#destiny boss rush

[thewildnopeboat]

Guardian, looking at the Patheon Challenge flyers: That can't be too horrible.

Ghost, looking over it: You do realize those are almost all midteir Raid Bosses. One I remember gave you and your team enough trouble to make you guys have to camp and try again the next day.

Guardian, already calling up the team: Oh come on, it can't be that bad!

(Spoilers: 5 hours, 31 mins, 00 seconds)

[gurugirl]

Can We Start Over | Ch. 5 The Coincidence

Series Summary: From the first day you and Harry meet, your relationship is beyond complicated. A one night stand leads to hurt feelings and then a job opportunity that you simply can't pass up is offered. But can you handle working for a man like him? rich!harry x plus size!reader | enemies to lovers

This is a 5 part series commissioned by @justfattiethings (thank you hon!).

Chapter 5. Summary: Things have changed for you and Harry but when you see him at a meeting, you are taken by surprise. It feels like destiny. Maybe this time things will work out for you two.

A/N: This is the final part to this series! Thank you everyone who stuck with the story and gave it a shot! Appreciate all the love!

Word Count: 12.7k

Warning: 18+ only, angst, smut, fluff

Can We Start Over? masterlist

Mr. Allen was on the phone again. He’d called you into his office but the moment you stepped in he got a call and told you to sit and wait. That it would only be a minute.

And it was only a minute. But then he got another call and now it was 23 minutes later while he was still yammering about some person who was just the worst.

You were used to it, though. Mr. Allen was retired so nothing was a rush for him anymore. Which also meant he held other people up. But waiting for your boss was the least of your worries.

His wife and her ever-changing personality was your biggest concern. She was, to put it mildly, a monster. And to make matters worse, she ran the whole household so you were often seeking her out for things. Mrs. Allen also handled her husband’s schedule and if he was running behind guess who got the blame. That’s right. You did. Every time.

And it was the same thing over and over again. You started your day trying to keep Mr. Allen up to task, failed, got reprimanded and degraded by a nasty human, held back tears and then took a long drive with loud music to clear your head with a quick stop for dinner, probably at a drive-through.

Needless to say, you were already planning on quitting. You’d gotten really lucky with Alfred. And even working with Harry hadn’t been as bad as it was working for Mrs. Allen and her husband. But you tried not to think about Harry if you could help it.

By the time Mr. Allen got off the phone he was running late for his physical therapy appointment. You got him moving along quickly and sent him on his way but not before Mrs. Allen started poking around and making comments under her breath.

“What was that?” You turned to look behind yourself at the wicked witch as she stood near the edge of the foyer.

“He’s late again.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“That is correct.”

She rolled her eyes, “What’s the point of having a personal assistant who can’t even keep the boss on schedule?”

You smiled, holding back your true thoughts, “Well, being as my job description doesn’t entail using physical force on the boss, which is what it would take to get Mr. Allen to keep on time for anything, I’m certain you’ll find that once again, this isn’t my responsibility.”

“Lazy,” she spoke under her breath.

You tilted your head and squinted your eyes at her, “That’s the last thing I am. Now, if you don’t mind, my workday is over. Have a good evening.”

You walked past her to go into your room to pack up your laptop and leave. You’d stay at your own place that night. You hated staying at the Allen’s house. Not only was the room they’d given you a tiny spec of a thing with no windows, no closet, and not even a single rug to cover the cold tile floors but being anywhere near Mrs. Allen made your skin crawl.

“I don’t know why we bother with the room for you,” she was standing in the doorway when you turned around.

“You really didn’t bother much with the room in the first place. That’s why I don’t stay here. My house has a better bed with a big window looking into my backyard. I just feel better in my own bed at night.”

You walked past her and held your breath so as not to inhale her disgusting, pungent perfume. You used to like the scent she wore. But now you loathed it. Whenever you smelled it, even on another woman, it made you queasy. You very much did not like Mrs. Allen.

You turned up the volume on your car radio the moment your front tires hit the road. You always looked forward to going home after work. This day wasn’t as bad as you’d had before and tomorrow you’d do it all over again.

And instead of stopping at a drive-through for fast food, you decided you’d stop at the grocery store and pick up ingredients to actually make something fresh.

Typically you didn’t cook. You didn’t have time for it. Picking up groceries would put you home at almost 8 pm. And then you still needed to cook so you wouldn’t be eating until close to 9 and then you could finally relax with a glass of wine and a good book or something trashy on television. Which was why drive-throughs were your go-to dinner plans. It meant you were home by 7:30 and dinner was already cooked. Not the best use of money and certainly not the healthiest way to live but you wouldn’t be doing it much longer.

You had a meeting to attend with Mr. and Mrs. Allen the following week that piqued your interest. It was for a piece of art that they’d been looking for. And someone found it for them. From an art dealer who was not too far away. You didn’t know for sure but you had a feeling. And you wanted to find out if that feeling was right.

Maybe you were a masochist and just wanted to pour salt onto the wound of your split open heart one more time. Or maybe you did have some hope that it was Harry and that maybe you could try and receive his feelings for you once and for all.

But it’d been just over 9 months since you’d seen him and you were sure he’d moved on by now. There would be no reason for him to still be pining over you the way you were over him. And what were the chances that it was him in the first place? You didn’t know but you needed to find out.

Yeah. You regretted what you’d done. Pushing him away like that. But once you’d done it, it felt like it was too late to go back. Maybe it was your pride. Or that little voice in the back of your head that told you men always leave and they always lie. That anyone that might love you would probably just disappoint you in the end.

But now you were in therapy and talking to someone opened your eyes to your self-sabotaging ways. You had been certain that the way you felt couldn’t be helped. That you were a prisoner to your trauma and all the hurt and that it was for the best. You’d been wrong, though. You could help the way you processed feelings and the way you responded when things got hard. You didn’t have to push away the notion that a man could love you or keep running away from your problems.

After picking up ingredients to make a nice little dinner for yourself you arrived at your cute house.

You loved the place. Loved the neighborhood. You found it a few weeks after you told Harry to leave your apartment. It wasn’t that far from your old place but you felt like it was good enough for a new start. At the time, you were ready to take the plunge. To move on. It was just a rental but it felt like your own place.

Though, not long after moving in you started feeling like getting rid of every trace of Harry had been a bad idea. You missed him. However, you didn’t recognize how you were feeling for him until you began therapy. The more you spoke honestly about everything and without any judgment, you began to peel off layers of yourself that you had unconsciously piled on to protect yourself. But that only wound up making things worse.

And one night, almost six months since you’d seen him, you decided to drive past his big, gated home. You still had the fob to his entry but of course, you wouldn’t use it. You only wanted to just drive past. To your surprise, there was a For Sale sign stuck in the grass in front of the gate.

You parked across from the house and tried to see if there was anything that indicated he’d actually moved out but seeing inside was impossible. You could see the top level of the house and that was really it.

The sinking feeling in your chest that you’d probably never see him again started to settle over you slowly. You’d moved away and blocked him from everything and then deleted his contact and now he was no longer living in the only place you knew where he might be. He was gone.

But then when you helped set up the meeting with the art dealer there was the smallest tinge of hope there. You felt like this might be your last chance. You had just been about to quit when Mrs. Allen gave you the number to an assistant of a dealer who had access to a painting they wanted. You never learned the name of the art dealer, only of the assistant who worked for them.

So you’d stick it out until after the meeting and then you’d give up your hope for ever seeing Harry again if it wasn’t him. And you’d also quit your job once and for all.

Of course, it’s not him. Don’t get your hopes up.

You had to remind yourself of that over and over again. The chances were slim that you would actually be seeing Harry.

Either way, you were looking forward to that meeting. Even if it wasn’t Harry, you’d be free of Mr. and Mrs. Allen once and for all after you quit.

But the days dragged on slowly. The only thing that was good about the time that led up to the meeting was the little secret that you were quitting. It was something you were excited about.

The morning of the meeting you woke up well before your alarm went off. You’d been unable to fall back asleep as you remembered the last time you and Harry slept together. The words he spoke to you that night haunted you every day since, “Want to make you feel so good. Want to make you smile, Y/n. Want to make you happy.”

You sighed. You hoped it was him at the meeting. You hoped there was still some way to salvage what you’d done. Hoped there was still something there. If it was him, that is.

Your entire morning routine had turned into a spa event. You turned on your coffee pot and then got into the shower, getting yourself ready for the possibility of anything and everything. You had selected your outfit days prior and put on a full face of makeup. You were going to look your absolute best.

And no matter what the outcome of the meeting was, today was a good day. Because at the end of it, you’d be a free woman. You’d never again step foot in the Allen house. You took all of your belongings from the spec of a bedroom over a few days so no one would notice. You rarely stayed over anyway so it wasn’t like you needed to keep much there in the first place.

You had a taxi take you to the Allen’s on that day. Because your plan was to quit the moment the painting was purchased and you weren’t going to be going back to their house with them after the meeting just to get your car. You’d get a taxi home. It was quite dramatic but you couldn’t wait to quit. Couldn’t wait to tell Mrs. Allen you were done and then walk off. Only a few more hours.

When you arrived at the Allen’s your first stop was the kitchen to make Mr. Allen’s coffee (skim milk and stevia) and Mrs. Allen’s chai green tea with raw honey. This was always the best part of your day. Things were usually quiet, Mrs. Allen wasn’t raging just yet, and the morning light that came into their gorgeous kitchen felt peaceful. While the coffee was perking you brought Mrs. Allen her tea drink where you knew you’d find her and placed it down on its coaster next to her. As usual, she did not acknowledge your existence or even say thank you.

Mr. Allen was always cordial, however.

“Morning Mr. Allen. Here’s your coffee.”

“Thank you, Y/n. Have you seen my wife this morning?”

You smiled and stood next to his desk, “I just gave her some tea. Why?”

“I think she wanted to make sure we had wire information set up to pay for the painting today. She’s very set on making the purchase. Can you double-check we have everything we need?”

“I’m certain we have everything we need but I’ll definitely do a quick check.”

As you suspected, everything was ready to go. When you confirmed as much you went to find Mrs. Allen to tell her.

“Mr. Allen told me you wanted to make sure the wire instructions were ready and I just wanted to let you know that we’ve got everything we need and it’s all ready to go for when it comes time to pay.”

“Good. Now,” she turned to look at you, “this is a meeting we cannot be late for so I’d appreciate it if you could have everything ready for us so there are no delays. I don’t want any excuses.”

You nodded, stifling the small laugh before it could make it out of your mouth, “Of course, Mrs. Allen.”

But as always, Mr. Allen was dawdling. You did remind him of the meeting but he assured you he was going to be on time. He wasn’t. You weren’t surprised.

When it was time to leave he was still in his office in his slippers on his third cup of coffee talking to his brother about sports.

“I told you this is a meeting we cannot be late for. This is unacceptable!” Mrs. Allen was red in the face as she barked at you. Somehow, she always seemed shocked when her husband held things up. You didn’t know how it was possible that she was so surprised.

You blinked your eyes and sighed, “He doesn’t need to be at the meeting with us. I say we just go. He’ll be fine here by himself.”

She nodded and mumbled under her breath about your incompetence, “Tell him we’re leaving without him. I’m going to get the driver to pull the car around.”

You poked your head into the office and waved at Mr. Allen and he pulled the phone from his ear to look at you with his brows raised. As if he didn’t know what was going on.

“We’re going to leave now for the painting. You can stay behind. No need for you to be there. Okay?”

He smiled at you and nodded before getting back to his call. You knew he didn’t care. This painting wasn’t for him. It was for Mrs. Allen. It was something she’d been wanting. She’d just hang it up alongside the rest of her collection of exotic animal paintings and artwork.

The car ride was silent. Which you preferred. You tried not speaking to Mrs. Allen when you could help it. Luckily she wasn’t interested in having a conversation with you.

And 30 minutes later when you arrived, your mind was swirling with thoughts of what could happen and what probably wouldn’t.

Your nerves were all over the place. If you were about to walk into a room with Harry Styles, being nervous was warranted. You hadn’t seen his handsome face in so long and wanted so badly for it to be him.

It was unlikely. At least that’s what you kept telling yourself. No reason to get your hopes up.

You and Mrs. Allen got out of the car once the driver had let you both out at the front.

It was a public gallery so everyone could just walk in to admire the art. You noticed there were people inside looking at the sculptures and paintings as you followed behind Mrs. Allen toward the desk at the side of the room where a young woman sat.

“Hi. I’m Delia Allen here for a meeting to view the Ghaui piece.”

The young woman smiled widely, “Yes. Of course! Just follow me. We have it moved into a special viewing room just for you.”

If there was ever a moment in your life where you thought that one small step toward a physical room could forever change your life, it was this. What if he was there? What if he wasn’t?

The gallery wasn’t a large space but there were temporary walls placed around the room to act as dividers and a spot for more art to hang. You wove around the walls and into a hallway where the young woman stepped into a room with Mrs. Allen just behind her. You paused for a moment before stepping inside. This was it. It either was or it wasn’t.

Placing your hand on the frame of the door and taking a deep breath you breached the space to enter the viewing room and found that there was no one else inside. It was the painting that Mrs. Allen had been so keen on buying, hung up with lights aimed at it, a table and chairs.

You didn’t know what to expect but it wasn’t this. You imagined someone would be inside the room waiting for you.

“The dealer will be right in. He’s finishing up something with someone else. Five minutes tops.”

The painting was of elephants in an African wildlife scene. It wasn’t your taste but you had to respect Mrs. Allen for her interests. If there was anything about her you could say you liked, it was her love of animals and how much support she’d given African wildlife sanctuaries. She’d also gone on many safaris (without Mr. Allen you learned) and helped fund conservation parks that helped employ people and protect the land and animals. Honestly, when you found out this was her thing you felt like you were looking at a different woman.

She was still a bitch, though.

“I thought this meeting was set up and ready to go, Y/n,” she turned to look at you. As if somehow the dealer running late was your fault.

“It is set and ready. The girl said the dealer would be right in. We just need to wait a couple of minutes.”

You didn’t look at her face as you responded. You were done looking at her face. After this meeting, you’d never have to look at it again.

“Sergi could’ve come if I knew this was going to happen.”

You rolled your eyes, back facing her as you looked over the lines and the paint on the canvas. It was a well-done piece of art.

When the door opened only a moment later you felt your heart stop for a split second, a chill ran down your face, over your shoulders, and through your spine as you slowly turned around when Mrs. Allen spoke, “Finally.”

Your vision grew spotty, like tiny particles floating around and mixing up the scene before you. Fuzzy like a grey screen on a television. You blinked your eyes to clear your sight as you looked at him for the first time in over 9 months. It was him.

And his reaction to you appeared much the same, with him pausing in the doorway, mouth agape, eyes wide.

“Hello? Are you the dealer?” Mrs. Allen was great at ruining a moment.

Harry’s eyes blinked as he shook his head and finally peeled his sight from you to look at the other woman in the room. He cleared his throat, closing the door behind himself, and stepped forward to Mrs. Allen with his hand out, “Yes. I’m the dealer. Harry Styles,” he shook her hand and then shot his eyes back to you, taking in your outfit quickly before moving toward you, his hand outstretched in silence.

You hadn’t moved from your spot next to the painting. You hadn’t closed your mouth or peeped a single word because you couldn’t. And even though you had a feeling that it was him before the meeting ever took place, the surprise and shock you felt was overwhelming.

It was really him. It was Harry. And you couldn’t believe it was him.

You placed your hand in his to shake and the moment was eternity. Your eyes pinned together, palms warm to the touch, searching gazes, and a million little thoughts dancing around your heads. It was real. He was real. You were real. The moment was real.

But of course, as Mrs. Allen tended to do she interrupted the odd reunion and began speaking, “Please go over the details with me. I think I’d like to know a little more and then we can talk price.”

Harry’s adam’s apple bobbed as he released your hand and straightened his posture and he handed a folder to Mrs. Allen and began to go over everything she might want to know.

Your heart was racing and you were unable to listen to anything he said regarding the painting. It all sounded like gibberish to you but you could hear his smooth deep voice as he spoke, and the occasional glance in your direction had your skin sparking in delight.

“Earth to Y/n,” Mrs. Allen waved her hand in front of your face and you slowly drifted from your reverie back to reality and looked at her.

“Jesus, it’s like herding cats with you,” she pointed, “Let’s get this part ready. Open your laptop.”

You reached into your bag and pulled out your laptop, placing it on the table so you could begin the wire payment. You looked from Mrs. Allen to Harry and then back to your screen as the bank sight loaded.

Of course, you had to log in and the internet connection wasn’t as fast as you’d have liked so Mrs. Allen let out an annoyed sigh.

“Always like this with her,” she looked at Harry with her arms crossed, “Slow. Lazy–“

“Are you serious?” Harry sounded perturbed. Aghast.

You looked from him to Mrs. Allen and the look on his face matched the sound of his voice as he looked at her with disdain.

“Of course I am. You don’t know her so you have no idea what–“

“I do actually know her,” he glanced at you softening his gaze. “Don’t speak about her that way or the deal is off.”

You blinked and smiled gently as you opened up the bank wire screen.

“What? You can’t treat me like this. I’m a paying client. I will walk out of here without this painting if you dare–“

“Then leave.” He looked at her with his brows raised in a dare.

She huffed and clutched her purse, “Fine. Just… do the deal, Y/n. I’ll be right back. I need to use the restroom and get some air. When I return I want this to be over with.”

She walked out of the room and slammed the door rudely and Harry stepped in front of the computer as you looked up at him, “Y/n. I can’t believe it’s you. Are you working for her?”

You stood up straight and nodded, “Yeah. It’s a disaster. I’m quitting as soon as this is over. It’s been my plan for a month.”

He smiled, “You’re quitting? Now?”

You nodded again, “Yes. As soon as this deal is complete I’m done.”

“Can I see you? Like, after this? Dinner maybe?”

You sputtered a tiny laugh. It was like music to your ears, “Okay. Why not?”

Harry grinned widely and pointed at the computer, “Let’s get this over with then. Push that payment through and let’s get out of here.”

There it was again, the blurred vision, grey and colored specs floating around you as if you were in the grey screen of a TV. You couldn’t believe it. Perhaps it was only a dream. Perhaps you were about to wake up and it was all going to have been just a wild dream that you’d never recover from.

You called the bank with a smile on your face to begin the wire transfer. Everything was set as you entered the details into the account on your laptop and spoke with the representative.

But of course, there was one thing holding the whole thing up. Mrs. Allen had to be there to verbally give the go-ahead to the man on the phone. You were not authorized.

So when she came back to the room and the payment wasn’t yet completed she was furious, “How can you mess up the simplest things, Y/n?”

“All you need to do is tell the man this wire transfer from your bank to the owner’s is authorized. You’re holding this up. Not her,” Harry spoke.

She pulled the cell phone from you with a sigh and spoke into the receiver as you smiled at Harry.

“There. It’s done.” She handed the phone to you and the transaction was finalized. Emails went out to all the parties involved in the sale with the receipt and you closed your laptop.

“Good. Now, have someone wrap this so I can bring it back without getting scratched.”

Harry nodded, “I’ll have Laira get someone for you and they’ll bring it to your car.”

Mrs. Allen looked at you and snapped her fingers, “You can go wait in the car for me. No need to have you standing around and gawking like an idiot.”

You stuffed your laptop into your bag and looked at Mrs. Allen, “Delia?” You made it a point to call her by her first name, which you knew she hated, “I quit. Working for you has been hell. You’ll go home without me as I’ve already made other arrangements. Tell Mr. Allen it was lovely to work for him. I’ll send him an email explaining why I quit tomorrow. Also, the agency won’t work with you again after I share details and proof of the way you treated me.”

Her mouth dropped open and the look of surprise on her face was quite hilarious as you pushed passed her with Harry following behind you.

You felt exhilarated and your heart was pumping blood through your body and your limbs rapidly as you smiled and made your way to the front of the gallery.

Harry kept in step with you as he waved at the girl at the desk, “Please help Mrs. Allen get the painting wrapped and put into her car. I’m done for the day. Call me if you need anything.”

You felt the warm air hit your cheeks when you stepped outside into the sun with Harry behind you.

“Y/n, I’m still kind of in disbelief that you’re here. I must be dreaming,” he turned toward you with a wide grin.

“I feel the same way. Like I’m just going to wake up and it’s all been a dream.”

“Pinch me,” he put his arm out and pushed his shirt sleeve up to his forearm, displaying the tattoos on his skin.

You laughed and put your thumb and pointer over his skin and gave him a good pinch and he let out a deep breath, “Do it again.”

You couldn’t stop the small chuckle that fell from your lips as you pinched him again and he grabbed the tops of your arms tightly, “Y/n I’ve missed you so much. I’ve wanted to talk to you so many times. I have so much to tell you.”

“Me too, Harry. There’s so much to say.”

He led you to his car and you both got inside. It felt so surreal to be climbing into Harry’s car with him, “Where would like to go eat?” He looked at you from the driver’s seat as he started up his car.

You shook your head, “I don’t know. Don’t care really.”

He nodded, “Yeah I don’t care either. Just as long as I get to go there with you. Okay, we’ll go to this spot I found some months ago. They have great crab cakes.”

When he pulled out to the street you looked at him, “New car then?”

He nodded, “Yeah. The lease came up on the other one and figured something different would be nice. I’ve had this for a few months.”

“And did you move?”

He licked his lips and glanced at you, “Yeah. Not long after you left. A lot has happened since you’ve been gone. I… did a lot of thinking about what I want in life and how I want to live it. The place was too big. Not sustainable for me any longer. Too expensive.”

“Really? That’s surprising.”

He breathed out through his nose as he nodded, “I stopped dealing with stolen items. It was dumb of me to get involved in all that in the first place. I never started off being an art dealer with the idea that I would be wealthy. It began because I genuinely love the art world and discovering new pieces. I lost that somewhere along the way and you leaving like you did remind me of what was important in life. Money is not all there is.”

You were surprised to hear this. It made you wonder what else had changed.

The restaurant was a small, hip-looking spot. You had both arrived before the dinner crowd, it was still a bit early for dinner, but to you, it didn’t matter. You were with Harry again and even though you weren’t quite sure what to expect things were going better than you imagined.

You and Harry were seated at a small round table for two by a big window looking out over the parking lot. It wasn’t fancy but it felt amazing to get face to face with him after all that time.

“Y/n, I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you look incredible. I know I said it already but I really missed you. I hope you and I can keep in touch after this. If that’s something you wanted. It would mean so much to me to be able to see you again.”

You picked at the corner of the laminated menu that had been placed on the table in front of you and looked up at him, “Harry, I missed you a lot too. I regretted the way I ended things. Moving away and blocking you. I thought it was the right thing to do. I deleted every part of you from my life and by the time I realized it was a mistake I didn’t have your contacts anymore,” you shook your head as you looked into his eyes, “I’m sorry I did it that way. I’m sorry for walking away from you.”

Harry reached across the table and put his hand over yours, “I’m glad you did. Y/n, I don’t know if I would have had the kind of self-reflection and epiphany I did if you’d stayed. But you leaving like that made me rethink everything I thought was important. Made me realize that dealing in the black market and jet-setting all over the world to do something that goes against my very core… I hated it. I hated you leaving but it opened my eyes.”

“So you really don’t do any of that anymore?”

He shook his head, “No. Now I bounce around from gallery to gallery to view pieces and check the legitimacy, the provenance. I work for myself still but now I’m not making as much money. Which is fine!” He laughed, dimples digging into his cheeks, “It’s better this way. I sleep better knowing I’m doing things right now.”

“Where do you live now?”

“Like twenty minutes from here. Bought a regular-sized house with a garage and an ugly entryway,” he grinned, “But I love it. I love it because it makes me feel happy. It’s not so much to maintain. Had to let go of all the staff I had but other than that, I haven’t missed the income as much as I thought I would.”

You were impressed with him. You never imagined he’d stop dealing in illegal items because you knew the money was so good.

The waiter stood at your table and you both told him what you’d like to drink. A sparkling water with lemon for you, and a hot black tea for him.

“So you were working for that woman. She’s awful. How long did you stay with her?”

You laughed and shook your head, ���I worked for the Allens for just over seven months. Hated every minute of it. She only got worse as time went on. I thought once she got used to me she’d lighten up be she was truly evil. Would just talk down to me and blame me for everything that went wrong.”

“Why did you stay there for so long?”

“At first I stayed hoping it would get better. You know you kind of get into a groove and can look past bullshit and then everyone starts to get used to one another. But that never happened. I tried to stick it out. But then of course I needed the money too. Well, on some level. The security of having a job is nice and the rent at my new house is a lot more than what I paid at my apartment. Figured I’d wait for the right moment. Then about a month ago I found out that Delia wanted to buy this piece of art she’d been wanting and she was going to go through a dealer and I was just about to quit. I really was but,” you shrugged and smiled as you looked down at the menu, “Though it would be funny if maybe you were the dealer,” you brought your eyes back up to him.

He squinted, his brows pulling in as he looked at you, “You continued working for them when you thought maybe I was going to be the dealer on the sale? So you could see me?”

You nodded and smiled, “I mean. Sort of. I really didn’t think it was going to be you but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to just see. So I stuck it out. My plan was to quit the moment the deal was over. That’s why I was saying that at the gallery. It was like, one last thing, just to see if it was you and then I was done working for them.”

Harry laughed and pulled his lips into his mouth, shaking his head in amazement, “I can’t believe you wanted to see me. I was certain you were done and wanted nothing to do with me. I did go back to your apartment one day, maybe like two months later. But you’d already moved out. And you never responded to any of my texts or calls. Figured that was that. What made you want to see me?”

You tried not to feel bad how you ended things with him but it was hard not to, “I really did like you. It was just hard for me to admit how much. And then Brandy, my best friend, talked me into going to therapy. And honestly? Just talking about how I process things and my emotions with someone else helped me a ton. Helped me see how I self-sabotage. Anything that might make me happy, specifically romance, was a big block for me. I didn’t even realize it consciously. I think I knew I pushed people away when I didn’t need to. And I realized I did that with you.”

Harry nodded as he listened and the waiter placed your drinks down on the table before taking your orders for food.

It felt like you had so much to tell him and you could see Harry felt the same with everything he admitted to you. You loved listening to him and watching him as he spoke or the way he gazed at you as you recounted the last 9 months to him.

While so much did happen in those 9 months, you felt comfortable sitting at that small table talking to Harry about it all. Everything felt so familiar and nice with him. It felt like you were both exactly on the same page and this time around maybe you could really have something special with him. If he wanted the same thing as you.

“So you missed me? What did you miss about me?” Harry smirked at you as he took a scoop of the dessert you were both sharing.

“Hmm… I think I liked it when you were nice to me and vulnerable with me. Our late-night kitchen chats. How you took up for me with that one lady. And even today you did it again with Mrs. Allen. I think there were times when I hated you but mostly I liked you. And those things I missed.”

His smirk didn’t fall from his lips and it looked like he was holding back what he wanted to say.

“What? What’s that look?” You pointed your fork at him.

Harry laughed and looked down at the table before putting his eyes back on yours, “You didn’t miss… like my body or something?”

You laughed and grinned at him, “Oh my god, Harry,” you rolled your eyes and shook your head.

“I mean you have to admit, Y/n, we are very good together. Aren’t we? Like… just fit so well me and you.”

You inhaled and let your eyes trail over his features as you tried to keep the grin off your face.

“You’re insane.” You licked your lips.

“No, I’m not. You know it’s true. Tell me you’ve had better with anyone else and I’ll tell you you’re lying. You missed me but you also missed all those dirty little things I did to you.”

“You’re way too confident and cocky still,” you laughed.

“Am I?” His smile was something that always got you. The grin, the dimples, the crinkles at the edge of his eyes.

“What do you want me to say, Harry? That I missed little Styles down there?” You sputtered a laugh.

“Little? Is that what you’d call it?” He placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward closer to you, “You said otherwise when–“

“Anything else for you two?” The waiter broke the tension as Harry shot his eyes up to the man.

“I think we’ll take the check. Thank you.”

You laughed as the server walked away and Harry cocked his head with that smirk still plastered on his face.

The sun was beginning to go down as the check was laid on the table and you insisted on splitting it with Harry. He grumped about you paying anything at all but you weren’t taking no for an answer.

You were surprised you’d been at the restaurant for so long. Hours had gone by but it didn’t feel that long because you two had so much to talk about. So much lost time to make up for.

“So where do you live, Y/n? Should I drop you off at home?”

You bit your lip and shrugged, “Not too far from here. Off Coalfax and the interstate. Do you want to drop me off?”

Harry’s smile softened, “I don’t want to drop you off. No. I want to continue this. I’m not ready for you to disappear again.”

Swallowing you reached your hand toward his and rubbed your fingers over his knuckles, “Then you don’t have to drop me off. Come with me. I’ll invite you in.”

Harry stood up quickly, taking your hand in his as you both walked to the exit and toward his car. You laughed as he pulled you along.

“Coalfax? Just North of here?” He spoke as he started up his car.

“Yeah. Exactly. You’ll take a right on Coalfax. I’ll tell you where to go.”

Harry kept glancing at you and the smile on his face stayed throughout the entire drive. You were sure he was feeling the kind of excitement you had bubbling in your tummy. Still not quite sure of what to expect but nearly certain of what could happen.

Maybe you were jumping in too fast but maybe… just maybe the timing was exactly right. You couldn’t tell but you weren’t going to let yourself overthink it. That wasn’t going to happen with you anymore. You already regretted too much of what had happened with Harry and this time would be different.

Harry parked his car on the street in front of your small house and you both walked up to your door, “You’ve still got the same car,” he noted.

“Yup. Runs well. No payment other than insurance. Cheap maintenance. I love the old thing. Hope I never have to get rid of it.”

Harry followed behind you through your front door and you switched on the light before you felt his hand tugging at yours.

You turned to face him and the reality of everything was clear suddenly. You’d reconnected with Harry. The one man you couldn’t stop thinking about. Couldn’t stop replaying his words to you, couldn’t stop imagining the way he kissed you and took care of you.

“I can’t believe you’re standing here in my living room,” you smiled at him and Harry shook his head.

“I can’t believe I’m here either. I can’t believe I’m looking at you and that you were there today and…” he swallowed as he squeezed your hand, “I don’t want to scare you off, Y/n, but you have no idea how happy I am right now. How this all feels like destiny. Like we were meant to be here right now.”

You laughed through your nose, “I don’t really believe in stuff like that, but it doesn’t kind of feel that way, doesn’t it? Like another chance.”

He nodded, “Another chance. Exactly.”

“Do you want to sit? Or would you like some wine?”

Harry looked around the space of your living room. He hadn’t taken his surroundings in until then as he was too focused on you.

“Maybe a glass of wine. If it’s not too much trouble.”

You grinned, “Of course it’s not. Come. It’s in the kitchen.”

The light flickered on overhead as you flipped the switch and then opened your cabinet to retrieve the bottle of wine and two glasses.

“Y/n, this place is really nice. I like it.” Harry looked around as he spoke.

“I like it too. It’s why I moved here. Felt like home when I walked in to view it for the first time. It’s just a rental but it’s perfect for me.”

You placed the bottle on the counter and handed him a glass of wine.

Harry held his glass up, “Thank you for inviting me in and for humoring me with your kindness.”

You laughed, “Humoring you? Harry, I am fully genuine right now. I wanted to have dinner with you and I wanted you to come into my home. I’m not just being nice. I want you here.”

“I like hearing that.”

You both took a sip of your wine as Harry kept his eyes on you.

It was warm. Searing hot in fact. Harry was gorgeous and he was in your house and he was looking at you with those green eyes that had looked at you so many times before.

“Have you…” He paused as he placed his glass down and cleared his throat, “Have you seen anyone since? Like dated? Are you dating?”

You laughed at the way he fumbled his words. He seemed nervous suddenly, “No. I haven’t.” You placed your own glass down and suddenly felt that flutter of nerves, “And… I’m a little nervous to ask you the same.” You raised your brows at him.

He shook his head, “No.”

You nodded, “Surprised to hear that. But relieved I have to admit.”

“Why are you surprised?”

“Because I thought you’d have your pick. In fact even today when I thought there was a chance I might see you, felt like it was silly because surely you’d moved on and found someone.”

Harry’s brows stitched together, “I had a hard time feeling okay after that day when I left your apartment. Have actually never been so depressed and distraught over anyone before. I couldn’t just move on. Even when I started to feel a little better about it all. I just missed you so much. I know you blocked me on every platform out there. I got the hint when you didn’t text or call back. But I still missed you.”

You smiled, “And you’re not on social media at all. I did look but I kind of felt like if I did find you it wouldn’t have been good for me. I know I could have tried harder to reach out. I think I was a little scared of what I’d find.”

“What did you think you’d find?”

“That you were dating someone. I don’t know.”

The air shifted when Harry brought his hand up to your chin and gently gripped your face, “You’re the only woman I’ve had my mind on all these months. The only one I could ever think about. I don’t want anyone else.”

Your lips parted and you blinked your eyes as you took in his words.

“Do you understand what I mean? I don’t know if you feel the same way about me but just to know that you missed me and want me to be here with you right now means everything to me.”

“I don’t want anyone else either, Harry.”

“Does that mean you want me? I just need to hear it if it’s true, Y/n.”

You gulped and nodded, “Yeah. I do.”

The hand that held your chin released you and moved around to the back of your neck while his other hand landed on your hip and he pressed his lips to yours.

At last. At last.

You closed your eyes and drew your hands up to the back of his neck and moaned as he opened his mouth and you opened yours. Lips winding and smearing and pushing…

It felt like you were looking down at yourself, watching as you kissed Harry in your kitchen. And it was a beautiful sight. The two of you joined, grasping onto the other, hearts thrashing in your chests, bodies alight.

Harry’s grip on your side tightened, his fingers pinching around your clothes. The hand at the back of your neck squeezing and holding you in place as his lips slid against yours

You allowed yourself to be pulled in closer and moved your hand into his curls. You missed his scent. You missed his touch. His warmth. His care.

He parted from the kiss and moved his hand to your jaw, “Can we start over? This time, Y/n, you’re not going to regret it. This is it for us. Understand me?”

His words were almost a threat. Or maybe a promise. Both perhaps.

“Yes, Harry. I’m not going to regret it this time. I promise.”

He nodded, still holding you close, and then softly ghosted his lips over yours, “Because I can’t lose you again. I want this with you.”

You were gonna lose it. Everything was too much and not enough. You wanted him and you wanted to go slow but you wanted to tear his clothes off and feel him all over.

“I want you, Harry,” you breathed out against his lips as you clung to him, “I want this with you.”

You felt the vibration of his moan against your mouth as he dropped his lips to your chin and then along the curve of your jaw. When his lips pressed into the skin on your neck you gasped and hugged him tighter. His mouth drew your flesh in as he sucked a spot and then lowered to the curve of your shoulder and neck, suckling again at the skin where you knew it would be bruised.

“Fuck…” he whispered as he pressed his nose against your jaw, “Where’s your bedroom, Y/n?”

That was easy. The house was small. You led him down the hallway to your bedroom where you turned on your lamp and he began unbuttoning his shirt.

“Take your clothes off.”

You were surprised by his sudden command but you didn’t want to ask questions. The only thing you wanted was him and his hands and his body…

You pulled off your top before unzipping your skirt and kicking it down your legs. Harry’s eyes were dark as he continued taking his clothes off while he watched you undress.

When you were only in your underwear and bra he pointed, “Off. All of it.”

You swallowed and did as he said. Taking your bra off first and then your panties slowly as you used your bed to keep balance.

Harry was left in only his boxer briefs as he stalked toward you like a predator. You’d seen him in action before, you’d seen him a little dominant but this was different. It was like he had something to prove.

“On the bed, Y/n.”

You gave him a curt nod and sat down before scooting back into your bed. He climbed between your legs and moved your thighs apart, “You want this right? You want me? Want us?” He looked at you.

You nodded, “Yes, Harry. I do.”

That seemed like all he needed to know before he finally placed his lips on your chubby thigh, dotting wet kisses down and toward the soft inside near to your crotch and then he switched to the other side, kissing upward gently as he looked at you and then gripped the back of your thighs to push your legs apart, switching his sight from your face to your pussy.

“Y/n I missed everything about you,” he lowered himself, putting his stomach down onto your bed as he held himself over your core, “I know I only had you twice like this but I missed your body. Your smell,” he let go of your left leg as he pressed his fingers onto your mound and slowly dragged them downward, “The way your thighs part and how your skin looks right here,” he pressed a kiss over the spot right next to your labia.

But then he pushed himself up and climbed over you releasing your leg, his hands finding your breasts, “Your perfect tits,” his lips wrapped around your nipple, tongue laving over your sensitive bud and kissing over your soft skin toward your other side, lapping at your plush breasts before dragging his mouth upward to your neck, “Your skin, your voice,” hot peppered kisses up to your jaw until his mouth met yours again.

“Your mouth, this mouth,” he licked against your lips and pushed his mouth against the edge of yours and ran his nose against yours, “You. I missed you. Everything. Your heart and your laugh. I can’t do it again. I can’t go through that again.”

You felt his hands on your face, cupping your cheeks as he looked down at you, “Don’t leave me. Not ever again.”

You shook your head and lifted a hand up to his jaw, “Never. I don’t want to, Harry. I won’t.”

He grinned dreamily at you, his eyes wandering over your features slowly before he lowered himself down your body again, pressing his shoulders to the back of your thighs, and hooked his arms underneath to keep you in place.

The moment you felt his mouth on your core you clenched your eyelids closed and sighed. It had meant so much to you to have him loving on you, touching you, needing you. And Harry was the only man who’d ever worked an orgasm out of you with his mouth.

And even then, his tongue dragging through your pussylips and up to your clit, over and over again in a teasing, slow build it had you unwinding and unfolding for him. You wanted to give yourself to him fully. And that felt so good.

It felt good to trust yourself for once. To allow yourself to trust him. You could push past your feelings of inadequacy and thinking that no one would actually want you for you. Because that was a lie. You had been lying to yourself for so long and even though you knew it was your own hangup, it was hard to get past it. Until now. Because now you weren’t going to undermine yourself anymore. You learned it was okay to question motives but that it was also okay to accept kindness and love where it was offered.

You felt as he applied open-mouthed kisses to your clit and finally began to push over it, the pressure and the slide of his tongue right where you needed him had you moaning. Had you getting his face all wet.

Harry’s mouth and tongue worked at you strategically; slow teases of a gentle lap at your bud and then a harsh suck and flick to make you shiver. Every wet drag of his muscle against your clit drew you closer to your end as you gave in to the feeling.

And just like the other times he’d eaten you out you reached down to push your fingers into his hair and arched your back into him as a signal for him to keep doing exactly what he was doing. And he seemed to understand your nonverbal cue as he dug in and continued lapping and sucking exactly like you liked.

He watched your tits wobble and your body jerk and convulse as he kept his mouth suctioned to your pussy with his tongue wagging and slicking over your puffy clit until he felt you pressing his head down further and you coughed out a loud groan when your thighs started to shake.

His moans into your pussy vibrated through to your guts and it felt like you were going to explode.

“Fuck, Harry!” You were grinding yourself into his mouth and nose as you felt your release snap and you lost control of your volume and the sound of your voice and your limbs as he held you down so he could press broad strokes of his tongue over your pussy back and forth.

Harry closed his eyes and let you use his face and mouth to grind your clit on as you orgasmed. His cock was so hard; just tasting you and hearing your gasps and pleas of need had him spinning in the clouds. It made him happy to hear how good he was making you feel.

And that’s what he wanted the most. Was to make you happy. He wanted your smiles and laughter. He wanted you to enjoy his company and to feel happy with him. He wanted your heart and your soul and everything that made you who you were because he’d already decided he’d give you everything he could. His heart was yours already.

Ever since that day you kicked him out of your apartment, he hadn’t stopped thinking about all the things he did wrong. How childish he’d been with you. He hadn’t meant to fuck up so badly but he would make sure that his old ways were in the past. Now he was yours and he would prove to you that you could trust him.

When you gently released his hair and pushed yourself up to look at him he lifted with a grin, “Felt good?” His mouth and chin were glistening with you.

You laughed and nodded as you watched him slide his underwear down his sturdy thighs and toss them onto the floor. His body was even better than before. You weren’t sure why. Maybe he’d been hitting the gym harder. Or maybe it was just that now things were different. And you were seeing him in a different light. Looking at him in a way that you never had before. But you were still focused on his strong build and dark tattoos as well. That glorious cock, bobbing and heavy was all yours. You loved the way he felt inside of you and how perfect it looked hanging between his thighs like it was.

You sat up and got to your knees to adjust yourself and laid a palm on his thigh as you looked at him and licked your lips. He understood your hint as you moved your hand up toward his cock and he looked down at your fingers before placing his hand over yours, “We’ll do that later. Plenty of time to get to all that. I just want to make love to you, Y/n.”

“But you ate me out. I should at least–“

“No. Later,” he got to his knees and pushed you gently back to your bottom, “You don’t understand. I can’t wait one more second to be inside of you. We’ll have plenty of time for that other stuff but I haven’t had sex since in 9 months. If you put your mouth anywhere near my cock it’s gonna make me come too fast. A little out of practice,” he smiled with a small laugh as you laid your back into the mattress and he settled himself between your legs, hips tucking against yours.

You could feel his rigid, girthy cock slide through your labia as he rolled his hips down and up, wetting his shaft, “Want to fuck you now. Okay?”

You moaned and nodded. It was okay by you. You knew there’d be time for blowjobs later so you didn’t mind having him inside your cunt, stuffing you to the brim like you knew he would. There was plenty of time for all that, now that you weren’t going to be running off from him again.

“Want this cock, honey?” He continued rocking his hips. Sliding himself up and down, the tip of his cock collecting your arousal and pushing it up to your clit.

“Yes, Harry. Please.” You bucked upward to catch him at your entrance but he pressed your hip down and grinned at you playfully.

“Love hearing you say please. Such a good girl for me.”

You groaned when he wouldn’t push in right away, still teasing you with the drag of his thick shaft up and down through your labia and against your clit. The sound of it was lewd. Filthy.

“Please fuck me!” You whined.

Harry paused his motions, keeping his eyes on yours as he reared back and took his base in his palm to line himself up to your hole. He kept one hand on the inside of your thigh as he began to press himself inward slowly, the snap of his bulbous head entering you and pushing through your walls was the first act of confirming everything.

Confirming that this was it. That now you were connected and there was no turning back. That all the promises spoken were sealed.

You both kept your eyes pinned on one another as he bottomed out, balls tucked against your ass with a whimper from his mouth and a deep sigh of relief.

He slowly pulled back before inching his way back into the hilt and repeated his languid strokes as your wet pussy blossomed and opened wide for his girth until he was rocking down into you with a force that had your tits bouncing and harsh breaths punching from your lungs.

Harry’s strong abs clenched as his thighs flexed, working into you, exacting strokes deep into your cunt and skin colliding every time you felt the dip of his crown nudging into your tummy.

He sat back to his haunches, knees bent with the back of your thighs draped over the top of his. He watched as he sunk into you and pulled back to his tip, his shaft glistening and coated in you before he thrust back in until you were gasping and reaching for his arms to keep yourself grounded. To remind yourself of who’s cock was fucking you so good.

“Love this pussy, Y/n. You take me so well. So fucking juicy and plush,” he pounded into you, putting everything he had into it, muscles working and pushing him further and further as you bounced upward on the mattress every time he crashed into you.

“Hear that, baby?” Harry used a hand to squeeze at your tit, “Your bed squeaking, your pussy creamy and wet around me, those desperate whimpers from these pretty lips?” He pushed his hand up to your mouth, pressing his thumb to your bottom lip.

You moaned in response and nodded as you stitched your brows together in bliss.

“That’s right. That’s the sound of me fucking you and we’re gonna do it again and again and again. Yeah?” He spoke through clenched teeth.

You nodded, “Fuck! Yes, Harry!” Your words were punched from your lungs as he continued railing ito you, his hips rocking against yours.

Your whole being was lit up. From your racing mind to your tingling skin and toes, the bones that kept you solid, your pumping heart, and your pussy gripping onto Harry’s fat cock as he slid into you, back and forth, bumping through your inside walls into that hard-to-reach little dip that had you breathless.

Every stroke he gave you put you closer and closer to your second orgasm. The delicious emergence and unraveling of your end made you delirious.

When he leaned himself over you he thrust down harshly, pushing your thighs wider apart, the sound gushy and slick as he drove into you. You could feel his cock sliding through your guts and his pelvis grinding against your clit making you quiver.

“Oh my god…” you panted as you reached up for his shoulders where you could feel the taught muscle keeping himself up and aligned as he fucked into you, your back digging into the mattress underneath.

“Yeah? Feels good huh? Told you we fit together perfectly. Pussy deserves to be filled and stuffed every day. Want you to feel so good, baby…”

“It’s so fucking good,” your whimpered words were shaky and breathy.

“I know baby… So good… gonna give it to you every fucking day like this. Make love to you and treat you like a queen. Be so good to you…” his strained words were breathy as he was feeling the heat with you.

His lips pressed into yours and your brain short-circuited as you fell into that hazy, floaty space of ecstasy and need. Need for Harry and his body and his heart. Need for happiness with him. The need to feel happiness with someone you could trust.

When you sucked on his tongue and he rocked into you, keeping his hips smoothe against yours you began to whine and moan as your orgasm approached.

But then Harry stopped. He pulled back from the kiss and looked down at you with that evil grin you’d seen before and you gasped at the loss. You had just been on the cusp of coming.

He quickly pulled out as his own chest was rising and falling rapidly, his cock swayed and you pushed yourself up to see what was happening before he grabbed your sides and rolled you over to your tummy.

“Harry!” You yelped at the sudden maneuver and felt his palm land harshly on your bum. And then again and again. You jumped and crooned out as he issued your ass a handful of spankings to each side and then heard him moan when he kneaded into the meat of your bottom as if he couldn’t get enough of you. You suddenly felt him pushing your legs apart and fitting himself between them as he forced his hard cock back into your wet pussy, his heavy tip pushing past your small opening and you gasped at the suddenness of it all.

You moaned at the relief of finally having him tucked back inside. He slid through you smoothly, his hands holding your ass cheeks apart as he worked himself in over and over. You had your face smushed into the blankets as you sighed.

His hips rocked against your ass and you could feel him swiveling himself in every time his balls pressed into your skin, grounding himself deep through your tummy. The sounds he was making had you grinning. It felt just as good for him. He needed your body for relief. You were happy to let him get whatever he needed from you.

Slow languid strokes of his long cock, splitting you open with every thrust felt so good. It reminded you of how big he really was. How bulky and long his cock was as it disappeared inside of you and nudged its way into your depths.

“Stick your fingers over your clit, Y/n. Go on baby.”

You gurgled a moan and lifted your hips slightly to allow your right hand access to your pussy. And it was more relief. The feel of it all coming together was perfection. His fat cock taking up every inch of your insides, his tip crashing through your guts, the weight of him behind you and fucking you into the mattress, and your fingers on your clit, slipping and pressing…

Harry gave himself a moment to bask in the view of his cock spreading your vagina apart. He dragged a thumb over the spot where he was fucking into you, feeling himself move in and out, watching your pussy wrapped around him, glistening wet until he felt his balls tightening and constricting and your walls clamping down over him.

He could see your hips moving faster as you ground over your hand to get to your orgasm but then he pulled at your hand, moving your fingers away from your clit and you felt his chest against your back and his lips against the shell of your ear as he mumbled something you couldn’t quite hear.

It caught you off guard. The second denial of your orgasm. You angled your neck to try and turn toward him, “Harry, what?”

You felt him press his cock in hard, hips stilling against your ass, his lips pressed over your ear, “Put your fingers back on your clit but don’t move them til I say.”

In confusion, you slid your hand back to your core and he continued, “Good.”

He reared back and then thrust forward again, “Do you want to come, Y/n? Wanna come on my cock?”

You moaned a yes as you secretly slid a finger across your bud making you shiver.

“Then tell me you’re mine. Say you’re mine, Y/n, and I’ll let you come.”

You had no hesitation in telling him just that, “Harry I’m yours. I’m yours…”

“My girl. That’s right. Rub your pussy, baby. Get yourself off,” his breathy words were warm over your ear and neck as you began to slip your fingers back and forth to get you back to that spot that would have you tipping over the edge.

Then you felt Harry shift behind, his chest no longer pressed into your back as he started pounding into you, “Fucking come, baby. You’re mine now…”

You grinned in elation at his words and the way he sounded totally fucked out himself. Much like the way you were feeling. Like he was out of his mind with lust for you.

Every smack of his hips into your bum had you jolting up and you ground down into your hand, rolling your clit over whatever you could reach when you started to feel that melting, unraveling sensation. The electrical charge that made your pussy quiver and your back arch and your vision go white.

“There it is! Fuck!” Harry’s thrusts were harsh but every stroke felt like a sparking and exhilarating charge going through your body. His tip plunged into your cervix and fingers gripped your bottom harshly as you heard him choke out a loud moan.

“Gonna fill you fill you up baby… fuck… stuff you with my come…”

You could hardly hear your bed creaking and clanking as your ears began to ring and you gushed around Harry, your walls spasming and constricting around him tightly.

He moved into you, gliding in and out until finally his balls squeezed and pumped sperm through his cock directly into your wet hole. He stilled his hips as he whimpered a groan, throwing his neck back with his mouth dropped open, his cock throbbing inside of you, coating your walls with his come.

It seemed to last forever. He moaned and twitched, his body connected and pressed into yours as he drained every bit of himself into you. He pressed inward further, stuffing your pussy with his come, making sure every bit of it seeped through your cunt and soaked your insides.

He hadn’t had sex in 9 months. Jerking himself off didn’t do it like the real thing and when it was with you it was even better. The best. He hadn’t come so hard ever in his life he was certain as his body flushed in heat and his heart thudded wildly in his chest when he crumpled over your back, tucking his arms around you and kissing your neck softly.

You moaned quietly at the feel of him on your back. The post-orgasm glow was never so good before. It felt like you were in a different realm of existence, floating and glowing in bliss.

“You’re mine, Y/n?” He wanted reassurance. Which was understandable after the way you handled things the first time around. But this time was going to be different. You two were starting over again. This time with a better understanding of what the other needed, with a better understanding of yourself and what each of you needed to do to be a good partner. Things were different this time.

Harry pushed himself up and looked down at his sensitive cock still inside of you. He drew himself back and watched as his creamy come leaked from your hole and he pressed himself back inside. You felt him pumping himself in and out shallowly and turned your head to look at him. His eyes were glued to your cunt where he was fucking his come back inside of you. A natural urge he couldn’t deny.

When his eyes found yours and he finally pulled himself out, he helped you roll to your side as he laid next to you, his hand on your cheek and you placed your palm on his chest, “I’m yours, Harry. I was back then too I just didn’t realize it. Couldn’t admit it. But I’m yours.”

You both smiled at one another. His eyes were bright and clear and you could trust him. You knew you could. He made you feel so comfortable about yourself. Made you feel like you could make him happy and that he’d want to stick around for you. That he would make you happy in return.

He took your hand and pressed it harder over his chest, “I’m yours too. I was since the day I first met you. I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful, Y/n. And I’m not letting go of you again.”

You grinned and pushed yourself up to his mouth to kiss him. You felt his palm slide down your side and to your bum, as he squeezed you, causing a laugh to puff out from your lips against his.

“Sorry, I love your ass. Feels so good in my hands. Just wanna bite it and stuff my face against it. Can’t help it.”

You rolled your eyes at him still grinning but when he swatted at your bottom your mouth dropped open in surprise.

“Don’t you roll your eyes at me, young lady. When I tell you I love your ass, I fucking mean it.” He gave you another good squeeze to emphasize his words.

So you slid your hand down to his nipple and squeezed at it, “And I love your nipples and these tits,” you laughed.

Harry’s wide grin and dimples were suddenly hidden when he nuzzled his face into your neck and you heard him inhale deeply.

The afterglow with him was something out of a romance novel. It was beautiful and precious. Almost too good to be true.

The sound of a cellphone ringing had both you and Harry lifted out of the sweet moment. He sat up, “It’s me.”

He hopped out of your bed and you watched as he crouched down to his pants where his phone was in his back pocket. His strong back flexing as he pulled it out and then stood up to answer the call.

“Hello?”

You frowned as you watched him disappear into your hallway, still nude. Turning to look at the clock on your side table you noted that it was paste 10 pm. You wondered who was calling at the late hour. Couldn’t have been work. What could be so important that he had to leave your side after he’d just given you the best orgasm of your life?

“I’ll be there! I’m booking a flight as soon as I get off the phone. Yes..”

You could hear him pacing and talking. You picked up most of what he said as you sat silently on your bed waiting for him to return and explain himself.

“I missed you too. I can’t wait to finally meet her. I know. Me too.”

You slid off your bed and pulled a t-shirt from your drawer to put it over your body as he ended the call with an I love you.

Harry walked back into your room with a huge grin, “My sister just had her baby!”

You smiled at him widely as he took three long-legged steps toward you, his cock swaying as he was still completely naked before he wrapped you in a tight hug, “Today is like the best day I’ve ever had. First you,” he kissed your cheek, “Now my sister...”

You laughed when he twirled around with you and then he let go, a sudden look of realization on his face, “Come with me to London. I want everyone to meet you!”

You blinked your eyes and stuttered your words, “Are you serious?”

He grabbed your hands, “Dead serious. Come with me. It’s not like you have to ask off for work. We can go for a couple of weeks. God, it’d be so fun, Y/n. Me and you… My mom’s going to love you.”

Your head was spinning from everything that had happened that day. From the moment Harry walked into that room at the gallery to now having him standing naked in your bedroom asking you to take a trip with him to see his family and his sister’s new baby. But, spinning or not, there was no part of you that would turn down the offer.

“That sounds amazing. I’d love to, Harry.”

He pulled you in for another hug and pressed his face into your neck, “This is going to be so good, Y/n.”

You laughed as he squeezed you tight and then his hands cupped your cheeks, “Now, let’s get you cleaned up, and then we’ll book our flights. Yeah?”

You nodded as your cheeks burned hot when he pressed his mouth to yours again.

It was a funny thing to you. That the first time you had sex with Harry the post-orgasm afterglow was interrupted by a phone call. And this time another phone call had broken the moment too. Except things were not the same as they were then. Now you knew who Harry was. You trusted him and this time everything was going to be different.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this!! xoxo

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[r0semaryt3a]

PLEASE write a soulmate au with the phantom troupe and reader. Reader hiding away from them for so long, only for one of them to find her randomly and take her away to the troupe

BOY OH BOY- I’m a sucker for soulmate aus so you better bet I JUMPED at the chance to write this!

I will admit I wasn’t entirely sure if you meant like the reader being each individuals soulmates separately or a Polycule type of situation…so I did the former-

DAMN DID THIS TAKE LONG-

I fell to the authors curse so some of this (up to Machi’s) is proofread.

As with any of my PT work focusing on Chrollo, Feitan, Phinks, Machi, Shalnark and Paku

Cw: kidnapping, yandere themes (ish?), drugging and torture vaguely alluded to.

Chrollo

Chrollo was never particularly interested in soulmates. There was no clear path to you, no set strategy for getting him where he needed to go; for a man always three steps ahead: Chrollo didn’t like that very much.

This predetermined destiny it bored him. The troupe gave him the ability to pick and choose where he wanted to go and how he wanted to do things. This soulmate speil didn’t. So, he wouldn’t let himself get wrapped up in it.

Or, that was until you probed his interest. No matter where he was, it was as if some unknown force was pulling you both apart. As if you didn’t want to be found. And that? Well that excited him.

Now you were a heist, a thing to acquire, his shiny new trinket to steal. And you know Chrollo: he loves a good heist.

When he first met you, it was as if fate itself had smiled upon him. You’d dropped your guard; allowed the string binding your two souls to slacken. This happened to occur when he was in the area: dressed to the nines no less. A perfect facade, with you right at his fingertips.

He approached you with a smile, dawdling away from his current objective, you were simple. If he had to put a word to it, endearing would’ve fit the bill.

Getting you to agree to dinner was simpler. He put up a perfect act, the definition of chivalry: chin resting upon his hand, a charming smile painted across his face as he admired you through half-lidded eyes, swirling a glass of wine idly in his hands, far more interested in drinking every aspect of you in.

He played dumb on the soulmate front and you seemed to play dumber, perhaps that was giving you a bit too much credit. However, by the struggle it took to find you; the way you shifted and the twisting of that tormenting string. It would be safe to assume: you knew.

Drugging you wasn’t really part of the plan, I mean, having you here wasn’t a part of the plan. The plan was to steal a classical painting from some uppity aristocrat; the small dose of flunitrazepam was originally going to be used as a fail safe. Though, Chrollo welcomed this turn of events non the less.

Once he has you, you’re bound to wake up wherever the troupe had made residence. He’d played a long enough game to even acquire you; his patience had thinned far too much for him to play it any longer.

He doesn’t rush to introduce you to the spiders. No, he coaxes you into some sense of normalcy before he does that. No point in ruining a good thing before it’s even started.

On the offset you were avoiding him all this time: you best prey your reactions to this eventual introduction are in check. If you truly weren’t playing your own long winded little game of hide and seek: consider yourself lucky (In the vaguest sense of the term).

The spiders took to you quickly, most of them having heard (and many witnessed) their boss’ onslaught of restless nights when he’d finally committed to finding you. A few of them were even impressed that you’d proved so difficult to find: the barrage of compliments on a feat you might not have even been guilty of proving quite confusing. Aside from this little introduction however, you don’t see much of the Troupe. Chrollo prefers to keep you as his own little domestic facade: a microcosm in his pocket.

The very few times you do see them is when Chrollo just needs to be around you. You rest somewhere close, on his lap, agaisnt his shoulder, a few centimetres off hand in hand, the specifics don’t matter. You’re with him and that’s all he needs. The Troupe hardly gives you a second glance: far too used to this little charade. Their leader playing absentmindedly with some aspect of you as he relays the rules of their next heist.

Once the Troupe disperse he always pulls you closer to him, head buried in the crook of your neck as he takes you in for a few seconds.

You’re a gem he’s acquired; he wishes to revel in you a little bit longer.

Feitan

Similarly to Chrollo: Feitan didn’t care. Hell he probably cared less. It was Phinks who actually started talking about it.

He saw no reason to care, you weren’t any use to what the Troupe was doing.

Then your hiding became evident. He liked that: a chase. Every time your string tightened, a part of Feitan lit up.

The time he spent curating your capture filled his waking days. The occasional torturous thought slipping in every now and then.

And oh boy, when he found you? You hardly had time to react. A small whoosh of air and the rest’s a blur to you. He’d slugged you back to where the Troupe reconvened.

Unlike Chrollo, Feitan wastes no time in integrating you into the troupe. It proves no use to him having you in the dark; he doesn’t care much for the facade. You’re his now, soulmates: whether either of you liked it or not. So, it’s best you know his colleagues as soon as possible - they’ll be partly responsible for keeping an eye on you afterall.

You won’t leave his side. Ever. He’s surprisingly adamant about it.

Spindly arms wrap around you, pressing you against his chest. “Staying here.” The ever familiar hiss of his voice rang loud in your ear, the broken lilt of it as alluring as it was fear inducing. Feitan was usually like this, twirling the string that bound you two in between his fingers. He often held you just as he was: close to him. There was no comfort in his hold, for either of you: he just needed it. Needed you.

If you were purposefully hiding? You’ll be quickly introduced to his torturous pastimes.

If you weren’t? Good. Be glad.

After you get used to the whole arrangement he’s actually quite ‘sweet’ (in a twisted sense of the word).

Phinks

One of the only people to court you normally. Like sure, he’s short tempered about it. But, he’ll see it through (maybe.)

Actually wanted to find you, a person bound to him by forces stronger than either of you could comprehend? I mean come on! That’s perfect!

Hours were poured into getting to you. Which, made your hiding all the more obvious. Like some odd rendition of hide and seek, he’d get hairs away only for you to flee again.

He found you eventually, of course, it was inevitable! He was rather rough with the way he restrained you and hauled you back to the troupe. Phinks is another who didn’t waste time in shoving you headfirst into the troupe’s business. Admittedly, with far less grace than any other member.

You’ll spend most of your time with his chin resting on your scalp and his arms swung around you: a distorted sense of a regular relationship. The troupe are an acquired taste to get used to, but Phinks seems to try his best to act as an outlier. For the most part, it works, though, old habits are hard to break.

Once you get used to him, he’ll revert back to his typical idiosyncrasies. He’s actually quite stupid with you: if you can get past circumstances.

Phinks tends to treat the whole ordeal as if the string binding you simply wasn’t there. It’s a fact about him that you’re not quite sure if you enjoy or hate. The way he’ll swing an arm over your shoulder, casual as can be, talking idly. There’s a few questions on your day; how you were. Which, soon snowballed into a refresher of the troupe’s work. All as if he wasn’t glued to your side through the whole ordeal

Which, speaking of, you’ll be bound to get involved in. It’s probably the most nonsensical thing about your arrangement. If Chrollo allows it you’ll simply become a part of the troupe. Apparently you took the place of some clown (from descriptions you’re not sure you want to know anymore).

Machi

Did. Not. Care.

Like at all.

Seriously.

She found you by happenstance; out of sheer boredom used a nen thread to tail you. It wasn’t like she followed you for hours (she actually forgot about the thread quite quickly).

It was only when you’d become so much of a nuisance that she was mistaking your string for her threads that she even bothered.

Machi excels in tailing targets so unlike the others you were quite an easy find. When she found you, she was quick to fall into a “civilian” persona. You hardly knew what to expect when the woman first came up to you, a smile that charming it was hard not to trust. The two of you walked for a while, sharing facts about your life, Machi tailoring her own stories: making herself appear a simple person with a simple life.

Given she didn’t really care much, Machi is completely willing to play the long game, building her facade through a series of weeks. Hell, if it weren’t for the fact you struck a chord inside her she would’ve probably kept up for longer.

When Machi does finally want to cut the charade you’ll know. The snarky redhead you’d been getting to know will have you where she wants you in an instant.

Don’t worry though, Machi’s a doctor (all things considered). Any pain you might wind up with will be quickly rectified. She’s also a lot more level headed than some of the others, she knows not to bombard you…to a degree. Once she’s set on something having to dance around the subject tends to irk her and this is a fact you’ll come to know very quickly. Machi is only amiable for so long.

She keeps you away from the troupe for the most part, you aren’t a spider so there’s no reason for you to be there. If anything the others would probably just make her job harder (and you being there would truly just be a pain).

She’s one of the only ones with a fool proof contingency plan for your escape. Her threads can chase you as long as she needs them to; as short a distance as you’re sure to manage.

Overall despite the circumstances she’s fairly tame. Always having been nonchalant about these sorts of things Machi was never one to chase romance and considering the thread reminding you of your inevitable fate she sees no need in forcing what’s bound to happen anyways. You’ll eventually wear down if you’re angsty and if not? Well it’s a win, win.

She mellows out with you overtime, if not for the constant threat of what might happen if you run off to far your relationship threatens to be…normal? If you could get past all its unique idiosyncrasies.

When she finally caves and introduces you to the Troupe it’s mainly because she has to move for a job. She’s very particular with who you do and don’t meet (Hisoka and Feitan) though tends to leave you about Nobu and Shalnark, with the odd night out with Pakunoda and her.

As I said, as odd as it may be, you’re actually fairly normal.

Shalnark

There’s no amount of information this man can’t find.

And so, there’s no real reason to fuss over you.

Romance is complicated and Shalnark would rather stay clear of the whole thing when he can. He’s after money and Troupe jobs not settling down with soft kisses.

Still, it’s a rather humorous game when he truly gets going.

Watching your life; the way your days play out. Finding all the little puzzle pieces that tie the whole picture together winds up quite the exhilarating pastime. It’s rather humorous in a way, you’re so obviously hiding from your fate that he can’t help but want to shatter the hope you’ve built up. Afterall, even without his license or the information at his disposal your string would guide you to one another sooner or later.

Shalnark is well aware that simply finding you one day and dragging you back to the troupe is a silly thing to do.

But.

It’s easy.

And he can’t really be bothered to do much else. If you run there’s always his nen; if you don’t: you don’t.

He introduces you to the Troupe as if you were an old friend he happened to run across; not the victim of an elaborate game (or well game to him.)

Shalnark doesn’t attempt to form a relationship with you, he already knows who you are and over time you’ll get to know him so it’s just a matter of waiting till you know enough.

Probably won’t use black voice on you.

Maybe.

Pakunoda

This woman actively hunts you down.

The mere thought of a person perfectly fit for her? She simply had to see this.

The way she meets you is similar to Chrollo only purposeful. She takes you out on a lavish night, treating you to wine and delights. A plethora of soft spoken words leave her tongue.

Don’t you just look stunning? Wow you have so much in common.

It’s an interesting experience for her, feeling so connected to a feeling, a fling.

The night progress almost perfectly, it’s tailored to be a blissful evening: utterly perfect in every way. Pakunoda knows how to put on a show and she’s fully prepared to. The Troupe is her life and she’s never cared much for the domestic aspect of the world. And yet, whether it be the string or mere curiosity, she can’t help the way she wants to feed into this. The way she wants to find out if you’re well aware that she’s who you’re tied to or if you truly are blissfully ignorant.

Where she diverges from her close friend is how quickly she pulls you into the Troupe.

You may be entering, endearing even. But, the Troupe is her family (all things considered) and she won’t leave the introductions till later.

Pakunoda works to settle down any and all nerves with ease. Though it may not work she’s certainly skilled at trying to butter you up. She paints a picture of normalcy, a picture she claims the spiders to be a part of. She does care, or tries to? Out of all the spiders she’s the one with the most affection for you. Call it her nature, call it what you want. Pakunoda

Can you tell I haven’t written for these people in a while? Cause I can. I will probably come back to this and give it more content when I have time but by God life kicked me in the shins and ran off with my firstborn the second this ask came in istg.

[absolutebl]

Best 23 of BL 2023 - Quirky Awards

SHOCK & AWE AWARDS

1. Biggest BL surprise of 2023:

The last 3 months of 2023 in general got my biggest WTF award.

GMMTV fielding OffGun AND TayNew in the same quarter while also airing Last Twilight (arguably one of their best BLs ever)

That they ALSO optioned 3 JBLs

That there's a high heat omegaverse BL staring Pavel

That there were 20 BLs airing and none of them Korean.

With 5 VAMPIRE BLs announced for next year

But my prize in this category goes to My Dear Gangster Oppa.

It's just crazy:

Thai talent, Korean money + IP (this is adapted from a manwha) airing on a Chinese channel (iQIYI). Plus it was GOOD and made smart reuse of a pair who richly deserved it. I'm delighted by the eclectic insanity of this production. And wonder if any other film genre could even do anything like this.

2. The “that country did WHAT?” award:

The 8th Sense from Korea?!

I mean, seriously?! Dealing with metal health, suicide, darkness, therapy, age gap, & first time love BUT FROM KOREA? And then openness and casual boyfriend physical affection? What's next? An actual hard fought coming out narrative with an HEA? Gay domesticity and families?

Careful Korea, you'll strain something. Possibly your own culture and film industry.

I should stop having expectations of Korea, they keep surprising me.

Runners up: Korea letting OnlyOneOf do Bump Up Business not to mention that OmegaX thing. AND Korea adapting Why R U? What are you up to, Korea? Qua? Is this a coded message? Should we send help? Do you need snacks?

3. Biggest casting whoa! where did you come from? award:

GeminiFourth in My School President.

Seriously? Babies what? How did GMMTV find you? How do you exist? How is BL this lucky?

4. That studio did WHAT now? award:

GMMTV putting EarthMix into Moonlight Chicken.

And then doubling down with G4 as the damn sides.

Fucking genius.

5. I’m sad you were ignored award:

Destiny Seeker.

It's just a really fun little Thai pulp, the pairs were good, silly dialogue, plus consent and other good rep. I enjoyed it. No one talked about it AT ALL.

6. 2023 BL That Actually Made Me Lose My Mind Award?

Laws of Attraction. -The casting, the crazy story, the soapy drama! But specifically: Film playing Charn - the range of his smiles alone. GLORIOUS

I mean I Feel You Linger in the Air also sparked something in me, but LoA drove me actually nuts.

NARRATIVE AWARDS

7. Best story 2023:

La Pluie

I know, you're surprised, right? At the time I didn't chat much about it but I really enjoyed the discourse others were having. I love anything that really examines the fated mates (soulmates) trope and the idea of "the one". What a clever way to do that. (This is one reason UWMA is my favorite Thai BL.)

This one reminded me of the way Color Rush approached allegory and that's no bad thing. Such an impressive little piece.

8. Best narrative structure 2023 award:

Unintentional Love Story.

I know this may seem a simplistic pick. But I love the tidiness of this no frills contemporary romance, how the culture of work and personal ethics and corruption fight against the main character's affection and integrity. Poor baby boy is driven into a corner and then punished for it. But it is punishment he feels he deserves, and so it is up to his (now) ex to figure out what went wrong and why.

It's just great. I love it when no one is stupid or wrong, it's just impossible circumstances and unintentional love deeply felt.

9. Best 2023 dialogue (script) award:

Jun & Jun

Never before has Korea laced a BL with that much perfectly executed innuendo. It was a master class. I didn't know you could be that lascivious in Korean, quite frankly. Plus the way the 2 Juns constantly seamlessly transition between formal register (work, public - where they are boss/employee) to informal register (when they are alone and age mates + childhood sweethearts).

Beautiful to hear and watch.

10. Favorite scene 2023:

The dub con scene in I Cannot Reach You because I AM TRASH for an out of control seme. I'm sorry I just AM.

I have said it before, I will say it again, NO ONE DOES THIRST like Japan. And when that thirst bubbles over, it is heart-clenching and very hot.

11. The most rewatchable BL of 2023 award:

Our Dating Sim

That scene where they lie on the floor + the stolen kiss + giggle? Come on, it should be on comfort repeat in war rooms. It could bring world peace.

ACTORS & CHARACTERS AWARDS

12. Best performance of a queer actor in a leading role, 2023:

Fluke in Make a Wish.

It was fun to see him as an irreverent immortal and while I love OhmFluke I also really enjoyed this new pairing. It was a genuine pleasure to watch.

13. Best pining 2023:

The moot pining in Tokyo in April is...

Boys, seriously? Japan must you destroy us like this? Hurts so good.

14. Best wingman 2023 (The Namgoong Award)

Tiw from My School President

I mean, come on, of course it's him!

(Also can you believe Mark went on from this to do fricking Only Friends!? To Last Twilight! Come on GMMTV GIVE HIM A LEAD!)

15. Biggest OMG I LOVE you boys together, YAY!

Dimpled McMafia & Feral Bunny Foo Foo from Kiseki Dear to Me.

They were feral for each other.

We were feral for them

It was a whole delightful THING.

16. Most unexpected return of a BL pair? award:

The Private Lessons pair showing up in Love Class 2.

I know it was only a cameo, but SERIOUSLY? Thank you SO MUCH Korea! A big studio picking up a Strongberry pairing? I love you.

Seriously tho between them, Taiwan & Korea tried for ALL THE CAMEOS this year.

17. Well aren't you two just the prettiest? award:

NetJames in Bed Friend.

Need I say more?

18. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Bah Vinh in Vian & Mr Cinderella 2. I did like either show but I loved him in them. Especially the make outs.

Yes you have chemistry with all the boys in Vietnam and you kiss beautifully. But it's okay now honey, you have the crown. Relax, you're stressing us out.

RANDOM PICKS

19. Favorite Linguistic Moment of 2023:

Our Dating Sim

Caught in the act by the elevator scene. OMG it's so funny. They're being such boyfriend shits to each other, and to be caught in the act by THAT character, and try to manifest formal language whole cloth? Hilarious.

Honorable mention to War Peanuts in Destiny Seeker.

20. Biggest disappointment of 2023:

You Are Mine

Seriously Taiwan, AGAIN you disappoint me with an Office BL? You're Taiwan, land of offices and suits. This should be YOUR SETTING TO WIN. And yet... argh. I mean it wasn't bad. But it wasn't good either. Stop it Taiwan, do better.

Runners up? Between Us, Chains of Heart, Dangerous Romance - this was a HOTLY contested category.

+ 2 Winners in the sub-category of FUCK YOU FOR THAT ENDING award:

The Director who Buys Me Dinner - I mean this nicely but: you have your lane now Korea, stop hurting us, that's Japan's responsibility and they do it better.

I Feel You Linger In the Air - I'm just hugely disappointed. Thailand ALMOST got its second 10/10 from me, but that damn ending.

Argh.

21. Best Wardrobe/Prop Use 2023

The shower of packaged bedsheets in My Personal Weatherman

Amazing. Brilliant. No notes.

22. Best Queer Rep 2023

Chot in Step By Step

In fact, all the queer characters in this show were treated with great integrity.

AND props to this cast for refusing to do fan service. GOOD FOR YOU! Fuck those sasang wankers.

Runners up? The found family cast of Love in Translation and the Rainbow Rice Cakes in The New Employee.

23. Best Meta Trope call out

Tin Tem Jai

Come on, what a zinger, but at themselves (and Taiwan)

Final question: which of the 23 was the hardest for me to pick?

Honestly? Question #1 this year. But also question #20.

(Last year: 2022's Version) 

Remember I only pull from shows that were completely finished by the end of 2023. Or The Sign probably would have taken multiple categories. But it will fall into 2024 offerings.

(source)

[cult-of-husbandos]

karasuda ren [soft!yandere] - All I Want For Christmas Is A Cute Yandere!

synopsis: you're spending another Christmas alone. there's only one thing you want and there's only one person who can make it happen. but, shenanigans occur!

genre: a little crackish, fluff, holiday love

word count: 6.29k

warnings: binge drinking, kidnapping, a little claustrophobia

Ahh, Christmas Eve. The most festive and romantic time of year. The city has never looked so bright and beautiful than when it’s decorated with wreaths and tinsel on every pole and building and fairy lights illuminating a soft glow of the pillowy snowy streets of your city. Not to mention the sights and sounds that sing this otherwise boring, claustrophobic place into jolly merriment. The delicious smells of bakeries and restaurants serving cakes and pies and nauseatingly sugary Christmas cookies. Buskers singing Christmas songs to afford a decent meal. Last minute idiots scrounging the shelves in stores and causing scenes to get that one important present or Christmas is ruined. Families walking with their children with excitement on their faces about what Santa will bring them tonight. Happy couples walking hand in hand and sharing hot cocoa and sweet treats before they get home. Retail workers resisting the urge to shoot themselves when Mariah Carey’s winter album plays for 6667th time that day.

Yes, it seems that everyone was in a rush to get home to be with that special somebody tonight.

EXCEPT FOR YOU!

Day after day. Year after year. Holiday after fucking holiday!

Seriously! It should be against the fucking law to have to work on Christmas Eve. Especially, when the workplace is complete ass and your coworkers take turns using the singular brain cell that seems to float aimlessly around the office. When you were just a fresh newbie, you used to blame your singleness on your work. ‘I don’t have the time right now, I should try when I get used to the environment.’ That was your thought process. But, now you know that it was all complete horseshit! The real reason you can’t make time for anything, let alone a relationship, is because your boss and your coworkers are required by the laws of fate and destiny to cockblock you until you’re that old Karen calling the cops on your neighbors for having too bright lights in their yard. When you first got hired, you promised that you wouldn’t become like the old greedy ladies at your work that glared at the smallest hint of happiness and bitched about it on their ‘Moms Against…’ Facebook groups.

Yet, here you are. Hours before Christmas, shuffling home like a morally depleted penguin hating every single happy and smiling face you came across. Even the forced ones.

As you trudged through the dirt clodded snowy and slippery as hell sidewalk, you couldn’t help but unintentionally glare at every single couple you passed by. Happy smiles adorned their faces as they shared intimate kisses and huddled together for warmth. You tried not to gag or roll your eyes because it wasn’t really their fault. They were just enjoying the festivities and snow. You on the other hand are huddled into yourself trying not to bust your ass in the middle of a public street and quickly get home so you can rip off your shoes that were sopping wet and nearing frostbite from the slushy snow penetrating your shoes. 

To be honest, the last place you wanted to be at was your apartment. You sigh to yourself in disappointment knowing what’s waiting for you: Nothing. In particular, no one. As stated before, day after day, year after year, holiday after freaking holiday, all that awaits you is a cold, empty apartment with comfort items and furniture that you either bought off of Amazon or got off the streets. No one would be waiting for you except the inescapable loneliness that you felt every day. Your plans are the same as last year’s, and the year before that, and the year before that, and so on and so forth. You’ll get home, take a lukewarm shower because your plumbing is always busted around this time of year, drink a 1/5th of Holly Jolly Krinkles Peppermint Vodka, and pass out watching the Polar Express on Hulu. Then, wake up Christmas afternoon and try not to throw up the rest of the day. Your ancestors must be so proud staring down at you after generations of their own hardship.

Peeking up from your huddled form you spot your apartment complex up ahead. You sigh again feeling the need for a drink. As you hurriedly jogged up the stairs and rushed to your door, you slowed to a halt as you saw a bottle sitting on your doormat. Titling your head in confusion, you looked around for any clues on who could’ve left this on your door. Cautiously, you picked up the suspicious bottle and felt that it was heavy and filled with liquid. A white and red envelope fell onto the mat and you picked it up as well. The envelope had your name addressed to it, but nothing else. You looked back at the bottle and squinted into the dark to read the label on the front. In the dark you could only make out ‘Feeling Pine Mulled Wine.’ You groaned at the pun. On top of the cork you noticed a green ribbon tied along with a small folded note. Inside the card read, “For you, from Santa Claus~♡”.

“Santa Claus…?” you muttered to yourself. You scoff and think of this as nothing more than corporate shilling and shameless advertisement to get people to spend even more money on this capitalist holiday. Everyone in the building must’ve gotten a bottle and since you got home late you’re the only one left. Shivering harshly as a chilling breeze rushed through you, you quickly shot into your apartment. Like a defeated animal, you ripped off every single piece of wet clothing and left it near your front door for ‘hungover you’ to worry about. Placing the mulled wine on the kitchen counter to worry about later you jogged to the bathroom for your shower. Second to drinking yourself to sleep, you looked forward to your shower the most. Flipping your shower nozzle to the highest setting, you jumped in and hopped around as the blizzard water hit your skin. You shivered as you rubbed soap aggressively on your body waiting for the lukewarm water to set in. After a few minutes, the water didn’t change. You waited a few more minutes and the water was still cold?! All of the frustration and anger bottling up inside you finally popped.

“AAAARRGGHHHH!!!” You screamed with all your might. Your screams bounced around your echo-ey bathroom as your next-door neighbor banged on your wall. You banged the wall back even harder out of frustration. What kind of shitty development is this?! You are a good person! Why is it that whenever something good happens to you someone shits all over you?! Who did you kill in your past life to warrant this sharknado level shitstorm that is your adult life?

“God-fucking-DAMMITT! I hate this shitty building and its shitty pipes and its shitty… shitty shit shit!!” You stomped as you frustratingly shut off the shower. Again, you’re reminded of your paper thin walls as your next door neighbor banged on your wall even harder. Completely fed up with everything, you punched and kicked at your wall with all your might.

“Evan Christopher Daniels, you motherfucker! I swear to God, you bang on this wall one more FUCKING time! I’m calling the landlord and telling him all about your basement cock fighting ring and we BOTH know we aren’t talking about chickens!”

The banging immediately stopped. You huffed and leaned against the cold tile wall. You needed a drink more than ever, but you did feel a little better after yelling. Walking out of the bathroom in your towel, your attention is brought back to the wine bottle and envelope. Staring at the wine bottle and label again in a better light you didn’t see anything wrong with it. Nothing obvious at least. So, with a shrug and popped the cork.

“Better than that shitty minty vodka…” you muttered.

*****

“A-And then… that Chevy-back refrigerator built asshole had the nerve to put his dirty face next to mine and breathe his hot Frito-shit pie breath all over me! Can you believe that?!”

You were venting. You were venting and drunk. You were venting, drunk, and talking to the only thing that brought you solace in this cruel time of joyful merriment: the characters on screen from the movie you were watching.

Wow. How sad.

“‘This is no good, Y/N.’ ‘You should try harder, Y/N.’ ‘How ‘bout spending Christmas stuck to my bed sheets, Y/N.’ How about you get the fuck outta my face, fix your hairline and get veneers you shitty generic ugly bastard-looking McFuck!!”

You sprawled out on the floor, sloppy lamenting over your life and where you could have possibly gone wrong.

“Why is it that whenever I get hit on, it’s either from creeps on the subway or fat geriatrics with greasy foreheads that get off on power harassment?” you ask your screen.

“‘Cause that’s the way things happen on the Polar Express!’”

You clicked your tongue and grumbled, “I wish I was on the Polar Express…” you spared a glance to your empty apartment. “Better than being here alone…” You took another drink from your bottle and set it down beside you. “This is good… I’ll have to drink this shit all-year round.”

As you silently surveyed your surroundings as the movie continued in the background, your eyes were drawn to the unopened letter that came with your wine. With a grunt and a sigh, you reached over to pick up predicting that it’s mostly like a Christmas themed advertisement for the company. However, instead was a Christmas portrait card. You opened the card and read the beautiful cursive that was inside.

“Wish upon the brightest star in the sky and your deepest wish will come true.”

You read the words over and over again. ‘Wish upon a star?’ you thought incredulously. What good would that do? You looked on each side of the card but there wasn’t anything else, not even a signature. The handwriting on the Christmas card didn’t match the note on the cork either. You scoffed after a while and flicked the card back on the floor.

“Deepest wish will come true…” you grumbled softly. “That’s only something a child would believe in.”

“‘Seeing is believing, but, sometimes, the most real things in the world are the things we can't see.’”

Your attention was brought back to your movie and the words that stood out by the conductor. Wait… was the movie playing out of order?

“Seeing is believing, huh?” you muttered to yourself. You looked to your bedroom window. Snow gracefully falling from the night sky down to the bright city lights from under your window. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was just a plane, but there in the cloudy night you spotted a single light that penetrated the clouds. Again the words on the card rang through your mind like church bells, or maybe those were just the bells from the movie.

“Meh, fuck it.” You were already drunk and alone. Might as well do something embarrassing in the comfort of your own home than in a bar full of equally lonely people, right?

You crawled your way towards the window and sat on your knees. You already knew what your deepest wish was. You wished for it every holiday: your birthday, Valentine’s Day, hell, even Arbor Day. But, who should you even be praying to to make the wish come true? Santa Claus? God? Buddha? David Bowie? No, there’s only one person who could make a wish like this come true. Someone who you've never prayed to. Someone who could make your dream a reality.

“Oh, Supreme Lord Master Gege Akutami,” you called out. “I know I’ve never prayed to you before, but you’re a man that can make miracles happen. You’re the only one I know that can make my wish come true. The only thing that I want for Christmas is…” you took a deep breath.

“All I want is a super cute yandere boyfriend!”

You can’t be serious.

“I’ve seen your creations Oh Heavenly One and I know you can make that happen. The gorgeous men and women from your manga are only just as beautiful and holy as the animated versions! But not just an old yandere will do! I want a super cute one! The kind of yandere that feed, spoil, and give their unwavering love and affection to the MC! The kind of yandere that will only keep me to himself so I don’t have to work at my shitty job anymore.”

Oh you are dead serious, aren’t you?

“He has to have a cute smile, gorgeous eyes, and soft kissable lips! And he has to be taller than me, but not too tall! Just the right amount of height where I can give him headpats and forehead kisses and when he lays down on my lap only his feet go over the couch arms, not his legs! Also, I want him to have a nice build, not too skinny and lanky. I’ve seen the kind of men you’ve brought to light so I know you can make it work Oh Great One.”

Oh dear lord…

“And he has to know everything about me! Like super omega obsessed with me, but in a cute way that makes it hard to be mad at him. Oh, and extroverted as hell to counterout my introvertedness! Like the type of person who will go up to the fast food worker and tell them that I wanted no pickles on the burger! Y’know, and also…”

Okay, I’m gonna cut the rest of this drunken otaku rambling for the future therapy you’ll be court mandated to attend.

“Please, Lord Gege… if not you then… I don’t know what else I’m gonna do.” You squeeze your fist tighter and close your eyes shut as a last ditch effort. “Please make my deepest wish come true.”

You slowly opened your eyes to see nothing in the sky anymore. Nothing but dark snowy clouds. You let out a pitiful chuckle as you felt tears brimming your eyes.

“What the hell am I doing…?” you whispered. “I am so fucking pathetic…” Maybe it was just a stupid plane after all. You meekly crawled back to your spot on the floor and layed down a few inches away from your laptop. The movie was still playing and the time read “12:01 A.M.”. It was officially Christmas. And today, just like every Christmas, you were drunk and alone. The sounds of actual church bells rang throughout your room from the outside. You lazily stared at the movie that was nearing its end.

“‘Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart.’”

‘Santa Claus… Christmas… wishing… it’s all a bunch of shit…’

As you felt your eyelids grow heavier and heavier, you soon gave into your tiredness praying that your hangover in the morning wouldn’t be too bad.

*****

Rustle… Rustle… THUD!

You are jolted awake at the sound of a large thudding sound coming from outside your bedroom door. Bleary-eyed, you check the time on your phone. It was 3 A.M.. Thinking it was just your neighbors, you laid back down on the cold hard floor. Until, a few seconds later, you are woken up again this time with a large bang. 

Okay, that sounded way too close to be your neighbor. Someone was definitely in your apartment. You carefully snuck over to your bedroom door and pressed your ear against it. You couldn’t hear any voices (which makes sense), all you could hear was the sounds of something rustling.Are you actually getting robbed?! On fucking Christmas?! Oh hell no! Fueled with drunken courage and hazy eyes, you grabbed the empty wine bottle and quietly snuck out of your room. Peeking around the corner, you saw a tall, dark figure looming in your living room. You quickly flipped on the lights and jumped from around the corner raising the bottle above your head, ready to smack a bitch if they tried to run.

“Alright! Who the fuck are–!”

 You stopped dead in your tracks and the wine bottle you held tightly in your hands dropped to the floor with a solid thud. The man standing in your living room, staring you dead in your eyes like a deer caught in headlights of a lifted Ford truck, was wearing a vibrant red suit complete with black boots, white gloves, and a red had, had a long, fluffy white beard, a large white bag filled to the brim with wrapped presents, and twinkling blue eyes. You felt your breath catch in your throat. It was unmistakable.

“Santa Claus…?” you groggily called out.

The man’s face turned from caution to jolly in a matter of seconds as he let out his signature laugh.

“Ho ho ho!” he bellowed. “Well, this is odd! Shouldn’t all the little good boys and girls be asleep right now?”

“I… I was asleep… I-I think your bag woke me up when you set it down…”

“Ah! Of course! I was looking for your Christmas tree, but I can’t seem to find one. So, I was wondering where to leave your presents!”

“I don’t have a Christmas tree. I couldn’t afford one this year…” you told him, folding your arms. Wait. Why were you telling him anything?! This has to be a dream. Yes, just a drunk dream. There’s no way you could be talking to some strange man dressed as Santa Claus right now.

“I see… How unfortunate. Life must be so tough for you, Y/N L/N.”

Your eyes widened. “H-How do you know my name?”

Again, “Santa Claus”'s laugh rang throughout your tiny living room.

“Santa knows all the good boys and girls! And you have been extra good this year!” he exclaimed. He bent down and started rummaging through his bag as if he was looking for something.

Your attention snapped to your front door. You were sure that you had locked it. Squinting, you didn’t notice anything strange about it. The deadbolt was still locked. It wasn’t even left open for a clean getaway if this were an actual robbery or even a dream. None of your windows open, they’re more like decoration. It’s brutal in the summer when the building’s AC stops randomly. So how did–

“How did you get in my apartment?” 

“Santa Claus” stopped searching through his bag, but didn’t look up at you. He just… stared down into it like he didn’t want to make conversation with you.

“I don’t have a chimney. This low-rated rat hole would never give such a luxury. Plus, none of the windows open. I locked my door with a deadbolt so I would’ve definitely heard you if you had tried breaking in through the front door, not while you were looking around for a Christmas tree so… how did you get in here?”

You could feel the tension rising as silence choked the jolly air around him. After a moment, the man raised his head to look at you. You felt your blood run cold. He was smiling, but his eyes… no longer had that same twinkle in them like before.

“How do you think I got in here?” he asked stiffly. Shivers rolled down your spine and you couldn’t bring yourself to speak a word. The man laughed again, but not his silly jolly laugh. It was more rigid and harsh. “I’m Santa Claus. Even if homes don’t have a chimney… I can still find my way in.”

‘Okay! I’m done with this dream now! I’d like to wake up! Wake up, me! Wake up!’

But, nothing changed. If this were a dream, something anxiety inducing would’ve happened by now. Like Santa Claus melting or turning into an eldritch monster. The air felt like it was suffocating you ever so slowly as your heart started to beat faster and faster.

“You look like you don’t believe me.” You jumped at his voice. He smiled even brighter and pointed the opening of his gift bag towards you. “Why don’t you see for yourself. I have a present here just for you.”

You swallowed hard. “A-A present…? But I–” You could barely stutter out a sentence before he spoke again.

“It’s what you deeply wished for.”

Your eyes widened again. Those choice of words… It couldn’t have been an accident. How would he… unless he…

You found yourself slowly inching towards the gift bag. It felt like an out-of-body experience. Like watching a first-person POV of someone doing something extremely stupid. As you stopped mere inches from the bag, you peered inside to see nothing but an almost seemingly amount of presents that ranged from big to small throughout the bag. Just as you tried to peek down further into the bag, you felt a large gloved hand grab the back of your neck.

“Sorry kid. No witnesses.”

Before you could utter a word or scream in shock, you are unceremoniously shoved into Santa's bulging sack of gifts. As the bag closed tight above you, your panic-filled mind finally kicked in as you screamed and thrashed around the bag. However, the more you screamed and kicked, the more the weight and closeness of the presents started to crush around you. This set in more panic and then more kicking and screaming.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be all over soon.”

‘What?! What does that mean?!’ You continued to scream and clawed at the walls of the bag to try and rip through. With a sudden jerk motion, you were lifted into the air and the bag was thrown over the man’s shoulder causing what seemed like a hurricane of presents to rain down on you. As you tried to kick up towards the opening again, you left out a gasp when your foot hit nothing. The more you kicked the more you stuffed yourself down the ocean of presents currently crushing you from all sides. When you tried to reach out to the side to claw at the bag again, you again found nothing. And again, the more you tried to reach, the more your arms got stuck wedged against the weight and size of the presents. There seemed no end as the presents continued to suffocate you, pressing hard against your stomach, legs, head, and chest.

You felt your vision starting to blacken out and called out once more.

“Please… someone… help me…”

But, your voice was too low and soon, you did not speak again.

*****

Your eyes fluttered open to see nothing but darkness all around you. You let out a grunt as your head pounded harshly only to find out that your mouth had been taped shut. 

‘What the fuck?’

You tried to take the tape off your mouth only to find your hands tied together.

‘What the fuck?’

You stretched out from your fetal only for feet to to hit a solid wall. Not only that, your feet were also bound together.

‘What the fuck?!’

You jerked up only for your head to meet a solid wall.

‘Ow! What the FUCK?!’

Your head pounded again and you laid back down trying to remember how you got in this situation. All you can remember is drinking your problems away and watching the Polar Express, and then… wishing on a plane in the sky…? And then Santa Claus showed up?

‘Ugh… fuck me… Did I sleepwalk into an empty plot again?’ You tried with all your might to try and bang on the walls of the box that you were currently in, but with this hangover all you were doing was making yourself tired and nauseous. You sighed with a huff. ‘I swear if I die in here, I’m gonna ghost sue these assholes…’

How long had you even been here? Were you even alive at this point? If you are, how long until the air in here runs out and you suffocate? Ugh… too many thoughts were making your head pound even more. Oh, what a tragic and pitiful end for our tragic and pitiful protagonist–

“Oh, wow! What a huge present!” a voice from outside shouted. You jolted in surprise. Who was that? And did they say present?

“I wonder what Santa got me~?” the voice asked melodically. Santa Claus? Wait, so… that wasn’t a dream?! The sounds of gift wrapping paper answered your question. You didn’t get super drunk and walk into a cemetery and crawl into a coffin like last time. You got super drunk and got stuffed into a giant Christmas present. You want to be disappointed with this development, but honestly you’ve found yourself in much worse situations than this. Like how on three Valentine’s Days ago you unknowingly joined a cannibal love nest cult when buying candy for yourself.

The lid of the box was aggressively thrown creaked open, revealing the most enchanting sight — you were surrounded and bathed in the glow of fairy lights. Blinking away the haze, you found yourself in an unfamiliar room, illuminated by soft, colorful lights and warm furniture. This place was definitely better than your dinky apartment. Your eyes then landed on the strikingly charming individual with the most captivating eyes you’ve ever seen and an endearing yet unsettling aura seeping from him. You felt your heart skip a beat as you locked eyes with the gorgeous hottie staring you down. His cute smile was twice as blinding as the dozen of lights surrounding the two of you.

“Looks like Santa got my letter. Just what I wanted for Christmas~.”

‘Holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitsholyshitholyshit–’

“Homy shmpf! Phuu’re hmpf!” You tried to shout.

Blinking a few times, the hottie deliciously chuckled and reached for the tape around your mouth. “Lemme get that for you, sweetheart. Only if you promise not to scream.”

Oh please, like you’d scream in a situation like this.

“There you go–”

“Holy shit! You’re hot!” you shout again. “Whoa… this has to be a dream. There’s no way that I’m sitting in a human sized box in a hottie’s apartment. I gotta buy more of that wine.” you muttered to yourself. You felt a tiny pinch on your cheek and snapped out of your muttering to lock eyes with those gorgeous eyes again.

“Ow… that hurt…”

“Then you’re not dreaming, sweetheart.”

“Woah…” You reeled back into the box. “I’m actually sitting in a hottie’s apartment…”

He chuckled. “House, my love. Not an apartment.”

“House?”

“Yes.”

“Like a house house? Like with a mortgage and shit?”

“The house is fully paid off. My parents paid it off and handed it to me when they retired and moved.”

“For real?!” you gasped and gasped even harder at the sights behind him. “Are those Sanrio plushies?! And a 5-foot Rilakkuma bear?! A PS5, a polaroid camera, an Apple laptop?! What are you, loaded or something?!” you exclaimed in astonishment.

“Well, it’s true that I spared no expense getting this place ready.” he chuckled again. “After all, I spent a lot of time getting all this stuff ready just in time for you.”

“For me?”

“Of course. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t know what my girlfriend liked?”

You paused for a moment, soaking in his words. “Boyfriend…? Girlfriend?”

“That’s right.”

“You and me?”

“Yup.”

“Me and you?”

“Mhm!”

“You’re my boyfriend?”

“Yes, my love. I was getting a little impatient waiting to take you for myself. So, I asked Santa to deliver you to me.”

You couldn’t believe your ears and eyes. You wished upon a stupid star/plane, got kidnapped by Santa Claus, and got unwrapped by a gorgeous man that’s now your boyfriend. 

“Where the hell have you been hiding, huh? If I knew a hottie like you was scoping me out all this time I would’ve delivered myself without the gag and restraints.”

The hottie paused for a moment and smiled again. It seems like your reaction to all this wasn’t what he was expecting. “I’ll untie you if you promise you won’t start trying to escape.”

You scoffed and handed him your bound hands. “Oh, please. Yeah, I’m gonna escape and run back to my 250 sq. ft. apartment with no hot water, no heating, and no one waiting for me that even notices I’m gone.”

The hottie laughed softly and began to untie your hands. “And trust me. I wasn’t hiding. I left you gifts every moment I got. However, whenever I saw you, you never had them.” After untying your hands, he gave you a sullen look. “Did you not like them?”

You rubbed your wrists and titled your head in confusion. “Gifts? I never got any gifts.”

“Don’t lie to me, Y/N. I’ve been leaving you gifts and small tokens for two years.”

“I’m not lying! If I had gotten anything from someone like you, I would’ve been here two years ago.” you defended. “Where did you leave them?”

“On your desk at work, on your doormat, in your mailbox! I placed them everywhere you could see.”

If you weren’t so hungover you’d scream your head off. “Ugh…! Oh my fucking God…” you grumbled angrily, lightly banging your head on the corner of the box. You knew it! Your coworkers were cock-blocking you from finding true love. “All my coworkers are conniving, evil, love-hating bitches! And my boss is a misogynistic, sexual power harasser. They probably threw those presents away when I wasn’t at my desk.”

Your new boyfriend’s eyes grew dark. “What about your apartment?”

“Ugh… those animals would steal chewed up gum after you spit it out. They probably stole it while I was out at work. And my mailbox got broken into 6 months after moving in. All my bills are on autopay.”

As your boyfriend’s face grew darker, his smile remained. “Well, it’s a good thing I told them you quit and got you out of that disgusting “apartment”.”

Your mouth dropped at his words.

“R-Really? So, my job?”

“You don’t need one. I make enough money to support 5 of you. Plus, everything you could ever want is here anyways.”

“My apartment?”

“Considering most of the things in your “apartment” came from the side of the road, just tell me and I’ll buy whatever needs replacing.”

You leaned in close. “And my boss?” you whispered.

He leaned in closer, both your noses touching. “Dead, if you want him to be.”

Holy shit. Let’s go over the list.

He is: 

✔ Hot as fuck

✔ Obsessive

✔ Tall

✔ Built

✔ Has a cute smile

✔ Puppy face

✔ Not too overbearing

✔ Dommy

✔ Willing to support your lazy piece of shit lifestyle

✔ Owns a home

JACKPOT!!

“This is the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!” you shouted, but immediately regretted it when a sharp throbbing pain pierced your head. You clutched your head, tenderly rubbing your temples.

“Woah, are you okay?” he gently asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a hangover…” you smiled wearily.

“I’ll get you some water and Ibuprofen. Wait here. Don’t move, okay?”

Again, you shot him a look that told him that you didn’t have anywhere to go.

“Oh, and uh, thanks… um…”

“Karasuda Ren. But you can only call me Ren, okay Y/N?”

“Okay, Ren.” you smiled. He smiled back at you and headed to the kitchen. You sat in the box looking around at the beautiful home filled with Ren’s things combined with the things you love. If you weren’t on cloud 9 right now, you would plan a vindictive revenge plan on your job. But, now you had nothing to worry about anymore. Your wish came true and he was even cuter than you could’ve possibly imagined.

“Oh!” Ren suddenly called out. “Since you might be hungover, you probably won’t be able to eat this cake I made huh?”

“Homemade cake?! I love– Woah?!” You shot up at just the word cake and fell out of the box and face first into the floor.

“My love! Are you okay?” Ren asked, rushing to you with a glass of water in his hand.

“Yep! I’m okay! I forgot that my feet are also tied up sooo… can you help me?”

Ren laughed and helped you back on your butt and began to untie your feet. After that, he handed you the water and the bottle of Ibuprofen. Swallowing the pills dry and drinking a few gulps of water, you began to feel a little better with some water in your system now.

Just as you were about to get up, you were immediately swept off your feet and carried bridal style across the living room. You let out a tiny yelp as your head made contact with Ren’s warm chest.

“W-What’re you doing?”

“Oh. Did you think I wasn’t going to hog you all to myself? You’re my Christmas present and I intend to enjoy this day and many more with you by my side.”

You felt your face burn as you were sure your face was as red as a habanero. Well, this was your Christmas wish too. It’s finally your time to enjoy the lovey-dovey part of this holiday. 

Throughout the entire day, you had never felt more love and content. Despite your initial shock, you soon got used to the huge shower of affection your new boyfriend continued to give you. Karasuda Ren, while intense and possessive, showered you with affection and attention unlike anything you had experienced before. He filled you with so much cake and food, you felt like you were gonna pop.

The loneliness that had haunted you dissipated in the wake of this blooming, although unconventional, relationship, was replaced by a new sense of belonging.

As Christmas lights flickered outside, you found yourself entangled in a love both warm and intense. The hours that passed brought a mix of emotions that you could get used to feeling everyday for the rest of your life.

This was it. Your deepest Christmas wish came true. You were finally happy. Only one question was left on your mind.

“Hey, so, how did you start liking me? Have we met before and I just didn’t pay attention or…?”

“No, we’d never even spoken to each other. About 3 years ago on Christmas Eve, I was riding the subway on my way home when I heard a bunch of drunk people get on.” Ren grimaced just remembering the situation. “I wasn’t anywhere near them, but I could smell the alcohol. I was going to change cars when I heard them start to argue with someone, I turned around and I saw you. You looked so tired and angry.”

“Really? I don’t remember that.” you hummed, trying to think back.

“I was going to step in, but you had already clocked one guy in the jaw and dropped the other guy like a sack of flour.”

“Oh yeah! I remember that now!”

“That moment, I fell in love with you at first sight. It took a while to find you again, but after I did I knew in my heart that I could never ever let you go.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet, Ren! Man, I guess first impressions always stick. Kind of embarrassing that your first sighting of me was when I was drunk.”

“...You were drunk?”

“Oh, I was fucking wasted. I always get smashed on Christmas Eve. It’s kind of a tradition. I was drunk off my ass the night Santa took me too.”

“...Y/N.”

“Mhm?”

“You can’t drink in front of other men. If you plan on drinking, let me know and I’ll take care of you. No one can see you drunk and vulnerable except me, okay?”

“Of course, my love! Maybe next year, you can show me where you got that kickass mulled wine from.”

“Mulled wine?”

“Yeah, that one you left on my doorstep. With the note.”

“I didn’t leave anything on your doorstep.”

“...”

“...”

“Hmm… maybe I should stop drinking random alcohol that appears next to me…”

“Y/N?!”

Bonus:

As you both were cuddled up on the couch half-asleep, watching a random Christmas movie as the fireplace crackled in the background, you were brought back to a realization. You never thanked the person that made this all possible.

You quickly got up causing Ren to jolted up at your sudden movements and stare at you wide-eyed as you made your way to his window.

“Baby, what’re you doing?” he asked cautiously with a yawn.

“I need to probably thank the person that brought us together today.”

You collapsed your hands together and smiled up at the starry-night sky, immediately catching a glimpse of the brightest twinkling star in the sky.

“Oh, you mean Santa–”

“Oh, thank you Lord Gege, you are truly my savior. If I had known praying to you would’ve gotten me results like this I would’ve prayed sooner. You are truly the ‘God of Handsome Men’.”

“Wait– what?”

“I will continue to support you and buy all of your merchandise…”

“...Y/N?”

“Mhm?”

“Are you praying to another man? While your boyfriend is right here?” You could hear the pout in his voice, but his face screamed baby-faced yandere.

You smiled and made your way back to your spot on the sofa. “Well, Lord Gege is more like a God amongst men to me now. But, of course I had to thank him.” You softly poked Ren’s puffed up cheeks. “I prayed to him the night before and he granted my wish. I am now the girlfriend to the cutest man alive!”

Ren blushed your words and decided to let your little prayer slide this time. Looks like you found the cute yandere’s weakness. Whether you decide to tease him in the future only time will tell.

—

a/n: merry christmas, my trash babies~˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ i know it's been a while since i've updated, but i couldn't leave the year off without a little slight yandere fic. i was planning on uploading two fics this month, but adhd brain and procrastination are praying on my downfall. so enjoy, a cute fic with a cute soft yandere for the holidays.

happy holidays~!❆⋆꙳•☃︎⋆꙳•✩⋆꙳•❅

[minkyungseokie]

第二章 | Moving and Meeting the Boss

warnings; age gap love(R: 23, S:39, T: 50), gxg, throuple, controversial age gaps, random German and Scottish pet names, topics of eating that aren't ED related, but might be triggering to some, DeepL translated languages. Untranslated Chinese, French, and other languages

note; okay! second chapter is now ready. I might start another series based on driver x reader x wag. I sort of rushed through this. I also changed a couple of things

She now contracted meningitis during her F2 days and that was the reason for her leaving, but she told people it was the lack of funds

There has something to do with eating, but it's not an ED

The eating thing is based off of a very adorable mukbang YouTuber named Tzuyang. I also never been to Monaco, so Idk how everything works

Realized she should have a last name since she's Felix's sister

note2; please give me requests for moodboards, blurbs, smaus, or anything else you want for this series. Or just request anything as long as you read my rules and how to request thing

fc; imleslie(Y/n), xavier serrano(Aaron Antognelli), blanca soler(Chiara Lorenzi)

Come Talk to Me

Driven by Destiny Masterlist | Previous | Next

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I do not give anyone permission to change, copy, or put my work on any other platform. It will only be on top, so if you see it, please report it. Or let me know.

DO NOT ask me to update this story. I'll update when I can.

Anyway, only accepting 10 more people to be tagged

Buckle up! This is a long one!!!!!!!!

(My god, Susie is so fucking pretty that I might actually cry)

In the now packed-up house, Y/n gazed around. "Are you all packed up?" Her brother asked as he crossed his arms next to her. Chan sighed, "I'm going to miss coming over to your house and hanging out," he said, looking around the house. With a soft smile that showed off her sharp teeth, Y/n looked at her brother, "He'll miss popping by my house during random times when the homeless orphans don't have work to do and mooching off me until he needs to go home to Korea." Y/n teased, pinching his freckled cheeks.

Chan giggled at Felix's expression and looked away, clearing his throat when Felix's glare turned to him. The long-haired male slapped his sister's hand away gently and tried to keep his scowl before giving up and breaking out into smiles as laughs filled the room. "For real though, I am going to miss you." Felix said, opening his arms for Y/n to enter, "Aw, I'm going to miss you too, but you can come visit me anytime you want in Monaco." Y/n offered, pulling back.

"You too, Channie. You and the rest of the derelict unparented are free to come visit me in Monaco when you want." Y/n said, opening her arms up to the shorter male. "Why does this feel like I'm sending my little sister off?" Chan asked, gladly accepting the hug that was offered, "You are basically family, mate." Felix assured, wrapping his arms around both his sister and his best friend. The group continued to hug until there was a loud honk heard in front of the house, "Well, I guess we should get this stuff into the truck." Y/n said, letting go of the two singers to grab one of the nearest boxes.

Y/n lugged the box to the truck where a mover stood, ready to grab the box from her hands and put it in the truck, "I'll take that, sir." The worker offered. Y/n froze and stared at the mover, "Excuse me?" Y/n asked, "Oh? Did I say something wrong?" The worker questioned, looking at Y/n with a raised eyebrow, "I am not a man. Please don't assume because I have masculine features." Y/n said, steeling her nerves. Y/n wasn't a confrontational person, but over the years, resentment had built up enough for her to tell someone off when they called her a man.

Her boobs were prominent enough for people to know that she wasn't a man and she was wearing a sports bra with flannel, how the hell did the man assume she was one as well? "I'm sorry, I didn't know--" "I think you did know, but it's whatever. Don't do it again." Y/n huffed, turning around and walking away.

Y/n entered the home again and grabbed a box aggressively, huffing dramatically. Felix and Chan shared looks before putting the boxes they had in their possession down, "Hey, what's wrong?" Chan questioned.

Y/n shook her head, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. She sometimes felt like it was irrational of her to get so upset by someone assuming she was a man, but at the same time, anyone would get upset by being called the wrong gender.

Y/n squared her shoulders and picked up another box before turning to look at the two with a smile, "It's nothing, mate. Just a bit of an annoyance." Y/n then turned and walked out with the box in her hands.

The trio made their way back and forth until all the boxes were in the truck. Now, they stood on the lawn watching as the movers grabbed the furniture and loaded it onto the truck, "Y'know, we're actually going to miss you." Chan spoke up, continuing to watch the movers work. "I know. That's why I said you're free to visit me in Monaco. I'll also try to visit you and in Seoul whenever I can." Y/n assured, throwing her arms around each of the boy's shoulders and giving them an awkward side hug.

"We know. We'll try to visit when we can too." Felix said, laying his head on her arm with Changbin following suit, "We're done, ma'am. We'll be taking this to the sea freight now unless there is something else you need." The mover looked at the tall half-Asian with a pointed look, asking if there was anything she needed or if were they good.

"You're good to go. Thank you." Y/n said, nodding at the mover. The trio watched as the movers packed up and drove away, "What time do you leave?" Felix asked after a few moments of silence, "Three o'clock in the morning. Seeing as my insomnia is so bad that I can't fall asleep, I'll probably be up and out by two. Do you mind dropping my keys off at the realtor office safe drop box? I won't be able to do it since I leave at three." Y/n said.

"Yeah, we can do that. We'll be dropping you off anyway." Chan nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets.

⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙

"Yah, wake up. It's two." Felix hissed as if there were others in the house.

Y/n groaned and swatted Felix's hands away before turning onto her side and snuggling into the blankets, "Y/n, it's time to wake up." Chan said, joining Felix at the side of the hotel bed Y/n was sleeping in. The two put their hands on her and looked at each other, nodding before violently shaking Y/n back and forth.

"搞什么鬼?!" Y/n yelled in Chinese after being woken up so violently, turning to stare at her brothers with wide eyes, "Sorry, you wouldn't wake up, so we decided to shake you until you woke up." Chan snickered, signing as he spoke, looking away as Y/n glared at him and Felix. 

Y/n sighed and threw the blankets off of her body, "Jesus, dude. You could've kept trying to wake me up gently." The dark-haired woman scowled, reaching over to grab the external part of her cochlear implant and the hearing aid for her other ear. Felix grabbed the hearing aid and helped her put it into her ear, "When are you getting your other cochlear?" Felix questioned, making sure the volume was on the level Y/n always kept it on.

"I get the second implant after I start my new job. I'll have to tell the boss about it as soon I do the interview. Especially since I forgot to tell her about my lack of hearing." Y/n mumbled, looking at Chan and Felix from the side since she knew that they would be giving her judgy looks.

Y/n turned to see that they were indeed giving her disappointed looks as if she wasn't taller than Chan, older than Felix, and more intimidating than the both of them combined. "Stop looking at me like that! I was trying to get the application in as fast as I could. I simply just...forgot to put it on my application." Y/n explained, looking down and scratching her cheek. When she looked back up, they were still looking at her with disappointment, "Stop looking at me like you're my parents and I just got caught smoking a fat one....or something cause I wouldn't know how they would look at me." Y/n quickly added the second part and gave the two boys a awkward smile.

Felix and Chan sighed in unison, "Okay, well, I guess we can't really be that upset with you since you'll be telling her face-to-face. Get up and get ready. Felix picked out some clothes for you to wear." Chan said, pointing to the end of the bed where some clothes were laid out for her, Y/n sighed, running a hand through her thick hair, "Okay, whatever. Please move out of the way." 

Chan stepped back as Y/n swung her long legs over the side of the bed and planted her feet onto the floor, grabbing the clothes and studying them before going to the bathroom to get changed while Felix and Chan checked to make sure that everything was properly packed. Y/n exited the bathroom wearing a pair of high waisted brown trousers, a white collared button down with a brown, beige and white sweater vest one top.

Y/n sat down on the bed and picked up the socks that were sitting on the bed, putting them on while Felix and Chan continued to talk, "Y/n, do you want to get some McDonald's on the way or something?" Felix asked.

"I just want a coffee and a bagel honestly. We can get something from the bagel shop nearby. I heard they have some good bagels and coffee." Y/n suggested, putting on her boots and grabbing the glasses that were on the nightstand next to the bed. "I'm down." Chan said, looking to Felix, "I'm okay with that." The blonde shrugged, grabbing Y/n's suitcase and pulling it out into the hallway.

Y/n stood up and looked around, making sure that she had left nothing on the ground

⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙

Y/n turned and looked at her brother as she got ready to board the plane, "Okay, so you'll call when you've landed in Monaco, right?" Felix inquired, holding her wrists lightly. Y/n rolled her eyes and chuckled, "I promise that I'll call you as soon as I get to my new home in Monaco. Don't worry about me. Just make sure that you take care of yourself. All of you." Y/n gave a pointed look at Chan.

"What? Why'd you look at me like that?" Chan chuckled nervously, "I'm telling you to take care of yourself. You tend not to do that." Y/n joked, looking him in the side. Chan jumped away as if he was shocked and held his side, "No promises, but I'll try."

"Flight 35 A is now boarding."

Y/n looked over at where people were beginning to line up, "Alright, it seems I've got to go." The girl pointed behind her with a thumb. Felix pulled his sister into a hug and laid his head on her shoulder, "You better call me when you land. I'll fly to Monaco myself if you don't." He said voice muffled into her sweater vest.

"Okay, let go. I have to board." Y/n groaned, pushing the blonde away from her playfully, "See you, Y/n." Chan said, giving the girl a quick hug. Y/n grabbed her carry-on and boarded the plane, "Make sure the other Stray Animals are around when I call. I want to talk to all of you." Y/n spoke.

After a long flight, of which she slept through most, she hopped off the flight feeling groggy and completely disoriented. To be quite honest, she just wanted to go to sleep in a bed with thick blankets and the fan blasting on her face so she didn't overheat while sleeping. The thing was, she wouldn't be able to meet up with the person who sold her the house until the next day because the offices were closed and her stuff wouldn't arrive until the next day either, so she had to get a hotel for the night.

Y/n groaned as she rolled her neck, attempting to massage the stiffness out of her shoulder and neck as she entered the Uber, "Uh, Hôtel Fairmont Monte Carlo, s'il vous plaît." Y/n spoke in a tired and dull tone.

The driver nodded and pulled off. Y/n pulled out her phone and pressed on the contact of the one person she knew would be up. It was 9:41 PM in Monaco, which meant it was 4:41 AM in Seoul currently and there was one person she could guarantee would be up at that time.

Chan.

Y/n pulled out a pair of headphones with a large-diameter ear cup that completely encloses her ear and audio processor and put them on. Y/n looked out the window while the phone rang, "Hey! You're in Monaco, I'm guessing." Chan said as his face popped up on the screen. "Yeah, I'm in an Uber right now. I'm heading to the hotel." Y/n mumbled, mouth stretching into a little yawn.

"Oh, yeah. Your stuff isn't there yet, is it?" Chan asked, looking at something off to the side, "No, it'll be arriving tomorrow afternoon. I'll be contacting Mrs. Wolff tomorrow as well to schedule the interview. The jet lag was going to be a bitch." Y/n sighed, leaning against the window. "Yeah, it is. What time is it there?" Chan questioned, "It's, uh, 9:43 PM." Y/n answered, dragging her eyes away from the fogged-up window to the face on her phone.

"Have you eaten?" Chan questioned, "No, not yet. Have you?" Y/n raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I ate some ramen earlier. I'm just snacking on some honey butter chips right now." Chan responded, lifting the yellow bag to the screen.

Y/n opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by the driver, "Madame, nous sommes arrivés à votre destination."

Y/n looked out the window and saw they were indeed in front of the luxury hotel, "D'accord, merci, monsieur. Je vous souhaite une excellente soirée. Sorry, Chan. I have to go. Tell Lixie and the others to text me when they can." Y/n said, exiting the car.

"Okay, I will. Have a good night." Chan said, "Have a good day, mate." Y/n said before hanging up. Y/n pocketed her phone and grabbed her items from the trunk. She waved at the driver in thanks and made her way into the hotel. It was a random one that she picked out and it was probably way too luxurious for a one-night stay, but it was the closest to where her new home would be and she was way too tired to find an even cheaper hotel.

She checked in and paid for the room, trudging up the stairs in a slumped-over position. As soon as she found her room, she stood up and unlocked it as if she was being followed by someone and had to enter quickly. Y/n threw the door open and closed, dropping her bags where she stood before making her way to the bed and getting in

Y/n woke up the next day and immediately ordered an Uber. Her items would be arriving today and she already slept in pretty late. Y/n's dark brown eyes swept the room until they landed on the digital clock on the dresser. It was 2:52 PM. The truck with her stuff would be there around four and the realtor would be there around 3:00, so she had to get going pretty quickly. Luckily, her Uber was on its way and she would be at her new address in no time.

Honk!

Y/n's head snapped up once she had heard the honking of the horn. She could only assume that they were there for her and the chime from her phone telling her that her ride has arrived only confirmed her suspicion. Y/n quickly gathered her items and sped and walked out of the front of the building with her hand up in a wave to show that it was her who had ordered the Uber. Y/n pulled up the trunk after the driver had opened it from the inside of the car.

Y/n put her suitcase and carry-on bag into the trunk and closed it, rushing to get to the backseat and get into the car. "Bonjour, Monsieur. Monaco, La Condamine, 98000 Monaco, s'il vous plaît." Y/n said breathily, pulling her phone out of the bag she had and opening the notes app. Seeing as she would have to move all of her stuff in, of course with the help of the moving pros, and there were some other things she needed to do through the day, she decided that it would be a good idea to make a to-do list.

To do for today and tomorrow

Move my stuff into the house

Rearrange everything to my liking

Unpack everything

Go grocery shopping

Call Mrs. Wolff back

Y/n reread the list over and over to see if anything else came to mind, but when nothing did, she pocketed her phone again and stared out the window. Monaco was a truly gorgeous place and she could see herself living out the rest of her life in this beautiful country.

She could definitely see herself finding a man or woman, who would most definitely be an F1 fan seeing as the country basically lived and breathed F1, finding a much better home, settling down, and having a family.

It wasn't something she wanted anytime soon since she was still pretty young, but it was something she could see happening when she was ready.

Actually, now that Y/n thought about it, and as the car passed by the water, she doesn't think any house, which was actually one of those apartments where you have a whole floor to yourself, would be better than the one she got. It cost an arm and a leg to get and she would be able to afford it after she finally started the PA position.

The flat included three bedrooms, one bathroom, two shower rooms, one separate toilet and a kitchen. In total, it has four rooms. Two underground parking spaces provide space for any vehicles and a balcony that overlooked the water. It that high street, city center, bus station, and shopping center all within 500 m, so it was well situated.

Y/n sighed and closed her eyes. This was the start of her new life. While she was is Monaco, she was going to be a different person then what she was in Australia. Gone is the shy, antisocial, introverted girl that lived in Sydney and in is the girl who is still the same thing, but trying to be more confident.

"Pardonnez-moi, madame. Nous sommes arrivés." The driver announced, "Hm? Oh, merci beaucoup." Y/n thanked as she exited the car. She waited until the driver popped the trunk and then grabbed her things, "Merci encore, madame. J'espère que vous passerez une excellente soirée."

The driver gave Y/n a smile, "C'est très gentil de votre part. J'espère que vous passerez également une excellente soirée." She responded before driving off, giving Y/n a wave as she drove off.

"Miss Lee?" A voice with a thick accent called out from behind her. Y/n whirled around to face a tall man with dark, curly hair, a chisled jaw, and broad shoulders. It was the realtor, "Ah, Mr. Tomatis. How are you doing today?" Y/n greeted, looking to the side so she didn't make eye contact. "I am well. Listen, I would love to stay and talk with you, but I have an important showing to do, so here's your keys. Enjoy your new home." Mr. Tomatis gently place the keys into her hands before walking off.

"Oh-kay. Guess it's time to check out the new place in person." Y/n took a deep breath, trilling as she exhaled. The girl made her way into the building until she reached her floor. Y/n put the key into the door and unlocked it, "Home sweet home, I guess. Once I step through this door, my new life officially starts." Y/n mumbled, resting her forehead against the cool wood. Y/n opened the door and wheeled her suitcase in behind her, "Woah, this is sick!" Y/n awed, looking around her home.

She left the suitcase and carry-on near the entrance and walked around, looking through each room and mentally mapping what went into each room and how she would lay everything out.

Once she was done with her mental mapping, her hands fell to her sides and she looked around with a flat face and eyes dulled due to boredom.

She didn't know what to do now.

The truck wouldn't be there until four and it was only... Y/n looked down at the screen of her phone, which displayed the time in a large blue font...3:12.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Y/n's head. She had to schedule the interview and was advised to do so once she was settled down enough, but since she had time to waste, why not do it now? Y/n opened her contacts and pressed on Susie's, making sure it was on speaker, "Hello?" The sweet Irish voice that Y/n had heard last time, answered the phone.

"Uh, yes. It's Y/n Lee. I'm calling to set up my interview for the PA position." Y/n stammered, "Oh, Ms. Lee! I've been expecting your call back. I assume that means you're in Monaco?" Susie asked, "Yeah, uh, yes...ma'am." Y/n confirmed, nodding as of the woman on the other line could see her.

"Great, I know that you're going to need some time to settle down completely, so the interview will not be taking place any time this week. How about the next week around 10:00 AM? What day works for you?" Susie questioned, "I can do next week. How about Wednesday?" Y/n pulled out a pen and pad of paper to write down the date and time. "Wednesday works perfectly. Alright, I will e you then." Susie said.

"See you then." Y/n confirmed before pressing the 'end call' button. Just as Y/n put her phone on the counter, she got another call but this time from the company that had her stuff, telling her that they had arrived early and were ready to move her stuff in.

Y/n ran out the front door and down the stairs to see that they had indeed arrived earlier than planned and were already beginning to unload the lighter stuff, "Hey, I didn't expect you to be so early. Please, follow me and I'll show you where my apartment is." Y/n said, grabbing a box and leading the way to her floor.

After showing the movers where she was, Y/n went back down to grab another, but before she could make it too far, someone stopped her. "Hey, I couldn't help but notice you're moving in. Do you want some help?" A tall slender man with dark hair and dark eyes. The man in front of her was the very definition of tall, dark, and handsome and Y/n was the definition of awkward around pretty people.

Y/n opened her mouth to decline, probably stutter through the sentence before falling too embarrassed to continue speaking, when another voice spoke up. "Babe, what are you doing? Who's this?" A woman who absolutely gorgeous saddeled herself next to the man, looking up at Y/n with a raised, perfectly sculpted, eyebrow. "I-uh..." Y/n's eyes darted around frantically, trying to find any way out of the situation.

She knew she said she was going to be a totally different person than she was in Australia, but she had the worst night of sleep where her body got too hot with the blankets, too cold with the fan, and still too hot with both. She also kept waking up randomly during the night, feeling dizzy and disoriented. She also may be up and doing things, but she was severely jet lagged and wanted to do nothing, but drop dead on the floor and sleep until she could physically no longer sleep.

Y/n was going to be quite honest, she could use the help and it would make things go a lot faster, but how was she, a socially awkward person, to talk to two very pretty people? 

Answer; she didn't.

She walked past them with a quick 'excuse me' pretending like she didn't hear them. If they got upset with her, she'll just say her hearing aids weren't on or turned up enough for her to hear that they were speaking to her. "Wait! Ma'am, hold on." The man called out, following Y/n outside and grabbing her wrist gently, stopping her in her tracks. Y/n steeled herself and whirled around with a fake smile, "Oh, sorry. Can I, uh, can I help you?" Y/n asked, eyes darting between the man, who was giving her a smile, and the woman, who was scowling at her with her arms crossed.

"Yes, you can help us. My boyfriend asked you a question and you just walked past us as if you didn't hear. Are you deaf or something?" The girl sneered.

"Yes."

"Pa-pardon?" The girl asked, dropping her arms, Y/n turned her head to the side, showing the couple her cochlear and the the hearing aid, "I-I am in fact...deaf." Y/n muttered, turning to go get more boxes. Behind her she could hear the flustered man scolding his girlfriend while she stammered out flustered responses, 

"How could you-?!"

 "I..I didn't know, okay? Hop off my balls."

"Woman, what balls would I be hopping off of?"

"I... You... Just shut up! We should be helping anyway."

The two stopped their flustered play fighting as Y/n walked past. They both grabbed boxes and followed her, "Hey, we are so sorry." The man spoke up, speed walking so he was next to Y/n, "Especially me. I didn't know you were actually deaf and even if you weren't, I wasn't being the nicest. It's just, and this isn't an excuse, there have been some... how do I say this?" The girl asked, looking up.

"Issues." The man supplied, the woman snapped her fingers and pointed at her boyfriend before quickly putting her hand back under the box as it began to tip over in her hands, "Issues. We have had some issues with our last neighbours and it made me sort of defensive. Sorry about that. My name Chiara Lorenzi and this is my boyfriend..." Chiara trailed off so that he could speak for himself.

"Aaron Antognelli. And you are?" Aaron asked, depositing the box on the floor of Y/n's apartment, "Y/n Lee." Y/n answered. "It's nice to meet you, Y/n. I hope we get to become very good friends in the near future." Chiara said, nudging the taller girl as she and Aaron walked out to grab more boxes.

With the extra two sets of hands, Y/n and the movers were able to get everything inside quickly and it was a good thing too since the sky began to dark with thick rain clouds. "Um, thank you for your help." Y/n muttered, going into her house and beginning to close the door when a hand appeared between the door and the frame, keeping her from closing it fully, "Hold on there, kangaroo. Don't you want help unpacking?" Aaron asked.

"Oh, no. I couldn't ask for that. You have done quite a bit a-and I don't know you well enough." Y/n frantically shook her head. The couple shared a look before turning back to Y/n, "Please, we... I insist. We want to make up for the rocky way we greeted you. Of course, we won't force you to and if you don't want us to help you, we'll leave." Chiara said.

Y/n sighed and nodded, opening the door fully to let the couple in. She didn't know them or trust them, but she also needed all the help she could get. That, and she was shit at decorating, so it would be nice to enlist the help of someone else.

Chiara and Aaron looked around, "Why does your apartment look so much better than ours?" Aaron asked, "I thought they were all the same." Y/n said, looking at her spacious place. "Nah, yours has much more space, but it could be the fact that you're living alone that makes it seem that way." Aaron shrugged.

Chiara whirled around and clapped her hands together, "Alright, let's get this done."

With a yelp, Y/n fell out of her bed as the alarm she had set on her phone blared in her ear that contained the hearing aid. She had so much fun with Aaron and Chiara the previous night that she ended up going to be later than she usually liked to whenever she had something important to do the next day. After the day they helped her unpack, the two quickly became friends Y/n and they had been hanging out with each other ever since.

Y/n groaned and hobbled over to a cabinet near her bed where she kept her medicine, "Shit, getting drunk the day before my interview was not smart." Y/n grumbled, opening a bottle of pills and a bottle of water from her mini fridge.

Y/n gathered her clothing and put it on the end of the bed then went and took a scalding hot shower that helped her sober up. Y/n gave a quiet groan as she messaged her shoulders, "Man, my shoulders are stiff." She complained.

Stepping out of the shower, Y/n put on her outfit, which consisted of wool wide-leg pants, a skims t-shirt bodysuit, a nocturne cropped jacket, and a pair of heeled patchwork boots. Looking in the mirror, Y/n narrowed her eyes, "Hmm, wait." Y/n looked around to the clothes she had thrown everywhere when looking for a good outfit.

Her room was covered in an explosion of beige, brown, white, and black. There was not a lick of color in any of her wardrobe, save for her shoes, which were still not brightly colored, so they still fit her aesthetic. "I need to add some color to my wardrobe." Y/n muttered, before grabbing her things and making her way down to where the Uber was waiting for her.

She gave the driver the address of a café that Susie had suggested, Café de Paris, and  off they went. Y/n's heart thudded so hard in her chest that she was pretty sure that the beat was coming from her stomach rather than her chest. Y/n ran a hand through her long, messy hair and tried to calm the nervous feeling in her stomach.

The driver looked at Y/n through the rear mirror and cleared his throat, "Nerveux? Vous avez un rendez-vous ou une raison de vous énerver?" He asked, causing Y/n to jump from the sudden addressing. "Euh, oui. J'ai un entretien très important. J'ai déjà obtenu le poste, mais je suis encore nerveux." Y/n answered shakily, wringing her hands together nervously.

The driver studied Y/n through the mirror before turning his eyes back to the road, "Eh, don't be nervous. It must be just a 'get to know you' interview." The driver said, switching to English and waving a hand to the side as if he was brushing Y/n's nervousness away.

"You're right. Merci, Monsieur." Y/n sighed, leaning back against the headrest. The rest of the car ride was spent in silence.

⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙

Susie sat at a table in Café de Paris, occasionally looking at her watch as she waited for Y/n to arrive. Admittedly, she had arrived a bit too early, but she was excited. She had been looking forward to finally starting the F1 academy and with Y/n working by her side, she'd make these girls into Formula One champions.

Susie continued looking out the window for Y/n, even though she has no idea what Y/n looked like at all. Y/n walked through the door and approached Susie from behind, "Mrs. Wolff?" Y/n spoke up, causing the blonde woman to jump up. As soon as they were face-to-face, both women froze.

Now, Y/n was open about her sexuality and what she liked, but Susie wasn't. Susie had never been interested in women and she wasn't one who would ever fall in love when she already had a husband and a beautiful son, but Susie's heart raced looking at the younger woman and she couldn't understand why. Susie had no problem admitting when another woman is beautiful and the one in front of her? Well, she was drop dead gorgeous in Susie's eyes.

"Ah, Ms. Lee. You startled me." Susie chuckled, putting a hand on her chest to calm her racing heart. Whether it was racing because of Y/n's beauty or because she genuinely got startled, she didn't know. Either way, the woman in front of her made her heart race. "My apologies, Mrs. Wolff. I didn't mean to scare you." Y/n apologized, giving the older woman a shallow bow instinctively.

"Shall we sit and begin?" Susie asked, gesturing to the chair. Y/n nodded and sat down across from the older woman. "Okay, remember that you already have the job. This is just to get to know you a bit more. Do you want to order something or do you just want to start?" Susie questioned.

"I would like to order something." Y/n muttered, Susie gestured to someone and a waiter came over, "Are you ladies ready to order?" The waiter asked politely. "Yes, I would like a chocolate chaud and panna cotta parfumeé au citron." Susie told the waiter who wrote it down before turning to Y/n, "I would like Le Chou Profiterole and the Irish coffee. Please." Y/n said.

Once the waiter finished writing down their orders and left, Susie turned back to Y/n with a smile that made Y/n want to throw herself off a cliff. She was so pretty and Y/n didn't think Susie knew just how gorgeous she was.

"Okay, let's start while we're waiting for our orders. Can you tell me about yourself?" Susie questioned, "Oh okay, um... I'm Y/n Lee, I am half Chinese and Half Australian, I am 23 years old, I want to do modeling in my spare time, I like surfing and skiing, and I used to be a Formula Two driver before I contracted meningitis and had to stop." Y/n replied.

"You contracted meningitis?" Susie asked, "I did. I lost hearing in my right ear," Y/n turned her head and moved her hair, showing her cochlear, "I had to get a cochlear for my right ear and I have a hearing aid in my left because I'm losing my hearing in that ear. After I got my surgery, I just decided not to continue driving even though I would love to continue." Y/n shrugged.

Susie nodded, "If you had the chance, would you try and continue to drive in F2?" Susie questioned. Y/n sighed and looked around the café, "I honestly never thought about it. I wanted to but I didn't have enough money to continue, so I thought that my chances were over. If I had the chance to do it again, I don't know if I would take it. I'm turning 23 soon and I fell like I'm getting too old." Y/n said, looking up as the waiter arrived with their stuff.

"Thank you/Merci." Susie and Y/n said simultaneously. Y/n brought the glass mug up to her lips and took a sip of the drink. Y/n put the mug down and looked at Susie again, "What are your goals for the next five years?" Susie asked.

"Hmm, I think I still see myself working in the motorsports world or perhaps attempting to further my modeling career. Or both." Y/n answered, picking up one of the cream puff and taking a bite, refraining from making any sort of noise. 

"Do you consider yourself a passionate person when it comes to this sport?" Susie inquired, Y/n nodded as she swallowed the pastry in her mouth, "I was..am...Before I got meningitis, I was obsessed with being a Formula One driver. I was about as passionate about it like most of the guys on the grid. It was my passion." Y/n explained.

Susie nodded and sat back in her chair, "That'll be all." She said, picking up her spoon and eating some of her panna cotta parfumeé au citron. Y/n paused halfway from the plate where she was reaching for another mini creampuff, "That's all?" She asked, "That's all." Susie reiterated 

"Okay." Y/n nodded. She was honestly so unsure as to why she needed to do the interview when she was only going to be asked about four questions, "Now, let's get to know each other since we're going to be working closely together. My name is Suzanne Wolff, but you can call me Susie. I am Scottish, 39 years old, I have a wonderful husband who is the team principal of Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One team, and I have a gorgeous fiver-year-old son named Jack." Susie introduced herself.

The woman held out a hand for Y/n to shake, "It's wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Wolff. I look forward to working with you." Y/n said, grabbing the older woman's hand and shaking it firmly. Susie waved off her formalities, "Oh, please. Call me Susie. We'll be working close together, so we might as well drop the formalities." She chuckled.

The two women continued to talk about random topics, getting to know each other more and more. The two became quick friends and even made plans to hang outside of work sometime in the future and even talked about Y/n meeting her son and husband since she would have to meet them eventually.

By the time Y/n was in her Uber and on her way home, it was well into the afternoon and Y/n had a small permanent smile on her face as she thought about the older woman.

Y/n hated to admit it, but she tended to catch feelings for people quite easily. She didn't and never would believe in love at first sight, but she did believe that one can get to know someone well enough to gain some sort of feelings for someone. 

And Y/n could tell that the bubbling feeling in her stomach was her feeling giddy and anxious. She was beginning to feel something for the older married woman, but she brushed it off. It was just a small puppy crush, and even if it wasn't, nothing would ever come of it. Susie was a heterosexual married woman with a family and if there was one thing Y/n could never be, it was a homewrecker.

 Susie entered her home happily. Her husband and son greeting her at the entrance, "Hello, liebling. How was the interview? I can assume it went well since you're smiling from ear to ear." Toto said, kissing his wife on the forehead. "She's perfect, Toto. She is everything I wanted and more in a personal assistant. Not to mention she's absolutely gorgeous. If she were to go to a GP, people would assume she is some sort of supermodel WAG." Susie said absentmindedly.

Toto gave his wife an odd look as she bent down to greet their five-year-old. His wife was what some people would call a girl's girl and she definitely has complimented other women before, but the way she had talked about the woman she had met with made him feel curious. She had never sounded so infatuated with anyone other than him and Jack.

Of course, Toto knew that his wife was not going to cheat on him and especially not with another woman, but there was just a feeling in his gut that said there was something more than just a regular excitement to be getting the F1 Academy project off the ground. 

"Yeah? Is that right?" Toto asked, "Yes. She used to be a F2 driver too, so she is the most perfect candidate for the job. I think you and Jackie would lover her." Susie said, kissing the top of Jack's head and carrying him into the kitchen.

Toto shook his head as he chuckled. He didn't know what the woman was like, but she must have been super amazing because she left such an impression on his wife that she was positively gushing about the new PA.

By the time Susie stopped talking about the new PA, Toto himself couldn't wait to meet her and he was now sharing the excitement that she was practically projecting off her in waves.

This was the start of something new and both Wolff's could tell.

↳ ❝ [Taglist] ¡!❞

@exotic-iris13 @alliwantisadonut @evie-119 @xoscar03 @cheyxfu @laur2608 @sunnylikesfrogs @goldenmoonbeam @victorharrington @only-nope

Unable to tag all of you

This one was over 6k words. I felt like I needed to give you guys this since I had been away for so long.

DO NOT ask me to update this story. I'll update when I can.

Anyway, only accepting 9 more people to be tagged

[pablitogavii]

heyyy maybe you could do a fic where the reader and gavi met and fell in love while she was on her foreign exchange year and when she has to leave, she tells pablo that she’s staying for one more year <3333 tyyyyy💕💕

Destiny

People say things happen for a reason, and you couldn’t agree more. It took you months to convince yourself to take a gap year and do an exchange program in Spain. Right now, you couldn’t imagine your life if you haven’t came to Barcelona and met your man, the infamous footballer Pablo Gavi.

Pablo met you accidentally while ordering himself some breakfast on his way to training seeing you work at the small bakery in town.

It was your way of having money to spend without having your parents send to much but also practicing Spanish.

“Um..para tu café.. quieres um..how to say sugar???” You were struggling badly hoping your boss doesn’t hear since you claimed to be fluent.

“I’d like some sugar, please guapa” Pablo smirked in amusement when he saw your shocked expression that he understood English.

“Umm..o..okay.” You mumbled hearing him call you “guapa” over and over again while avoiding to look into his eyes not wanting to blush like a tomato.

“Do you watch fútbol?” He asked when you brought his coffee and the rest is history…he invited you to once of his games and your story started from there.

From time to time, Pablo still teases you about that day since now you’re fully fluent after speaking to him, friends and his family.

“Cállate cabrón!” You acted annoyed and be would hug you giggling into your neck while leaving open mouth kisses.

“Your cabrón amorcitoo!!!” He said as you cuddled up on the couch giggling to his comment together.

This time with you passed so quickly for Pablo. He would make sure to see your face every single day even if sometimes it had to be just for few minutes before bed. He just wanted to savor that you were close to him not knowing how long that will last. He was scared of asking you to stay..to be with him..to move in finally.

“When is she moving back?” Pedri brought up the question in training and since then Pablo was annoyed whenever he would think about you leaving him so soon.

"What did I say???" Pedri asked Ansu who told him to shut up about that topic around Pablo knowing how secretly sensitive his best friend is.

"He needs to get used to it cause she's leaving soon" Ferran added and when Pablo heard that he felt nauseous rushing back into the dressing room where he sat down crying into his hands.

A few days later, you noticed Pablo feeling unusually sad all the times wondering what's gotten into him so suddenly.

“Hopefully you didn’t forget English, you will need to use it soon” Javi said without thinking during one of the dinners you had with him and Aurora.

Pablo got up walking to the balcony and you looked after him sadly while his sister hit her boyfriends shoulder.

“You had to bring it up huh!??” She said snd Javj apologized but I told him it was all right and that you will bring Pablo back.

“Amor? Que pasa contigo??” You walk up hugging him from behind and resting your chin on his shoulder as he sighed heavily.

“Maybe we should speak English, so you practice for when you leave me…” he said annoyingly and you knew this was his defense mechanism. You walk around snaking your arms around his neck and going on your top toes to kiss his lips.

“Is that what makes you my angry bird, cariño..huh?” You smile excited to tell him the news but decided to do so when you are alone tonight.

“I don’t want you to leave…I’m so used to you now and I just…” he looked so sad and you couldn’t help kissing to shut him up.

“Te amo!!!” You smile and he does as well although weakly since he was still thinking about you being so far away so soon.

“Yo te amo muchisimo princesa” you he said kissing your forehead as you took his hand and walked back inside.

“I’m sorry hermano, didn’t mean to make you sad” Javj said and Pablo nodded saying that it’s not his fault.

“My girl is leaving so soon…” he says and you couldn’t wait anymore hating to see him so sad.

“I’m not leaving cariño…” you say taking a bite and he froze starting at you in disbelief while you chuckled looking at Aurora who was getting excited now.

"W..what???" he said and you giggled asking him to take a sip of water first since he was indeed getting pale and anxious.

"Are you staying!? Tell us hermana!" Aurora was just as impatient and you giggled nodding your head while Pablo was still silent just staring at you in disbelief.

"You can kiss me now cariño..." you said but Pablo was still frozen which was so adorable especially when his gorgeous eyes filled with happy tears. That's all he wanted to hear for so long..that you'll stay..that you won't leave him..that he was your home.

"Unless you don't want me to stay?" you ask and he immediately snaps out of it rushing to your side and grabbing your face before crashing his lips onto yours passionately making everyone giggle.

"Um..um..h..how long?" he was crying now and you were drying his tears kissing his cheeks, nose and finally lips.

"Forever..I got into one of the universities here and I accepted their offer. I want to be here with you Pablito..." you said and couldn't add anything else since he was kissing your again happily.

"Will you stop eating her face so I can hug her too!?" Aurora hit her little brother's head and he got up rolling his eyes at her smiling tho when she hugged you too kissing your cheek happily.

"Thank you for not leaving me with the angry bird Gavira!!! I love you hermana." Aurora said and you both laughed while Pablo groaned rolling his eyes at the little remark. You would always call him 'an angry bird' when he would throw his tantrums but he loved to hear it when it came from you...because you were the only one who could deal with his angry bird.

"My handsome angry bird..." you walked up to Gavi who snaked his arms around your waist while you held his face smiling at his bluhsing cheeks before going on your tip toes and capturing his lips into a sweet kiss.

"Um..I know it might be sudden..and it's totally fine if you eanna keep living alone..but..but..um..would you..maybe wanna live with me instead?" Pablo asked and Aurora smiled wide cheering with Javi while everyone looked at you now waiting for a response.

You just smiled nodding your head and jumping into his arms with your hands snaked around his neck and he spun you around happily thanking god you said 'yes' or he might have made fool of himself.

"Te amo muchisimo!!!" Pablo kept saying in between kisses and you giggled nodding your head trying to say it back but his kisses wouldn't let you talk.

"Congrats hermano!" both Javi and Aurora congratulated you before deciding to leave early and let you enjoy some alone time you both obviously desperately wanted right now.

You were cleaning up the dishes while he took out the trash coming back and snaking his arms around your waist resting his head on your shoulder leaving little kisses on your neck.

"Now that this is our home...I can do this much more often" he said and you blushed nodding you head happy for the future you will share together.

"Stop distracting me Pablito!!!" you said and he giggled promising to behave while you get your work done although you both knew that was not going to last long.

"Thank you for not leaving amor...te amo" he said and you smiled finishing the last plate before turning around and hugging him back before you both started kissing and moving towards your shared bedroom.

You were currently laying with your naked chest glued to Pablo's while he played with your hair and you nuzzled your face into his neck taking in his strong familiar scent. This felt like home...

"It's destiny..." he said and you looked up

"What is amor?" you ask and he leaned down to kiss you sweetly.

"You not knowing how to say sugar in Español..." he teased you per usual and you hit his chest before he laughed getting on top of you and kissing you deeply.

"I hate you!!" you say and he tickled you until you gave up and said "te amo Pablito!!!" which made him let you breathe and pull you close for more cuddles before sleep. ❤️❤️❤️

Hope you enjoyed!!!

[haztobegood]

Yesterday I made a list of some of my favorite Liam fics for the 28th. There were so many good fics that I had to split this into two parts. Here are more of my favorites featuring Liam.

🦖 A Way So Familiar by yeah_alright @uhoh-but-yeah-alright (T, 2k, Liam/Zayn, established relationship, fluff)

Liam squeezes Zayn’s hand and presses a light kiss to his fingers. He freezes when Zayn stirs, worried he’s woken him. He’s not ready to wake him. He’s enjoying being held as he wades through the memories of that first night he'd held Zayn. Held him so properly and thoroughly that he had fallen asleep still holding him tightly. That night of pizza and beer and unadulterated flirting, when their playfulness had taken on a greater significance. It had felt revelatory. Like it was all finally – fucking finally – happening. --- Liam wakes up in Zayn’s arms and reminisces about some of their “firsts.”

🦖 Highway to the Danger Zone by phdmama @phdmama (E, 2k, trucker!Liam, masturbation)

It’s not easy, the life of a long-distance trucker, but Liam wouldn’t change it for the world. The money’s decent, he’s got his own rig (courtesy of a buddy who’d moved to New Zealand), he’s in charge of his own destiny, and he gets to listen to all the weird podcasts he wants to. He’s also gotten to see some truly amazing things. Sunsets over the mountains. Bison in Montana and moose in Maine. Bald eagles and double rainbows. Beautiful sights, at times even awe-inspiring, but they pale in comparison to the car driving next to him.

🦖 Kill My Mind? by musiclily88 @musiclily (NR, 2k, Liam/Louis, superhero, supervillain)

The superhero and supervillain have, like, a LOT of friends in common, and at this point, it's starting to get annoying.

🦖 From the Depths by FallingLikeThis @fallinglikethis (T, 3k, Liam&Niall, hurt/comfort)

When a new resident moves to town, the creature in the lake is curious. They both may be just what the other needs.

🦖 just the thought of you by disgruntledkittenface @disgruntledkittenface (M, 3k, Liam/Harry, genderswapped, firefighter!Liam)

Harry's been pining after her neighbor for two years. It only takes a small kitchen fire for her to make a move.

🦖 This Time by YesIsAWorld @louandhazaf (E, 4k, Liam/Harry, friends to lovers, rebound sex)

When Harry shows up at Liam door, upset that his relationship has ended, Liam finally gets his chance to act on the crush he's harbored for ages.

🦖 I Heard You Asked About Me by cherrylarry @beelou (T, 5k, Liam/Louis or Liam/Zayn, ice cream)

He comes to a stop in the middle of a residential street, the jingle calling the children over. Surprisingly, there's not just little kids that come running, there's teenagers and some adults as well, probably for nostalgia. Liam gets it. If he wasn’t the one driving the truck, he’d probably be standing in line and waiting to buy some for himself. After the rush of orders gets filled, he continues on to the next neighborhood. This one has more young adults, most likely college students. Girls with pink hair, guys with long hair. Then, Liam sees him.

🦖 It’s a Craving Not a Crush by LetTheMusicMoveYou @letthemusicmoveyou28 (E, 9k, Liam/Louis, fake marriage, post-rehab)

All around him, his coworkers have started pulling out their chosen lunches. And Liam does the same, reaching down to the backpack at his feet and pulling out the Tupperware of leftover spaghetti he’d packed this morning. When he sets it on the table he notices a little neon pink post it note on the lid that he didn’t remember being there before. Written on the note in messy scrawl it says: Have a wonderful day husband! Can’t wait to suck you off when you get home!! XOXO -Lou. Liam feels his face go bright red again as he hastily rips off the note and crumples it in his fist. He glances around the table, but thankfully no one seems to be paying him any attention. They’re all wrapped up in their own food items or listening to whatever their boss is talking about. (Or the one where Liam and Louis are best bros who end up getting married so that Liam has the insurance he needs to go to rehab. Now that he’s sober, they can get divorced. But do they want to?)

🦖 Love Like This by reminiscingintherain @reminiscingintherain (E, 33k, Liam/Louis/Zayn, royalty, RWRB au)

A Zouiam RWRB AU, featuring Louis as the First Son, Liam as the Prince, and Zayn as Liam's friend and equerry. With appearances from Lottie as Louis' helpful sister, Harry as his best friend, and Niall as Liam's golf instructor (or gardener? or something else?).

🦖 leave my life outside (or let me in) by we_are_the_same @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed (M, 53k, Liam/Zayn, fantasy, demon)

“You want to what-” he asks, even though he’s heard Louis correctly. Louis shrugs a shoulder, unbothered. “I want to go to a Halloween party.” Zayn pinches the bridge of his nose. “In the human dimension.” He adds, because that’s the part that stresses him out about this. Having a Halloween party in itself sounds like fun, he’s not going to lie. Even if he’s never been particularly fond of parties, hasn’t made many friends beyond Louis. But it’s one thing to attend a party with their classmates, where he can go home the moment he feels like his social battery’s drained. It’s quite another to sneak down to the human world. It makes sense, in a way. Halloween is the one night a year where people won’t look at them and immediately recognize them for who they are. It’s the one night a year where their horns or talons are considered to be part of a costume. Zayn is a 111 year old demon who is trying to decide his future. Liam is a 17 year old human struggling with his own life. Two people from completely different worlds, yet they find a little piece of home in one another. But nothing’s ever quite that simple, is it?

🦖 your crimes are quiet, my love by lightswoodmagic @lightwoodsmagic (E, 98k, Liam/Zayn, MI5, crime and murder)

“It’s lucky you’re here actually, Malik. They figured out the riddle from the church.” Anthony shuffled papers on his desk as Zayn snapped to attention. “The next victim is a contestant of the upcoming Mr. UK pageant. It’s a great breakthrough, but we have a slight problem.” Zayn looked to Liam for answers, but it was obvious this was the first he’d heard of it too. “Which is?” “We’re going to need someone to go undercover, and it’s going to be you.” Liam’s hand fell to the back of Zayn’s chair with a thump. A darker Miss Congeniality AU that follows Zayn and Liam, MI5 agents, partners since training and best friends, as they race to stop a serial killer. When Liam makes a tactical call that backfires and almost gets Zayn killed during a raid, he refuses to let Zayn be the one to put himself at risk when all signs point to an upcoming pageant for the serial killer’s next target. While everyone around them seems to be hiding something and they're forced further apart, Liam and Zayn need to find the person responsible, protect each other with everything they have, and figure out why everything suddenly feels different between them.

🦖 Shadow Dancing by Layne Faire (HisDarlin) @laynefaire (E, 176k+ WIP, boxing, firefighter!Liam)

As a small child, Liam Payne dreamed of being a firefighter. He took up boxing to defend himself from school bullies, but never lost sight of his dream. 15 years later, Liam is set to be the youngest brigade watch commander in his district, and his recent boxing win puts him in line for the British national title - if he can learn to get out of his own way. Zayn took his first dance lesson at 5, after watching his sister's tap class. At 18, when an injury derails Zayn's dream of dancing professionally, he sets it aside to attend university, but the lure of dancing proves too great to ignore. He becomes an instructor, and eventually, the owner of a small dance studio, where he encourages other dancers to chase their dreams. When their worlds collide in a cacophony of misunderstandings, Zayn, confronted with his own biases, realizes there’s more to Liam than meets the eye, and offers to help him prepare for his upcoming fight. While Liam learns to dance, Zayn learns the art of compromise, and along the way, they find each other. And when tragedy strikes, Liam finds that Zayn’s love will help him face the shadows of his past, and give him the courage to believe in himself and his dreams for the future.

[outromoony]

Slice of life

@wolfstarmicrofic | Word count: 383

"Fuck," Remus muttered to himself as the train doors closed right in front of him. Late for work again. His boss was going to kill him.

As the train began to pull away, he heard another voice swearing beside him. He turned to see a man with pale skin and long black hair, his hand pressed to his temple, watching the train disappear. Clearly, he had missed it too.

Remus wasn't going to—he really wasn't—but—

"First time being late?" he asked before he could stop himself. The man glanced at him as if just realizing he wasn’t alone on the platform.

"I—no," the man replied, trying to regain his composure but failing. "Third time this week, actually. My boss is going to kill me."

Remus felt a smile tugging at his lips but quickly wiped it away, realizing it wasn’t the best reaction.

"Guess we’re in the same boat."

The man raised both eyebrows, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. Damn, he was so attractive.

"Late for work too?"

"Third time this week."

That made the man laugh, the sound bright and infectious, echoing through the station. Remus smiled; his laugh was full of life.

"Well, I’m suddenly happy I missed the train."

Remus raised an eyebrow playfully. "Is that so?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, seems like fate's doing me a favor."

Remus’s heart skipped a beat. "Well, misery loves company, right?"

The man’s smile softened, and he stepped closer, their shoulders almost touching. "Seems like it. Sometimes the universe has a funny way of bringing people together."

Remus felt a flutter in his chest, a strange sense of destiny in the air. "Maybe today won’t be so bad after all."

Minutes later, the next train arrived at the station, but neither seemed eager to board, even though they were supposedly in a rush. The man turned to him with a small smile and a unique spark in his eyes.

"Maybe we’ll run into each other again."

Remus smiled back. "Maybe we will."

As they parted ways, Remus realized he hadn’t asked for his name, his phone number—nothing. Fuck, he cursed himself internally.

Now he could only hope he’d miss his train again one of these days and that the universe was truly trying to bring them together somehow.

[beemynumberone]

Pictures are from Pinterest.

Wrong Number

-> featuring: Timeskip!Kuroo Tetsurou

-> genre: pure fluff

-> format: oneshot

my haikyuu masterlist

Kuroo had problems sleeping. Keyword: had.

Now, it was simply a matter of how much time he had to sleep.

Passion only could bring him so far in organising the All Star match. He was exhausted. Even his boss was telling him to clock off early.

“This is the last client I’ll contact today.” Kuroo promises. Looking at the list of names and numbers, he dials using the office phone in his cubicle.

He clears his throat and puts on his professional voice to recite what he’s said countless of times before.

And maybe it was the exhaustion or the unreasonably sized phone keypads to Kuroo’s fingers (not fat shaming) or even destiny. But Kuroo presses a number off.

“Hi! This is the Japan Volleyball Association Promotional Division. Could we interest you in sponsoring the upcoming All Star volleyball tournament?” He pauses.

There’s a hum on the other end of the line.

“Hi there, I think you’ve might have gotten the wrong number.” The voice is young and mellifluous. A melodious tune to his aching ears. A soothing balm to his tiredness.

“Oh, I’m really sorry. It’s been a long week you see.” Kuroo rushes to amend his mistake, professional mask slipping off.

“No worries. By the way, you sound really exhausted. Maybe you could try aroma oil therapy, it might help you clear your head.”

Kuroo’s intrigued. He’d might as well play along.

“Oh really, which type of oil do you recommend?”

“Personally I use lavender and peppermint. But bergamot and jasmine— white noise— earphones—“

Kuroo can’t stop his eyelids from closing. The voice was too soothing for his own good. Rainbows and sparkles and sheep start appearing in thin air before his very eyes.

The voice continues on like a lullaby. Kuroo thanks his fingers for linking him to a beautiful voice to listen to. He thinks that he could repay this favour by taking you out for coffee someday. And then, who knows…maybe…

He succumbs to the temptation.

And when he wakes up a few hours later in an empty office, he recalls what had just happened.

And he realises. He’d forgotten what number he dialled.

Kuroo later trying to find the voice he fell asleep to:

[cepheustarot]

What awaits you in December?

Attention! This reading is for entertainment purposes only. This tarot reading does not give a 100% guarantee that all the described situations will occur or being ultimate truth. You build your own life and destiny and only you know yourself best.

Paid readings

Pick a pile. Choose one or more pictures. Trust your intuition.

Pile 1: Most likely, you still have things to do, plans and tasks that you want to   do or finish before the end of this year. At the beginning of the month you will be doing just that, these days will not be filled with rush, they will flow calmly, you will move at your usual pace. Some of the plans, by the way, you have been planning for a very long time and could not fulfill them in any way, so this month will be a great opportunity to finish what you started. 

The second event is associated with a person, primarily of the earthly zodiac sign (this is capricorn, virgo or taurus, but keep in mind that a person may have a completely different zodiac sign, but earthly character traits may be present in it), it may be your mother, sister, close friend, relative, etc. In general, this is a person with whom you had a misunderstanding, a quarrel and you could both worry about it. This month you will be able to find a common language with her, find a compromise and resume previous communication, so I can congratulate you, the conflict will be resolved! You will cope and resolve the situation. 

The third event is related to your emotional state, most likely at the end of the month you will get very tired of hard work and the hustle and bustle of the upcoming holidays, you can also burn out and stay in an apathetic state. To avoid this, it would be best to correctly allocate your forces and resources, perhaps you should abandon some plans or solve them next year. If you are still faced with this condition, then the main thing is not to put pressure on yourself, let yourself rest, exhale because of all the turmoil, simply gain strength and do what you did not have enough time for, give yourself something that brings you pleasure and good mood.

Pile 2: Firstly, this month will be a good opportunity for you to get rid of old things, things from the past, and anything can happen here: maybe you will sort out old things here, free up space in shelves and a closet, or you will stop communicating with people with whom you were uncomfortable or with whom interest has faded, you can find a new hobby or a new favorite place for yourself, in general, here the emphasis goes to something new for you. 

The next point is connected with your acquaintances, the circle of communication: if you have a project activity with someone now, then you will work hard and eventually you will succeed. This can also be attributed to business, perhaps you will successfully conclude a deal with someone! If this case not about you, then there is a chance that you will go on a trip with people close to you, you can just spend a lot of time actively together! 

The third event of this month is connected with those who have exams and final tests coming up: you will study hard for them and be very nervous, because for you all these exams are quite important. It may happen that the teacher will flood you with questions and it will be difficult for you to pass the exam or maybe you were preparing for one topic, but there was something completely different on the test, in general, be careful here and be confident in yourself and your knowledge! For those who work, this period may be filled with deadlines, you will need to do the work in a short time and it is clear that this will be stressful and very exhausting for you, you may have conflicts with colleagues or boss, which will further aggravate the condition. But, you will definitely cope with everything!

Pile 3: Most likely, there have been changes in your life recently, perhaps one of you is moving to another city or another country, changing your profession, place of work, surround by people, in general, you feel melancholy for the places where you grew up, where you spent most of your time and you will miss, nostalgic. But it can also mean that one of you, on the contrary, returns home to your native places and you feel a pleasant nostalgia, because you have been away from home for a long time. 

The second moment of the month will be that you will slowly get used to the new, to changes in your life, or vice versa, you are so unaccustomed to the old that you will get used to it again. It is clear that melancholic feelings will still be with you, but you will also find pleasant moments for yourself, there will be things that will please you, bring emotions. You can also suddenly change something in your appearance, like a haircut, hair color or a new style of clothing, you can start doing makeup differently or give up on it altogether, something like that. 

The third event of the month is associated with meeting a new person, thanks to whom your experiences can come to naught, he will support you, spend time with you, help you if necessary. But be careful, because there is a chance that he will be hypocrite and will want to get some benefit from you, so choose people carefully!

Thank you for reading! I will be glad of any feedback 🖤

[respectthepetty]

Pride Petty Watch - LiTA (Sky/Prapai) 2/3

It took me much longer than expected to make it through the first two episodes of Sky x Prapai's arc in Love in the Air, but Prapai called Sky his boyfriend out of nowhere, so now I understand that he is Manifest Destiny-ing his way to love, and for the non-Americans, that's bad. Like real bad.

Let me be like Prapai and keep marching forward even though all the signs are telling me to stop.

In my first year of teaching, I was told I couldn't want the grade more the student did. I was reminded that some students don't want A's. Some students just want to pass the course, and that's fine. I need to take that approach with Prapai because he held Sky while he clung to him and cried for the nightmares to leave him in peace, yet in the morning, Prapai slings it back in Sky's face and makes it callously sexual. Clearly, Prapai doesn't want points for Slytherin. He does not want an A in decency. He does not want to pass "Go" on the board. Whatever he wants is between him and the demons he is fighting because obviously this ho does not want to be saved.

"Let me help you" - Look at that! As soon as you let men go, they wanna come back correct. Asking to help instead of forcibly inserting himself. Wow! So you are capable of not making everything aggressively sexual?

I'm watching you like a fucking hawk, Slytherin, which if you want to pass this course, you will note that hawks eat snakes, so basically I'm telling you I will devour you whole if you make another wrong move.

"That's all I ask," he says as he asks for EVERYTHING. "I will not restrain myself next time." "You cannot escape me." "Has he blocked this number?" Sky, babe, hon, bestie, rob this fucking man in his sleep. Take the watch off his wrist, the money from his wallet, and the audacity out of his mouth. These are the queer wrongs I'm trying to support this month.

"You should be spanked" - So 🙃 . . . IGNORING THAT! As a lifelong member and advisor of Greek life (fraternities and sororities are different for BIPOC), every time I see these university rituals, I always wonder what is the equivalent of a compliance officer in other countries because This. Is. Hazing.

And now Payu and Prapai are just hanging out at university activities like THEY DON'T GOT JOBS! Payu has a room in a garage, a room at his house with a toy car collection, and a terrified mechanic hiding under cars, so the man has got bills. Prapai has companies (plural) to run, and an overworked and rightfully annoyed (always in red) secretary holding down the fort, yet he is on a little vacay. Women in GLs - big bosses and screwing at work on company time. Men in BLs - FORGETTING THEY HAVE JOBS!

*Regina George has entered the chat* So you agree? You think you're a bad guy to Sky?

Every time Payu or Prapai mentions getting a reward (for not assaulting the boy they are chasing after especially when that boy is in a vulnerable position), I think of the conversation between Uea and King in episode five (part one) of Bed Friend when King asked for a reward and Uea said "The fuck you just say? Get outta here with that noise" then he left. Uea would eat these men alive.

The thinnest of ice, Prapai. I can see the freezing water rushing underneath. That's how thin the ice is that you are on, sir.

Because Prapai is confessing to sleeping with three other people since he began stalking Sky (no shame, as one slut to another, I'm actually very proud he admitted to it), can we get a STI test? We got condoms, so miracles can happen.

*squints* Is that a heart on your chest, Sky? No, I'm not angry. No, you're not in trouble. No, you're perfect. I'm just working through my own stuff, so I'm gonna need a minute to process this.

If you wanna live that chismosa life, you gotta be aware of your surroundings. Amateur.

Yeah yeah yeah, the wind needs the windmill or whatever dumb shit Dangerous Romance said. Now go make the lapel pin of it, and GET BACK TO WORK! This reeks of nepotism because there is no other way you would still have a job.

Prapai calls Sky by his name, no honorifics. Prapai sleeps on the floor. Prapai asks his mom for advice on how to care for someone. *squints* This is sus af.

And now he is swerving advances and doing his job. *squints even harder* Are you actually trying to pass this course now?

I, too, would be sad if rope was spewing out of my shirt like that.

Prapai just swindled a key to Sky's apartment without asking Sky for it. WHY DON'T YOU WANT TO FUCKING PASS THIS COURSE?! I DO NOT WANT TO SEE YOUR ASS AGAIN NEXT SEMESTER!

I play with my ears when I get tired, so now I feel even more connected to you Sky, and PRAPAI IS KISSING YOU?! NOOOOO! STOP!!!!! HE'S TIRED! LEAVE MY BOY ALONE!

"I can't guarantee your safety if I stay" - It was a fake out, and I have lost years off my life because of this show. YEARS!

The first step is admitting you have a problem are the problem. *growth*

I'm not going to question the aerodynamics of riding with that project on a bike, but I will state that Prapai is the prefect example of the MAME Extremes I wrote about in the previous post because when he is good, he is really fucking good, but when he is bad, he is The Worst™ so can't we just find an in-between?

Don't you go pointing your scrawny finger at my boy like that! You're lucky he even still speaks to you. Shut up, five! A ten is thinking!

Prapai spending all his money on Sky. Prapai deleting all the numbers from his phone. Prapai getting the lapel pin. Prapai cleaning Sky's apartment. Prapai being honest about wanting Sky without being aggressive or crass. *squints so hard my head hurts* This is how Joe must feel with Ming in My Stand-In because I want to trust your ass, but my God, do you make it so fucking hard. I'm begging you to not screw up after this. PLEASE!

I've seen this scene eighty different ways from my dash, but hearing Sky tell Prapai to get bored with him quickly so he can move on while internally begging for Prapai not to get bored knowing what I know about his ex . . . it is salt in the wounds, poison in the wells, and the phone call from within the house. It is painful, deadly, and terrifying.

Prapai listening tentatively as Sky finally tells him what he actually likes to eat. Prapai responding with little tidbits he has learned about Sky along the way. Prapai giving shoulder kisses. Prapai asking about the ex. To quote RuPaul, "don't fuck it up"

Sig is the realest of all these boys, and I would give him the softest ear bites, the best thigh kisses, and the most amazing blowjob because that's what he deserves!

Prapai - Claim me. Own me. Mark me!

Sky - Gross.

While all of Payu's after scenes only made him look worse as he embraced the Manipulate-Mansplain-Malewife way into Rain's heart, all of Prapai's scenes make him seem like the biggest simp, and I am, once again, pleading for balance!

So now on to the next episo - - -

Wait a minute . . . I know this scene

This is where Sky gets in his head and distances himself, so Prapai breaks in and reads the journal. Oh no. Oh no no no.

*lays face first in a field of lavender*

I need liquor, ice, and a blender. They are all needed for different reasons. No, I will not elaborate.

[superblysubpar]

masterlist | the music

8.4k words | This series is NSFW 18+ only

Star-crossed lovers, two hearts becoming one, invisible strings, love at first sight - soul mates. You’ve never bought into any of it. Love - real love is hard work and if you were lucky enough to find someone who’s willing to put in that work, it doesn’t mean you or your love are immune to life’s misfortunes. 

The movies, the songs, the world, it has made you a little pessimistic. Who are they to tell you to believe in any of that unreliable and unmeasurable crap? Love will not be the thing that defines you when it only leads to heartbreak. Let the suckers fall for that. Opening your heart only makes it a target, a bullseye for shooting practice. 

Don’t get it twisted though, you aren’t a total cynic. Love can be beautiful. It’s a powerful emotion and heavy word not to be thrown around casually. Sunsets, a song, your friends - your family, that kind of love is easier than breathing. That kind of love brings you immeasurable joy.

Being in love? Pigs would have to fly before you’d let yourself feel that. 

And while you didn’t believe in all the mushy soulmate stuff, you aren’t totally against thoughts of fate, destiny, divine intervention, or some higher power out there. In fact, you are fairly certain somewhere in the universe a plan fell into action on the day you met Robin Buckley. It could have been a scene from a movie - a best friend meet-cute. All that was missing was a poppy soundtrack playing in the background. 

It was your first week in the city and you already hated every second of your new job. Errands, scheduling, and those goddamn coffee orders that didn’t seem to end for your new boss. Your phone shrieked as you tried to balance a tray of said coffee with the dry cleaning, manuscripts, and a fucking pool noodle - you were living the plot of The Devil Wears Prada.

After putting out the fire on the other end of the line, you luckily noticed the wrong order written on one of the coffee lids. Rushing back into the Starbucks, you were ready to take out your bad day on the poor, unsuspecting barista, when a honey haired girl carrying a tray reached the counter at the same time as you.

She was breathless, blue eyes sparkling as she pointed to the trays in both of your hands, “That could have been really bad for me. Joe would kick my sad little butt out with the pathetic box of my desk belongings if I got the coffee wrong again.”

Crisis averted all around, you sighed with relief and you were pretty sure the barista did too. It turned out you and Robin were heading in the same direction, office buildings across the street from one another but never seeing the other till now. You exchanged job horror stories, numbers, and kicked your heels off at a bar over beers that same night. You have to give the universe kudos, it got it right the day it gave you Robin.

“I’m telling you, best sex I’ve ever had,” flopping onto your bed, body prickling with heat at the thought of the previous night’s events as the bed springs bounce beneath you. 

Robin trips over a heel as she emerges from your closet. Rolling to the side, you scrunch your nose at the frilly baby blue top she's holding up. She sees your look and sighs, throwing it in the no pile.

Swapping places, you rummage in your closet for the top you knew would be perfect as she bites at the skin on her thumb before responding in an overtly girly and mocking voice, “Tell me more, tell me more, like did he have a car?”

The buzzing from your phone interrupts your laughter and you try to keep your attention on her instead of the lit up screen, “Just because you don’t like penis’ doesn’t mean you need to poke fun,” you clear your throat and glance at the phone again, “Could you check that? It might be him.”

Robin sighs like you told her to walk ten miles and picks up the buzzing phone, a smirk on her lips before she glances up at you, “Rocketman? Really?”

Giggling as you press your palm to your heated cheek and pretend to faint against the doorframe, “Robin, I swear to you, I went to the fucking moon when I came.”

She rolls her eyes and you pull your lip between your teeth. This one night stand has you completely flustered, you don’t want to gross her out with all the details but you can’t help wanting to share.

Not meeting her eye, you let your fingers trail over the necklaces on your vanity, and shake your head when she tries to hold the phone out, turning your back to her, “I can’t look at it. Read it for me?”

Robin scoffs, “What do you mean you can’t look at it? Yes you can,” turning back towards her, she catches the shirt you toss. 

“I can’t Robin,” you blow out your breath, “What if he’s texting me to tell me he has an STD? What if he’s going to tell me he’s married? Oh my god,” squeezing your eyes shut, “What if he wants to date me?”

Peeking your eyes open when she doesn’t answer, you find her staring at you cooly, her head tilted to the side. She clicks her tongue, “There are so many things wrong with the order of those questions, you know that right? You have serious commitment issues dude,” she shakes her head at you, “What is it with you and love?”

Waving your hands in front of you like you can make that question disappear, you sigh, “A story for another time. Please? Will you look?” you stick your lips out in a pout and bat big puppy dog eyes at her, “Rip the band-aid off for me?”

This is the worst part of dating. The texting, the calling - hooking up again after the first time. It’s the line between it all going horribly wrong or wonderfully right. A balance beam that boys are usually too careless to realize they’re on. 

This is the pivotal moment. The text a guy sends that lets you know he isn't just going to call at 2am on a lonely Friday night, he’s going to take you out on a proper date during the week. The message that tells you that all the bullshit most spew about dreams and futures and wanting to settle down if they met the right girl is actually true. And they hope the right girl is you.

The problem is that you are one of those girls who hopes for the exact opposite of those types of messages. You want no commitments, and no strings - just a good and quality hook up. However, that seems to leave you with the nasty guys - the assholes. The ones that have a long list of girls on their phones, scrolling through them at 2am and sending a “You up?” text and then on to the next one. And while you wanted sex, you want something a little better than a booty call from time to time. 

There are the rare ones of course. The ones full of charisma and charm, that make you practically rip off your pants but are more than happy to not let emotions get in the way of sex. Your hopes weren’t just high that Rocketman was one of these types of guys, they are through the stratosphere. This man can take you to another planet and show you the stars during sex but your fingers and toes are crossed hoping he won’t hide you in a crater until he needs you at 3am or is expecting you to plant a flag and claim him as yours after only one night. 

Please let Rocketman be the happy medium you desperately need, you pray to whoever is out there. Not ready for disappointment, you conclude that you might as well have Robin be the one to tell you the good or bad news - don’t shoot the messenger and all that. 

Robin sighs dramatically at your pleading face. Holding your breath, you clutch the gold necklace in your sweaty fingers. The click of the phone unlocking and Robin’s fingers pressing in your password sounds like explosions in your ears. She begins to read the message out loud:

Your eyes widen as pink blossoms on her cheeks. She clears her throat, “Um…” she holds it out to you, squeezing her eyes closed, “I’m very gay, but uh…”

Grabbing the phone, you bite the inside of your lip at the image that pops up under the text.

Toned muscles beneath tan, sun kissed skin, a few freckles that make your toes curl thinking about how you touched them with your own lips less than 24 hours ago. A small line of dark hair pulls your eyes from his chest to the gray band of his sweats that does nothing to conceal the very obvious erection beneath. 

You try to keep your face neutral, but Robin groans and throws a pillow at you as she pretends to gag, “Oh my god! You’re disgusting! That shit works on you?!”

Being so turned on by a photo and text like that should make you feel bad - it was wrong. But your thighs press together as your underwear becomes wet, your skin flushing hot just thinking about it again. If being turned on by that is wrong, you don’t want to be right.

Glancing at it once more, you pull your lip in and nod, “Yeah. Yeah, that shit works on me.”

She scrunches up her face, groaning like you just ate a worm in front of her and you point at her, ready to call her out on her own blush as you try not to yell, “Hey! You even-”

She covers her ears and closes her eyes, “Nope. Nope. I didn’t. I was admiring his…boldness.”

"Boldness? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" you laugh. 

Clicking the phone off, you toss it to the bed, deciding to let him sweat it out for a while until you’re ready to test what kind of guy he is. Robin grimaces at the phone and pushes it away from her with a socked foot until it’s teetering on the edge of your bed. 

Your eyes roll at her dramatics, “Seriously Robin, it was a clothed penis. You’re-”

She gasps and holds her throat like she tastes something absolutely disgusting, “Please, for the love of god, do not tell me the dick pics without sweats work on you.”

You shrug, “I mean, I’ve never received one that’s made me leap for joy if that’s what you’re trying to get at,” you hold out the necklace and a pair of boots to her, “But, enough about my sex life. Time to get you laid too, babe.”

She rolls onto her stomach, pressing her face into the mattress. Tossing the accessories next to the shirt, you give her butt two little pats and she huffs into the bed as you ask, “What time are you meeting again?”

“Seven,” she mumbles into your pillow and repeatedly hits her head against the mattress. You’ve only known each other for two weeks and from what you’ve gathered, Robin is not doing well in the lady department, striking out on terrible date after terrible date. 

“Come on, I thought you were excited? You said someone from school you haven’t seen in years right?” you poke her side and she squirms away from you. Your fingers softly brush back the hair covering the side of her face, “So there's no pressure. You already know her. You’re gonna go and have fun and we’re gonna go get mimosas for brunch tomorrow and you’ll tell me all about it,” you wiggle your eyebrows up and down.

She sits up and presses her palms to her heated cheeks, closing her eyes as she breathes deeply, “Right. Right. And Dingus is taking me out to dinner, getting the nerves out. Plus he dated her, so like a mega wingman. I can do this.”

Grabbing her hand, you pull her up as you agree, “You can do this.”

With wide eyes, she clutches your arms tighter and shakes her head, “I can’t. I can’t do this.”

 “One step at a time,” you push her towards the bathroom, “Change your outfit. You can do that right?”

Chewing her bottom lip and narrowing her owlish eyes, she points at you, “I know what you’re doing.”

“Is it working?” you raise your eyebrows with a smug smile on your face. 

She rolls her eyes and your laughter is cut off by the bathroom door closing in your face. 

An hour later you’re shuffling her out your door, “Call me if you need an extraction. Or someone to talk you down.”

Robin doesn’t seem to be hearing you anymore, tugging on her fingers, spinning one of her rings.

“Just dinner right now,” you grab her hands to stop her ceaseless fidgeting, “One step at a time.”

She nods and starts down the hall, calling over her shoulder, “Benny’s? 10?”

“I expect a full report!” you reply with a sing song lilt to your voice. 

She turns to face you, taking her last several steps backwards, arms crossing over her chest with pointer and middle finger crossed on each hand and you mirror the gesture - your new good luck wish to each other after a drunk ‘The Parent Trap’ re-watch a few nights ago. She nods once before blowing you a kiss that you cheekily catch as she spins and heads into the stairwell. 

With the door shut tightly behind you, your lips twist into a smirk as you remember the phone sitting on the counter. Maybe Robin won’t be the only one getting lucky tonight. 

After changing into comfier sweats, pouring yourself a glass of wine and putting on the latest action comedy Netflix is recommending, you pick up your phone again, hopeful and ready to find out what kind of modern man Rocketman was.

Glancing at the picture he had sent you again, taking in a little bit more of the details you had only skimmed earlier, you bite your lip as you respond. 

Laughing at your cleverness, you click your phone locked and try to focus on the plot playing out in front of you while sipping your wine aimlessly, pretending not to be counting every second until your phone buzzes with his reply. This is the part that’s nerve wracking and risky in any relationship, but it’s still fun. For you, it’s the excitement of finding out if this would become the no strings attached, no broken hearts, and just a lot of (if you were lucky) really great sex. If you were really lucky, the guy on the other end could also carry a conversation and is decent to be around too. Your suspicions that Rocketman is both types of men confirmed as he responds quicker than you expect for a Saturday night. 

Halfway through your glass of wine, you walk into your kitchen to top it off as you read his quick reply again. 

A grin tugs at your lips as you sink back into your couch, knowing he was clearly fishing for a compliment on the actual focus of his earlier pic.

The dots appear and disappear and you start to sweat a little bit at the thought of your witty back and forth suddenly ending. When the dots appear again, you hold your breath till the phone buzzes. 

Honey.

Snuggling further into the couch, your breath catches in your chest as you let yourself daydream a little of what could be with a boy who called you honey. It was just that though, a fantasy, and you know that in the long run it will end in heartbreak for either or both of you. Debating your reply back, you sip your wine, staring at the messages on the screen. Continue the dive into your sarcastic banter or take it a little more seriously? You don’t want to give him the wrong idea…

The wine catches in your throat and you cough, grinning at his continuation of the joke knowing exactly how to top it. 

As the phone buzzes before you can even reply, you stare at it feeling a little like the lovestruck idiots you swear you’ll never be.

Another buzz.

The next morning you awake slowly, stretching in your bed as the sun starts to float through the curtains, casting a golden glow over everything. 

Robin never called you for an extraction, which hopefully means it went well last night. Starting to search through your closet, you look at the gray sweats on the end of your bed, hopeful to continue your conversation with Rocketman today, you slip them on.

Feeling a little like an easily excitable teen again, you giggle to yourself at the idea that forms in your head. Your fingers roll the waistband of your sweats until the lace hem of your underwear is revealed. Laying back on the bed, angling your body into the sun beam to re-create Rocketman’s picture but with a twist. Your matching red bralette on full display, hair falling around you as the sun bathes you in a soft, golden haze. You click the photo and send the message before you can chicken out. 

You finish getting ready and make the now familiar walk to Benny’s, grinning when you see Robin already sitting on the patio. You race through the gate and slide into the seat across from her, “How’d it go? Tell me everything!”

Robin practically melts into her chair, chin falling into her palms as she leans onto the table and giggles, “It was great. It was normal. I was normal. Like,” she waves her hands around, blue eyes wide, “I mean I was still a babbling dork who puts her foot in her mouth, but I was me, and she still wanted to hang out again.”

Genuinely ecstatic for her - there was nothing like feeling seen in a relationship for who you really were, a fan of love or not, you grab her hands and squeeze, “That’s amazing! When are you seeing her again? Why don’t we have mimosas already to celebrate?”

She laughs, smiling wide enough to make her eyes squint as she points behind your shoulder, “Dingus offered to buy a pitcher, and hopefully getting lunch tomorrow with her.”

“Alright, I went with the bottomless. In your honor, ma’lady.”

Body freezing at the comment, you notice the large hands carrying a pitcher of mimosas in the corner of your eye. Your gaze travels up his arms as he slides into the seat between Robin and you. Sights finally landing on the familiar face you knew would be attached to the voice once you heard it. 

No. No, this is not happening.

Robin laughs again, “Thank you, sir. Y/N, this is Dingus, also known as my knight in shining armor, also known as Steve” she gestures between the two of you as Steve’s eyes shoot up, the pair of you staring at each other with your mouths open.

Rocketman is Dingus. Dingus is Steve. Steve is Rocketman. 

Oh, god. 

Noticing the way he’s trying not to glance down at your body, you try not to think about what you sent him fifteen minutes ago. Or the conversation you had last night. Or the fact that you had mind blowing sex with him two days ago.

Waving her hand in front of his face, Robin stops her mimosa halfway to her lips, “Hey Steve, you OD over there?”

He smirks a little at her question and glances at her before clearing his throat and shaking his head, “No, uh, just surprised you two know each other.”

Robin looks between you and Steve and then gasps, her glass hitting the tabletop aggressively, some of the drink sloshing out as she leans in, hissing at you, “Steve is Rocketman?”

Steve’s lips twitch up into a smile as he glances at you, “Rocketman?”

“Robin,” you kick her shin under the table, voice threatening.

Robin gasps again and covers her eyes, “Oh, ew, I’m going to be sick.”

Steve rolls his eyes, reaching for a mimosa and tossing a raspberry in his mouth, “Robin, it’s not a big deal.”

Robin shakes her head, “Oh my god, oh my god, I saw his-” she smacks his shoulder, “You’re disgusting! You send shit like that to girls?”

Steve chokes on his mimosa, eyes widening at you, “You showed Robin that-”

“I didn’t know you’d sent that picture-”

Steve covers his face, hitting his forehead on the table, “Oh my god, oh my god-”

Robin leans forward, pointing at you, “You were the one texting him last night during dinner?! He was grinning like a total lovestruck-”

Steve kicks her this time, “Robin!”

Trying to take deep breaths out of your nose, you rub your temple, “This is ridiculous. How is this happening?” you start to drain your own mimosa, sitting back into your chair. 

Robin places her ring clad fingers on the table, thumbs picking at her chipping blue polish and she sighs, “Okay. Here’s the deal. Unfortunately I now know all the details. And I know the two of you. I have to say,” she looks at you, and points at Steve, “He’s my best friend and the greatest guy in the world, and if this is just sex and you’re gonna break his heart-”

Steve interrupts and groans, his head on the table still, “Robin, stop.”

The guilt eats away at your stomach already and you rub your temples as Robin kicks Steve’s shin, “And you, shitbird, she’s the first friend I’ve made besides you in years, and I don’t want to lose her either when you profess your love months too soon.”

Steve picks his head up and you both avoid each other’s glance and turn to Robin as she gestures inside, “I’m going to order all the waffles and hashbrowns this place has,” she gestures to the two of you, “Figure this out. Cause you’re both in my life and stuck with each other even if you end up hating the other in the end, and that’s non-negotiable.”

She stands from the table and you place your hands in your lap, glancing up at Steve with your lip between your teeth as he pinches the bridge of his nose. When you both make eye contact, you snort a little and you both start laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.

He sighs and leans back in his chair, rubbing his cheek and trying to hide his smile, “Good morning.”

Laughing again, you shake your head and lean forward, “Steve I-”

He sighs, “Listen. She’s right. I don’t wanna admit she’s right, because I had a lot of fun with you,” his hand rubs the back of his neck and he bites the inside of his cheek, “Like a lot. But, if we end up hurting each other, we end up hurting her, and I can’t do that.”

Nodding, you ignore the fluttering in your stomach the words cause, but you know he’s right. You’d only known Robin a few short weeks and already she was one of the greatest things to ever happen to you. You couldn’t risk losing her either, and you knew that you’d be the one left behind if anything happened, their connection and friendship too strong. 

“Friends?” you hold out your hand. 

He grips your hand, shaking it. Both of you stare at where you’re connected a little longer than you should perhaps, and you clear your throat, “Stop picturing me naked.”

He laughs and lets go and smirks over the rim of his glass and you roll your eyes. He stretches his arm back and ruffles his hair a bit, and you have to look away from where his t-shirt rises. He leans back in his chair as he drags out a, “Soooo,” the legs of the chair hitting the pavement again as he leans forward and cocks his eyebrow with a smirk twitching on his lips, “Rocketman?”

“Oh, fuck off,” you throw a napkin at him and he dodges it laughing. 

Robin sits back down with a huff, “So, laughing. That’s a good sign. What’s the verdict?”

Steve and you look at each other and then at Robin and speak at the same time, “Friends.”

She grins and then Steve leans closer to her with pleading eyes and a fake pout of his lips, “Will you tell me what Rocketman means?”

Knowing full well that the puppy dog pout works on Robin, your eyes widen as her mouth opens. Leaning across the table, you slap your hand over her mouth, her eyes sparkling up at you.

When you start to sit back down, finger pointing at her in a warning, you can’t help but notice Steve’s eyes trailing down the curves of your body and landing at the little bit of your midriff that became exposed where your shirt had risen. 

Friends. You are just going to be friends. Friends who had out of this world sex with each other and knew what the other looked like naked and looked at each other like that - but friends. 

Steve held up his fingers as he shot out ideas, “My penis is like a rocket? Length? Velocity? Gir-”

Robin slaps the side of his head, “Ew, gross don’t talk about your penis at breakfast.”

The two argue about what can and should be considered as appropriate breakfast talk. You hide your smile as Steve winks at you.

The next few weeks are interesting. You change his name to Steve in your phone - Rocketman no longer. Although he takes every opportunity he can to bring it up the few times you’ve seen each other since. Lunch with him a few times during the workdays with Robin, and you had only shared a few moments of lingering stares, a few accidental hand brushes that had made your stomach flip flop like a seesaw. And the more you learned about Steve, the harder it was becoming to not like him.

Especially with what surrounded you in the current “dating” scene. None of these guys were living up to “Rocketman” or Steve. Boring guys who couldn’t get a joke or make one to save their life, absolute skeeze-ball assholes, or guys who’d flounder around, never finding your clit, cum and then roll off of you and ask if you finished before promptly passing out or sneaking out - leaving you high and dry every time. 

It had been three weeks since you’d had good sex. Three weeks since you’d orgasmed from someone other than your own fingers or vibrator. When Robin called and asked if you wanted to go out for drinks, you prayed to whatever gods were out there that they pretty please let you have some good prospects tonight. 

Nursing a small pre-game drink, you call down your hallway to Robin, stepping past the piles of the four outfits she’d changed into and deemed not the one, “Robs, you looked hot in the first outfit, Nancy is going to love it! Put it back on and let’s go!”

Robin pokes her head out of the bathroom door, cocking her eyebrow at you, “Girl, you are cranky when you don’t have sex - you should talk to someone about-” she ducks at the dress you fling at her, smiling, “Are you sure it wasn’t too ‘come get some’?” 

“Don’t you want her to come get some?” you lean against the wall and grin. 

Robin opens her mouth and widens her eyes as a knock on your door lightly echoes through the apartment and you frown.

Robin shoos you away, closing the door and yelling through it, “Tell him I’ll be ready in five minutes.”

Rolling your eyes, knowing that statement was far from true, “Tell who you’ll be-”

You shouldn’t have been surprised when you open your door to see Steve standing there. Dark denim jeans that fit him perfectly, a black shirt that was just a little too tight stretching across his chest, shoulders and biceps and a necklace chain peeking out at the collar. You’re pretty sure your gulp is audible as you try not to focus on the scruff on his jaw or the way his eyes seem to eagerly take in your body as well. 

“Hi,” you manage to squeak out.

He smiles, shoving his hands in his pockets, “Hey.”

Both of you stand there in an awkward silence until Steve blows out his breath, clearing his throat, “You look nice.”

Tugging the sleeves of your jean jacket over your wrists and glancing down at the black lace camisole type of top and black denim shorts you have on, “Thanks. You too.”

Robin comes crashing out of the bathroom and Steve’s eyes go up at her outfit, “Wow, Robs you look-”

She points a finger at him, frowning, “Don’t say a word.”

He clamps his mouth shut, eyes sparkling as she takes the drink from your hand and downs the rest of it before gesturing to head out the still open door. 

Somehow you end up squeezed next to Steve in the back of the uber, your thighs pressing together and arms accidentally bumping. He keeps trying to shift away from you but Robin’s bouncing legs and constant fidgeting on his other side makes him lean into you more. The intoxicating scent of Steve’s cologne so close to you floods you with memories of your night together. Your need for sex like that again pulses throughout your body and you hold your breath for some sort of relief. 

When you get out of the uber, taking a deep breath of the fresh air that doesn’t make your thighs clench together, you watch Robin start to jog down the sidewalk towards a brown curly haired girl waving. Watching her eyebrows go up, her cheeks flushing a little pink as she takes Robin in. 

Steve sighs next to you and you look over at his small smile. Aware of a brief part of their history, and you’re sure this is a little awkward for him, you nudge him, “You good?”

He rubs the back of his neck and nods, “Just a little weird. But I’m really happy for both of them. They look happy right?”

Nancy spins Robin around to take in her outfit more and Robin blushes and shakes her head. Robin’s mouth hasn’t stopped moving since she got out of the car. Nancy takes both of her hands to still them, blinking at her with a smile, she says something that leads to Robin closing her mouth and nodding. 

“Yeah, they do. They look good together,” you smile. 

Steve nods, a small hum slipping out of his throat.  As you get closer, Nancy’s eyes brighten and she smiles, “Steve!”

He gives a little wave, “Hey Nance, it’s good to see you,” he looks slightly surprised when she hugs him, but recovers quickly, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing lightly.

She takes a step back and smiles shyly, “You too. Really.”

She turns to you and sticks out her hand, “Nancy Wheeler.”

Accepting her hand, you introduce yourself. She points between you and Steve, “So how long have you two been together?”

Steve’s neck turns red as you fumble with your words, “Oh we’re not…well, we did have…um, but we aren’t…uh-”

Robin chimes in after biting her lip and holding in a laugh at your run on babble, a hand on Nancy’s shoulder, “They’re just friends.”

Both of you nod but Nancy eyes the two of you like she knows something you don’t and then levels Steve with a look that has him rolling his eyes. She smiles at you, “My mistake, I’m sorry.”

Robin pulls her towards the bar, “Come on, I’m dying to listen to some terrible karaoke and dance my butt off.”

Nancy laughs and you follow the pair inside, snaking your way through a crowd to a table with only standing room. When you point to the bar, Robin pushes Steve back towards the table and loops her arm with yours and turns you both towards the bar.

Robin leans in closer once you get to the bar, yelling over the volume, “I really like her and I think I’m gonna fuck this up.”

Placing your hands on her shoulders, you shake your head, “I just watched the way she looked at you. She’s head over heels for you Robs. Promise.”

Her cheeks darken from their tiny blush to a deeper maroon as she grabs two of the drinks and you push her towards the table, “I’m right behind you, gonna…” you look around a little and raise your eyebrows, “Mingle.”

She salutes you with two of her fingers, holding a drink up to her forehead, “May the force be with you.”

You’re rolling your eyes and leaning onto the bar when you feel a hand on the small of your back. Turning, you find a guy with a beer in his hand, nodding towards the bar, “Can I buy you a drink?”

Glancing back at the table, Robin distributes drinks that the three old friends clink together. Smiling, you turn back to the boy in front of you and nod. Ready to settle in for a night of flirting that will probably lead to an end of the evening like every one you’d had lately - you alone with your trusty bullet. 

After the first guy didn’t laugh at any of your jokes and the second one came in way too hot and heavy for so early in the evening, you make your way back to the table, chugging the last of your drink before flopping your head onto Robin's shoulder with a groan. 

Robin pats your head sympathetically, and questions, "No luck?"

Grabbing a waitress as she’s walking by, "Can we get four tequila shots?" you turn to the other three, "What do you guys want?"

Steve smiles around his beer and Robin rolls her eyes and the waitress laughs.

Leaning your elbows on the table, you press your fingers to your temples "I mean, why is it that they're just god awful boring and can't keep a conversation but incredible at sex or they're funny and get your hopes up and they spend two hours trying to find your clit and pass out after cumming?" You shout the last part and Steve chokes on his beer, Nancy and Robin scrunch up their noses.

The waitress raises her eyebrows at you as she slides the shots onto the table and grins, "Sounds like I should keep those coming?"

"You have no idea," you mumble a thank you to her and look at the other three sheepishly, "Sorry, guess I'm a bit…wound up."

Robin snorts and Steve's lips move to the side like he’s biting his cheek. Nancy raises one of the shot glasses and inclines her head towards you. Wasting no time, you welcome her offer and tip your own back, letting the familiar burn sit in your throat before chasing it with the tart lime.

Picking up a second glass, you raise a brow toward Robin. She waves you off and backs away towards the dancefloor, pulling Nancy with her, leaving you and Steve alone. A few drops of tequila slosh over the side of the glass when you push the last one towards him, your fingers brushing when he takes it. His eyes don’t leave yours as the rim of the glass lingers against his lips while he waits for you to join him. You hate that you watch his neck as he tilts his head back and swallows. How mesmerized you are by his lips molding around the lime and his tongue flicking out to lick his top lip as his eyes scrunch together from the burn.

He clears his throat and you look up into his now open eyes, almost golden in this lighting, the blues and greens fading away to make room for the brown tones, reminding you of sunshine. It was like you were the earth, begging for more of it to light you up. Drawn towards them, craving him like he was what gave you air to breathe. 

Stepping back from the table, you scold yourself for being so wrapped around a boy so quickly. He smiles and glances down at the table, "I think I'm having the exact opposite problem as you." 

Your eyebrows shoot up, as you question him, "What?"

He shakes his head and rips at the label of his beer with his thumb, "I don't want to just waste my time anymore. But I mean,” he smirks, keeping his eyes on the shredding label, “I’m also not gonna say no to sex.” His hand reaches back, tousling his hair and you try to focus on his words instead of his arm muscles flexing, “But if I don’t have sex with them, I’m losing my mind, and if we do it feels like I’m cheapening it, or they end up being crazy or…" he sighs and grimaces, shaking his head like you should forget about it.

He nods towards the crowd, smiling, "Anyways. We're not all bad. Go get 'em."

Taking the chance to take a deep breath and close your eyes, you nod and spin away from him. Talking about sex and relationships? It felt like dangerous territory to enter with Steve. So you make your way into the crowd for your next prospect. But no amount of hair twirling, bicep squeezing or laughing at jokes that weren't funny could stop you from sneaking glances at Steve. And maybe it was the smoky haze over the dance floor, or the few drinks you'd had, or the way you kept catching Steve's eyes locked on your lips and drinks as you listened to guys try to pick you up with all the lines you'd heard already, but your brain started to work up an idea. Started to think a little more about what Steve had said.

When you return to the table, you notice Robin and Nancy particularly cozy with each other on the dance floor and you shrug your jacket off. Steve clears his throat and you watch how glued to your body he is. Eyes drinking you in like you’re the beer pressed to his lips. It was only more fuel for the frustration that had been building for weeks. Tired of torturing yourself, you need to do something. And as Steve’s gazes became more obvious throughout the night, you were convinced he’d be on board with the plan you’d been concocting.

So, when Steve looks at Robin and Nancy, chugging the last of his drink and presses his hand to your lower back as he mumbles, "I'll be right back," you follow him.

The music dulls as you enter the slightly brighter brick hallway that led to the bathrooms. At the sound of the bar crowd echoing through the open door behind him, Steve turns, eyebrows raising curiously at you. 

Gripping your hands into fists at your sides, clenching and unclenching them repeatedly as you take a deep breath, your plan falls out of you before you lose your nerve, "I think we should be friends with benefits."

His eyebrows shoot up even higher and a choking sound leaves the back of his throat as he asks, "What?"

Before you lose your confidence, you keep going, taking steps closer to him, "Listen. I'm not interested in being in love or dating you. You're not gonna break my heart Harrington. I just wanna have sex with a guy who can make me laugh and give me an orgasm.”

Leaning his shoulder against the brick wall, arms crossing with a slight grin on his face, "How drunk are you?"

Waving your hand at him, you push on, "I'm perfectly and totally okay being the girl you have sex with so you don't blow your load trying to hold out for the one or whatever."

He laughs and rubs his palm over his face, you know he’s breaking as he falters over his words, "Y/N...Robin doesn't want us to..."

The toes of your chucks tap against the tips of his shoes as you stop right in front of him, whispering, hands pressing to his chest, "Steve. I've watched you watching me all night. I know you want to have sex again too," your fingers pull at his belt loops, pulling his growing length against your hips, relishing in the way he has to close his eyes. 

You press your chest against his and his head falls back against the brick, eyes fluttering open as you whisper, "It doesn't have to be complicated Steve. Just sex. No strings attached. Fun."

He places his hands on your shoulders, fingers digging into your skin, he sucks his breath in as your hand works at unbuttoning his jeans. One of his hands moves to pull your chin to look him in the eyes, "Seriously. No strings attached. We don’t hurt each other. We don’t hurt Robin."

Your hands dip below his waistband, palming his length before wrapping your hand around him and tugging gently as you whisper, "Rule number one: we never tell Robin."

Leaning forward, you brush your lips against the column of his exposed neck and smirk against his skin at the whimper that falls from him as you start pumping your hand faster.

Steve sucks in his breath, fingers trailing down your shoulders, pulling the straps with them as he gasps out, "Number two: no emotions. We stop before anyone gets hurt. Save the friendship.”

Your lips trail up his neck, leaving a kiss below his ear as you press your body against his thigh, hiding what your hand was doing from the doorway, "Number three: we tell the other person if we're sleeping with other people or if we have dates. No texting or interrupting dates or other hookups - we never leave a date for the other person.”

Your hand pumping faster pulls a groan from Steve. He pulls your hand from inside his pants, grabbing your wrist, he pulls you around the corner into an unoccupied bathroom. He pushes you against the wall and leans in before breathlessly asking, "Kissing?"

You nod and he attaches his lips to your neck, hands lifting you onto his thigh as he presses you both into the door to keep it closed. His kisses trail up to your ear, then down your jaw before he presses his mouth to yours slowly. You roll your hips against his thigh. As he deepens the kiss, his hands on your hips encourage you to brush back and forth against him, seeking the friction you'd been craving since sending those texts between each other weeks ago.

Grinding on his thigh as you chase his lips greedily, he meets you with sighs you capture with your mouth. Lips moving in a harmony together that just felt right, the taste of beer on his tongue swiping out over your lip. His hands on your waist tighten, pushing you faster on his thigh as you no doubt were leaving a wet patch on his jeans through your own layers, arousal building quickly and intensely.

He starts to pop open the buttons on your shorts and you grip the back of his head as he pulls away and nips at the skin on your neck before gasping out, “Pet names?”

Somehow having enough clarity to remember his text that said honey, and the risk of becoming too much of a couple in a relationship you nod but then clarify, "But only during sex."

He nods again, mouth detaching from the bruise he’d been sucking into the dip by your collarbone, kissing up to your ear, nibbling your earlobe as he drops you to the ground and yanks your shorts and underwear down to your ankles as you pull him from his boxers that he pushes down his thighs.

His hands find your hips and lift you once more,  your thumb swipes over the leaking mushroom tip, pulling the precum down and around him with a few tugs before he’s brushing himself through your slick and lining himself up at your entrance.

"Condoms?" he asks breathlessly.

You moan as he slides between you, your soaking lips already trying to suck him in and you whimper, "Birth control."

Steve pauses, his fingers cupping your jaw, "Yeah, but if you're sleeping with other people-"

You shake your head, "You're right, you're right-not tonight? But after?"

His forehead presses against yours as he nods, nose bumping against your cheek as he whispers, “You sure about this?”

Eyes opening, you stare into one another intensely, foreheads and noses pressed together. A cliff, toes hanging off the edge as you watch loose gravel fall to its demise. You both know it probably isn't going to end the way you want it to, but one lick of his lips as he looks at yours is all it took for you to press yourself down onto his length slowly as you nod.

Your eyes flutter closed as you grip his shoulders, gasping from the feeling of him slowly filling you up. His fingers dig into your hips as he slowly pushes up into you, both of you moaning from the pressure and pleasure. 

You slide further down onto him and he presses his face into your neck mumbling, "Fuck, baby, you take me so…" Steve trails off, words caught in gasps and grunts into your skin. Your hands find the back of his hair, eyes fluttering open as his hips start to move, pulling himself out of you and thrusting back up.

You clench around him and he nips at your neck, kissing down your jaw until he finds your lips again. Both of you crashing into each other as he starts to thrust faster, kissing no longer the intimate foreplay from before, but the result of your primal desire - your rapidly climbing arousal. It’s messy and sloppy, lips biting and brushing against each other with no real pattern, just a need to be touching and moving against the other. 

Every thrust reaches that spot that it seems only Steve can hit, deep inside of you as his hands move from your hips to under your thighs, the door rattling behind you with every pump up into you.

Every time your shoulders and head hit up and back against the door, you feel yourself clench tighter around him, hear him practically growl from the feeling. It’s already becoming too much, arching your back and tugging his hair as your head hits the door again, “Fuck!, Yes, keep going - Steve, I-"

Steve’s lips collide with yours in a rushed kiss as he nods, smiling around each other, almost laughing from the pleasure and euphoria as he commands, “Say my name again.”

You bite his bottom lip, moaning into him, “Steve.”

A low rumble from his chest as he starts pumping into you even harder, both of you smacking against the door harshly. 

Your orgasm is coming faster than it ever has. Body reacting to every touch like it was an electric charge to your very core. Your hips snapping together, bodies colliding in what can only be described as filthy sounds, your hands wind the front of his shirt into your fists as your back arches further off the door in an ache to be closer to him. The grunts and moans coming from the two of you mixed with your head hitting the door repeatedly in time with his thrusts echo off of the bathroom walls and feel downright pornographic. Your growing arousal pushes cries of pleasure to fall from your lips that he quickly captures and swallows with his mouth.

His hands squeeze under your thighs, pushing you forcefully against the door again and your fingers grip the back of his head. You swear you’re seeing an entire galaxy behind your eyes as he moves one hand and presses his fingers into your swollen clit. You come forcefully against him, waves of weeks of desperation and a need to be fucked like this vibrating from your head down to your toes curling inside your shoes wrapped around his hips. It comes in tidal wave after tidal wave as he presses circles into your sensitive bead, nipping your bottom lip as your thighs start to shake. His hips stutter up into you as he comes himself, both of you sighing from the feeling of him filling you up completely.

Panting into each other's mouths as he slowly stops thrusting, his fingers find your hips again. You let your head fall back against the door, sweaty and breathless and you laugh, "Thank you, god."

Steve presses his lips to your glistening chest and neck, kissing up to your chin. You drop your head to see him grinning like an idiot.

His nose brushes against yours as his fingers tighten on your hips and a low rumble of a laugh comes from his chest as he pants out, "Most people just call me Steve."

A/N: Truly cannot thank @sweetsweetjellybean enough for being my Beta reader/editor, guiding hand and right hand wing woman - this wouldn't be posted/anything without her 🖤

Tag List (let me know if you'd like to be added): @boomhauer @loveshotzz @sweetsweetjellybean @myobmaya @selfdeprecatingnerd @freezaz123 @johnricharddeacy

[a-sweeter-solarsystem]

Backup artists needed!!

Hey all!! We've had some folks have to drop out from the MAP due to life getting a bit too busy, and I'd like to ask around for possible backup artists to join in for The One Moment MAP!

This is a PMV style multi-animator project, open to artists of all levels, and 3D artists are welcome to join as well! It's a project dedicated to showcasing our favorite moments in destiny, from high energy boss fights to soft original character moments.

A full information document about what a multi-animator project is, information about submissions, and prompts to help you get started can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GcHddQmzWfPrghfsvUwifrG9jFvARmbjrPlLAwpWRps/edit?usp=sharing

In terms of progress, we are at our second check-in date but due dates are likely going to be extended just to be sure everyone has enough time to work on their parts (this is TBD based on current progress and part assignments).

As of typing this part 4 is once again open for anyone who'd like to step in and help out! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't loose any more folks but just in case I'd like to have a handful more backup artists signed up and placed on stand-by just in case!

As a backup artist you won't be able to pick what part you want to do, and instead you'll be filling in for whatever parts are currently available. You'll be credited as normal alongside all the other artists, and you'll be given additional time to ensure that you aren't rushed to keep up the same pace with the other artists. Even if you aren't assigned a part right away, you'll be allowed into the project discord to chat and brainstorm with fellow artists :0

If this sounds like something right up your ally feel free to fill out the form below and i'll reach out to you as soon as possible!

https://forms.gle/6tatiUExuCsbk7h66

[yanderes-galore]

Yo what’s up? May I request a Yandere Alphabet for Diavolo from JJBA? Please?

I can try, sure ^^ Hopefully this helps me write him better. I'm just hoping this doesn't seem rushed or repetitive....

Yandere Alphabet - Diavolo

(FT. Doppio)

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Stalking, Possessive behavior, Marking, Biting, Sadism, Blood, Murder, Violence, Threats, Emotional manipulation, Kidnapping, Dark/Overall Yandere themes, Forced relationship.

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

Diavolo is very... demanding. He sees himself as a king who can control fate and destiny. As a result, he's very possessive with his "affection" towards you. Diavolo may even have a sadistic streak similar to most JJBA villains.

Diavolo would be intense with you due to his nature. Once he has you in his grasp it is usually because he's been pushed to his breaking point while watching you. So by the time he has you, his grip and touch is unrelenting as he kisses your skin to litter you in marks.

It's hard to tell if his affection is genuine, although there's some moments where some genuine care slips through. I like to imagine he and Dio are similar. Both seeming cold but occasionally letting the mask slip that there's some weakness there towards you.

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

Definitely messy, he's experienced with murder considering what happens in part 5. He's a mafia boss, blood comes with the territory. If he has to eliminate others to isolate you away with him, it's easy.

King Crimson makes it nearly too easy, actually.

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

If you really manage to get on his nerves or put up a fight, Diavolo would mock you. If not and you're compliant, then he'll take care of you with no fuss. You have no idea how (un)lucky you are he loves you.

Since his obsession makes him feel this way, he could give you anything you want. You just have to say the word. He's the boss, he can find a way to get you any sort of gift or comfort... except for freedom.

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

Yeah, he would. He has to hide you away so no one catches on to who he is. Which means you're spending a lot of your time in his sight, like it or not.

His demanding nature certainly doesn't help either.

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

Diavolo isn't vulnerable often, the most vulnerable moment I can think of for him was when he realized he was going to die. He is a coward when it comes to others getting too close to his identity. Always willing to play dirty to win.

Although, with you it's a different type of vulnerability. He knows you're a weakness he can't quite cut off. He loves you... which sometimes makes him drop his intimidating act at times to pull you in close. There's times he's vulnerable... and I imagine he hates it due to being proud yet loves it at the same time because it's you.

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

Irritated and would immediately try to discipline it. He has far too much to worry about, you fighting him is yet another distraction. Unlike other villains, he doesn't entertain this and finds a way to stop your attempt.

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

No and he'd find you trying to leave an annoyance, he may even be scared of it.

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

There's a lot I can think of. You most likely know Doppio, so seeing Doppio become Diavolo breaches your trust.

There's the kidnapping, the threats he makes to keep you compliant, or even the straight up murder to those who know you.

Diavolo is a mafia man. He is pretty much known to do horrible things to get things to go his way. Threatening the lives of your loved ones to make you listen to him is probably the tamest thing he could do.

Cioccolata is just itching for action, dear. It's that Diavolo just ends things himself, depending on how personal the matter is.

Blood may become a common sight for you if you wish to be rebellious.

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

Once Diavolo has felt he's gotten rid of every enemy and distraction, he'd probably keep you both in a very isolated area. He'd put it by the sea for you, the area secret and remote so you can both have a more... peaceful life while he basks in his perfect victory.

No one's coming to find you, they're gone by his hand. You only have Diavolo now. He's already ruined and smashed your old life to bits and pieces.

Then you two can elope and become an item... he'll never let you go, his beloved prize.

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

It's hard for him to be jealous when he can get rid of every rival he feels he has to (In a way, yeah, he's jealous in that case). I imagine when he's stalking you through Doppio, he's marking every person you talk to down for death the moment he has you. That would be when he feels jealous the most, knowing he can't act just yet. He'd definitely plot the demise of anyone too close to you. Just to finally remove this burning feeling.

The end result isn't going to be pleasant for anyone but him.

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

Possessive, Obsessive, Manipulative, Intimidating, Overbearing, Demanding, Ruthless, Sadistic, Eerily caring at times..

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

As I've said before, the method he'd use most is Doppio. He already uses the personality to fool others and get rid of those he needs to. Stalking his darling through Doppio isn't too far off.

Diavolo waits and plans for an opening to take you away. It takes him a bit to become obsessed, originally planning to isolate you enough to kill you for distracting him. Unfortunately for him, such a plan fails due to his own emotional connections.

So while he still wants to get you alone, it isn't to kill you this time...

In fact, your new fate may be much worse than death.

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

Well, he's still ruthless. However, with you he's more... caring, if you can call what he does that.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

I feel Diavolo would focus on threats, but I can also see him "marking" you with bites to show you who you "belong" to. I don't want to imagine anything too physical, so he might mentally mess with you until you break. Such as isolation, restraints, and pictures of your loved ones in poor shape.

I'm talking if you act up, he may restrain you and show you a photo of one of your loved ones. They could be kidnapped... or even already dead. When he sees your tears, he grins, knowing with just a bit more time... you'll crumble.

You aren't necessarily the one who's punished, your loved ones are.

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

Based on his plans, most if not all. You're given some freedoms once you're isolated enough.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

He's patient due to the amount of planning he puts in to have you. Although, he can be impatient at times if things aren't going according to plan.

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

I imagine you'd leave a lasting impact on him. He could probably move on but it would take time and he could never forget you. You'd probably be his last romantic partner... so he's not going to lose you so easily.

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

No and no.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

Hard to say when it comes to him. Could be a morbid sense of curiosity, or maybe he's missing a certain connection he once had?

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

Diavolo would most likely give you your space. He has other matters to attend to, dealing with this could be irritating. Although, somedays he'll scoop you up and press you onto his chest. It may make things worse... but he enjoys the feeling of you.

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

SKIPPED

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

Not any I can think of. You'd need some sort of distraction to leave him as he is not letting you out of his sight.

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

He most likely would, yes, even if he isn't intending to.

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

Diavolo is not a worship yandere, as much as that would be entertaining. However, He'd sacrifice a lot to get you back in his grasp. You're his in his eyes, anyone who tries to take you to get back at him is immediately dealt with.

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

Honestly, it can be anything from weeks, months, to maybe a year or two. He's always around, watching from Doppio's eyes as you live your life.

The clock is ticking, however... your fate is already decided by the king.

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

Most likely.

[valiantstarlights]

Oh nooo I’m thinking about personal trainer dream again…

Specifically, helping Hob do some yoga or stretches to loosen up? Helping guide him into downward facing dog from behind and resisting the urge to press up against him and grind. Helping him stretch his hamstrings, laying him out on his back and pressing his legs back against his chest while Hob is blushing and stammering and Dream is about five seconds from losing it…

The way I panicked and rushed to my page to check if I had accidentally posted the (still unfinished) draft of Chapter 3 in my sleep 😂

But yes, anon. 😊 There's definitely going to be a borderline spicy yoga session in Chapter 3, and Dream and Hob are going to be insane about each other as usual.

As a treat (and because I feel bad taking forever with the update 😭), here's a little something that may or may not end up getting cut, so I'll just post it here. 😊

CW: Suspicious noises at the gym, Matthew suffering and needing a raise

"Mmmn...ah..!"

Matthew jumps at the sound and wields his mop like a bo staff, turning this way and that, eyes seeking out the shadowy corners of the corridor he's in. He heard from Lucienne that the building is as new and modern as its architecture, but in his opinion, that doesn't guarantee that there would be no ghosts around.

(And while he knows he can't fight ghosts, physically or exorcist-ically, he can still flip them off and scare them with his unhinged mop skills that frightened even Boss Destiny.)

He tiptoes slowly towards the source of the sound, near the private session rooms, still holding his mop like a weapon, ears pricked up for more strange noises.

"Please, I don't think I can anymore..."

Matthew's heart starts to beat in double-time. That sounded like Professor Gadling! Is he being murdered? Should he go and get Boss Dream? But what if he can't find him in time?!

There was another, slightly pained groan, and Matthew rushes forward. He is just about to kick the door open and slap Professor Gadling's murderer with a wet mop to the face when he hears something else that made the blood freeze in his veins.

"You can do it, Professor Gadling," a much lower voice--Boss Dream's voice--croons. "Just a little more. You're doing so well. Just a little more for me..."

Professor Gadling whines, high and needy, and moans something that sounds like, "M-Mr. Endless, please..." and it snaps Matthew out of his daze.

Are they...

Are they--???

Matthew swallows down his scream and runs away, now clutching the mop against his body like a comfort plushie.

--

happy spooky season, matthew! 😂