#does NOT help that my best friend anna hi anna gets to be 30 already and my sister is also turning 30

[curlytemple]

for the past couple years i’ve been setting the radio volume in my car to match my age cus it’s a good range and i think it’s funny. idk don’t ask i have a certain joie de vivre. but recently when i need to listen to a song louder and i crank it up to 30 i laugh to myself and say i’m thirty. me when i’m 30! yayy.

[torialefay]

☀️ Everyday Idol 🌙 (Chapter 9)

✨ possible bangchan x reader (f), possible jungkook x reader (f)

✨ head on over to my masterlist if you haven’t checked out the previous chapters!

✨wc: ~8k

✨ friends to lovers? possible love triangle? obsession? angst and future smut??? a little fluff.

✨ summary: JYP Entertainment launches a new show and y/n somehow gets recruited. Even though she doesn’t particularly care about the outcome of the show, she does particularly care about one of the artists she met: Chris from Stray Kids. Does Chris feel the same or will a potential relationship with one of his friends overcome what y/n feels for him?

✨ warnings: cursing from time to time, smut!!!! 🔞

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Previous Chapter Recap:

Once Chan had reached the hotel, he gently stirred you awake and helped you get inside the lobby. He told you to text him once you got inside of your room so that he knew you made it. All you can remember was giving him a big, warm hug, before saying your goodbyes as you went upstairs to drift off to sleep.

When Chan arrived home, he went straight to get in his bed, knowing that he’d now be able to fall asleep. He quickly checked his phone to make sure he didn’t have any new notifications. He re-read your message saying that you were okay as he smiled. He quickly checked his bubble to ready through some messages from STAY before sending a “Good Night <3”. He checked his Instagram really quickly to make sure he hadn’t missed any messages.

What a fucking mistake.

There on his screen, the very first post, was an update from Dispatch. The title of the post read “Jungkook seen hugging mystery girl in front of JYPE building.” He zoomed in the tiniest bit to see any details of the girl that it might be. There was no mistaking that it was you. In the snap of a finger, Chan’s heart shattered into a million pieces. He knew he shouldn’t care. He knew it would be better this way. But he just couldn’t understand what had happened to cause you two making up.

He just couldn’t believe it. And so, he cried.

—————————————————————————————

Note: Character relations you can refer back to if needed.

Y/n- Changbin’s mentee

Anna- best friend, Felix’s mentee

Kara- Seungmin’s mentee

Sunnie- Han’s mentee

Mindi- Hyunjin’s mentee

Nisha- Lee Know’s mentee

Alyssa- Jeongin’s mentee

Jenna- Chan’s mentee

—————————————————————————————

Y/N’s POV:

Your eyes slowly forced themselves open as you heard the violent beeping of Anna’s alarm she’d set on her phone the night prior.

‘Goddamn it, turn that shit down,’ you thought.

As much as you loved her, that girl wouldn’t wake up for shit. Even if her phone was blaring right next to her head.

You groaned as you tried to collect your bearings enough to sit upright and plant your feet on the ground, rubbing your eyes with your hands before standing to let the blood rush down into your legs again. You made the slow trek over to Anna’s bed so you could silence the ear-splitting noise on her nightstand. After hitting the “Off” button, you reached down for her shoulder and shook, jostling the top of her body slightly. You stood and repeated the move until you were sure you saw both of her eyes blink awake and her mouth open just enough to let out a yawn.

At the end of her deep breath, she rolled over to face you. “Good morning sunshine,” she smiled jokingly. The coarseness in her voice hinted that she’d DEFINITELY gotten a good night’s sleep. You gave her a light-hearted eye roll before trotting back to your bed to sit down and check your phone.

“Soooo, what’d you do last night?” she asked once you���d settled in to check your texts.

‘Shit. Did I wake her up?’

“What do you mean?”

“Y/n,” she sat herself up on the bed to get a better look at you. Damn, morning hair is not her best look. “I literally woke up at 2:30 this morning and realized you were gone. I thought Jungkook really pulled one over and fucking kidnapped you or something until I checked your location and you were already back next to the hotel. Once I heard you come in, I was too tired and pissed at you for giving me a heart attack that I just went back to bed. Now, don’t lie to me. Where were you?”

You really thought you’d gotten out of that one. It wasn’t that you were ashamed that you’d been with Chan, but Anna always wanted to turn ‘nothing’ into ‘something.’ And there was NOTHING there between you two.

“Promise me you’re not going to make a big deal about it?” you asked, eyes silently begging her to agree.

“You know I can’t promise that,” she said sarcastically.

You took in a deep, very much annoyed, breath. That’s my best friend alright.

“I was out talking to Chan-” Before you could even move on to the next sentence, Anna’s jaw was on the floor with her arms flailed out to the side to grip onto the sheets beneath her.

So much for not making a big deal. It’s too early for this. But then again, you weren’t surprised.

“BUT,” you continued, your voice forceful now, “just as friends. I was anxious and he offered to talk me through some stuff about today. It just made me feel a lot better about everything. That’s all,” you said, matter-of-factly.

Anna paused for a moment. “So you didn’t talk about anyyything else?” she pried, her eyebrows raising on her forehead.

“Just random stuff,” you told her.

Her eyes told you she didn’t believe it. She pulled her mouth into a smug grin with her gaze still on you, acting as if she was waiting for you to go on.

“Oh shut up,” you said, smiling now while rolling your eyes. It really was nothing. Well… as best as you can remember before falling asleep.

Ready for the conversation to be over, you sprang to your feet and headed to the bathroom. “Do you need to pee before I shower?” you asked her while heading in.

She informed you that she was fine as you closed the door behind you and sat on the toilet. You scrolled through your latest messages. You’d gotten one from Jungkook last night that you guessed you hadn’t seen at the time. You pondered on the answer before quickly shooting a text back, just saying that you weren’t sure of your schedule yet, but you’d let him know.

Content, you flushed the toilet and hastily started up the shower.

‘Today is going to be a longggg day,’ you knew. You took a deep breath after you’d stripped yourself of your clothes and stepped into the warm flurry of water. All you could do was try your very best to wash the nerves away.

————————————————————————

Walking into the JYPE Building, you cursed as you almost tripped over the door frame, threatening to spill your coffee on the ground. Luckily you caught yourself and huffed out a relieved sigh. You heard the “plunk”s of yours and Anna’s shoes as you made your way across the white, hard flooring of the first level of the building, headed straight to the usual bulletin board plastered next to the large conference room. The laminated white piece of paper tacked on splayed the agenda for the day:

Group 4: Sunnie, Kara, Mindi, Nisha, Alyssa, Jenna, Anna, Y/N- Level 10 Conference Room #4

You wandered your eyes down further to check the group numbers’ agenda. ‘Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, Ahh Group 4.’

Group 4:

• 9:00 AM- General shooting; see group members and room numbers above for further reference

• 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM- Dance Practice

• 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM- Lunch break

• 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM- Vocal Lessons

• 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM- Individual Evaluations

• 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM- Placements and Debrief

‘Same as last time.’

“Alright,” you turned to Anna. “We’re in four on level 10. Same as last time.”

“Let’s do this thang,” Anna joked. ‘God, she really doesn’t let anything get in her way, does she?’ You smiled at your friend as you headed toward the elevator.

On your trek the few feet away to the elevator, you ran into Changbin and Seungmin who were also headed upstairs.

“Hey!” you both said in unison.

“Where are you guys headed?” Anna asked. Come to think of it, you weren’t sure if your mentors would be there for the beginning of shooting or not.

“We’re headed to Level 10. With you guys,” Seungmin said.

“Were y’all over there by the bulletin board too? Sorry, I didn’t see you,” you said, feeling rude that you didn’t notice and greet them sooner.

“Oh no, we get the schedules sent to us on our phones every day,” Changbin replied.

“Well dang, that would have been nice for us to have too, instead of having to rush to the bulletin board first thing,” you said half-jokingly, but half-annoyed. You all stepped inside as the elevator doors opened to take you upstairs.

“If they did that, it wouldn’t be nearly as dramatic for the cameras,” Changbin laughed.

“The cameras?” you and Anna asked synchronously. You both looked around the top of the elevator as the doors shut, and you began to ascend.

Changbin and Seungmin just looked at each other with shit-eating grins.

“Well I’m sure they had to have told you, but with everything else going on, maybe you missed it… Starting today, they have cameras up everyyywhere. Like… everywhere. In the practice rooms, the hallways, the front lobby, the cafe. And especially by the bulletin board. Sometimes they’ll even cut people and you won’t realize it until you look on the board that day…” Seungmin trailed off.

“Hey but at least they don’t have them in the bathrooms! Only just outside of them,” he taunted, trying to bring the mood up slightly. He could tell he had you and Anna both freaked out a bit now. Neither of you could really say anything, just stood there in silence for fear you’d slip up and say the wrong thing.

“You’ll be fine,” Changbin said, giving you a light pat on the back. “You’ll get used to it, promise… Plus, if you need anything, I’m pretty sure we’ll be there a lot of the time to help you.” He leaned down close to your ear. “And between you and me, we don’t ever really know what’s going on either. We’ve just gotten good at winging it,” he winked and nudged you on the arm.

You took a deep breath and shook your head up and down with a slight smile. “Thanks Bin.” As you said this, the elevator doors opened to the 10th floor.

As soon as they spread apart, you could feel the chaos that ensued. People hurriedly walking to their respective rooms, sound techs running back downstairs to grab equipment, hair and makeup crew getting to their respective stations, and camera men getting their equipment out of bags. Ten minutes til filming was set to begin.

You followed the crew to Room 4, which you were thankful to already be familiar with. The walls were all black except for one side, which was housed with mirrors from floor to ceiling, with light wooden flooring lying beneath your feet. You scanned the room to see that mostly all of the girls were here, along with most of the SKZ members.

As Seungmin and Changbin trailed ahead of you to find some of the guys congregated in the corner, you took a step back, grabbing onto Anna and heeding her to a stop. Off to the other corner of the room stood Jenna and Alyssa along with a couple of the other girls. Nothing out of the usual... Except for Jenna holding a bright bouquet of flowers delicately settled into a clear crystal vase.

Maybe it meant nothing. In fact, it probably meant nothing. Jenna was the type to show anything off if she got the chance, so if someone had given her flowers even a week ago, you were sure she’d bring them just to make some kind of a big deal about it. A kind of “ooo look at me, somebody loves me” moment.

Gag me.

But you couldn’t help but to think back to Felix asking if you’d gotten “your flowers from Chan”… And the scene you’d witnessed with Chan that night in the studio, just a couple of days prior. The packet of flower food on his desk, along with no flowers to show for it. The words he’d said to you when you poked him aboutit: “It’s not really like that- me and her. It’s really not what you probably think. I don’t want you to think that.”

So you know what… you trusted him. He’d been such a good friend to you. Why would he lie about that? That’d be the dumbest fucking thing to lie about.

‘It’s probably just her being her. And god knows who actually gave her those.’

Anna sensed your hesitancy and followed your gaze to fall on Jenna. She snorted, breaking out into a small laugh at the sight of Jenna clinging onto the vase, pretending she didn’t want anyone to notice. “That’s one pretentious bitch,” she mocked.

You couldn’t help but giggle at her words.

“What do you wanna bet she bought them for herself?” Anna whispered to you snarkily. You both giggled, but quickly turned your heads as Jenna’s eyes made contact with the pair of you.

“Ah shit, we better steer clear of the ‘chosen one’ over there until this is over with,” Anna laughed while taking your hand and beginning to walk with you to the circle of guys who were still standing and chatting in the corner. You could feel Jenna’s eyes peer into you both as you walked. And from your periphery, you watched as she slowly focused her attention back onto the group of girls around her with the fakest smile you’d ever seen.

“There’s my number one trainee!” Felix said jokingly as you and Anna joined the conversation. “It’s about time you two showed up!”

“Hush,” Anna rolled her eyes. “We’ve been here. I’m surprised you two aren’t late,” she laughed, pointing back and forth to Felix and Jisung.

Their eyes popped open wide with their mouths turning into defensive grins. “Just because I was late ONE time!” Felix bantered. “Let’s not count the times you’ve been late when you said you’d meet up with me!”

“Okay fine, fine,” Anna retreated. “But neither of us have anything on Han.”

“Heyyy, heyyy,” he said, faking being hurt, bringing his hands to his chest. “I’m getting better! I was here on time AND in a good mood today.”

“Awfully impressive of you. I’m touched, really,” Seungmin butted in.

You listened as the group continued their banter around you, smiling every time Seungmin and Changbin got a quick roast in.

They were too quick for their own good.

As you followed the conversation, you felt yourself perk up a bit as Chan walked in the room. A warm fuzzy feeling came over you that you’d always associated with him. With a big smile spreading across your face, you wanted to thank him for last night and for making you feel somewhat better.

‘Would’ve been nice to warn me about the camera thing though,’ you thought.

As soon as you broke off from the group to walk toward Chan, you saw him scan the room and find Jenna in the opposite corner. As he drew nearer, he paused for a moment, looking almost as taken aback as you had, presumably noticing the flower arrangement in her hands. His eyes drew wide for a split moment, then formed into a mild look of confusion, before putting his normal “Channie” face back on.

Once Jenna met his gaze, her eyes lit up. She quickly put the flowers down on the table next to her, ‘Thank fucking god’, before quickly making her way to Chan. You stopped yourself from walking any further. Whatever she had to say to him, you didn’t want to be there to hear it.

With Chan’s back to you, you couldn’t make out much of the conversation except a loving look on Jenna’s face and a big hug once she’d reached him. As she fell into his arms and held him in a tight embrace, a shy but bright smile washed over her. You could’ve seen that smile from a mile away. Her teeth were perfect. Fuck her.

—————————————————————————————

Once 1:00 rolled around, you were sweaty and panting heavily... Well, the panting kicked in about an hour ago. It was more of a dry heave now. With your hair tied up, you tried to act like you weren’t dying (at least while the cameras were on).

‘If every dance practice is like this, my knees are going to give out before I turn 30.’

The morning session had explained a lot. The filming crew had come in to record as you introduced yourselves and recorded your reactions from getting all the Everyday Idol info from none other than JYP himself. He really only hit three main highlights:

1. This would be your training group- you would do all songs and performances together (as if that wasn’t already blatantly obvious)

2. Later today, you would have evaluations to see what skills you retained and which position you would take in the group.

3. Anyone could be cut at any time, up to JYP’s discretion.

While they didn’t explain much, you figured that was part of the show- there were things that would be revealed to you later. But for now, you had enough to worry about. The morning sessions with filming and dance practice just now being complete meant you had one whole hour (wow) to get some food and relax before starting back up. You were silently thankful you’d have time to stop feeling all sweaty and gross before your vocal lessons. Luckily, it was only the trainees there today for the dancing and singing portions. You’d have died if all the guys had been in there too evaluating how you were based off of your first day.

You hadn’t caught a break all morning, so before finding Anna, you grabbed your phone to text Jungkook back about your date.

‘Cutie,’ you smiled to yourself as you felt your heart swell up.

It really did mean a lot to know that he was behind you in all of this. That in addition to having your new friends and mentors, that you’d have THE Jeon Jungkook to back you up… And to give you a little help, come to think of it.

‘He’s so precious.’

Putting your phone down into your pocket, Anna strolled over next to you.

“Well who’s got you feeling all lovey dovey?” she winked. “Chan or Jungkook?”

You felt yourself blush slightly.

“What makes you say that?” you asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Hmm probably the fact that you looked like a big nerd over here smiling down at your phone,” she teased.

“To be fair, technically, we’re both big nerds now,” you raised an eyebrow at Anna, hinting at your new inside joke. Once the producers of the show found out you were both in medical school, they decided they were definitely going to spin it that you two were huge nerds and this process was going to turn you into new “cool” potential idols.

She started laughing heavily. “Hey, well at least nobody hates the nerds. Maybe we’ve got a shot,” she giggled as she joked.

As you both packed your things to head downstairs for some food, Anna pressed for more. “So you aren’t gonna tell me? If it was Chan or Jungkook?”

You rolled your eyes. “Oh my goddd,” your voice raising as you went. “It’s not like that with Chan. It really isn’t. If you were there last night, I swear you’d know.” You threw your water bottle in your bag before zipping it up and standing.

Anna was already standing and waiting on you. “Alright, whatever you say, little love bug.” She took your arm in hers as you both made your way back through the hallways and toward the elevators.

———————————————————————————————————

After toughing it through the line at the cafeteria, you and Anna wandered around the big, open floor with rows and rows of tables that were half-way filled. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Changbin throw an arm up and wave it around, signaling for you to come that way.

You knew Changbin had big arms, but with him waving them around like that… ‘Damn, I need to hit the gym with that guy.’

Sitting at the table were the rest of the guys minus Seungmin and Jeongin, plus Sunnie and Kara. The usual crew.

You smiled and waved to everyone as you sat down across the table from Changbin, with Anna following suit next to you.

“Hey Bin,” you smiled as you settled into your seat. “Hey Channie!” you said, rotating your head the tiniest bit towards Chris who was sat right next to Changbin.

“Hey,” Chan said, giving you a half-assed smile before burying his face down into his phone.

‘Okay…?’

“So did you take after your mentor and absolutely kill your first dance practice or what?” Changbin asked, hyping himself up way more than he was you.

“Well if you couldn’t tell by how absolutely exhausted I look, I would say it was a little less than adequate.” You couldn’t help but be a smart ass back.

“I mean, I wasn’t going to say anything butttt.”

“Hush,” you reached across the table to playfully hit his arm before looking down at your plate and beginning to dig in.

“No really though,” you began, choking some food down, “this show is gonna kick my ass. I’m too out of shape for this,” you laughed.

“Me too. It looks like we’re dying out there,” Anna chimed in.

“Perfect. That’s exactly what I like to hear from my team!” Changbin said sarcastically.

“I swear we’re trying! But I’m serious, seeing your arms up and waving at me a minute ago made me realize… I’ve gotta go to the gym... If I can ever find the time with all of this. God I’m weak,” you said, holding your wrist in the opposite hand and rolling it around.

“You know you’re welcome to come with me any time,” Changbin said.

“You really mean it?”

He nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

“Then please text me the next time you go. I’ll need a very patient teacher.”

“I’m not sure I’d use ‘patient’ as a word to describe myself,” Changbin flashed a cheeky grin, looking off to the side. “But Chan’s been going with me,” he reached out a hand to pat him on the back, “and he’s about as patient as it gets.”

Chan looked up from the mention of his name, his eyes running anywhere but on you.

“Waya think Chan-hyung? Think we can take her on?”

“Uh.. yeah sure. Why not,” Chan mumbled before lowering his head once again to look at the phone screen above his lap.

‘What is up with him?’ You thought. ‘His sleep schedule must really be fucking with him.’

You decided to drop it and just leave it be. You thanked them for their offer before digging back into the food.

————————————————————

You trailed behind slightly as everyone at the table got up to head back upstairs at the end of lunch.

One by one, as everyone walked past, you gently brushed Chan’s black hoodie-cladded arm. He looked down at you with questioning eyes as you motioned for him to walk a few steps back with you, out of hearing range from the others. With a bit of hesitation, he trudged over.

“Is everything okay?” you asked, cupping the side of his arm with your hand. You looked into his eyes, searching for any type of hidden answer. Any emotion that you could get out of them. But you didn’t see anything. They were almost lifeless.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” he tried to convince you. But there was no mistaking it. His voice, usually jubilant and full of brass, was now muddled over, monotone.

“Chan really…” you squeezed his arm a bit, “you just seem a bit off today. Did you sleep alright?” You watched as he lowly looked at your hand touching him, making no effort to lean into it like he normally would have.

“Yeah,” he dropped his head, letting his arm move move up to rub his hand along the back of his neck. “Yeah…” he moved his head back up. “I think I’m just tired. Don’t worry about me,” he forced out a tiny smile.

“I’m sorry if I kept you up later than you expected,” you offered him an apologetic look.

“No, no, it’s alright. I would have been up anyways.”

“Well then tonight, I guess we should probably try not do that and just go to sleep instead,” you joked.

“I guess so.” His voice sounded like it was almost gone.

‘What is up with him? Did I say something last night that I don’t remember? Something that would have put him in a bad mood?’

“And thank you for making sure I got home last night. I’m sorry I keep falling asleep on you. I promise it’ll never happen again!”

“Yeah, it’s cool.”

‘It’s cool? What the fuck?’ You just stood and looked at him for a moment. Who was he? Why was he acting like this?

“Chan really, what’s wrong? Did I say something last night that hurt you? Or did I do something? Maybe I don’t remember it after falling asleep, but…? But just- you’re not you right now. What’s the matter?” Your brows furrowed together, looking into his eyes for any kind of answer... His now lifeless eyes.

But in the snap of a finger, those same eyes filled with some new emotion. Anger? Irritability? Resentment? Some combination that neither you nor he could really discern?

“I told you, I’m fine, Y/N. Now can you please drop it?” he asked roughly, clearly exasperated. The tone of his voice made you draw back into yourself.

‘You’re not fine, but okay.’

“Alright, well I just had to ask…” You swiveled your head around the now-empty cafeteria. “We’d better go, I guess,” you said, motioning to the cleared room.

As you both walked toward the exit, you tried to make light conversation… Because the tension in the room was awkward as hell.

“Thanks for agreeing to help me out at the gym, by the way. I promise I won’t bug you the whole time. Maybe just to get started,” you smiled, trying to joke around.

Chan wasn’t having any of it. He just walked in silence for another moment. “Yeah. Don’t worry about it.”

‘Okay, maybe complimenting him will work? Getting him out of this rut?’

“You’re advice really helped me out today in dance practice. I mean, I’m worn out, but I honestly think I’m getting the choreo faster than the other girls.” You looked over to see his face still unchanged.

“And then on our final run through, I was the only one who didn’t make any mistakes! Not even one! And I was so excited, I was just standing there thinking ‘Oh my gosh, Channie would be so proud of me!’.”

At that, you saw him crack a little smile. A small one, but it was there.

“There he isssss,” you teased, smiling back. “So HOPEFULLY, I can still embody that Channie energy this afternoon with our vocal lesson… All I’ll say is they didn’t list ‘able to sing well’ in the job description when I agreed to this. I’m gonna need all the luck I can get.”

“Good luck then,” he said with a little better tone now in his voice. “You’ll do great.”

Those were the last words that were said before parting ways.

———————————————————————————

You stood anxiously on the same light wooden flooring, crossing your hands around each other in front of you. After lunch, your vocal lesson had went well, and then your individual evaluation.

Now, you just awaited your placement within the group. You tried your best to focus on the panel of people in front of you instead of the multitude of cameras next to them. JYP, the SKZ members, and the main vocal coaches and choreographers all in a line. Daunting… to say the least.

Of course Anna did phenomenal in her individual evaluation, and the panel in front of you knew that. Not only was she given the positions of main vocalist, sub rapper, and lead dancer, but she was also now going to be the leader of the group. And there was no one more deserving. She was bold, loud, brilliant, confident, entertaining- everything you could want in a leader.

You’ll never forget the look of shock on her face when they said the word out loud though. Anna knows she’s great, don’t get me wrong, but she doesn’t understand just *how great everyone thinks she is. She really has it all. When she accepted the positions with glassy eyes, big smile across her face, you couldn’t help but look at her like a proud parent.

But as the panelists had called you up one by one, you kept growing anxious at the thought of maybe not hearing your name. Out of 8 girls, only you and Jenna hadn’t been called up yet. It was all you could do to stand there nervously and twiddle your thumbs, hoping you’d done well enough to make it through this first day. Even if you didn’t care to win the show, you still didn’t want to get kicked out so early on.

‘It’s alright either way,” you told yourself while taking a deep breath in and closing your eyes. ‘You’re just fine either way.’

“Y/N,” you heard JYP’s voice call out. You felt your heart shift into overdrive.

Suddenly, you felt self-conscious, as everyone turned their heads in your direction. After one final breath, you made your way to the front of the room where the panelists stood. It wouldn’t be so intimidating if there weren’t so damn many of them… And if all the members weren’t here.

As you approached the group, you could feel a sense of solemness over them. ‘Oh fuck.’

But as you hauled to a stop in the middle, you guessed Changbin could pick up on your restlessness. He flashed you a warm smile and a slight wink, letting you know everything was alright. The little bit of reassurance that you needed.

You bowed slightly as you offered a shy grin and wave at the consortium seated before you.

“Hi Y/N,” JYP said again, now with a smile and a calm demeanor. He always spoke so slowly. It has you hanging on to every last syllable. “I wanted to start by saying how impressed I am with you. Both you and Anna,” he stopped momentarily to smile at her. “It’s not very often that I see people with this much natural talent who already conduct themselves so well. So props to you ladies.”

Even if you could hardly ever take JYP seriously (you didn’t know why, but something about him was just so funny to you), his words did mean a lot. You felt yourself start to relax a bit as the pulsations coming from your chest seemed to slow. You bowed your head as you slowly nodded and smiled, a small bout of appreciation for JYP’s words.

“Now, I had a very hard time trying to place you because we felt like you were skilled at many things,” he gestured down the panel. “As I’ve said before, things can change within the next two weeks, but for now, I’d like to place you as the main dancer, lead rapper, lead vocalist, AND… visual.”

You didn’t know what you’d expected, but- wow, not this much.

Your mouth dropped slightly in astonishment. A big goofy grin splayed across your face, unable to really say anything. You were sure your wide-open eyes gave away your disbelief. Down the row of people seated in front of you, you watched each of the members smile, with Changbin and Felix cheesing extra hard with two thumbs up. Out of the corner of your eye, you could make out Anna who was absolutely beaming, doing soft and excited mini-claps while biting her bottom lip from squealing in excitement.

“Wow,” you finally got out. “Thank you so much,” you nodded again shyly, smile still imprinted on your face. You felt for sure it’d be there forever now.

“I can’t wait to see what great things you do,” JYP assured.

You gave the panel one final bow before walking back to your original spot. On the way, Anna looked at you with an excited smirk. “Visual?!” She mouthed with a quick wink before giggling.

It made you let out a tiny chuckle too.

Once you were stood in your prior spot, you heard JYP call for the last contestant. ‘Ah here we go.’

“Jenna Thomas,” he smiled. The same smile he’d given to each of you. If this man had favorites, he wasn’t about to let it show.

Jenna followed suit from the girls before her and made her way to the middle of the panelists, smiling in front of JYP once she settled.

You couldn’t help but glance at Chan, now sitting so closely to her. You looked for any sort of expression in his face, but found none. His face was stone. No emotion to be found… Until Jenna spoke up with a “hello everyone,” and a wave. To that, he kept his head steady, but you noticed the slight flex in his jaw. He covered it up quickly, but you were quicker.

“Jenna,” JYP began, “you have a very unique singing and dancing style. It’s one we’d like to be able to bring out more. I’m excited to see what you can do from here. Right now, I’d like to place you as sub dancer, sub vocalist, and sub visual.”

Although you could only see her side profile now, you didn’t miss the slight twitch in her eye at the ending. The way her lip had the tiniest shake.

She did not like being called the sub visual.

“Thank you,” she said quietly as she bowed. She walked back to her previous spot, face lifeless. Like any ounce of feeling she could show would only be to her detriment. Much like Chan’s.

“Alright,” JYP said dramatically, standing himself up. “This is important, so I want you to listen carefully.”

That sentence alone got your full attention.

“Normally, we would have more time. But as you know, this process is a bit accelerated… By the end of the week, I would like for you to break off into groups of two, where I will have expected you to compose, produce, and perform a song that you feel best represents you and your partner’s character. Your mentors will help you as much as they can. You will have full access to the studios and all of the equipment, programs, and software that we use. We will have a showcase this Saturday for you to display what you’ve made and rehearsed... I know it seems like a lot now, but that’s the whole point of this, right?” He smiled a menacing smile. “I won’t see you again until Saturday. When I do, I want you to show me who you really are.”

———

Once the cameras cut off, you joined together in the room to talk with the girls about the results, then divided into smaller units to pair up for the showcase on Saturday. In retrospect, you thought you’d lose your shit at hearing about that. But you knew you’d naturally be with Anna, which cushioned the blow. And considering she’d already made a big enough impression for JYP to be tagging her as the leader this early on… well, you figured you’d be just fine.

Felix and Changbin accompanied the two of you as you stood talking, game planning what you’d do to start practicing. They let you know that you’d have some time built into your schedules for the next few days to work with your mentors, but that you’d all stay late afterward as well. Between your two mentors, you felt pretty solid that you’d have all the help you needed. You agreed that you’d brainstorm ideas tonight and then meet up tomorrow to start working on a song first.

As you packed up your belongings to head out for the night, you checked your phone. Just past 7:30. Perfect.

Although you were exhausted, you had told Jungkook that you’d see him. And it wasn’t that you weren’t happy to get to see him again… but the tiredness was already setting in.

You whipped your phone out to shoot him a quick text that you were about to head back to your hotel, but that you were super tired. You proposed doing something lowkey if that was alright with him.

Throwing your phone down into your bag, you took a deep breath, happy to finally head “home” and shower off the all the tension (and sweat) from the day.

——————————————————

After getting out of the water and into a fresh, comfy hoodie, you felt the slow creep of your muscles beginning to ache. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d exerted yourself so much in one day.

You rubbed along the muscles at the back of your shoulder as you walked toward the bedside table to grab the ibuprofen out. You had always been convinced (well, up until this point) that there was nothing ibuprofen and tylenol couldn’t fix.

You flung yourself down on the bed after downing them, moving your hands up to your face to rub circles along your forehead. You knew you needed to eat before you got the “hunger headache”. “Hunger headache” y/n is definitely a scary y/n.

“I feel like dog shit,” you heard Anna say from the bed next to you, mostly mumbling her words out.

“You and me both,” you sighed.

“Like I genuinely don’t think I’m gonna be able to walk tomorrow,” Anna dramatized.

“You better be able to walk because apparently you’re my leader from now on. If you can’t walk, then neither can I,” you giggled.

“You’re my little minion,” Anna strained out in her best fake-evil voice.

“I’m fine being your minion as long as you promise not to work me to death,” you laughed.

“From the looks of today, I won’t have to,” Anna muttered while stretching her arms and legs out. “Ughhh I’m so soreeeee,” she whined.

You felt your back muscles spasm just hearing the words. There was honestly nothing more you wanted than to lay in bed and have someone feed you.

“Are you still going out with Jungkook tonight?” Anna asked, flipping over to her stomach and propping herself on her elbows to get a good look at you.

“I guess so. I’m just so exhausted. And hungry,” you crossed your arms over your face.

“Well I’m sure Jungkook would feed you,” Anna rolled her eyes.

“No, I know. I’m just… I don’t know. I’m tired and honestly, I feel like seeing him tonight is gonna be too much for one day. I may just text and see if he would be okay if we didn’t do anything tonight. I just feel bad if I cancel plans.”

“Don’t feel bad. I’m sure he would understand being busy.”

“Yeah, you’re right…”

“Okay, HOW ABOUT you text him and tell him you wanna reschedule, and then me and you can absolutely gorge on some pizza and watch trashy TV until we pass out. You can’t tell me that doesn’t sound better,” Anna exclaimed.

“You do make it sound tempting,” you said, half-laughing. “Ughh, I think I’m gonna do it. Maybe I can just see him tomorrow.”

You felt all of your muscles tense and burn as you slowly raised yourself from the bed to take you cell phone off of the charger. Just a few texts to Jungkook.

You smiled.

“We’re good,” you told Anna. “Now please will you order a pizza before I die?”

“I’m already on it sister,” she said haphazardly, eyes focused in on her phone, presumably starting the order.

‘My girl?!’ Your heart started to beat a bit faster and you were sure you turned ten shades of pink. If butterflies in your stomach were real, you would have had an entire butterfly garden in there.

Instant embarrassment. Instant.

Fireworks. Fireworks in your heart. That’s the only way you could explain it. The way you kicked your feet and smiled at your phone, you looked like you’d transported back to middle school, thinking about your first ever crush. Your mind went blank, filling with nothing but bliss and hope. As you giggled under your breath, hoping you could hold out for a little bit before Anna noticed, you decided you could toy with him a little bit. See where this goes.

More fireworks. This time moving into your stomach and taking over where the butterflies used to hold residence.

Your stomach was doing somersaults. What to even say back to that? Keeping up the flirting wouldn’t hurt anyone, would it?

At that point, you’d had about all you could handle. Your heart was beating excitedly and you needed to clear your head from all the feelings that were floating around. You needed a break from your phone. As you sighed with a smile, you laid your phone on the bed beside you. You thought about that first flirty text. What it really would be like for Jungkook to be here right now. With you. FULLY with you. To have his body wrapped around yours.

Maybe he’d be running his hands through your hair or rubbing your back. Maybe you’d be clinging to his tight arms or tracing along the edges of his tattoos. Maybe he’d tell you how pretty you looked all cozy next to him. Maybe he’d adjust his arm underneath you to pull you closer into him. Maybe he’d look down at you with big eyes, tongue running over his lips to catch the metal of his piercing, tonguing it back and forth. Maybe he’d want you to do that to him too.

‘Jesus Christ, I need to get a grip.’

You made yourself sit upright, groaning as you went from the pain. When would this medicine kick in?

“Did you place the order?” you asked Anna who was still on her phone.

“Mmhm,” she responded absentmindedly.

“Okay, just let me know how much I owe you,” you said as you stood up.

You waltzed your way to the bathroom so you could brush through your hair and get started on drying it.

However, after getting product in your hair and getting it half-way dried, Anna interupted.

“Pizza’s here!” she yelled, her voice floating from the bedroom to the front door.

You didn’t care if your head was still wet. At this point, food was more important. You could basically feel yourself salivating. Your stomach rumbled just at the mention of food.

As you stepped out of the bathroom, the corner of your periphery revealed a confused-looking Anna with… well, not pizza, in her hands.

“Oh my gosh!” she squeaked, as she moved the basket from her hands to the small table in the front room.

You examined it over. A medium-sized basket wrapped neatly with a big bow around it. Inside was some chocolate, some snacks and candies, some pain relief medication, a heating pad, and… ‘Oh my goodness. How cute.’ Some pre-made packets of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.

Your goofy smile gave it away. “I was just talking about how bad I wanted some hot chocolate the other day… with Jungkook," you beamed just saying his name. “On our date, I told him how I would always have it in this cold weather with my family. And how much I was missing them…” your eyes started to tear the tiniest bit at his sweet gesture.

Attached to the chocolate was a small note:

“Y/N, I hope you can rest up well tonight. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow! Please share with Anna! —Jungkook”

You giggled like a school girl as you quickly went to grab your phone from the bedroom and send a thank you text to Jungkook. This was the very last thing you’d expected.

*Send* ‘But I guess, expect the unexpected when it comes to this man,’ you let out a dreamy breath, letting your heart revel in his gesture.

Anna came strolling into the room and made her way behind you.

She cleared her throat before she began speaking. “I mean clearly you guys have made up and all, but are you sure you aren’t moving on from everything else too quickly?” She looked serious.

“What do you mean? It’s just a gift basket. I mean it’s sweet, but it’s not like I’m in an exclusive relationship with this man or anything.”

“No, I know. It’s just… I mean do we trust him? I’m not doubting your judgement, it’s just… you trust him enough to give him our hotel and room number?”

Oh fuck…

“I didn’t.”

————————————————

✨ Continue to ➡️ Chapter 10

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✨ check out my masterlist for more

✨ thank you SO MUCH for being patient with me during this series!

tags: @lailac13 @freyjhasdesiredreality @shellyyy177

[chlocxli]

Let me get my head aligned Help my life be worth your while

December 27th, 2022 8:38am

The first thing Chloe thinks is it’s way too damn early for the phone to be ringing already. After the past two days spent in the Otherrealm, she’d give anything to sleep for twenty-four hours straight, but the painful sound of her default ringtone vibrates across her bedside table, filling the room with this piercing tone that she can’t ignore. Especially as she grumbles awake, fumbling for the phone from where her face is buried in the pillow. 

Frankly, she’d let it go to voicemail, but with the anxiety that the world could fall apart again at any moment, she’d rather just answer and know if someone else was already on the precipice of death or if this was Connor having a crisis over Esme having a crisis, or whatever other typical Tuesday chaos could erupt from their little Midnight Underground chaos. 

“Hello,” She greets, groggily, voice still hoarse and tired from sleep. 

“LiLi! Are you still asleep?” 

Gregory Li’s voice floats through the receiver and Chloe groans. She had completely forgotten she agreed to call them after she got back from her... camping trip for the holiday. Even as Awares, Chloe didn’t feel like telling her parents she was going to be in a dangerous, magical fae realm with her best friend, the werewolf, and his wife the fae for Christmas. Saying she was going camping and would be without service until the evening of the 26th seemed like a safer bet. 

Of course, between her evening with Nora, and the absolute stress of the whole Poelanran, it had slipped her mind to call her parents and wish them a Merry Christmas, and so now she was being woken up at— she pulls the phone away from her ear to check the time —8:30 am, apparently, to chat instead. 

“Baba, time difference, remember? It’s only 8:30 here.” 

“And, the early bird catches the worm.” 

“Yes, well, the early bird works the evening shift at a Casino, yeah?”

There’s a sound of something like dismissal over the line, lighthearted, but she knew this was not the last time she would get a call in the early hours of the morning while her Dad could not conceptualize timezones well enough to understand that the afternoon for him was basically sunrise for her.

“Aye, well LiLi, I wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t for the fact that you forgot to call us after your Christmas camping trip. How was that? It was your friend’s birthday, right? What’s his name again, Conall?”

“Connor, Baba. But, yeah, his birthday is on Christmas day.”

“Well, that must be difficult, what with Christmas. How does he manage that?”

“Connor doesn’t really celebrate Christmas. He celebrates Solstice, you know? Like Grammy and I did.” 

Gregory was a good man at heart. Born and raised by May Li, he watched her descent into the obsession with her gift. His Father left at some point, moving to Portland, Maine when all the sights his Mother would claim to see became too much. He watched the way it destroyed his Mother from the inside out despite the face she tried to put on to keep all his worries at bay. He watched as she lost herself into journal after journal, sometimes in lieu of housework or school functions. 

In their small town of Camden, news travelled fast of her odd behavior and visions. Many people thought it to be the Devil that had touched his family, others viewed her as a mentally ill woman, and a poor pitiful Son trying to hold his two person family together. Gregory knew she was no liar and no crazy in terms of what she saw, but he also knew that all of her investment into her gift was driving her mad and sending her into isolation. 

When Chloe was born, it immediately became an uphill battle. Anna Mei, his wife, and himself did not want Chloe to be given the sight. Anna had not even grown up surrounded by the world he had. She believed there could be an element of the Devil involved in it all, and she didn’t want that touch her Daughter. 

But, Gregory knew more truth than her. Chloe would see things, their family cursed by Cicerone to allow those atrocities to be witnessed only to be strung up and called a witch or a freak by the people around them. He thought by pushing his Mother to leave Chloe be, he was doing her a service. The gift could end with her, and Chloe could grow up a normal girl. 

But, his Mother had all be insisted. Assured him that Chloe would be different. That she had seen it, she was destined to be a powerful Seer like May’s own Great Grandmother.

And, despite himself, he acquiesced with the caveat that he would not support it. If May were to do this, Chloe would be her responsibility. 

That he had followed through on. His Mother died, unexpectedly, when Chloe was only twelve. Still untrained and uncontrolled her visions, unaware of much of her family history. History that Gregory refused to impart. She had been given some of the journals, with the exception of his Great Grandmother’s which he feared would tell her too much of Ruì’s story. Plant ideas in her head that she could be something more than she was. 

All he wanted was to protect his daughter.

“Ah, well, I suppose that works in his favor, then. Didn’t realize he was so similar to you, LiLi. Is he a Seer, too then?”

She can hear the switch in his voice. It’s less lively than before. He’s already upset, and they hadn’t even discussed anything worth being upset about yet other than Solstice. “No, Baba, he’s not. Like I mentioned, there’s a lot of different kinds of people here. I promise, there are more than just Oracles in the world.” She tries to make it sound like a joke, but it doesn’t quite land the way she wants it to.

“Right.” 

Great. This was going well. 

“I really think you’d like Connor, Baba. He’s smart. He has an English Degree, and got into UCLA even though he couldn’t go. And, we were talking about doing some furniture flipping for my new apartment. I thought maybe you could help us with steps and some history stuff.”

There’s silence on the other end for a bit, and Chloe squeezes her eyes shut, just waiting for this all to implode. “He’s a part of your little club?” 

That was one way to refer to the Midnight Underground. 

“Yes, Baba, he is. But, it’s not that big of a deal. He’s not all evil like you seem to think everyone in this city is. He’s my friend, and a very good person. I promise you would like him.”

She winces as the words leave her mouth, shuffling so she’s sitting up in bed now. The Underground was always a fight strater between the two of them. Chloe had never been one to be particularly good at leaving well enough alone. And when it came to Connor, she couldn’t help but defend him. Even if there was a possibility that it was going to turn this conversation into a fight.

“Chloe,” The Given Name. Now Chloe knew this was going to turn into a fight, “I’ve told you what your Mother and I think about you being there. I don’t understand why you don’t just come home. Anna doesn’t even know how you can stand a city like Vegas. Don’t you miss New England? Maine?”

He had watched his Daughter grow up a Seer after losing his Mother. Lost in the world, seeing things just like May. He watched her become the town pariah in a sense, the girl who saw things. The one just like her Grandmother. Possesed. Demonic. Ill. Everything he had tried to protect her from had just come right back around. 

And then her Best Friend died, and she hollowed. The once bright, bubbly girl seemed to collapse in on herself like a supernova, leaving a black hole where his Daughter used to be. When she finally graduated, she was gone within two weeks. Phone calls were inconsistent, and here whereabouts were almost never clear for years. It was like he was grasping desperately at the shell of the girl he had raised as he tried as much as he could to get her back. 

Like some sick, twisted jab from his Great Grandmother, he remembers the day she called from Vegas so clearly. It was the first time he had heard so much life in her voice in years. She sounded happy. And, he felt like a horrible Father for dreading it. But, he knew that Vegas had been the beginning of the end for their family. Proud, powerful Seers had ended when Ruì left. After everything she had seen, she thought it better to be forsaken by the God she had once worshiped then to be a part of that world still. She had moved her family so far from the very place his Daughter had landed and felt she had some ‘connection’ to. She didn’t know how right she was, and certainly didn’t have the heart to tell his Daughter the truth. Because, if she knew the truth, how would she react? 

It would be anger. She was always angry that he hadn’t helped her more. That he had left her on her own. But, he was just doing what he knew to be right. What Ruì knew to be right, too. May had imparted more than enough on her, what Chloe did with it from there had always and was always going to be her business.

So, he played dumb. He pretended like he didn’t know the significance of Vegas or Chloe’s connection to the city. He could only hope that she would never find herself in the middle of it all. That he had kept her in the dark enough that her power would not be enough to draw attention. 

“Dad,” Chloe cuts in to his thoughts, “I like it here. I do. I fit in, I have friends and a life here. I own my own apartment now, even. I’m doing well. Can’t you just be happy for me?”

“You know what I think of all of that, Chloe.” 

She scoffs. “You don’t leave much to the imagination. You know, you’re no better than anyone else in Camden, right?” 

“And, what is that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like, Dad. You sat there telling me that people would hate me for my visions. You watched them treat me like a freak, and told me that was the way things were. That you loved me, but that was just how it was going to be. I’m important here. I’ve helped save peoples lives. And, you continue to act like I’m doing something wrong being a part of something where I’m treated good and loved. Why?” 

“LiLi, what happens when they don’t like what you see? Or you’re wrong?” 

Well, from her last vision? The world would likely be destroyed.

“Are they still going to love you when people die on your watch,” Gregory continues, “No. They’ll turn on you. They’ll hurt you, just like everyone else would. You may think you fit in there and that you belong, but you don’t. You’re just a kid.”

“I am twenty-six. Twenty-six. I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and I am choosing to stay here. You’re wrong, okay? You’re just wrong.”

“I love you. And, I am trying to protect you, Chloe.” 

She swings around in the bed, so she’s sitting up, feet hitting the floor to ground her. Chloe knows where her Father’s heart is, but she also knows how incredibly misguided and unfair he’s being. He believes he knows everything, but he’s not a Seer. He’s not the family Oracle. He doesn’t understand all that she’s facing.

“I don’t need you to protect me! If you can even call it that. All my life, all you’ve ever done is try to keep me in the dark. Why, Dad? Not for me. It’s because it made you uncomfortable. You tried to do it to Grandma, and now you’re trying to do it to me, too. Why? What is so wrong with me? Do you think I’m a freak, too? Possessed? I know Mama does, but do you?”

Silence falls over the line again, and Chloe can hear the muffled sounds of shuffling and then muttering. Clearly she had struck some sort of nerve. Or, better yet, maybe she had hit the nail on the head. Maybe she had finally cracked the case, and had learned the truth about the fact that her Father saw her as nothing more than a freak.

“Chloe, if you think I have any goal other than to look at for you, you are sorely mistaken. I saw first hand what visions did to your Grandmother, and heard stories about what they did to her Mother before her. And her Mother before her. I know more about this than you do. You were a little girl.” 

“Then why didn’t you tell me anything? Huh? Do you not trust me? If you know so much more than me, why am I trying to scrape together bits and pieces of my family history by myself? If this was really about love and protection, then you’d give me the education I need to protect myself.” That’s not what this was about it. It was about fear. Chloe just wishes she could figure out where that fear was coming from. “Am I just not good enough for you, or something? What is it, Dad?”

“We’re not getting into this again. Chloe, I love you. Your Mama loves you. Whether you chose to believe it or not, all we want for you is the best.”

Chloe lets her head fall against her hand, the heel of her palm pressed against her temple. It’s like this every time, a never ending cycle of this fight where Chloe asks for what she believes to be simple: Answers. And, everytime, she’s shut down. Told that she’s loved, and that her family only wants what’s best. Even if they won’t listen to her about what she believes is best.

“Baba, I gotta go, okay? I need to meet a friend for Breakfast.” 

“Okay, LiLi. I love you, alright? Call again soon?” 

“Love you too. Yeah. I’ll call.” 

The line disconnects, and Chloe tosses her phone into the pile of sheets on her bed, frustrated groan falling past her lips as she drops her head into her hands, willing away the small headache that’s formering at her temples. She’ll never understand her Father’s insistence that she’s not capable handling this. That he, a normal person with no sight, knows more about what she’s facing than her. It’s always been clear to her that she’s on her own in all of this. She has been since she was a teenager. All she can hope for is that Lilith finds something that gives her the explanation her parents refuse to.

[99liv3s]

A Quite Different Attraction

Anna stood beside her best friend, Amber, reading the sign in front of the building her friend had pulled her over to! The two of them were on vacation, and had seen lots of sights and done lots of things, but they were looking for something different, and Amber thought she had found such a unique and unheard of experience when she found this "attraction" the two of them were now standing in front of.

"Instant Pregnancies!"

"Experience the wonder and sensation of being pregnant and giving birth, all in the span of 20 minutes! One of our staff will assist in putting a baby inside you and monitoring you during the process! Additionally, you may choose weather or not to keep the baby afterward, or donate it to our New Life clinics!"

"Cost: $30 a person, no more than 3 persons at one time."

"Disclaimer: This procedure requires intimate access to your body - Experience at your own risk!"

Amber brushed her long black hair out of her face and looked at Anna, her brown eyes twinkling. "Let's do it," she said excitedly!! "It's something neither of us have done, and it'll be quite the experience!"

Anna ran her fingers through her short blonde hair, thinking. "I dunno, Amber," she said apprehensively, though she was also curious, "I mean, it sounds a little suspicious."

"Oh, come on, Anna, haven't you ever just wanted to be pregnant??" Amber asked, beaming.

Anna shook her head with a snort of laughter. "No, I'm not you!" She responded, though in her mind, she was just as intrigued as her friend, though maybe more cautious than her.

"It's only $30, and we don't even get stuck with a kid afterward," Amber pleaded. "What's the harm in trying it out?"

Anna looked at the sign again, her green eyes scanning the advertisement. She WAS curious about this, both the sensation of being pregnant and how this "attraction" would manage to pull off pregnancy and birth in 20 minutes, something that normally took months. "Ok, I'm in!" Anna said, nodding.

Amber practically cheered, and the two of them eagerly entered the building.

They were greeted by a young woman behind a counter, who smiled at them. "We're here for the instant pregnancies," Amber said to her. The woman nodded. "Excellent," she said. "Both of you are participating, I assume?" Amber nodded, and as the two of them paid and gave their names, Anna asked, "How does it work??" The woman continued to smile, as if this wasn't the first time she had been asked this. "Well, it works like you'd expect any pregnancy to work," she answered. "One of our staff will insert his sperm into you, and impregnate you, it all just happens at a faster pace is all." She smiled at the expressions of shock, confusion, and wonder on the girls' faces. "I know, you are wondering what makes it so fast," she continued. "Well, our staff have all undergone special fertility treatments, which are combined with a pill both of you lovely ladies will be required to take before I let you back." The woman placed two pills on the counter, one for each of them. Anna, now almost trembling with excitement despite her previous reluctance, grabbed her pill and swallowed it, followed by Amber a second later.

"Daniel will be the one assisting both of you this evening," the woman said, looking at her computer screen as the girls took their pills. "Now, head down the hall behind me to room C!" "Go in, and Daniel will be with you both shortly!"

The girls made their way to room C and entered it. It was a moderately sized room, with two chairs and two beds inside it, along with a mirror on the wall next to the door they had used to enter. Amber sat in one of the chairs as Anna positioned herself on the foot of one of the beds, looking around. Not even a minute had passed when a young, dark haired man entered the room, wearing a staff coat, which he immediately took off!

"Greetings, lovely ladies," he said to them, smiling warmly. "I'm Daniel, and I'll be your support staff member today!" "Who wishes to go first??"

Amber and Anna looked at each other, both silently asking each other if they wanted to go first. Amber was thinking that, since she was the one that convinced Anna to do this in the first place, it was only fair that Amber go first, but then Anna spoke up timidly...

"I... I will go first," she said in a soft voice. Daniel smiled brightly at her and started to undress. "Very well, Anna, I think your name was! Please take off your clothing!"

Anna did so, removing everything but her bra, as Daniel had finished getting completely naked and approached her. "I'm nervous," Anna squeaked out, not making eye contact with anyone. Daniel placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I will do everything I can to be gentle and make you as comfortable as possible!" Daniel said softly, and there was something reassuring to his voice. Anna nodded, as if giving approval, then Daniel entered her.

He really was gentle, and Anna found herself gasping as he bounced against her, once, twice, three times. She squeaked in surprise as she saw her belly start to swell instantly, as she felt Daniel release into her. Daniel didn't make a sound through the entire experience, and then a few minutes later, with Anna sporting a 9-month pregnant belly, Daniel pulled out of her, smiling.

"See?" Daniel said gently and warmly, patting Anna on the top of the head and ruffling her short blonde hair. "It wasn't so bad, was it??" Anna didn't respond, too busy looking down at her belly, admiring herself. She rubbed it, feeling the baby inside move around. "Oh wow!" Anna breathed. She looked up into Amber's eyes. "It feels great," Anna said to her. "You're going to love it!"

Amber immediately jumped up and said "Ok, do me now!!" She quickly undressed as Daniel laughed softly. Within minutes, Daniel was in her, thrusting softly. Anna watched them as she continued to rub her belly, smiling!! Happily, she thought, "I have a pregnant belly of my very own, and soon Amber will have one too!!"

Amber filled up just as quickly as Anna had done, and when Daniel pulled out, Amber was sporting a full term bump that rivaled Anna's, smiling happily and rubbing it. Daniel redressed as Amber started cooing and talking softly to her belly.

"My job is also to assist you with the births," Daniel said to them. "You'll have about 10 minutes to enjoy your pregnancy before labor begins." "I'm here to help any way I can, though some couples and even friends have found it a much more intimate and enjoyable experience to have only each other for support, and refuse the help of staff during labor." "If you would prefer that, then..."

"Yeah," Amber said, as Anna nodded. "We prefer to be alone during labor! Just us!!"

"Very well," Daniel said, smiling. "The room is all yours until the babies are born." "I will give you both some privacy!" "Make yourselves comfortable any way you can!" "When you are ready to leave, just press that button by the door and I or another staff member will assist you!" Daniel opened the door and said "Enjoy your pregnancies!" before closing it again, leaving the girls alone to admire themselves and each other.

It was the most glorious 10 minutes the two girls had ever experienced in their lives. They rubbed and felt each other's bellies, compared the sizes of them, (Anna's was slightly bigger), and talked about how much they enjoyed feeling pregnant, and wondering which of them would go into labor first.

Quite suddenly, Anna felt the baby drop into her hips and let out a cry of pain. "AAAHHH!!" "Amber, I think I'm in labor!!"

Amber responded with a loud moan of her own. "I...I am too!"

The two girls clutched their bellies, moaning and crying as the pain and pressure built. They decided to walk around the room, slowly waddling and whimpering as the contractions quickly worsened. Then, after a few minutes of this, Anna felt her water break, and a splash told her Amber's had too.

"AAAHHH, I NEED TO PUSH!!" Amber screamed out and immediately bore down, as Anna fell back onto one of the beds, panting!! "It hurts!!" She cried. "Amber, it hurts!"

"I know," Amber responded "But just push when you feel like you have toooooooo!!" Amber let out a long moan as the baby pushed through her birth canal. Using the mirror on the opposite wall, Amber could see the head already beginning to crown.

Anna was crying hysterically. She wailed when the baby pushed, and her legs trembled as a head began to poke out of her as well. Amber pushed hard, realizing that her friend needed her badly, to coach her. Amber tried to ignore the pain as she pushed the head out. "AAAAHHHHHH!!" she screamed as the head crowned and then popped out, just as Anna gave the most horrible scream yet. "I'm coming, Anna baby, I'm coming!" Amber said, panting, the head hanging between her legs.

Anna screamed and screamed as the baby began to emerge. Faintly, she heard a baby crying from Amber's corner of the room, and then her friend was there next to her, clutching her hand and trying to calm her. "It's ok, Anna, it's ok," Amber told her. "Oh, God, it hurts," Anna cried between heavy breaths. "Anna, you gotta push," Amber said to her, gently but firmly.

Anna pushed, and then let out a cry of agony as the baby crowned. "IT BURNS!!" Anna yelled. "AAAAHHHHH!!" Amber watched as the head emerged, realizing that this baby was bigger than the one she herself had birthed. Amber squeezed Anna's hand as the girl screamed and screamed, stretching her legs even wider to accommodate the large head. After another minute of this, the head finally popped out and Amber caught the baby as it slid from Anna's vagina.

Anna's baby was a 10 pound boy, Amber's a 6 pound girl. The friends found that whatever had accelerated their pregnancies and births also made them recover almost instantly. The two girls decided to send the babies to the New Life Clinic, where they would be adopted by families that wanted children but couldn't have them of their own. As the two girls left the attraction, chatting happily about the experience, they decided that they would one day come back and do it again, and maybe even bring friends!!

End!

[hiccanna-tidbits]

The RotBTD+ Gang Plays DnD! (Feat. my ships, sorry not sorry XD)

So highkey I’ve actually been wanting to do a “The Gang Plays DnD” type post for AGES now, but then I saw @hobie-brown and @ohlooksheswriting-wips do DnD AU posts for RotBTD, and then I was like “Ah shit, I really should finish mine, eh?” So thank you to both of you for inspiring me to get off my ass and actually write the post!!!

Hiccup DMs. He comes up with this super complex plot revolving around dragons (because of course) where the party has to dismantle this society ruled by evil knights who want to genocide all of the dragons. Imagine his chagrin when the party wants to do nothing but fuck around in towns and aggravate NPCs 90% of the time.

They usually end up playing at Jack’s apartment, mainly because Hiccup’s dad doesn’t really want a bunch of loud nerds yelling about 20-sided dice in his household while he’s trying to work, if he can at all help it. Jack’s sister regularly barges into their living room and roasts the fuck out of Jack and his friends for being such damn nerds and eats all of their DnD snacks they’ve set out. If they’re in the middle of a combat session, she always gleefully proclaims that they’re all going to die. While Jack is annoyed by this, the rest of the party finds it deeply hilarious.

Jack Overland plays the absolute mayhem warlock Jack Frost, who got his powers through making a deal with the archfey Prince of Frost and has absolutely no qualms about being an evil god’s mortal Sower of Chaos. He spends the vast majority of the campaign doing such useful things as creating ice slicks under annoying NPCs and freezing people’s drinks. He also plays a Tiefling because absolutely no one can talk this boy out of playing the creepy demon race.

Rapunzel plays a woodland nymph druid who is also the party healer (because of course she is). Her name is probably Sunlily or something else suitably hippie-esque. Whenever there’s downtime (or whenever the rest of the party is also dicking around, and she can get away with it), Rapunzel likes to go into the nearest forest and pick the best berries and nuts for the rest of the party. She also loves baking fruit pies and cooking the best nymph food for her companions when given the chance. Definitely the party Cinnamon Roll (every party has one!). She often will turn into cute animals to distract the guards while the party infiltrates a building.

Merida’s character is the party archer and general ranged weapon master, as well as a raging lesbian. Hiccup learns very quickly that any male NPC who tries to flirt with her will very quickly get impaled with an arrow. She can’t ever decide if she wants to be a ranger or a rogue, so she multiclasses in both for flare. She also plays a Tiefling, and continually insists that her character is both scarier and sexier than Jack’s. In combat, she either Leeroy Jenkins her way in with a sword and just starts slashing every which way, or just shoots 90% of the enemies with arrows before the fight even starts. There’s really no in between. She can get away with this because she’s highkey one of the party tanks, and consistently deals a shitton of damage.

Anna plays a human bard, basically having read over the class options and going “Wait, in this one I get to make stylish medieval music??? And wear dramatic and garish outfits and a dumb hat??? And cast wacky illusion spells??? And do silly little magic tricks??? And INSPIRE EVERYONE??? Hell yeah, I’m in!!!” She mostly uses magic attacks in combat (definitely favors Tasha’s Hideous Laughter), but occasionally when she’s out of spell slots she’ll just take to slamming enemies in the face with her lute. She also has WAY too much fun with Vicious Mockery, let’s be real.

Elsa, upon hearing Jack’s character concept, rolls her eyes so far up in her head she can see her damn brain, and vows to play his concept, but serious–solely out of spite. She rolls up a super OP elf Chaos Sorcerer, filled with lots of brooding angst about how uncontrollable her winter powers can get if she isn’t careful. She combines it a bit with Storm Sorcerer so she can create literal blizzards, and Hiccup ends up allowing it just because he thinks it’s cool. Although Elsa’s character is undoubtedly aggravated by the rest of the party’s antics, she starts becoming grudgingly protective of these idiots and can deal some pretty crazy damage when her companions are threatened. She also contains one of the party’s only brain cells.

Eugene of course plays dashing rogue master thief Flynn Rider. Although his high deception and lockpicking skills certainly come in handy, he’s the most chaotic neutral fucker you’ve ever met and will take any excuse to rob NPCs blind or cheat them out of every cent they have in a tavern card game. It’s nigh impossible to get him to cooperate with the rest of the party much of the time, and often Elsa’s character has to either bribe him with some of her family’s gold or threaten to freeze him to stop him backstabbing one or more party members. Eugene’s character forces Hiccup to add in many more heist plotlines than he originally intended. This delights Eugene immensely, and sometimes he goes a bit crazy planning elaborate heists.

Moana plays a sorcerer water genasi. She can control any body of water, but she has a special affinity for controlling saltwater (i.e. the ocean lol). She also requests an animal handling bonus, but only with marine animals, solely because she thought it would be funny. She’s also an ex-pirate who robbed a lot of wealthy merchant ships and freed their slaves back in the day, which Merida thinks is incredibly badass. Moana tends to get bored and unengaged when there are no bodies of water to play around with, so Hiccup ends up having to add a lot more lakes, rivers, and oceans to the campaign than he originally planned on. Moana also takes a sailing skill, and thus the party often ends up traveling by boat. Typically Eugene and Rapunzel will infiltrate and hijack it, and Moana will sail it. Moana probably contains the party’s only other brain cell.

Astrid plays a gigantic berserker orc barbarian who is never without his trusty axe. Astrid is hands down the party’s top tank, and unquestionably deals the most damage every combat session. Much like Merida’s character, Astrid’s character is absolutely a shameless power fantasy. Hiccup pretty easily picks up on this, but is too polite to say anything about it. Jack also picks up on this, but is hardly as courteous as their DM, and teases Astrid mercilessly. Astrid is not amused.

Rapunzel requests that her weapon of choice be a frying pan, her justification being that her character found a discarded one at the edge of a human village outside her woods and mistaked it for a highly-dangerous human weapon. Hiccup is like “…you know what? Fuck it” and rolls up stats for a goddamn frying pan. Jack has nigh-endless admiration for Rapunzel for choosing such a goddamn memey, absurd, yet oddly effective weapon and it definitely makes the poor boy even more smitten with her than he already is.

Eugene and Merida have a bet going on who can sleep with more sexy barmaids. Merida is currently winning, much to Eugene’s chagrin. She’s not even inherently better at seducing NPCs, she and Eugene have the same charisma stat–she just consistently rolls better than Eugene. Eugene is incredibly salty about this.

Anna and Elsa want to be sisters in-game as well, but neither want to change their race–so Anna decides her character was adopted. Hiccup and the rest of the party go along with it, mainly because there’s something deeply hilarious about a regular human bard being adopted and raised by a family of high-powered elf ice mages.

Astrid is absolutely the sort of player who tends to get bored and restless outside of fights, and tends to fidget and twiddle her thumbs waiting for the next combat session. Jack picks up on this, and purposely does more roleplay for longer just to piss her off. He’s also just a very dramatic fucker and highkey loves roleplay.

When she’s not causing mayhem around the town or sleeping with hot women, Merida tries to entertain Astrid between combat sessions by offering to spar with her. Unfortunately, this does not usually end well for poor Merida, as even the most hardcore and badass of tieflings is prone to getting dumpstered by an 8-foot-tall barbarian orc with an axe. Astrid is, nonetheless, grateful to have someone to fight.

Rapunzel, Elsa, and Moana will humor Hiccup and attempt to actually play the main plot. Meanwhile, Jack, Merida, and Eugene are a DM’s worst nightmare. They constantly derail the damn campaign to fuck around, cause mayhem, and do inane shenanigans in every. Damn. Town. They go to. Anna is kind of a wildcard–she’ll typically go with whatever group looks like they’re going to be doing something more interesting. Astrid will go along with whichever group is more likely to get into a fight–which, often as not, is Jack and his posse of terrible Chaotic Neutrals (who have definitely pissed off a number of NPCs into attacking them).

As the campaign goes on, Elsa and Eugene become the beleaguered Party Mom and Dad. Both are quite aggravated by this–especially poor Eugene, who just wanted to play a morally-gray charming rogue who stole everything and got away with it and then accidentally ended up caring about these idiots he got stuck with.

Anna initially joins the campaign because she has a planet-size crush on Hiccup, and inevitably is the one who dragged Elsa into it too. Being the hopeless romantic that she is, Anna writes a love interest into her backstory. Hiccup eventually has the party run into said love interest, and Anna is overjoyed. He starts flirting with her as the love interest, and it’s easily the best 30 minutes of Anna’s life.

Moana and Elsa also give Hiccup pretty detailed backstories, and he works in little subplots for them. Moana gets to bring water back to a dying part of the jungle in the middle of a draught, while Elsa gets to go on a whole sidequest to explore her family history and how they came to be sorcerers.

Jack, Merida, and Eugene also give Hiccup fairly elaborate backstories, but Jack’s and Merida’s are like 99% memes and Dumb Shit. Hiccup tries to give all of them backstory-related plot hooks, but inevitably any hooks he provides are either stabbed, robbed, or frozen. Honestly any plot hook offered to these 3 will be all but spat in the face of and tossed off a cliff.

The one relevant part of Eugene’s backstory is that he and Rapunzel decide they used to be partners in crime before the campaign started. Rapunzel would infiltrate and scout out places he wanted to rob as small, unobtrusive animals (her preferred Wild Shape is a chameleon) and later distract the guards as a bunny or kitten while he went in and took every gold coin in sight. In return, Flynn Rider would bribe builders to not develop into Sunlily’s forest. Rapunzel and Eugene partly came up with this For Funsies, but also it was Rapunzel’s sneaky way of tricking Eugene into having prior connections in the party so he’d be less likely to betray them. It works pretty well–although the entire party is protective of Cinnamon Roll Sunlily, Flynn is certainly especially protective of her.

Astrid does the absolute bare minimum as far as backstories go. She is literally just here to smash stuff, slice people, and beat some fuckers up.

Rapunzel has a backstory, but she’s typically so invested in the main plot and the other party members that Hiccup rarely needs to bring it in to keep her engaged. She’s highkey the party emotional rock, and probably the only one keeping them all together.

On that note, Rapunzel’s character is the ONLY one who can get Jack’s character to take the plot even REMOTELY seriously. Like he’ll be dicking around in the nearest tavern challenging the nearest orc to a drinking game, and Rapunzel will come in and ask him to help them on a Main Plot Quest. And he’ll be like “come onnnnn I’m having funnn” and she’ll be like “Jack pleeeeeease?” and you just. Can’t resist Sunlily’s puppy dog eyes. At all. Also, whenever Sunlily is genuinely threatened, any silliness immediately goes out the window and Jack Frost is OUT FOR BLOOD.

For better or for worse, Rapunzel is not immune to being looped into Jack’s shenanigans. Occasionally if either Merida or Eugene have a particularly hare-brained scheme she’ll go along with it, but by and large Jack is the most successful in convincing her to temporarily abandon the plot and cause mild mischief with him. They once wasted half a session creating an elaborate “ice theme park” for some squirrels in the forest.

Hiccup tries to get Merida to play the main plot by eventually having there be no more sexy female NPCs to seduce in the towns they go to. Unfortunately, this backfires–Merida just hooks up with Moana’s character instead. When asked to roll for how good the lay is, Merida gets a nat 20–and thus her character and Moana’s character end up hooking up regularly throughout the rest of the campaign.

Hiccup introduces a few Wise Old Mentor-type NPCs to guide the party throughout the campaign. While Rapunzel, Elsa, Moana, and Anna actually try to listen to them and take their advice, Merida, Jack, and Eugene absolutely refuse to take them seriously and mercilessly play pranks on them.

At one point, Hiccup gives the party the option to attempt to tame a group of wild dragons and use them as mounts. They all have to make animal handling checks. Anna, Rapunzel, Elsa, and Moana pass. The rest of the party fails, with Jack and Eugene crit-failing. Hilarity ensues.

Hiccup ends up bringing back Anna’s backstory love interest as an NPC regular. Anna thinks he’s just being a good friend and a good DM and trying to incorporate her backstory as much as he can, but really, he just wants an excuse to regularly flirt with her. He hardly has the balls to out-of-game.

Merida comes out as gay toward the end of the campaign. Everyone in the group is extremely supportive, of course, but everyone is also like “Merida…with the amount of barmaids you’ve banged…and the amount of times you and Moana’s character hooked up…this isn’t exactly surprising.”

Hiccup actually finds a way to use Jack and Elsa’s same-concept-opposite-execution characters to the plot’s advantage. He decides one of the main villains will have a prophecy saying he’ll be taken down by a powerful ice mage. The party manages to fool this guy into thinking this ice mage is Jack, and sends Jack to fight him. As soon as the villain sees Jack, he’s like “WHAT??? THIS clown???” (word has absolutely spread throughout the land of Jack not using his ice powers for anything besides mildly annoying trolling). Naturally, the bad guy lets his guard down after thinking he’s going to fight this literal joke, and then Elsa crashes in from the side and absolutely dumpsters him.

Jack tries to defeat the final boss by just annoying him so much that he leaves. Unfortunately, he just annoys him so much that he attacks Rapunzel’s character. Jack’s just like “oh HELL no” and attacks with absolutely nothing held back. Turns out he’s pretty terrifying when he’s not using his magic for Dumb Antics.

During the final boss of the campaign, the Big Bad tries to one-shot Moana’s character, and Merida’s character super theatrically jumps in front of her to take the blow instead. Rapunzel just barely manages to heal Merida’s character, but it’s a really close call. During all this, Merida is like “ah shit...maybe I’m NOT just in this to get fantasy-laid.” After the fight’s over, her and Moana’s characters have a big dramatic love confession and share a Big Damn Kiss in front of everyone. It’s pretty epic.

After the final session of the campaign, Merida drags Moana outside Jack’s apartment and sputters and trips over her words for a solid minute before she finally gets out that through all this nonsense...well...maybe it’s not just in the game that she thinks Moana is hot. Moana just gets this HUGE grin on her face and says “c’mere, Leeroy Jenkins” and just pulls Merida in and kisses her. Cue the rest of the party barging in on them. Merida and Moana freeze, and there’s a moment of terrified silence...and then the entire party starts cheering them on like “took you long enough!”

The entire rest of the party could detect the sexual tension. Literally all of them.

But Eugene is like “HA, THIS MEANS IF WE DO A SEQUEL CAMPAIGN I’M WINNING THAT BET! BECAUSE YOU’RE GONNA BE DATING MO’S CHAR AND THUS NOT ABLE TO SLEEP WITH ANY MORE BARMAIDS!”

By the epilogue session, Jack and Rapunzel are dating. Merida and Moana are also dating. Hiccup and Anna STILL haven’t figured out why they’re so prone to spending half the session flirting when Anna’s love interest shows up, and Hiccup STILL hasn’t figured out why he likes to have Anna’s love interest show up so often. Bless their souls. Maybe they’ll figure it out next campaign...?

Damn I actually really like this...maybe if people like it I’ll do some incorrect quotes or a drabble or something??? Or maybe some HCs from next campaign???

[thelittleboyfromloveactually]

Two Shorten the Road

part 1

joel dawson x reader

warnings: cussing? idk, bad writing.....fluff, cuteness, monsters(is this a warning), mentions of death, SPOILERS

word count: 2154

prompt: when your best friend decides to leave your colony to go find the love of his life, you decide to join him on his journey even if you aren’t so happy about where this journey is going

Welp I did it, I took it into my own hands. I am writing a joel dawson series. Because we👏need 👏more👏joel👏fics👏 it’s basically the movie, almost the same script but obviously slightly different…ENJOY! <3

No one in my generation or later had a typical upbringing, I mean some of us did but then the world ended. This type of thing sounds straight out of some apocalyptic movie, but we basically live in one now. Agatha 616, an asteroid heading straight for earth, I know, so original. So we all came together and did what we do best, blow things up. Yup, we blew up teh asteroid, and humanity was saved! We thought. But here’s the thing about rockets, they are made of a bunch of chemical compounds which eventually rained back down on earth. Suddenly there were these Aileen creatures that mutated and started eating us. Ants, lizards, roaches, crocodiles, you name it. Our president was even killed by a giant moth. Ya….not so original now huh? We suddenly need tanks to kill ants, oh man I remember the good old days when a shoe would do just fine. Sometimes even the tanks didn’t work. Eventually the really big ones and our military took each other out and we lost 95% of the human population in a year! Those of us who survived hid, bunkers, caves, panic rooms, all around the world. So for the last seven years I’ve been hiding in an underground bunker. It’s really not as bad as it sounds, and it’s better than getting eaten alive. It’s a great group of people and we all love each other.

“Are you sure they’re asleep?”

“Who?”

“Y/N and joel!”

“Oh ya I’m sure”

“Joel? Y/n?”

“He’s asleep”

Actually we are both awake. Me and my best friend joel have kinda mastered faking being asleep. Our beds are right across from each other so we normally just lie there and make stupid faces at each other. We are the only two single people in our bunker. Nice huh? Joel is my best friend. I met him when I joined the colony. He’s the sweetest. It’s funny cause everyone thinks we should just have sex already because that’s literally all everyone else does. But we are way above that. Anyway, joel is in love with his girlfriend from before the colony, her name is Aimee. With one “I” and two “e”s. He loves to talk about her, he writes her letters. So in reality, I am the only one who is not in love in this bunker. I’ve never had a boyfriend, ever, even before the world ended.

We don’t really get any sleep. The moaning kinda keeps us awake. I got up and out of my bed and headed for the kitchen. I heard Joel’s bed creak and then his footsteps as he followed behind me. Another annoying thing about being down here is that to get to the kitchen from my room, you have to walk though other people’s bedrooms. Oh shit, they are busy, why would they leave their door open. Me and Joel stopped.

“Oh” joel and I said in unison

“Hey Y/N! Hey Joel!” Ava said

“Oh hey Ava” Joel said, we didn’t dare look over to our left.

“Y/N how’s it going?” Tim asked

“T-totally good tim, h-how are you doing” I asked

“Yeah, good” he responded

“I uh we couldn’t sleep” said Joel looking at the ceiling

“Ya we know the feeling” Ava said with a laugh

“Yeah probably not for the…..same reasons” joel said looking straight ahead

“Your guyses door was open, did you…did you know that?” I asked

“Yeah we know” they said

I shook my head and knitted my eyebrows together

“Okay” joel trailed off

Ever since Tim’s parents were eaten by a swarm of termites he and Ava have gotten really close, in every way.

“Okay, goodnight” joel said as we walked

Basically everyone is coupled up down here, a baby was born last winter! Welcome to the apocalypse kid. Ok if we ever get out of this, that would be an awesome story to tell your kids. “Oh ya I was born in an underground bunker doing a monster apocalypse” “yes exactly like World War Z but with bugs bigger than a 5 story building”. I mean come on.

So your probably wonder how the hell we get food, we’ll we have a cow. Gurdy. Gurdy is great. We also have a hunting party that brings back whatever they can from the surface. It’s gotten harder and harder, cause we ran out of bullets. And facing one of those things with a handmade weapon is just as hard as it sounds. It’s very very difficult. I go with them….sometimes. I still get scared. But I’ve been out quite a lot, especially compared to my man joel over here. I’ve been out maybe 30 times, he’s been out…maybe once, or not even. He’s the chef of the bunker. He makes super good Minestrone.

Me and joel like to hang out with Mavis. A robot. Yup. Not much for conversation, her batter is shot. Just like every other mavis I would imagine. When I’m not hunting we hang out with her. But sometimes I just go read. Reading and joel keep me sane. I mean sometimes joel drives me insane but I still love him. I have quite the collection of books too! I’ve got Emma by Jane Austen, a couple random ones that we found, all the hunger games and Harry Potter books, some mysteries that stopped being mysteries after a while, and then of course some smutty romance books for personal entertainment.

Joel likes to say that his thing is target practice. He has never hit the target but ya know, gotta entertain yourself. I think his thing is drawing though, he has this book that he draws in from Aimee. It’s really cool actually. He’s really good.

I sat watching Joel as he tried to hit the target, laughing a little every time he missed. It was cute how hard he tried.

“Shut up” he said shaking his laugh away

I laughed again, but then suddenly the lights started flickering. You could hear screeches and creeks echoing through the bunker. Joel turned to look at me. Worry and determination in his eyes. We both scrambled out of the room and into the kitchen where everyone was preparing.

“Hustle, hustle people we’ve gotta move”

I turned to look at Joel but then realized that he wasn’t next to me. Where did he go? Worry flooded through me. Suddenly the clanking of our weapon started behind me.

“Hey guys!” Joel said as he rammed into the railing, I shook my head. “Guys! I’ve got the weapons” he smiled at me

A few people walked over to him taking them out of his hands

“Stay” said Tim

“W-what?” Joel asked looking around in confusion

Everyone was talking and barking orders “grab what you need and let’s go! Y/N you coming?”

My eyes shot open “yes! Yup!” I jumped up and grabbed the bow and arrow from Joel.

“W-what's happening?” He asked innocently “what’s going on?”

“There’s a breach” said Tim

“What do you mean? Like inside the bunker breach?!” He asked

“Yes joel! Now come on!” I told him, patting him on the pack as I followed the others

He followed me and watched the plan get arranged

“Anna, Y/N and I will engage. Anderson and Tom plank him”

“Plank him, ya ok where do you guys need me? You want me to uh come through the rear or..?” Joel asked eagerly

“I don’t think your going to pass this joel” I told him

“Pass what? You guys need help, let me help” said clutching his crossbow

“You gonna make me say it?” said Sam

“Say what?!” God he was so adorably clueless

“You can’t handle it joel, your shook” said Sam, we all began getting into positions

“Ya ok, yes so you guys don’t get scared..ever?” He asked still getting ready to fight

“We get scared, we all get scared joel, but you get really scared” said Sam

“They are trying to make you feel bad joel” I said sweetly, trying to calm him down

“We love you joel”

“But your a liability”

“Ok why did that speech feel so rehearsed? And what about Y/N? She’s like…ya know?” He said bobbing his head

“Joel-“ suddenly the bunker shook and the lights flicked again

“Ok 30 meters out! Let’s move!” And we were off

Leaving joel and some others behind. You could hear the growling of whatever we were up against

I followed the others and listened carefully. I was freaking shaking. Don’t ask how I got sucked into becoming one the the hunters. Kinda just happened and I was just-

“OH SHIT!” I heard someone yell, it was too dark to see. Someone was gone, that thing took them. I couldn’t even see it. Oh fuck my life. Everyone began scattering, running away from the monster. I stopped running to take a breath, when I realized I was alone. Nicely done Y/N. The lights kept flickering. I heard something blow up in the distance.

“Conned? Conner?” I heard a whisper, one I knew all too well. Shit, joel. I ran toward the sound, and had no idea I was also running toward certain death. I stopped running. There it was, that thing. I’d never seen this before. I didn’t recognize it. I stayed silent, not moving at all. It slowly crawled over a shower curtain. Oh fuck. He was going toward joel! I quickly grabbed my bow and arrow and shot it. Right though the face. Next to its….eye I guess you could call it. Joel stood there, frozen.

I slowly walked over to him “Joel, hey are you ok?” I asked as I slipped my hand into his. He was trembling. Tears ran down his cheeks. He has a bad freezing problem, so I've been helping him work on it.

About an hour later I sat with Joel, still holding his hand as he stared out into space. We could hear everyone talking. How could this have happened?

“It ripped through steal”

“Anderson and I resealed the Breach point, nothings getting in that way again”

“But why did it happen?”

I tried to toon it out, and I hoped Joel did too.

“Joel, do you wanna talk about it?” I asked squeezing his hand, he looked so sad, which just crushed me

He shook his head

“Ok….” I nodded, I leaned into hug him but was interrupted by his voice

“How far away is Aimee's colony?” He asked

I pulled back, looking at him confused. The talking stopped and everyone look at him

“What?” Tim asked

“Aimee’s colony, how far away is it?” He repeated

“About 85 miles” he said as he furrowed his brows

“How long will it take to get there?”

“What do you mean joel?” I asked leaning closer to him

“Just humor me, how long?” He insisted

“7 days” said Tim

“Someone who’s armed and trained would hardly last 50miles, but you…joel” Ava said, I felt bad for him, he really didn’t deserve any of this

“Alright” Tim continued “now I need volunteers”

“I’m gonna go” joel said

No one said anything, they just stared

“It’s an impossible journey joel” said Tim, crossing his arms

Joel stood up, moving around my chair. “No im serious…I love you guys but there’s only one person in this world who ever truly made me happy and she’s only 85 miles away” he said strongly “I’m gonna go see her” I could see his mind was made up

God he was such a romantic, how could you not love this guy? Sure it hurts when your best friend tells you that you didn’t make him truly happy. Especially when you maybe sorta kinda have a crush on him.

He let out a breath “woah, that felt awesome” he said as he walked off to start packing

I stood there for a second processing and thinking, but then suddenly my mouth took over and well….

“I’m coming with you!” I said, he froze “I mean you can’t leave me here with these middle aged people, and your my best friend so” I shrugged

“I’ll come back for you I promise” he walked over to me “I can’t let you put yourself in even more danger” he said grabbing my arms

“I can’t let you put yourself in danger knowing that I could have helped protect you” I said, he stared blankly at me

I smiled “o-ohK…then I guess…” he trailed off

“Cool I’ll go pack” I skipped past him. Was I scared? Hell yes. But like I said, I needed to help joel and protect him in every way I can. And sure I wasn’t so happy that he was returning to his long lost love but if it made him happy then I would live. And anyway, two do shorten the road.

[justthehiddleswrites]

Follow My Lead |Tom Hiddleston x OFC |Chapter 2 | He sipped the wine, avoiding the elephant called his bare ass, in the room

A/N: This will update every Thursday.  There are 13 chapters.  There are all sorts of kinds of D/s relationships.  This is the one I choose to write this time.

Series Masterlist Here

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x OFC (Vivian Swann)

Summary: Tom and Vivian have both been unlucky in love, searching for something outside of the bounds of a typical relationship.  When the two of them connect via a dating app, Tom is introduced to the idea of being submissive to Vivian.  Which is the one thing he never knew he needed.  Under the firm hand of Vivian, Tom learns what it means to submit and Vivian learns what it means to be in a loving dominant relationship.  But not everyone seems to understand what they have and the best intentions can destroy the strongest relationship.

This Chapter:  Tom and Vivian take the first steps in this relationship, including a first date and a first kiss.  And Tom discovers Vivian is not like any other person he has dated before.  Can he step up to the task?

Warnings for story: Dominant/submissive relationship (sub!Tom), lots of smut including but not limited to: vaginal sex, oral sex (male and female receiving), edging, denial, teasing, use of restraints, spanking, multiple orgasm, anal play, use of toys.

Taglists are open!  Please let me know if you wish to be added!  Thank you for reading!

-

Vivian returned to read her book while Tom waited in line for coffee. She didn’t look over her shoulder, but she could tell Tom was sneaking glances at her. He soon returned with two espressos. Vivian preferred a sweeter coffee, but the chocolate chip scone more than made up for it. She replaced the book back into her tote while Tom nervously sipped.

Vivian stared at him as she broke apart the scone with her fingers, popping bites into her mouth. She offered him half of which he accepted with a smile.

“Ask the question, Thomas.” she stated, leaning back in her chair.

Tom chuckled as he folded his hands in his lap. “Am I that transparent?”

“No, that predictable. It’s always the first question.” She finished up the espresso. “Go on, ask it.”

Tom sighed, his face a bundle of nerves. “So how does it work?”

Vivian smirked. “Depends.” Tom’s eyebrows raised and the two of them burst in laughter.

“I deserved that.” Tom laughed.

“Not entirely. But it’s the truth. Every relationship, vanilla or not, is different. But nothing happens without consent.”

“Good to know.” he finished up his coffee and half a scone.

Vivian narrowed her eyes, sizing Tom up with fresh eyes. “You know, if you are looking for kinky sex, there are professionals who can whip your ass and make you lick their boots.”

Tom coughed as he choked on the last of the scone. “Forward, as always. I am well aware of the niche services out there. I am not looking for a one time thing or anything casual. I want a committed relationship. I apologize if I wasn’t clear.”

“No, you were. But I run into a lot of men who say they want a relationship, but what they really want is to play 24/7 and a woman to fulfill all of their dark fantasies. It was never about me. Just a kink dispenser.”

Tom nodded. “I can only imagine the hurt and anger you must have felt.”

It touched Vivian at how empathetic Tom was. Something definitely missing from previous subs.

“What does your work schedule look like?” She changed the subject.

“I’m between projects right now. A few meetings and events here or there, but for the next three months I am mostly reading scripts and hanging around the house.

“Would you like some extra reading?”

Tom smirked. “I’ve already read Anna Karenina.”

“Not exactly. Can I have your phone number, please?”

Tom rattled off the number. Vivian typed on her phone, glancing at Tom a few times before hitting send. His phone dinged, and he fished it out of his pocket, reading her message.

“You want me to read these books?” He quirked an eyebrow. The titles of some books listed piqued his interest. Tom read a bit about this after his last failed relationship, but Vivian had more experience in this arena.

“Yes, please. And then write a 500 word email on what you are looking to get out of this relationship.” She gathered her belongings. “Think of it as homework.” She smiled at him.

Tom scrambled to his feet. “What happens next?”

“We date. We go out to dinner. To the movies. We flirt. Figure out if we like each other. If we are compatible.”

“And if we are?”

“We set up a trial period. We discuss expectations. Now if you excuse me, I have a hair appointment. It has been very nice to meet you properly.”

Tom held open the door and followed her out to the sidewalk. “Dinner tonight? You pick the place.”

She tilted her head at him and smiled, reaching up to pat his cheek. “How about tomorrow? I’m thinking Italian. 7 p.m. Text me the name and address please.”

Tom nodded. “I look forward to it.”

They parted ways with a hug and Tom kissing her cheek. Once she rounded the corner, Tom pulled a ball cap out and searched for a nearby bookstore.

-

There were many who would consider a blowout a luxury, but to Vivian it was a necessity. Her thick, irregularly wavy locks were a nightmare to tame on the best of days. Her standing Saturday appointment was something she never cancelled unless she was out of town or too sick to get out of bed. As the stylist pulled and tugged at her hair, coaxing it into big loopy curls like you see in all the magazines, Vivian replayed the conversation with Tom in the coffee shop.

First, she chastised herself for not recognizing him the first night in the bar. Second, she wondered if this was too good to be true. A bona fide movie star. Not that his status mattered in the long run, but Tom was looking for a lifestyle relationship. The little goblin in the back of her brain screamed, “HE JUST WANTS KINKY SEX!!!” But then she reminded herself not once did Tom mention sex.

While she stood at the counter paying, her phone buzzed. It was Tom. Such an eager beaver.

Hit the lottery at the local bookstore.

Attached was a photo of all the books she told him to read with Tom’s head poking in, a huge boyish grin on his face along with a thumbs up. She couldn’t help but laugh.

Good job. Aren’t you eager?

She turned the camera on and took a quick selfie. How’s my hair look?

Tom responded within 5 minutes. Divine. I made reservations for Il Sugo tomorrow at 7.

She danced a bit in place. One of her favorites. And the fact Tom wasted no time complying with her request pleased her to no end.

I know the place. Thank you for doing that right away.

Tom beamed at the praise, his cheeks heating and blushing as he made his way home to read his “homework” from Vivian.

My pleasure. Is there anything else before tomorrow?

Vivian licked her lips as she contemplated his question.

Wear the suit from Bloomsbury.

She trotted back towards her apartment when a dress in one of the clothing stores caught her eyes. Navy with a faux wrap detail and a deep vee neckline. The dress would highlight her assets and she had the perfect Louboutins to go along with it. Not to mention it would match Tom’s suit. She tried on the dress, loved and plunked down her credit card to pay.

-

Tom was ready 30 minutes before he even needed to leave the house. Unheard for him. While he made a point to be on time, no early, for all his professional obligations; his personal life didn’t always get the same attention.

He tugged on his cuffs and adjusted the gold cufflinks before smoothing down his jacket lapels. This suit, the one Vivian asked him to wear, was among his favorite, with the dark blue color and a thin white line running both horizontally and vertically. It cut close to his lean frame, and the blue suited his features. His phone beeped.

Nervous?

Tom frowned at Benedict’s message. He regretted letting his friend know about his date.

No. He lied. Tom wasn’t ready to reveal the true nature of this relationship yet.

Turn on that signature Hiddles charm and she will be putty in your hands.

Tom sweated. He hoped it would be more like him being putty in Vivian’s.

Right, mate. Got to go, Don’t want to be late.

Tom grabbed his keys and headed out the door, missing Benedict’s last message.

Make sure to tell me everything tomorrow.

-

Vivian completed the same ritual she did every time before a date. After soaking in a bath, with an oil in her signature scent, she toweled off. She applied an eye look that was sultry but not too heavy. A glossy lip and dark lashes completed the look. She slipped on her new dress and her shoes. The mesh details were reminiscent of lingerie. Her diamond swan necklace and a small clutch and she hustled out the door.

-

When Vivian walked up to Il Sugo, she found Tom pacing the storefront. His face broke out into a grin when he saw her approaching. He grabbed Vivian’s hand and kissed her cheek.

“I wanted to wait for you before going inside.”

“Thank you.” Vivian kissed his cheek too, the first kissing him anywhere. His cologne was woodsy and heady.

“That dress is divine.” he complimented, holding his arm for Vivian to spin. “The shoes though, how tall are you in those things?”

“I’m 5’10”, these are about four-inch heels, so 6’ 2”.”

“Perfect.” Tom murmured. He opened the door for her.

The restaurant was warm and cozy. And the food divine as always. Vivian ordered the seafood risotto and Tom the Bolognese. As they waited for their entrees, Vivian folded her hands on top of the table.

“So tell me about your work.”

Tom sipped his water. “So I just finished up a play at the Old Vic and I have about three months before I am due in Atlanta for my new project with Marvel. After that, a series for Netflix filming in London. Have you seen any of my work?”

Vivian’s cheek heated before regaining her composure. “I have.”

Tom smiled at her. “Well, you called me the God of Mischief so at least one MCU film and based on your hushed tone, I am guessing The Night Manager?” He tucked his head to stare Vivian directly in the eye.

“Yes.” she did her best not to blush.

“I’m quite proud of that work. Was nominated for an Emmy, won a Golden Globe. Quite proud of all my work.” He sipped the wine, avoiding the elephant called his bare ass, in the room.

“What is like at the Golden Globes?” she asked.

“Long.” he laughed. “But at least they feed you.”

Vivian giggled too. “Are you always this charming?”

“No.” he deadpanned. “Normally, I’m more charming. You put me quite off balance, Ms. Swann.” She liked how her name sounded when he said it. “From the first meeting. How do you manage that?”

“Practice, confidence, and a good pair of heels.” She kicked her foot out.

“Perhaps I need to invest in some new shoes.” Tom teased, the thought of him in high heels flashed through Vivian’s brain for a moment. She smiled to herself.

“I think yours are just fine.” She kicked the bottom on his oxfords with the toe of her heel before dragging it up his leg mid-calf. Tom choked on his water. “So I know what your job plans are, but what is work like?”

“Rewarding but exhausting.” he commented. “What being a globally renowned corporate barrister? It must be draining.”

Vivian’s eyes sparkled. “You Googled me.”

“Guilty.”

She held her sip of wine against her tongue. “It’s exhilarating. A total adrenaline rush. The stakes are high and I call the shots.” Vivian beamed as she talked about it.

“Don’t you ever want to not be the one calling the shots. Do you ever want someone say ‘do this’ and not have to think about it?”

“No. Do you?”

“Absolutely. I prefer my personal life to be as few decisions as possible. Wear the same clothes all the time. Jog the same route. Eat the same food.”

“And what if it was someone telling you what to do?”

“Honestly, it would be a relief.”

“Even if it were a woman.”

“Even if it were a woman.” Tom parroted, as the server placed the food on the tables. Tom waited until Vivian took a bit before eating. That’s just good manners.

“How is the risotto?”

“Delicious as always, your Bolognese?”

“Delicious, but mine’s better.”

Vivian raised a manicured eyebrow at him. “You cook?”

“When the need arises.”

“Do you clean too? I’m looking for a new maid.” She chuckled, half joking.

“Not as well as I should. Bachelor life has made me somewhat lazy in that regard. My mother would be ashamed.”

“I’m sure we can fix that.” She finished up her food and set her fork down. “What is your mother like?”

Tom wiped his mouth as he ate the last few bites of food. “Kind, hardworking, independent. I doubt I would be where I am today without her. Now my sisters…”

“I have one younger sister. You?”

“One older and one younger. And they are brutal. Talk about the Night Manager. The text messages they would send me. I am never living that down. Ever.”

“Sounds like my kind of girls.”

The server dropped by the table. “Dessert?’

Tom looked at Vivian expectantly.

“Would like to split something, Tom? Your choice of dessert.”

His eyes lit up, and he ordered whatever chocolate dessert was on the menu. Lava cake, flourless cake, some cake. Vivian didn’t care, but she enjoyed seeing Tom happy. The server returned with the dessert and two spoons. She took a small bite as Tom devoured his half and leaped onto the rest of hers. He insisted on paying the bill which Vivian agreed to only on the condition she paid next time.

The day had been unseasonably warm for June, and Vivian didn’t wear a jacket. And now the night air nipped at her bare shoulders. Tom slipped his suit jacket over her, the residual warmth of his body clung to the lining. She grabbed the lapels and pulled it tighter around her.

“Walk me home, please?” she asked rather than demand.

Tom smiled at her. “How else am I getting my jacket back?”

They walked the several blocks to Vivian’s flat in silence, her gripping onto his jacket for dear life. Tom shoved his hands into his pants pockets, doing his best impression of a man not cold. When they arrived at the lobby entrance, Vivian slid the jacket off her shoulders and handed it back to Tom.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

His hands twiddled in front of him. An awkward gesture Vivian found endearing. Just as Tom leaned in for a hug, she grabbed his shirt front and pulled him into a kiss. Tom’s feet scrambled for purchase against the sidewalk as Vivian yanked him forward. Her lips soft against his and he melted to her. His hands fidgeted in the air, not doing what to do with them until landing on cupping her face, catching tendrils of her hair in his fingers.

Tom couldn’t catch a breath as Vivian pressed against him. Her perfume made his brain go fuzzy, or was that the kissing? Tom didn’t know or care. He just wanted to keep kissing her forever. When Vivian pulled away, Tom leaned forward, desperate for contact. She flattened her hand against his chest to hold him in place.

“Goodnight, Tom.” She pecked his lips and backed away before he could pull her into an embrace.

He sighed as his chest heaved. “Can I call you tomorrow? After work?”

She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “I work late.”

“I don’t go to bed early. Please text me when you get home. Whatever the hour. I want to hear your voice.” He pushed her hair back.

“Call me at 11?”

“I’m setting an alarm.” He whipped his phone for dramatic effect. Vivian playfully pushed him away as she headed to the door.

“Goodnight, Thomas. And don’t forget your homework.”

“I haven’t!” he called after her.

Tom floated his way back down the street and to the restaurant to fetch his car and head home. The ride home was a blur, and he stripped down to his boxers, tossing the clothes onto the floor, before slipping between his sheets and drifting off to bed.

Vivian washed off her makeup and did her skincare routine before changing into pajamas and placing her clothes in the hamper. She sighed as she thought of Tom. His soft lips and eager hands. Vivian was eager to take the relationship to the next step, but all too aware that rushing things with someone new like Tom could turn disastrous. She grabbed her book from the nightstand and read a chapter before going to bed.

[ms-rampage]

Eden’s Gate: The Mother Chapter 12 - The Ballet of Amanda and Joseph Seed

Warnings: Mentions of infantcide, and Mandy being a mom to John. [not really a warning]

Word count: 2.1k

Where it all began. 

Summary: With everything falling into place, Mandy continues with her role as The Mother until the New Moon.  

Guest OCs: Dawana Floyd (FC: Anna Diop)

Guest Characters: Raphael [Supernatural; female vessel], God/Chuck [mentioned], Metatron [mentioned]

Note: I made up the names for Joseph’s wife and daughter. This is gonna be a somewhat short chapter.

______________

With everything falling into place, Dawana has Mandy continue her duties as the Mother until the New Moon. Raphael agrees and wants her to keep her role until they can properly do the Invocation of Invisibility to shield her from God and help get her out of the Cult. 

With the help of the Whitetail Militia they can help her get out, and also play the role as an FBI agent to keep her undercover. 

So not being seen with any of the Project’s enemies will help her out, and make sure she is committed to her position, or at least make her look like she’s committed. 

A week has passed, Mandy has been the Mother for 3 in a half months, and time has seemed to move by very, very slowly with everything that has happened. 

“You must play your part” Dawana tells her. 

“I know” Mandy responds, “I have to. Raphael told me that I must, until we get to the New Moon and do the Invisibility spell. Hiding me from Chuck”. 

Because he is God and he can see everything, and everyone. He’ll still see her playing her part as The Mother, but that will all be an illusion to him while the real Mandy will be plotting against him and the Project. Along with the Archangel and the Voodoo Priestess.

“Good” she responds, “It’s still a long time until the New Moon".

Being cleansed by Joseph, confessing and reaching atonement. To top it off marrying Joseph Seed. 

She spends time with Joseph, pretty much every second of every day they spent. She decides to check up on John since she hasn’t seen, or even heard from him since her atonement and her “wedding” to The Father. 

Driving to his ranch house in Holland Valley, she pulls into the huge driveway and approaches the gigantic house. 

John steps out and sees her. “Amanda” he says, surprised, putting emphasis on the A, “I wasn’t expecting you to come over”. 

She lets out a soft exhale, “Well I haven’t seen or heard from you. I just wanted to check up on you”. 

He tilts his head to the side, eyebrows furrowed “Really? Why?”. Surprised that she would even care about his well-being. 

She shrugs, “No reason, I check up on Faith all the time. Jacob doesn’t really need to be checked on, and I live with Joseph, I pretty much see him everyday. I just wanted to see how you’re doing”. Putting on her caring, loving mother act, it’s not really much of an act, it’s just the type of parent she is. 

He lets out a soft chuckle, “Well that’s very sweet of you”. He takes a few steps closer to her, “I’m doing great. Thank you”. 

She smiles at him, “That’s great to hear”.

“So is that all you came over here for? To check on me?” he asks. Crossing his arms.

She nods, “Well I was in the area. Also I haven’t been in Holland Valley in quite a while. Kinda forgotten what everything looks like”. She chuckles, making the youngest Seed brother chuckle as well. 

She crosses her arms, putting on her best typical mom voice, “So, have you been taking care of yourself?”. 

He laughs, scratching his beard, and sarcastically says, “Yes, mother I have”. 

“Good, I ask Faith the exact same questions” she tells him, “She knows my route already”. 

She stays at John’s house for another 20-30 minutes before going back to the church. She got to know a little more about John, and his upbringing with the Duncan’s, and him going to Law school. John also got to know a little more about Mandy as well. She’s half Italian, was married before, lived in several states before moving to Montana, and she can speak 3 languages. 

"Really? Say something then" he asks her. Looking at her in amusement.

"Prendersi cura di se stessi" [Take care of yourself] she responds in Italian.

He looks at her in confusion, he in a way wasn't expecting her to actually respond back in another language. She laughs at his reaction to her speaking another language.

******

Back at Joseph’s compound, one of the Cult’s followers approaches Mandy once she arrives at the church grounds.

“Mother Amanda” he tells her, “Joseph is inside the church waiting for you”. 

She nods her head, “Thank you” and proceeds to enter the church. 

The dark church with a few candles lit inside, Joseph has his back to her, facing the wall in front of him. 

“You were waiting for me” she tells him, standing a few feet away from him. She can hear him take a deep breath before saying, “I haven’t been entirely honest with you”.

Tilting her head sideways, confused. “What do you mean?”. He faces her, “I haven’t told you everything about me. There are things from my past, I feel the need to tell you”. 

She stands before him, with her hands clasped in front of her, wearing white blouse, dark jeans and black boots. Her hair is down in its natural style, wavy. 

Looking up at him, her eyes pointed up at him. Anticipating what he’s gonna tell her. He places his right hand on the back of her neck, while his other hand is caressing her cheek. He goes on to tell her that he was once married, and had a daughter. 

“Did you know I had a wife?” he asks her, showing her his tattoo of his wife, “So beautiful, isn’t she?. We were pregnant with our first child. We were just babies ourselves, and I was terrified.Becoming a father, mostly about money”. 

She stares up at him as he tells her the story about his wife and child. 

“She wasn’t worried, she had faith that things were going to work out. She always had faith, and then one day. She was going to visit a friend. There was an accident, and The Lord Taketh”. Seeing the pain in his eyes, Mandy knows the same pain losing a significant other, she knows that pain too well. 

“They rushed me to the hospital and put me in a room with this little pink bundle stuffed with tubes, and they said I had to be strong because my little girl was going to live. God was looking out for our daughter” he continues to tell her. 

Feeling like time had stood still, painfully still. Almost like the whole church got darker as he tells her this, “And they left me alone in a room with her. I just stared at my daughter. So helpless. So innocent, and all she had in the world was me. A nobody from nowhere with nothing, and in that moment I knew that God was testing me”. 

He moves his hands, both his hands on the sides of her face. Cupping her face, standing very close to her. 

“He was laying out a path before me and all I had to do was choose. So I put my hand on my little girl's head, and I leaned in and I could smell”.

Finding out that this man was once married, and had a child at some point, made her think how he could’ve turned out. Would the Cult still be a thing? Would he still be a lunatic that she married?. Getting lost in her thoughts the next thing he said made her snap back into reality. 

Joseph continues to tell her about his past life and everything before the Cult grew, “And we prayed together, prayed for wisdom. Prayed for strength then I knew. I heard God’s plan for me, and I took my fingers and I put them on that little plastic tube that was taped to her angelic face, and I pinched it shut”.

She looks up at him in horror, this man killed his infant daughter because Chuck told him to do it. Mandy is no saint herself, and she’ll tell you that she has killed innocent people to protect her own family, it may not be the same thing, they both have skeletons in their closets. 

Joseph might have more in his closet than she does, she witnessed him killing an innocent man several weeks ago in front of 30 other people. Gouging out his eyes.

“And after a little while her legs began to kick and kick, and then nothing. Stillness. Release. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh. Pain. Sacrifice” he finishes off. 

Looking up at this man in horror, standing in the middle of the church, frozen in fear. Giving her chills throughout her body. 

“Raphael I need you here now!” she prays in her head. Internally panicking 

Within a few seconds Raphael makes himself present, in his female vessel, only visible to Mandy and not Joseph. 

“You prayed?” he asks. Seeing what’s happening. Look of concern on his/her face. 

“Is what Joseph said true?!” she asks him in her head, while looking up at Joseph pretending that she’s listening to him, “Did he really kill his infant daughter because Chuck told him to?!?”. 

Joseph steps away, and continues to talk to Mandy about his life and upbringing with his brothers. Trying to listen to both her “husband” and her Archangel. 

Raphael sighs, “Yes, it’s all true. Joseph was married. His wife Anna, and their daughter Mary. The accident Anna was in, was orchestrated by God to put him on this path, and also to make him start the Project”. 

Mandy looks over at her Archangel with wide eyes and back to Joseph who is still telling her about his upbringing. His voice is basically a background noise to her and the Archangel’s conversation. 

“So all this has been happening for several years?!?!” she asks in her mind. Raphael snaps his fingers, freezing time. Allowing Mandy to actually speak with him, freezing Joseph. 

“Yes, everything is on Chuck” he tells her, “I can’t say no more”. 

“But, but. But why is Chuck doing this?!?” she asks him, voice shaken “Why is Joseph so important to Chuck?”. 

Taking a few steps closer to her, “He’s not. That I know of, Joseph Seed is not that important to God, the only thing Chuck wants is for someone to spread his word. Prepare for the end”.

She looks at him confused, “What?!? What does that even mean?!”. 

He breaks it down for her, “Think about it. When the world ends, and very few people survive. What’s the first thing that comes to mind?” he asks her. Walking around the somewhat dark church.

She shrugs, “I don’t know!”. Looking confused at the Warrior of God.  

“An act of God” he tells her, “I really can’t say more because that’s all I have on this whole situation. I wish I had more, but I’m sure Metatron has all that information, but If I were you, I wouldn’t waste my time trying to get it. He won’t give it to anyone”. 

He snaps his fingers to unfreeze time, but before he does, he gives her a slight chance of hope. 

“And one more thing Mandeline” he says, she looks over at him, “I believe in you. I know you can get yourself out of this, and I left you something that can help you. I left it under your pillow in your room”.

He disappears from the church. Leaving Mandy alone with Joseph. She looks over at Joseph, he is unfrozen, and continues his talking about his life. Having to pretend she was listening to everything he had said. 

“Now that I have told you about your past” he says, turning around to face her, “What do you have hidden from me?”. 

She looks down at the floor, “There’s too much for me to say” she responds, “I have lived through a dark past. That I wish to forget about”. Looking and sounding ashamed, reminding herself about the horrible things she has done in her lifetime. 

He approaches her, placing his hand on her cheek, caressing it. “I wish to know your past” he tells her, “I want to be the savior for your regrets. For your mistakes, for your sins”. 

She rests her head against his chest, as he holds her close. Hearing his heartbeat slowly, his slow, soft breathing

[purple-cat-demon]

His Birthday Surprise

Word Count: 1,655

Pairing: Gavin x Hazel

Genre: fluff with smut, 18+

Tags: bathtub sex, unprotected sex, minor swearing

Totally made Gavin older than stated in the game for milestone reasons~ 30th birthday antics ensue~

~~~~~~~~~~

Gavin unconsciously reached for his wife while still in bed, but when there was no wife to be found, his eyes snapped open. He sat up quickly and listened for any signs of his lovely wife. Upon looking around, his gaze fell onto a piece of paper lying on Hazel’s pillow. 

~~Good Morning and Happy Birthday, my love~ I’ve prepared a little game for you (please play along, I promise it’ll be worth it). Please meet Anna at AEC at 11am for your first gift and next clue~

He looked at the alarm clock on his nightstand: 10:32am.

“Shit!”

He clamored out of bed, washed his face (no time to shower), changed and sprinted out the door. He made it to Anaheim Electronics Company with a minute or two to spare, and saw Anna waiting patiently outside the company entrance. 

“Hey Mr. Birthday Boy!”

She smiled brightly and handed him a small gift and a card with the next clue written on it.

“Here, you're going to need this as well,” she also handed him a large bag for the small gift.

“Did Hazel rope you all into this?” Gavin cocked an eyebrow at her.

“She did but we also wanted to help her make your birthday a special one."

Gavin sighed a bit.

“And you can’t tell me where she is, huh?”

Anna shook her head.

“Nope, I cannot~” 

Gavin read the second clue:

~~Find Willow at the New Light Mall. She will be at the furniture store’s entrance. Please meet her at 12pm.~~

He checked his phone for the time: 11:32am.

“Thanks, Anna,” he said as he waved goodbye to her. Thankfully he wasn’t too far from the mall and found Willow just before 12pm. 

“Happy Birthday, Officer Gavin! You’re probably gonna hear that a lot today,” she giggled. Gavin smiled a bit.

“Thanks, Willow. I’m a little in awe that you all are doing this,” he said she placed another small gift in his bag. 

“Well, you don’t turn 30 everyday,” she mused, handing him his third clue. 

~~Mr. Keller is waiting for you at the Music Gallery on Sunshine Alley. Please meet him there by 1pm.~~

‘Even Mr. Keller??’ Gavin was torn between impressed and flabbergasted at the fact that Hazel even got their former teacher to participate. He waved goodbye to Willow and set off to Sunshine Alley. Mr. Keller was sitting on a bench just outside the Music Gallery when Gavin came running up.

“Hello, Mr. Keller,” he shook his former teacher’s hand, “definitely a surprise to see you here.”

The teacher chuckled.

“Well, I couldn’t very well refuse Miss May, no, Mrs. Bai, now could I?”

They both shared a laugh over the craziness Gavin was enduring for his milestone birthday. 

“Ah, I’m supposed to give you these,” Mr. Keller handed Gavin a small gift bag along with the next clue.

~~If I know my husband, he probably didn’t have breakfast this morning and is now quite hungry. Go meet Minor at Delicioso on Westmoon Street for lunch, Minor’s treat.~~

Gavin shook his head and laughed.

‘Yeah, she does know me,’ he silently mused.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Keller,” he said while shaking the teacher’s hand again.

“Happy Birthday, Gavin. Enjoy the rest of your day.” He waved Gavin off and sat back down on the bench, reminiscing the old days.

‘I’m glad you're happy now, Gavin, you deserve this.’

Gavin’s stomach growled loudly as he got to Delicioso. Minor greeted his friend with a hug.

“Happy Birthday Bro!” The silverette beamed at him, “Come on, let’s get some birthday grub for ya!”

After they ordered their food, Minor happened to notice the bag with all little gifts in it.

“You haven’t opened any of them…”

“Was… I supposed to…?”

“Well, I mean. You could if you wanted to.”

Minor put his small gift in the bag to join the rest of them; he also slid the final clue over to his friend. Before Gavin could read it, their food came, and his train of thought derailed in favor of filling his empty stomach. It had been a while since the two of them hung out together so lunch may have ran a little later than expected. Gavin’s phone buzzed with a text message from Kiki asking where he was. He quickly read the clue,

~~Kiki is waiting at the lobby of the Windsor Hotel. She’ll have the room key to where your lovely wife is waiting for you~ Please meet her at 4pm.~~

It was now 4:30pm.

“Dammit, I’m late meeting with Kiki. Thanks Minor,” he called back to his friend as he ran off, sprinting rather, towards the hotel.

Kiki huffed a little as she impatiently tapped her foot, looking around for the tardy officer. He came up, out of breath, and apologizing profusely to Kiki.

“Dude, you’re lucky it's your birthday,” she said, feigning displeasure. She quickly smiled at him when she noticed the panicked look on his face,

“Just kidding Officer~”

Giggling, she held out the room key to him along with another little gift to put in his bag. 

“Here, now get to your woman already!”

He blushed slightly and waved Kiki off. As he got in the elevator, he noticed the room number.

‘Pent...Suite… #2???’ His face paled, ‘she really did go all out…’ He saw the button on the panel that said PH2, so he pressed it. Upon exiting the elevator, he was greeted with a small hallway that curved towards the right leading him to the front doors of the penthouse suite. He opened the doors to a darkened room, lit by many flameless “candles.”

“Hazel?” Gavin called out to his wife while looking around the spacious suite for her.

“In here, my love,” her reply came from the bedroom but when he walked into the room, there was still no wife. He noticed a light coming from under the bathroom door. As he opened the door, Hazel got up from the bath, a stunning beauty to behold in her husband’s eyes. Even though he had seen her naked numerous times before, there was something about how she looked now that floored him. He could feel his pants tightening with every step he took toward her. Cupping her face, he planted a deep and passionate kiss to her lips; all while she was undoing his belt buckle and pants. She reluctantly broke the kiss off and whispered,

“Hurry up, the water’s getting cold.”

Gavin didn’t have to be told twice as he hastily disrobed, and got in the oversized tub with her. Hazel had him lean back as she straddled him, turning on the jets in the process. The pulsing jets of water soothed the small aches in his lower back, but that pain was a distant memory compared to the alluring vision he had in front of him. She slowly lowered herself onto his length while locked in another passionate kiss; his hands running up and down her back. Her skin felt so soft under his calloused hands as they came to rest on her hips. This whole scenario was driving him crazy but he was trying to keep his release at bay to prolong the pleasure he was feeling until she did that—

“Ah!” He inhaled sharply as she bit, sucked and licked the scar on his collarbone. He damn near came unraveled but not quite yet. She rolled her hips slowly, almost painfully slow because she wanted to catch every reaction her husband was emitting. Gavin shot forward, capturing a nipple in his mouth, causing Hazel to gasp and moan loudly. That was it, that sound she made; he came hard, crying out into the crook of her neck. Her walls clenched around his throbbing length as she came wholly unraveled as well.

“Happy Birthday, my Love,” Hazel said into their kiss. Gavin smiled at his wife, still wondering how the hell he got so lucky to be with her. They stayed like that for a bit of time, until the water went cold. Both of them shakily got out of the bathtub. Hazel tossed a towel to her husband as she dried herself off; then slipping into a black, lace trimmed robe, which elicited a whistle from Gavin.

“You like? I got it especially for tonight~” She did a little twirl; the flared sleeves acting like tiny wings. Gavin walked over, tying the towel around his waist, and tugged at her robe’s tie. 

“I do like it, but it would look even better off of you~”

She playfully smacked his arm, then grabbed his hand and led him to the balcony of the suite. It was a muggy early evening but nothing a little breeze couldn’t fix (courtesy of a certain Evolver). Hazel gazed at the city skyline, now all lit up, while Gavin put his arm around her waist, holding her close to him.

“Isn’t the view incredible?”

She asked, not noticing that his gaze was fixed on her the entire time.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful,” he replied, not taking his eyes off her. She finally looked over at him and smiled,

“Were you even looking?”

He turned her to face him and placed a kiss on her temple.

“Of course I was looking,” he then kissed her forehead, “at the beautiful view in front of me,” another kiss, this time on her nose. He buried his face in the crook of her neck,

“Thank you for making this the best birthday ever.”

He took this calm moment as an opportunity to plant a hickey on Hazel’s neck, causing her to yelp and jump suddenly. Both laughing, Hazel bolted after Gavin towards the bedroom, where they collapsed into a giggling heap onto the bed. Unfortunately, they both knocked out for the night before Hazel could even give Gavin his cake and other presents; those would just have to wait until morning.

~~~~~~~~~

🎉A birthday fic for the birthday boy (yeah, it was yesterday but who's counting?)🎉

[hellomynameisbisexual]

When I first met my husband, Neal, I thought he was gay. Maybe that's because he told me he was gay. So while I was attracted to him, I figured he would just be my gay best friend. Then, one night, we wound up in bed together, and let's just say that he did not act like a gay best friend usually acts. In fact, he seemed more comfortable with my body than plenty of straight men I'd dated had been. And after a hot-and-heavy weekend, I knew a lot more about Neal than "gay" had hinted at: He'd been married before (to a woman), and he was (still is) attracted to both sexes. Since his divorce he'd mostly dated men, so he'd gone with "gay" over "bi" when we met, but deep down that's what he is: bisexual. I was not entirely surprised, and I was definitely not disappointed.

However, I did have some concerns. Early in our relationship, which got super serious, super fast, I was anxious: I worried Neal would change his mind, say that he was actually truly 100 percent gay after all, and leave me for a man. (Maybe you've heard the joke? A man who says he's bisexual is gay, straight, or lying.) Another part of me worried whether a bisexual guy could ever really be monogamous. Also, didn't being with a man who was interested in men and women mean that I was competing against everyone in the world for his attention?

I just wasn't that familiar with bi guys. Bi women are practically mainstream: Megan Fox, Lady Gaga, Anna Paquin, Jessie J, and Evan Rachel Wood, to name only a few, have all spoken openly about being bisexual. When a woman says she's bi, it makes her more desirable to men. But few celeb men are out as bi—and you never see two guys making out in a bar to get women to pay attention.

Plus, I must admit I wondered whether all the stuff people say about bisexuals might actually turn out to be true—that they're untrustworthy, just going through a phase, or slutty; that they'll break your heart or give you STDs and probably cooties too.

Dating a bi guy, even one as great and as honest as Neal, was daunting to think about.

The sliding scale of sexuality explained

Understanding the basic science of bisexuality helped me a lot. Ritch Savin-Williams, professor of developmental psychology at Cornell University, who has done extensive research into arousal patterns of gay and bisexual individuals, puts it simply: "Bisexual men are attracted to both sexes. They have variations in how much they lean toward women or men." It's important to note that Savin-Williams, like most social scientists, differentiates between sexual orientation and sexual behavior. "So a guy could be attracted to 70 percent men and 30 percent women," he says, "but still meet a woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with and be monogamous. His orientation is bi, but his sexual behavior is straight." Conversely, if someone is having sex with both women and men, then he is behaviorally bisexual, regardless of what he says his orientation is.

What many women struggle with is not the fear that a guy is bi but the fear that he's temporarily bi and will eventually identify as gay. It's not a weird thing to worry about (I worried about it!), since many men have done exactly that. "Before homosexuality was as accepted as it is now," says Allen Rosenthal, a researcher at Northwestern University, "homosexual men often identified as bi in the process of coming out, like getting their feet wet. But it was a disservice to genuinely bisexual men because it left a lot of people with the impression that bi is a transitional orientation." The good news is that the reasons the bi-to-gay move used to be so prevalent—societal and family pressures, fears of being openly gay—are lessening. These days, it's more OK to be gay, and that's making it more OK to be bi. Progress!

So Could You, Should You? We asked glamour.com readers if they'd date a bi guy. The results:

__I'd have a lot of questions,

but maybe.……………………………16%

No way.………………………………..36%

Totally, why not?…………………….48%

In other words, two out of three of you would consider it. Explained one commenter: "If he's into me, he's into me. If he happens to be into guys too, well…we only have more in common!"__

Our little nonsecret

Neal assuaged my anxieties by being so enthusiastic about me that I had no reason to doubt his attraction. I was impressed by his self-awareness too. He realized he was bisexual when he was 20, and he still considers himself attracted to both sexes, at a ratio of about 80:20, women to men. My friends said he was an improvement over more macho guys I'd brought home in the past, and no one really made a big deal about the bi thing. They'd already seen him with men and with women, and we run with a pretty arty crowd. Bottom line: I was in love. As the years passed, I saw that Neal had more integrity and self-knowledge than anyone I'd ever known. And so, reader, I married him. We've been together and monogamous for 12 years, married for eight.

Neal is comfortable with his sexuality. He's "straightish," in the terminology of a gay friend of ours. But he is kind of "gayish" too. He is a performance artist, eccentric, and has—true to stereotype—better style than I do. And if I'm like, "Wow, Mike is superhot," he doesn't stare blankly but says, "Totally. Because of the way he plays guitar, right?"

Generally, we don't tell the world about Neal's orientation (well, until now!). Not everyone is as supportive as our circle, and to be honest, I have zero interest in talking with someone who thinks I'm in a sham marriage just because my guy doesn't go, "Ewww!" when Channing Tatum takes off his shirt.

There have been a few bumps along the road. Early on, Neal confessed that he had a crush on someone else. In the moment before he told me who it was, as my heart sank, I thought: Oh God, it's a man. He's gay. He's going to leave me for a man. I am a fool. How did I not see it coming? How stupid could I be?

Then he told me who it was: a woman. And we worked through it. In retrospect, I think we would have been OK even if it had been a man. In the years since, we've weathered crushes I've developed too, and a million other surprising and not-so-surprising things. I don't think we're any more open-minded than most couples—but the amount of honesty required at the beginning of our relationship has served us well.

Talk, then talk some more

So how do you make it work with a bi guy? "If I were a woman involved with a bisexual man," says Savin-Williams, "I would have very honest communication with him about what he means when he uses the term." Trust me, I asked Neal a lot of questions about what he was into and what to expect as our relationship deepened. Would he commit to monogamy? What kind of boundaries did we need to set up? Be clear about what you're asking, warns Lisa Diamond, professor of developmental psychology at the University of Utah. "The question Are you attracted to men?' is different from Would you want to have a sexual relationship with a man?'" she points out. "Many men might say, It's a hot fantasy, but not one I would act on.'" At that point the question becomes whether or not you're OK with the fantasy. On the other hand, if he says he wants more than a fantasy when it comes to men…then he might not be the guy for you.

No matter whom you're dating, part of love is taking that leap into the unknown. "The only way to be truly sure," says Barbara Hernandez, a family and marriage therapist, "is over time. It depends on the values of the person, and the strength of commitment, and whether both partners work hard at it." Good advice for any couple, even a straight-as-an-arrow one.

At some point, if you're still freaking out about whether your bi guy is really bi, you might need to acknowledge that what you're worried about is whether he's really yours. "We all need to be honest with ourselves," says Diamond. "I wonder if the underlying concern isn't the same one we always have: Does he really want me? Is he going to leave me? That's a concern as old as the hills." With Neal, I came to look at it this way: If he was choosing to be with me, then he was choosing me over all men and women everywhere. And that felt kind of awesome.

Believe it or not, Neal's sexuality doesn't come up that often in our daily lives. My failure to close drawers, his inability to throw anything away, and an ongoing disagreement on who is the more lenient parent are all topics that cause more strife than his sometimes thinking men are hot. Really, who can blame him? Men are hot, especially ones who are honest and confident. Especially ones who, even though they may be attracted to lots of people, pick you.

[wowweeharrystyles]

Part 4 | Ripped Trousers & Giving In | 8.5K

‘Sequins & Zippers’ Summary: An internship with Harry Lambert transformed into a job of a lifetime - Aurora Del Gatto finds herself touring the world with the one & only Harry Styles as his ‘Head of Wardrobe.’ Aurora is nothing but nerves & excitement as she packs her bags & almost 100 custom designer suits that belong to an unbelievably kind rockstar. She never thought she’d fall in love on top of it all.

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Masterlist

A/N: these videos from HSLOT18 inspired me a LOT to write this chapter sooooo x x x x (let me tell you... these videos... whewwww) 

“I didn’t get a chance to bet against you…. so I still get to keep my job yeah?” Aurora asks waving a folded piece of paper as she walks towards Harry. Harry laughs before pulling her into a hug. 

“Only get to keep it cause I need ya to tie to those damn bows on my shirts. Remind me why we chose so many shirts like that?” He gives her a cheeky smile when he leans back to look at her, his hands clasping at her lower back. Her laugh fills the space of the empty coffee shop and Harry’s smile grows bigger. Aurora pushes the lone curl that has fallen onto his forehead back up to fit in with the rest of his curls. 

Harry’s clad in his favourite slim fit black gucci trousers and a worn in white t shirt. All Harry’s note had lead on was that they’d be walking a bit, noting to wear“comfortable shoes” and then the name of the coffee shop he’d meet her at. 

“So what kind of plans do you have up your sleeves?”

“How do you feel about museums?” He laughs when he sees her face light up. “Guess you like them?” 

“Is it that obvious?” She giggles as her hands fly up to cover her face. 

“Yes.” She groans at his eager response. “But it’s kinda cute, if I’m honest.” 

“Come on, you’ve got like a 30 second window before I get so embarrassed about my excitement to go to a museum in Barcelona that I bail on you and spend the rest of the day watching my entire iTunes movie collection.” 

“You will have plenty of time to watch ‘This Is Us’ later.” Aurora rolls her eyes at him as he grabs their coffees from the barista and leads them out of the shop. 

They spend the majority of the afternoon walking through Fundación Joan Miró. Harry’s hand rarely leaves the small of Aurora’s back the entire time through the museum. During those rare times, he’s towing her along with her hand in his. Harry is thankful for the time they get to spend together on a free day, a day neither of them have to work. He tells her this repeatedly as they admire the art. 

| | | | |

They’re tucked away in the corner table on the patio seating at a local restaurant harry picked out as the sun is setting that evening. Aurora can’t help but admire the way the lighter green flecks in Harry’s eyes sparkly from the reflection of the fairy lights that line the trellises of the patio. 

“What’re you thinking about?” Harry asks before sipping his wine. Aurora fiddles with the stem of her wine glass for a moment. 

“Hm?” She shakes her head. “Nothing really.” Harry raises an eyebrow at her. 

“Seems like something,” he says softly, leaning forward. 

Aurora scrunches her nose with a small smirk trying to maneuver her thoughts. “Today was just really nice.” She sips her wine so she doesn’t say more. 

Dinner is full of small glances and sweet smiles. Harry, like the gentleman he is, walks Aurora to her hotel room door and gives her a kiss on the cheek when they finally say goodnight. 

| | | | |

Aurora is sitting on the counter of the sink while Harry finishes getting ready for the show tonight. She’s admiring the way his hair is sitting perfectly and the way that his suit sparkles even in the fluorescent lights of the arena bathroom. 

“Hand me the Tom Ford bottle there, love?” Harry’s question pulls her out of her daze. She hands him the bottle after taking a look at it. 

Helene gives Aurora a look. Aurora spilled everything to her on the flight to Spain and she’s been teasing and shooting her cheeky looks relentlessly all day. While Aurora was steaming Harry’s suit earlier and Harry was going on and on about the museum they went to yesterday as Ayae messed about with his hair Helene couldn’t help but giggle along with the two of them. Harry was exaggerating Aurora’s excitement about the museum and she was  fighting him about it. “Thought she might faint from excitement” he told Ayae like Helene and Aurora weren’t right there with them. The 4 of them were comfortable and carefree together before shows. Harry liked to keep a light mood while he gets ready. Once he starts brushing his teeth though, he gets all serious. Aurora finds it quite entertaining to see the stark difference. 

Harry continuously jokes with the girls and picks fun at Aurora. He just HAS to bring up Aurora’s movie collection too. When he starts listing off the movie titles in her collection Helene and Ayae burst into a fit of laughter. Aurora rolls her eyes, something that has become a normal occurrence in any conversation with Harry. 

Now, here in the bathroom the conversation has settled down and Harry is generally silent. He’s already brushed his teeth and is now just taking the time to focus and calm down his recurring nerves that pop up every night. Besides Harry’s question, the only other sound that echoes in the empty bathroom is the click of Helene’s camera. Harry’s spraying his cologne on his neck when Helene’s shutter goes off again. “I’m gonna go grab a different lens for the show. Good luck tonight, H!” and at that Aurora and Harry are left alone in the echoey bathroom. 

Aurora draws her attention back to Harry who is setting the Tom Ford bottle back on the counter. He runs his hands lightly through his hair, turning his head slightly so the strong line of his jaw is emphasised. Aurora reaches out towards him, tugging on the bottom hem of his jacket. Harry turns towards her and raises his eyebrows at her. A small smirk appears on his face as he sees the smile on Aurora’s face. He takes one step closer to her and fits himself between her legs. Her legs that were once swinging freely off the counter now completely still as his hands land on her thighs near her knees. Harry reaches his head down to her level and a lock of curls fall out of place and catch on his eyelashes. Aurora first reaches for the curls, swiping them away from his eye but they fall right back. Then, she uses her pointer finger on the side of his chin to turn his head back to the angle that showcases his jawline so well. She places a soft kiss at the hinge of his jaw. Harry giggles lowly at the light touch. When Aurora pulls away to get a good look at him Harry opens his mouth to say something but before he can get a single sound out Harry’s named is getting called repeatedly from the hallway. Most likely Jeff looking for him. Harry’s head drops back on his shoulders and a light groan comes from the back of his throat. 

“Always thinks I’m gonna be late,” he comments. “Gonna watch from the audience tonight?” Harry asks. Aurora nods. 

“Absolutely. Gotta see how this suit sparkles under the stage lighting,” she says, pulling the edges of the jacket together. She buttons it closed for him. 

“All you care about is seeing my suits on stage…” 

“Quite like to see the person wearing them too,” she mumbles. That earns a kiss to her cheek and both of his hands squeeze at her knees. Harry’s name is called again but much louder now. “Good luck,” she presses a kiss close to his mouth, only being able to reach her neck up so high. Even with sitting on a high counter, he’s still much taller than she is. 

| | | | |

Aurora finds her favourite spot in the audience, the back of the pit but still close enough to the crowd of fans that she can feed off their energy and hide her dancing if she needs too. From here she also gets an amazing view of the stage but her absolute favourite part of standing here is when the show starts and the screen rises up. Harry’s comment earlier was partially right. She does love seeing how his suits look on stage but what she loves most about it is the crowd’s reaction. She loves hearing their speculations before the show starts, she loves how the screams heighten when they get a little glimpse of him and she really loves seeing friends turn to each other, smiles covering their entire face, yelling some sort of comment to each other. Tonight she makes out a few screaming comments along the lines of sequins, glitter, and sparkly. Someone standing nearby comments about his hair and Aurora nods to herself with a laugh. His hair becomes somewhat of a thing throughout the entire performance. The stray curl she repeatedly pushed away from his face throughout yesterday and today fell into his eyes repeatedly throughout the show. Helene found Aurora once Harry launched into ‘Anna’. Harry’s adorn in a rainbow flower lei and one of the many pride flags draped around his shoulders. Harry’s incredibly carefree on stage and Aurora admires that about him so much. He’s goofy, and playful, and giggly but still puts on the best show he possibly can. Helene and Aurora sing along to ‘Anna’ and laugh at Harry’s dance moves during ‘What Makes You Beautiful’. They see Harry turn to Mitch and say something on stage, all while reaching down to the inside seam of his pants. 

“Did he just rip his trousers?” Helene asks Aurora in disbelief. 

“Oh god. He did, didn’t he?” Aurora rolls her eyes and her head falls back on her neck, a short chuckle leaving her mouth. “Well… guess I gotta go handle that. He’s got one more before he walks off yeah?” 

Helene nods. “Good luck.” 

Aurora shows her pass to the security at the edge of the pit, then again to another guard at the curtain that leads backstage. Aurora can hear Harry finishing the final chorus of ‘Sign Of The Times’ when she gets to the mini makeshift dressing room that’s located underneath the stage. Aurora is sure to stand out of the way of the entrance and gets her needle, thread and scissors ready. Harry’s laugh fills the small room before he’s even there. 

“Ror!” he exclaims when he sees her. 

“Ripped your pants huh?” 

“Don’t need to fix ‘em now, love. Only got 3 more songs, I’ll be fine.” He’s all smiles and still in the midst of his concert high. He’s also not logical when he’s like this. 

“Yeah, 2 of which are Chain and Kiwi. Your pants will not last through 10 seconds of either of those songs.” Aurora laughs at the look on his face then juts her empty hand out. “Come on, just give me your pants, they’ll be fixed in a second.” Harry rolls his eyes but starts to unbutton his pants anyways. 

The sight of Harry running to the bathroom in his suit jacket, boxers, tall black socks and boots was even funnier than the fact that he ripped a damn hole in his insanely expensive pants. She laughs as she starts to stitch up the hole. Harry’s back in less than 30 seconds and he’s chugging down his 2nd water bottle since he left the stage. He leans down and presses a kiss to Aurora’s cheek. Then another. With the 3rd kiss he wraps his arms around her shoulders. 

“Harry, I can’t fix your damn pants with you like this,” she whines. 

“Sorry,” he whispers lowly in her ear before stepping away from her. 

Aurora knots the thread as best as she can so hopefully he doesn’t rip them again in the next 30 

minutes. Harry slides the trousers on carefully and Aurora goes to leave so she can see the rest of the show. 

“Thank you, love,” Harry says grabbing onto her hand. When she turns around he’s much closer than she thought he would be. That one curl has fallen in front of his eyes again. Aurora reaches up to move it back into place. She can feel the weight of his hands at her waist and for a brief moment both of them are able to block out the deafening screams and the chanting of his name coming from a few feet above them. Harry presses his forehead to Aurora’s and she feels slightly dizzy. He smiles at her lightly and she remembers the smile he gave her while he was singing “Ever Since New York.” He’s started to give her the same smile during the exact part every show. That one smile makes her feel like she does right now in this tiny room. Somehow in a room of thousands and thousands of people he can make it feel like it’s just her and Harry. Without a doubt, goosebumps arise on her skin. 

Harry’s name is called by the stage manager and they’re both brought back to the reality in front of them. Harry presses a kiss to Aurora’s forehead before thanking her again and running up the stairs. She peeks through the curtain at the bottom of the stairs. The single spotlight casts a shadow down the stairs as Harry stands at the mic, center stage. Harry’s voice matches the simplicity of the guitar that opens ‘From The Dining Table.’ Aurora’s heart drops every time she listens to him perform this song. The exclusive view she has right now adds to the experience and she catches herself choking back a few tears. His music is the first thing she fell for and she’s constantly reminded why. Before she knows it, the beginning of ‘The Chain’ echoes through the entire arena and Aurora makes her way to the side of the stage to watch the rest of the show.

| | | | |

“Wish you would’ve come out with us last night,” Harry comments as he walks with Aurora down the hall of the arena in Madrid. He has his arm swung around her shoulder and is telling her about how Mitch was telling this outrageous story and even got up and reenacted it all for the group. Aurora laughs along with Harry’s story.

“Maybe next time, Harry,” she offers, hoping one day she’ll actually get the courage to say yes to 

going with. 

“I’ve gotta meet with my trainer, but I’ll find ya later okay?” He offers her a lopsided smile, “could watch a movie or something before we have to get to work.” Aurora nods at him with a smile before he’s off down the hall. 

| | | | |

Helene is going through some of the photos she’s taken the past few days on the couch with Aurora. They’ve been the only ones in their green room all afternoon. A lot of the crew took the chance to sight see or sleep in so the arena isn’t too busy yet. 

“Aurora!” Helene squeals, “Look at this one of you and Harry.” Aurora looks up from her phone to Helene’s computer screen. 

“Of me and Harry?” She questions. and to her disbelief, on the screen is a photo of Harry and Aurora from last night. It’s nearly identical to the photo Helene choose for Harry’s social channels, but instead of seeing Harry’s reflection in the mirror, the photo was taken from a slightly different angle and you can see Aurora’s frame seated on top of the counter. Aurora face is soft and Harry has a slight smile on his face. 

“Imagine if we posted this photo on accident?”

“Helene!” Aurora yells. “That would be an absolute mess and I would have to change my name and leave the country. Hard pass.” Then their both in laughing fits. 

“That would stir some shit up,” Helene comments when she can finally catch her breath. 

“Ror!!!” Harry’s voice booms through the nearly empty room. “What’re you two up to?” He questions when he sees them trying to suppress their giggles

Helene and Aurora look at each other and burst into laughter again, Aurora can’t stop soon enough to stop Helene from showing Harry the photo of the 2 of them. She has the urge to stop him from seeing the photo, from seeing the way she was truly looking at him in awe while he was getting ready. She doesn’t ever remember making eye contact with him in that moment and Helene must have snapped the photo so fast that she caught the perfect moment. 

“Oh,” is all that comes out of Harry’s mouth the second he sees it. Aurora doesn’t know what to do in the moment and she just waits to see how Harry reacts. A smile starts to tear at his lips and within the same second he pulls his lips in by his teeth, doing his best to hide the smile that threatens to cover his entire face. The dimple that still shows up regardless tells all. He huffs after a moment. “Would ya send that one to me, Tiny?” 

‘Tiny’, what Harry’s nicknamed Helene, nods and quickly sends it over, Harry’s phone dinging in his pocket. Harry ignores it but thanks Helene before asking her if she wants to grab snacks and watch a movie with Aurora and him. She kindly declines and when Harry isn’t looking at her she winks at Aurora. Aurora thinks she might get a headache from all the eye rolls she has to do on a day to day basis. 

| | | | |

Aurora is having trouble keeping her eyes open when Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods pops up on her computer screen dressed in a hot pink suit. She told Harry when they pressed play on the movie that she was pretty tired and honestly didn’t think she would last an entire movie. She suggested they watch an episode of ‘friends’ instead but he insisted on playing Legally Blonde. He pulled Aurora by the waist and situated her in front of him on the couch, pulling her shoulders back so she could lay her head back on his chest. 

“Don’t mind if ya fall asleep on me,” he had whispered into her hair when the opening titles came up. 

Now, Aurora’s eyes are fluttering shut, not able to fight the tiredness off any longer. She lets go of the last bit of her weight she was supporting herself and is limp against Harry’s chest. Harry only tightens his arm around her waist when he smiles, noticing she’s finally given in to the sleep her body needed so badly. Harry can’t pay attention to the rest of the movie and he’s a bit sad that they didn’t get to watch and quote along to both of their favourite part. Instead, as Elle Woods repeatedly makes note that the daughter took a shower, he presses a kiss to her hair, breathing in the so uniquely Aurora scent. He can’t put his finger on it, but it’s something floral and coconutty with a hint of woodsy-ness to it. Harry tries to focus on the ending of the movie, his eyes start to well up at the end, without a doubt, a good distraction from Aurora’s sleeping body on top of him. He focuses on the small huffs of air that she lets out and rubs his thumb into her forearm, leaving behind goosebumps. He slumps down the couch a bit further, still holding her tight against him. He lets the end credits roll and once the room is silent, Aurora starts to stir. She mumbles an apology and he’s shushing her while she rolls her over so she’s facing him. Harry’s lips graze over her exposed ear and he presses light kisses down her jaw. 

Aurora’s still groggy from her mini nap and his lips on her skin is a feeling she can’t describe. Harry takes over all of her senses so quickly. His chest pressed against hers and his lips roaming her face is a bit overwhelming.

“Hey,” Harry says with a short giggle, his nose scrunching up when he meets his eyes with hers. His nose brushes against Aurora’s, earning a short giggle from her as well. 

“Should probably start getting everything ready…” Aurora whispers. She’s peeling her body away from his, as much as she just wants to stay right where she is. Sitting up on the couch is like pulling away 2 magnets, with Harry’s hands pulling on her waist and the added warmth quickly leaving her body, it feels wrong pulling away. She taps her computer, as the screen has gone dark now, it’s much later than she thought. “Harry, I really gotta go get everyone's clothing ready.” Harry’s sitting up beside her now. He lets out a loud sigh, knowing Aurora is right. 

“Jeeze,” he agrees when he sees the time, “but just like 2 more minutes,” he says as he wraps his arms around her waist and wiggles his face into her neck, his breath hot on her collarbone. 

“Harry,” Aurora whines, trying to pull out of his grip. 

“Rory,” he whines back. 

“Seriously Harry, we both have jobs to do…” she reminds him.

“Ugg,” he groans, “why must you be such a hard worker? Never forgetting anything, always 10 steps ahead of everyone…” 

“Hired me for a reason, didn’t ya?” Harry raises his eyebrows up in agreement, loosening his grip around her waist. “Come on, you’ve got sound check.” Aurora offers her hand out to him, pulling him off the couch. 

Later on, after Harry has finished soundcheck and eaten, he finds Aurora back in his dressing room, but instead of being sprawled out on the couch like earlier, she was working on getting his suit ready for the show. Harry pauses in the doorway, not making a noise and simply just watching her, she’s bopping around a bit to the music she’s got playing on her computer. A smile erupts on his face when he really pays attention to the music that’s playing. Aurora whips her head around, after setting the steamer down of course. Harry didn’t realise he let out a loud chuckle, making his presence known. 

“Whatcha listening to there, love?” Aurora’s heart sinks for a moment then a nervous, embarrassed laugh come out of her mouth. She hadn’t noticed that an old One Direction song came on shuffle. 

“Wait,” she starts to defend herself, “I just had my music on shuffle! Didn’t even notice it was playing!” 

“Uh huh, whatever you say, Ror.” He shakes his head at her. “Your dancing proves otherwise.” 

“You’re an absolute menace, ya know that right?” She rolls her eyes and turns back to the suit to finish what she was doing before being interrupted. 

Harry smirks at her before sitting down on the couch. “Quite excited for this suit, if I’m honest,” Harry offers, changing the subject. 

“Me too,” she agrees, smiling to herself. She can recall the first fitting of this specific suit and remember loving it. Not just the style or design but the way it fit Harry perfectly. He’s done frills and glitter, the whole nine yards, but this look was different. High waisted trousers, cropped jacket and his TPWK tank. Aurora remembers it fitting so perfectly she was antsy to see him perform in it. 

Before she knows it, it’s time for him to slip in to the suit. Ayae leaves the room after Claire requested that she needed some help cause she messed up her hair since Ayae had done it earlier. Aurora’s grabbing his boots from the crate and when she turns around she freezes. 

“Uhm,” she stutters out, “Uh, uhm, here-here’s your boots.” 

“Everything alright, Ror?” Harry questions as he finished tucking in the white tank to his pants. 

Aurora shakes her head, “Uh, yeah,” she pauses, “guess I just forgot how good this suit looks.” Harry raises his eyebrows at her, surprised at her confession. 

“Oh,” is all he lets out. She swears she can see a blush colour the tops of his cheeks. 

“I mean, they all-they all look good,” Aurora tries to back track, she’s cursing in her head, but gives up. “But, like, this one…” she trails off. She likes the surprised look on Harry’s face from her confession. “This one is just so… I don’t know,” she trails off shaking her head. “Anyways… put your boots on.” 

Harry makes his way to the large bathroom to brush his teeth and Aurora follows along. She plops on the counter again, her new favourite place to observe him as he finishes getting ready. Aurora is admiring the way the high waisted trousers fit perfectly and then her eyes catch his arm full of tattoos that are still on full display. The black ink in contrast to his light skin is mesmerizing and she doesn’t think she’s really ever paid as much attention to them as she would like to. The ones that scatter his forearms and lower bicep are familiar but the ones at his shoulder and chest are almost brand new to Aurora. She lets herself study them in detail while Harry brushes his teeth. The A and G on either of his shoulders are delicate and she wants, in the worst way to trace over them, all of them, with the pads of her fingers. The swallows that peak out from the top of the white tank top he’s wearing are driving her insane, she thinks. The white tank not only displays his tattoos but also shows of the ridges of his muscles. Harry’s not absurdly muscular or buff, but the definition that is there is obvious. Aurora doesn’t get it, she’s never seen someone’s muscles look so hard and strong but soft at the same time. His bare skin draws her in more and all she can think about is how his bare skin would feel wrapped around her. 

You’re getting ahead of yourself, Aurora. Slow the fuck down. 

She’s starting to lose her mind a bit over the view in front of her. She doesn’t know what’s going on with her. Aurora forces herself to peel her eyes away from him and it’s harder than threading the smallest needle in the world. She takes the time to look down at her hands and reground herself. Her mind is running a mile a minute and if she were to voice anything going on in her head nobody would understand because it would come out as gibberish. Aurora is finally able to focus on something besides Harry standing barely a foot away from her. She notices her nails could really use a fresh manicure and she thinks she’ll have to get a fresh one in the next city she finds herself in. 

Harry’s hand squeezes at her knee and she looks up to him. 

“Y’alright?” he questions. When she meets his eyes she offers him a small smile and his eyes quirk up in a question. 

“Mhm,” she hums, “lost in thought, I guess,” she answers, surprising herself. 

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” 

“Nothing important enough to bother you with,” she lets out with a laugh. 

“Never a both to me, love.” The nickname rings in her ears and her brain is no longer consumed by anything else. She nods at him silently. 

He sprays his cologne, the last step of his routine. Aurora appreciates his consistency and thoughtfulness when he gets ready for a show. Everything he does is done just so. She shakes herself out of her thoughts and pushes herself off of the counter. Before she can even say her good lucks and make her way out of the door he’s got a strong grip on her hip. 

“Hey,’ he barely whispers. Aurora avoids making eye contact. “Saw ya wandering eyes this entire time,” he teases. His free hand comes in contact with Aurora’s chin and tilts it up so she has no choice but to look at him. Sometimes she hates how forward he is. She’s nothing like him. She shakes her head at him lightly once both hands are on her waist. She lets her hands fall on to his chest in fist and her head hangs low. She voices an apology, quietly, but speaks nonetheless. 

“Don’t be sorry, don’t mind it one bit.” Harry places a soft kiss on the top of her cheekbone. Aurora lets one of her hands reach for the ‘G’ inked on his shoulder and trace over it like she had wanted to minutes ago. 

“Was admiring your tattoos,” she whispers, her eyes trained on the ink. 

Harry doesn’t say anything, he just lets her delicate fingers graze his skin. Aurora can feel her heart beating and it sends electric like shocks through her entire body. Her hands feel like their on fire and she can’t figure out if it’s because of the nerves or the heat radiating from Harry’s skin. Aurora’s brain turns off she thinks because before she knows she’s reaching her neck up and kissing the edge of Harry’s jaw softly. When her lips leave his skin she can actually hear Harry swallow. 

“I know we agreed to take it slow, but I’m having a real hard time trying not to kiss you right now.” Harry’s voice is deep and Aurora can feel his hot breath fan out across her face. She sucks in a breath, her hands reaching to the waistband of Harry’s high waisted pants that she’s been fawning over silently since he put them on a half hour ago. She breathes out his name as she shakes her head. Harry presses her into the wall, his hips square on hers. Aurora busies her hands at the belt loops before she realises what she’s actually doing. Harry’s lips land on her cheek and then again at the soft spot behind her ear. 

“Harry,” she voices again, trying her hardest to stop his movements. It’s not that she doesn’t like it or anything like that. It’s that she likes it too much. That it feels so unbelievably good. That she doesn’t want him to stop. But she has to stop him, she’s still not ready to take whatever this is, further. “You’ve got a show to do,” she whispers. This is a can of worms she cannot tackle right now. 

“They can wait,” he whispers into her neck. 

“Harry, please,” she almost begs, but she doesn’t know what for, “please,” she’s trying her best here, but his hot breath and his soft lips grazing over her skin repeatedly makes it hard and she doesn’t think she’ll be able to say no to his pouty lips and puppy dog eyes when he brings his face into her line of sight. “Slow, we said slow,” she finally says, using her hands to push him away barely an inch. “And-and, and the way these trousers look on you right now are really not helping,” she says quickly. She shakes her head at herself when she realises what she had just said aloud. A half chuckle, half huff leaves his mouth and she can tell he’s fighting a smile without even looking at her. 

“Sorry, sorry, sorry, right,” he says the second he locks eyes with her. “Sorry, don’t know what it is about you,” he shakes his head, “driving me crazy.” He smiles softly at her. A slight feeling of relief washes over her now knowing that they’re on the same page with all of this. He sighs. “Got a show to do, I guess.” 

Aurora laughs at him and he thinks his heart swells to double its size, just as it does every time she laughs. He shakes his head again, trying to get her out of his mind for just a short moment so he can get himself stage ready. Aurora slides herself out of the way of the door to grab his jacket. She instantly feels like she’s missing something now that he’s not consuming all of her senses. When she turns around Harry’s already halfway out the door. 

“Babe,” she’s walking towards him, “need your jacket.” Harry nods and he’s in a trance when she helps him slide it onto his shoulders. “Good luck, even though you never really need it.” 

He thanks her and smiles at her. The entire walk from his dressing room to the last set of doors to the stage, all he can think about is Aurora calling him ‘babe’. Normally before a show he can focus and get his mind in check but his brain is full of Aurora right now and he’s doing nothing to stop it. Using her as a flame to ignite his energy and drive this show he’s about to put on. He’s in deep and he knows it right in this moment. He knows that he’ll do anything she says, anything to put a smile on her face, to hear her breathe his name against his neck just as she had a few minutes ago. Harry’s willing to go as slow as humanly possible if it means that tomorrow, or the next day or 3 months from now or whenever, that he gets to call her his.

| | | | |

The first glimpse Harry gets of Aurora while he’s on stage is only seconds into “Only Angel.” Aurora had taken a moment to collect herself before making her way into the audience to watch the show. Harry sees Aurora walking from the side of the stage into the audience and an instant smile grazes his face as he sways from side to side to his music. The lyrics that come out of his mouth, he thinks, are so perfect for this moment - “She’s an angel” - an angel is what she is to him. He shakes his head, hoping that he could shake Aurora out of his head. 

Everyone in the arena is feeding off the energy that Harry is exuding on stage, like a how a flame thrives on extra oxygen. Harry is nothing but smiles and cheeky smirks, dimples on full display the entire time. Aurora doesn’t stay in her normal spot, nor does she seek out Helene. She finds herself on the outskirts of the pit on stage left. Her mind drifts while Harry moves swiftly across the stage. From the angle she’s looking at the stage from, she’s got a perfect profile view of him. She curses to herself when she realises she’s fawning over how he looks in those high waisted pinstripe trousers. At first she thought she was gushing over the trousers themselves, the construction, the styling, the way the fabric drapes at the hem, but she catches her mind drifting towards how Harry looks in them. His legs look like they go on forever, the white trouser stripe accentuating the fit of the leg. Aurora’s eyes trail up to his torso and all she wants to do is wrap her arms around his waist. She wants to run her hands along the smooth, shiny fabric and the more she thinks about it, the more her mind wanders. Shit. Aurora is overwhelmed by the thoughts traveling through her brain. The thoughts of her hands roaming his torso, sliding lower when they reach his back. She shakes her head, trying to rid herself of the thoughts. He’s technically my boss. But he’s also, just Harry. This is a fight she has in her head about a million times a day now. 

Aurora is surprised when the intro to “The Chain” begins. She enjoyed the show, that’s for sure, but she feels like she blinked, daydreamed about those damn high waisted trousers, and then he was starting his encore. Aurora can’t help but gaze up to him on the stage, she’s in the midst of admiring his confidence and power in his voice as he rocks back onto his heels and his shoulders follow suit, only accenting the way the suit fits. 

Harry hoists his shoulders up to his ears, both hands on the mic as he belts out. He lets his head fall back, eyes closed, a look a pure bliss falls across his face. Aurora sighs to herself and basques in the idea of bliss falling across his face when he’s with her. She’s fucked at this point and she knows it. She’s in too deep to go back now. Curses fill her head as the song ends and “Kiwi” starts. Harry’s jacket is unbuttoned and he’s fiddling with the waistband of his pants on the side closest to where Aurora is standing. One sly look from Harry to Aurora tells it all. She’s in for it. 

Aurora is bewildered by the fact that Harry is able to communicate with her in the audience. It’s escalated as each show has gone on and every single time he’s on stage he can find her in the crowd at any given moment. 

Reckless is the best word to describe Harry performing ‘Kiwi’. He’s let just about all of his guards down, his hair is no longer in the perfect place that Ayae had done earlier, and there’s a light layer of sweat that covers his exposed skin. Harry’s stealing glances at Aurora no matter where he is on stage. When he makes his way closer to where she is standing he lets himself dance a bit in front of her before he regrets doing so. Harry is instantly reminded how tight his pants truly are and that he’s gotten himself in a tight spot now. Anyone paying attention to Harry can see him pull at the crotch of his pants quickly as he walks towards his mic stand. He laughs to himself as he clicks his mic back into its stand. He takes a glance down to his trousers again, reaching down he goes to pull at the fabric that is sitting much too tight against his bits. All while pulling at his trousers, he searches for Aurora quickly and gives her a look that he hopes relays everything that is going through his head. He hasn’t broken eye contact with her and she can feel the heat rise up to her cheeks. Aurora’s thankful that Harry can’t see the colour her face right now. Her jaw drops at his actions. She wasn’t prepared for him to be so bold and obvious up on stage. He seals the moment with a slow motion swipe of his tongue across his lips. Aurora is left dumbfounded. Before she thinks he’s through with the act he’s putting on for her, he runs a hand through his hair. Though he’s not looking at Aurora, she knows every single action he does in the next few minutes is for her and she can feel the tips of her ears heat up now. 

It’s New York baby always jacked up,

Holland tunnel for a nose, it’s always backed up,

When she’s alone she goes home to a cactus, 

In a black dress, she’s such an actress. 

Harry runs his hands from his hips down to his thighs and then brings his hands up to his head, bringing all his focus to his hips moving side to side. Aurora drops her head back on her shoulders with an eye roll. She doesn’t know what to do with herself right now. 

I’m gonna pay for this. 

He looks directly at her and the look on his face is best described as helpless. Aurora is frozen for a moment before she lets all of her guards down and loses herself in the music. 

| | | | |

Harry’s taking a sip from his new bottle of beer when he hears the light chime of the bar door. He thinks it might be his 3rd or 4th but hasn’t been keeping count. He’s out with the Adam and Mitch again and some crew members tagged along as well. Harry’s reaches for his phone for the millionth time in the past 30 minutes to see if Aurora’s texted him back. She hasn’t. He’s been pouting about it all night. After the show, Aurora was quiet, but much more hands on than normal. They both were pretty quiet in Harry’s dressing room. When Aurora hugged Harry once he got back to his dressing room she let her hands wander his torso like she thought about the entire show She also pressed a handful of kisses to the underside of his jaw before giggling and breaking away. She apologized, mumbling about not being sure why she was acting like this. Harry responded with a squeeze at her hip and then mirrored her mumbling and spoke about him hoping she would get like this. Aurora takes a step away whispering “slow” as a reminder but she doesn’t know if it’s just to remind herself what they agreed on or to remind Harry. Probably both. 

Harry’s too busy checking his phone to notice that the bell at the door was the result of Aurora walking into the bar. Harry wishes he could bring himself to enjoy the time with his friends but he can’t stop thinking about her. When he asked Aurora if she wanted to come out with them she kindly declined, again. He texted her once he got to the bar hoping to get her to change her mind or try to convince her to meet up with him later. 

Aurora and Helene walk into the bar, arms linked and smiles on their faces. Once Harry left the arena, Helene found Aurora and after a few glasses of wine, Helene convinced Aurora to go to the bar and surprise Harry.  

“What if he doesn’t care that I’m here?” Aurora whispers to Helene. 

“Doesn’t care?” Helene questions in disbelief. “Was I the only one who saw him on stage tonight or?” 

“Oh stop,” Aurora hushes. They’re both giggling again. They’ve giggled a lot tonight as a result of a bottle of wine shared between them.

Harry recognizes Aurora’s laugh and his head shoots up, hair falling in his face from the quick movement. He can’t help the smile that covers his entire face when he sees her leaning against the bar. Harry slides out of the booth nodding his head towards Aurora at the bar when Mitch questions where he’s going. 

“Add their drinks to my tab, Rob,” Harry tells the bartender. Helene lets out a laugh, shoots Aurora an all knowing look, and thanks Harry before walking away to find Adam and Mitch. “What changed your mind?” Harry asks as he takes a step closer to Aurora. She shrugs her shoulders, suddenly nervous, the confidence from the wine already gone. She reaches for her Whisky Soda the second Rob slides it to her. She takes a hearty sip before she shrugs her shoulders, avoiding meeting his eyes. “Well,” Harry continues, “thanks for coming,” he offers shyly. 

“Show was pretty great tonight, thought I should celebrate with you,” she finally answers. Harry quirks up an eyebrow. She can see the smirk that compliments his raised eyebrows from the corner of her eye. She focuses on the drink in front of her, watching a drop of condensation rolling down the side of the glass and hit the bar counter. Harry steps closer to her, not even close to touching her still but her hair stands on end across her arms and a shiver rolls down her spine. 

Harry dips his head into the crook of Aurora’s shoulder and he pauses before letting his lips fall to the sliver of bareskin between the trim of her tshirt and the base of her neck.  Another shiver runs down her spine and Harry lets a chuckle vibrate against her skin. 

“You know, we should probably take a look at some of my trousers, they seem to fit a bit tighter than before,” he says casually when he pulls away. He takes a swig from Aurora’s drink nonchalantly. His calm demeanor and confidence frustrates Aurora and she shakes her head lightly. “Why’re you shaking your head?” Harry asks through a light laugh, setting the glass back down, now substantially less full.

Aurora sighs and purses her lips in thought. She finishes off what’s left of her drink before speaking, needing all the courage she can get to say what she really wants to say out loud. “I could give you a list of reasons why your pants fit differently, babe.” Making eye contact with Rob she signals she needs another drink. Harry’s mind draws completely blank when Aurora reaches over and hooks her finger in one of his belt loops, her fingers grazing along the fabric and stitches. “But, it seemed like your dancing was the culprit tonight…” Aurora adds, continuing to mindlessly run her fingertips lightly of the stitches on the waistband of his trousers. Harry huffs at her, finally focusing on her face instead of her hands. 

“Think it was more than the dancing,” Aurora’s eyebrow raises at the sound of Harry’s voice. It was deeper than normal, it sunk to her bones and she’s now consumed by the mixture of his voice and the look in his eyes. His pupils have expanded and even in the dark light Aurora could tell that his bright green irises are only a small ring around his dark pupils. One of Harry’s hands lands on her thigh, “I think I have you to blame for tonight.” Aurora’s entire body stills, her hands loosely grip the belt loop and she lets out a shaky breath. She wasn’t expecting him to be so bold but then she remembers the events from earlier that night. Memories of Harry on stage flash across the inside of her eyelids as she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She shakes her head before reaching both of her hands up to Harry’s neck. He complies with her movements and leans down closer to her. 

“Ror.” Harry’s breath fans across Aurora’s face. Aurora voice is stuck at the bottom of her throat and she hopes that she’s relaying what she’s feeling and thinking through her eyes. Before she can think any longer she lets her lips press against Harry’s. They’re both hesitant, relishing in the moment. Aurora grips at the shorter hair at the back of Harry’s neck when his lips press a little harder into hers. She can feel Harry’s shoulders relax as he continues to kiss her. His hands find grip at her waist as his hot breath fans over her face when they break apart for barely a second. Their noses bump slightly before Aurora connects their lips again. The various sounds of the bar are drowned out completely and they don’t know how long they stay kissing at the bar counter. 

Harry pulls away first and Aurora finds herself chasing his lips. Harry chuckles at her actions, endeared by her confidence in the moment. “Hey,” he whispers when she opens her eyes. 

“Hey,” she whispers back, her lips almost close enough to brush against his again. Harry grabs their drinks from the counter after taking a moment between them. 

“Come on,” he says motioning his head towards their group sitting at a large corner booth. Aurora is taken off guard by Harry’s casual transition. When Aurora doesn’t move Harry reaches down and presses a quick kiss to her lips. “Come on, love.” Aurora huffs and jumps off of the stool she was sitting on and reaches for the crook of his elbow. Harry smiles down at her as they walk towards their friends. 

It’s as if nothing had changed. They slide into the booth and fit into the conversations that were already happening. Harry’s complementing a story Adam is telling with a quick witty joke when he moves his beer bottle to his other hand and places his now free arm around Aurora’s shoulder. Harry can feel Aurora’s chest rattle when she gives a good laugh at his jokes. He smiles as he watches her join into the conversation. She even lets a hand rest on Harry’s thigh, squeezing it every so often. Harry presses constant kisses to her hair or behind her ear.

Aurora’s got her 3rd Whiskey Soda in front of her and she turns to look at Harry as he finishes a story. Mitch takes over the story for Harry, going on about one of their crazy times in Jamaica and Harry takes the opportunity that is presented in front of him. With all the attention on Mitch and Aurora still gazing up at him, he connects their lips. They’re both smiling into the kiss. It doesn’t last long, a quick peck, before they’re both engrossed in the story being told. 

The night escalates and somehow Harry gets everyone to stand up and dance around the bar. They’re the only group left and they’ve taken control over the sound system. As “Girls on Film” by Duran Duran blast through the speakers, Harry grabs for Aurora’s hands and is dancing her around, twisting her this way and that, throwing in a few spins, and pressing their lips together whenever he can. Aurora’s cheeks hurt from the wide grin that’s been on show majority of the night. She throws her head back while singing along to the song and Harry can’t think he’s been much happier than he is right now. He thanks the alcohol that’s running through both of their systems but also acknowledges that it’s pushed both of their guards down. 

Harry asks Aurora to come back to his hotel room when they leave the bar. She kindly declines, even after Harry drunkenly clarifies that he just wants to sleep but doesn’t want to say goodnight. He never wants to say goodnight. Harry walks Aurora to her own hotel room instead. He’s said something that neither of them can remember but has put both of them into an absolute laughing mess outside Aurora’s door. 

Harry takes Aurora’s face in his hands, gently once they’ve both taken a breath and stopped laughing. Looking at her eyes then her mouth, then her eyes again, he finally closes the small gap between them. The kiss is kind of messy, but neither mind in that moment. Harry furthers the kiss taking Aurora’s bottom lip in between his and sucks lightly, a small whine coming from Aurora. He likes her reaction and does the same action with her top lip. Another whine. Aurora’s hands roam Harry’s broad shoulders and Harry’s hands move down to her waist, leaning her against the hotel room door. When the door rattles slightly their both reminded that they are standing in the hallway of the hotel. Harry pulls away with regret. 

“I’ve got an early flight to Italy,” he says because he actually cannot think of anything good to say that will compare to this moment. He shakes his head in an apology knowing he broke the moment. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening, okay?” 

Aurora nods, dizzy from the whiskey and Harry’s lips. Before she closes her hotel room door behind her Harry kisses her cheek and gives her an eye wrinkling smile. It’s safe to say that Harry and Aurora both fall asleep with grins etched into their faces. There are no traces of regret or worry in Aurora’s thoughts from the events that happened tonight and she finally feels at ease. 

I hope you enjoyed !!!! Comments & feedback ALWAYS extremely welcome !!!! Share it with your friendsssssss :)))) love you mean it. 

[lancearcherinrippedjeans]

Don’t Hurt Him

For previous parts, click HERE

Pairings -  Adam Page x OFC, Chuck Taylor x OC, Marq Quen x OFC

Catergories - Fluff, comedy and kinda angsty at the end

Warnings/Promises - Cheating, cussing

Word Count - 2,333

Summary/Desc - Marq and Bri get closer, week by week. Though, there is a slight dilemma in the road.

@kploveswrestling​ ,,,Bri and Alex might have something in common here

Another week at Daily’s Place for Gabby, Parker and Bri. Well, for Gab and Parker.

“Where is she?” Parker said, pacing back and forth in the parking lot. “You act like I know.” Gabby said, smacking her lips. The two had been calling and texting Bri for 30 minutes, not sure where the hell she was. “How much do you wanna bet that she’s sleeping?” Gabby asked, thinking of things Bri usually does.

Parker stopped her pacing and looked over at Gabby, “23 dollars.” “That’s very specific.”

“You’re very specific.” “Parker that makes no fucking sense!” “You make no fucking sense!” “Y’know what-” The two sat there arguing when they were stopped by the honk of a horn. They looked over to see a car pulling up. They had no idea who it was, until Bri stepped out of the passenger seat. “Brianna where the fuck were y-” Gabby was about to yell, when Marq also stepped out of the car.

“She was with me. Sorry that we lost track of time.” He said, happiness in his voice. Parker glared at Marq, swiping her tongue across her teeth. She was about to argue with him before her face softened and she held out her hand, “Pay up Gabby.”

“Goddamnit.” Gabby grumbled under her breath, paying up.

Marq looked over at Bri, “I’m gonna go find Isiah, meet up with us in 20?” Bri nodded, a certain look in her eyes. Marq just smiled and walked towards the building, “Catch you guys later.”

Gabby started grinning at Bri, “What?!” Gabby held her hands up in defense, “Nothing! Nothing.” “Just that you and Marq are in looove.” Parker said, voice girly at the end.

Bri shoved past the two, “Shut up, we are not.” “Okay then what are you two?” Gabby asked, genuinely curious. Bri stopped and turned around, a huge smile on her face, “I don’t know yet, but I really really like him.”

“Then ask him out!” Parker exclaimed. Bri turned away from the two and walked away mumbling, “We’ll see.”

The Elite

The The Elite

The Elite

The The Elite

The Elite

The The Elite

Superkick PAAARRRR-

Gabby was sitting in the EVP’s room, waiting on Adam. When she heard footsteps. “Why are you in here?” She looked up from her phone to see Kenny Omega above her. “I’m waiting for Adam to get back.”She said in confusion, could she not be back here? “Well uh, I need to talk to both of you anyways, but mostly you.” Kenny sat besides Gabby. “What is it?” Gabby folded her hands in her lap, interested in what Kenny had to say.

“I don’t know you. But I don’t like this thing you and Adam have. You're making him worse.” Kenny spat while looking down at the ground, not being able to look Gabby in the eye. “Worse?! That man isn’t worse Kenny, he’s being himself.” Gabby aggressively stated, she was offended by his words. “Look Gabby, no.” Kenny laughed in a serious matter, “He is not being himself ok? I’ve known him for years and he’s never been drinking this heavily. I blame YOU!” He shouted.

Gabby smirked, “What Kenny? Ya jealous you can’t find love? Get over yourself and let your friend be happy.” Gabby got up from her seat, Kenny got up as well. “Who the fuck are you to tell me about my love life? You’re not what he needs.” Kenny got in her face. “You know what? I’m gonna leave before I say something I’m gonna regret.” She gave him the middle finger before walking out the door.

Gabby walked out the room when on her way down the hallway she ran into Adam. “Gabby?” He mumbled out, obviously drinking again. She stop in her footsteps, “Get your fucking friends in line Adam. Because I’m not dealing with that.” Gabby said. Then kept walking, not wanting to deal with Adam right now.

Who The Fuck Is Griff Garrison?

Parker sat on her phone, living her best socially awkward life and sat on the apron of the ring. For the first time on Being The Elite she was genuinely smiling, that is until Alex Reynolds and John Silver walked up. 

“Parker! Good to see ya!” John spoke up, happy tone in his voice. She rolled her eyes and groaned, “What the fuck do you guys want now?” Alex chuckled, “I think it’s pretty clear, we-”

“Want me in the Dark Order?”

“Yes, yes exactly!” Parker shook her head, “I made it pretty clear that it’s a no.” John put his hands up, trying to reason with her, “Listen, we got Colt, we got Anna Jay, you, my friend, are the perfect edition to the Dark Order.”

“No.”

“Oh come on! You would be another one of the first evers!” Parker arched a brow, “Really? Like what?”

John stuttered for a second before speaking up, “You’d be the first non-binary member!” “And?” “And the first one who’s 5’10!”

“Stu Grayson is 5’10. See you guys can’t even keep track of all of them.” John and Alex whispered back and forth for a moment before looking back to Parker, “Well, your anger issues can actually play a huge part in-”

“Anger issues!? You’d better hope I don’t smack your idiotic big ass heads off your shoulders!” Alex leaned down to John, “I told you.”

“Y’know what? That’s it!” Parker stomped off camera while Reynolds and Silver taunted her, “Alright fine!” “Walk away you pussy!”

Their words suddenly stopped when she walked back, arm ahold of Mr. Brodie Lee, “What’s his face, House Mouse over there,” she pointed towards John, “had the AUDACITY, to insult me, saying I had anger issues, and call me a certain word when I walked away.”

John tried to convince Brodie that it wasn’t true when Parker continued, “And Pretty Boy over here,” She paused, “Well he didn’t do anything. So you, gentleman, correction, spooky perverts, will not be seeing me in the Dark Order.”

She grabbed her jacket, “Good day!” “But-” Parker turned around, clearly stifling laughter, “I said good day.”

Brodie turned to John, no words coming out of his mouth, all he did was pull out papers and throw them at Silver’s face. “Gah!”

Hey, did you like that video? Click the screen for more.

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And thanks so much for Being The Elite.

The Elite The The Elite

What Nick you’re not gonna sing it all with me this time?

After BTE, Parker was talking with the three men she had done her bit with this week, “Way to call out my anger issues guys.” The three men laughed before Alex spoke up, “I mean, are we wrong?” “Watch it pretty boy.”

The conversation went on for a few minutes before Chuck snuck up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, she let out a small yelp before she saw who it was, she rolled her eyes and smiled, “Why you gotta scare me?”

Chuck shrugged, “Because it’s fun and you look adorable when you get scared.” The three men in front of them made that annoying “aw” sound. “Bye now.” She said, grabbing Chuck’s hand and walking them away. “You have to let people call you cute at some point!” “Shut it pretty boy!”

Chuck looked down at Parker, brows raised, “Pretty boy?” She put her hand on his arm, “Oh come on it’s just a nickname. You know you’re my only pretty boy.” 

Chuck put his hand around her shoulder, “And you’re my only whatever.” “Even though you could go for anyone else yet you go for me.”

Chuck signed before he turned and hugged her, “Stop over thinking it,” He said in a soft voice, “It’s only been a few weeks and I can already tell you’re about to be one of the best things that's ever happened to me, ya idiot.”

She looked up at him and smiled, “I’ll try, for you.” They shared a kiss before he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, “C’mon, let’s go read the comments about us.”

Brianna walked into the bar, without Marq surprisingly.

“Bri!” Gabby nudged her shoulder in a greeting matter. “Hey bitch! And hey, Adam, and Cash?” Gabby nodded and chuckled, “Look I don’t wanna come off weird but, you should come out with us.” Gabby took a sip of her alcohol. “Yeah Bri, see Cash here he uh, can help you around.” Adam explained. Cash waved at Bri, his way of greeting her. “Gabby you do know I’m in a sorta kinda relationship right?” Bri and Marq still didn’t know what they were, all Bri knew is that she really liked him.

“See keywords sorta kinda, ma’am you can go out once.” “You know what? Whatever I’ll go.” Bri gave in. “Great!” Cash tilted his cup towards Bri, while she tried to hide that she was blushing.

 The couple had walked over to their usual spot where they had multiple shot glasses, full of alcohol. “You wanna know something babe?” Adam took one shot. “What is it?” Gabby took one shot, then smiled at him. “Getting drunk with love helps my anxiousness.” Adam took another shot. “Aww Adam, I love you so much.” Gabby ran her hand through his long curly hair.

 “You know I really enjoyed myself last night.” Gabby smirked, taking another shot. “Oh really?” Adam's eyebrows lifted, the previous night they slept with each other for the first time. “Yessir.” Gabby said, pulling Adam in for a kiss. Adam smirked at the ground then looking back at her, “Well I’m glad you did, I don’t wanna make you anything less than happy.” Adam made his lips down to her neck. Gabby pulled his head up from her then looked him in his eye. “Same for you.”

 In the corner, far away from Gabby and Adam, were Bri and Cash, who actually seemed quite awkward.

“So...how long have you, Gabby and Parker been friends?” Bri smiled, “Well Gabby and I have been friends for the longest, we made a group chat that we thought would die within a few days, but I met Parker there, and the rest is history. How did you and Dax become friends?”

 Cash took a drink before answering, “We almost instantly became friends for our respect for Bret Hart, and look at where we are now. Weird things happen.” Bri laughed and absentmindedly put her hand on his shoulder.

 Many topics and a many drinks later, Bri and Cash were pretty much shit-faced.

 “So you and Marq, how long have y’all been dating?” “Oh, we’re not, y’know, dating.”

 “Really? I just assumed that you two were, considering you guys have been together a lot these past few weeks.” “I mean, yeah, it’s been like what a month or two? He hasn’t asked me to be his girlfriend yet.”

 “So would it be okay if I called you beautiful?” Bri let out a flirty laugh, “Of course.”

 “What about if I tell you I’ve had my eyes on you since you first walked in here with Parker and Gab?” “Then I wouldn’t stop you at all.” Cash put his hand on her thigh, “How about I kiss you right now?” Bri bit her lip, “Do it.”

 Cash listened to Bri and connected his lips with her. He pulled away, “That was...I’m sorry I don’t know why I asked that.” Bri put her hand on his chest, “Don’t apologize, just do it again.”

 Cash pulled Bri back, hands on her waist while her hands tangled in his hair. Even if they weren’t in a dark corner, Adam and Gabby were too distracted by each other, so no one could see Cash and Bri, at least that’s what they thought.

 They heard a cough, interrupting them, they looked up to see the surprising duo of Isiah and Parker, probably looking for Bri. “Excuse me, could we borrow Bri for a moment.”

 Bri laughed, still shit-faced, “Be right back handsome.” She got up, and Isiah grabbed her by the arm, dragging her away from Cash.

 “Bri what the fuck?” Parker spat. “What Parker, I’m just having a little fun.” “You are kissing someone that isn’t Marq.” Isiah said, trying to stick up for his best friend. “Marq isn’t even my boyfriend, plus he doesn’t need to know, you guys just have to keep it a secret….shhhhhhhhhh.” She held up her finger to her mouth, while laughing like it was some joke.

 Parker looked over at Isiah, “What do we do?” 

 Isiah just scoffed, “Well, I don’t want my best friend heartbroken, so I’ll keep it a secret. I don’t know how long.” He looked over at Bri, “Cause Marq is important to me.” He turned to walk away, “Catch you later Parker.”

 Bri just laughed, “What’s the problem with him?”

 “Do you not even realize what you just did?” Bri just shrugged, “No, not really.” Parker shook her head, “Don’t hurt Marq, Bri. I’m serious.”

 “I won’t!”

 Parker walked away, angrily. Bri heard a ding from her phone. She saw it to see it was a text from Cash.

 Don’t worry, what Marq doesn’t know won’t kill him ;)

You can come stay in my room tonight if you want

 Suddenly Bri realized that what she was doing was wrong, but, she still wanted to do it. “Fuck. This is really really bad.”

 Cash walked out of the bar, clearly impatient, “You comin with me?”

 Bri bit her lip, “Let’s go.” From inside, Gabby and Adam saw the pair walk away, “Maybe, he’s just showing her around.” He suggested.

 Gabby sighed, “Yeah, but I’m sure it’s not around Daily’s Place.” Bri and Cash got in a Lyft, Marq completely off her mind.

 What Marq doesn’t know, won’t kill him. Right?

Omg???? Part 3??? On a Sunday??? Sorry guys! I got school tomorrow and won’t be able to take my laptop to school. BUT part 4 WILL be out next MONDAY. Hope you enjoyed! <3

[generaldisdainn]

Four of a Kind

AO3 link

Rating: MA

Summary: After accepting a job as the head of marketing for a local animal shelter, Anna finds herself in a new city in need of a place to live. Luckily, 3 guys know just the place.

Previous chapter

Chapter 6 (another reminder of the fic rating for this chapter!!!)

This whole fic has been written in collaboration with my friend happycap77 on ao3, and this is another one of his amazing chapters! <3 

“I think we make a pretty damn good team,” Ryder boasted.

Ryder and Anna both stepped back from the banner they had spent the better part of the afternoon on. The words “Adoption Day” were written in huge multicolored letters, followed by enough exclamation marks for a short novel. Several large and small illustrations of dogs and cats were dotted around and between the letters; Ryder was particularly proud of the one he drew poking out through the “O” of “Adoption.”

“Yeah, we do,” Anna agreed, holding up her hand for a high-five. Ryder obliged, making a satisfying slap that rang through the apartment’s common area.

“Thank you for helping me with this, Ryder. It really means a lot.”

“It’s no trouble at all. I’m happy to help you with creative stuff.”

“Yeah, but really. It wouldn’t have looked even half as good if it was just me doing this.”

“Don’t say that, the design was your idea!”

“Yeah, but actually being good at arts and crafts was yours.”

“Agree to disagree, then?”

“Sure, let’s go with that.”

They stood and admired their work for a bit in comfortable silence.

“It really does look good, though,” Ryder said.

“I can’t wait to show it to Kristoff,” Anna said eagerly. Ryder gave her a sideways look. “...And Sven,” Anna continued. “It’s just that...that Kristoff has visited me at work and Sven hasn’t yet, so...I don’t know, I think he might appreciate it more.”

Ryder turned his head back slowly, then checked the time on his phone. 4:30 PM. He looked back at Anna, and a shadow of a smirk appeared on his face. “Well, it’s a good thing he’ll be home soon.”

Anna shot a puzzled look Ryder’s way. “No, he...he always gets home a few minutes after 6:30 on Fridays.”

Ryder smiled. “Thought so.” He decided to take the scheme one step further. “It’s too bad Sven has to stay at the school late today, though.”

“Oh...yeah,” Anna said absent-mindedly, lost in the hope that Kristoff will show her his adorable, boyish smile when he sees the banner. She almost didn’t notice Sven walk through the door.

“Oh, wow, hi Sven!” Anna spun around to greet him. “I thought you-”

“Can’t talk, must eat,” Sven interrupted and headed straight for the fridge. “Y’all better not have eaten the last slice of pizza. Someone will die if-” He opened the door to find the slice still there in a plastic bag. He offered the two of them a sweet smile. “I never doubted you.”

“Bon appetit,” Ryder said. He turned to Anna, unable to contain his mischievous grin.

“What?” Anna asked, a nervous smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Oh, nothing,” Ryder answered. “I just really think the shelter will love the banner.” He started to walk away. He paused, as a thought occurred to him. “Hey Sven, can we break into the liquor tonight?”

“Fine,” Sven said, a morsel of chewed pizza erupting from his mouth. “Leave me in peace.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Ryder said, and he walked off.

Anna remained perplexed by their interaction. First, he said Kristoff was coming home early, which she was certain he wasn’t. Then Sven walked through the door seconds after Ryder said he had to stay late. Was he really that unaware of his roommates’ schedules? The people he’d been living with for well over a year now? And why did he say “thought so”? Anna knew he was the most reserved of the four of them, but he seemed to be good friends with the two of them; she imagined he would at least know when they usually get home. Then again, she didn’t know when Sven was off work today--

Then it hit her like a bag of ice. Of course Ryder knew when the two of them were supposed to get home today. He wanted to see if she knew. That sneaky little bastard, Anna thought. She strode over to Ryder’s door and quickly rapped on it. “Ryder, can we talk?”

The door swung open a few moments later. “Yeah, of course. Come on in.”

She walked right past him, making sure to avoid Carlos the cactus, and sat down on his bed. The instant Ryder closed the door, she started talking.

“Look, Ryder, I don’t know what you think you know about how I feel about Kristoff, or why I knew when he was supposed to get home and not Sven or whatever, but it really felt like you were testing me out there and...well, I didn’t appreciate that.”

“Yeah, I was thinking about that. I’m sorry, I was just trying to have a little fun.”

“Okay. Apology accepted. But still, I want you to know that there’s nothing between Kristoff and me because that would be weird.”

“Anna, it’s-”

“And I really don’t want to make things weird, I mean I just got here—well, I didn’t just get here, but compared to you guys I’ve barely been living here at all and to just show up and start dating one of you would be, like, overstepping boundaries or something.”

“Okay, can I-”

“And also me knowing when he gets home doesn’t prove I’m into him, FYI, it just means I pay attention to people’s schedules, like you always water the bathroom plants every three days in the afternoon.”

“Anna, can I say something?”

“Yes, sorry, go ahead.”

“It’s okay if you’re into Kristoff.”

Anna’s eyebrows shot up before furrowing just above her nose. “I...um-”

“And I’ll let you in on a secret.” He leaned in a bit and spoke in softer tones. “I’m pretty sure Kristoff’s into you too.”

Anna wanted to smile from ear to ear, but she didn’t want to seem overexcited at hearing the news. Still, despite her best efforts, the corners of her mouth lifted ever so slightly upward. “...Oh.”

“Kristoff...he just acts differently around you. I don’t know about Sven, but I’ve certainly noticed that his whole demeanor changes from…” He paused, as though trying to find the right word. “...sulky and...and standoffish to uncharacteristically cheerful. You just have that effect on him. And I’ve never seen him get that way before, even with-” He cut himself off.

“With who?” Anna asked.

“Never mind, it doesn’t matter,” Ryder responded. “What does matter is that you’re bringing out a side of him that we haven’t seen in a while.”

Anna’s face reddened against her will. Did she actually have a chance to realize her fantasies? All of a sudden getting there seemed so easy. She swelled with anticipation.

“...Really?”

“Here’s my advice to you,” Ryder continued. “Show him that it’s working. I’m not going to give you details, but he’s had it rough. Sven and I, we do the best we can, but...to me at least, it seems like you’re exactly the kind of person he needs in his life right now.”

Every word Ryder said gave Anna a rush. She had no idea she meant that much to Kristoff. That, or he was scheming again, Anna thought. But he sounded sincere in everything that he said. She knew Ryder fairly well at this point, and she knew that he wouldn’t want to embarrass her.

“That, um...yeah, I’ll...I guess I’ll try,” Anna said.

“No pressure, Anna. If you don’t want to, you shouldn’t have to. But I just want to see you and Kristoff be happy, and I really think the best way to do that is for you to be together.”

“No, yeah, that definitely makes sense,” Anna murmured. “We’ll see what happens.”

“I guess we will.”

Anna stood up and turned to leave, but stopped to say one more thing. “Ryder, I’m...I’m actually kinda excited for tonight.” A smile touched her face.

Ryder laughed and returned her smile. “Me too. Now get outta here,” he teased.

Anna scurried out of Ryder’s room and shut the door behind her. She really was excited for tonight, but the excitement was bogged down by uncertainty. She knew almost for certain that Kristoff was a big softie underneath his stoic exterior, but she didn’t know if it was actually because of her or if it was just because she was getting to know him better.

There’s history you don’t know, Anna, she thought to herself. Don’t assume anything.

***

“Drink, bitches!” Sven shouted.

Drinking socially wasn’t something that Anma did often, but she was determined to venture beyond her comfort zone. It was already paying off; tonight, she discovered she had a taste for rum and coke.

Anna growled in protest. Sven never told her he was so good at quarters. Of the twenty-five turns they’d taken, he’d landed twelve quarters in the glass that sat in the center of the four of them. Ryder, who was on his team, had scored four times. Kristoff, who was on Anna’s team, had fared slightly better with a score of seven, and Anna had a score of...zero. Not to mention aiming at the glass was getting harder and harder with every swig she took.

Anna tried to stay as sober as possible by remembering how the evening started. She spent almost half an hour trying to pick out an outfit that she hoped Kristoff would think was cute. She settled on a floral-print tube top that exposed her midriff and the freckles on her shoulders, and a pair of denim cutoffs that were the tiniest bit too short. She checked herself out in the mirror and decided she looked hot, but also couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. Was she showing too much skin? Would it seem like she’s trying too hard? Would Kristoff even pay attention to her? What would Sven and Ryder think?

All the questions flew out of her head as she heard the front door slam. She opened her bedroom door to find Kristoff working his boots off of his feet.

“Welcome home, good sir,” Anna jokingly announced in a posh British accent.

“Thanks,” Kristoff responded absentmindedly. “Have you talked to Sven recently? He told me he wanted to get wasted tonight and I don’t think that’s a, um...uh…” His words trailed off as he looked up at Anna. A few more seconds, and he completely forgot what he wanted to say.

Anna relaxed. Her reservations about her outfit dissipated as she smiled and bit her lower lip. “Yeah, it was actually Ryder’s idea. I haven’t gotten drunk with you guys before and I think it would be fun!”

“Uh...yeah,” Kristoff forced out.

“Awesome!” Anna said. She turned around to walk back to her room. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked, but it didn’t seem creepy; rather, she had cast a line and he had taken the bait. “Let us know when you’re ready!”

“Uh...I gotta-” Kristoff was cut off by the slam of Anna’s bedroom door.

Anna never found out what he was thinking, but it must have been good because they were now sharing the large papasan chair, the curved sides of it encouraging the two occupants to be pressed up against each other. Though Kristoff hadn’t tried as hard with his outfit as she had; he wore a black V-neck tee that was a size too small and, Anna noticed, the same jeans he wore when he helped her with her dresser.

Maybe he did try , Anna thought. He does look sexy.

Kristoff looked at Anna every chance he got, though he tried to be discreet about it. Throughout the entire night his nose was inundated with the scent of her shampoo, the sweet strawberries-and-cream aroma to which he developed a Pavlovian response. His heart lifted and his blood rushed whenever he smelled it.

He watched her turn the quarter over in her fingers, trying to find the right angle, or the right technique, or the right whatever she was looking for to score her first point.

“Hurry it up, honey,” Sven said.

“Don’t listen to him, Anna, you got this,” Kristoff said. “I believe in you.”

Anna shot him a dirty look that couldn’t contain the smile behind it. “Don’t patronize me,” she said, enunciating clearly in an attempt to keep from slurring her words, mostly effectively.

“I’m not!” Kristoff’s smile broadened. “I really do believe in you!”

Getting a few drinks in him loosened Kristoff up without making him too loopy. He found himself feeling really happy having fun with friends, but mostly being this close to Anna. He couldn’t remember why he never let himself get this close before.

Anna squinted her eyes and curled her tongue up to her nose as she aimed and aimed again, before finally letting the quarter loose. It bounced off the table, spun in the air, seemed to hover there for a second or two...and landed in the cup with a satisfying clink .

“FUCK YES!!” Anna shouted as she shot her hands up in the air.

“Ah, Christ, Anna,” Kristoff said as he clapped his hand over his ear. Anna’s elation immediately turned to concern as she turned to lay her hands on Kristoff’s arm.

“Oh my god oh my god oh my god, I’m so sorry, I was just really excited,” Anna said, tripping over the words. “Are you okay? Do you want me to kiss it?”

“Kiss the inside of my ear?” Kristoff laughed, causing Anna to burst into laughter. Her laugh wasn’t reserved or bubbly like the ones Kristoff couldn’t stand; it was loud and irregular, full of snorts and gasps. He loved it.

“Yeah, just limme git in ther-r-re,” Anna giggled, pursing her lips into a tight ring. Anna talking into and breathing on his ear sent a euphoric chill through his body.

“No, no, come on, Anna,” Kristoff said. “Let’s keep playing. Ryder, it’s your turn.”

“Um, uh, I’m actually out of quarters,” Ryder said. “I’m pretty sure that was all twenty-five.”

“Looks like we win!” Sven said. “Victory, Team...uh...Svyder? Ryden? Ren?”

“Aw, fuck you guys,” Kristoff said. “We’ll get you next time, right, Anna?”

“Pfffffft, no we won’t,” Anna said, laughing and flopping over onto Kristoff’s lap.

“Anna, come on,” Kristoff protested, trying to lift her off of him. “God, how are you…” No matter how he tried, she kept falling out of his hands and back onto his lap. “You’re like liquid! Stop!”

“I’m just happy-y-y-y,” Anna said, almost melodically. “I’m so glad I moved here, I love you guys.” She looked up at Kristoff, her eyes half-open and dreamy. “Even you, grumpy man,” she said, pitching her voice down as she spoke.

Kristoff didn’t know what to do. Here was Anna, inebriated and uninhibited, in the cutest outfit he’d ever seen her in, literally throwing herself at him. He knew what he wanted to do, but he didn’t think now was the right time.

“Anna, seriously, you’re drunk.”

“No I’m not!” Anna shouted as she sat up. “Watch! Z, Y, X, uh, V-”

“You couldn’t even make it three letters in!”

“No no no no no hold on hold on hold on, uh, Z, Y, X, W ,” she said, pointing a finger at Kristoff. “V, U, T...um…”

“Okay, Anna-”

“ S!! ” she shouted.

“Alright, we get it,” Kristoff responded. “You’re not that drunk.”

“Hey Sven, wanna try playing Halo drunk?” Ryder asked all of a sudden.

“What? Ryder, we’re-” Sven cut himself off when he turned to look at Ryder’s face. His head was cocked at a slight angle, eyes wide and lips pressed into a fine line. He shot a quick sideways glance at Kristoff and Anna before looking back at Sven.

“Oh. Uh, sure thing. I have to get another drink, though,” Sven answered.

“Okay, great, I’ll get it set up,” Ryder said and scurried off to his room. Sven followed shortly after, an unopened beer can in his hand. They were gone before either Anna or Kristoff had time to respond.

“Oh, alright, bye guys,” Kristoff said to no one in particular.

For a moment the two of them sat in silence. It was a comfortable silence, just as it usually was with them, but this silence in particular was charged with potential. Anything could happen from this moment, and it all depended on the two of them.

“So…” Anna finally broke the silence, “...what do you wanna do?”

Get you out of that adorable outfit, Kristoff thought. “Umm…” is what he said.

“We could...keep drinking, we could watch something, we could-”

“Oh, yeah, what’s that show you’re into right now? ‘Throne Games?’ ‘Throne...Battle?’ ‘Throne…’”

“‘Gilmore Girls?’”

“Yeah, that. We could watch that.” Kristoff started to stand up. “I’ll turn the-”

Anna grabbed his arm. “Kristoff...wait,” she said. He turned to look at her and saw her eyes, wide and heavy with emotion.

Kristoff sat back down. “...Yeah?”

“I just...I’m sorry if I come off strong sometimes, I know I can be overbearing, and our personalities are so different, I just, I don’t know, I just kept trying to get to know you better and I try to be nice around you, but I’m also loud a lot and I don’t know if you’re okay with that-”

“Anna.”

She looked up at his face. His bright, hazel eyes that bored into her own eyes. His gentle, soft smile that imprinted directly on her heart. Kristoff, she thought. She couldn’t think of anything else. Kristoff.

He opened his mouth to speak. “It’s oka-”

Before she could stop herself or even realize what she was doing, her mouth was pressed against his. He recoiled, pulling away from her.

“Anna!” he shouted, seemingly upset. In an instant, Anna sobered up.

“Oh my god, I didn’t--I don’t know--I’m so sorry-”

“Stop.” The world froze for the two of them.

This time, Kristoff couldn’t resist. I want this, he convinced himself. He laid his hands on the sides of her face, stroking the softness of her cheek and brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. He leaned in and kissed her. Anna tensed for a second, then relaxed, wrapping her arms around his neck. Pants and moans escaped their mouths as they kissed, tongues moving in to explore. They whispered each other’s names. Hands roamed to unexplored places. They couldn’t stop themselves.

Anna climbed on top of Kristoff, straddling his broad frame with her legs. She could feel the bulge in his pants straining against the denim. She pressed herself up against him and he moaned into her lips. His arms tightened their grip on her. She laid a hand on his arm and guided it down her back until his hand was on her ass, which he took a firm hold of. His mouth and tongue left trails of hot breath and gentle kisses on her neck and cheeks. She threw her head back and shuddered as he worked.

Without warning, Kristoff placed his other hand on Anna’s ass and lifted her into the air. A small cry escaped her lips as she wrapped her legs around his waist and giggled. “I’ve waited so long,” she breathed, before pressing her mouth to his again. Kristoff chuckled as he carried her into his bedroom and shut the door behind them.

 “Put me down,” Anna said, and Kristoff obeyed.

She wasted no time in pulling her top off, revealing her black strapless bra. Kristoff’s mouth went dry as he marveled at her.

“Take off your shirt,” Anna demanded, the deep, uncharacteristic rumble of her voice breaking him out of his trance.

Kristoff wordlessly complied, revealing his large and slightly chubby, but ultimately finely sculpted form that Anna had been dying to see. She ran eager hands up his sides, placing kisses on his firm chest.

She rushed to undo the button on Kristoff’s pants as he struggled to unlatch her bra. The two worked at each other, hands and fingers feverishly trying to get each other out of their clothes to reveal all they had been fantasizing about. As Anna’s bra fell away to reveal her perky, freckled breasts, a quiet “holy shit” escaped through Kristoff’s lips.

“Do you like them?” Anna asked, a twinge of self-consciousness in her voice.

“I love them,” Kristoff responded as he filled his hands with them. She moaned softly at the contact.

Anna tugged his pants down past his bulge, pulling his underwear with them, revealing his completely hard cock. “Oh my god,” she said. “This is really happening.”

“Should we-” Kristoff started to say.

“Don’t think,” Anna said, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. Kristoff sucked air through his teeth as she wrapped her hand around his shaft and began stroking it. Kristoff responded by reaching down to her pussy and trailing a finger through her folds. He smiled into her lips as he heard the hitch of her breath when he touched her. She was sopping and eager.

“I need you inside me,” Anna said breathlessly after a moment. She couldn’t wait any longer.

“Turn around,” Kristoff directed. It was Anna’s turn to obey. She turned, braced herself against the wall, and presented herself to him.

Kristoff couldn’t believe what he was looking at. The freckles dotting her smooth and otherwise flawless skin, her orange hair seeming to glow in the otherwise dimly-lit room, her slim waist, her wide hips, her incredible ass, the lusty expression on her face as she looked back, impatiently awaiting him to enter her. There was no doubt in Kristoff’s mind anymore. She wanted him, and he wanted her.

Tonight, he would give himself to her.

Anna let out a gasp and Kristoff grunted as he slipped his cock inside of her. Anna’s head dropped as she pushed back against his cock, taking his entire length and pressing her ass to his hips. Kristoff threw his head back.

Kristoff’s rough, strong hands wrapped around Anna’s waist, gripping her tightly. He threw his hips forward and back, pulling her onto him with his hands. His pace was slow at first, but quickly became rapid as his lust grew exponentially stronger.

Anna reached between her legs with one hand to massage her clit. She felt victorious. This was the culmination of well over a month of waiting and turning hopes into actions. With every one of Kristoff's thrusts, she became more and more pleased with herself.

Kristoff grabbed Anna’s idle arm and pulled, forcing her upright and pressing more of her ass against his pelvis. “Fuck, you feel so good,” Kristoff breathed into her ear.

Anna moaned through a smile as a response to Kristoff. “Pull my hair,” she begged. Her head jerked back as he grabbed a handful of her wavy locks and tugged, forcing a moan out of her. With his other hand he cupped and massaged one of her breasts, pinching and caressing the nipple. Her moans arced and soared as Kristoff’s own moans deepened and lengthened.

Anna threw herself back against him, a satisfying slap ringing out every time their skin made contact. She felt him building up inside her, approaching his peak. The pulsing of his cock within her brought her closer to her own.

“Fuck, Anna, I’m gonna cum,” Kristoff moaned. “Where can I-”

“I’m on the pill. Cum inside me,” Anna said between breaths. “I’m almost there too.”

Anna’s legs began to shake. Kristoff’s vice-like grip grew tighter. Their moans grew more frequent and fiery, full of desire for each other, their unspoken promises becoming fulfilled. Kristoff called out her name and she shuddered against him.

She pressed herself up against Kristoff as much as she was able as she felt him release inside of her, the warm fluid erupting from his cock and filling her. Her walls closed and constricted around him, forcing out every last drop.

They fell in a heap on a pile of unwashed clothes. They were huffing and panting, content with each other, sitting in the glowing aftermath of their orgasms.

“Holy fuck,” Anna said.

“Yeah,” Kristoff responded. “I can’t believe we did that.”

“I can,” Anna said, climbing on top of him to offer a kiss.

Kristoff chuckled and kissed her back. He couldn’t lie to himself; he was happy. But there was still that speck of doubt, that modicum of guilt.

I’ll worry about it tomorrow, he thought. I’m happy now. I don’t want to ruin that.

They stayed with each other that night. They both remembered how wonderful it was to fall asleep next to someone.

[kristannarubbish]

learn to do it (chapter one)

A/N: hi peeps! so i may or may not have started writing a “princess diaries but make it norway” kristanna fic. here it is, i have it all planned but finals are coming up so i’m not sure how regular updates will be. nonethless, i hope you guys all like it!

A/N 2: the italics outside of quotation marks are anna/kristoff’s thoughts

rating: T for langauge

pairing: kristanna

wc: 2.2k

part: 1 of 9(ish?)

“Princess Anna!” An overly sophisticated voice called with a round of knocks on Anna’s bedroom door on a bright Saturday morning. 

A groan escaped Anna's lips as the late morning light blinded her, “Five more minutes.”

“You’re going to be late. Again.” The voice reminded her sternly.

With a loud whine, Anna sat up and stretched, “You can come in you know.”

“I know,” the door creaked and her best friend walked in. “But personally, I’m too afraid of sleepy Anna after the first time.”

“It wasn’t that bad, it barely grazed your arm!” 

“It was a heel Anna. I got 3 stitches. You should know, you paid for them.”

Anna rolled her eyes and fell back into bed. Before she knew it, Olaf was giving her the look. In fact, she didn’t even have to look at him to know it was happening because she felt it burning into her. 

“Don’t say it,” Anna warned, still staring at her popcorn ceiling.

“Being this boujee in Brooklyn doesn’t pay for itself!” Olaf said, staring at her with a smirk.

“Okay there are several reasons that doesn’t make any sense,” Anna stated, finally crawling herself out of bed, making her way towards the bathroom. Olaf trailed behind, ready for her rambling explanation. 

“One, we are not boujee,” she said with exaggerated air quotes, “I don’t think boujee apartments have slanted floors and broken faucets.” Anna turned the left knob of the sink, no water coming out. 

“Two, it does pay for itself if you sit around looking pretty long enough in the right spot,” Anna laughed as she began to hastily brush her hair. Olaf scoffed at her, rolling his eyes.

“And finally, stop calling me princess. It’s weird.” Anna splashed her face with water once the faucet finally decided to start working.

“It’s not weird. If anything it’s a compliment,” Olaf stepped behind her in the mirror as he fixed his already overly-greased brown hair.

“I’m sure that’s what the old men at the restaurant thought when they called me over for their dinner drinks last night,” she rolled her eyes heavily as she slapped on some moisturizer. “But, they did leave a good tip. See, living in Brooklyn does pay for itself!” 

Olaf scoffed and ran his hands through his hair again, “Yeah, if you are a misogynist.”

“Don’t huff! In that case, misogyny is unfortunately paying for half our rent,” Anna yanked out her makeup bag. “Now scooch because I have to get ready.”

Olaf put his hands up in defense, backing away, “I’ll see you after work tonight?”

“Duh. It’s Bachelor night.”

*************************************************

The midday sun blared on Anna’s pale skin as she climbed up the stairs from the subway station. She took a few deep breaths as she knew what had to do. Her phone read 12:25 and her shift started at 1. Without a moment to spare, she dashed down the busy street. Two more blocks. 12:26. One more block. 12:28. Just when she went to check her phone again, Anna slammed into someone. 

With an oof noise, followed by a slight laugh, a familiar voice spoke, “Anna when will you learn that ten minutes early is on time in the food business?”

Anna felt her cheeks turn hot, and it wasn’t from the sprinting. Strong arms steadied her and she caught her breath. It was Kristoff, one of the senior chefs at their restaurant. Anna tried not to crush too much, keep her eyes on the hustle and whatever other millenal mumbo jumbo. But Kristoff was most definitely an exception. Not only could he cook, he was so sweet and funny. It also didn’t help that he was one of the most handsome guys she had ever seen in real life.

“Anna? You there?” Kristoff hesitantly asked as inspected her spaced out eyes that were lost on his face.

“Huh? Yeah!” She blinked several times and shrugged his hands off her arms, “Thanks for that! It was like a crazy trust fall or something.”

He chuckled lightly as he opened the wooden door for her, “Ladies first.” The redhead did not notice the pink on his cheeks.

“Thanks!” Anna squeaked, with her voice maybe a little too high pitched. She cleared her throat and headed for the back. Kristoff branched off with her at the kitchen. She turned to him, with finger guns ablazing “Catcha later!”

Kristoff gave her his lopsided smile, “Later Anna.”

Anna immediately face palmed the second she was out of his line of vision. Catcha later? Seriously Anna? That’s the best thing you could think of? She punched in and tied her black apron around her waist. 12:30:55. Great. Not only did you embarrass yourself in front of the hottest guy you know, but you were almost late because of it. 

********************************

“Don’t sit around chopping carrots pretending I did not see you catch Anna on her way into work this morning,” Sven smirked to Kristoff while making his nightly rounds, making sure everyone was doing their jobs like the good manager he was. 

Kristoff rolled his eyes, “I would hardly call it catching. It was more like a slamming.”

His best friend joked with him, “Ooo, slamming even better.”

“Ew! Gross dude, don’t make me call HR.”

“You’re right. That was slimy. But still, when are you gonna ask her out?”

“Sven, you’re my manager. I don’t think you should be promoting workplace relationships.”

“True. But, I am also your best friend, which comes first,” Sven affirmed. Kristoff cocked an eyebrow, looking up from his diced carrots.

“Okay, maybe paying an arm and a leg for a roof over my head comes first. But you’re definitely 1.5. And as my 1.5 priority all I am saying is that you should ask her out before someone else does,” Sven popped a diced carrot into his mouth and went to go check on the dessert station.

The thing that made Kristoff’s gut twist the most is that Sven was definitely right. And he hated when Sven was right. Maybe even more than overhearing creepy old men call Anna “princess” when the restaurant got empty later in the night. No, Kristoff hated the latter more. 

Kristoff was convinced that Anna wouldn’t want to go out with him. After all, they were work buddies, or something like that. Her label, not his. But he was sick of not knowing. He has had a crush on her for months but hasn’t got the nerve to do more than open a door for her or steady her when she does something clumsy. At that moment, he made a decision, he would ask her out soon. No need to push a certain time because Kristoff always hated time limits, but soon.

*****************************

Sooner came sooner than expected. Way sooner, actually. 

That night, Anna took over someone else’s shift so she ended up working until the restaurant closed. They were short staffed, so most of the other private chefs and waiters weren’t there once the end of the night neared. 

Anna was wiping down tables when everyone was nearly gone, expect a young tipsy couple in the corner. Kristoff wanted to surprise her with something nice, because it’s what she deserved. In the dim lighting of the restaurant he had a small chocolate cake on a fancy floral plate. Kristoff was not a pastry chef, but he damn well did his best. His hands were gripped tight around the plate as he took a deep breath and gulped, “Anna?”

Her fiery red hair flipped as she turned around, “Hi Kristoff,” she smiled warmly up at him.

“This is for you,” he half smiled nervously back at her.

“For me?” Anna beamed so bright you could see her teeth. This made Kristoff’s stomach do backflips and somersaults. I just want to make her smile like that all the time. Jesus, that’s cheesy. 

“Uhm, yeah. It’s not a big deal,” he said as he scratched the back of his neck. 

“Oh, okay,” Anna’s smile faltered.

“No wait! I mean, it can be if you want it to be but, if not, I get it,” Kristoff stammered, which was pissing him off because it was making himself look ridiculous. This 6 foot, 180 pound man could not make a coherent thought to a woman he was interested in.

“What are you saying?” Anna’s forehead wrinkled in confusion.

“Do you want to go on a date with me, Anna?” Kristoff asked with the warmest smile he could, which, around Anna was not difficult.

Anna’s face went into an ‘o’ shape. Shit, she’s going to say no. It’s fine, I prepared for this all night. Right? I mean if she does say no, that’s cool. We can be friends. Anna set the plate on the bar. She smiled warmly up at him and threw herself around her. If this is a no, it’s a very excited no. He wrapped his strong arms around her in response. 

“Yes!” Anna beamed. Oh thank God. Without another word, he picked her up and spun her around. She squealed in his ear, but he didn’t mind.

After setting her down, they both chuckled exasperatedly at each other. “If I knew I would have gotten a twirl like that and chocolate cake I would have made a move a long time ago,” Anna smirked and Kristoff laughed. 

“I think I can do that,” they continued to just smile at each other like they were in a daze for, well, maybe longer than they should have.

“Kristoff!” One of the other private chefs called, breaking them out of their fairytale daze, “We need you on prep duty!”

“Oh, I gotta go,” Kristoff said with downturned lips.

“You have my number though, right? We can work something out over text.”

“Yeah, that sounds great, Anna,” he smiled at her again.

It felt like there was a beginners ballet class in her stomach there was so much flipping.

****************************

As Anna was going home that night, it felt as if she was walking on air. Usually, she hurries home this late at night, but tonight she leisurely walked the quiet streets of Brooklyn. (Pepper spray still in hand, of course.)

During her possibly too slow walk, she noticed a black car start to follow her. This was not unusual, but still concerning nonetheless, so Anna walked faster to the subway. Once she got underground she was still checking over her shoulder, but overall felt more secure. 

The subway ride was peaceful since it was so late, the fluorescent lighting illuminating her dreams of what her and Kristoff’s first date might look like. Would it be casual or fancy? Well, Kristoff has always been a more casual guy with me, so maybe just a movie or something. But the fancy floral plate said otherwise. Oh God, what if our schedules don’t line up?!

Once Anna got off the subway and came back to the cool dark streets, she noticed the car was there waiting for her. She also noticed it had a small flag on it that she didn’t recognize at first glance, because once she saw the car again, Anna booked it back to her apartment. Today is not the day I get kidnapped. Cute guy finally wants to go out with me and I am never seen again. That’s just my luck, huh? 

Anna fumbled with her keys quickly but once she got into her apartment, she slammed the door and frantically made sure all the locks were on. Out of breath, she slid her back down the door to see Olaf sitting on the couch.

“There’s good news,” she panted, “and bad news.”

“That makes two of us,” Olaf rolled his eyes, “You first.”

Anna groaned, but then smiled at her own reminder of her good news, “Kristoff asked me out tonight. And there was chocolate cake involved.”

“Fucking finally,” Olaf chuckled.

“That’s all you have to say?” Anna asked as she brought herself from the floor.

“Uh, yeah! For the longest time it was always Kristoff this and Kristoff that. It was bound to happen eventually so it just became a waiting game. But anyway I think my thing is bigger so let’s hurry this up.”

“Okay geez. Bad news, some guy followed me all the way home just now in a car with a little flag on it. Including my subway route! He knew my subway route!” Anna ranted frantically. “So if I go missing, you know why.”

Olaf’s eyes widened, “Oh, shit Anna. Uhm... We’ll figure something out.” She sighed and joined him on the couch.

“Please tell me your good news.”

“I don’t know if this qualifies as good news or… weird news. So today, a man came by dressed in all black and asked for you.”

Anna’s eyes widened, “They know where I live!”

“No no no Anna, they asked for you on behalf of the her majesty of Arendelle,” Olaf said seriously, handing her an official note with Anna’s name on it.

She said up to inspect it, “What the flying fuck would a cold European country want to do with me?” Normally, Anna would be freaking out over this because of its randomness, but she was too exhausted to process it all.

Olaf examined the note as well, “Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe you’re a lost princess or something,” he fantasized.

“Yes because I am prime princess material,” Anna stated, gesturing to her slouched position on their couch, “Tomorrow at 9 AM. That’s very early, can yo-”

“Yes I can wake you up,” Olaf rolled his eyes at his best friend’s ridiculousness.

“Now, what’s the bad news,” Anna sighed, ready to brace whatever it is he was about to hit her with.

“You missed Bachelor night, and boy was it a juicy one.”

[saiilorstars]

Dare To Forget Me

Ch. 13: Playing with Fire

/ Story Masterlist /

Fandom: Law & Order SVU

Pairing:  Rafael Barba x Original female character

Warnings: Due to the nature of the series’ plots, I do have to rate this as ‘mature’ for constant mentions of rape.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ` 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Chapter Summary: Montserrat does her best to help Rafael as Muñoz's case comes to an end, even when the ADA is snarkier than usual.

Montserrat sat on her therapist's couch, relaying with ease what was currently going on with her. It felt nice having a place to freely talk without fear of being snapped at. It was just easy, which showed a lot of progress she made since she first arrived. Dr. Weslin had that recorded every time Montserrat showed up too. Even now, while Montserrat debated by herself whether or not to take it easy on her brother, she showed significant to in the free space offered to talk in.

"I mean, Gael is just being overly dramatic. He's ignoring me and what's worse - or childish one could say - is that he's separating his girls from me too," Montserrat sighed, pausing to think about her older brother. "Sometimes I just want to smack him like when we were kids. We used to actually throw punches at each other, can you believe that? Dad had to come in and separate us. He'd yell at us for thirty minutes without break."

"It seems like your father has always been your mediator then," Weslin noted. "Does he have anything to say about this argument between you and your brother?"

"He doesn't know and honestly he shouldn't have to deal with this. I'm almost 30 and Gael is reaching his forties, we're grown adults acting ridiculous."

"Have you told this to Gael?"

"Please, he's not speaking to me. I have a very a good talent at irritating people, whether I want to in that moment or not. Maybe that's how I always get myself into problems." Montserrat said with a heavy resignation that Dr. Weslin gave her a strange look.

"We're not talking about your argument with your brother anymore, are we?"

Montserrat shrugged her shoulders in an attempt to be casual. "I guess not."

"Would you care to elaborate, then?"

"There's not much too it, really," Montserrat shrugged yet again.

Weslin had come to notice Montserrat only did this as an overly attempt at being casual when she neared the topic of her rape. It was like Montserrat tried pushing it all behind her to form a past.

"Maybe if I hadn't been so irritating at work, people would have given more of a damn about what happened to me," Montserrat finally spat out. "Maybe they wouldn't have been so quick to brush it away and transfer me."

"Montserrat, you're not blaming yourself for this right?" Dr. Weslin feared Montserrat had somehow regressed in her recovery.

"No," Montserrat said with absolute certainty. "It shouldn't have happened to me, period. I just meant maybe if I had acted better, people at my old job, who knew what happened, would have had more consideration for me." Montserrat didn't like to think a lot about her old job in Queens, but the people there had never been the kindest. She didn't expect - nor want for that matter - a whole sympathy party from them, but she didn't expect to be pushed out of the job either. "That's why I like where I am now. At least if anything happens to me again, I know people might care."

It was a rather cynical way of thinking, but Montserrat felt it to be nothing but the truth.

~0~

By the time Montserrat returned to the precinct, many things had already gone down. For starters, the team had discovered their mayor-to-be was using secret websites to chat with other women, sometimes going truly explicit. Poor Amanda had been the center of his attention the previous night.

"Alex claims wall street is setting him up," Rafael wearily repeated the excuse Alex had given him earlier in the morning after speaking to him about the pictures he sent to Amanda.

The rest of the team exchanged curious glances but no one, except Nick, dared to mention what they were thinking.

"What, you told him we were looking at his account?"

Rafael took the accusation somewhat calmly. He expected some type of accusation along those lines. "I gave him a chance to get out in front of this."

Nick seemed to be angered with the answer, as he firmly believed Rafael was on another plan. "So now not only is he tampering with witnesses, he has you covering it up for him!"

"Nick," Olivia's call made no sense for Nick.

"What!? It's what you're all thinking!"

"Did you find any evidence at all that Lindsay is shaking him down or that he's paying to hush her up?" Rafael's question seemed more like a challenge to defy his words, and it only irritated Nick more.

"There's nothing so far on the public sites, but we'll keep checking," Amanda's fingers hovered over her laptop.

"Do that."

"We will," Montserrat spoke up for the first time since the conversation started. Her curt, brief answer was enough indication she was still very much irritated with him.

He took the jab with a nod of his head. It was well deserved, he knew. "Since we're all clear…" he turned to go, but of course it wouldn't be easy to escape with Nick trailing behind him.

"That's not going to end well," Montserrat got up from her desk and headed for the lounge to get some needed coffee. As she was pouring herself warm coffee, Sonny came into the room. "You want some?" she asked without looking up.

"Sure." Sonny moved over and reached for a couple sugar packs he knew she liked.

"Did Nick come back in one piece?" Montserrat slid her coffee cup to Sonny then grabbed another for herself.

"Not sure. I left before he did," Sonny ripped open a sugar pack and let it all drown into his coffee. "I bet Barba is just trying to keep it together right now." Montserrat briefly paused her coffee pouring, something Sonny noticed but didn't comment on. "I mean, it can't be easy being childhood friends with someone who's, well...turning out not to be the righteous man he once knew."

Montserrat carefully returned the coffee pot to its place. "No, it can't be. But it doesn't give him a right to be so rude when we're just trying to help, and to mention doing our job." There was a particular sourness covering her tone, but Sonny felt like there was an underlying hurt somewhere there.

"Course not, but try being in his shoes for a moment."

Montserrat finally stopped altogether and turned to Sonny. "Is there something you want to say to me?"

"I'm not trying to poke or interfere in whatever you and Barba have going on-"

"-it's nothing," snapped Montserrat, but there was a subtle shift on her feet. "And if you're that interested to know, I'm just a little pissed off that he's being more snarky than usual when all I did was try to be nice and be there for him." As soon as she finished her quick, but feeling-covered, explanation she regretted it. Sonny gave her a look and the fact his lips were twitching to form a smile made her feel no better. "Please don't say anything," she sighed and went back to preparing her coffee. "It's really nothing. I'm just...I tried to be nice and he... practically barked in my face to leave him the hell alone."

"Did he actually say those words?"

"...no. It was more of a…rushed 'I'm good'," Montserrat closed her eyes as another realization hit her. "...which really just means he wasn't. Dammit."

Sonny patted her back and took over the coffee preparation.

Montserrat released a big sigh and brought her fingers to pinch the bridge of her nose. "And me being the dumbass that I am, missed that." Sonny laughed beside her. "In my defense, I have my own problems too so my temperament is off!"

Sonny held her coffee cup to her with his usual smile. "No one blames you."

"I think one person does," Montserrat took her coffee cup and headed back for the bullpen.

Nick was returning as well but he seemed to be physically fine. "Guys like Barba, too smart for their own good."

"I'm sure he said the same about you," Olivia gave him a pat on the arm as he passed by.

"What, everyone thinks we should just let this go?" Nick looked around to see who was on that side of the coin.

"It's not that we want to," Montserrat spoke up. "But...we really don't have anything incriminating on Muñoz."

"Muñoz sent out some selfies but that's not a sex crime," Fin said before he chuckled. "All I know is I don't want to see any more of them."

Nick was frustrated that no one was taking him serious. "It's not just selfies, all right? This clown could be mayor. He opened himself up to blackmail, right? Eddie had cash. Where did he get it from, huh? This could just be the tip of the iceberg."

"I think we saw more than just the tip," Finn snickered at his spot.

Olivia motioned him to stop before the comments got worse. "Nick, even if you're right, this is a political corruption case. We'd have to hand it over to the feds anyway. What are we going to hand over? The pics he sent to Rollins?"

The woman in question cleared her throat at her desk. She'd been immersed in her computer ever since Rafael had left. "It looks like I may not be the only one. Enrique Trouble's popping up on other sites. It goes back over a year."

Hearing this made the rest of the team gather behind her chair to see her screen.

"Look, I found ten so far!"

"That makes him a dog, not a criminal," Fin still shrugged.

"That's not the word I'd use to describe him," Montserrat said before sipping her coffee.

"Well, one of these women that he was sexting with just got an executive position at the New York gaming commission," Amanda revealed and brought up the profile of said woman. "I wonder who could have pulled those strings."

"Anna Please," Olivia read off the screen. "She have any governmental background?"

"Doesn't seem like it."

"Hold up. I've seen this girl on a screen before, and it wasn't on c-span," Finn said with a curious smile.

~0~

"I don't understand this. I already have the position," the woman named Anna insisted for the second time, already sounding annoyed to the two detectives tailing her down the hallway.

"We have a few background questions," Finn simply repeated their excuse, which was the honest truth anyways.

"Mhm," agreed Montserrat, not quite in the mood for games. She wanted to be direct. "Your resume says you went to university of Michigan, but they don't have any record of you attending."

There was a brief flash of panicked on Anna's face as she sat at her desk. "They don't? Mm-mm. I should fix that. I was more like auditing."

Lies. Montserrat barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes. "Really? What subjects?"

"Dance and movement."

"No acting?"

Anna laughed casually, at least that was her attempt. "No. I never studied any acting."

Montserrat gave the woman one look before glancing at Finn. The man seemed giddy as he reached inside his jacket's pocket.

"That's funny, Amber, because my partner here says you're a real natural in - what is it, Finn?"

"This is my favorite," Finn turned over a movie box he'd brought with them. "Million Dollar a Night Baby."

With that in the air, Amber didn't see any point in lying anymore. She released a heavy sigh and looked past the two detectives to the open door. "Okay, this is unfair. It was a long time ago. I didn't do any adult films after that. Are you from vice?" she paused to once again look at the open door. She was being extra quiet now. "I didn't do anything illegal."

"Yeah, we're not so interested in your past jobs," Montserrat clarified. She planted her hands on the desk and leaned forwards. "We want to know how you got your job here. Did Enrique Trouble put in a call for you?"

Amber leveled Montserrat's look, not looking so intimidated as they'd hoped. "So what if he did? It's Albany. Believe me, there are people a lot less qualified than I am working here."

Of course, Montserrat wasn't one to lose so easily. "Fine, we'll remember that as we get your ass fired. Think about that then give us a call," she smiled sweetly then turned to leave with Finn.

They didn't make it out the office door when Amber called for them to stop.

~0~

"I'm home," called Montserrat as soon as she walked into her apartment. She could hear clinging and clanging from Kara's room while she set her things down.

A couple minutes later, Kara emerged from the hallway wearing a pretty blue dress that hugged her body. Her hair was curled and pulled back by two clips.

"Stark red lipstick," Montserrat smirked as she headed by for the kitchen. "That can only mean someone's got a hot date tonight."

"Oh, you betcha," Kara hurriedly patted down her dress as if it needed more help. "He finally asked."

"Who?" Montserrat returned holding a bag of trail mix.

As Kara opened her mouth, someone knocked on the door. Kara hushed up and went to answer instead.

"Oh hell no," Montserrat honestly blamed herself for not realizing quicker.

"Good thing is you know him," Kara pulled Sonny right into the apartment, skipping all the hellos and whatnot.

"Unfortunately."

"Montse," went both with the same disapproval.

"No," Montserrat stuffed more trail mix into her mouth. "If I don't see it, it's not real." And with that, she turned away from the two with no intention of looking back.

"You're a child!" Kara shouted.

Sonny was smarter in that aspect and said something that definitely made Montserrat look back. "And I'll make sure to let you know how it went tomorrow."

"You wouldn't…"

Sonny's smile said it all. "See you later, partner."

Montserrat practically shouted for them to get going already. She shivered once she was alone and dreaded what Sonny would tell her tomorrow, and even more so what Kara would say.

~0~

Rafael didn't think he would ever have to make such a grim visit to one of his old friends. One friend was already borderlining the enemy line, in Alex's perspective anyways. Rafael still had hope - albeit a tiny hope - that Alex would come to his senses sooner or later. For now, he had to try to get Eddie to come back.

He found the old friend in a familiar spot, the same park he used to play at when he was a kid.

"Hey, Raffi. What's good, hermano? How you find me here?" Eddie scooted on the park bench to make more room.

"I stopped by your place, saw your mom," Rafael took the seat but purposely kept a distance. It was awful being like that with an old friend.

"My mom looks good," Eddie knew what Rafael had come for, but he didn't want to get to it. He didn't want to argue.

"Bueno, we got to talk-"

"You know, they...they fixed this park since we were kids, right?" Eddie cut in.

"Yeah, they did. I remember how you always used to look out for me here," Rafael leaned back against the bench. Talking about their good days wasn't helping, but he couldn't stop. "When that gang from P.S. 109 would come after me for my lunch money...you'd put your arm around me. You'd walk me to school. You said anybody that hurt me would have to deal with you."

"You're my brother, Raffi. I would never have learned English if it wasn't for you. We're even, right?"

"I know that. You're loyal...To a fault," Rafael paused, taking a breath in in order to deal with what came next.

"We're not talking about p.S. 109 now, are we?" Eddie took the silence as the answer. "How much trouble am I in, Raffi?"

"Witness tampering, bribery…Eddie, those are felonies."

"I can't... I can't roll on Alex-"

Perhaps it was the final straw in the whole case, or maybe his irritation towards Alex and his blatant disregard for their friend finally got to Rafael, but he snapped. "You've got - you have got to think about yourself now! Jail's gonna go hard for an ex C.O!"

"Raffi, Alex has always been good to me, okay? He said when he becomes mayor, he's going to get me a job at one P.P-"

"Listen to me," Rafael once again snapped. He turned his body towards Eddie, hoping he could get through to Eddie once and for all. "Eddie, Alex is looking out for himself now. You've got your son and your mother to think about. You're not gonna be any good to them upstate."

Eddie looked out to the playground where his son was playing. "I can't hurt Alex. You tell me what I should do. You were always the smart one."

Well, at least one was still good.

~0~

While Amanda and Finn interrogated Eddie (with his lawyer present), Montserrat, Olivia, Nick and Sonny watched from behind the one-way glass. Eddie was practically singing like a canary about Alex's dirty work.

"We got him now," Nick said with visible pride. Everyone looked at him but there was a hesitancy to agree. "What? It's only right with everything Muñoz did."

"Don't get so cocky," Montserrat warned. "It's not real until the prosecutor gets the case."

"It's basically a done deal," Nick waved a hand at them and walked off.

"How horrible," Montserrat mumbled and started to leave as well. Olivia would remain to oversee the rest of the interrogation. "I don't want to even imagine how Rafael is feeling."

"He's the one who got Eddie to spill, so...he must be seeing the light," Nick said, stopping under the hallway threshold.

"Say that to his face," Sonny went right to his desk.

"You think I won't?"

"Oh," both Montserrat and Sonny collectively scoffed, making Nick roll his eyes.

"We know you will," Montserrat took a seat at her desk.

Just as the three were about to have a round, Olivia emerged from the hallway.

"We got him?" Nick was the first to ask, missing how Montserrat and Sonny glanced at each other.

"Yes…" but judging by Olivia's face there was more than she was telling. "We're going to have to do some digging."

~0~

After doing some digging, Olivia immediately sent Montserrat and Sonny to a high school in Yonkers that wasn't even that far from them.

"Is he frikin kidding me?" Montserrat continued to repeat even as the principal of the school led her and Sonny down a crowded hallway.

Sonny didn't say much but it was clear he was disgusted as he saw more of the innocent students walking by. They were targets of their next mayor-to-be.

Jodie Lanier was not a school teacher, far from it. She was a fifteen year old student with an addiction to her cellphone. The blonde girl was taken to a secluded classroom in order to be talked to.

"If this is about the mall, I paid for these bracelets," Jodie hugged her wrist full of bracelets.

"It's about Alex Muñoz," Sonny's response made the girl stiffen.

"I-I don't know who that is."

"No?" Montserrat raised an eyebrow. She had no mood to tolerate the girl's lies. "Then why is he giving you money? And I would be careful with how you talk to a detective."

"O-okay. I know who he is, but I've never met him," Jodie said quickly.

"Not in person? How about on social media?" Montserrat glanced at Sonny who was nodding in agreement. "I mean, you've exchanged messages."

"I can't talk to you about this," Jodie's eyes flickered between the detectives, feeling more and more trapped.

"Because that's why he's paying you?" Sonny's question was met with silence. "Look, Jodie, you're not in any trouble here."

"Then can I go?"

"Soon. But we need to take a look at your cell phone."

Jodie quickly shook her head. "No way. I have rights!" But seeing the two serious detectives made her falter. "Don't I?"

"Okay, Jodie, this is how it'll work if you don't cooperate right now," Montserrat stepped forwards, intimidating the girl without effort. "If you don't hand the phone over right now, we can and will get a warrant for it. However, to do that we'll have to talk to your mom."

Bingo, the right words had been said.

"Please don't call my mom."

~0~

"Okay Nick, now we got him," Olivia said after reviewing their evidence against Alex. And boy was it a lot.

"Now what?" Amanda looked at the rest of the group, all solemnly quiet due to the problems they were about to cause for not only their friend, but for the city itself. "The election is happening and like it or not, what Barba said is true. Should we attack before or after?"

"We need to do it now," Finn said before anyone else spoke up. "It'll be a lot harder to make the case when he had even more power."

"It's not quite up to us, though," Olivia reminded them all where the case would be going.

"But it will be handled before anything happens," Nick said the obvious.

"We have to hand this over to Barba," Olivia pulled her glasses off and rubbed her forehead. It was going to be a difficult conversation.

"Let me do it," Montserrat's volunteer came as a surprise to the group, although not so much for Sonny. Whoever volunteered would be volunteering to get yelled at and probably insulted.

The job was hers.

~0~

The last thing Rafael expected was for Montserrat to stop by his office. She came with a mission, however, and it was not a good one.

"Sorry," she felt the need to say as he watched him go through the evidence.

Rafael did a double-take at her, seeming almost incredulous. For a split second, Montserrat thought she did something wrong again.

"Oh God, what I say now?" she sighed.

"Nothing," Rafael said quietly then returned his attention to the report. "Absolutely nothing," he mumbled under his breath.

"When are you handing that over to the special prosecutor?" she then asked, though the fact she was rocking on her feet was signal enough of her nervousness.

"I... I'm not sure. I want Alex - I want him to do it out of his own accord. Be the man he used to be."

Montserrat could say that was a failed plan, but she thought she should be more cautious with her words. "But you just said it. He's someone else now. You can't keep giving him chances you wouldn't offer other perps."

The label hurt more than it should've because it was true.

"I have to try," Rafael insisted, pushing himself up from his seat. He knew what she was thinking - that he was biased, and he probably was - but he needed to do it one more time, at least one more time to say he did everything he could. "Maybe now that he knows what's coming, he'll want to do the right thing."

Montserrat watched him move around the office, trying to convince himself that things could be turned down the right path. She knew what the outcome would be and she was pretty sure that he knew too. He was just trying to convincing himself Alex would take the last chance.

"That's your plan?" she took a seat on his desk, ignoring his brief look for that, and crossed her legs. "Stupidly waste your time? And at night, by the way?"

"It's not a waste of time," he snapped. "I'm giving him the opportunity-"

"-he doesn't want an opportunity!" Montserrat suddenly snapped louder than he had. "C'mon, Rafael, you're too smart for that. How did Nick put it? You're too smart for your own good!"

Rafael stopped his pacing to glare at her, but even then Montserrat didn't back down. She'd grown very used to it by now. Still, she knew this was a different situation, one that had him going crazier than usual. That pushed her guilt.

"You're not desisting, are you?"

"Not at all."

You stubborn man. Montserrat inwardly sighed but still ventured to help him. "Fine. Then I'm coming with."

Rafael paused for another second, thinking it was a joke or another tactic to get him to stop. But when she didn't retract, he became uncomfortable. "Why?"

"Because you're hell-bent on losing your job and because I'm an idiot who loves being yelled at."

That sting was of course meant for him and it was well delivered, but she didn't actually seem to be upset. That just made things odder. He knew he'd been unnecessarily rude to her, in the same situation they were in again, and yet she was stupid enough to come back for more?

"No, absolutely not," he said in the end, but he should've known who he was dealing with.

"You don't have a choice. I'm coming, end of story. Or I go and arrest Alex myself. I'm sure Nick would accompany me if I asked."

Rafael's glare returned, and deeper too, but he knew when he lost...even though it wasn't often. Montserrat got him. In another moment, he would've been impressed. "First, get off my desk."

"Sorry," Montserrat quickly got off and smiled cheerfully.

"Second of all, don't ever threaten me like that again."

"That I cannot promise. You have a tendency to only understand if you're being threatened," Montserrat shrugged and moved to the side. She gestured towards the desk where the evidence rested. "Get what you need."

Rafael looked at her for a full minute before walking up to his desk. Before sifting through the evidence, he glanced at her. "Novak, you're setting yourself up for trouble."

"I know," Montserrat said with all honesty. Her bluntness was even more surprising to him.

She was dead serious.

~0~

The flashing lights in the building would make Montserrat blind if she remained there for too long. Fifteen minutes of standing there were already doing a number on her.

"Now I see why you say 'no' to these events," she told Rafael while she rubbed her eyes.

The ADA was quietly standing beside her, eyes trained on the incoming guests. So many important people had passed by except for the one he needed. Eventually, he began to hear Alex's voice greeting those at the entrance. It was, of course, sucking up.

"Do you want me to come with you, or…?" Montserrat trailed off when Rafael raised a hand indicating her stop.

"Just make sure no one else follows," he curtly warned before taking off.

Montserrat frowned after him. She hated the way he was talking to her, but she tried to remind herself his situation. It was courtesy, leniency, she was trying to offer...but he was pushing her buttons.

"Be the bigger person, be the bigger person," Montserrat mumbled under her breath as she walked past the guests.

"Now? Seriously?" She arrived in time to see Alex's response to Rafael's probable polite asking for a talk.

The local reverend of the place came forwards, almost reeling Alex away from Rafael. "There's a room full of union leaders and CEOs waiting to hear how he's going to save the city."

Montserrat practically pushed her way through the crowd in order to cleverly respond with, "Then unless you want that whole room of Union leaders and CEOs to hear that your friend may be guilty - of several serious charges by the way - you should listen to my friend."

Rafael gave her a side-glance, seemingly thankful for the jab.

"Rafael, todo bien?" Yelina had done the same as Montserrat - moved people out of her way to get there, but the only difference was she did in a lavender cocktail dress.

Rafael kept a straight face when he replied. "Alex and I need to talk."

"Ahora?"

"Well, let's get a nice shot," the priest pulled Yelina towards a photographer and a group of waiting guests. "Mr. Slater, will you join us?"

"I won't be long," Alex promised Yelina, giving her a long kiss afterwards.

Montserrat rolled her eyes in plain sight. She was so done with these people.

"Do you know what they're going to talk about?" Yelina approached Montserrat almost immediately after Rafael left with Alex.

Montserrat cleared her throat and practically looked anywhere but Yelina's face. "I...may have an idea, but I definitely know you're not gonna like it." And even though she kept true to her words, she could tell that Yelina had figured out a good portion of the situation. "I'm so sorry," Montserrat could only say before leaving herself.

As she exited the building, she could see the two shadows of men across the street. She's didn't want to admit that she could hear some pieces of their conversation - turning into an argument real fast, she might add - but it was inevitable. What she was lost on was how someone could deny what was so blatantly true especially when it hit them in the face. Because that's exactly what Alex was doing, even when Rafael kept springing new evidence right to Alex's face.

In fact, Alex was getting offended as if he had a reason to get offended. It was ridiculous.

Rafael was left to walk the street alone since, according to Alex - and a hidden truth - he was no longer friends with the people of his neighborhood. Montserrat felt sympathy for them all, but even more for her friend. And by this point, Rafael was going to go mad. It hurt that he was being accused of purposely drowning his once best friend into an abyss. As if he was the wrong one.

One thing Montserrat was sure of was that friendship was over. The bad blood was too much.

"Rafael! Hey! Stop walking!" Montserrat sprinted after him down the street. "Would you - I know you can hear me!"

Finally, the ADA stopped and turned sideways, his expression warning her to stay away. Of course, Montserrat wasn't one to always listen. "Novak, you're free to go."

Montserrat snorted, her offence etching across her face. "No one was threatening with me with a gun, Rafael. I came for you. As backup. As...support because I can't imagine what you're feeling. I wouldn't be able to take it."

"I can. You can go-"

"-I'm not leaving you alone like this! What the hell did Alex tell you?"

"That he doesn't care, basically. He has…" Rafael stopped for a second, still unable to believe where they were now. "He has no morals left. So now I have to do what my job tells me to."

"You're going to turn him in," Montserrat quietly said. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Rafael said then turned to leave.

"Well…" Montserrat hesitated to follow, knowing she was just pushing his anger to double, but it wasn't a good idea to leave him alone either. "Do you want to go get some drinks? Coffee maybe…?" She'd only taken a couple steps in his direction when he whirled around with newfound anger.

"Novak, leave me the hell alone! I don't want your company, I don't need anyone else! So leave me alone already!"

Montserrat blinked in shock at his outburst. Of course she figured she'd finally pushed the right button of his to make him snap like that. She couldn't say she was surprised. "Sorry…" she cleared her throat and brought her coat closer to her chest. "I'll...see you tomorrow, then." She started turning in the opposite direction and only paused for a second to apologize again.

Rafael shook his head and started on his own way home, but as he walked he remembered this wasn't the first time he snapped at Montserrat while she was trying to help him...the guilt started settling in. He didn't feel guilt very often, which was what made it hard to ignore this one. "Dammit," he muttered to himself before turning back. He didn't exactly know what he was doing but his feet were moving in Montserrat's direction, and fast too.

He spotted the familiar red hair nearly at the end of the block. She was on the phone...and he started to overhear.

"No, I'm coming home right now. Jesus, who are you? My father?" Montserrat snorted at whoever was on the other line. "Oh no, if you're at my place then I'm not coming home for a long time."

Montserrat pushed the pedestrian button to cross the street and waited her turn. "I did go with Rafael to that stupid event but in the end I got the worst of it." There was a brief pause before Montserrat snorted again. "Nah, he's being an ass. I'll go check up on him tomorrow morning." Another pause passed then Montserrat started bidding goodbye. "Yeah, whatever. See you tomorrow, Carisi." She stuffed her phone into her coat's pocket and continued to wait for the light to switch.

Montserrat heard someone clear their throat followed by a, "So you talk to Carisi at this hour?"

Montserrat playfully rolled her eyes. The pedestrian light switched to go so she stepped onto the road to cross the street. "What do you care if I talk to Sonny?"

"I'm just curious," Rafael walked alongside her.

"Why are you back?" Montserrat's question was asked in the a tiring manner, as if she'd done this over and over. (And she had). Two times was enough to get a hint, though.

"I realized I acted like…"

Montserrat stopped once they'd crossed the street and turned to face him. "...an ass? Yeah. You are. It's why I was giving you the night to cool off."

Rafael's smile was wide and amused. "Really? And you were still going to come back?"

Montserrat wanted to ignore his amusement but she somehow ended up smiling as well. "Yeah. You're an extra rude prick but I'm letting it go on, on account of the situation."

Despite the light atmosphere between them, Rafael had to get serious. And when he did, the guilt returned. "Montserrat, I'm...you came with me - you offered to come with me and I...I yelled...I was…"

Montserrat smiled even wider when she realized what he was attempting to do. She would've let it go on for pure amusement but she figured he was already having enough troubles, so she gave him a break and surprised him with a hug.

"What are you doing…?" Rafael went stiff, to the point where Montserrat nearly laughed.

"Hugging you because you need it," she mumbled. "I'm sorry about Alex."

"So am I," Rafael admitted. "But don't count him out. He's a winner." Montserrat scoffed, but he was quite serious. "When I was seven, my mom said, 'stick with Alex. He'll be mayor of New York someday.' She never said that about me."

"But you turned out even better," Montserrat said automatically and missed his brief smile. 

"It's politics. No danger of a traffic jam on the high road."

"He was a friend-"

"-so was Yelina. She thinks this was personal, not professional."

"Stop," Montserrat drew away from him to look him in the eyes. "If they'd been your friends, they wouldn't have put you through all of that. It's on them, not on you."

"Thank you," Rafael said after a minute. He looked at her for a minute while it donned on him she'd been the only one to be with him throughout the entire case, even when he probably didn't deserve it. He pulled her back for another hug, startling her, but it was ironic since he wasn't able to hug back the way Montserrat would expect. It showed he didn't do a lot of hugging in his life...which was a shame because he had the arms for it...and a good scent.

Get ahold of yourself, Montse, she silently berated herself.

"Is your brother still not talking to you?"

Montserrat was startled by the question. "No. In his perspective, I'm still the ungrateful daughter who insulted our father." Her sarcastic remark wasn't enough to make it seem like it hurt less. But just like Rafael, a grimness settled across her face. "He's not letting me talk to my nieces, nor see them. I don't have a lot of family in New York, so...it's a little hard dealing with it…"

"I know," Rafael agreed. "You'll get through this."

"...so will you," Montserrat whispered.

She sincerely hoped they could.

[justthehiddleswrites]

Follow My Lead | Tom Hiddleston x OFC | Chapter 3 | Hello my sunshine boy

A/N: This will update every Thursday.  There are 13 chapters.  There are all sorts of kinds of D/s relationships.  This is the one I choose to write this time.  

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x OFC (Vivian Swann)

Summary: Tom and Vivian have both been unlucky in love, searching for something outside of the bounds of a typical relationship.  When the two of them connect via a dating app, Tom is introduced to the idea of being submissive to Vivian.  Which is the one thing he never knew he needed.  Under the firm hand of Vivian, Tom learns what it means to submit and Vivian learns what it means to be in a loving dominant relationship.  But not everyone seems to understand what they have and the best intentions can destroy the strongest relationship.

This Chapter: Tom and Vivian slowly move forward and Tom discovers a thorn in his side named Benedict.

Warnings for story: Dominant/submissive relationship (sub!Tom), lots of smut including but not limited to: vaginal sex, oral sex (male and female receiving), edging, denial, teasing, use of restraints, spanking, multiple orgasm, anal play, use of toys.

Taglists are open!  Please let me know if you wish to be added! Thank you for reading.  

“You are positively glowing, Viv.” Her best friend Ashley commented as they sat down for lunch that Monday. “Don’t tell me you finally got laid. What has been seven, eight months?”

“Twenty-two, but who’s counting?” Vivian snapped back.

“You.” Ashley stabbed her fork at her. “So if it wasn’t sex, then what? Did you find a new esthetician? You have to give me the name. My pores are crying.”

“I found someone, but not an esthetician. A boy.” Vivian responded, coy, not wanting to reveal too much after just one date.

“A boy?” Ashley clapped her hands together in excitement.

Ashley’s perpetual joy could grate on Vivian’s nerves on worse days, but as her best friend throughout law school, she couldn’t imagine her life without Ash. Vivian shot her a glare.

“Yes.” She stabbed at her salad.

Ashley’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. “You mean a boy boy?”

“Possibly. We’ve only been on one date.” She held up a finger. “Before you ask, a normal ‘vanilla’ date. Dinner.”

“But…”

Viv smiled. “But there is a… a… quality about him. So full of life and stinking positive. It’s intoxicating.” She shivered, remembering that kiss.

“Anything else?” Ashley blinked at her, knowing there was more to tell.

“He is also drop dead gorgeous and an amazing kisser.”

“Details, or it didn’t happen. First off, tongue or no tongue?”

“Not telling.”

“Boo.” Ashley pouted. “Give me something. What celebrity does he look like?”

Vivian stopped chewing to stop herself from choking. What a loaded question.

“Tom Hiddleston.”

“Ooooh,” Ashley cooed. “He is so hot.”

“But enough about me,” Vivian changed the subject before Ashley pushed much further. “How are things with Eric?”

Ashley poked at her food. “Things are not. He ghosted me a week ago.”

Vivian’s phone buzzed. It was Tom. She said a silent prayer that she had labeled him in her phone as T and not his full name as Ashley leaned over to read the message.

Thinking about you. Already finished one book you recommended. Thank you for that. They have been most helpful.

She smiled at the message.

“Is that the boy?” Ashley craned her neck. “Let me see.”

Vivian flipped the phone around for her to read.

“Awww. He is just the cutest. When are you seeing him again?”

“He is calling tonight and I imagine we will make plans then.”

Ashley danced a bit in her chair. “I can’t wait to meet him.”

-

Tom ran double his usual miles that Monday morning. His body and brain were a jumble of nervous energy. He felt well… as giddy as a schoolboy. A feeling which had eluded him for quite some time. Once he returned and showered, he settled onto his couch with the second of the books Vivian suggested while listening to some music at a low volume. He ignored the buzz of messages on his phone until he finished the book.

Three missed messages and one phone call from Benedict. That man was like a dog with a bone for meddling and prying into Tom’s personal life. This had only gotten worse since Ben married and had kids. Now that he was coupled up, it seems Benedict was intent on getting Tom to the same status. Tom didn’t have the time, guts, or inclination to explain his desire for a relationship less ordinary. And reading those books only confirmed Tom’s suspicions about what he wanted.

He ignored Benedict and instead typed up a quick text to Vivian. She should be at lunch around now. While he waited for her to respond, Tom grabbed a script from the table and flipped it open. He wasn’t sure how he felt about starring in another period drama, but he promised his agent he would let them know yes or no by the end of the week.

There was a knock at his door. Tom opened the door. Benedict pushed his way into Tom’s home.

“You don’t write. You don’t call.” Benedict’s arms flailed about.

Tom frowned at his face. “Come on in, Ben. I’m not busy at all.” His voice oozed with sarcasm.

“If you answered your phone, I wouldn’t have to barge in like this. Hello.” Benedict continued to pace the floor.

“Hello.” Tom replied. He glanced into the living room and saw his stack of books in plain sight on the sofa. “Now what is so urgent it required you to come to my house in the middle of the day?”

“How did the date go?” Benedict flashed a gigantic smile at Tom.

Tom groaned and walked back into the living room. He shoved the books out of sight under a table. Benedict flopped down in their place.

“I’m not telling you.”

“Come on. I would tell you.” Benedict continued to smile as though he was a maniacal clown.

“Fortunately, I’m not you. Now if you please…” He gestured for the door. “… I have work to do.”

Tom shoved Benedict off the sofa and towards the door.

“Please something. A morsel. A tidbit.”

“Not even a scrap.”

“A name?” Benedict called out, a Hail Mary effort to extract something from his best friend. He can’t ever remember Tom being this tightlipped before.

“Vivian.”

“Last name?”

“None of your business. Goodbye Benedict.” Tom slammed the door in Ben’s face as he opened his mouth to say something.

Tom slumped onto the couch and stared down at the script he was reading. His phone buzzed.

Thinking about you too. Glad to hear about the reading. Talk to you soon.

Tom smiled and double checked to make sure his alarm was set for 10:55 that night. With a sigh, he grabbed the script and continued reading.

-

Vivian didn’t get home until almost 10:30 that night. The paralegal in charge of organizing the documents for her deposition tomorrow had up and quit, and she spent most of the day along with three first-year associates getting everything in order. Her body ached even after a quick shower, her brain was buzzing. It was also like that the day before depositions. She made a cup of tea and then settled into bed. Vivian tried reading, but her brain wouldn’t shut down. She didn’t keep a TV in the bedroom.

Her phone rang. Tom. Right on time.

“Hello?”

“Evening, darling.” His voice smooth and rich. Vivian’s shoulders relaxed. “How was your day?”

“Long. Yours?”

“Boring. Would you like to tell me about yours?”

“I don’t want to burden you.” Vivian pouted.

“I would be happy to listen.”

She perked up a bit and ranted about the kerfuffle that afternoon. Tom listened intently, interjecting words of encouragement along the way.

“It sounds like the whole thing is in your capable hands. I was wondering…” He paused. “Never mind.”

“No, what were you wondering about?”

“I was wondering if you would like to come over to my place and I could cook you dinner on Thursday.”

She smiled. “I would like that.” There was a pregnant pause over the line. She could sense his shyness and nerves through the phone. “Was there something else you wanted?”

Tom sighed into the phone. “Perhaps we could try a few things. Nothing sexual.” He quickly added. His stomach twisted into knots.

“I think that could happen. How about tomorrow I email you a list of some possibles and see what works for you?”

“Thank you. I would like that very much.” The pep in his voice returning. “I don’t want to keep you awake.”

“I wasn’t sleeping. I can’t get my mind to shut down.”

“Have you tried reading?”

“I can’t focus.”

Tom hesitated. “I could read to you.” His voice quiet.

“You would do that for me?”

“Yes. Would you like me to read to you?”

Vivian’s body warmed over. “I would like that very much.”

“Let’s see you’re reading Anna Karenina.” She could overhear shuffling as Tom moved to his bookshelf to find his copy. “What chapter?”

“Thirteen.”

Tom thumbed through the pages until he reached the spot.

He cleared his throat before he began. “After dinner, and till the beginning of the evening, Kitty was feeling a sensation akin to the sensation of a young man before a battle. Her heart throbbed violently, and her thoughts would not rest on anything. She felt…”

Tom got halfway through Chapter 14 before Vivian dozed off, her breath heavy and even over the phone. Tom ended the call and headed to his bedroom to sleep himself.

-

Vivian woke up early the next morning feeling refreshed. Her phone lay next to her on the bed. With a stretch, she rose and set about making breakfast and a cup of coffee. She hadn’t planned on falling asleep during Tom’s phone call, but his voice soothed and slowed down her brain. Which reminded her to open her laptop. She shot off a quick email to Tom giving him some ideas for Thursday.

This is a list of what may happen, not will happen.

Kneeling

Petting/stroking

Kissing

Shirt off (you)

Pants off (you, underwear stays on)

Referring to me as “ma’am”

symbol of ownership (cuffs/collar/leash)

Hair pulling/tugging

Pet name for you (boy, puppy, etc.)

She requested he let her know and to add anything for discussion, and they could talk about it more tonight. She requested he call again at 11. Vivian then clicked send and readied for the day.

-

The first thing Tom did when he woke that morning was check his email. He found Vivian’s and opened it.

His eyes widened as he read the list. He hadn’t thought about the idea of “ownership” yet. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for that just yet. But the kneeling, petting, and titles all sounded exciting. He shot back a response, letting Vivian know his preferences and then headed out for a run.

-

Vivian responded to Tom’s email during the lunch hour, saying they could talk more about it that night. She spent the rest of the afternoon in ongoing meetings on a new corporate fraud case her firm just took on.

Tom read a few scripts that morning, one a drama based on an obscure book he never heard of and another a romantic comedy. After a quick lunch and more pressure from Benedict via text, Tom grabbed for the third book Vivian recommended to him. He glanced at the title Leading and Supportive Love: The Truth about Dominant and Submissive Relationships by Chris Lyon. As he delved in, Tom realized how woefully inadequate his own research had been.

The more he read, the more Tom wanted this. How he wanted to surrender and submit within a lovely romantic relationship. He had always been attracted to strong women. However, Tom found time and time again that his girlfriends looked to him to initiate. And not just sex. And with that, the relationship soured as resentment and disappointment permeated on both sides. He resigned himself to settling, convinced what he wanted didn’t exist. and then he discovered the dominant/submissive relationship community. Too scared to hunt out a pro-domme, Tom settled on the dating profile on a vanilla website.

His alarm rang at 10:55 and he grabbed his copy of Anna Karenina and settled onto the couch to call Vivian.

-

Vivian settled into bed ahead of Tom’s phone call. She planned on asking him to read to her again. He called at exactly 11 again and she wondered if he stared at his phone waiting for the minutes to count down.

“Hello my sunshine boy.” She greeted him.

Tom smiled. “Sunshine boy?” his tone not accusatory but questioning.

“Because you are as golden and bright as the sun.”

“I like that. I enjoy being your warmth and sunshine.”

“Good, because it’s your pet name now. Speaking of…. Thursday.”

“Right.” Tom squirmed. Thursday was a big day. “Tell me how it will work.”

“So we will establish the rules and protocols tonight, and they are in place until I leave. Anything on the list is fair game. I expect you to comply with my requests. If there is anything not on the list we wish to explore, consent and discussion will happen beforehand. If at any point, you feel uncomfortable and wish to disengage, you can use a safety word. What would you like your safety word to be?”

“Sushi.” Tom responded. “That all sounds fine. And I should call you…”

“Ma’am for now.” She smiled. “Now will you read for me again, please?” Her tone gentle but firm.

“Yes, ma’am.” he tried it out. It felt nice. “Where did I leave off?”

“Please.”

Tom grabbed his book and flipped it open to where he marked his spot with a bookmark. “That must be Vronsky, thought Levin, and, to be sure of it, glanced at Kitty. She had already had time to look at Vronsky, and looked round to Levin. And simply from the look in her eyes, that grew unconsciously brighter, Levin knew that she loved that man, knew it as surely as if she had told him so in words.”

Vivian dozed off soon after Tom began, and he ended the call before falling asleep on the couch himself.

-

Wednesday seemed to drag for both of them in anticipation for Thursday night. Tom busied himself with cleaning his house, which had grown cluttered now that he was back living there full time. In between the mopping of the floors and shoving a third load of laundry in the washer, Tom finished up the third and fourth books Vivian told him to read. He had two left. Tom also made a special trip to the store and gathered the ingredients for dinner. He was tempted to make Bolognese but thought Italian two dates in a row might be a bit much and instead settled on a lovely roast dinner with all the fixings. Tom even went so far as to call his mother for tips.

“Trying to impress a girl, I take it?” Diana Hiddleston mused as she explained how to make Yorkshire pudding.

“A woman, Mother.” he corrected her. “She’s not just some girl.”

“Clearly if you are contemplating baking for her. I hope she is worth all this trouble.”

“It’s no trouble.” Tom scribbled down notes in handwriting he was certain to be unable to decipher later. “Now for a pudding…”

Diana chuckled as she listed off a few simple recipes for Tom to try.

-

Vivian left work two hours early on Thursday in order to get and ready and head over to Tom’s in time. He texted her the address that morning. He continued to call her at 11 and read to her every night. It was a small comfort, and she looked forward to it every evening.

Her fingers ran along the clothes hanging in her wardrobe, contemplating how dressy to go. She lighted on a long floral cotton maxi dress with a high slit on the side. Vivian paired with a wedge and a light jacket and grabbed her phone and purse before catching an Uber over to Tom’s.

-

Tom couldn’t remember the last time his palms sweated before a date. But they were and causing him to bobble in the kitchen, nearly dumping all the roasted potatoes on the ground. He was just pulling out the Yorkshire puddings when his doorbell rang.

Tom sprung into action, running to the door, shedding the apron along the way and smoothing down the front of his button-down shirt. He opened the door to find Vivian standing there smiling.

“Evening,” he started, smiling. “ma’am.” he added quickly.

“That’s my sunshine boy.” she responded, stepping into his foyer. She grabbed him by the back of neck and kissed him. Tom’s hand landed on her shoulders. She pulled him forward twice by the neck as they kissed before releasing him.

“Allow me to take your jacket, ma’am.” Tom moved to behind Vivian and waited until she nodded before slipping it off her shoulders and hanging it on a nearby hook.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Care for a tour?” He extended his arm towards the living room.

“Lead the way.” She reached out and held onto the back of his neck before sliding it down to the small of his back. He shivered at her touch. “Okay?” She checked in with him.

“Fine. I just… I’m not used to people touching me there.” he replied, shy and self-conscious.

“If it makes you uncomfortable, use your word.” She used her other hand to smooth down his hair.

“Yes, ma’am. I like it.”

“Then I’ll keep doing it.”

Tom smiled as she smoothed down his hair and he continued with the tour. Vivian took in every inch of Tom’s home. It was clean and well furnished. She enjoyed the large bookcase covering an entire wall in his study, along with an impressive DVD collection. She spied a few family photos in the bedroom on the dresser in front of his king size bed. They returned to the kitchen right as the oven timer went off.

Tom stepped away and grabbed an oven mitt and pulled his tart from the oven. Vivian glanced over his shoulder to see a full roast dinner, Tom had gone all out for her.

“I’m impressed, good job.” She kissed his cheek.

He blushed at her praise. “I may have gone a bit overboard.”

“Nonsense. Now get me a glass of wine please.” She directed before sitting down at the table Tom had set.

“Red, white, or I have champagne, ma’am?” He stood by the fridge, waiting.

Vivian wrinkled her nose. “Champagne makes me sneeze. Red.”

Tom nodded and grabbed a bottle from the counter which he opened and poured them both a glass. He handed Vivian’s hers first before setting his on the table and returning to the kitchen. Vivian slid his glass over to her side of the table and sipped hers. Tom had great taste in wine.

He returned to the table and set her plate down for her and then himself before sitting. Tom glanced around for his glass of wine.

“No wine for you tonight.”

Tom opened his mouth and contemplated his next words as Vivian sipped her wine, staring at him. “Yes, ma’am.” He sounded disappointed but pulled his glass of water close.

Vivian reached out and stroked his arm. “Don’t worry, my sunshine boy, there will still be plenty of fun to be had.” He perked up a bit. “How is your reading going?”

Tom finished chewing before answering. “Great. I am on book number 4. Just two more to go and then my 500 word essay. May I write more than 500 words?”

“Yes, but no more than a 1000.”

Tom nodded and Vivian tucked into the roast. It was juicy and seasoned to perfection. “Whose recipe did you steal?”

“My mother’s.” Tom replied. “Excuse me for a moment.” He stood and left for the kitchen, returning with a gravy boat and the bottle of wine. He held up the gravy. “May I, ma’am?”

“Yes please.” She held up her plate to close the distance. Tom poured a healthy amount of gravy on the plate before serving himself. “And your work? Your scripts?”

Tom sat back down. “Tedious. If I am not playing a spy, they want me to play a stuffed shirt in a cravat and waistcoat.”

“I bet you are dashing in a cravat and waistcoat.” She smirked at him, aware Tom would be dashing in a potato sack and tissue boxes.

“There is one that caught my eye. I wondered if you like to take a look at it.”

“What kind of movie?”

“Romantic comedy.”

Vivian giggled. “Do they still make those?”

Tom narrowed his eyes for a moment. “Yes. Would you like to take a look? Ma’am?”

“Maybe later.” She sipped her wine. Tom held the bottle up. “No, thank you. I have work tomorrow.”

Tom nodded and set the bottle down. “How are the depositions going?”

“As well as can be expected, but this case isn’t won or lost through depositions.”

“How is it then?”

“By who blinks first.” She deadpanned. “And I am a world class champion in staring contests.”

Tom shook his head, taking his last bite of potato before standing to clear the plates. “Remind me never to cross you.”

Vivian leaned back in her chair. “I guarantee in six months you will beg me to punish you.”

She chuckled as the plates clattered in the sink before he turned on the water to let them soak during dessert. Vivian enjoyed pushing when the mood suited her. And Tom suited her just fine.

He returned with his Bakewell tart, two plates and forks. “I noticed you didn’t eat much of the chocolate dessert on Sunday.”

“It was fine, but not my favorite. Thank you for noticing.”

Tom cut up the tart and served up a small slice to Vivian and took a larger piece for himself.

“Don’t you worry about gaining weight?” she questioned.

“I run at least three miles a day, although since I met you that has doubled. And I have a fast metabolism. It is very hard for me to put on muscle mass. Ask my trainer.”

“I just might.” She took a bite and moaned. “Delicious.”

Tom licked his lips and took a bite, moaning. “That is delicious.” he mumbled, his mouth full.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” She pointed a finger at him.

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry.” He covered his mouth and swallowed.

“You don’t need to apologize, Tom.” Vivian reached out and rubbed his arm. “Fix it the next time.”

Tom leaned into her hand. “Yes, ma’am.”

Vivian ate most of her dessert while Tom polished his off.

“All done?”

She wiped her mouth and finished up her wine. “Yes, thank you. That was delicious. I need you to cook for me more often.”

Tom chuckled as he cleared the plates. “I’ll keep that in mind. If you like, you can take a seat in the living room while I clean up.”

“I’d rather stay in here with you.”

“Of course.” He hustled over to the sink and turned on the water. He rinsed the plates and utensils while Vivian sat at the table and watched. She took the sight of his backside in the jeans he selected for the evening. Very nice. She couldn’t wait to redden those cheeks when the time came.

She stood and joined him after Tom put away the leftovers and turned his attention to the pans. As he scrubbed, Vivian came up behind him and petted the back of his head and neck. He leaned against her hand and Vivian swore he purred.

“That feels nice, ma’am.” he hummed, but not stopping his washing.

“Finish up and come to the living room, sunshine boy.”

She tugged his hair once before releasing his hair and walking out of the kitchen. Vivian surveyed his DVDs while Tom finished up. She could hear the water turn off and the pans clanging together as he put them away. Vivian remained standing.

Tom walked into his own living room as though he were a stranger. His hands fidgeting in front of him.

“I won’t bite, Thomas.” she smirked. “At least I won’t bite tonight.”

Tom gulped and shifted his weight. “Yes, ma’am.”

She circled him like an animal on the prowl. Her fingers ran along the width of his shoulders. He shivered again. Vivian stopped and took a step back.

“Are you still doing okay?”

“I’m fine.” He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Please don’t stop.” His blue eyes begged her to touch him again.

She nodded and slid her hand down his back before bringing it up his neck and into his hair.

“Take off your shirt.”

Tom hesitated for a moment before unbuttoning his shirt. He pulled it off and tossed it onto a nearby chair.

“Fold it and place it on the table.”

Tom’s mouth dropped open, and he stood still. Vivian walked in front of him.

“I don’t enjoy repeating myself, sunshine.”

Tom scrambled into action. “Yes, ma’am.” He folded the shirt like they would in a retail store and then spun in place. There were three tables in the room.

“The small one with the lamp, please.” Tom sighed in relief and placed his shirt down.

“On the couch, on your back, hands behind your head.”

Vivian leaned down to unbuckle her wedges, slipping them off and placing them by the armchair. Tom positioned himself on the couch, taking up the entire length. Vivian licked her lips at the sight of Tom. The hint of chest hair. His Adonis belt and treasure trail. She made a mental list of things to do in the future to Tom.

She hitched her skirt up to straddle Tom’s torso. “No touching.”

Tom nodded eagerly. “Yes, ma’am.”

Vivian leaned down to his face, her hands slid up his bare chest to his neck. One hand pressed Tom’s shoulder into the cushions while the other cupped his cheeks. Her thumbs ran along his sharp cheekbones before reaching the temples. Vivian’s fingers laced into Tom’s hair and then she tugged him into her.

Tom’s lips sighed into her. Vivian took the opportunity to slip her tongue into his mouth. He wiggled underneath her but his hands stayed behind his head. She pulled back and Tom leaned forward, wanting more.

“Do you want more?” she teased. Her hand firmly in his hair.

“Yes, ma’am.” He panted.

“Beg.” She tugged his head towards her, stopping just short.

“Please!” He begged not only with his words but his eyes too. “Please kiss me, ma’am.”

She tugged his head around again and pressed her lips against his. He breathed into her and she slipped her tongue in again. Tom did the same. He wiggled underneath her again. Vivian stopped, and shifted her position, her knees on Tom’s chest, her toes teasing along his crotch. His pants tenting from the feel of things.

They continued kissing like that for some time and Tom stopped wiggling. She pulled away, Tom leaned forward, wanting more.

“More, please, ma’am.” he pleaded.

Vivian pushed off of him. Her hand skimmed along his cock. It twitched under her touch and Tom moaned.

“No, not tonight. Sit up, please.” Vivian stood. Tom sat up, his lips swollen. His eyes glassy.

Vivian sat down at one end of the couch and settled in. “Kneel.”

“Yes ma’am.” He slid down the couch to kneel on the carpet by Vivian’s leg. “Never imagined anyone would say that to me.” he commented.

“Get used to it, sunshine.” She smoothed down his rumpled hair. He leaned against her legs at her touch, pressing his side against him. Vivian smiled as Tom hummed while Vivian continued to stroke and pet his hair and neck. She scratched his scalp, and he gasped.

“You’re such a good boy, sunshine.” Vivian purred. “My good boy.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Vivian looked around the room and spied a small bookcase stuffed to the brim with books.

“Read to me, Thomas. Please”

He stood, not ready to miss out on Vivian touching him. He reached for Anna Karenina. Vivian touched his arm.

“No, something from your bookcase. Surprise me.”

Tom walked over to the bookcase and examined the shelves before selecting a small notebook.

“It’s a collection of poems.” he offered, he ran his finger along the spine.

“Perfect.” Vivian beckoned him back. “Kneel and read to me, please.”

Tom’s face lit up, and he resumed his position, head leaning against Vivian’s lap.

Tom cleared his throat and Vivian’s hand laced back through his hair and his shoulders relaxed. “Leda and the Swan by William Butler Yeats.”

“Interesting choice.”

“A sudden blow: the great wings beating still Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill, He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.”

After he finished the first poem, Vivian asked him to read another and then a third. His eyes closed as her hands continued to smooth and stroke his head. Tom’s body hummed. He felt… safe. Like he was home and everything would be alright.

Vivian feared he had fallen asleep. “Thomas?” she whispered.

“Yes, ma’am?” He turned his head.

“You okay?”

He nodded. “Better than okay.”

“Stand up, please.” Tom stood. “It’s time for me to go home. Walk me to the door.”

Tom’s head dropped but nodded. Vivian lingered by the front door. Her finger drawing intricate circles on his chest.

“That was…” Tom’s chest heaved as he put Vivian’s jacket on her. His body ached as though he ran fifty miles. Tom’s brain felt fuzzy and heavy. His heart full and content.

“Yeah,” Vivian finished his sentence. “For me too, sunshine boy.” She reached up and cupped his cheek with one hand, he leaned his head into her, wanting to kiss her palm but not daring to do so.

With her shoes back on her feet, she stood almost as tall as Thomas. She pecked his lips, soft and sweet and Tom returned the kiss in kind. Her stomach fluttered.

“I would like to do this again.” Tom commented as they parted.

“I was hoping you would. How would you feel about having a kissing date on Saturday night? I’m afraid I’m busy tomorrow.”

“What’s a kissing date?”

Vivian pecked his lips and rubbed his neck one more time before opening the door. Tom stumbled forward, craving her skin on his.

“I’ll text you the protocols tomorrow morning. Sleep well, sunshine.” One more kiss and then the door shut behind her.

Tom leaned against the wall, clutching his chest. He didn’t know if he would last until Saturday.