two to break the tension whenever he noticed that you were becoming incredibly frustrated. By the end of the session, you felt microscopically better about calculus. While you couldn’t say that you were especially ecstatic for the upcoming lectures and assignments, it was safe to say that, while you had a long way to go, things were sort of looking up.
from: Wong Kunhang (tutor)
Same time next week?
to: Wong Kunhang (tutor)
definitely!!
[typing. . .]
also if ur comfortable with it can we pls video chat instead?? i think it would be much quicker than us sending each other pictures back and forth
from: Wong Kunhang (tutor)
That’s a good idea! I can’t believe we didn’t think of it earlier ahahaha.
*
As you worked through the practice problems that Kunhang prepared for you, you couldn’t help but sneakily stare at your phone to catch a glimpse of him repeatedly. It sure came as a surprise when it came time for the video call and you found yourself face to face with a Disney Prince who came to life. There was no other way to sum up how handsome he was. He somewhat reminded you of Prince Eric—what with his black hair, wide, bright eyes and kind smile. It wasn’t as if you thought or expected that he would he unnattractive. In fact, you hadn’t really wondered about what he would look like at all since you had a long list of priorities. None of which included thinking about whether or not you would find your tutor attractive.
But still. Kunhang was definitely one of those people who were blessed with beauty and brains. One of the Universe’s favorites, if you will.
“You good? Are you stuck on something?” You started at Kunhang’s voice, eyes flying from your phone to your page and back to meet his expectant look. You murmured a negative and resolutely kept your gaze on your work for the next half an hour to avoid a repeat of what had just jappened.
*
After nearly two months, the tutoring session had become a bi-weekly thing. Sort of. Somewhere in between you whining about every question but toughing it out and him encouraging you while also lightly teasing you, you and Kunhang became friends. One of the two sessions somehow always ended up with the both of you chatting, completely abandoning the unsolved equations in favor of getting to know one another, or, mostly recently, switching back and forth between the show that the two of you suggested to one another.
This week you would be tuning into his suggestion, Love Death + Robots. Kunhang would talk every now and again during some parts, especially when it came to his favorites, but you found that you didn’t really mind. Not when he sounded so (adorably) excited about it. The series itself was pretty good so far albeit short – six episodes in total, and the two of you were already on the fourth one – which meant that the you that you recommended (The Office because you were astounded that he hadn’t watched at least one episode) would soon become the primary source of entertainment since the two of you were only on season three.
As you stood in the snacks aisle, internally debating one which type of popcorn you should purchase (salted or buttered? the microwaveable kind or loose kernels? also, which brand? there were so many options, maybe too many,) your phone vibrated in your pocket. Swapping your basket from your non-dominant hand to your dominant one, you pulled out your phone and answered it.
“Hello?”
“Hey!” Kunhang greeted back brightly, “uh, so listen, I know we have our thing later but one of my sisters is moving out of her apartment and she asked me to help. Is it okay if we cancel?” The poor guy sounded super apologetic.
“Yeah, totally! Help her out!”–briefly, you thought about offering your assistance before deciding against it because that would be awkward and weird. Weirdly awkward. Awkwardly weird. Whatever–“I mean, it’s not like what we do is a set thing, anyway. I’ll probably ask the guys to hang out instead.” You eyed your basket full of snacks and made a mental note to grab the particular brand of potato chips that Dejun liked, already predicting that he would agree.
The silence that followed seemed to stretch on for hours on end. You would have assumed that the line dropped or went dead for some reason but you could definitely hear some shuffling sounds on the other side and, in a totally non-creepy way, Kunhang’s breathing.
“Right,” he finally replied, drawling the word out. There was another silence that felt extremely awkward. You wondered what facial expression he was making at the moment. It could have possibly clued you into what he as thinking. “Well that’s all I wanted to say I guess.”
“Oh,” you mumbled and then after a beat, you followed up with, “do you prefer salted or buttered popcorn? I’m trying to choose right now but I can’t decide.”
“Definitely salted. Buttered always leaves my mouth feeling weird.” You hummed while trapping you phone in between your ear and shoulder so that you could grab the generic box brand of microwaveable salted popcorn. The conversation carred on without anymore awkward pauses. You picked up a couple of items that he recommended every now and again, trusting his judgement. “Hey, you know what we should do?” Kunhang said as you queued up for the self-service checkout line, eyeing the items on display. When you hummed in response, he followed with, “we should hang out next week. In real life. We could do it on Sunday so you’ll still have one day of tutoring.”
It felt somewhat embarrassing that you agreed so quickly to his suggestion. You definitely should have played it cool but you had been meaning to ask him the same thing for a while now, so you were glad that he suggested it. “We can meet up at a café or something! Maybe have lunch? I’m paying, though!” It was only fair since he was helping you out for free.
“Lunch sounds good.”
“Great!”
“Great!” Kunhang mimicked, just as enthusiastically. “I’ve got to go but I’ll text you later?”
Both of you said your goodbyes then hung up. After tucking your phone back into your pocket, you made your way to the till that just freed up and began scanning your items. Once everything was paid for and bagged, you retrieved your phone to shoot a quick text in the group chat with Yangyang and Dejun, asking them if they felt like watching a movie franchise with you. They agreed, but only after Yangyang asked if ‘you’re weekly date with Kunhang got cancelled’ which earned him a picture of you flipping him off.
*
“Today’s the big date, huh?” Yangyang asked teasingly as you checked your appearance in the mirror once more, sprawled out on the couch as he made his way through his third mango pudding cup. From beside him, Dejun and Yukhei – the newest addition to your friend group since he and Dejun had to do an assignment together – gave your form an assessing once over.
Dejun, smiling mischievously, said, “obviously, can’t you tell by how nicely they’re dressed.”
You mock glared at the pair while Yukhei lightly slapped Dejun for his comment. Then he, bless his heart, beamed at you and said, “you look great!”
“Thank you,” you replied, smiling sweeting at him before addressing the other two, you firmly said, “and it’s not a date. We’re just hanging out, like the three, now four”–you corrected, glancing over at Yukhei–“of us do on a regular basis.”
“Oh, are they just a friend from your course then or something?” Yukhei asked curiously while Dejun and Yangyang hummed in unison, disbelief clear in their tones.
“No, it’s this guy, he helps me out with calculus. We’ve never met in person but he’s really nice.”
“I should hope so,” muttered Yangyang, peeling the seal off another mango pudding cup. “You’ve been crushing on him for a while now, so it would be a bummer if he wasn’t.” He said through a mouthful.
“Am not!”
“Are too!” Dejun countered for him.
“Am not,” Yangyang mimicked. “So what about all the times you’ve mentioned him then, huh?” And then he placed his pudding cup on the table, clasped his hands together by his cheeks and, in a voice that was meant to sound like yours, said, “‘oh, Kunhang told me this stuff is really good, we should try it out!’, ‘Kunhang is so smart!’, ‘can you believe Kunhang volunteers at the animal shelter and the nursery home as much as he can? Isn’t that so sweet?’, ‘Kunhang has such a Disney Prince smile!’. You gush about him all the time, it’s kinda sickening.”
You threw your arm out at him as you looked towards Dejun, hoping for some back up but you should have known better. They were your best friends after all. Dejun simply shrugged as he snatched a pudding cup from the coffee table and said, “to be fair, you do gush about him a lot. And! Whenever you text him, which most of the time, you get this goofy smile one your face.”
“Huh,” Yukhei mumbled, his tone full of thought. “This guy sounds a lot like one of my buddies.” The three of you looked at him with wide, curious eyes. When he noticed, he added, “it’s probably just a coincidence?” Although his tone suggested otherwise.
“Probably,” you replied as you grabbed your keys and shoved them in your pocket. “I’ve gotta get going or else I’ll be late.” You said as you made a beeline towards the door and slipped on the shoes you thought best suited your outfit. “Don’t wait up!”
“Why?” Yangyang replied just as you were about to close the door, playfulness evident in his voice, “I thought it was just lunch.” The other two cackled at that but you flipped him off and left the apartment, trusting that one of them would like the door behind you.
It was fortunate that you managed to catch the bus on time. After paying the appropriats fare, you made your way towards the back, earphones plugged in so that you could listen to some music along the way. Once seated, you took out your phone sent a text to Kunhang to let him know that you were on your way. His response was immediate, informing you that he was already nearby because his sister had asked him to run an errand for her, and asked you to text him when you were close.
Horizon was a cute little place that served as both a café and restaurant. It was sandwiched between a thrift shop and music store but, surprisingly, didn’t look the least bit out of place among the buildings. As you walked closed to it, you saw Kunhang standing by the entrance, bopping his head as he used his phone.
“Kunhang!” You called when you were close enough, after taking off your earphones and stuffing them into your pocket. Judging from the way he jolted slightly, you startled him. “Hey,” you greeted warmly when he removed his earphones. “You could have waited inside.”
Kunhang shrugged, a brilliant smile etched onto his face, “I thought it’d be easier if we walked in together.”
When you entered, you thought that you would have to find somewhere else to eat due to the amount of people present, but the staff who was waiting by the door only asked if you were eating in and then lead you to a table in the far corner of the room, right beside the window.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, y’know, in person.” Kunhang said as he browsed through the menu.
“You too,” you replied, peeking up from your own menu to find him wearing a hint of a smile. “I can’t believe it took us this long to be honest.”
Kunhang chuckled at that and nodded in agreement.
The meal seemed to fly by even though you left Horizon a little later than expected. You were still laughing as you headed out, thanking the waiter that served you one more time as you passed by him, at a story that Kunhang recounted that took place during his childhood. Although his texting style suggested otherwise, Kunhang was hilarious—which you knew already since he often made you laugh whenever you were on the phone with him, it was just a different feeling compared to the experience in person. You were almost sad at the thought of your time being over with him, until he jammed his hands into his pockets and, rocking back and forth on his herl, asked if you wanted to go get some ice cream since he knew a really good place nearby. And who were you to say no to that offer?
After fighting, again, over who would pay, the two of you roamed around for a bit, slipping into this store and that to window shop. Only when the stores began to close did you realize how late it had gotten. It wasn’t dark out, not yet, and you were surprised that several hours had passed since you first met up with Kunhang.
“Ready to call it quits?” You asked as the two of you began to make your way to where you would wait for your bus.
Kunhang shook his head and pointed somewhere behind you. “Let’s go to the playground over there. Race you.” And with that, he took off, leaving you to stare at him dumbfoundedly until your brain registered what he said and you ran after him.
“Cheater!” You huffed when you reached him, hands on your knees as you caught your breath.
Kunhang did nothing but through his head back and laugh at you. Attractively. It was something to ignore—his attractiveness, that was. But it was awfully difficult and all you could do was hope that he didn’t notice how you were looking at him. You couldn’t help it! Even though his outfit was relatively basic – just some gray-brown sweatshirt, black joggers and a pair of white sneakers – he looked effortlessly good. And it wasn’t just his appearance that made him attractive, either, oh no, because that just wasn’t enough. He also had to have an amazing personality.
“Let’s go over there,” he said after he sobered up, nodding towards the spring riders. “No racing this time.” He added with a wide grin. You weren’t able to suppress your own grin quick enough, rolling your eyes as you shoved his shoulder.
“I’m glad we met up today,” you admitted sincerely as you rocked back and forth on the spring ride. “You’re even better in person.”
Kunhang stopped rocking on his spring ride and looked at you. “I’m glad we met up today, too.” He told you with a smile that turned into one that was more sweet and shy as he said, “we should do it again some time, y’know, when we aren’t flooded with assignments and stuff.”
“Totally!”
“How about, maybe,”–Kunhang’s tongue darted out a sliver of his to wet his lips–“as a date?”
You stared at him in shock which he met head-on, that sweet, shy smile of his still present. You could feel a smile threaten to rise and you allowed it, messing with the hem of your top as you nodded in agreement. “That would be nice.”
“Really?” He asked, his tone both excited and unbelieving. When you assured him that you would be really looking forward to it, he said, “that’s– that’s great! I can’t wait, either.” Then, he jumped of his spring ride, held out his hand and pressed a feather light kiss to your knuckles like the Disney Prince he was when you placed your hand in his.
“We should probably head home.” You said, hand still in his. Kunhang never let go, so you figured he was okay with you interlocking your fingers and swinging your hands back and forth.
Like the gentleman he was, he waited for your bus with you and waited until you got on it, blowing kisses at you through the window. Your smile was so big your cheeks began to hurt as you pretended to catch the kisses.
(Later, after you had told Yangyang about how the day went swimmingly, you received a text from Kunhang and couldn’t help but huff out a small laugh. Your room-mate shot you a curious look so you let him read the text.
from: kunhang 💘
You know Yukhei?!?!?!!!!)
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kbuggg3 · 3 years
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JC Caylen Imagine: “Don’t Be Sorry”
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Today's has been a pretty eventful day to say the least. While my boyfriend JC was out with some old friends who came into town to visit him, me and my dad got into a fight... again.
But the thing that hurts the most is not only is this the 4th time in a row he's been caught, but I'm the one that keeps witnessed it. Your probably wonder "the 4th time? Why do you keep falling for his bullshit?"
Welp. He's my dad. I'm not just gonna give up on him completely. When we would catch him doing something he would let fake tears fall from his eyes as he was apologizing to us and we would forgive him.
And then we'd catch him again, he'd apologize, we'd forgive him. It was an endless cycle. But this time I knew I can't get my hopes up to high anymore.
My mom always told me it takes years to build trust and seconds to destroy it. I felt that. He didn't only ruin my trust with him, but my trust with everyone else. I let everything that happened get to my head and now I have major trust issues. With the exception of one person.
JC Caylen
Before i met JC my life was pretty miserable. I lived in Florida with my mom and my older sister. After my mom and dad got divorced, my family slowly started going down hill.
My dad was barely in the picture due to his constant sneaking around as he was hooking up with random people and getting drunk and being so lazy that he never even bothered covering his tracks, allowing us to discover his dirty little secrets for ourselves.
My poor brother was clueless. Had no idea what his own father was doing behind his back and we didn't bother telling him because 1.) he was a very sensitive boy at the time and 2.) he looked to my dad for everything. My dad was his role model.
After awhile of all of this, my sister was diagnosed with depression. Not too severe but even the smallest bit can make you feel like shit. And as for me, I struggled with self love. Because I didn't really have a good male figure on my life I looked to guys for verification.
But after i spent a week with him and the rest of the O2l house at Vidcon i felt like my life was finally picking up. Fast forward a couple years and my sisters depression is gone, my brother grew up to be an amazing dad of 2 kids, and as for me, i stopped looking for verification in guys and me and JC started dating.
We've been dating for 2 years now and he has been nothing but amazing. I love him so much and I know he loves me. Ever since we've started dating people have been telling me they've never seen me so happy before or they've never seen me smile or laugh that much before.
I just wished he was here to comfort me right now. I haven't told him what happened yet. I didn't wanna ruin his day. He was hanging out with some old friends of his who flew down to visit him.
I wasn't gonna burden him with my stupid family issues while he was out with his friends. I turned on a random disney movie and began to watch as I continued to cry at random times when the old memories would pop up in my mind.
I would squeeze my eyes shut and burry my head in my pillow trying to make them stop but they never went away, no matter how hard i tried. Eventually I decided enough was enough. I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to call JC. I grabbed the phone and went to his name in my contacts. I dried my tears and took a few deep breaths to stop myself from crying so he wouldn't notice and be too worried.
After attempting to recollect myself, i pressed call, holding the phone up to my ear as i heard it ring. A few seconds later the line picked up and i heard his sweet voice on the other end.
"What's up baby." JC said in a super deep voice cause you to giggle only slightly.
"Hey JC. Um, I was just wondering when you were gonna be home?"
"Is my girl missing me already?"
"What do mean already you've been gone for hourrrrsssss." She groaned causing him to chuckle.
"I know baby I'm sorry. I'll actually be home soon."
I sighed with relief before responding, "Thank god!"
"Is everything ok (y/n)?"
Shit. Don't cry don't cry don't cry don't cry.
She sniffles a little and swallowed hard.
"Y-ya baby why do you ask?" My breath was uneven and he could tell.
"No no. Your not ok. I'm coming over right now."
Don't mess this up (y/n) he's having fun. Don't ruin his day.
"JC it's fine. I'm gonna be ok. Just go hang out with your friends. Have fun!"
"Gonna be?!"
I pulled back and cringed at my own words. Shouldn't have said that.
"Gonna be ok??? (y/n) what happened???" JC exclaimed again. She sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"JC I'm-"
Tell him your fine. He's with his friends. He doesn't need this right now.
Tell him what you tell everyone else in your life. Your fine.
"It's my dad again." I said with tears in my eyes.
What the fuck (y/n)! How could you?!
He can tell by my voice I was crying.
"Fuck. Baby I'm coming over right now." He side sternly. Was he mad?
"N-no JC it's ok really I-"
"No! (y/n) it's not ok! Baby he's put you through so much shit and I'm tired of it! You don't deserve that! You nor your family!" He began to shout a little and it caused her to cry harder. Not because I'm scared of him. But because he cared so much and that meant the world to her. He's the only one who gets it.
He did a deep sigh and you already knew he was running his hands through his hair and pacing, something he did when he was stressed, nervous, or in this case pissed off.
"I'm coming over. I'll be there in a few just hang on ok?"
At first no words were spoken. She didn't want to agree because she still felt bad about burdening him with it. But she was going to lose her fucking mind if he wasn't holding her ASAP so she finally spoke a barely audible "ok".
Immediately the phone call was ended. (y/n)'s phone slid out of her hand and onto the floor. She sat there curled up on her bed for awhile, staring blankly at the floor as her head was leaned on the head rest.
The thoughts and images filled her head again and she began to cry and cry and cry. "Go away." She whispered with quivering lips. "Go away!"
Not too long after the phone call she heard keys rattling as whoever was on the other side, who she assumed was JC, tried to open the door. She then heard footsteps quickly going up the stairs.
Her teary eyes slowly looked up to the door and saw the door knob slowly being turned, then the door opened revealing her boyfriend. In her mind she was smiling, finally being able to see him, but on the outside she unintentionally showed the opposite.
They made eye contact and (y/n) saw the sympathetic look on JC's face. She hated it when people would look at her like that and he knew it. He just couldn't help it. It makes her feel weak and helpless even tho those are the exact words that describe her in this moment.
When she saw the look on his face she quickly looked away, turning her head to the side and squeezed her eyes shut as more tears slipped down her cheeks, slightly embarrassed by her fragile appearance.
She felt the bed beside her dip down meaning JC was now sitting next to her on the bed.
"Baby..."
JC gently touched her chin and moved it to where her eyes had nowhere else to look but his.
"I... I am so sorry."
After looking into his beautiful brown eyes, (y/n) finally gave in and buried her face in his shoulder as she sat in his lap in a straddle like position.
Her arms were tightly wrapped around his neck and the more she cried the tighter she would hold on. In return JC would squeeze her back, both arms wrapped around her waist. He then began to run his hand through her hair and draw small circles on her back in a soothing motion.
JC continued to whisper little nothings in her ear as she gripped his shirt that was soaked with her tears.
"You don't deserve this."
"None of this is your fault."
"You're an amazing girl."
"You're my amazing girl."
After a few minutes or so of them sitting in silence, JC asked her if she wanted to lay down and cuddle while they watched a movie. (y/n) could only nod her head as they repositioned themselves to where she was laying on JC's stomach with her face still buried in his chest. He put on her favorite Disney movie "Finding Nemo" hoping it would encourage her to lift her head and hopefully help calm her.
When she heard the music play softly from the TV she slowly and hesitantly lifted her head from JC's chest as she positioned her head to where she could see the movie displayed on the large screen. JC smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. Occasionally throughout the movie he would rub her back soothingly, play with her hair, and give her kisses on the top of her head or forehead, causing (y/n) to smile slightly.
"Thank you... Seriously," (y/n) said quietly. He was surprised at first, judging by the fact that neither of them have said a word to each other for about an hour (not in a rude way of course but because there was no need for words. They just needed time to think and relax). "No problem, baby. I love you so so much."
(y/n) look up at him, resting her chin on his chest. He noticed how the red puffiness in her eyes went down and there was not a tear in sight, causing his heart to warm and a smile to make its way across his face. "I love you too." They shared a short but sweet kiss and went to sleep cuddled up in their bed as "Finding Nemo" continued to play and lull them into a deep and peaceful sleep.
ngl I hate writing sad stuff (unless y’all request it obvi) but I got this idea and couldn’t get it out of my head so you’re welcome. If you have any requests and/or feedback let me know plz! Love y'all💋                                                                                                                                 ~Kbug :)
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imagine-docx · 4 years
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for b.
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Summary: The three times Bucky was insecure, and the one time you proved you loved him with your entire heart. [continuation of sneaky] [chubby!neighbour!au]
Warnings: body shaming, self doubt, swearing
A/N: the amount of love i got on sneaky is astronomical! thank you all for reading my work, and for those of you who asked, here’s a lil part 2 for you. - amanda 💛
if you haven’t read sneaky, click here to read it. reading it isn’t necessary, but many highly recommend reading it. 
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
You’ve made thousands of horrible decisions over the course of your life, but dating James Buchanan Barnes is not one of them. Dating him is probably one of the best things to happen to you. You still get butterflies anytime he picks you up from work, spontaneously calls you, random ‘i love you texts’, the entire works.
Since dating Bucky, you’ve seen his insecurities at an all time high. Which was completely understandable considering what happened to him in his last relationship.
For the first three weeks, he always tried hiding his metal arm. That was until one night you two were watching a movie in your living room and you practically had to crawl into his metal arm and reassure you loved him, metal arm or not.
He constantly shied away from your cell phone’s camera. Which ultimately resulted in you taking cute couple photos when he was asleep, and his face was buried in your neck, but he doesn’t know those photos exist.
One night the two of you were working at your living room table and he bent to give you a slice of pie, and his stomach accidentally brushed your arm. Which resulted in word vomit from him apologizing, and you opening the floodgate of reassurance telling him not to apologize and he was the cutest thing to exist.
The longer the two of you dated, it got slightly better, but still your heart ached at the fact that he doesn’t see himself as worthy enough to date you.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
The morning after the first time you two had sex, was probably the worst you’ve seen him at.
That morning he rolled over to wrap his arm around you, but that was until he was greeted with a cold and empty space next to him. He opened his eyes and realized you were gone. He rolled back onto his back and covered his eyes with his flesh arm, and felt the tears form in his eyes. He knew you would be too disgusted at his naked body, and were right to run when you could.
He suddenly felt a weight straddling him, as well as a pair of soft hands cradle his face, “Baby? What’s wrong?”
His eyes snapped open, there you were in one of his old red henleys and your panties, “You’re here? I thought you left,” he managed to stammer out.
“Alpine looked like he was about to kill you if you withheld food from him for another twenty minutes. Though I love Alpine, I love having a super cuddly boyfriend more,” you said stroking the stubble that littered his jaw, “Now what’s got my baby boy upset?”
“I thought you left after seein-” you cut him off before he even got to his point.
“Nope, and I never will,” you looked into his eyes, “Buck, I love you for you. Six pack or not. Metal arm or not. That doesn’t change the fact that I love you, and will continue to love you.” You pushed the stray strands of hair out of his face, “I fell in love with that heart of gold you have. The one that cooks me dinner when I work late because he’s worried I'm not eating good. Or when he comes and picks me up out of nowhere for coffee. Or all those times we’ve cuddled while watching movies and you pretend you don’t fall asleep. Hell even when you’re pissed off at Mario Kart. I love everything about you.”
Bucky teared up once again before pulling you into his arms and engulfing you in the tightest hug you’ve ever gotten. He buried his face into your hair, “I love you so much doll.”
“I love you more Buck, don’t forget that,” you said stroking his back.
“Can we stay here all day?” He asked.
“As much as I want to say yes, we need food,” you said, as he pulled away and looked into your eyes.
“All the food I need is here,” he said squeezing at your hips.
“Listen babe, as much as this is fun, you worked up an appetite. I’m gonna need to eat if you’re gonna be jumping at my bones all day,” you said stroking his hair, “I got Wanda to drop off bagels and coffee, so we need to eat.”
He groaned before letting out a, “Fine.” He untangled himself from you, and got up and put on a pair of boxers, he looked back to see you looking at him biting your lower lip. “Are you checking me out?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You’re the hottest thing to walk this earth,” you said getting up from the bed.
He wrapped his arms around your waist before planting a peck onto your lips, “I love you.”
You wrapped your arms around his neck, “I love you more. Now go brush your teeth and I’ll meet you downstairs.”
He planted another soft one before releasing you, and the moment he turned around, he felt a light tap on his ass. He turned back to see you practically ran out of the bedroom giggling. You would be the death of James Buchanan Barnes.
The rest of your day consisted of random love making on random surfaces, cuddling, napping and eating.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
The second time you’ve caught his insecurities at a high was one night that the entire office had to go for drinks late in the evening and he shot you a ‘SOS’ text.
You let yourself in with the key he gave you and made your way up to his bedroom, walking in, you saw the amount of clothing that buried his bed, and Alpine snuggled against one of his military green t-shirts.
You saw Bucky’s back in the closet, you quickly lifted up Alpine who meowed at you, and took the shirt and hid it under your body.
He didn’t know you were there, because he walked back and threw yet another set of clothes and yelped when he saw you were there, “Jesus Christ doll, warn me when you’re here next time.”
“Now as much as I love fashion, I didn’t think you were into it. So what’s happening?” You asked him, as he held up two shirts against his body in the mirror.
“Office drinks, and I have no clue what to wear. I was hoping my fashionable girlfriend would help her clueless boyfriend out,” he said turning around and pouting at you.
“I guess I have to put my job to use,” you jokingly said.
Looking at the pile of clothes on his bed, you knew he was searching for too long before he sent you the text. Kind of like how you can tell how old a fossil is based on how much material is on top of it.
“Did I break my girlfriend? Does she not even know where to start?” He jokingly asked.
“No, just my boyfriend being stupid and not realizing he looks cute in everything he wears,” you responded, looking under his pile of clothes.
He could feel his cheeks burn up, he wrapped his arms around your waist and buried his face into your hair, “Thank you.”
You managed to pull out a military green bomber jacket, a black t-shirt and some black jeans. “Bam, an outfit.”
He kissed your hair before pulling away, “Thank you doll.”
He was about to walk into the washroom to change, “Where do you think you’re going?” You asked.
“To change in the washroom?” He said, confused.
“Change here,” you said.
“A-are you sure?” He stuttered out.
“Buck, I’ve seen you naked thousands of times, this isn’t any different,” you said reassuring him.
He walked back to the bed, and slowly peeled his current outfit off of his body and replaced it with the one you provided him.
“What do you think?” He asked.
“I think that this would look better on the floor,” you said slyly.
He chuckled before throwing the shirt he was previously wearing at you, “Jokes on you, you’re never getting this back.”
“That’s fine with me doll, you look better in my clothes than I do,” he said.
“Are you sweet talking me to avoid paying me for styling services?” You faked offence.
“Is it working?” He joked back.
“A little,” you said fanning yourself.
He laughed, before coming around the other side of the bed, and wrapped his arms around your waist, and you instantly wrapped your arms around his neck. “Will you be here when I come back?” He asked.
“Can I borrow your Disney plus then?” You asked.
“Of course doll, you can have anything you want,” he said kissing your forehead.
“I think you made the worst decision telling me that,” you responded, burying your face into his chest.
“And why’s that?” he hummed out.
“I’m stealing your entire closet, and maybe your cat,” you said.
“I said what I said doll, you look better in my clothes.”
He felt this sense of warmth knowing his girlfriend picked out this outfit and he wore a smile with confidence, which didn’t go unnoticed by Sam. And Sam being the number one hype man he is, kept telling Bucky that if he didn’t have a girlfriend he would have snatched him by now.
He came home later than he anticipated, and heard the soft sounds of the tv playing from his room. He walked into his room hoping you were awake, but his heart melted at the site of you curled up in his bed, wearing his shirt, with his cat next to your sleeping form.
He let the TV softly play while he went to shower so he doesn’t wake you. He came back, moved Alpine to his bed on the floor, and crawled underneath the covers with you.
He thought his heart couldn’t get anymore mushy after seeing you in bed, but the moment he laid down, you curled up into his arms, and his heart exploded.
Turning off the TV, he got comfortable with you before falling asleep.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Bucky sat on your couch reading over one of the files for work, while you were typing away at your laptop. Your eyes were starting to hurt while you were finishing the final details for the fall fashion show that is supposed to happen within the next month.
Pushing yourself away from your laptop, you turned to study your boyfriend. He was in sweats, had his hair pulled back in a low bun, and were innocently chewing on the tip of his pen. “Babe?” You called out.
“Hmm?” He hummed out.
“I need to talk to you,” you responded.
He was still staring at the file in his hand, “Shoot doll.”
“I need your attention,” you responded.
He looked up, only to have you throw yourself into his arms and stay there. “Okay what do you want to talk about?” He asked.
“Nothing,” you responded.
“But you wanted my attention?” He asked, even more confused.
“That’s literally it, I needed your attention,” you said burying your face into his shirt.
He chuckled before tossing the file and pen onto the coffee table in front of him, he wrapped his arms around you. “And I thought I was the needy one.”
“How can I resist myself when I have a hunk of meat sitting on my couch?” You asked.
He rubbed gentle circles into your back, “Hunk? Never heard that one.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
“I guess you’re right about that part doll.”
“Have you ever been to a fashion show?” You asked.
“Not in my lifetime,” he responded.
“Come to the one I have next month?” You asked.
“Will my pretty girlfriend be there?” He asked.
“Of course,” you responded.
“Then I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said squeezing you.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
It was the morning of the fashion show, and Bucky once again found himself panicking and not knowing what to wear. But this time he couldn’t send a ‘SOS’ to you because you were at work doing last minute touches on the show.
He turned around from his closet only to be greeted by Sam and Steve, “Jesus Christ,” he put a hand over his heart, “Do you knock?”
“No,” Steve responded as Sam dangled the spare key Bucky hid outside.
“Fuck both of you,” he grumbled.
“Listen, your girlfriend sent us because she knew you would have a heart attack picking out an outfit, and she also sent us tickets,” Steve said.
“And I’m gonna make sure my baby boy is dressed real nice,” Sam said, “Now move and let uncle Sam work his magic,” Sam continued before going into Bucky’s closet.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
It was 4:30, Sam, Steve and Bucky were standing in the venue sipping champagne whilst waiting for the hall to open for seating. Looking around, Bucky felt so out of place, “You look good Buck,” Steve noticed and reassured him.
“Of course Buck looks good, my man looks good all the time,” Sam said.
“Your man? I’m convinced he’s mine,” he heard a familiar voice from behind him. He turned around and had the air knocked out of him.
There you were, in a long sleeved black sequined shirt, that was tucked into your black shorts, and a pair of knee high heels. Even though it was simple, you were the only person who stood out in the room.
“Sam may be wrong about that, I’m only yours,” he said wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you into him.
“Sorry Sam, I won this round,” you joked.
“I got the two of you together and now you’re the sole owner for him? I call bullshit,” Sam retaliated.
“Okay fine, you get him Monday to Friday, and I get him weekends,” you negotiated.
“Now you’re talking.” Sam responded.
You heard someone call out your name, knowing you had to be pulled backstage yet again. “I gotta go, I’ll see you after?” You asked.
“Of course,” he said, before you pecked his lips and disappeared to where Carol called you.
“Tinman got some game,” Tony said coming up to the group.
“I didn’t know you were invited,” Steve said.
“I’m always invited to these things Cap, and lucky for you I am sitting next to you guys,” Tony responded, stealing Bucky’s champagne.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Bucky didn’t realize what was happening until Sam nudged his ribcage, “All of those look like things you would wear.”
And yes it was. There were henley’s, t-shirts, sweaters, jeans, sweatpants, hell they were in colours he would wear too, black, red, navy blue, military green, etc. It looked like someone took Bucky’s entire closet and remade all of his clothes and put it on display for him to see.
He also realized there were models of different sizes, some with prosthetics, and he felt his heart swell. He knew you managed to convince everyone there to do this. He never thought you would do it on such a grand scale of doing it at a fashion show.
For the remainder of the show, he sat there with the biggest smile on his face and it didn’t even falter, not even once.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Bucky waited for you to finish up before taking you out for milkshakes and a walk in the park. Since it was colder than when you left this morning, he draped his suit jacket on you, and held your hand. You were sipping on your milkshake before Bucky asked, “Did you put together the entire show for me?”
“What gave it away? The fact I literally stole your closet to do this? Or the fact it’s called ‘For B.’?” You asked.
He nearly choked on his milkshake, “You named it what?”
You stopped and looked him in the eye, “‘For B.’ because it’s for Bucky. I know you always talk about how you aren’t as pretty as models, which is a complete lie might I add and they don’t wear what you wear. So I thought, why not make it for you. I’m sorry if you don’t li-”
You were cut off by Bucky engulfing you into his arms, “Doll, no one has ever done that for me.”
“I love you Buck,” you said looking up at him.
“I love you more doll,” he said, kissing you.
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love-fireflysong · 3 years
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It be June 1st now my darlings, and to celebrate this FANTASTIC pride month, here’s the first of what will hopefully be at least a couple fics this month. First up: Fairy Tale (as guessed by @jesus-hotsauce-christmas-cake)! I will be completely honest though, it definitely does not use fairy tale as a trope, so I *kind of* failed in that regard, but it does have it as an underlying theme if that makes any sense. It was one of the few on this list that I had absolutely no idea for, so I just starting writing words to see what came out. And, well, it was certainly something lol.
You can read the fic over on ao3 here: True Love’s Kiss Never Felt Like This or you can just click on the readmore to read it here instead. Either way, hope you enjoy this sappy entry and I should hopefully have the next one up soon-ish!
(PS: if anyone wants to influence which ones I do this month, then send me a number from 10-99 and I’ll see if it matches anything on the board I’ve got set up. I’ve got mostly chrashley planned admittedly, but there is a healthy amount of climbing chrash as well! And some Tales of Phantasia stuff but the only person who probably wants to read that is me lets be real lol.)
True Love’s Kiss Never Felt Like This
Trope: Fairy Tale Fandom: Until Dawn Character(s): Ashley Brown, Chris Hartley Words: 1405 Rating: General Author’s Notes: Sap. This is just pure, sweet, sugary sap. This is apparently what happens when I’ve been writing nothing but angst for the past three or so months and I just let my fingers fly and see where they take me.
Okay, Ashley wasn’t going to lie. She had always known that after finally letting Chris know that she liked him—like like-liked him, really like-liked him actually—that everything wasn’t just going to turn into a fairy tale after all. And that was before Chris had somehow magically confirmed that he like-liked her back. She knew that there was going to be no magical disney moment after that first hesitant but highly anticipated kiss. No fireworks going off in the background as music swelled to its crescendo. No docile creatures coming out of the forest to investigate the oh so sweet moment taking place before them. Though the fact that the entire event had gone down in the middle of Chris’s parent’s living room had admittedly made those two an impossibility.
(Though the sound of the popcorn popping in the kitchen combined with background music from the pause menu of the game they had been playing had been close admittedly. The Hartley’s old german shepherd could have worked for the second as well she supposed, but Toby was sleeping in his bed in the corner and not caring one whit about what they were doing on the couch, so that one may have been stretching it.)
She was also sure that the fairy tale princess’s first kiss with the prince didn’t involve them knocking foreheads together a frankly embarrassing amount of times before they both figured out how this whole sort of thing was maybe supposed to work, and one of them finally working up the courage to actually close the distance in the first place. She didn’t think that Chris leaving her to sit red-faced and dumbfounded on his couch when he frantically went to go and grab the quickly burning popcorn from the microwave would have happened either. And then the two of them had been so awkward the entire rest of the evening, refusing to even look at each other lest they both attempt to burst into flames on the spot, but also giggling helplessly every few minutes when the memory of what they had both just finally accomplished hit them again and again.
Though they had moved from their spots on either side of the couch to sit closer together in the middle, and their hands had certainly brushed in the popcorn bowl more often than not, so that had certainly been an improvement.
Even the good-bye hadn’t been fairy tale worthy. There was no tight embrace and proclamation of love as they separated for the night. Nope, after sputtering and stammering in Chris’s truck for an embarrassing amount of time when he drove her back home—just going back and forth with the same old farewells and getting nowhere—Ashley had bit the bullet and surprised the both of them by reaching over the gear shift to give him a kiss on the cheek. Leaving the both of them flustered as she had squeaked out a frantic ‘night!’ and all but ran out the vehicle to her front door. The moment she had entered her bedroom and closed the door behind her, she had fallen onto her bed with her head in her hands shrieking in joy as she wiggled around, kicking her feet into the air as she finally let all of the built up glee inside of her burst out into the safety of her room.
Yeah, she was pretty sure that princesses didn’t act like prepubescent teenagers after (finally) kissing the prince either.
So no, she hadn’t expected a fairy tale ending complete with a ‘happily ever after’ once the prince and princess kissed. But she also hadn’t expected things to be so hard now either. Except it wasn’t hard, it was so, so easy. But that was wrong too because it was impossibly hard. Because hey, it turns out that the things that changed when moving from 'best friends’ to 'boyfriend and girlfriend’ was absolutely everything and nothing all at once.
The two of them still sent the same text messages every morning and night as they did before, except now she could see the blatant flirting and the 'oh god please notice me’ that had always been buried into every one of his texts, the same things she had always sent in hers. They still met for lunch almost everyday between classes, but now Chris saw the way her eyes would often flicker to his mouth for just a moment after he told a joke before going back up to meet his gaze. They still gave each other a hug goodbye when they parted to return to their own classes, but now they squeezed just a little tighter, held on for just a little longer, before one of them would say goodbye with a chaste little kiss on the corner of the mouth. Their smiles afterwards were always just a little brighter too, and their faces just a little more flushed. He still meets up with her after classes are done for the day (except for the days she meets up with him first of course), but now Ashley realizes that he no longer laughed and claimed that his hand was just a little stiff from coding all afternoon whenever she noticed him flex and clench it before shoving it into his pocket when she matched his stride to walk beside him to his truck. Now there was no flex and clench at all, because almost the second one of them reached the other’s side, one of them would reach out with their hand to tangle their fingers together, if not the both of them at the same time. They still talked on the drive back to her dorm so he could drop her off; asking the other about their day, how classes went, if there was any exciting gossip that they managed to overhear. It was the same conversation, filled with the same laughs and the same jokes, but there the warmth and comfort that had always been there was now magnified to almost terrifying proportions.
Ashley’s pretty sure that fairy tale princesses don’t feel their heart flip in their chests everytime they kiss goodbye. That they don’t feel themselves getting dizzy like she does when Chris cups her cheek so he can kiss her again. And again. And again. Until they’re both breathless with their foreheads pressed together and smiling wider then she had ever thought possible. Certain that the prince’s face doesn’t get nearly as red as Chris’s does on the days he follows her into her dorm to watch a movie or do homework or play a game when Ashley’s roommate is gone for the next few hours.
She’s also pretty damn sure that the princess manages to not completely burn and collapse the cake that she tried to make for his birthday the following month. Probably hadn’t managed to send the moronic prince to the ER when he still stupidly tried to eat the thing as a joke either, but that wasn’t the point. Or maybe it was. Kissing Chris always kind of left her mind a little cloudy and hazy with bliss after all, and the one’s he had given her after that to relieve her fears had been only more so.
(Ashley’s definitely sure that doesn’t happen to fairy tale princesses either.)
And while some princesses may often get side-tracked by books in the store window, they likely don’t get accidentally left behind by their prince and mutual best friend while they’re deep in conversation. Likely don’t know what it’s like to have their heart jump into their throat when the back of her hand accidentally brushes the back of his when she catches back up. And before she can apologize for bumping into him, they have never experienced the love that bubbles up in her chest when Chris has already reached out and curled his fingers around hers, all without looking at her and still laughing while continuing his conversation with Josh. The prince’s laugh probably doesn’t sound as nice as his either, but she’s ready to admit that she’s more than likely just biased in this case.
This definitely isn’t a fairy tale ending, not by a long shot. There’s no heartwarming wedding scene with no final 'and they all lived happily ever after: the end’ taking up the screen in loopy, cursive font. And that’s okay.
Because this? Oh, this was so much better.
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maybedefinitely404 · 4 years
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Day 2: Roceit
@tsshipmonth2020
Day 2: There is a timer that counts down to when you will meet your soulmate
Content warning: vague neglectful/bad home life mentions, liquor store mention (no drinking), implied past parental death.
Word count: 2.6k
When they first met, they didn’t like each other. Would they go so far as to say they hated each other? Probably not. But it was no secret that Roman and Janus didn’t get along, even if they traveled in a mutual friend group. If the two interacted at all, it was in snide remarks and gripes that had everyone else in the group groaning in annoyance. They just wanted five minutes of peace, that’s all. Just five minutes.
Roman was too preppy, Janus said. He was loud and abrasive and presumptuous and arrogant, an annoying theatre boy with too much energy. Other’s feelings came second to his dramatic and overplayed grievances. 
Janus was too self centered, Roman retorted. He was untrustworthy and creepy and a compulsive liar, a loner with a mysterious backstory. Everything about him was kept hidden under a mask of indifference.
These things were true to some extent, but the group still loved them both too much to reject either one. So they both stayed, bothered by the other’s presence and unwilling to admit that maybe they disliked the other because they were so similar. They were both extravagant and theatrical and burdened with concealed insecurities, points that all of the rest of the group brought up regularly and they both vehemently denied. 
It all changed one morning during school, on a regular Wednesday with average weather after an uneventful English class, when Roman got overly excited at the cast list for the newest show being put up and dropped his art bag. Without a second of hesitation, Janus crouched to help him collect the supplies that had flown across the hallway. That was when Roman’s sleeve slid up, as he was reaching for a paint pen that had rolled up against a locker, and Janus nearly choked.
00:00
He blurted out his accusation before he could stop himself.
“You said you haven’t met your soulmate! And you call me secretive?”
Roman snarled almost animalistically, covering his completed timer back up and grabbing the now full bag off the ground.
“If you must know, my timer’s always been like that. I don’t know when it ran out; too young to remember. I don’t even know if it was ever counting down in the first place. Defective.” He flicked the numbers on his wrist.
“Does anyone else know?”
Roman narrowed his eyes at the uncharacteristic sympathy in Janus’ voice. “Just Remus.”
“Why haven’t you told them?”
“Why all the questions, Fibber on the Roof? Since when do you care about anything I do?”
Janus was quiet, breathing out a frustrated breath before folding down the bottom of his gloves, the same gloves that Roman taunted daily for making him look like every single Disney villain, the same gloves that made Roman turn to the rest of the group and insist that the guy was hiding something. Turns out he was right.
“My timer’s out too. I was too young to remember as well.”
Roman wasn’t able to respond, and Janus was surprisingly relieved. The silent solidarity in the other’s eyes was enough of an olive branch, just another thing they had in common. It was a pain the others didn’t understand, a frustration that couldn’t be fixed. So if from that point on, the bickering lessened and they finally allowed their shared interests to overlap, they surely wouldn’t be the ones to bring it up.  
That’s how they found themselves, almost half a year later, sitting on the swings of a musty playground near Janus’ house, watching the sunset in an unspoken agreement to put off going back until absolutely necessary. It was just another thing they had in common; shitty home life. They didn’t talk about it much, because they knew how much it sucked to discuss, so they let the facts stand at the forefront and the nitty gritty emotions and smaller mental repercussions stay healthily buried. What did it matter? Their parents were awful, ‘nuff said. 
“I just think it’s ridiculous, the amount of time he spent writing it.”
“He wrote and composed an entire play single handedly, J! Not a single word of it is dialogue, and it all rhymes! You try doing that in seven years.”
“I’m just saying, doesn’t it come to the point where you have to admit it’s too much work? Did he even know for a fact it would be successful?”
“He made it work, didn’t he? That’s what faith is for.”
“I wouldn’t have done it.”
“That’s what makes Lin Manuel Miranda a god, and you, a worm.” 
Janus gasped and raised a mock hand to his chest, drawing a loud laugh from Roman. While the shorter of the two still wore his gloves daily, the other had slowly gained the confidence to wear short sleeves and display his empty timer, though god help the fool who asked him anything about it. The conversation with the group had gone well, though Jan hadn’t admitted that his situation was the same. They hadn’t known him as long, and they both agreed that it was a sensitive topic. Roman didn’t push him. 
“The sun’s setting.”
“I had no idea,” Janus smirked, although the implications of the fast approaching darkness made a pit settle in his stomach.
“We don’t have to leave yet. I just don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“I don’t really get in trouble that often,” The shorter murmured, kicking his feet in the dust under him, “She’s more just... forgetful. Ignorant. I’m not even sure she fully knows I exist all the time.”
Roman raised an eyebrow at the first bit of information he’d learned about Janus’ home life, besides knowing it was just ‘bad’. He was debating between quietly prodding him to continue or to just let it sit when Janus made the choice for him.
“The other day she asked me to go to the liquor store for her and literally didn’t believe me when I said I’m only eighteen. Then again, she’s forgotten my birthday for the last, what, ten years? So I guess she just lost track, got ahead of herself. I don’t know.”
“When’s your birthday?” It was the only response Roman could think of. 
“August seventh,” He whispered, almost like it was a dark secret he was scared to admit.
“Wait, actually?”
Janus turned to him, eyebrows furrowed, “Yeah?”
“You’re joking. This is a joke, right?”
“I can probably find my birth certificate if you need proof. Why are you losing your shit?”
“That’s my birthday too!” 
Janus matched Roman’s face splitting grin with one of his own, his worries slipping away. They’d all been irrational anyways, so good riddance. He quickly settled his face into a more neutral one, the unusual expression hurting his cheeks. A calm air settled between them as their eyes locked, almost in a trance, before Janus snapped out of it and turned his attention to the pink hues of the dimming sky.
“What are the chances?”
There was a lot Roman didn’t know about the newest member of the friend group, he realized after dropping Janus off at home and starting the walk back to his. Usually he’d pop in his earbuds, taking the longest back roads and detours to put off arriving even more, but today his head was lost in his thoughts. What else didn’t he know about the blond boy he was so infatuated with?
Two weeks later, Janus edged the front door of his house open, calling out a tentative “Mom?” before pushing it open all the way and pulling Roman in. There was no answer through the empty halls so he yanked the taller boy upstairs, praying that his mom wasn’t home instead of just ignoring his call. It wasn’t until he shut his bedroom door and leaned heavily against it did he remember to breathe, meeting Roman’s eyes shakily.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I get it. Parent’s are…”
“Yeah. It’s better if she doesn’t know you’re here.”
Roman nodded, finally looking around the room. One wall was completely adorned with old records, some cracked in places or missing pieces entirely. He found himself drawn to it, running a finger down the closest one to him as Janus collapsed on his bed, ruffling the yellow blanket beneath him. He took a moment to pull off his gloves, revealing his soulmark, a secret that only Roman had the honor of seeing. An old jukebox stood proudly in the corner, covered in a fine layer of dust.
“You definitely have an aesthetic,” Roman hummed, taking notes on the implications of the dust and not approaching the old machine. If Janus didn’t touch it, neither should he. Instead he sat down at the other’s desk, spinning himself lazily in the chair.
“It was all my dad’s old stuff. He loved music and antiques a lot. The record player was his, too.” 
He followed Janus’ gaze and nodded, overly tempted to take one of the records from the wall and trying to play it, but knowing that would only end badly. The record player was covered in the same thin sheet of dust. 
“Holy Hera, is that a baby picture of you?” His mind, apparently unable to stay on one topic for more than ten seconds, had decided to focus on the framed picture on the bedside table. He crossed the room and sat next to Janus on the bed, leaning closer to the photo but not daring to touch it. He inspected the woman, who could only be Janus’ mother, holding the tiny bundle and smiling weakly at the camera, her eyes tired and hair tied in a messy bun.
“Yeah,” Janus rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “That’s the only picture I have with her. She hates cameras, always said she was self conscious and shit. It sucks that the only one I have, I don’t even remember taking.”
Roman knew he should respond to the surprisingly vulnerable statement, but his eyes had zeroed onto the still slightly slimy, wrinkly baby in the photo. Its little fists were tucked against his face, eyes closed peacefully, a moment of bliss that time forgot. That’s not what caught his attention, though. He squinted, edging just that much closer to the photo.
“You were born at Jacob Banks Memorial Hospital? I thought you lived in Chicago before you moved out here.” The tiny golden embroidery in the edge of the blanket was just focused enough to make out, as if he didn’t have an identical blanket at home, stashed under his bed in a box of other memories that were too special to throw away. He’d run his finger over the stitching a hundred times, reread the words and committed the blanket to memory, just for that high of simple childhood. And now, here was Janus as a baby, swaddled in the same blanket.
From the same hospital.
From the same day.
“Yeah. My parents were visiting relatives in town when my mom went into early labor. We didn’t end up actually moving here until a couple years ago.” Janus didn’t seem to notice the gears turning in Roman’s head as he reached forward, plucking the picture off the table and bringing it closer to his face. He tapped the glass, just above baby Janus’ arms.
“Right there, my timer. It’s just a few minutes left. I met my soulmate as a baby and no one cared enough to check who it was.”
“Janus.”
“I called the hospital as soon as I was old enough to comprehend, but they said they couldn’t help me. Didn’t have a record of anything to do with soulmates. Some help, huh.”
“Janus!”
“What? I’m trying to be melodramatic, Roman.”
“That’s the same hospital I was born in.”
“Okay? It’s the only one in town, I’m not overly surprised-” The lightbulb went off, and his head jerked up. “Oh.”
“Yeah, ‘oh’.”
They both were quiet for a moment, like the whole house was holding it’s breath, before Janus finally spoke, his voice a choked whisper. “Imagine with me, if you will,” he murmured, taking the picture and inspecting it closely. Not so much for sake of searching for details he wouldn’t have missed the hundreds of hours he spent inspecting the photo, more so just to avoid looking at the person beside him. “Two babies, born in the same place on the same day, put into the same small hospital nursery. They see each other, and click, their timers are out. Except both their parents don’t give a flying rat’s ass-”
“And so they never realize they met, and live their entire lives shrouded in mystery,” Roman finished quietly, suddenly terrified of the new ice they were walking on. 
“Hypothetically, of course.”
His head snapped up and the spell was broken, meeting Janus’ pale eyes and jumping to his feet, flapping his hands to dispel his nervous energy. “Okay. Okay! That could… that could make sense! All signs point that way, right?” He began to pace the length of Janus’ room, head tilted towards the ceiling, “And I mean, god, I’ve liked you for how long now? So I’m definitely not upset!”
“You’ve what?”
“Alright, so we can call the hospital, or go there, or something! I’m sure they can tell us how many babies were born that day, that doesn’t seem like confidential information, right? And if it was just us three, you, me, and Remus, then that’ll settle it!”
“Wait, no, Roman, stop!”
Janus launched himself at Roman before he could click the call button on the Google search of the hospital, already dedicated to his plan. He ripped the phone from his grasp and tossed it onto the bed after pressing the power button, grabbing Roman’s hands tightly.
“Jan, what the hell? That’s the only way we’re going to know for sure if we’re-”
“But what if we’re not?!”
The two settled into silence after the outburst, searching each other’s faces intently. They both shared scared expressions, eyes wide with excitement and nervousness, the possibility of years worth of questions finally being answered. The promise that their two soulmarks weren’t dysfunctional, weren’t broken, and fate that had led them together one way or another. 
But what if they weren’t?
“What if it’s a coincidence? What if you find out that your mom checked out before mine even got there, or our paths never could have crossed, or there were twenty babies born that day and there’s no sure way to know that we are each other’s soulmates? What if you find out that your soulmark said two years and mine ran out with someone else completely?”
“You’re starting to sound like Virgil,” Roman said quietly, almost fondly, a gentle smile tugging at his lips.
“Roman, if you’re my soulmate, I’d be elated,” Janus’ hushed tone matched his, “But I don’t know what I’ll do if I build my hope and then find out it’s not true.” They were quiet again, and Janus was suddenly hyper aware that he was still holding Roman’s hands, a furious blush rising to his cheeks. He fought the urge to look away, look anywhere other than Roman’s bright eyes, because this was the closest they’d ever been and he was scared one flinch might break the charm they were in. 
“We don’t have to check,” the taller whispered, “If you are, I’m content just… believing it.”
“You always were a cheesy romantic.” The phrase was meant to be cutting, but the uncontainable grin across his face greatly lessened its impact.
“I’m a Disney lover, what can I say?”
Janus snorted, dropping his head on to Roman’s shoulder, his heart nearly stopping altogether when the taller boy wrapped his arms around him and pulled them a step closer together. “So we’re agreeing on this? That we’re soulmates?” His voice was muffled against Roman’s shirt.
“As far as I’m concerned, yes. Fuck the system, right?”
“Overthrow the government. Commit arson in the name of anarchy. Society is a prison.”
“Dramatic, and that’s coming from me,” Roman drawled, rocking them back and forth slowly, dancing to unheard music, “Hey, Janus?”
“Yes?”
“Can I kiss you?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” 
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breanime · 4 years
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Oooooh hi Bre can we please get a Bre's boys preference with the boys doing bathtimes with their babies and getting them all cleaned and then snuggled in their little jammies 🥺
Billy Russo: Billy loved bath time. He loved hearing his baby girl’s little giggle and excited shrieking as she played with the bubbles in the tub, loved seeing that smile on her little face as he helped her dry off. “Daddy, can we read The Little Meatball again?” She asks, and how can he say anything but “of course, baby” when she looks at him like that? Billy helps her into her jammies, laughing as she gives him kisses while he buttons up her onesie. Billy shimmies himself into her little princess canopy bed and presses a kiss to her cheek as she sits in his lap. This is the 35th day in a row that he’s read The Little Meatball to her, and every time she memorizes more and more of it, “reading” along with him. And as he looked down at his baby girl, her smile making his heart do flips in his chest, Billy knew he would do this 35 more times--happily. 
Logan Delos: As much as he loved his home being neat and orderly, Logan loved making a mess at bath time even more. “Look out,” he shouted, hands in the air, “the shark is gonna get you!” Logan plunged both hands into the bath and grabbed the shark toy, making it swim towards your son as he laughed and screamed. By the time the bath was done, there was water all over the tiles on the floor, and Logan was drenched from his lap all the way to the top of his head. Both of the boys dried up and got dressed in their matching cashmere pajamas. Logan lifted your son up and buried his nose in his neck, sniffing him. He loved the way his son smelled, loved that he got to spend so much time with him. And your son adored him right back. “Daddy, are you happy?” He asked, his little voice making Logan melt. “I’m super happy,” he said back, kissing his cheeks, “because I got you!”
Jax Teller: Nine times out of ten, when Jax was on bath time duty, the water ended up blue and black. He couldn’t say no when your daughter, blinking those Teller eyes up at him, asked to have “drawings like him”, so they spent the afternoon giving her marker tattoos. But now, as he helped her clean up, they sang Disney songs together. She requested her Reaper PJs, so Jax got them out--warm from the dryer--and the two of them sat on her bedroom floor. “Mama says we get 10 minutes of play time before bed,” Jax reported as your daughter handed him a stuffed dinosaur, “oh, you wanna play dinosaur?” “You be Opie,” she said, grabbing a handful of toys and dumping them on his lap, “and and and, you stoled the village and I have to save it!” He nodded. “Sounds good, I’ll be evil Uncle Opie then.” Their playtime ended up lasting nearly 20 minutes, but when Jax carried his little princess to her bed, she was already nodding off in his arms. He laid her down gently, smiling as he looked down at his perfect little girl. “Love you, baby,” he whispered as he kissed her forehead, “Sweet dreams.”
Coco Cruz: Twin boys meant simultaneous baths, and usually you and Coco would divide and conquer, but you had to take your best friend to the hospital so... “Okay, mis amores,” Coco said, taking a deep breath as he looked down at his boys in the tub, “we’re almost done. I just gotta rinse you off...” He smiled as he dumped water over both of their little heads and they laughed. His boys worked in perfect harmony, giggling as Coco picked them both up and wrapped them in their Cars towels. They both took handfuls of his hair as he got them dressed for bed. “Papi, I got you hair!” They sang, pulling harshly at the strands as Coco tried to wrestle them into their pajama bottoms. “I know, you guys are so strong.” Coco knew you’d be gone for most of the night, so he let the boys get into bed with him. “Papi, we want a story!” “We want a monster story!” “Okay, okay,” Coco sighed, one boy on each side of him, “lemme tell you about the monster named Celia...”
Angel Reyes: “Okay, say cheese!” Angel said. Your daughter grinned wide, “cheeeeeese!” Angel snapped yet another picture. So far, he’d sent a picture of her with a bubble beard, with her hair up in a mohawk, her hair in spikes, and even one of them pretending to eat the bubbles. He loved how playful his baby girl was, and he loved bath time. He helped her out of the tub and dried her off, letting her give him 100 kisses as he did. “Okay, let’s get your jam jams on,” he said, putting her down and going over to her pink dresser (Felipe built it). “I wanna be a butterfly!” She announced. “Butterfly for bed? You got it!” He said back. Angel put her in her pink and purple butterfly PJs complete with the wings, and she gave him another 100 kisses as a thanks. “Dada, come sit with me!” She called, her little feet poking out from her blankie. Angel didn’t think twice as he got into her little bed. “I love you, Daddy!” “Love you more, mija.”
Miguel Galindo: Miguel loved how much his son was the perfect mix of the two of you. He had your warm personality and Miguel’s love for the finer thing. Which was why your son was taking a bath with rose petals. He was still chewing on one when Miguel took him out of the tub, drying him off with a fluffy towel that cost $200. “Should we wear red or blue tonight?” Miguel asked. “Black!” So they got into black silk pajamas and sat on the couch for storytime. Your son snuggled into his Dad, flipping the pages of the storybook as Miguel read in Spanish. He looked down at his son as he read, and smiled softly as he watched his dark eyes started to flutter close. “Daddy,” he whispered, his little voice soft with sleepiness, “are you gonna be my Daddy forever?” “Of course,” Miguel answered back, “I’m gonna be your Daddy forever and ever, and I will always love you.” Your son smiled. “You’re a good Dad.” 
Nick Amaro: “You’re doing a good job, Daddy!” Your daughter said brightly as Nick helped her out of the tub. “Thank you, baby,” he smiled back as he dried her off, “now what do we do?” “Now we have to get into our pajam-jams!” “Oh, that’s right.” Nick picked her up and carried her to her room. “Which ones do you want to wear tonight?” “Hm,” she put her hand on her chin as he put her down, “I dunno. I love all my pajam-jams...” “How about...” Nick reached over and pulled out a yellow onesie with a bunny-ears hoodie. “That’s perfect, Daddy!” She gushed. “You’re so smart! You’re almost as smart as Mommy!” She said as he helped her into her outfit. Nick chuckled, kissing her cheek as he picked her up again and laid her in her bed. “Thanks, baby. That’s nice of you to say.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Would you like a made up story today or a story from a book?” “Um.... A made up story, please!” “Okay,” Nick smiled at his little princess, “once upon a time...”
Johnny Tuturro: Johnny’s son loved bath time. He loved playing in the water, he loved having “bubble fights” with Daddy--he loved it. So getting him out of the bath was a bit of a challenge. “I got your monkey,” Johnny sang, dangling the stuffed animal in front of his son, “he’s ready to put on his PJs, but he wants you to come with him.” Your son frowned, considering it, before raising his arms to be picked up. Johnny carried him to his room, wrapped in a towel, and dried your son off as he played with his toy monkey. “You’re allllll clean now,” Johnny declared. Your son nodded, his chubby little arms wrapped around Johnny’s neck as he got into his PJs. “Allllll clean!” He copied. Johnny laughed, indulging himself in a deep whiff of his son’s clean, baby smell. “Daddy, me and monkey want to sleep in your bed with you and Mommy!” Johnny sighed, picking him up and carrying him to your room. “Course you do...” “And you no kiss Mommy,” he went on, the little tyrant, “only me kiss Mommy!” “That... I cannot promise you...”
Rio: Rio’s baby girl refused to take a bath without her 12 rubber duckies. And she refused to get out of the bath until Rio collected them all, put them back in the bath toys bin, and “tucked them in”. Once that was done, she allowed him to dry her off and help her into her pajamas. “Dada,” she said as he brushed her hair, “can I have a puppy?” “We already have a dog, mamas.” “But I want a puppy cause it is little like me.” He chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “That’s a good point. Maybe we should ask Mommy...” “Mommy said to ask you!” She said back, leaning her head back to look up at him upside down. He laughed again, kissing her sweet little face as she laughed. “Okay, we’ll ask Mommy in the morning,” he said, “but YOU have to ask.” “Why I have to ask?” She shrieked back, still laughing. Rio settled into bed with her, warmed to the core at his little girl’s sweet little laugh. “Because,” he answered, “you’re the boss!”
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Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think! You (the mama) are resting in all of these scenarios if I didn’t mention your whereabouts in the blurb. 
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