#finally fixed the couch (some screws were missing before). did a lot in the kitchen. did laundry and put it outside to dry. took apart a

[running-in-the-dark]

it seems like I either feel bad (mentally) for not doing enough, or I feel bad (physically) for doing too much. or both at the same time, somehow.

[seita]

— you love too easy | hitoshi shinsou (m.)

pairing: hitoshi shinsou/f!reader

genre: angst, fluff, smut

wordcount: 𝟾𝟹𝟾𝟶

cw: childhood friends!au, roommate!au

tags: unrequited love, pining, toxic relationship (oc x shinsou), brief kaminari x reader, cunnilignus, dirty talk, pet names, praise kink, fingering, size kink, loss of virginity, light virgin kink, creampie, squirting, angst with a happy ending

note: sorry if u like kaminari. i made him a huge douchebag in this. i swear i like him i just needed a character to be,,,,well, a douchebag.

— all your life you'd been by his side. you've loved him since you could remember. you've always been by his side so why did he give his heart away to everyone but you; the one who would treat it right?

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© all content belongs to seita 2020. do not modify or repost.  

He fell in love too easily. You knew that your entire life. He’d give his heart away to anyone and everyone, fully and with everything he had. He loved with every fiber of his being. And it always ended in disaster. 

You couldn’t count how many nights you’d spent by his side rubbing his back as he cried because his girlfriend lied to him, comforting him as he hunched over a toilet after crying himself sick because his girlfriend cheated on him, or forcing him to eat because he got so depressed after she ignored him. 

It was an endless cycle. 

Yet you were always there to build him back up -- to pick up the pieces. 

Ever since the first girlfriend he had in Kindergarten that lasted for 2 days and ended in his tears up to the girl he dated in senior year of highschool who cheated on him with her ex...you were the one to fix him. 

Yes, Hitoshi Shinsou fell in love far too easily and way too hard.

The thought that kept you awake every night, however, was why couldn’t it be you? You were the one who took the best care of his heart -- being the one to piece it back together every time it was broken. He didn’t need to love anyone else. If he just loved you, he would never have to worry if he just gave his heart to you. 

But he never would. 

Because he didn’t love you like you loved him. 

You’d known him since you were babies -- your parents were friends in highschool and it went on well into adulthood. 

Naturally, the two of you grew close -- it was inevitable. Your crush on him developed in childhood -- you two got lost in the mall after you strayed away and he kept you safe and calm until you found your parents, his hand clasped tightly around yours as he let you cling to him. That was the first time you realized he made your cheeks feel warm and your tummy fluttery.

Your parents always joked that the two of you would fall in love and get married. It was nearly impossible for that idea not to be imprinted in your mind. 

Except, it was never an idea he entertained. 

Part of you felt foolish. You were a grown adult with a crush that you’d harbored since childhood -- pathetic, one-sided crush at that. 

The thing was, unlike Shinsou, you’d never dated before. It was never something you desired. Sure, you had confessions and love letters but you’d never once accepted them. You just couldn’t see yourself being with anyone but him.

Upon graduating, the two of you realized how terrible it was to be 18 trying to make it in the adult world. After a few years of fumbling and nearly getting kicked out by not making your rent payments on time, you decided that rooming together would be the best idea. 

It was a foolproof plan; you’d known each other for your whole lives so it wasn’t like you’d suddenly hate each other, you knew he was responsible with his money and you were too, and he was a quiet, chill guy so there wouldn’t be any obnoxious ruckus. 

What you didn’t think about, however, was him bringing girls home. 

“This is Aoi,” he introduced, motioning to the smiling girl beside him, “Aoi, this is _____...she’s my best friend.”

“And his roommate,” you added, holding your hand out politely.

“Oh you...live together?” you didn’t miss the distaste in her tone as she reached out to give you a weak handshake, pulling away as quickly as she could. She immediately wrapped her arms around his and he leaned how to press a kiss to the top of her head. 

Ouch. That made your heart hurt. 

Of course, it was nothing new. This was something you’d been through time and time again. 

What you hadn’t accounted for, was her dislike of you. Naturally, his past girlfriends hadn’t always been fond of you -- after all, you were a big part of their boyfriend’s life. And jealousy was a fickle disease. 

But Aoi’s dislike bordered on hatred and disgust over you. Every chance she got, she was pulling Shinsou away from you with some thinly veiled excuse. It seemed your best friend was none the wiser as well. 

You couldn’t blame him -- he was in love. Unfortunately. 

Aoi’s glares were ice cold, often sending shivers down your spine when she set it upon you. It was uncomfortable to say the least. She was at your place often enough for you to take up the art of avoiding her.

That is until one day when things seemed to come to a head for her. You weren’t sure what  you did but you found yourself cornered in the kitchen one evening while Shinsou was taking a shower -- leaving just the two of you alone. 

“Listen to me,” Aoi spat, arms crossed over her chest, making her look petulant, “You need to back off of Toshi.”

“Uhh...what?” you grunted, looking up from the glass of chocolate milk you were pouring.

“Stay away from him!” she spat.

“We literally live together,” you rolled your eyes, capping the pint of milk, “I can’t stay away from him.”

“You know what I mean,” she hissed, clearly pissed off by your sarcasm. She marched up to you, grabbing your upper arm in a vice grip, her acrylic nails pinching your skin, “I see the way you look at him. I know that look in your eye. You love him.”

Your mind blanked, mouth opening but failing to produce any words. She smirked smugly, stepping back and crossing her arms again.

“I…” your brows came together as you shook your head, finally putting the milk away.

“I knew it,” she huffed, “You can’t take him from me. Toshi is mine so you better remember that. You have no idea what I can do to you.”

With that parting threat, she stormed out of the kitchen back to Shinsou’s bedroom. You felt tears sting your eyes, feeling utterly humiliated by her. 

Another thing about Hitoshi Shinsou is he’s terribly dense sometimes. You had no idea how he managed to miss the horrifying tension between you and Aoi. But he somehow did. 

The three of you sat in the living room -- the two of them cuddled on the couch while you curled up under a throw blanket with your phone open to Twitter on the loveseat. They were watching some movie Aoi picked out that you knew Shinsou hated, but he watched it anyway. The thought made you bitter.

You’d never make him watch movies he hated. That’s just selfish. 

You let out a sigh, catching your best friend’s attention immediately.

“What is it, darlin’?” he asked, the usual pet name he used for you making your stomach flutter. Aoi’s eyes narrowed in distaste at it but he paid her no mind.

“Oh, I’ve just got a bit of a headache,” you mumbled, locking your phone to look over at him.

He frowned, concerned, pulling his arm from around his girlfriend’s shoulders. She whined at the loss, attempting to pull him back but he paid her no mind.

He disappeared from the living room to the kitchen. You could hear the refrigerator open before he began shuffling around the cabinets.

“You’re not slick,” Aoi hissed, keeping her voice low, “Why don’t you just go away. Don’t you think he’d prefer to be alone with his girlfriend? You’re just a third wheel.”

You didn’t get to reply before Shinsou returned, holding a glass of your chocolate milk and a couple pills. He smiled, handing everything to you before taking a seat with Aoi again. She immediately clung to him with a whine.

“Thank you Toshi,” you smiled, popping the pills in your mouth before taking a quick gulp of the milk. 

“Anytime, darlin’” he smiled, turning his attention back to the movie he hated. 

Part of you felt prideful that he was willing to pull himself away from his girlfriend to take care of you. She clearly saw you as competition and you couldn’t deny the giddy feeling it gave you when you proved to her that you meant something to Shinsou. 

You noticed very quickly when Shinsou stopped calling you by his nickname. It baffled you and you didn’t hesitate to bring it up to him.

“Ah, Aoi mentioned she doesn’t like it when I call other girls pet names,” he rubbed the back of his neck in that familiarly anxious way of him. He was avoiding your gaze, further ticking you off.

“I’m not other girls, Hitoshi,” he visibly cringed at hearing his full name, “I’m your best friend. You’ve always called me that.”

He sighed, biting his lip, clearly torn, “Sorry _____,” you frowned at the sound of your name. It seemed so foreign hearing it where he’d usually call you ‘darlin’’, “She is my girlfriend and it’d be shitty of me to neglect her wishes. I want this to work, you know?”

You rolled your eyes, arms crossing over your chest, “This is stupid Hitoshi.”

He sighed, clearly growing annoyed as well, “Look, you’re just my friend, alright? So back off.”

Your jaw fell open at those words, tears already starting to sting at your eyes, “Just your friend? That’s low, Hitoshi. I am not just your friend and you know it.”

He groaned, running a hand through his already messy hair, “You’re starting to sound jealous and clingy, _____. It’s not a good look.”

Feeling that the tears were going to spill any moment, you shook your head and stormed past him, “Screw you Shinsou.”

You slammed your bedroom door, missing the sight of him burying his face in his hands. Hearing you address him by his last name was even worse than hearing his first. 

Things remained tense between the two of you for a week. You had really been hurt by his words. You always thought you meant a lot to him -- that you’d never be the person who was pushed aside for a relationship. You never thought Shinsou would do that. 

As a result, you made no effort to even speak to him. Sometimes you’d pass him while he sat on the couch, Aoi snuggled up to him. Whenever you made eye contact with you, she held this smug, superior look that made you want to clock her. 

You’d never hated a girlfriend of his more.

Finally, Shinsou gave in. He couldn’t stand not having you to talk to. There was this heavy feeling lingering on his shoulders every time he thought about the cold way you called him by his last name. He never wanted to be addressed like that by you. 

There were a series of knocks on your door and you paused, debating on ignoring him. He knocked again when you took too long to answer.

“Come in,” you groaned, putting your laptop aside to give him your attention.

“Hey,” he smiled half-heartedly as he slipped into your room, closing the door behind him. 

“What do you want?” you asked, no bite in your voice.

He sighed, taking a seat beside you on the bed, “I want to apologize for what I said. I know that hurt your feelings so I’m sorry.”

You were quiet for a moment before you sat up straighter, “Hitoshi...I don’t want you to become a different person because of a girl.”

“What do you mean?” he frowned. 

You sighed, “I think she’s a bad influence on you, Toshi.”

He softened briefly at your use of his nickname but it was quickly replaced by a cold stare that sent shivers down your spine, “A-A bad influence? I’m not a kid, _____.”

You frowned, “You don’t have to be a kid to be negatively influenced by another person's toxicity, Hitoshi.”

“You think she’s toxic?” he scoffed, standing up, “You don’t even know her. You’ve barely even spoken to her.”

“Well the bit that I have spoken to her was not pleasant,” you spat, moving to sit at the edge of the bed with your feet on the floor, “I don’t think she’s good for you.”

“What are you, my mother now?” he growled, spinning around to glare at you, “Maybe I was wrong...maybe you are just jealous.”

“How am I acting jealous?” you cried, growing frustrated, “Caring about your wellbeing is jealousy now?”

“Oh get off it,” he groaned, “What’s she done then, huh? Tell me.”

You paused, remembering her threat. But you were so pissed off you couldn’t keep it in anymore, “She’s threatened me to stay away from you. She’s so insecure about our friendship she threatened me over it! Said you were hers and I better remember that. She’s crazy!”

“She didn’t say that,” he argued, eyes narrowed maliciously, “You’re just making shit up to make her look bad now. That’s really low, _____.”

“You asked me to tell you what she did and then you just don’t believe me?!” you screeched, tossing your hands up in exasperation.

“I thought you’d tell me the truth, not make up some pathetic lie!” he shouted, making you flinch. 

“Pathetic?” you breathed, shoulders sagging, “Is that what you think of me?”

He was quiet for a moment, jaw set. He seemed to be thinking his words carefully, which made his next even more painful, “Yeah. I do. This jealousy and lying of yours is pathetic. I get if you don’t like her but don’t make up shit about her,” he made way for the door, yanking it open, “Grow the fuck up, ______.”

You didn’t get a chance to reply before he was slamming your door shut. All at once, your emotions came crashing down and you buried your face in your pillow to silence your sobs. 

Your eyes fluttered open and you groaned, feeling your head pound. A glance out the window showed that it was nighttime. You had fallen asleep. 

You climbed out of bed to your desk to find your packet of headache pills. You let out a sigh of relief as you swallowed them down with the bottle of water sat on your nightstand. Flopping back into bed, you closed your eyes and attempted to relax your body. 

Just as it seemed that you were going to fall back asleep, there was a loud noise from past your door. You frowned, your eyes fluttering open in confusion. 

It came again and it took you a moment to realize what it was. A woman’s moan. 

“Toshi!” you heard her squeal, making you flinch.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” you hissed, feeling those tears come burning their way back. 

“That feel good, baby? Let me hear you,” he growled and your hands flew up to cover your ears to muffle the sounds of her pleasure. 

This was low for Shinsou. Sure, he’d had sex with girlfriends before but he always made sure to keep it down for your sake. Now he was just doing it to dig at you. 

He wasn’t wrong about your jealousy but you knew he thought you were jealous over his attention being taken away. But that wasn’t the case at all. It was because you were in love with him. 

Now he was forcing you to listen to him fuck the girlfriend you literally had a fight over. This wasn’t like Shinsou at all. 

She really was just a terrible influence on him but he was too in love to see it. She was making him into a different person and you hated it. It was happening so quickly. 

As you laid in bed, tears wetting your bed as you hid your head under your pillow, you couldn’t help but think.

The stupid fool really fell in love way too easily. 

Things went from bad to worse astonishingly fast. Aoi was over more often than she had been before. The snotty comments and humiliating words from her every time you saw her and the cold, deadly glare Shinsou set on you whenever you came anywhere near his girlfriend was wearing on you. 

You were unhappy. It was an emotion you rarely ever felt around him -- Shinsou was always the one to pick you up, not put you down. It got to the point where he wouldn’t even respond to your greetings or questions, giving you the complete silent treatment. 

It hurt. 

To escape the suffocating negativity of your apartment, you picked up even more shifts at work. The video game shop became a place you found solace in. 

If Shinsou noticed your absence, he didn’t make it known to you. 

“Will that be all for you today?” you asked, plastering on a fake, customer service smile onto your face.

“Yeah, I guess,” he mumbled, slapping down a few bills to cover the charge, “But I think I’d like to add your number to my receipt.”

You took a moment to look at him. He had blonde hair with a lightning bolt of black through it. He was dressed in black jeans, a t-shirt, and a leather jacket. He was cute, you’d give him that.

“Is that the best you could come up with?” you asked, opening the register with a brow raised.

He giggled, making you smile despite yourself, “I was on a time crunch I didn’t want to miss my chance.”

“Who said you had a chance to begin with?” you asked, passing him his change, “3.14 is your change.”

“Well, I was hoping you’d give one to me,” he shrugged, stuffing the change into  his pocket before grabbing the bagged video game he’d purchased. 

You gazed at him for a moment. He was charismatic and cute. He liked video games just like you. And he’d be a great distraction.

“Sure, why not?” you mused, watching his eyes go wide.

“Wait really?” he gasped, a grin stretching across his face.

“Did you think I’d say no?” you asked. 

“U-Usually I get rejected so…” he shrugged, scratching the back of his head with a cute blush reaching his ears, “Anyway, when’s your shift end?”

“Um...closing time, so about 8:30,” you replied, glancing at the clock. 5 hours left. 

“Sweet, I’ll pick you up!” he grinned.

“I-I’ll have to change though!” you complained, making him pause and shake his head.

“Don’t worry about it!” with those parting words, he bolted out the door, the bell chiming to signal his departure. 

As he disappeared from view, you realized you didn’t even know his name. 

You would come to find he was Denki Kaminari; a college student majoring in graphic design. He had a friend named Katsuki Bakugou who was as loud as he was angry. Eijirou Kirishima was a kind, chill guy who mellowed out the explosive Bakugou well. Mina and Sato, two friends-turned-lovers, were a common source of laughter for the group. 

You were together for a little over a month and a half when he finally asked to meet your friends. Truth be told, the only person you could consider a friend would be Shinsou. You had acquaintances and those you hung real casually with but Shinsou was the only person you’d consider a friend.

Well, you weren’t sure if he could even be called that anymore. 

Eventually, you gave in and decided to bring Kaminari to your apartment. 

“Whoa, nice place,” he mumbled, looking around. 

“You think so? Thanks,” you smiled, leading him towards the living room, “Like I said...things are...tense between me and Hitoshi so…”

“Who’re you?” a familiar voice came from the entry of the hallway. 

Shinsou stood there, messy hair and tired eyed wearing basketball shorts and an oversized t-shirt. His eyes burned holes into Kaminari, who visibly shrunk beneath the heated glare. You took note of how Shinsou didn’t even look at you. 

That still hurt.

“I’m Denki Kaminari,” the blonde replied, approaching Shinsou to shake his hand, “I’m _____’s boyfriend!”

You didn’t miss the shift in Shinsou’s look, his eyebrows perking up ever so slightly. His gaze finally shifted to you before he scoffed from his nose, making you wince. 

“Alright,” Shinsou mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets before turning his back to the both of you, stalking back to his room with a slam of the door. 

Kaminari winced, “Boy, you weren’t kidding.”

“Yeah,” you sighed, motioning him to follow you, “Let’s head to my room. I don’t know if Aoi is here or not and I don’t care to find out.”

“I kinda wanna meet her too,” your boyfriend whispered, lowering his voice so it didn’t carry to Shinsou.

“No you don’t,” you chuckled, shutting your bedroom door once the two of you were safely inside. 

You sat beside him on the bed, reaching for your remote to click the TV on for background noise. He cuddled in beside you, commenting on how soft your bed was. 

“You smell really good,” he suddenly whispered, nosing at your neck. 

You blinked in surprise, moving your head so he could get a better angle, “Th-Thanks…”

He hummed as you shivered once he pressed a few soft kisses against your neck. It tickled a bit but also sent a strange tingle down your spine the more he kissed. Your heart hammered in your chest and you briefly wondered if Denki could hear it. 

He cupped your jaw, pulling you into a deep kiss. His tongue met your bottom lip, making you sigh against his lips. 

You barely noticed his hand crawling up your shirt until it snuck beneath the band of your bra. The unfamiliar feeling of someone cupping your breast had you pulled away, tugging on Kaminari’s hand to pull him away. 

“W-We shouldn’t…” you whispered, unsure of how to reject him, “W-With Shinsou the way he is…”

Kaminari looked skeptical for a second before nodding his head, “Got it.”

And that was that. 

At least you thought until he began trying more and more. It became common for you to find his hand up your shirt. The feeling made you uneasy, making you realize you really weren’t ready to have sex. Kaminari was your first boyfriend and you weren’t willing to give everything up to him like that.

“Why do you always stop me?” Kaminari asked one day, voice soft and reassuring.

“I just…” you cleared your throat, biting your lip, “I don’t want to go that far yet.”

He was quiet for a moment before smiling and nodding his head, pulling you closer to him with a kiss to your forehead. Your body relaxed, thankful that he wasn’t angry with you like you had feared he would be. 

He began following your wishes, no longer attempting to go past kissing. You were thankful. 

Unfortunately, your bliss didn’t last long because next thing you knew, he was dumping you. Over text. 

You had just got home from work, your feet aching and dread pooling in your stomach at the idea of being home. You were so tired of being scared to come home, it was exhausting. Shinsou was sitting on the couch, eating something he’d made himself for dinner with his back to you. He didn’t even show any signs that he knew you were home. 

Lingering by the door, you pulled your phone out to check your notifications. 

One from Denki made your heart stop -- the preview text already displaying what you feared. Your fingers were trembling as you unlocked your phone to look at the message. 

As you read it, the words grew blurrier until tears began to drip onto your screen -- further obscuring the words there. 

A small whimper escaped your throat, despite the way you tried to choke down any sounds. You quickly scurried to get to your bedroom when a strong hand snagged your wrist. Wide eyed, you were spun around to find Shinsou wearing a frown and furrowed brows. 

“Why are you crying?” he asked, voice stern with concern. 

You shook your head, feeling pathetic. You didn’t like Kaminari that much. Truthfully, you were mostly dating him to get away from Shinsou. But the idea that you were dumped because you wouldn’t have sex was utterly humiliating. Your first real boyfriend dumped you because you wouldn’t put out. 

“You were right,” you sniffled, unable to hold back the sob that tore through your chest, “I am pathetic.”

He didn’t have the chance to even think of a reply before you were escaping his hold to hide away in your bedroom. You haphazardly stripped and changed into your softest set of clothes, deciding you were going to wallow in your own self pity for the night. 

Your humiliation overshadowed the fact Shinsou had shown you the first sign of care in weeks. He had reacted to your crying just as he always had and instinctively moved to comfort you. 

You could hear muffled voices from the hallway, one male and one female. The fact he brought her over after you just had a near meltdown in front of him irked you and only brought more tears forth. 

A sense of anger rushed over you -- you didn’t want her there. This was your house and you didn’t want her there while you were going through it. You had half a mind to go out there and kick her out, maybe Shinsou would let it slide since you were clearly having a tough time. 

What you didn’t expect were the shouts coming from them. You frowned and walked towards your door, cracking it open to listen to their shouting from the living room.

“You’re kicking me out?!” Aoi cried. 

“I’m not kicking you out,” Shinsou sighed, “You don’t live here. I’m just asking you to go home for the night, Aoi.”

“Why should I?” Aoi argued, “Because she’s upset? Who cares!”

“I care!” Shinsou snapped.

Aoi scoffed, “Oh yeah, since when? Last I checked you picked me over her!”

“I didn’t pick anyone over anyone,” Shinsou huffed.

“Really?” Aoi’s tone was dripping in sarcasm, “You haven’t paid her a second of attention since your little fight. I doubt you even noticed how she’s been working full-time instead of part-time. Why do you think that is? To get away from you! Not that I give a shit, but you have been treating her like dirt. So don’t even try and pretend you give a shit, I know you don’t. You only feel bad because she’s crying. Once she gets over it you’ll just come back to me in the end. So just let her sulk by herself, she’s a big girl.”

Shinsou was quiet after that. You were sure he wasn’t even going to respond but you continued to stand there and listen. The apartment was silent, you could even hear the ticking of the decorative clock Shinsou’s mother had given you both. 

“She was right, huh?” he finally whispered.

“Huh?” Aoi replied, clearly annoyed.

“I really did let you turn me into someone else,” he sighed, “God, I’m so stupid.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Hitoshi?” she snapped, growing impatient over the argument. 

“You should leave,” Shinsou said, voice strong once again, “You and I are done.”

“What?!” Aoi shrieked, stomping her foot, “You can’t dump me! Not for her!”

“Get out, Aoi,” Shinsou growled, yanking the front door open.

She scoffed, “Don’t come crawling back to me when you learn she isn’t worth it.”

The slam of the door signalled the end. Silence ensued and you slipped back into your room, letting your door shut silently. 

Just as you expected, there were a few soft knocks on your door. You didn’t reply but he opened up anyway, peeking in to find you sitting on the bed with your head hung.

“I assume you heard all that,” he said, cupping the back of his neck nervously. 

“Yeah, kind of hard to miss,” you mumbled, feeling awkward about sharing this moment with him.

You didn’t look up when he sat down beside you. With a sudden tug, you found yourself wrapped up in a sweet embrace. 

“Why were you crying? Did something happen with that Kaminari dude? Did he hurt you?” his concern brought forth a new flood of tears that you let go. 

“He dumped me,” you whined, clinging to the front of his shirt.

“Why?” he asked, petting your hair softly.

You scoffed, shame building up inside you, “Because I didn’t want to have sex with him.”

Immediately he pushed you back by your shoulders to look at your face, “He dumped you ‘cause you wouldn’t fuck him?”

“Yeah,” you mumbled, avoiding his gaze, “He said he had needs and he wasn’t willing to wait for me to put out.”

“Jesus,” Shinsou scoffed, shaking his head, “What a prick,” he pulled you into his chest again with a sigh, “It’s good you didn’t sleep with him then. He wouldn’t have been worth it.”

“Yeah, I would have regretted it,” you nodded, “I’m not even sad he broke up with me. I just feel like shit that it was over sex. He was my first boyfriend and I got dumped because I wasn’t ready...that sort of feels shitty, you know?”

Shinsou nodded, resting his cheek atop your head, “I understand. It’s like a blow to your self-esteem, yeah?”

“Exactly,” you sniffled, your tears finally coming to a stop as he held you and let you talk, “I didn’t like him enough to sleep with him anyway. Even if I was ready.”

Shinsou chuckled, “Well, I’m glad you’re not heartbroken over it.”

You were quiet for a long moment before you pulled away from him, “How are you? I know you liked Aoi.”

Shinsou frowned, looking at his hands in his lap before shrugging, “I actually don’t really feel anything.”

“Really?” you asked, surprised. Usually he would be in tears by now. But he was right, there wasn’t even an ounce of sadness in his eyes.

He nodded, “All I really cared about was you. I guess realizing what she really was wiped out anything I felt for her. Truthfully, it was probably going to be over soon anyway.”

“Why do you say that?” you asked.

“We just didn’t have good chemistry, I suppose. The sex was great but beyond that we didn’t really share any common interests,” he explained, leaning back on his hands with a sigh.

You cringed at the mention of sex -- remembering the night you sobbed as you were forced to listen to them go at it. Shinsou seemed to notice your discomfort, leaning up straight once more to take your hands in his. 

“I’m sorry, ______,” he breathed, making you look up at him, “I was such a fuckin’ asshole to you. You didn’t deserve that and if you chose to never forgive me I would understand. But I promise I will never let a girl come first again. You’re my best friend, you’re the entire world to me and you will always be here when all the girls leave, I know that. No one can ever replace you.”

His words caused a flood of tears to flood down your cheeks again. You threw your arms around his shoulders, tugging him into a desperate hug. He wrapped his arms around your waist, fisting the back of your shirt with his face buried in your neck. 

“I will always be here, Toshi,” you hiccuped, “I really will. It doesn’t matter if you choose the next 50 girls over me, I would never let you go. I would rather live with you ignoring me and making me cry over not having you at all.”

He sighed, tears of his own falling from his eyes and wetting your skin but you didn’t mind, “I would never ask that of you.”

“You don’t have to,” you whispered, voice trembling. You couldn’t stop the next words from coming, you didn’t even try, “That’s how strong my love is for you, Toshi. I would do anything for your happiness. I’ll let you cry on my shoulder when girl after girl breaks your heart, even though it hurts so damn much because I know I would never, ever let you down like that. I’ll sit with you in the living room while another girl is wrapped in your arms, desperately wishing it was me, because you want me and her to be friends. You don’t even know it but you have every bit of me,” your voice broke as you let out a sob, taking a stuttering breath before continuing, “I never dated because I only ever loved you. You’re the only one I ever want to love. I don’t even care if you don’t feel the same, Toshi, I just needed you to know...I have loved you since we were kids. Whenever your mom joked that we would get married, I used to go to sleep hoping it would come true one day. You’re it for me, you know?”

Shinsou was still, every muscle in his body tense against you. You remained relaxed, relishing in being held in his arms even though it very well may be the last time you would ever experience it. His tears had stopped and you could feel his hands trembling against your back from where he was still holding your shirt in tight fists. 

Finally, slowly, he pulled away. You avoided his gaze, scared of what you may find there. With trembling fingers, he lifted your chin until you were finally forced to meet his gaze.

“______…” he whispered, your voice like honey on his lips, “Is that true? Since we were kids?”

You chuckled through your still falling tears, “Remember that time at the summer festival when I wandered off and you had to chase me? And I got scared because I couldn’t find our parents? When you let me hold onto you and you kept reassuring me that everything was okay…” you shrugged, your voice cracking as you uttered, “I knew I loved you then. And I love you to this day.”

His wide eyes were glassy as he stared at you, mouth agape in his shock. It was so much for him to take in. 

Before you knew what was happening, he was leaning in and pressing his lips against yours. Your vision went white for a second in shock at the feeling. 

His lips were soft and as you began to kiss back, you tasted coffee on his lips. Typical of Shinsou, it was late at night and he was still drinking coffee. The thought made you smile and you wrapped your arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. He cupped the back of your head, a soft sigh escaping him as he moved his lips expertly until you were breathless.

After a long moment, he pulled away. The both of you were panting, eyes lidded as you processed what just happened.

“Toshi…” you whispered, feeling euphoric after kissing him, “I don’t understand.”

He shook his head, cupping your cheek, “All you need to know...is that I love you too.”

You gaped at those words coming from his lips. Surging forward, you pressed your lips against his again. He smiled into the kiss, leaning further against you until you were forced to lay back against the mattress. His body was hovering above yours, held up by his elbows on either side of your head.

He wasted no time in touching your body, years of desperation finally culminating into this one moment. His hand slid beneath your shirt, pushing the hem up to expose the soft skin of your belly.  He paused at your ribs, unsure if you were okay with him going any further. But when you gripped his wrist and urged his hand up to cup your breast, he threw away those inhibitions. 

Thumbing your sensitive nipple, you keened as they hardened beneath his touch. He leaned down a bit more to press his lips against yours. 

You lost yourself against his lips, whimpering and grinding against nothing. Just the fact the man you’d loved for so long was there touching you after years of craving it had your panties soaked. 

“You’re so pretty,” he whispered, breaking from the kiss to kiss down your body. 

You trembled beneath him, watching him with rapt attention as he kissed the exposed skin of your stomach and ribs. Sighing, you let him push your shirt over your head to discard off the side of the bed. He leaned forward, enveloping one of the pert buds in his hot mouth, tonguing at it until you were whining and begging him to give attention to the other one. He did so eagerly, providing a stimulating suck before finally pulling away. His lips were swollen and his cheeks were flushed, the very fact you made him that way was dizzying. 

“Wanna taste that perfect cunt too, baby,” he growled, voice losing the soft, sweetness it once held. 

“O-Okay,” you agreed easily, raising your hips so he could tug the last remaining articles off of your body. 

The second you were bare, his hands were pinning your thighs open. His eyes examined every inch of your pussy -- taking in the juices dripping from your clenching hole. 

“You’re so fucking wet,” he groaned, using his thumbs to spread your folds apart, “so pretty too, god. Look at you...you’re perfect. Bet you’re so sweet…”

“Please Toshi…” you whimper, reaching down to tangle your fingers into his hair.

His eyes fluttered at the feeling, allowing you to pull him to your pussy where he eagerly ran his tongue flat between your spread folds. You gasped, eyes slamming shut as he paused to wrap his lips around your clit for just a split second. The teasing touch was addictive and you suddenly wanted more. 

Shinsou understood what it is you wanted and quickly dove back in for more. Circling his tongue around your clit, your back arched. You wanted to close your thighs against the stimulation but his strong hands kept your legs pinned open. 

He swirled his tongue quickly, moaning before enveloping the bud in his hot mouth. You tugged his hair, crying out his name as you felt a high approaching rapidly. He looked so good between your thighs, eating your cunt like you’d dreamed of for ages. 

Suddenly, he pulled away, licking his lips before sitting up.

“Fuck, tell me babygirl,” he breathed, “You gonna let me fuck this pretty cunt?” you nodded, reaching to push his shit up but he stopped you, looking you in the eyes, “Use your words. Tell me.”

“Yes, please fuck me Shinsou!” you begged.

He grinned, pressing a kiss against your lips before stripping himself of his clothes. 

You almost gasped at the sight of his cock. He was big; long and thick. Subconsciously, you clenched your thighs together in anticipation. 

“You ready?” he asked, scooting to sit between your spread legs. 

You tensed up as he prodded your entrance with the fat head of his cock. He realized how tense you were and ran his hand along your thigh to soothe you, “You good? You can back out anytime, darlin’.”

You swallowed thickly, feeling your cheeks heat up as you looked at him through your lashes, “I-It’s just...go slow?”

He frowned, brows drawn together before he backed away from you a bit, “Is this your first time, sweetheart?”

Licking your lips, you hesitated before nodding. Shinsou sighed, hanging his head to rest against your collarbone. You frowned, “I-Is that bad?” you asked. 

Truth was, you never wanted anyone but him. You never had a desire to have sex with anyone but him. You knew he was the one person you’d never regret being with. 

“No!” he sat up, eyes wide before wrapping his hand around the nape of his neck nervously, “I just wish you would have told me sooner...that was almost bad.”

“Why?” you asked,making him chuckle. He shook his head and pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“Well…” clearing his throat, he looked off to the side bashfully, “My dick’s not exactly the smallest around and since you’re a virgin you could do with...a lot more preparation, you know?”

Your cheeks were ablaze from the bluntness of his words. He didn’t waste another second in bringing his hand to your still wet pussy. 

He sighed, a smile lingering on his lips as he worked his middle finger into your tight hole. Humming, he bit his lip as he slipped his ring finger alongside it. You sighed, eyes fluttering at the mild stretch that came along with it. 

“Feel okay?” he asked softly, working the two fingers in and out of your hole. 

You nodded, “Feels good,” you breathed. 

Your eyes fell closed as he crooked his fingers upwards to touch that sweet spot on top. Your hips jumped at the sensation, ripping a moan from your swollen lips. He smirked, burying the digits deep, licking his lips at the way your juices gushed out from around them. 

With his other hand, he found your clit, circling the bud with his thumb as he worked his index finger into the mix. The added stimulation to your clit made your wall clench tightly and he grunted, imagining what it would feel like around his cock. 

“Please Toshi,” you begged, “I want you already.”

“Thank you’re ready?” he asked, although he already knew the answer. 

And he was right when you whimpered out a pathetic little, “Yes!”

He resumed the position from earlier, his tip pressed against your entrance. It was opened a bit from his three fingers but he knew it was still going to be a tight fit. 

He took your hand in his, lacing your fingers together as he began to sink into your cunt. You whimpered as your walls stretched around him, squeezing his hand. He bottomed out quickly, stilling to let you adjust to being stuffed so full of his thick cock. 

“Does it hurt?” he asked, pressing a kiss to your lips. 

“N-No…” you mumbled, “Just...feels weird.”

He chuckled, kissing your lips again. He could feel you squeezing around him, your cunt unused to having such a big cock inside. The fact he was your first, the one taking your virginity -- tainting your pure body was turning him on more than he ever thought it would. 

He couldn’t even lie and say he’d never taken a cherry before but with you it was different. He felt a sense of pride and possessiveness wash over him; you were his completely. You had given him your heart and your body. 

Burying his face in your neck, he pressed kisses against the sweet spot he easily found there. Grinding his hips against yours, he stirred your insides with his thick length until you were arching your hips to get more of the addictive pleasure only he could bring you. 

He pulled out halfway, slowly sinking his cock back inside with a groan.

“That’s a good girl,” he praised, eyes glued to where your cunt was stretched around him, “Taking me so well, look at that.”

“Feels so good,” you whimpered, clutching the sheets beneath you in your fists.

“Yeah?” he grinned, pulling out so the tip remained only to surge forward and sink his cock into you in one long thrust. Immediately, your back arched and you let out an erotic moan that had his cock throbbing against your walls, “Fuck, my cocks almost too much for you but you’re bein’ such a good girl for me, aren’t you? Taking what I give you...fuck…”

His praise and dirty words went straight to your core. He set a steady pace, making sure to angle his hips up so he could hit your g-spot. The pleasure had your eyes rolling back and you cried out his name every so often, making his heart race. 

“Sound so pretty sayin’ my name…” he groaned, cupping your breasts in his hands as he fucked you, “Pussy’s so tight and wet...I can feel you dripping, you know that? Who would have thought such a pretty cunt could get so messy. But you only get this messy for me, right darlin’?”

“Only you!” you babbled, wrapping your arms around his neck to press your lips against his. He moaned into your mouth, reaching between your bodies to circle your clit, “Fuck! Toshi, y-you’re gonna make me cum!”

“Fuck,” he groaned, “Do it then, sweetheart. Go on, cum on my fucking cock.”

A few more thrusts and circles over your swollen bud had you falling over the edge. Your body trembled and arched beneath him, cunt spasming around him as he worked you dutifully through your orgasm. 

Once you came down, he pulled his hand from your clit and pulled out. You were panting, body limp and relaxed as you let him move you onto your hands and knees. Keeping your face buried in the pillow, you allowed him to maneuver you into the proper position. 

He pressed his hand down on the small of your back, “Arch your back for me, good girl.”

“Th-This is embarrassing, Toshi…” you whispered into the pillow. 

He hummed, gripping his cock to direct himself back into the sweet vice of your cunt, “No reason to be embarrassed, kitten. It’s just me...you can trust me.”

“I-I know...but still…” you whimpered, eyes fluttering as he sunk his cock deep inside. The position allowed him to reach a new depth. 

“Do you want to stop?” he asked softly, running his hand along your spin. 

You hesitated for a second, focusing on the pleasurable sensation of being filled so completely before shaking your head. He grinned, leaning down to kiss your shoulder blade, “Good girl.”

The praise went to your head and you suddenly had a desire to receive more. You wanted to be good for him -- be his good girl. 

You lifted your head from the pillow and cried out his name, fucking yourself back against his cock. He grinned, slapping your ass lighter than he usually would do it -- he wasn’t sure how you would take to it. When he felt you clench around him in response, he grinned. That was something worth looking into it seemed. 

“Toshi…” you whined, reaching back to grip at his hip.

He hummed, slowing ever so slightly, “What is it, kitten?”

“Please…” you whined, feeling your cheeks flush with embarrassment over what you desperately wanted to ask him.

“Please what?” he whispered, kissing your shoulder blade again, “Tell me what you need, baby.”

“C-Call me...y-your goog girl again…” you whispered, immediately burying your face in your pillow. 

He paused, eyes wide before another grin grew across his face. Wrapping his arm around your waist, he pulled you up until your back was pressed against his chest. You cried out, his cock stilling inside you as he pressed his lips against your ear.

“You like being praised huh?” he asked, chuckling when you nodded, leaning your head back to rest on his shoulder. He enjoyed the fucked out look on your face, “Like being my good girl, hm? Such a pretty, sweet girl for me…”

You whimpered, walls clenching around his still cock, “I-I love you Toshi…”

He hummed, reaching down to find your clit. Circling over the bud, you keened, eyes fluttering as your cunt clenched tight around him, “I know you do, sweetheart.”

Suddenly, your walls squeezed, clamping down tight. He groaned, cursing under his breath as he felt your body seize up in your orgasm, trembling and gushing around his cock. He pressed his lips against your shoulder, looking down to where his length was buried completely inside. 

You began to rock yourself along his cock, your orgasm flying to new heights as he never stopped playing with your sensitive bud. 

Suddenly, he watched with wide eyes as your cum squirted out, soaking the bed and your thighs. 

“Shit,” he growled, providing a few quick slaps against your clit, making you squirt just a few more times, “What a good fucking girl you are. Look at the mess you made. You’re so perfect, I love you so much.”

Those words had you clenching once again. That finally sent him over the edge himself. He rocked into you, holding you tight against him. His cock throbbed, spitting hot cum into your sensitive cunt. 

He cupped your breasts, groaning in the throes of his orgasm as he pressed kisses against your shoulder, neck, and cheek. 

When he finally came down, he gently laid you on the bed, pulling his cock out. His cum gushed from your hole without his length to stop it. You cringed, the feeling unpleasant to say the least. 

He got out of bed to go to the bathroom intending to get a cloth to clean you with. 

When he was gone, you found yourself thinking about what just happened. One particular thought was on your mind and when he returned, you didn’t hesitate to voice it.

“W-We didn’t use a condom…” you mumbled. 

He hummed, “Were we supposed to? I thought you were on birth control.”

“I am...it’s just…” you frowned, clearing your throat as you watched him wiped your thighs and sensitive folds free of your mixed cum.

“What?” he sat beside you, fixing you with a steady gaze, urging you to confess your thoughts to him. 

“You were just...dating, you know...Aoi and…” you sighed, averting your gaze from him, “Other girls before.”

He chuckled, laying beside you, “What, you’re concerned I have something?”

“Well no...not necessarily…” you frowned as he cupped your cheek, making you look at him.

“If you must know…” he shrugged before continuing, “I always used a condom with them.”

“Really?” he nodded at your question, “Then...why with me?”

“Because you’re you,” he smiled, kissing your lips, pulling you to lay against his chest, “You’re the one for me, kitten. That’s all you need to worry about.”

Yes, Hitoshi Shinsou fell in love easily. But he never gave those girls his heart. He cried because he thought he could never have you. The truth was, you had always owned his heart. It had always been in your hands. 

[creativeashproductions]

When the Pain Ends // Charlie Gillespie

Summary: Breaking up with your boyfriend ends with your broken hand, a broken heart and a trip to Canada. Getting out of Oklahoma for comfort of your younger brother Owen brings you into contact with a sweet Canadian.

Warnings: Swearing, hospital, cheating boyfriend, angst and bit of fluff

Words: 3.1k

Requested: No.

A/N: Tidbit of info is that I am a university student. I had last week off and I’m six minutes into my History Zoom Lecture. Here’s a little fic.

TO BE TAGGED SEND AN INBOX PLEASE!

Masterlist

The scowl glued on your face as you waited in the ER for the results from the x-ray you had gotten back from minutes ago. A bag of ice on the swollen knuckles of your right hand still splattered in drops of blood. The same blood as the small drops on your shirt as well. If that didn’t put a scowl on your face, it was the next issue.

The reason for your visit to the ER was in bed next over complaining as a nurse checked his face. His eyes meeting yours in a blend of guilt, regret and fear almost. You couldn’t meet his eyes. You didn’t want to meet his eyes.

Let’s backtrack a little for a short history.

The summer after graduation, you had met a guy on the beach playing volleyball in need of another player. You joined, and then you fell for the guy just as he did for you. For the last three years, you were now twenty-one years old. Parker had been a really good guy. Until yesterday.

“Babe!” Parker sounded congested with the bandages held up his nose. He had been fighting the nurse to come to your side.

“Don’t call me that!” You hissed glaring at the tall boy with the auburn hair colour that had once been your favourite colour.

“C’mon it was a mistake-Ow!” Parker whined at the nurse applied more pressure as she cast a sympathetic glance at you. A small smile of thanks passed to the nurse who had maybe pressed a little no hard on Parker’s nose.

Your eyes rolled at the drama that was Parker when it came to injuries that had been his entire fault, to be frank. Your fist meeting his face? His fault for cheating. What did he expect? A congratulations? Screw that.

“Say anything else I swear I’ll hit the other ball.” You glared at the boy sending him to a fit, shaking fear of stupidity.

The beach was filled up with teens and adults with children on the nice weekend day out of the loud city. Originally you hadn’t been able to join Parker with your mutual friends, but something else had spurred you there. Instead of having the weekly movie night via FaceTime with your younger brother, you had other plans. A particular video sent by Parker’s best friend and his cousin too had brought you here. Livvy had grown close in the three-year relationship you had with her cousin.

Your fury filled gaze flickered around the beach and the grass in the large opening area of the waterfront. Finally, your eyes found Parker sitting with Livvy on the blanket on the grass with Steve. Livvy was the first to see with marching through the people spreading like a curtain from the angry girl.

“Hey, Parker!” You shouted at your boyfriend in a conversation with your other two friends. Parker’s smile grew just before it falters at your expression.

“Hey, Babe,” Parker spoke, climbing to his full five-foot-ten stature. Livvy’s smile pulled up in an amused smirk while Steve looked more confused.

“How was your weekend at your sick Granny’s house?” You came to a stop a foot away from him. Arms crossed just under your chest his thick eyebrows furrowed together.

“Uh…it was okay. She’s feeling better.” Parker nodded to himself tilting his head to the side, “It was-“

“I hope she better. Her treatment must have been incredible.” You replied, unfurling your arms to grab the phone from your back pocket.

Parker grew more confused, “What?”

“The doctor sure knew what he was doing. The prescription of ‘dicked down’ cured her illness and old age.” The whistle you made after your statement sounded, but you grew more satisfied with the circle of people behind you.

“Oh.” Steve choked, raising one fist to press against his mouth. By now Livvy had started recording on her phone.

Livvy and Parker may be cousins, but she loathed cheaters when it was the cause of her parents’ divorce. Parker’s lips parted as he paled. The click of the glass screen brought up a video of Parker and a brunette in a hot tub.

“Ba-“

“Fucking look at your actions.” You hissed stepping even closer, “Was it worth it? Jeopardizing a relationship with someone you share years of memories with? Years of love and trust? All for thirty seconds of fun? We both know you tend to…get too excited.”

“Oh shit,” Steve spoke, shifting his gaze between you and Parker like he was a bobblehead of Einstein. The very bobblehead that you had laughed giving Steve with his obsession over the legendary scientist.

“It just happened. I still love you. I just needed a- “Parker stumbled back bringing his hands to his face, “OW! You broke my nose!”

“Ouch.” You hissed shaking your aching hand coated in some blood that splattered your shirt from shaking the hand.

“What the hell! You bit…holy fuck!” Parker screamed as your foot came up between his spread legs, nailing his left nut. He collapsed onto the grass, struggling to hold his bleeding broke nose and his nuts.

“That’s what you get asshole.” You shouted, turning to Livvy, “Can you take me to the hospital?”

“Parker drove, I’ll drive you both there. Steve can keep you two from fighting.” Livvy spoke, ending the video to shove everything in the oversized beach bag.

Now it was hours later as per usual in most hospitals elongating the time you were forced to spend with your now ex-boyfriend. Livvy and Steve had gone home a while back. Parker continued trying to fix the unrepairable damage he had done.

“Y-“

“That’s it!” You exclaimed jumping down from the bed to storm over to Parker. You made a few steps before arms encircled your waist.

“Okay, Slugger.” The gritty voice of your father spoke tugging you as far away from your ex-boyfriend as possible, “As much I want to kill him, I think you broke his pretty-boy face enough.”

The anger drained from your body as you slumped against your dad anguish set in with a tsunami of hurt. Time melted as you broke in your father’s arm; missing the doctor giving information. Your hand was fitted with a cast, and next thing you were aware of it was in the car.

“You bruised hits nuts. Broke his nose.” Dad nonchalantly spoke, turning the steering wheel as he exited the hospital parking lot. He didn’t bother making small talk as he let you be quiet on the drive home.

You didn’t know what hurt more, the heartache or your broken hand stabilized in the brace. The clearing of a throat had your attention is drawn to the house you had grown up no doubt holding your upset mother.

“She’s not that mad.” Dad quietly spoke, handing your phone that had died during the time in the ER. You shot him a look at the inaccuracy of his statement because you both know she was angry.

“Her daughter just spent hours in a hospital with a dead phone. We both know she probably thought I was dead in a ditch.” You deadpanned as you both walked up to the door of the home in Norman, Oklahoma.

The door opened before you could reach for it, and a flurry of blonde hair attacked you in a hug. Your mother hugged then leaned away to scan your features. Catching the dried tear stains paired with the red-rimmed eyes.

“Sweetheart.” Dinah spoke, raising her hands to wipe the tears from your face only causing more to fall, “What’s wrong?”

“Parker cheated on me.” You mumbled melting into her arms in another round of tears, breaking your parents’ hearts.

Meanwhile in Vancouver, Canada

Owen loved his job and the people he had met, but he missed the weekly movie nights with his older sister. The Joyner siblings had gotten down pat a system of sync to have the same movie playing at the same time on FaceTime. Imagine his surprise when he got a text apologizing.

Virtual movie night postponed. It put him in a slump that greatly concerned his roommate at the decrease of excitement. Even the next day, he was sad like a kicked puppy.

“Bro? You good?” Charlie asked from his place in the kitchen, scanning his emails on his computer. Owen barely made his eyes, “Wasn’t movie night with your sister yesterday?”

Owen nodded, “Yeah she-“

As Owen had gone to explain his phone had dinged with a concerning message from his mother.

Mom: Have you heard from Y/N? She hasn’t come home.

Owen swiped out of the conversation to the most used one with you shared with him to send a mass of messages. All not even coming up as read by you. It was his stipulation that you had it one for his safe of mind.

“C’mon you little shit,” Owen grumbled, pressing your contact to call. It didn’t even ring, “Dead cell.”

Charlie’s full attention shifted to the younger guy sitting on their couch in the apartment they used during filming. As Owen started pacing, Charlie was over quick as a bunny to offer comfort to him. The boys had grown so close, with Jeremy too, that they knew how to help the other.

“Owen, you need to tell me what’s going on.” Charlie soothed the blonde with his eyes pleading with the teenager.

“My parents haven’t talked to my sister. She didn’t go home.” Owen admitted scratching at his chest when his chest tightened. The other immediately finding his pulse on his neck to ensure he still had a pulse.

“Oh shit.” Charlie retorted, tapping his foot on the hardwood floor trying to find the right words to help his friend.

For the next hour, the boys kept in contact with Owen’s family and checking your social media in shifts as they filmed. It was a slow day when Owen’s phone finally rang with his mother’s contact once more.

“Mom, did you find her?” Owen asked, picking at the skin on his lips pacing as he had all day. The level of anxiety had been perfect for the scene he had filmed as Alex.

“Yeah. Look, Owen, she needs to get out of Oklahoma. Do you have room for her?” Dinah asked her son periodically glancing in the living room at the lifeless young woman.

“Yeah. We have an extra room.” Owen supplied squeezing the phone in his grip, “How is she? What happened?”

“I’m letting her settle before I ask any questions, but her flight is in a bit. It was either you take her in, or we pay for a hotel room. Oh! I got this lego-“

“I have to get back to filming. I’ll call you tonight.” Owen told his mother as his thumb hit the record circle on his phone. Kenny waving him over to film a scene with Booboo that would be the last before heading home.

The over the counter pain pill went down with a swig of water in the airport waiting for Owen and his roommate. Owen had messaged you that he would pick you up on the way from the set in perfect timing.

“Y/N!” Owen cheered catching sight of your form hunched forward on the bench you had miraculously found empty. Your blank eyes seeing the blue of your younger brother.

Owen’s eyes widened in shock, “What the hell happened to your hand?”

Noncommittal, the girl walked by her brother with her luggage in the mission to get to the car. All you wanted was to burst into years under your blankets until the world turned again, when birds sang, and the word wasn’t painted in dull colours.

Just as it had during the ride from the hospital to the house, it was dead silent in the car with the barest sound of music. Owen and Charlie had been having a conversation with expressions with the tension in the backseat stifling.

“This is our place.” Charlie spoke, opening the apartment door with a flourish for the girl and her luggage. Your eyes scanned the modest apartment with minimal mess compared to the tornado devastation of Owen’s Oklahoma room.

“Okay.” You replied, watching as Owen rolled the luggage to the room you would use for the few weeks you would be here.

Once showered, dressed and settled, you retreated to the couch to watch a film with the two boys. Your mind fluttered between Beca’s blow out with her father and Jesse to the city of Norman. As if thinking of Parker manifested something your phone buzzed with notifications.

@/livvyjo: Go, girl! [video]

@/malia134: Parker goes down like the bitch he is!!!

@/notsteverogers: I got a front-row seat to the fight.

Those three comments on Livvy’s video had more support than hate plus the video itself was hilarious. It caught the entire confrontation from greeting the cheater to being pulled away to spend the ten minutes in the same car. The car you had hooked up in the backseat of in the years you dated him.

 “-The prescription of ‘dicked down’ cured her illness and old age.” The pure anger on your expression amused you.

“What are you watching?” Owen inquired from the couch he watched the movie from. It made up for the lack of a film last night.

“A girl punching her bag of shit ex-boyfriend. She almost ripped his face off in the hospital.” You softly replied with your thumb double-tapping Livvy’s post.

Charlie’s attention shifted from the pool mashup with the Barden Bellas to the pride evident in your tone. It was the first time he had heard you laugh during the few hours he had been in your presence.

“What movie?”

“Oh, you know Parker’s Dicked Down Adventures. Filmed free with an iPhone.” You spoke sliding down to sit flush to Charlie to show the video you refreshed.

Owen’s mouth opened, “He cheated on you? How stupid is he??”

“You have a mean right hook.” Charlie supplied replaying the video for the third time with a weird feeling in his gut. The confidence stirred a body warming heat in the Canadian actor unlike anything else he had felt before.

“Dad taught me.” You replied, slouching down in the plush couch with a tiny smiling, “The nurse heard what happened. She put excessive pressure for his actions. I overheard his diagnosis; nasty bruised testicle and a broken nose.”

Both boys winced at the description. Owen ditching Charlie’s side to sit beside you, leaving you in the middle of the boys.

“I almost attacked him before Dad dragged me out of the room.” You recounted snuggling into your younger brother’s side.

“Where are my keys?” Owen questioned his roommate, “We need them to drive to the airport. I need to kill the ass that hurt my sister.”

Your deft fingers grasped Owen’s wrist when he went to get up because, in all honesty, he probably would book a flight. He wouldn’t go through with the plan to physically hurt Parker, but Owen had a wicked tongue for insults.

You spent one month in Vancouver with your brother and his castmates from helping Maddie with her homework. Movie nights with Owen changed to include Charlie too. Shopping trips with Sav and Tori. Baking with Jadah. You became family with them.

All good things come to an end. You had settled back in Norman with brighter plans that didn’t involve relying on men. Movie nights still happened with the boys, but things got hectic. Virtual movie nights shifted to texting Charlie and calls.

“Hey dork.” Charlie spoke walking down the street in Vancouver to the restaurant he was meeting the cast at. His lips pulled back in a massive grin, hearing your voice.

“Hey Char!” You enthusiastically spoke, walking out of the building with more pep in your step at the voice of the man, “What’s up?”

“On my way for food with everyone. How are you feeling?” Charlie asked, rubbing his fingertips on the dark denim pants. The sound of your voice brightening up his day more than he thought possible.

“Ooh. I should let you go, huh?” You questioned shifting to hold the phone between your shoulder and chin. Fingers unlocked the new car you had bought with the money you had saved.

A nice change of money from selling the jewellery, clothes and other miscellaneous gifts Parker had given you. The necklace he gave you that once belonged to his grandmother had been given back to him. Other than that you had no interaction with the ass.

“I’d rather talk to you.” Charlie admitted biting his lip in concentration, “I have a question.”

“Okay. What’s your question?” You questioned as your phone connected to your car—Charlie’s voice coming through the car speakers.

“Filming is almost over. Do you have plans for New Years? I’d like you to see you again.”

His words set a flutter of butterflies moving in your stomach at his nervous confidence striking the new information. The change in your friendship had been felt on his side as well and while you usually would think one-month post cheating wasn’t long enough. Something about Charlie felt comfortable as if everything had been preparing to fall for him.

“I could fly-“

“I’d like to see where you grew up. Your favourite places and where you went to school. I want to know the little things that made you who you are.” Charlie spoke coming to a stop outside the restaurant, waiting for your answer.

Owen’s eyes pulled from his debate with Sacha and Jeremy to the nervous Canadian biting his lip outside the window. By the expression on his face, Owen couldn’t guess who he was talking about. It was the smile that had been appearing on Charlie’s face for the last two weeks you had been staying with them.

Charlie had fallen for Owen’s big sister, and he couldn’t think of anyone better. The bond between you and Charlie had been natural and magical to watch. It was kinda gross seeing his best friend and sister having heart eyes with each other. Yet, Owen had never liked Parker, but he loved the idea of having Charlie as a brother.

“Y-yeah. Of course, you can Char.” The flattering blush heated up your skin at the turn in the convo—a grin splitting on the two individuals with more than three thousand kilometres between them.

“Cool. I should join the cast. I’ll text you later.”

“Bye, Charlie.” You whispered to the boy looking out the window noticing something she had been oblivious to.

The world had regained the colour, the birds sang again, and the world turned once more. All because a boy helped her heal.

Tag List (PLEASE SEND AN INBOX TO BE ADDED! I CANNOT GUARANTEE YOU WILL BE ON THE LIST VIA POST COMMENTS!)

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[kusagrasskusa]

Michael Myers X Short! Reader - Part 2

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N was in the kitchen, preparing to make a chocolate shake because, uh, chocky shakes are quite scrumptious if I do say so myself, and I do say so. She grabbed the stool next to the small island in the kitchen and used it to get on top of the counter. She clicked her tongue, keeping her mind on her surroundings in case her roommate, Michael, were to teleport through sheer force of will and pull her down. But she didn't hear him coming.

Y/N grabbed the blender and looked around the room to make sure her stool wasn't moved when she wasn't looking. When Michael would do that, she'd fall down since it's like walking down the stairs but missing a step, making you fall down and lose your will to breath. Of course, Y/N should be smart enough to just look down or get down slowly to see if the stool is there, but that solution would be too simple and intelligent for the likes of this story.

Y/N got off the counter and kicked the stool off the side, looking around more. "Huh,"she clicked her tongue, shrugging off her paranoia. She plugged in the blender and grabbed the ice cream tub she got earlier, scooping some out and putting it in the cup of the blender. She hummed to herself as she poured in milk and whatever toppings she wanted, like oreos or something.

It was about 8am, meaning it was almost time for her to go to work. Usually Michael would be watching tv, doing something out back, or whatever else he does, but she strangely couldn't find him. It was weird for him to just be missing. But to be fair, he's an adult who can leave whenever we he wants.

I sighed, as I turned on the blender, my eyes turning dull from boredom. It felt like a weight was put on her shoulders from the disappointment, but at least getting to work on time would be easier. Michael wasn't used to a modern day home so I would usually have to go on a rundown of things to and not to do before I left. A smile lifted my face as I think back, simultaneously pouring the shake into a cup and putting it in my fridge for now.

I take a large breath again before heading to my room, pushing the door open with a silent squeak coming from it. It smelled like slight dust which kinda makes since because who the hell has time to clean anything, am I right? No one, because this story takes place in America and anyone who's lives in a different country before being here can tell you that a lot for us are depressed because America is designed to be repeatative. Like, can we please do anything other than wake up, work, go watch TV at home, then sleep? Can we have a week long festival instead of getting drunk and shooting fireworks one day in July?

I shake the thoughts that suddenly appeared in my head off, sighing as I walked to my closet. "I need to take schizophrenia pills, I swear," I mumble as I pull open the sliding door— "Yo, what the hell!-"

There the skyscraper was, right in the middle of the same closet where I keep my hoodies. He stared at me for a good four seconds, a dull expression but anyone can tell from the look in his eye that he was shookyth. Probably because he didn't his mask on but who knows.

It was a great battle honestly; as soon as I realized he was maskless, I pulled my phone out quickly for a picture, but he ran at me and took the phone away. Obviously, I wasn't gonna let that slide so I did what anyone would in the situation; kick them in the shjn because that's what everyone was thinking,  right? He reactively brought his hands down fast a protection reflex, giving me enough time to grab his hand.

His grip was stronger than the strength of flex tape however, so I couldn't pull it off him before I was shoved back. I landed on my back, but tried to get back up. But hah, that would mean adding more to the "battle" so of Michael held me down after throwing the phone on the bed. "Michael, get off!" I yelled as his hands squeezed my wrists. It was embarrassing to be straddled when I had so much pride, but this isn't in a situation where I can enjoy it and act like a flustered schoolgirl!

I tried to kick my legs, but that didn't work either. I was never gonna get out of his grip but still, struggling to get out was er than admitting defeat so it's worth it. "Come on! You're heavy enough to kill me, so get up and fight like a man!" Michael had held his head down so getting a good view from my perspective wasn't easy. Basically, his head was above my chest (it's the easiest easy to describe my visionnnn) so him looking down only gives the view of his hair and forehead.

"Michael! Where you looking for that hoodie from a week ago? What were you even doing!" I shouted, cause you gotta make sure you keep that pride. I gave a couple seconds of waiting before sighing loudly, limping. Because screw that line in the same paragraph about pride, am I right? Then, he mumbled. It wasn't a word I don't think, considering it sounded more like a groan as conformation. I shivered a bit, still not used to the sound of his voice.

"Is...that a yeah?" He then nodded, but kept his head low. "Um, alright... Well, let me up and I'll get it for you, okay?" Michael then let go, standing up and helping me up in the process. "Thank you," I stated as I walked over to the closet, pulling out two hoodies. One for me, and that blue one for him. When I turned to hand his to him, he sadly put his mask on already, making me sigh again. I handed the hoodie and smiled at him.

"There you go! Let me know if you need anything else before I go, kay?" I spoke as I put on my hoodie then fixing my slightly messed up hair. He put on his hoodie, not responding in any way so I assumed nothing else was needed. I pat his arm and said bye as I walked out of the bedroom. I grabbed the oreo shake and walked out of the house, locking the door.

I shivered in bed, trying to sleep. It doesn't snow much here therefore what's basically a blizzard to happen is definitely surprising. It's worse that I have an old house; the temperature of the house really depends on the outside. There's few vents, so freezing air easily makes it into the house. And get this; the heater conveniently broke! Hah! Who's gonna come fix with weather? It's so funny it makes me want to curl up and cry, haha.

I guess it seems like I'm overreacting, but the house's temperature really is freezing because of the snow. Plus it's night out, so it's even colder. "It felt like summer yesterday though," I mumbled to myself, holding the covers tightly around me. I pressed me face closer to the pillow, closing my eyes tigher with stress. We all know a cold pillow is great but a cold cover is miserable. Michael had it worse however.

He slept on the couch with a few covers rather than a thick mattress and comforter. He got up a few times to microwave food so at least it'll make him a little warmer, but it didn't help much of course. Michael's been shot, ran over, beaten, and so many other things so the cold is nothing to him. But given the conditions he lives in, it wouldn't be wrong to use what he can to be more comfortable. Such as sleeping in a bed for once.

Just the thought of a bed sounded nice to him. The couch was small for someone tall enough to slap the top of the ceiling in schools that probably had some encouraging message on it. Michael pulled the covers off him, sitting up and stretching. His mask was off at the moment but it was too dark for anyone to notice luckily for him. He made his way towards the bedroom, opening the door silently and closing it.

Y/N frowned, nearly falling asleep at this point. Michael made his way over, softly leaning on the bed before laying on it. He wrapped his arm around Y/N for a little of warmth, since snuggles is nice I think. I wouldn't know, I've never dated. He nuzzle into the crook of her neck, closing his eyes. It was silent aside from the strangely obnoxious sound of wind from outside. I wouldn't know if that happens irl, it finally snowed for the first time where I lived and it was so little that the snow didn't pile up.

It was peaceful and Michael almost fell asleep until he heard a small snore from Y/N. Not the loli snore kind, no, I'm not a big fan of "adorable sneezes, yawns, or snores." This is the kind that you never want a significant oth set to wake you up to tell you about. Okay, maybe that not extreme but it was loud enough to be heard.

Michael felt a small smile go on his lips, intertwining his fingers with Y/N's hair. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep now. But his sleep was cut short when a loud squeak shook the house. He shook awake, sitting up immediately and looked around. All there was was a smol reader with a large smile on her face. The lamp besides the bed was turned on, showing a soft reddish feel to the room that made her blush excusable.

His look of concern fell to annoyance when he realized where the yell came from. He sighed, going deep into the covers with his back facing her. Y/N scoffed, "hey! Don't judge me! This is a three in a lifetime experience!" She huffed and pulled her phone out from under her pillow. She already got a picture of his face and hiding the picture would be easy. Uh, maybe. Y/N smirked as she plugged her phone it and turned off the lamp. She sjufgled into the covers, wrapping her smol arm around him this time.

"Goodnight~"

[poguesrforlife]

Young and Beautiful | Rudy Pankow - Part 4

I have to apologise... THIS TOOK ME WAY TOO LONG! I am truly so sorry and I hate how this came out and it feels like a stupid filler and ugh. I hope you guys still love it. Again can't thank you enough for all the support! Tagging all of you lovely people took nearly as long as writing this (just kidding) but you guys truly I Love you. In the next chapters be prepared for: angst and smut and a whole roller coaster of Rudy and Y/N.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Trigger warning: swearing? pretty harmless otherwise

Word count: 2,074 words

Y/N just got the role of her lifetime, starring beside the cast of Outer Banks in the second season as JJ’s love interest. It’s a dream come true and gets even dreamier when she meets Rudy Pankow her alleged love interest. Lines start to blur between reality and film and Y/N is left wondering if taking a leap of faith is worth risking her career.

[GIF not mine credits to owner]

The salty scent of chicken stock filled the apartment as you stirred the wooden spoon through your concoction clockwise. All bright lights were shut off except the one above the stove, lulling the place in darkness. You could barely make out the two suffering figures on the couch.

“I think my head is going to explode,” Madelyne whined dramatically and snuggled deeper into her blanket which made you chuckle.

“Stop whining!” Madison whined right back and rubbed her temples, hugging a trash can close to her.

Both of your friends were currently nursing a really bad hangover and you had been assigned as their caretaker for today, as you were wondrously quite alright after your adventurous night out.

“You both are babies,” You pointed out and transferred the soup you had prepared to two bowls. 

With a tray loaded with hangover cures you made your way to the living room and the two invalids.

“What’s that?” Madelyn peeked up when the scent of the soup hit her. You could only laugh at her big brown hungry eyes.

“Pelmeni soup, a hangover cure from home. It’s basically broth with some special dumplings.” You handed her the bowl carefully and watched as she eagerly began eating.

Madison however was harder to convince.

“If I eat anything right now it will land on the carpet three seconds later,” She warned and hugged her trash can closer.

“Believe me, it’s gonna help,” You passed the bowl over to her suspicious face, “Just eat it. You need the electrolytes.”

“It’s that what the Gatorade is for?” Maddie inclined and tried reaching for the blue bottle without spilling the contents of her soup.

“Yeah,” You laughed and helped her reach the bottle.

Content silence ensued as you watched your friends eating without complaining once. When you thought they were satisfied for now you made your way back to the kitchen to check up on your phone. The butterflies in your stomach fluttered when you saw the messages on your screen.

Rudy: - Am I the only 1 who’s not turned into a whining baby last night? - 

Chase won’t stop complaining about his headache - 

Yesterday was definitely more fun… a lot more x - 

Do u have a hangover as well? I could take care of you, rather than Chase -

Miss u already <3 -

You couldn’t help but feel a little mad at yourself for having such a strong liver. You wished Rudy would take care of you right now, but instead you were stuck with tweedledum and tweedledee.

You: - I’m doing surprisingly fine after the tequila fiesta I had -

Though I am familiar with the whining concept… - 

Just made some hangover soup from home, if u wanna get some for Chase -

U know so u wouldn’t have to miss me anymore x -

You felt quite bold after sending that last message but you couldn’t help the longing all your body seemed to have for the blonde boy that had enthralled you last night.

A minute after the blue ticks appeared next to your message there was a knock on your door. 

The Maddies groaned from the living room at the loud noise and you hurried towards the source. 

A smiling Rudy was staring back at you as you swung the entrance door open.

“Wow, you are quick,” You breathed out surprised and stepped aside so he could come in.

“Had some good motivation,” He whispered and left a soft kiss on your cheek as he hugged you sideways. You could already feel the blood rushing to your head by the simple gesture. 

He gave you his signature Rudy smile as he saw your flushed cheeks but you only rolled your eyes and pushed him towards the kitchen.

“Who’s that?” Bailey screamed from the other room which made Rudy pivot in his step and make his way towards your invalids.

“G’day sunshines,” He greeted the two blanket burritos loudly. Without hesitation he flipped the lights on. Devastated groaning could be heard from the two girls.

“Oh my God, why did you invite him?” Madison whimpered and buried her head deeper into the blanket.

“He is literally the biggest pain in the ass,” Madelyn agreed and slurped on with her soup.

“Geez, I love you guys too,” Rudy fired back and let you pull him back into the separated kitchen.

“I feel sorry for you, Chase is not even half as bad as them and you have two,” He admitted and followed your body instinctively as you leaned against the counter. 

“We should pile all of them into one apartment,” You thought out loud and watched as he cornered you between his arms and the counter. His muscled arms on either side of you and the proximity of his body to yours drove your hormones crazy and you had to cross your arms to keep from touching him. 

“So we would have an apartment to ourselves?” His eyes rested on your lips as he spoke, not seeing how you rolled your eyes. But either way you couldn’t ignore the effect these words had on you.

“So we could take better care of them,” You finished your thought in a serious tone and unwound your arms to push him back a bit.

He was quick to catch your wrist however and pull you even closer towards him. “I can take real good care of you, too.”

Your breath caught in your throat, you didn’t miss the innuendo. Some part of you would have kissed him senseless right there if the girls weren’t in the room next door.

A whole other part however was nagging with self-doubt. 

You were scared to your bones to screw this up. Not only your friendship, or relationship or whatever this was, with Rudy, but also your very first shot at a break in the business.

What if you fell in love? And he didn’t? What if you couldn’t look at each other at some point? 

It was eating you alive to only think about all the risks you were taking at this. But a bigger part of you wanted him, needed him. Yesterday night only made the feeling worse.

“What’s going through your pretty head?” The blonde Adonis in front of you whispered. All your worries seemed to wash away as you locked eyes with him.

“Nothing,” You shook your head and nestled closer to him. Body to body, heart to heart and finally mouth to mouth.

He lowered his lips on yours gently, so different from last night, so sweet. You would never get tired of kissing him, of feeling the soft pillows of his lips move against yours. You broke away from him before it got too heated, remembering the two girls next door.

“So,” He breathed heavily, clearly shaken up by the little make-out session, as his hands went though his hair, “Should I get Chase?”

You laughed at his disheveled appearance, a little proud that you could make him behave like that with just a kiss. 

You nodded and left another kiss on him, slightly biting his bottom lip and dragging it out while staring at him. His lips chased after yours as his eyes widened. But you were quick to sneak out of his hold and towards the living room.

“Little tease,” He chastised you and smirked as he left the apartment. 

“Where did the little mischief maker go?” Madison inquired as she heard the door slam.

“Getting Chase,” You explained and plopped down on the edge of the couch to hand her the still full bottle of Gatorade.

“Is he hungover as well?” Madelyne inclined and you noticed immediately how she tried to fix her hair a bit and sat up straighter. You were more than convinced at this point that something was going on between them. 

You just nodded and waited for the two boys to come around again. Rather sooner than later a sleepy Chase with his grey beanie shuffled into your apartment, followed by Rudy.

“I heard there’s soup,” He muttered before he scooted closer to his on film lover and Maddie lifted her blanket to share it with the boy.

You just laughed but prepared him a bowl before joining the others.

“No soup for me?” Rudy asked offended and raised an eyebrow at you.

“You’re not sick, get yourself some.” You watched as he stood up reluctantly and heard a muttered ‘tough woman’ under his breath as he passed you on his way to the kitchen to fix himself some of the homemade food. 

The rest of the afternoon was filled with movies and more soup as you nursed your friends back to health. You made a point of sitting as far away from Rudy as possible. You knew you couldn’t trust yourself or him for the matter. If you wanted to keep this to yourself you needed to be careful. But the constant looks he sent your way every few minutes didn’t really help. Admittedly you couldn’t help staring at him as well.

How could you? His jawline was perfectly chiseled like an ancient greek sculptor had brought it into existence. His lips too plumb and rosy for their own good. And his eyes… you could drown in his deep ocean blue eyes. 

Madison cleared her throat slightly when she caught you staring and you immediately turned your head and blushed in embarrassment. So much for being careful. 

“You guys,” Madelyn suddenly stopped the Disney movie playing on the flat screen and sat up straighter. You were sure she had fallen asleep with Chase a long time ago after they had whispered underneath their blanket. You hadn’t paid them anymore attention, granting them some privacy and also because you were too busy staring at the blond haired man that had thrown your whole world upside down just a couple hours before.

“We need to tell you something,” Chase went on and you immediately knew where this was headed. 

“Oh I know where this is going!” Madison exclaimed and sat up straighter. You chuckled slightly at her eagerness but threw her a wink, signalling that you knew as well.

“No you don’t!” Madelyne argued but the arm Chase had thrown around her protectively didn’t really help her.

“You two are dating,” Rudy threw into the room unbothered and reached for the remote to un-pause the movie. You had to suppress a laugh at his carelessness and the looks on your two friends’ faces.

“Oh my God! That is brand new information!” You screamed sarcastically which earned you a couple laughs from your friends while Chase and Maddie still had quite shocked expressions on their faces.

“You knew?” Chase’s mouth hung open as he looked between you, only now realising how they screwed up.

“You weren’t really subtle about it to be honest,” You explained and let your eyes wander to their close proximity on the couch. 

“Well, cat’s outta the bag,” Maddie agreed with a shrug and cuddled closer into Chase, totally unbothered and without a care in the world what anybody else might think. You couldn’t help but be a bit jealous about it. 

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Rudy inquired and you perked up. This you wanted to hear.

“I don’t know,” Chase admitted and looked into Madelyne’s eyes for her reassurance, “We just didn’t want to rush into things that might not be made to last. It was important for us to know where the two of us stand alone before getting anybody else involved.” 

You smiled as you saw the loving glances passed between the couple and you were more sure than ever, that this was pure love. They had taken a leap of faith and it had worked out in their favour. 

You couldn’t help yourself but search for Rudy during this moment. To your amazement he was already looking back at you. His sweet smile sent your way made you warm from your head to your toes. You knew you weren’t there with him yet, where Chase and Maddie were, but if you interpreted the gaze on his handsome face right, you had a feeling you could be there some day. But you would also take it slow. No more rushed unthoughtful acts of passion. You had to act rational about this if you wanted any chance of surviving his hurricane. You knew all too well how easy it was to drown in him and his ocean blue eyes. 

Tags: @lovelymaybankk @sspidermanss @1d5sosddl@arthiriticcricket @teamnick @lieswithoutfairytales @styles-xoxo@normatural @k-k0129 @mileven-reddie @perfektionsmakel @1-800-imagines @http-cherries @golden-eroda @outofstyles13 @jj-maybank-stan @fandom-phaser @hopelesswritingxd@teenwaywardasgardian @poguecollins @jjswhore @xpastel-kawaiix@styles-edward-harry @rollinsstuff @obx-baby @masintahin@floretsoleil @ivebeenthinkingboutu @fandomxreaders@ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch @pookie-cleary @kiarascarreras@runway-to-my-aid @saturnspack @sunshinemadds@hucklebaefinn @baileythepenguin @spider6oy@whoreforouterbanks @diego-klaus-hargreeves @saltwatercowb0y @lavenderpope @prejudic3 @summer-clouds-and-long-days @lcil123 @swervavery @poguequeen @ellystone @outsider-at-hogwarts @cianawrites @harrysbbby @milamaybank @drewswannabegirl @jjaybank @merchantjj @lilpeekabooze @outerbongs @pankowstyle @family-buisnes @flowersinvegas @thefangirl05 @katrynec @ceruleanjj @o-b-x @justcallmesams @lightninglydia @this-is-bigger-than--us @thegeekyblondegirlwholovesstars @sweetdreamydreams @faded-blue @unfortunatekiwitrash @losers-club6 @usedtobeaj @btsxo-xo @figure-pogue​ @yejimeji @voidsxnsets @dudebroskiprn @giveme-gaskarth​ @cailin-lefantasy​ @obx-writings​ @otrbnks​ @barnesaddicted​ @thebendslikebendover​ @fxckingmaybank

(I hope I didn’t miss anyone! If you’re not on here but would like to be send me a quick message xx)

[ssa-sugar-tits]

The Biggest Surprise

Request: this one (@zizzlekwum , happy birthday!!)

I was wondering if I could get Prentiss x reader where Prentiss comes back from the dead and the reader is just like "you motherfuckers" to Hotch and JJ and just really pissed and standoffish to everyone because reader is not good with feelings but then at the end of the case Prentiss goes to reader with a little present for reader's birthday and then feelings reveal and fluff ensues?

Pairing: Emily Prentiss x Reader

Content warnings: strong language, death mention, guns, hostage, grief, depression, unsub s**cide, angst + fluff

a/n: left the present she gets you open-ended so use your imagination ♡

When you lost Emily, your entire world shattered. Not only did you lose a team member, but you lost a friend. A friend you love-- loved. The weight of the casket was nothing compared to the weight of your heart that day. Her river like tears and cherry blood still burn on your skin. It's been 10 months of true hell without seeing the midnight beauty. Without hearing her caramel smooth voice. Without feeling her butterly wing touch. You've actually been preparing, for the first birthday since you met her where you wouldn't make plans with her. So when Hotch and JJ explain how they lied and betrayed you, it's enough to make you want to rip your own hair out.

"Seven months ago, I made a decision that affected this team. As you all know, Emily had lost a lot of blood after her fight with Doyle. But the doctors were able to stabilize her, and she was airlifted from Boston to Bethesda under covert exfiltration. Her identity was strictly need to know. And she stayed there until she was well enough to travel. She was reassigned to Paris, where she was given several identities, none of which we had access to, for her security."

Your emotions are ripped up and thrown to the ground. The team is quick to react.

"She's alive?"

"But we buried her!"

"If I got issues? Yeah I got issues!"

JJ places a hand on your shoulder, trying to ease you with her motherly love but you push her away and screw your eyes shut.

"Y/N..." She tries again.

"No! You lied to me, you... you let me think she was dead." Your voice breaks and hot, angry tears trail down your face until you feel a hand on your arm. Almost swatting it away, you recognize her voice. Her fucking voice. Even better than you remembered.

"Y/N, it's me," she whispers. "It's Emily."

And goddamn, it is.

- two weeks later -

"Y/N, go with Prentiss to interview the mother." Hotch orders. Oh fuck me, you complain to yourself. No matter how much you missed her glorious presence, Emily lied to you. She left you. You were alone. Alone with the miserable memory of your angel. Alone with your thoughts. How could life be worth living without a goddess such as Emily? You'd thought it many, many times. There were days you couldn't get out of your bed, nights you clasped the sheets trying to get the image of her cold, bloody figure out of your brain.

"Yeah, okay." You don't look at her, only walking out to the SUV. Deafening silence fills the vehicle as neither of you speak.

"Y/N, can we--"

"Don't." Cutting her off, you roll your eyes at a notification on your phone. Same fucking thing.

JJ

hey, y/n. can we talk when the case is over? will's off tonight, we can go for drinks. you have every right to be angry but please give me this chance.

A pit grows in Emily's stomach and a lump in her throat. She doesn't push the matter further, letting you have your way. You pull up to the victim's mother's home and knock on the door.

"Hello?" Emily squints through the fogged window.

"Mrs. Bennett? It's Agents Prentiss and Y/L/N with the FBI, we have a few questions to ask you."

Crash.

In sync, you and Emily reach for your guns and she kicks down the door with her long, swift leg. You can't help but admire the way her pants cling to her thighs. Y/N, what the fuck? She broke you, stop staring at her fucking legs. Walking into the home, a man fitting the description of your unsub holds the mother at gunpoint. She whimpers and pleads, "P-Please help me agents."

"FBI, drop the gun."

"I'm not going to jail!" The vein in his forehead bulges before he takes the gun to his own head and pulls the trigger. His hostage runs to you, screaming and covered in his crimson blood.

"It's okay, I got you." you escort her out of the home. You don't take a second glance at Emily. You can't control what you might do if you look.

Back at the BAU, you fill out your report mindlessly. Detailing the unsub's final actions and working around admitting the lack of cooperation you displayed.

"Y/L/N, in my office."

Obeying Hotch, you stand and make your way to his office.

"Yes, sir?" Hostility spits at him, telling him you feel utterly wronged. He sighs and you can tell from the creases in his face that he feels guilty but you can't bring yourself to care.

"I made the decision for Emily's own good."

"I understand that, sir."

"If you have a problem, take it up with me. JJ was only following my orders and Prentiss was being kept safe."

Rage boils in your chest and your knuckles could burst from the pressure of your fist. You're interrupted by a knock on the door. JJ stands at the doorway along with Emily.

"I could hear you guys and I thought we could talk, Y/N," JJ says quietly, tucking a blonde tress behind her ear.

"Please?" The brunette adds.

You feel sick.

"Y/N?"

Your insides start turning.

"I'm sorry."

"Y/N."

You're not even sure who's speaking anymore but your name is being repeated and thrown around.

"Y/N?"

Your head spins and you exhale harshly, finally snapping at the people around you.

"Shut up, shut up! Just shut the fuck up all of you! You're all shitty people, you fucking lied to me!" You cry. "You let me think Emily was fucking dead. For 10 months I cried and mourned her to the point where it physically hurt. I was dying too guys. And you motherfuckers can't just decide that after tormenting me inside for almost a year, everything's okay. Fuck you."

They all watch-- and let you-- leave, dumbstruck at the outburst.

Groaning with a massive migraine from breaking down the night before, you awaken to texts from your friends.

penelope:

happy birthday, my amazing best friend!! first of many gifts at your door <3

jj:

happy birthday y/n! lots of kisses from me and the boys 😊

spencer:

happy birthday! interestingly enough, a birthday is considered a renewed chance for new beginnings which is, so to speak, the technical way to say: have a good day (and year!)

derek:

happy birthday, pretty thing. don't have too much fun without me ;)

rossi:

happy birthday kiddo. if you change your mind about a party, one phone call is all it takes. i'll make you a grande birthday dish if you so please 🍝

hotch:

happy birthday, y/l/n. enjoy yourself :)

Drained, you scoff in annoyance at your friends pretending everything's alright. But then it dawns upon you that you didn't receive a message from Emily. And despite the emotional torture she put you through, it hurts that she couldn't be bothered to give you any acknowledgement.

"Happy birthday to me," you grumble and force yourself out of bed. Yawning, you make your way to the kitchen and mix some orange juice and vodka. "What a shame I don't have any candles."

Bringing the straw to your lips, you barely get to take a sip of your pitiful concoction when a knock comes to your door. It shocks you to see Emily's snowy skin and cocoa eyes awaiting. Quickly attempting to fix your hair and sweat drenched t-shirt, you give up and open the door for the woman on the other side.

"Please don't slam the door in my face."

"Do you have a good reason I shouldn't?"

"Well I brought you something."

She lifts the gift to your hands and you gasp in pleasant surprise.

"Oh my god, Em thank you!" Shifting uncomfortably, you remember your pride and go back to your intolerable demeanor but it's too late.

"All it took for you to talk to me was a bribe? Wish I'd known that when I came back from the dead." She laughs. Your voice falls low.

"Emily, I'm sorry for the way I've treated you but you don't understand."

Emily has a feeling it's the other way around. You're the one who doesn't understand.

"What don't I understand Y/N?"

You take a step closer to her and place a hand on her supple cheek, cautiously as if asking permission. Emily closes her eyes lightly allowing you to brush a strand of hair from her face.

"I love you, Emily Prentiss."

She flutters her eyes open and lets out a shaky breath.

"I love you too, Y/N. I mourned you just as much as you mourned me."

Your heart stops and you look her in the eyes.

"Kiss me, Em."

Without a second of hesitation, she connects her lips to yours and kisses you passionately, brushing her tongue on your bottom lip. A salty tear slips into the taste of your flesh tasting one another but neither of you let go yet. Resting your head on her forehead, you smile.

"Since you're here, spend my birthday with me?" you whisper.

"Just try and stop me, Y/L/N." She giggles, plopping down on your couch.

Setting aside all the anguish you've sufferered one thing is certain. Emily and her fucking surprises can take you over any day.

[gay-salt-amber]

Where the hell is Kenma?!

Yuri on Ice x Haikyuu crossover

Just so you know, all the figure skaters kids are close with the other skaters so they consider ever skater they're close with family so the whole uncle aunt thing is just a friend thing

warnings: Gay, swearing, etc

Ships: leoji, yakulev, minotayuri

Пока= bye

All Russian is google translated

For the parents the kids will just be calling them by their names unless one parents is without the others then they will be called dad so it doesn't get confusing

Kenma pov

It was 10 alcock at night and I was up playing my video games as usual with Hinata, Lev and some other friends. We were playing a game that was a collaboration between Nerf and Xbox, it was quite good. Not my favorite shooter of all time but it was alright. When the match was over and the 20 second map and round type selection started, my phone rang. I was on a discord call with my friends so they saw the phone going up to my ear. Right when I was about to answer Lev spoke up,

"Who is it?" He asked

"Georgi."

"Popovich?"

"Yeah."

"Who's this Georgi?" Hinata seemed confused but curious.

"Just a family friend of ours." I answered, I don't wanna go into me and Lev being legally related right now.

"Oh, cool!"

I looked down at my phone and unlocked it to see the messages, "I might need to not play this round for a bit I need to respond to these texts." I said

The rest of them agreed and I went back to the messages.

---

Georgi: I was just wanting to remind you that the plane leaves at 7, so get some sleep kid.

Kenma: Thanks uncle Georgi, I'll try.

Georgi: Do you want us to bring the Russian team bus to pick you up from your house?

Kenma: Sure when are yall getting here?

Georgi: 6 prolly, depends on how long Lila and Yakov wanna take. Old asses -w-

Kenma: pfft xD

Kenma: Anyway, I need to get back to my friends see you later.

Georgi: K, get some sleep, my favorite nephew ☆⌒(*＾-゜)v

----

I unmuted my mic on the call and spoke after like 5 minutes

"Back, hows the round going?"

I didn't hear my dear Shoyo but instead Lev, "Good, Hinata got tired though and had to leave."

When I was about to say I needed to leave to, Lev spoke again,

"Oh yeah! You should get going, you don't wanna miss the flight!"

Once I exited the game I turned back to my monitor that had discord and moved it back to my main monitor, "I was about to say that."

"Пока" I said, my Russian feeling a little rusty.

"Пока Kenma!"

Pressing the 'end call' button made me sigh with relief, standing up, I walked over to my closet and grabbed some clothes for a shower before bed. I grabbed some long, loose black pants and a old Russian figure skating team shirt that one of my dads got me. While I was walking to the bathroom I was looking through some notes for class and deleted stuff I didn't need since I was going to be in an entire different country for a while.

I got out of the shower, dried my hair and put on my clothes. Once I got to the door, I looked into the mirror and I had an idea, 'Should I put my hair in braids so it'll look wavy tomorrow? Yeah that'll look nice!' I reached over and grabbed two small clear hair ties and put my hair into two braids.

I finally opened the bathroom door and walked back to my room to call it a night and sleep. Once I reached my room I noticed something, "You mother fucker.." I didn't pack my bags for the fucking trip. I whipped out my phone and thought of who I could message, we were gonna be in a bunch of places for skating and I wanted to check for how long, but guess what?! I don't know whos awake!

Right when I was about to wing it, I remembered its like 9 in the morning for Leo de la Iglesia, who is an American skater which I consider family. I guessed he would be up since he and Guang-Hong Ji, his boyfriend typically wake up at 7 to eat breakfast and go on a run together, virtually since they live in different countries but I guess they try. It took a while to find this name in my contacts since my phone doesn't really sort through who I texted recently but instead it sorts alphabetically the only time I would see his name at the top is if I had an unread message from him, which I don't. I kept scrolling reading off the letters as I went. H,I,J,K....

I finally got to L and found his name since I only have like 3 people whos name start with L in my contacts, I opened it and cringed at the date of the last sent message, 'June 1st' which was a happy pride month message. My fingers tapped on the message bar and I started typing quickly.

------

Kenma: Hey uncle Leo ヾ(•ω•`)o

Kenma: Ik this is a weird time to text since I should be sleeping but, you're the only one awake.

Leo: Ey Kozume! 💅 What do you need?

Kenma: I was wanting to know how long the competitions are gonna be , I forgot to pack soo...

Leo: Ah! Well you're going to be on the trip for a week and Georgi's gonna take you back to Japan the Monday afterwards

Kenma: I- Isn't it longer then that? (⊙_⊙)？

Leo: Yes but we know that Neko-

Kenma: Nekoma?

Leo: How ever the fuck you spell your schools name 😑

Leo: Anyway, we know you have a game against Karasuno the next day and we know you would wanna play in that sooo...

Kenma: Cool, thanks.

Leo: Np, see you in America (｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ

----

Once I was done snickering to myself at Leo and I's conversation, I walked over to my clothes drawers and got out the clothes I wanted, one formal outfit, some pj's and some casual stuff. I put that stuff in one suitcase and put my miscellaneous stuff in a smaller drawstring bag that had a bunch of video game pins on it. I walked downstairs to put my stuff by the door and when I got there I saw someone come in, it were my dads, Yuri Plisetsky, Otabek Altin and Minami Kenjiro.

I walked up and hugged all 3 of them, "Hey kiddo."

Since I decided to say screw sleep and talk to my parents which is something I didn't get to do much at this time of the year often since they have practice all the time. So we sat on the couch and had dinner while watching tv as a family and talked about their practice

Yuri chirped up while eating some rice, "Mila was being a bitch."

"Oh? What happened?" I asked

"So you know her kid Tendō?"

Minami put his chopsticks down and joined in the conversation, "He's that kid that goes to Shiratorizawa Academy right?"

"So, he's gonna be joining the Russian team since the he doesn't like the Italian team."

"Yet his uncle and other mom is on that team." Otabek pointed out

"Yeah."

"I don't get how she was being a bitch?" I said, trying to get the conversation back to the main point,

"Her ass was bragging about all practice, like shit I couldn't get 2 fucking works out without her interrupting."

We all laughed, and went back to eating.

After we were finished we all were doing the dishes, "Go upstairs and get some sleep kiddo, I'll do the rest of the dishes. Yuri, go get some rest too." Minami said

"Are you not going to America, Beka?" Yuri asked.

The black haired boy shrugged, "No, for some reason my couch decided I'm not going, I don't know why."

Minami was another one of my dads who was staying home, ever since they adopted me when I was 4 he always declined going to any skating competitions that weren't in Japan so that if I ever had an emergency someone would always be there. This meant that only me and Yuri, my blonde, sassy, Russian dad were going to America for the 3 back to back skating events that were happening there.

"I wonder why Lev's not going.."

"Your school doesn't want you both out when a game is so close." Otabek was right I still thought it was stupid since he was looking forward to this event, he's always wanted to go to America after all. But as compromise I promised to send him a lot of photos.

Minami who was still washing the dishes started shoving us out of the kitchen, "Yeah yeah, cut the chat get your butts upstairs and I don't wanna see you two down here until morning!" He said, waving a wooden spoon in the air as we walked up the stairs, laughing.

We reached the upstairs, both of my dads gave me a kiss on the forehead and wished me a good night. I walked into my room and instantly my tiredness from earlier came back to wack me in the face with 5 times the strength of before. I walked over to my bed and just.. flopped.

--In the morning--

My alarm for 5:30 went off and I got up, still tired but meh, nothing a bit of coffee wont fix. I walked over to my closet and got out a hoodie Shoyo gave me, it was a Karasuno hoodie with Shoyo's name and volleyball number, 10 on the back. I inhaled the scent of my lover. I'm gonna miss him but I still can call him. I grabbed a thin t-shirt to wear underneath and some soft black pants with red on the side, after I grabbed my clothes I walked to the bathroom and got changed. After that I took my braids out, my hair looked great!

When I left the bathroom right when I put my foot on the first step to head downstairs the scent of waffles hit my nose, I started to go quicker down the stairs since I fucking love waffles and I am starving! Once I got there Minami greeted me.

"Hey kiddo, did you sleep good?"

"Yeah." I nodded

"Are your other dads not up yet?"

"Nah." I shook my head getting out a plate.

"Before you eat imma wake them up."

I rubbed my forehead before sighing, "Oh god what are you planning, pops?"

"Nothing, let me just..." After finicking with his phone I heard a blast of noise from my parents room and the line I knew too well of "WELCOME TO THE MADNESS" blasted through the door. After like 2 seconds they were up and downstairs.

"You get creative when it comes to waking us up." Otabek yawned while Yuri wiped his eyes.

"I know, glad you're finally catching on~" Minami said, getting sassy, which he normally was this early in the morning.

"What'd you make for breakfast?" I asked.

"Apple waffles!"

I ran to the counter happily, grabbing like 3 fucking waffles.. What can I say? I love apple things!

"Goddamn! Leave some for us!" Yuri teased

"Nah~" I joked back.

When we had just finished our food, we were setting our dishes into the sink and just chatting, we heard a knock on the door. I turned to the clock, '6:00' almost on the dot. "Man when they say they'll be here at 6, they aren't kidding." Otabek said, looking at the bus through the window.

I snickered and got my shoes on, me and Yuri grabbed our suitcases and after my adopted dad kissed my other dads, we were out the door and on the bus. I stopped to talk to Mila whom was driving while Yuri went to go sit in the back by himself.

I tapped the red head on the shoulder, "Hey Mila can we make a stop before we go to the airport?"

She grinned "Yeah, of course, the flight was delayed a half hour anyway for whatever fucking reason."

"Ok, can we stop at Karasuno I uh.. Wanna see someone before we leave.."

Mila let out a quiet gasp before whispering, "Is this the boy you've been talking about?"

I nodded and Mila laughed, "Sure, I don't see why not!"

I gave a light smile and went to go sit down.

--When they stopped at Karasuno, Hinata pov--

"We aren't doing anything special today, hell do what you want if you wanna sit and chat do that, I am giving you a free day before we practice for our match against Nekoma." Couch Ukai explained

We all nodded with a 'yes couch' coming out of all us.

Me and Yamaguchi stayed chatting when our long haired ace, Asahi came in, "Sorry I'm late but there's a bus outside that says, 'Russian Figure Skating Team' outside for whatever reason."

"I wonder why..." I brushed it off though and continued talking to Yams

We kept talking before I heard a familiar voice, "Shoyo? Are you here?"

"Kenma!" I exclaimed before I jumped up and ran to give him a hug which almost knocked him over in the process.

"Hi Shoyo, its good to see you."

"What are you doing here?" I asked, releasing the hug and just holding his hands and I spoke again

"I mean there's a weird bus that says Russian Figure Skating Team or something outside but why are you here?"

"That's my ride." Kenma answered plainly.

"That's your- WHAT!" I was surprised and the others came over

Kenma laughed, "That's why I came here, I wanted to let you know I'm going to be gone for a week."

"Why? Did something happen?" Suga asked from the back

"No, no! I'm going to skate in America, I'll be back for our game though." His answer made me more curious

Noya's voice rang from the right, "When are you leaving?"

"Around 7:30, our plane got delayed but I get to talk with you more, right Shoyo?"

I was about to sit down when the door swung open and there stood someone who looked a bit like Kenma, but different colored eyes and plain blonde hair

"I'm hanging out in here with you kid."

"Yakov being annoying?"

"да ебать его задницу!"

"Who are you sir?" Asked Asahi who was putting away the few volleyballs that were used since most of the team was chatting, it was a free day after all

"This is Yuri Plisetsky, my dad." Kenma explained

"Cool."

I tilted my head, wondering what he said, I knew it was Russian just based on context but I didn't know what, "What was that you were saying?"

"He said, "yeah fuck his ass" My blonde boyfriend translated

"Ooh."

"Well before we go might as well do this," Kenma sighed as he held my hand tighter,

"Dad, this is my boyfriend, Shoyo." Kenma looked nervous.

"As long as he treats you well, then I don't care."

"W-wait that's it?!" Kenma seemed surprised

Yuri clutched his chest in laughter, "I-I'm sorry! Just.."

"Are you forgetting who I am?"

"What?"

"Kiddo, I am a trans gay man who has been married with 2 other men in a poly relationship for 2 years now, what'd you want me to say?"

Hinata looked surprised but also relived, "Really? That's so cool!"

Yuri looked at me and rolled his eyes and messaged the bridge of his nose, "Really? You went for the fanboy?"

"Dad, you're married to one."

"Meh, true."

We were talking for a while longer with me just being lovey as usual when someone else walked through the door and yelled "ITS JJ STYLE!" Which Yuri's dad looked pissed about

"I'll get him out give me a second."

"убирайся отсюда, канадский ебать!" Yuri yelled as he proceeded to shove the man I'm guessing named JJ out

"What'd he say?" I asked

"Get out of here you Canadian fuck."

"Oooh."

With that a new people entered, "Kozume!" A voice called,

"Hi Gramps."

"Whos this?" I questioned with my hand still on Kenma's

"That's my grandpa, Victor Katsuki-Nikiforov."

"That's so cool!"

Kenma blushed and just nodded,

"Does my grandson have a boyfriend~"

"Yep, this is Shoyo."

"So he's the one I keep hearing Chris say you brag about?"

"Mhm."

"We-"

Before Victor could continue I heard a slam

"Двигай своей задницей, черт возьми, свинья!" (Move your ass fucking pig!) And in came Yuri kicking another black haired boy in through the door.

"Yurio be nice you your mother!"

"HES NOT MY MOTHER! AND STOP CALLING ME YURIO!" He yelled back

Victor sighed, "Well we have 2 Yuri's here its confusing!"

The grey haired mans tone quickly changed, "Anyway~"

He helped Yuuri up and waltzed on back over to us, "Our grandson has a boyfriend!!!!"

"Awh that's great!"

"Aaand Shoyo, meet my other grandpa, Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov"

"It's nice to meet you."

We talked a bit before Yuuri spoke up,

"We should get going, the others probably wanna get coffee before we go to the airport."

"Oh, yeah, I guess so."

I was sad that they had to leave because Kenma noticed and his face softened because when they were getting up to leave, he gave me a soft kiss on the lips,

" I will call you every chance I get, Ok baby?"

"Alright, I'll see you next week at the game?"

"Yes, I love you."

"I love you too." Those were the last words I said to Kenma in person for a week.

When I turned around I heard someone yell, "KOZUME HAS A BOYFRIEND!"

Lev pov--

Kenma: We're having another fucking flight delay!

Lev: I still wish I could've gone with!

Kenma: I know, you were really wanting to come, right?

Lev: Ofc! I have always wanted to go to America! 😭😭😭

Kenma: Oof

Lev: Hold on the team is worried about you, give me a moment

Kenma: Gl Kuroos gonna be all like 'well why didn't I know?!' or some shit

Lev: mhm 😑

---

I turned off my phone and listened to the rest of the team freak out about the gamer boys missing

"WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?!" Yaku yelled out of panic

"Yaku, I am sure he's fine.." Yamamoto said, trying to keep the peace

"Well we don't know that! Hell! He didn't even tell me anything.." Kuroo was also pissed which just made me wanna chuckle since Kenma was right about Kuroos reaction.

"Uhm..."

"What Lev?"

"Well about Kenma being gone, I know where he is I just thought this was funny."

"So us worrying is funny?!"

"When I know why, yes."

Kuroo rolled his eyes, "Lev, Kenma never talks to you."

"Yes, yes he does, you don't know every fucking thing he does." I snapped.

"Are you sure?" Kuroo retorted

"Whos he dating?"

"I-"

"See you dont even know that"

"Fucking- Whatever just where is he?" Yaku asked

I held out my phone and showed the texts

"Where the hell is he going?! We have a game!"

"Yaku, please shut the fuck up." I whispered.

"What?!"

"Yaku I love you, but please shut the fuck up, he doesn't care about the game right now, he will be back for the game with Karasuno, but he is with family and doing something that will contribute to his future. Now shut up пожалуйста, перестань любопытствовать и дай ему жить!" (please stop prying and let him live!)

"..."

I took a step back, I swore my boyfriend out... I even yelled at him in Russian!

I felt like I wanted to cry, I didn't wanna snap like that.. Then I heard the door open

"HA I KNEW HE WOULD CUSS SOMEONE OUT! Виктор! ты должен мне 20 долларов!" (Victor you owe me 20) I turned to the voice,

"Oh praise god." I sighed

Yurio was walking up to me, "ты в порядке? ты выглядишь напряженным .." (are you okay? you look tense)

"Я огрызнулся на своего парня, и я устал, угадай" (I snapped at my boyfriend and I'm tired, guess)

"What are they saying.." Yaku was confused

"Well apologize you fuck!" Yurio scoffed

"..."

"Sorry sir, but Lev is fine, I was the one who deserved it."

"I'm still sorry!"

"Even better question! Lev, you can speak Russian!?" Kuroo seemed surprised

"Yeah, I just didn't wanna hear the, 'oh! Say my name in Russian' or, 'say something in Russian!' that gets annoying fast!"

"Oh, Beka has the same problem whenever he says he's from Kazakhstan."

"Anyway, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the airport with the rest of the Russian team."

"We would be in the sky by now is the plane would stop getting fucking delayed!"

"Well let the team rest in here! Its probably hot as fuck in that bus."

"Smartest thing you've said all day, Levochka." And with that he left

"And who was that?" Yaku's tone was serious so I beckoned the team over to the bench to explain

"So you know how I have left practice early?"

"Yes?"

"That's because I do figure skating and I am hoping to go into it full time when I am older and that person who was here a bit ago was a part of the Russian Figure Skating team."

"Nice!" Someone commented from the end of the bench

"Levochka!" A voice called,

"DAD!" I raced to meet the voice and gave a big hug to my father, Victor Nikiforov and gave my other dad, Yuri Katsuki a hug when he entered short after.

Yaku came up from behind, and kicked me, "YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOUR PARENTS WERE FAMOUS SKATERS YOU FUCK!"

Upon seeing that the Russian team was pissed, "Держи свои гребаные ноги от него, ублюдок размером с муравей!"

"I still don't know what yall are saying.."

A voice came from the back, "Georgi said, "Keep your fucking feet off him, ant-sized motherfucker" I recognized Kenma's voice quickly

"Ey! I thought you would stay on the bus!" Yurio called

"Well, I finished my level and I have nothing else to play until a few daily bonuses roll in."

"Kid you run through games like me and Lev run through a thing of pirozhkis.."

"Meh I keep myself entertained."

"KENMA?!" Kuroo called, ran up and started to shake the boy

"I WAS WORRIED WHY DIDNT YOU TELL US WHERE YOU WERE GOING?1"

"Because it doesn't concern you, besides its not like I'm gonna be gone forever.."

"Kozume I am your best friend! You tell your best friend this shit!"

"Uh..." Kenma stuttered

"What?! Is there anything else you wanna tell me?!"

"1: I don't owe you shit and 2: Lev and Shoyo are my best friends, Теперь слезай с высокой лошади, ты трахаешься" (Now get off the high horse, you fuck)

"That's my boy!" Yurio cheered

Yuuri shook his head and turned to me, "Anyway, Lev can we pull you and Yaku to the side we wanna talk to you two."

I nodded and grabbed Yaku's hand and we exited the gym with my dads

"Levochka.. Are you sure he's the one you want?" My dad asked gently

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you said that this was your boyfriend when we talked about it before but are you sure he is what you want? I mean he kicks you and gets physical it seems a lot. I just want for you to be safe." My dad explained.

Yaku looked nervous as my dead continued, "Hell even Yurio when we adopted him, was never physical with anyone who didn't deserve it.. Minus Yuuri but you get what I mean."

I grabbed Yaku's hand, "I know but Yaku's trying and that's all I can really ask.."

Yuuri started to talk "Lev please be safe." His face was one of worry

"I'm sorry Mr. Nikiforov, I've been trying my hardest to not be as bad as I was, I am trying for your sons sake, I wanna make him happy.."

"I can see that and I hope you keep trying."

"I will, I care about Lev so much I wouldn't do anything to actually hurt him, I love him too much to do that."

"Th-"

"HEY VICTOR WE NEED TO GET TO THE AIRPORT!" Called Yakov's voice loud from the bus.

"Coming! Lets go!"

After gathering the others they left, till next week will we see them again.

[before-we-get-started]

Dream Come True

Colin Shea x O/C Corinne MacAdam

Multi-Chapter Story - Complete

Summary: Colin Shea and his band Rock the Cradle are finally making it big - until something unexpected happens. When he meets a girl that makes him reconsider his player ways, he thinks his life may be coming together, until she blows it apart.

Warning: Bad language, smut, suicidal ideations - no one under 18, please

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please do not read if you are underage. I do not own the character of Colin Shea; the rest are my original characters. By reading beyond this point, you understand the disclaimers as posted.

Chapter Nine

The sun shone through the tall windows behind Cori’s bed. She rolled over, shielding her eyes, then closed them again. Her first thought was that it was Saturday, no work and whatever fun things she had to do. Then reality hit her – the night before. She winced and squeezed her eyes shut. Seth was cheating on her, or at least had a fling with someone, when he’d said he was out of town. Colin had kissed her, and realized she was the one he pulled from the ledge, the one whose life he’d saved, the one that made him miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. All bad.

She slowly sat up, realizing she was still dressed from the night before. Everything on her bed was damp, including the clothes she was wearing. She’d gotten absolutely soaked in the rain. She crawled from the bed to the bathroom, peeled out of her dress and turn the shower on as hot as she could take it. She lingered until the water started getting cold, then stepped out and dried off. She put on her terry cloth robe and went to the kitchen and made a cup of tea. Then she dropped onto the couch, laid her head back on the cushions and tried to figure out what to do next.

Her phone – what had she done with it? She jumped up, looking for her clutch, and found it on the nightstand, her shoes set neatly in front of it. Had she done that? There was a blanket from the couch on the bed. She didn’t remember covering up with it. Then again, she was so out of it, who knows what she did.

She checked her phone. There were 20 missed calls from Seth and multiple text messages – “where are you?” “Cori, please call.” “Cori, tell me where you are, I’ll come and get you.” “You’re scaring me, please call”.

Notably absent was anything from Colin.

The time on her phone said 1:14. She’d slept the morning away, which was probably a good thing. Being awake just made her feel like shit.

First things first. She texted Seth – “Saw you coming out of the hotel with the redhead. We’re done, lose my number.”

Next she texted her mom, who had left messages checking on her. “Ma, I’m good, late night. I’ll call ya later.”

With that out of the way, she could concentrate on how the man she loved so much across the hall was now in her distant past. There was no fixing it. He was so angry at her after he kissed her. It had gone from the most amazing moment, a kiss even better than the one before, to his face filled with anger and hurt. Like her, he must’ve wondered all this time what the hell happened that day. She knew he’d had some kind of accident and his heart had stopped. The same thing had happened to her. Could it have been the same day? At the same time? That seemed too crazy to be true, but something had to have happened for them both to have had the same vision.

She thought about how pathetic she must look to him, wandering the streets of Boston in the rain like a fool, then knowing he knew she wanted to take that last step off the cliff. She never really wanted to die, she just wanted to stop hurting. Everywhere she looked reminded her of Matthew and the future she thought she’d have with him. The changes she’d made were great, and, with Colin in the mix, she’d finally been able to move forward and feel good about herself. If she was honest with Seth, she’d liked him a lot but she would’ve left him in the dust if Colin ever showed interest in her. But that wouldn’t have happened before, and it sure wouldn’t happen now.

The last text was from Sarah, asking if she wanted to meet tonight for a drink. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but she didn’t want to sit alone with her thoughts all night. She texted back and they had a plan to meet.

She spent the afternoon doing laundry and cleaning. At 7, she slipped out, making sure Colin was nowhere around. There was no way she could face him. She walked to the bar and met Sarah, giving her a hug and finding a booth.

“No offense Cori, but you look rough,” Sarah said, concern in her voice.

“I know,” she said quietly. “I had a really bad night.”

“Really bad, as in, you and Seth had a fight?”

“Really bad, as in, Seth told me he was out of town but he lied and I saw him coming out of a hotel with another girl before our date.”

Sarah made a face. “Oh shit.”

“Exactly.”

“That asshole.”

Cori raised her glass. “Cheers to that.” They clinked glasses.

“Is that all?” Sarah asked.

“No,” she said. “I really need to tell someone this but you have to promise you won’t think I’m completely crazy.”

“Cori, I’m your best friend. You can tell me anything.”

Cori took a deep breath and told Sarah everything – walking towards the cliff, the golden sky, the serenity, the hand on her arm, the hot guy whose face she couldn’t quite place pulling her back, telling her it wasn’t time and then kissing her back to life.

Sarah looked at her and blinked. “Holy shit.”

“I know,” said Cori. “And the guy was real.”

“What?” said Sarah.

“I found him last night. He kissed me again and we both flashed back to that moment.”

“No way! Oh my gosh Cori, how did you find him?”

She shook her head and sighed. “He’s been here all along.”

“Who?” said Sarah, clapping her palms on the table.

Cori let out a breath. “Colin.”

“What?” Sarah squealed and Cori reached across and smacked her hand.

“Would you hold it down?”

“Oh my God, that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. He saved you and then you found him, and you’ve been getting to know him. Did he realize it too?”

“Oh yeah,” Cori said with some sarcasm.

“He must’ve been thrilled! Did he kiss you again? Did you stay with him last night? Are you together?”

Cori’s heart felt like it was being squeezed again. “No, he hates me.”

Sarah gasped. “Why? Why would he hate you? He rescued you!”

Cori explained that something happened to Colin that day too, and while he was dealing with whatever it was, he caused the band to miss their meeting.

“He looked at me last night and said I ruined his life. He look absolutely disgusted. Then he turned and ran away from me.”

Sarah’s face fell and she covered Cori’s hand with hers. “Oh Cori, I’m so sorry. But honestly, it’s not your fault. If something happened to him, it’s not like you caused it. It’s not fair that he blames you.”

“Well he does,” she said, peeling at the corner of the label on her beer bottle. “And honestly, how can he not judge me. I was going to walk off a cliff willingly. If I had been stronger, if I hadn’t been so emotional, there would’ve been no need. Who knows, maybe he would’ve woken up sooner if I wasn’t in the picture.”

Sarah patted her hand. “Look, this is a crazy story, but you shouldn’t take all the blame. Why don’t you go talk to him? Have you told him about Matthew?”

“Yes.”

“Was he sympathetic?”

She thought about it. “Kind of. He said if it was him, he wouldn’t have taken a relationship into college, but he respected that I did. I need to just forget about him. He and I have gotten closer over the past few weeks but he’s never shown any interest in me. I think he saw me as a friend –“

“Saw?”

“Yes, past tense. I don’t think he’ll ever want to see me again, as a friend or anything else.”

They got another round of beers, talked more about what a shit Matthew and Seth were, lamented Sarah’s past relationships and got more beers and shots. By 10 o’clock, Cori was drunk. Sarah helped her out of the booth and walked her to her building, making sure she got up the stairs to her apartment. She left her with a promise of calling tomorrow.

Rap’s was as rowdy as ever and Rock the Cradle finished their set and ordered a round of beers. Colin couldn’t get her out of his head. He kept seeing her laying on the bed, so broken, her face fraught with worry even while she slept. Then he thought about how nonchalant Seth was about being with other girls. Cori wanted stability, someone she could count on. She wanted someone she could love that would love her back, someone that would care about her forever.

“Hello? Earth to Colin!”

He shook his head. “What?”

The guys all started talking at once, asking what they were going to play for Cori’s fundraiser.

“I haven’t thought about it.”

“Well you’d better start,” said Evan. “It’s a week away.”

He blew out a sigh. “I know,” he moaned. “I’m sorry we ever took this thing.”

“Dude, it’s good money and it’s for Cori. She’s great. It was really nice of her to think of us.”

“When are you going to wise up and ask her out?” said Kevin, and all the guys “ooh’d” followed by laughs.

“Yeah,” said Spencer, “we all know you’re crazy about her.”

He looked down at his bottle. “She isn’t interested in me,” he said with some sadness.

“Bullshit!” said Kevin. “She’s crazy about you! The other night at the party at Rap’s, while you were getting dressed, she couldn’t shut up about you. She had that look, you know, when you talk about someone that you think about all the time. She’s got it bad. But I don’t think she’s the kind that you screw and then hide while you’re waiting for her to leave.” They all chuckled.

“No way,” said Evan. “She’s a keeper. A guy would be lucky to have her. And she wouldn’t put up with your shit.”

Colin had felt a constant tug in his chest since last night, and it got stronger as he listened to the guys talk. He’d seen something in her eyes last night that he’d never seen before – she was in love with him. When she realized who he was, that they’d shared such an intense, intimate moment, she’d opened up and told him how special he was to her. She was so soft and sweet, drowning in the rain with those beautiful eyes full of adoration. She’d melted into his kiss, pressing her entire body into his, and she’d held onto his arms as he angrily pulled away from her. He saw her smile fall when he’d snapped at her. She looked like a little girl.

He shook his head, trying to shake the memory. “Look guys, there’s nothing there, ok? I don’t want to talk about her,” he said sharply. “I’ll text you a set list on Monday, rehearsal on Tuesday.” He set his bottle down on the table and slid out of his chair. “I’m going home.”

He walked out of the bar and headed home, determined to forget about her.

When he opened the door, the lamp in the living room was on – it wasn’t when he left. He stopped and looked around, stepping cautiously down the step into the living room. There, on his couch, was Cori. She was wearing a cream v-neck sweater that had crept off her shoulders and showed lots of cleavage. Her hair was down – he’d never realized how long it was – wavy and gorgeous. She stood up as he entered and he could see she was barefoot, the little pink nails in full view. Her faded jeans hugged her curves perfectly. She looked incredibly sexy and he swallowed hard as he took her in.

“How’d you get in here?” he asked.

She took a wobbly step towards him. “You’d be surprised how friendly the Super can be if you have on the right sweater.” She walked right up to him, her face just inches from him.

“You’re drunk,” he said.

“Yeah, so,” she said. “Is that illegal?”

He chuckled. “No, I’ve just never seen you this way.”

She laid her hand on his chest, feeling the definition of his pecs underneath. She rubbed softly, laying her other hand on his waist, pulling as close to him as she could be without her body touching his. “You’ve never seen me at all,” she said soft as a feather.

He swallowed again, staring at her beautiful eyes and those sweet pink lips. He wanted to devour her, but she was drunk and it wouldn’t be right.

“Cori,” he breathed, putting his head down to distract him from her gorgeous face, “we can’t do this.”

“Why?” she said quietly. She let her hand run up his chest to the back of his neck, her fingers winding into his hair. “Why don’t you want me?”

He put his hands on her waist, mostly to steady her and control her movements, but his hands felt so good there. “Cori,” he breathed, drinking her in with his eyes. “Not tonight. You’ll regret me in the morning.”

Her other hand found the back of his neck. She tugged at the hair there, pulling him close to her, looking into those beautiful blue eyes. “I know I’m not like the other girls. I know I’m not pretty or sexy like them. I know I don’t have what they have –“

“Cori –“

“And I know you’re angry at me and I’d never ask you to forgive me. I just want a chance to show you how much you mean to me. When you kissed me that day, you said it wasn’t time.” Her eyes rimmed with tears. “Maybe it wasn’t time because we’re supposed to be together, just once. Just once I want you to hold me the way you hold those other girls. I want you to say all the things to me you say to them –“

He touched his forehead to hers. “Cori, don’t –“

“Please Colin. Please, just for tonight, I just want you to want me. Please.”

He wrapped his arms around her lower back, palms spread, pulling her to him. “Can I kiss you?” he asked.

“Yes,” she whispered. His lips were so soft. His tongue ran along her bottom lip and she let him in, the kiss deepening. Her hips pushed forward so she could feel his arousal through his jeans. She pressed her entire body against him, melting into him, just like she did that day by the cliff.

He kissed her bare shoulder, kissing along her collarbone to her neck, brushing the shell of her ear. “I’ve always wanted you,” he breathed, kissing just under her earlobe and feeling her moan against him.

She let her head fall back as he kissed her throat all the way down to the hollow, then he took her face in his hands and found her lips again, an urgent kiss that was all teeth and tongue. She sucked gently on his bottom lip, and he let out a little moan.

“I’m going to take you to bed,” he said softly.

“Finally,” she smiled, kissing him again.

He reached down with one arm under her knees and the other behind her neck and hoisted her up, carrying her to the bed, never breaking the kiss. As he laid her down, her hair spilled out around her face, the sweater barely covering her breasts. He caged her in with his hands on either side of her head, his knee between her legs.

“Can I kiss you here?” he asked as he touched the swell of her breasts.

“Please,” she moaned. He kissed the soft mound, nudging the sweater down until her taught bud peeked out. He licked it gently and felt her respond underneath him, pushing her hips up against his jeans looking for some relief. He gently pulled the sweater away from her other breast, exposing the other peak that was so hard and aching for him. He caressed it gently with his tongue, then took it between his teeth – the moan that came from deep in her throat made his cock twitch in his pants. He pulled the sweater down to her waist, pulling it off her arms and slid it all the way down and off, then he reached for the button on her jeans, unzipping them and exposing pink lace panties.

“Can I kiss you here?”

She stared at him. He was so close to that precious bundle of nerves, the anticipation was painful. “Yes,” she said urgently.

He kissed just above the panties below her navel – she was as soft as silk and smelled like lavender. Slowly he pulled her jeans down below her knees and she kicked them off to the floor. She bent one leg at the knee, bracing it against him as he pulled her panties off. He raised up to look at her, completely nude and ready for him. The moonlight that shone through the window highlighted her beautiful curves. He kissed slowly up the inside of her thigh, one hand cupping her ass cheek. He heard her gasp as he slowly ran a finger through her folds. She was so wet for him, he leaned back and admired her for a bit, then leaned in and gently sucked on her sensitive bud. She cried out softly, burying her hand in his hair and tugging at it a little.

“That ok?” he whispered.

“Mm hmm…” she moaned.

He carefully placed two fingers inside her, finding the soft spongey spot inside her that made her back arch and her hand pulled his hair a little harder. He moaned, pulling himself up a little, licking softly at her clit.

“Colin…I…oh fuck, please,” she breathed out.

He pulled his fingers in and out more quickly, his thumb rubbing gentle circles over her bundle. He lifted himself up so he was over her, locking eyes with her.

“It’s ok baby, I’ve got you,” he said in his sexy low timbre. “Come for me…”

She cried out and let go. He continued to pump in and out of her, helping her through until she started to come down. He pulled his fingers out slowly, bringing them up to her hip.

“You have on way too many clothes,” she panted, still out of breath from her orgasm. She reached down and pulled his t-shirt over his head, the medallion from his necklace landing on her chest. Her hands made quick work of his belt buckle and the button on his jeans, then she unzipped his fly and pushed the denim down his hips, pressing her soft lips to his, her tongue gently licking his bottom lip. He helped her out, peeling out of his pants and boxers. His hard cock bounced against her leg and she wrapped her a hand around it, and he hissed against her neck. His lips made their way along her collarbone to her neck, nipping and gently sucking with soft kisses.

She pulled back from him. “Let me,” she said, pulling him down on his side so he rolled over on his back. She straddled him, bending over to kiss him, then kissing down the column of his throat to those amazing pecs. She ran her hands over them, gently tugging at his buds between her fingers and he moaned deep in his throat. She kissed down his chest, down the line of hair above his naval, her hands on his hips.

“Have you got one?”

“In my pocket.” She reached for his jeans and pulled a condom from the back, tearing the package and pulling it out.

“Cori.” He sounded desperate, her mound so close to him. She sat up and pulled his cock up, rolled the sheath over him and slowly pumped him with her hand.

“Fuck,” he said breathlessly.

She lined him up and slowly lowered herself onto him. She gasped as he filled her up, throwing her head back, her hands moving to his belly. His hands grasped her hips and he let out a little cry.

“God, you feel so fucking good baby.”

She started to ride him, slowly, gently, reaching behind her to gently cup his balls in her warm hand.

“Jesus, Cori….”

She picked up the pace, locking eyes with him, her breasts bouncing as she pumped up and down. She let out a moan. “Colin….”

“Fuck, baby,” he said, reaching up and gently tugging at her nipples. She arched her back and picked up the pace. Needing more of him, she bent down, crashing her lips to his, her nipples rubbing against his chest. She moved her hands to his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, effortlessly pulling her to him and rolling her over. He lifted up on one forearm and ran his hand down her belly to touch her there.

“Ah, please, please, Colin…” She fluttered around him and as he rubbed her sensitive nub, she cried out, her walls clenching around him as she came.

He kissed her, his hand caressing her cheek. “I’m so close,” he breathed into her ear, slamming himself against her, her hands cupping his ass cheeks as his movement stuttered and he shouted her name. She ran her hands up his back to his sexy broad shoulders, then to his face, kissing him as he started to come down. He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, loving her soft skin against his nose. He breathed her in, not wanting this closeness to end.

Slowly they both came down, wrapped around each other, their breathing returning to normal. Cori loved the feel of his weight on her – warm and strong – she felt so safe and secure.

Eventually he pulled out and rolled over, pulling her next to him. They laid there for a long time, silent, soaking up the feeling of being next to each other. They’d both never thought this would happen, and now that it had, it was even better than they’d imagined.

After a long while, Cori broke the silence. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Everything. For everything you’ve done for me.”

He pulled her closer. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

“Me too.”

She closed her eyes and slept better than she had in months.

[cali-holland]

Heartbreak Weather, Part One- T. H.

Pairing: Tom Holland X Horan!Reader

Prompt: After going through a rough breakup, you lose all hope in love, but your brother Niall Horan insists on getting you back into the world. When you meet his friend Tom Holland, you start to think that maybe your life isn’t just heartbreak weather.

Word Count: 4000

Featured Songs (All by Niall Horan): Heartbreak Weather  -  Nice to Meet Ya  -  Dear Patience  -  No Judgment

Previous Part: Teaser

Masterlist   Tom Holland Masterlist

*Gif is not mine*

~~~

MARCH 2018

“God damn it, let go of the ice cream.” Your older brother huffed, attempting to take the cold dessert from you

“No, leave me alone.” You pouted, refusing to move from your position on the couch.

“You need to get up and off this couch. Come with me to the gala- you already have a dress and everything.” Niall sighed a breath of relief as he finally wrestled the pint of ice cream from your arms.

“I don’t want to go. Leave me to wallow in my own pity.” You groaned, pulling your blanket up over your head.

Just three days ago, you were excited for your older brother to come to London and spend a few weeks with you. You were at school in the bustling English city, and he was usually very busy. Luckily for the two of you, his charity gala for golf lined up perfectly with a break in school; and he invited you to go along with him. You were so eager for that event, and he’s right- you did have everything ready for it, including a red dress you were in love with.

Your mood changed completely when you discovered your boyfriend of two years had been cheating on you for over six months with his best friend. Niall’s arrival coincided with the downfall of your relationship. And now, you had no motivation to get off the couch; you simply wanted to be sucked into a void of sad dog movies and ice cream.

“No, you are coming with me to that gala. Think about it- you dumped Eric’s sorry ass and now you’re going to an event that will be flooded with paparazzi. Show him what he’s missing.” Niall said.

“As my brother, I don’t think you’re supposed to say that. I think you’re supposed to be over at his place, beating him the hell up.”

“Oh, trust me, if it was legal, I’d beat the shit out of him.” He stated. “Please, will you come?”

“Fine, but I’m going straight back to this state once it’s all over with.” You replied. You rolled your eyes while he cheered. You stood from the couch and headed to your room to get ready. Niall let out a sigh as he heard you begin to play Sam Smith over the speakers.

“As if she wasn’t sad enough.” He shook his head, before going to your guest room to get ready himself.

~~~

The gala was being held at a fancy hotel in central London, and you felt nerves overcome you as the car came to a stop outside of the entrance. The paparazzi lined the carpet and the fans lined the paparazzi.

“Can I go home yet?” You asked, and Niall gave your hand a quick squeeze.

“Come on, you’ll kill it out there.” He smiled. The car door opened and Niall stepped out with you following along behind him. You two stopped and posed for pictures on the carpet, before you stepped aside to let Niall have his moment.

Making your way inside, you took in the beauty of the ballroom- it definitely looked like a gala rather than a glorified hotel room. Bruno Mars’ Just the Way You Are sounded over the speakers, and you couldn’t help, but feel a sting in your heart. This was your song with your ex; and it still hurt to think about it. Your smile began to drop as you scanned the room, wondering if Niall had made it in through another entrance. Your eyes fell upon a brunette boy across the room. Almost instantly, his brown eyes found yours and he smiled. You felt your lips curve into a genuine smile back at the stranger. Something about him felt familiar to you, but between the crowded room and the surprisingly bad lighting, you couldn’t place him.

“Y/N,” Niall’s voice caught your attention, pulling you away from the stranger’s captivating stare. “Come on, we gotta get seated.” He led you over to your table, which had name cards placed on them.

“Who are we sitting with?” You asked, wondering if he would know, as you two sat down.

“My buddy, Tom, should be with us.” Niall stated.

“Tom as in-” Before you could finish your question, a loud British voice sounded from behind the two of you.

“Niall! It’s been ages!” The voice exclaimed, pulling your brother into a hug. As Niall pulled away, you felt your eyes widen with surprise as you were met with the face of Tom Holland in front of you- a.k.a. the brunette stranger from not even five minutes ago.

“Tom! How have you been?” Niall smiled.

“I’ve been great. I’ve been here for a few weeks, but I go back to filming in a couple days.” He replied, just as cheery.

“I’m on a break right now. We gotta get together before you leave and play a few rounds.” Your brother eagerly replied, “There’s this great golf course by Y/N’s place.” Niall caught himself as he looked down to you awkwardly sitting there at the table.

“Hi, I’m Tom.” Tom smiled, holding out a hand for you to shake.

“Y/N, Niall’s sister. The one that lives near a golf course apparently.” You joked, shaking his hand. Niall sat down and Tom took the seat beside you, effectively trapping you between the two.

“Y/N, do you still play?” Niall asked you.

“Not often, but I bet I can still beat you.”

“Really? You’re even better than Niall?” Tom inquired.

“Surprised I’m better than him?”

“Considering he’s the only person who’s beaten me every single time, I’d say I’m more intrigued and intimidated.”

“I’ll come play some holes with you two, then we’ll see.” You laughed.

The gala’s host made his way onto the stage and the three of you fell into a comfortable silence with the rest of the audience. Dinner was served shortly afterwards and there was a flow of conversation between the three of you.

“Oh, there’s Rory. I need to go say hi.” Niall stood up, once he finished his meal and spotted his friend at another table. He immediately went over to Rory, striking up a conversation with him.

“He’s such a social butterfly. Everywhere he goes, he knows someone.” You laughed, shaking your head at him.

“I bet the fans get crazy with him, don’t they?” Tom asked.

“Ni gets spotted a lot less now that he’s got his brunette hair back. I’ve always liked it better natural than blond.” You stated. Before Tom could speak up again, you got a text notification. Though the contact was missing you knew exactly who it was, sending you a ‘I screwed up. Please, let’s work this out’ text.

“Uh, sorry, I just- I have to go.” You said, standing up from the table and avoiding looking at Tom. This whole night, you hadn’t thought about your ex at all; you were so captivated by Tom.

“Y/N, what’s wrong?” Tom asked, standing as well.

“Nothing, I just can’t be here right now.” You replied as your voice cracked through your words. With phone and purse in hand, you rushed out to the empty hallway and sat against the wall, letting your tears freely flow. You were crying so hard that you barely registered Tom sitting beside you and putting an arm over your shoulders to comfort you. As you steadied your sobs, you began to speak.

“Have you ever felt like your whole life’s been heartbreak after heartbreak; it’s always heartbreak weather at this point. I dated my ex for two years, and he cheated on me for months. And now he wants to get back together?” 

“I’m sorry.” Tom said, “If he’s stupid enough to cheat on you, then he doesn’t deserve you. You’re incredible, and that’s coming from someone who’s only known you a few hours.”

“I’ve spent every day of the past two years devoted to him, and now I have nothing. I wasted so much time on him. I should’ve known he wasn’t the one. Niall warned me all that time ago that he wasn’t good enough.” Your voice was soft as you spoke. “I’m sorry you have to see me like this.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve all been through this before.” Tom paused, thinking of how to lighten the mood, “Do you want to get out of here? We can go get some real food- this vegetarian stuff isn’t cutting it for me.”

“I look like shit now.” You said, wiping under your eyes in an attempt to fix your mascara that was bound to be all over your face.

“You look amazing. Come on,” Tom stood up and held out a hand out to you. You took it and he helped you stand.

“I don’t want to confront Niall, not now. I’ll just text him.” You stated.

“Just make sure he knows you’re safe.” He replied, leading you out the back exit as he called for his car. You pulled out your phone and texted Niall: ‘Went to go get actual dinner with Tom. I’ll see you tonight’.

You and Tom got dinner from a drive through and ended up taking it back to your place. Your shoes were both abandoned by the door, and Tom’s jacket laid on the back of a chair with his tie hanging loosely from his neck. He rolled up the white sleeves of his suit, giving him better access to chicken wings.

“This has got to be the best post-gala idea.” Tom laughed, taking a bite of the chicken wing, trying his best not to make a mess as you did the same.

“Absolutely.” You agreed. “I should have probably changed out of this dress though.”

“At least it’s red?” He offered.

“That does nothing to hide a chicken wing stain.” You teased.

“Just trying to be helpful.” He laughed.

After you finished up eating, Tom searched for something on Netflix while you changed into more comfortable clothes- a tight fighting dress was not the move for a night in.

“Do you want to watch anything specifically?” Tom called out to you from the living as you made your way into the kitchen, in search of some wine.

“How about a comedy?” You replied, “Do you want some wine?”

“Sure.” You grabbed two glasses and an unopened bottle, taking them into the other room. You set them on the coffee table and took a seat beside Tom on the couch.

“The Hangover?” Tom asked, and you let out a laugh, pouring out the wine.

“I love that movie.” You said, handing him a glass as he hit play.

“I’m not normally a big wine guy, but this is good.” He stated, surprised after the first sip.

“My ex may be a shithead, but he’s got great taste in wine. This was one of his most expensive bottles. I took this from his place about a week ago.”

“Damn, you might as well take his wine.” Tom joked. “I wouldn’t have expected you to like wine.”

“What did you expect me to like? Beer like Niall?”

“Yeah, actually.” He laughed.

“Don’t worry, I can hold my own with beer as well.”

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence as the movie played. At some point during the film, you shifted and placed your head on his shoulder, leaning into him. It didn’t take long for you to drift off to sleep.

You began to wake up when you heard a door shutting, but you couldn’t bring yourself to move, too content with your peaceful sleep. You were only vaguely aware of two voices.

“Tom, you’re still here?” Niall asked, his voice at a regular volume.

“She’s sleeping.” Tom replied in a hushed tone.

“Oh,” He said, recognition coming over him as he saw your position. He glanced over and saw the wine, knowing exactly how you ended up in there.

“Yeah, we got dinner and watched the Hangover.” Tom explained quietly.

“Here, I’ll take her to her room.” Niall moved over towards you in an attempt to free Tom from his position.

“I’m up now, you dickheads.” You mumbled, keeping your eyes closed.

“You gotta get up or else Tom can’t move.” Your brother stated. You let out a groan before opening your eyes. Your eyes widened in confusion as you realized your head was fully on Tom’s lap, not at all on his shoulder like you last remembered.

“My bad.” You said, sitting up and giving Tom the opportunity to move freely once again.

“You’re fine, love.” Tom replied with a smile.

“Well, I’m going to get a shower. I kind of got champagne all over me.” Niall laughed, before heading off to the guest room.

“How long was I out?” You asked, slowly standing from the couch to clear the wine bottle and glasses from the table.

“I don’t know. I think the movie finished a couple hours ago?” Tom replied.

“A couple hours? Tom, you could have woken me up.” You said.

“You just looked so peaceful, like you really needed the sleep. I didn’t want to disturb you. When the movie finished, I moved your head so your neck wouldn’t be sore.” He explained. His words just about made you blush, thinking that he spent his whole night caring about your wellbeing.

“You’re sweet, you know that?” You smiled, leading him to the front door.

“Thank you for everything, Tom. I had a great night.” You admitted as you walked him to his car.

“I had a great time too.” He replied.

“Good night, Tom.” You said, stepping away from him.

“Good night, Y/N.” Tom got into his car as you walked back inside your apartment.

“So, you and Tom, huh?” Niall asked the moment you got inside, his hair still wet from his shower.

“Piss off.” You shook your head at him and ducked into your room. That night, you drifted off to sleep with thoughts of the next time you’d see Tom floating around in your head.

~~~

The next day, you woke up to the smell of Niall making breakfast. Sure, he could easily get his own place in London, but him staying at your place meant you two got to see each other more. By the time you made your way to the kitchen, he was already eating his portion and drinking his morning cup of coffee.

“Morning.” You smiled, helping yourself to the rest of the food.

“Did you sleep well?” Niall asked almost teasingly.

“Yeah actually. Best night’s sleep I’ve gotten in a while.” You replied, avoiding eye contact with him, knowing exactly where he was going.

“Wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain British lad now, would it?” 

“I don’t know. Did Louis say something?” You teased back, sitting down at the table across from him. He rolled his eyes and playfully scoffed.

“Well, if it has nothing to do with Tom, then good.” Niall stated as you began to eat your breakfast.

“Good?”

“I wouldn’t want it to be awkward or anything. We’re going golfing today, and you’re coming with us.” He smiled before clearing his plate of food.

“I’m sorry, what?” You laughed awkwardly because yes, it would be strange having to see Tom again so soon. 

“Golf. Eleven o’clock.” Niall clarified, before getting up from the table and clearing away his dishes.

“What if I don’t want to go golfing?” You asked.

“Oh come on, like you’d want to pass up the opportunity to beat me.”

He left the room in silence, leaving you to finish eating alone. You sighed, picking up your phone to flick through Instagram while you ate. Like every other day, you had to go through your follow requests. Being the younger sister of Niall Horan meant that a lot of fans tried following you for the past several years, but you wanted to maintain some privacy and kept your page hidden from the public. The fans still attempted to follow you though; you couldn’t exactly tell your brother he couldn’t follow you, and so they easily found it.

You paused your scrolling when you saw a verified mark. The little notification read, “tomholland2013 wants to follow you”. You let out a small laugh before accepting it and following him back- another one of your Instagram habits, you didn’t follow many celebrities besides the One Direction boys. You finished your scrolling and then went through the rest of your morning routine of checking out new posts and viewing stories. As you went to view the new stories, you saw Tom had just posted one. When you clicked on it, you didn’t think you’d be so surprised by it, but boy, were you surprised.

You weren’t sure what kind of stories Tom posted, but you definitely felt like a shirtless, sweaty gym video was an unusual story for him. You laughed, shaking your head. Sure, you had heard about the actor being incredibly ripped, but you never really thought about it in detail. And after that video, you were sure you would think about his muscles a lot more.

You decided that was enough of Instagram for now- you didn’t want to stumble into anymore thirst traps right then. Besides, it was time to get ready for golf with Niall and Tom.

A few hours later, you and Niall pulled up to a golf course on the outskirts of town, and you met Tom inside with his own set of clubs. You couldn’t help but blush when you saw him in his tight polo, especially now that you know exactly what his abs look like under there. He greeted you and Niall with a smile, and you tried to ignore the fact that his stare lingered on you.

“Who’s ready to play?” Niall asked, pulling you away from your thoughts as the three of you headed over to the golf carts.

“Are you ready to lose?” You quipped back, making Tom laugh as you all placed your clubs in the backseat of the cart.

“When’s the last time you played?” Your brother questioned.

“Like a year ago.” You replied.

“I might put my money on Niall winning then.” Tom joked, “He’s been playing weekly.”

“Hey, I had to practice weekly so I could beat Y/N next time we play together.” Niall stated.

“Just sounds like you’ve got no life.” You teased.

As expected, you won the overall game as Niall placed second behind you. He swore that you were cheating somehow. The three of you decided to go down to a nearby pub for lunch, and, also as expected, your brother ran off to the bar for drinks, leaving you and Tom alone.

“So, I see you found me on Instagram.” You said, teasingly, “How long did it take for you to try to find me?”

“Took me longer to decide if I wanted to actually request you or not.” Tom laughed, “I didn’t want to come off creepy, especially because your account is private.”

“It wasn’t creepy.” You laughed as well, “I have to say though, the gym video was a nice touch. A minute after I followed you too.”

“That happened to just be a coincidence.” He said as he began to actually blush at the call-out.

“Oh, I bet it was.” You teased.

“Is there any way I can get your number? I leave tomorrow for filming, but I’d like to stay in touch with you.” Tom asked, his voice sounded nervous. You were a bit surprised by his forwardness, but you already knew your answer.

“Yeah,” You replied and both of you reached to take out your phones. Swapping phones, you both added your numbers. You smiled, seeing his lock screen- a picture of a dog. You asked, “Is this your dog?”

“That’s my Tessa. She’s such a sweetheart.” Tom said, smiling as he looked at the picture fondly.

“She’s adorable.”

“Maybe you can meet her one day. She loves meeting new people.” Before you could even try to reply, Niall came back, pulling the two of you back into reality.

“I forgot I was driving.” Niall told you sheepishly and you laughed.

“I can drive, don’t worry.” You laughed.

You two parted ways from Tom, wishing him a safe journey to the states. The car was filled with a strange silence between you and your brother until he finally spoke up.

“Am I allowed to ask about you and Tom again?” Niall asked anyway.

“I gave him my number, but we’re just friends.” You said with a small sigh. “I dated Eric for two years. Up until last week, I thought he was the one, but then he broke my heart. He was unfaithful to me for months and-”

“Tom’s not Eric.” Niall spoke up calmly, “I know you’re afraid of rushing into things with Tom, and that’s fine- take it slow and be patient. You don’t even need to date him. I know Tom though, and he would never do to you what Eric did to you. Tom’s a good man. I never liked Eric; there was always something wrong about it. I thought he was using you to get to me sometimes-”

“Way to sound vain.” You quipped.

“My point is,” He emphasized, “I don’t let just any of my guy friends hang out with my baby sister, and I especially don’t leave you in social situations with them. Eric was a dick. I know you’re probably worried that the whole distance thing won’t work with Tom; maybe it will, maybe it won’t, I don’t know.” “Where are you going with this?” You sighed as you pulled up to your place, parking the car.

“What I’m trying to say is just give Tom a chance. Be friends with him, get to know him, maybe date him. Just don’t shut him out because of what Eric did. Don’t let Eric have that power over your life anymore. Don’t let him make you scared of dating or of even being friends with a guy. Alright?” Niall asked.

“Yeah, I get it. Thanks for the whole pep talk.” You said, getting out of the car with Niall right behind you.

“Besides, if you two date and he breaks your heart, then I’ll go beat him up for you. The press will love that one.”

“Oh yippee.” You playfully rolled your eyes at his antics. As awful as his pep talk was, he was right overall- you couldn’t let your past with Eric dictate your future with Tom. You were headed for some sunny skies, away from the heartbreak weather that clouded your past.

~~~

Part Two   Part Three   Part Four

[simp-for-spencer-reid]

Sugar with a Side of Coffee Ch. 7- Raining in My Apartment

Chapter 7: Raining in My Apartment

Series Masterlist :)

Spencer awoke the next morning still sitting up on his couch, one of his blankets draped over his lap. He stared at the ceiling, piecing together the night before. His face turned red as he remembered inviting Cate over. He was sure he blew it. Who invites a girl over and then falls asleep? He really hoped he hadn’t screwed up. He finally peeled his head off the back of the couch, catching sight of his glasses and a sticky note on his coffee table. He put his glasses on his face, and picked up the note, like it would turn to dust if he wasn’t careful. 

Spencer, 

Thanks for having me over! :) 

Sleep tight, 

Cate :)

He placed the note back and looked around his apartment. His alarm wasn’t due to go off for another five minutes according to his watch. Speaking of which, he patted his pockets for his phone, coming up empty. It wasn’t on the coffee table or the side table. Sliding his hands in between the cushions, he finally found his phone. A notification of a new voice message from Cate was lighting up the screen. As he played it, he felt the corners of his mouth turn into a smile. 

His alarm pulled him from his thoughts and he had to get up and get ready for work. He made a mental note to send her a message back later that day. Sleeping on the couch made him feel sweaty, so he needed a shower before catching the bus to work. 

Cate had rushed into The Empty Mug for her shift. The late night had made her snooze her alarm one too many times. Shrimp was no help, curled up in the bend of her knees contently before yawning and stretching as Cate flew out of bed. Cate had expected to see a voice message from Spencer, but the only text she had was from Marta. It was a gif of Snooki from Jersey Shore, saying something along the lines of “Get it, Girl!”. 

“About time!” Marta said to Cate sternly. “If Sweater Vest is going to make you late to work, I might have to disapprove of him.” Marta was flying behind the counter, making a few orders at once. 

“I know, it won’t happen again” Cate mumbled to Marta, her mouth holding a clip while Cate pulled her hair back into a half up half down style.

“Good, now when you get back, we have matters to discuss!” Marta had to cut their conversation short, not only because she was serving, but because Cate had to get out onto the cart. 

As Cate’s shift was ending, her phone was ringing in her pocket. She had no customers in sight, so she pulled it out of her pocket. Spencer’s contact was displayed on the screen.

“Hey,” Cate said, wiping the counter. “What’s up?”

“Hi, I, um, I’m sorry I fell asleep last night.” Spencer stuttered nervously. “I didn’t mean to, I was just so exhausted from the case-” Spencer rambled until Cate cut him off.

“It’s totally fine! I know your job is tough.” Cate smiled. She could almost hear Spencer smile on the other end of the line.

“Did, did you like the movie?” He asked nervously. 

“Yeah I did!” Cate wiped the counter of the cart. “But next time, I’m picking the movie.” She said with a smile. She imagined the two of them in her apartment, binging all of the Harry Potter films, snuggled on the couch with enough junk food to feed a small army. 

“Deal!” Spencer said eagerly. He wanted to make up for falling asleep, and he wanted to be conscious for their next hang out. Mostly, he was glad that Cate was so understanding about him being so relaxed he slipped into the best sleep he’d gotten in a while.

Despite The Empty Mug providing coffee for the BAU in their building, Spencer still stopped by in the mornings when he had the chance. Cate was able to keep it short and sweet, having his coffee ready and sometimes a baked item made from the night before. They kept their conversations short, so as to keep the cart’s line moving. Besides, they enjoyed their voice messages. It was like the staple to their friendship. 

On the days that Spencer didn’t show, Cate would ask him about it.  He would explain he was away on a case in another state. Cate was fascinated by the idea of a private jet for the agents. She loved flying, and loved looking out the windows on planes, unfortunately she didn’t fly often. She envied that Spencer had seen so many states and got to travel for work, but was brought back to reality when she thought of the horrific things he’d face on the job.

This particular morning, was a day where Spencer was off on a case. He didn’t tell her about the case, sometimes he didn’t even tell her what state they were in. He liked to keep her as distanced from the job as possible. Sometimes, the news channel or other customers who gossiped about the news would give away where they might be. 

“Have you heard about the missing women they found hidden in the basement in Arkansas?” an older, light haired woman asked Cate while she was fixing up her coffee.

“I haven’t heard.” Cate handed her the disposable cup. The woman lingered for a bit longer.

“The youngest one escaped, and then they arrested the guy at his job, acting like everything was normal!” she told Cate. Cate gave her a smile and looked at the next customer. The woman thankfully took the hint and left the cart, going about the rest of her day. When Spencer didn’t visit, it seemed like her shift took forever. She wasn’t sure when he’d get off his case, but he would usually send her a quick voice message when they landed safe.

Cate tried to keep Spencer out of her head as she finished her shift. She didn’t like imagining what graphic things he’d seen. She did however, like to imagine him in all his unique-ness. A nice patterned button-up, a cardigan or a sweater vest, his messy brown hair. It always seemed to be in his face, Cate wanted to reach out and tuck it behind his ear sometimes when he spoke, but didn’t want to overstep. She liked where they were as friends. She wouldn’t mind being more, she did want that. But, she liked having him as a friend. She enjoyed his presence in her life. 

Before she knew it, her shift was over. She would’ve stopped to talk with Marta, but Marta had a line of customers waiting to be tended to. Knowing she could call Marta later, Cate opted to head home to relax and get housework done. She walked home, enjoying the nice breeze and warm air. 

Upon entering her apartment, Cate was taking off her shoes when she heard the sound of water droplets. She paused, trying to find where it was coming from. She prayed that Shrimp hadn’t managed to turn the faucet on again. He had racked up quite the water bill one month. Cate walked quietly around her kitchen, looking for the source when the sink was dry. 

Cate gave an exasperated scoff when she had walked into her living room and saw her ceiling dripping. A large rust colored wet spot grew on the white ceiling. She leapt into action when she saw it had made its way onto her bookshelf. Her recipe books were safe, the laminated pages kept her family recipes waterproof. Her favorite books, however, were sopping wet. She grabbed all seven of her Harry Potter books off the shelf, bringing them to her counter for safe keeping. 

Her next mission was to find Shrimp, who despised water. Per usual, he was loafed under Cate’s bed, wide eyed. She shook a treat bag to coax him out. He stayed put. Frowning, Cate called down to maintenance to see what happened. After receiving some bad news, she called Marta to see if she could stay the night. Cate looked miserably at her favorite books on the counter. She called the only person she knew who might be able to fix this.

Spencer was still at the office, having just landed. He tidied up his desk and sorted through his messenger bag.  He was talking with Emily and JJ when his phone rang loudly. He barely got the chance to greet Cate when he heard her voice.

“I need help because you know a lot about books and you’re smart and my books are in really bad shape because my apartment is raining, I really need your help.” Cate managed in one breath. He tried very hard to not correct her about how it was impossible that her apartment would be raining.

“I’m sorry could you repeat that a little slower?” Spencer walked away, trying to find a quieter place to listen to her more carefully. 

“M-my favorite books got wet because my apartment ceiling is leaking and I need your help because I know you take good care of your books.” Cate was trying to not sound desperate, but she didn’t succeed.

“Of course,” Spencer gathered his messenger bag, sweater, and go bag. He gave Emily and JJ a wave as he made his way out. He was glad he had decided to drive to work today; he didn’t have to wait for a bus. “I’ll pick you up.” he said as he started his car. “I’ll call you when I’m out front.” he hung up and drove as fast, yet law-abiding, as he could to her apartment. He had already memorized where her building was in the image of Quantico that he could envision perfectly in his mind.

He pulled up at the front of her building and Cate was already waiting for him. She had a bag of books over one arm, a backpack on her back, and a cat carrier. He had never seen her look so sad. These books must be special, he thought to himself. She spotted Spencer’s car and started walking towards him. He got out of the car to open her door and take her backpack and books and put them in the backseat. 

“I’m sorry I know I didn’t mention Shrimp, but I couldn’t leave him. Maintenance said the people upstairs somehow burst a pipe and now I can’t be there for a week while they do construction, ugh!” Cate rubbed her face with her hands. “I cannot believe this happened.” Spencer wasn’t sure what to say to make her feel better. He could list off the limited construction knowledge he had, but it didn’t seem right. “I’m sorry, I’m not insinuating that I’m moving in. I’m living with Marta for a bit. Can you tell me about books?” Cate looked over to him, and began sticking her fingers in Shrimp’s carrier. 

“I keep my books at 68 degrees, which is the ideal temperature to store them to keep them in good condition. I control the climate in my apartment to ensure that my books stay in the best environment.” He continued to talk through the silence the whole way to his apartment. Cate followed him silently. He grabbed her backpack and book bag while Cate carried Shrimp. Spencer let Cate in first, closing the door behind them. He placed her backpack on the couch while he brought the other book bag into his study, where his bookshelf was. Cate put Shrimp’s carrier down on the living room.

“I brought a hair dryer too.” Cate told Spencer as she pulled her wet Harry Potter books out. “I know you might not be able to do anything, but I figured if anyone could try it would be you.” Cate looked at Spencer and he would do just about anything for her hopeful face. He tried not to linger his stare on her tear streaked cheeks. 

He picked up the first book. He knew deep down that they were probably unsalvageable but he would try anything. They both did not speak as she carefully removed the dust covers off of them and laid them out on Spencer’s desk. He took the hair dryer and began blowing the pages. 

“These were some of the first books I ever read on my own.” Cate confessed. She watched Spencer peel the pages apart with his long fingers. “These are my first copies that I actually read the series on for the first time.” Spencer saw her gaze on the books. 

“It’s like they’re old friends.” He told her. “I get it.” She gave him a weak smile.

“Yeah.” She saw how concentrated Spencer was and she felt like there might be hope for her books. Spencer straightened up, looking back at Cate. “Thank you for helping me.” Cate told him. He put the dryer down and faced her, his hand propping him up against the desk. 

“Anytime. I know that books can carry a lot of sentimental value.” He watched as her eyes flickered to his hands. 

“It means a lot.” Cate placed a hand on top of his. Spencer felt his heart swell. She left the room to check on Shrimp in the living room. He tried to calm himself down before he went after her, so she wouldn’t see his blush.

Cate had opened Shrimp’s crate, reaching inside to pet him. His carrier was on the couch, Cate was kneeling in front of it, and Spencer had just walked through the doorway. 

“So,” Spencer started as he knelt beside her. “Why’d you name him Shrimp?” Cate smiled, thinking back to when her cat was a kitten.

“He was so small when I first got him. Like a little orange shrimp.” Cate pulled her hand out of the crate, and Spencer reached in to pet Shrimp himself.

“Did you know that the biggest shrimp species can get up to eight inches? A kitten is a pretty accurate sizing comparison.”

Cate and Spencer spent the rest of the afternoon trying to save her books. Spencer did not want to admit that the series had been one of the few that he hadn’t picked up. After some time, Cate had asked if Spencer could drive her to Marta’s so she could let Shrimp roam around. When he returned to his apartment, he carefully picked up the first book and began to run his finger down the pages as he read the whole series in just under two hours.

[feverinfeveroutfic]

chapter one: welcome home

chapter one of book four, mind you~

i decided to post it now because why the hell not?

"out on the wily, windy moors, we'd roll and fall in green. you had a temper like my jealousy, too hot, too greedy. how could you leave me when i needed to possess you? i hated you, i loved you, too." -"wuthering heights", kate bush

Marla closed the hatch at the back of her rental car, and she turned to Sam. The hot California sun beat down on both of their heads. The trees were already changing from healthy green to an autumnal yellow despite it being the middle of summer. The soil underneath them and the low sparsely forested foothills around them yearned for rain, and she kept her gaze fixated on the glass front door up the walkway from her.

It felt like forever since Sam had been to Lake Elsinore and what better way than to genuinely live by the lake as she began her senior project. Everything was as dry as a bone, and Marla's own caress upon her upper arms meant that the dryness would in fact persist throughout. Sam tucked her free hand into one pocket and she could feel the edge of the paper against her skin.

“God, I know it's hot but I feel it getting cold soon, though,” Marla confessed.

“That's the West Coast for you,” Sam told her. “The assumption is always one of 'oh, it's always so hot in California—surprised it doesn't catch fire more.' But it's actually cold and dry here, though. It's not like New York where you guys have the lakes and the Gulf Stream nearby.”

“By the way, did you tell Aurora?” Marla asked her.

“I did,” Sam replied, but she realized that she never did tell Aurora that she was going out to California over the summer, especially since she was due to give birth to her baby any day at that point. She never told her when she would be coming back, either. That is if she ever came back. Bill still never elaborated on what she was to do out there in the Golden State, even on the flight over from New York. If anything, he was awful quiet the whole way, especially with Marla right next to her on in that single row of seats.

Marla herself meanwhile had kept the black hair from the winter months, however she changed the electric blue streak to one of electric pink, and she added a second streak on the opposite side of her head as well. She tucked a single strand behind her ear right then.

“I can't believe you're actually here,” she confessed.

“I can't, either,” Sam said with a raise of her eyebrows. “But the boys are all up the road, though. If I find the time, I'll drive up there and at the very least visit Cliff.”

“That's definitely a must. Your couch is still stashed at my apartment, by the way. You know, when you moved in with me, you had to stash that thing. I might just keep it.”

“Hey, it's a comfy couch, you might as well. And I might be back come Christmas, who knows?”

“Miss Shelley?” Bill called from the front door right then. Sam raised her eyebrows at him.

“What's up?” she called out to him. He hurried out of the front door with something flat tucked underneath his arm.

“Hey, that's right, yeah,” Marla said with a nod.

“I don't know why I keep thinking it's going to be like forever,” Sam confessed, “I think it's the whole 'pick up and move across the country' kinda thing, to be honest.”

“I think it is, too,” Marla agreed, “going that far and being far away this whole entire time, you get kind of final in your thoughts.” He skidded to a stop before them as the words left her lips. He clicked a pen and showed Sam the clipboard with a blank white sheet of paper upon it.

“What's this?” she asked him.

“I'm gonna need you to sign this,” he told her as he pointed at the line underneath the edge of the blank paper. “It's an agreement to show that you are in fact out here with me.”

“Why didn't we do this before we left, though?” she asked him with a frown.

“I just forgot,” he confessed with a shrug of his shoulders. “It's okay, though—I have a fax machine inside. I can send it off to the school with ease!”

Sam glanced over at Marla, whose face fell and she fetched up a sigh through her nose all the while. She then nibbled on her bottom lip out of fretting. But on the other hand, she was back in Lake Elsinore and within range of the Los Angeles area if she so wished. She had lived here before. She was a day's drive from the San Francisco Bay Area, and a day's drive from her parents' house.

She could still taste Joey on her lips. The tears in those brown eyes. The feeling of his soft slender little body against her own. He vowed to call her, as long as she got to call him first by the time she had been settled in with Bill there at the house.

All of her art supplies with her. All of her clothes with her. She could still feel Zelda's embrace as well. She didn't want to leave it behind her, but she was sure that it was only for that year. A year felt like forever in those terms however.

But she signed on the dotted regardless of her fears and her reluctance.

No sooner had she added a little loop at the bottom of the “y” in her last name of Shelley when he lifted the page for her again.

“And there,” he said with a point to the bottom of the page. Sam sighed through her nose and she did it right then and there. Marla sniffled but Sam knew it was from the dryness all around them.

“Excellent!” he declared and he returned to the house with the clipboard tucked under his arm. Sam and Marla glanced at one another; the former noticed the look of bewilderment upon her face.

“What's the matter?” Sam asked her, to which Marla leaned closer to her face so they could keep it between the both of them.

“There was just something off about that,” she replied. “Don't you think so?”

“How so?”

“I dunno. Just—kind of—off. Like something about that didn't sit too well with me.”

“Come inside and make yourselves at home,” Bill called from the front door again.

“In my case, for the time being,” Marla added as the two of them walked on inside of the spacious foyer; to the right stood a carpeted stairwell which led up to the second and third floors up above. Before them was the foyer which led to the kitchen and to the left stood the vast but warm lit dining room with a long table. Bill himself had gone off somewhere inside of that house.

“This place is like a mansion,” Sam noted.

“Yeah. Definitely not something you see on a teacher's salary, either. Especially an adjunct collegiate professor, too.” Marla looked over at her again. “See what I mean when I say there's just something off about this whole thing?”

“Sort of. We'll have to see more of it soon enough to come to a conclusion, though.”

Bill then returned to the two of them with a glass of dark liquid in each hand.

“Iced tea for my guest and—my mentee,” he declared. He then ran his fingers through his blond hair and his face lit up. “By the way, did you get those letters of recommendation signed and sealed, Marla?”

“Yeah...” she replied with a bit of hesitance. “Belinda and I got it all done in like April, two months early.” He turned his attention to the small table right next to him, and she chuckled right then. “It was funny. We were sitting in the library doing the rest of them and she was like 'I dunno if I can do the rest of these joint, Marla.' And I was like, 'don't tell you haven't written letters of recommendation before, Bel!' And she goes, 'I have, just not with another person.' And I told her, 'well, it's not like we're screwing each other, Bel—just gotta write them up real quick by the template. Nothing to it.' Took us all day, but still!”

Sam chuckled at that, but Bill was silent the whole entire time she talked about that. Instead, he kept his attention fixed on the sheet of paper under his fingers.

“So you looking over what I have to do while I'm out here?” Sam asked him as she sipped on her iced tea.

“Yeah—quite a bit you have to do.”

“Well, can I at least see it?”

“Not with Marla here,” he pointed out with a raise of his head, to which Sam frowned at that.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I told her about my senior project when it was going down this past school year,” Marla recalled, and he raised his eyebrows at her.

“Seriously.”

“Yeah. What's—what's wrong with that?”

He nibbled on his bottom lip, curt.

“When does your flight leave, Marla?”

“Well, I was thinking of getting Sam settled in here and then taking her out to dinner down the hill.”

“There's hardly any time for that,” he said with a straight face.

“Yes, there is.”

“Yeah, she's taking the red eye, Bill,” Sam assured him. “It's gonna be fine.”

“You're not working, are you?” he asked Marla with a slight raise of an eyebrow. She knitted her eyebrows together at that.

“Why does that matter?”

“You don't have any money.”

“I have some. Not a lot. I'm expecting my grant some time this week which will cover my rent. And I am looking for a job, too.” Marla gaped at him. “You—do realize this, right? Like, I'm not a free loader, right?”

“Never said you were,” he pointed out.

“But you're implying it, though,” Marla pointed out.

“Oh, Miss Taylor, you couldn't be further from the truth.”

“No, that's exactly what you're implying here. You see me here with Sam like I'm some kind of free loader. Well, I'm here to help her move in with you.”

“Once again, you couldn't be further from the truth. She's not moving in with me—she's staying here with me.”

“Yes, she's moving in with you!” Marla insisted.

“Don't miss that flight,” he told her in a singsong tone.

Sam and Marla glanced at one another, puzzled. “What flight?” the former asked him.

“The next one. Before we left the airport, I noticed that the next one to New York leaves in about one hour. You want to find work, don't you, Miss Taylor?”

“Well, yeah. But I still want to help her, though. And there will be more flights, too. I hope.”

“Yeah, I don't think there's a red eye tonight.” He showed her a thin lipped smile, and Marla shifted her weight in that spot on the floor. Sam looked over at her with her mouth slightly parted. Without another moment's hesitation, Marla drank down the iced tea in four large gulps. She lowered the glass and showed her tongue to Sam. The grimace on Marla's face made her realize that the iced tea was terrible.

“Don't miss that flight,” he told her in a singsong tone. Marla then turned to Sam with tears in her eyes. This whole entire time, she believed that Aurora was her best friend, but Marla had taken that crown from her in the past several months as they moved in together and attended school together. She even helped her dye her hair! Marla threw her arms around her and held her close. Sam had her chin rested upon her shoulder, just like how she embraced Joey.

Marla held back a bit to say something right into her ear.

“If you need anything at all, call me,” she said to her in a low voice, “or Bel. We can't do much—especially her because she went up to Albany last week—but we both can be shoulders to cry on, though.”

“Or Zelda,” Sam suggested.

“Oh, yeah, Zelda will definitely be happy to hear your voice. Anything at all. Rain or shine, day or night, doesn't matter. Call one of us if you need anything at all.”

“Okay.” Marla embraced her again.

“I love you,” she whispered into her ear.

“I love you, too,” Sam whispered back.

Marla squeezed her a little bit before she let her go and then she walked on out of there. The last time Sam would be seeing Marla and that pink stripe upon her head; indeed, Sam sniffled and she brushed away a tear as Marla climbed into the rental car. She stood there in the doorway to see her off; before she started up the car, Marla turned her head into her direction and formed a heart shape with both hands over her chest. Sam set her glass of iced tea down on the floor next to her feet and she returned the favor: even from the doorway, she could see the tears in her friend's eyes.

She wasn't ready to let her go as of yet. But Marla returned to the steering wheel and she started up the car.

Sam saw her off up the street, and she even stayed there for a couple more minutes after Marla turned the corner and disappeared behind the trees.

A brand new chapter, at least for the time being. Sam knew she would be back in New York some day. When that some day came was another question, however.

“Alright, Miss Shelley,” Bill started, still in a curt tone. She fetched up another sigh and she picked up the glass of iced tea from the floor, and she took a sip from it. She winced at the overly sweet taste and the fact that he hadn't used fresh tea at all. The pale, washed out beige color was right in her face after all.

Sam turned around and there, on either side of Bill, stood two little girls. The same two little towheaded blonde twin girls she remembered from that photograph in his office back at the school. The girl on the right had a big blue ribbon bow that tied up her blonde hair upon the crown of her head, while the one on the left had a birthmark shaped like a crescent moon on her cheek.

“Oh!” she said as she held the glass closer to her chest.

“Yes.” He set a hand on either of their shoulders.

“You must be Matilda and Cassandra,” she started in a friendly tone.

“Mattie and Cassie,” he corrected her. “Mattie to the right here with the bow in her hair, and Cassie to the left with the birthmark on her face.”

“Mattie and Cassie, pardon me,” she said.

“Are you our mommy now?” Mattie asked her with her finger up to her lip.

Sam stopped.

“Why would I be your mommy?” she asked her, confused.

“Daddy said he was bringing home a new mommy,” Mattie replied, and Sam knitted her eyebrows together at that.

And then it dawned on her. Marla's hunches were right. She looked up at Bill, who never changed his expression from a cold smile. Sam shook her head.

“While you are out here with me,” he began in a low voice, “you must help me raise these two girls given their birth mother is not around. You must pose as my new wife.”

“Wait. You're telling me—part of the assignment is to feign marriage? That sounds so illegal.”

“It actually isn't. And it's not part of the assignment, either—this is what it is. Remember part of the paperwork I made you sign when we first got here? The one that was tucked under that piece of paper as you were conversing with Marla?”

“Those two pieces of paper on the clipboard? Those two thing you made me sign while—she and I were talking—and when we first got here?” Sam gaped at him. He had duped her, and now she was out there in California, with no escape. She was now responsible for raising Matilda and Cassandra alongside him.

She should have listened to those gut feelings while he told her about it in his office back in New York. She should have listened to her own intuition, in how the whole thing left her unsettled.

“What're you going to do for the school, though?” she demanded. “What're you going to do for money?”

“I was in an adjunct position, Miss Shelley,” he explained, “those positions are expendable and that school is understaffed, too. When they're abandoned, they find a way to fill it in. As for money—don't worry about it. I'm still on the payroll there and have been, even after they—fired—me. They are so incompetent that they didn't even take me off the payroll.” That word of which he mouthed.

She balled her free hand into a fist, but it was apparent that he didn't care. Not even in the very least. And this was a side to him that she hadn't seen before, at least not when she was at the school. Or perhaps it was because every time she saw him took place at the school, thus he had to hide this side to him.

“Welcome home,” he told her with a cold smile and a sinister tone to his voice. She grimaced at that as he stepped out of there and into the hallway. “Your room is upstairs, remember. By the way.”

Sam fumed at him as he led those two girls out of there. She had no clue who she was more furious at, herself for having fallen into his trap, or Bill for being so insidious with it all. But the only thing she could do was go up to the loft on the third floor, where Marla had helped move her things to.

She turned to the stairwell beneath her and she looked down at the glass of awful iced tea. Silence downstairs, which meant he wouldn't hear her.

“You—fucking asshole,” she blurted out. “You fucking scumbag! You mother fucker!” She chucked the glass down to the bottom of the stairs and it shattered against the wall, right next to his room no less. He was out of range at that point, and all Sam could do was drop down to the edge of the bed with her face buried in her hands.

She wasn't ready to be married yet, not with Joey not knowing about it. She lay back on the bed when the tears welled up even more. He had fooled her. He had fooled her!

She left everything behind only for him to fool her into it!

And indeed, those finalistic thoughts weren't so finalistic after all. She was officially married to him, and Matilda and Cassandra were her stepdaughters from that point onward. Nothing she could do about it at that point.

She rolled over onto her side and buried her face into the top cover on the bed. She didn't want to be seen, even with Bill out of the room.

 * * * * *

 And thus, she found herself at the shore of the small lake before her, and she wondered where things had gone wrong. The glassy waters were nothing like the lake north of Syracuse, or one of the Finger Lakes for that matter.

The whole ordeal left her mind a complete mess. Her heart torn into separate pieces. She came to the conclusion that those three years in which she lived in New York were her perceived peak. Never going back to those days ever again after this.

She wanted Joey but she also wanted Alex, especially with her being so close to the San Francisco Bay Area at that point. But at the same time, she couldn't entirely put the blame on Bill. He wanted her out there for a reason and her studious nature at school and the fact she always came like clockwork made her appeal to him in the vein of a mother. If anything, it was her fault that she didn't ask more questions.

But also at the same time, however, he led her into it all. He led her on. He made her believe that those two girls were in good hands with their birth mother, but apparently, he had better things to do for himself. She gazed on at the photographs of Joey and Alex in her fingers.

“So much for standing up for myself,” she muttered as she gazed on at their faces nestled in between her fingers. “I need to get the hell out of here. I need to get out of here and figure out how to null it.”

She was alone at that point, anyway, which meant she could in fact call Marla. The inspiration had run dry a bit on that hot afternoon anyway; thus she closed her journal and she climbed off of the rock and began back up the pathway to the house. One of the things she had up in her room was a large bookcase, and one of the books on the shelves was Wuthering Heights. She would have to read that book at some point in the future, or perhaps she could do it that evening after she made the phone call back to the apartment in Hell's Kitchen.

“What the—actual fuck,” Marla sputtered; Sam could hear the fury in her voice. “What do you mean you're legally married to him?”

“I'm legally married to him,” Sam said in a low voice as she sat there on the edge of her bed with the cordless in her ear. “Remember those two things he made me sign when you and I were out on the sidewalk?”

“Yeah?”

“The first thing was a nuptial agreement. The other thing I signed was a prenup, too, because—this is a big house and he's got his fingers in some pies, too. Because I'm here with nothing now.” She folded her right arm across her chest and sighed through her nose. “You were right, Marla. There was something off about the whole thing. The big house, the hidden papers he made me sign... it was all in plain sight, really. Like that—fucking trash iced tea he made for us.”

“Well, if I'm honest, here was nothing we could do at that point, though. We were already there and you've really got no way back, either, especially now. And yeah, that iced tea was horrible. Probably the worst I've ever had in my life.”

“How's Bel doing?” Sam asked.

“She's loving Albany right now. She told me she could probably get me a job up there, but—who knows, really. And I don't really want to leave Hell's Kitchen, you know? I was born here and I grew up here. For me, a city girl, to be upstate, even with my other best friend—it just—it's hard.”

“Right, right. It'd be cool, though. You know I was wanting an escape from New York for a bit, but sometimes a mere change of pace is all you need. It's why I was so eager to leave the Bronx and move in with you in Hell's Kitchen.”

“And New York's a big city, too. If you can't find something here, something is wrong.”

Sam glanced down at the floor boards underneath her. She knew that those mountains got cold in the winter time, and the cold would come for them soon enough: she foresaw those bare wooden boards feeling as cold as ice at some point during those months.

“Genie misses you, by the way,” Marla told her.

“God, I miss her, too. How's she doing?”

“She's right here next to me on the couch getting pets. She's also purring, like loudly. You know, that big loud contented purr she likes to do with us. Last night, she curled up behind my legs and never moved at all. It wasn't even that cold last night, either.”

Sam sighed through her nose. All those days in which the two of them returned home and Genie always ran up to them with a loud contented purr from inside of her throat, and her black fur as soft as ever. She always seemed to get softer with each and every day they both stepped through the door.

“Also, Aurora finally—literally finally—gave birth to her babies,” Marla added with a clearing of her throat.

“Wait.” Sam stopped right in her tracks and she shuffled her feet right underneath her at the sound of that. “Babies? Babies, are you serious? She had more than one?”

“Yeah, twins. Two girls—half Korean half—whatever the hell Emile is. I forget their names, though, like Aurora told me this morning but I wasn't properly paying attention. I kept thinking, you know—it's about time. Really, it's about time, too, she was getting massive that last week, and they were big, too. And this whole entire time I thought she was due in the middle of June, but the dumb idiot Emile was about a month off. Can't even do math right.”

“Oh, my god!” Sam brought a hand to her mouth.

“Yeah, I took a Polaroid of her literally moments before her water broke. She posed for me and it looked like she ate two of the biggest watermelons you could find at the supermarket. She was huge, Sam. Just gargantuan. If and when I get to see you again, I'll show you because I told Frankie about it, because they hadn't seen her in months, either. And he was like 'no way!' I went to their place just the other day to see how things were going and it's absolute chaos over there, like I left after not even five minutes. Neither of them were prepared for a family of four. And they want more, too! She told me she loves being pregnant and she can't wait to get knocked up again and again. It's just crazy.”

She chuckled and then she fell silent again for a moment. Sam knew what was on her mind right then.

“I have no idea what I'm going to do, Sam,” she confessed to her in a near whisper. “I mean, it's barely August, and I finally got my grant in the mail, too. But I'm sure you know. Grants don't last forever.”

“Oh, yeah, and school's about to start again soon, too. Did you find a job, though?”

“Not yet. Like I said Bel might find me something but I'm not holding my breath, though. I might just go work at the school, who knows, really.”

And then Sam remembered what he told her. “Yes, go work at the school and tell someone that Bill doesn't work there anymore. If nothing, take his place so he loses money.”

“I'd have to get my teaching credential, though.”

“Yes, but they're understaffed, though. If they lack people, they've got to take you. At least that's what he told me about adjunct positions. He also got fired some time ago but stayed on the payroll. I'm guessing he just saved like hell and he was able to afford this house and why he made me sign a prenup, too. If you go to work there, maybe you can point it out to someone there. Like 'hey, Bill hasn't worked here in some time, why is he still on the payroll?' And you can not only go to work there but you can inadvertently take his money, too.”

Marla fell silent again, and that time for a whole entire minute.

“Are you there, Marla?” Sam asked in a small voice.

“Never left,” Marla replied. “I'm putting my shoes on. I will run down there if I have to.”

Sam held the cordless in between her shoulder and the side of her face, and she clapped her hands at that.

“Oh, my god, thank you so much!”

“Hey, you're my best friend, my roommate, and my fellow artist. At this point in our friendship, Sam, I will literally take a bullet for you. And—I'm a New York girl to boot, too. I'm not gonna let any slippery mother fucker screw over you like that.”

Sam clasped a hand to her brow and she pinched her eyes shut to hold back the tears of joy. To think it wasn't that long ago she wanted Charlie for herself out of spite to Marla, but now her support of her fellow female artists had come to fruition even more so now than ever.

“But wait, isn't the school closed, though?” Sam stopped right then.

“Not today, no. It's Monday. Campus closes at eight and it's five thirty right now. It's almost dinner time for most of the counselors there so I gotta hustle.”

“Oh, yeah, that's right. And Matilda and Cassandra started elementary school already.”

“Shit. Started school right in the middle of summer, that sucks. When we were in school, Bel and I didn't even start until around Labor Day.”

“Yeah, me, too. Oh, and by the sound of it, he's using those girls, too. For all I know, they haven't even seen their mom. Like right after you left, they came out and had this blank look on their face like they were spooked.”

“Oh my fucking god,” Marla groaned, and a soft rustling emerged on her end. “Yeah, I'm gonna get my ass down there right now.”

“Thank you, Marla. Thank you so much!”

“Talk to you soon—” Marla vowed, and then she hung up right there. Sam wiped away another tear from her eye. As long as Joey didn't find out about this, then she would be fine. She pictured Marla running as fast as she could down the block to the school, with her jet black hair streamed behind her, that pink stripe strong and high to indicate her speed. She pictured her catching someone at the door as well; even though Bill had nudged her a bit there at the house the other day, she knew that Marla could convince someone there. Belinda persisted with stained glass, even though it fell through with Sam, but she persisted anyway.

These New York girls knew how to get it done when it came to a good friend.

She bowed her head and sighed through her nose.

She didn't feel like drawing. Even though there wasn't hardly anything to eat in the pantry downstairs, she was hungry. But if nothing more, she had to head into town for a quick errand to the supermarket about three blocks from there. She knew she had to make a call to Eric and Testament's fan club to say that she had changed addresses, but first things were first however.

She then remembered that they had put out that new album, The New Order, back in the beginning of May, and he announced it to her on her birthday as well. She thought about how Aurora made Alex's birthday all about herself all the while. That felt different to her however, because Eric announced the album to her for being a loyal part of their fan club. Aurora's announcement came with everyone crowding around her while Alex ate his cake right there next to her.

She slipped on her shoes, and picked up her purse, and headed back outside to the California sun as it dried out the trees and everything else around her even more. It was warm but at least the heat waves had held off for the time being. Her dark hair waved behind her head in the gentle breeze; even though it could be far worse with the warmth, the sun's intense rays bore down upon the side of her head and her shoulder to where she swore she dried out with the pines around her.

And she knew that she had to hurry back home soon enough in time for Mattie and Cassie to return home. She figured it would be best to grab some snacks for those girls along the way as she stepped into the cool market: she had technically become their mom now, after all.

She found herself a bottle of lemonade and a pre-wrapped sandwich from the freezer, and two bags of chips from the rack, all for her. She knew that she would be up for another dismal dinner with Bill at the helm of the table, but she hadn't eaten since the girls left for school that morning.

Sam finally fetched a basket from the front of the market given she was finding so much food already, for herself and for the two of them. He could starve for all she cared, especially since Marla was about to take his money in the most roundabout way possible. She returned to the snack aisle at the far end there, and at the far end stood a tall man with long wavy black hair down to his waist. He had a fresh tattoo of a spider web and another one of a skull on his left shoulder, but she recognized him from the far end of the aisle as he looked on at all the chips and the jars of salsa. After her experience with Stormtroopers of Death and Anthrax, she knew that when an album dropped, they headed out on tour in order to promote it, so to see him there felt like a dream of sorts.

“Chuck?” she said aloud, and he lifted his head and turned in the opposite direction to the coolers on the far wall there.

He then turned to her with a puzzled look on his face.

“Hey, Chuck!” Sam called out, and he wheeled around for a look back at her. He nodded at her and flashed her a smile. She hurried over to him and he extended an arm to her.

“Hey, there's our girl,” he declared as she came within earshot. “Little Sammich.” She put both arms around him.

“What's going on?” she asked him with a peer up into his face. “I thought you guys were on tour!”

“We're on break right now,” he explained. “We go back out in a couple of weeks with our pals from Overkill, though.” His expression then turned serious. “You have a different address now, that's right.”

“Yeah.”

“You got anything to write on? I'll run it by Eric when I see him in a bit.”

“Not on me right at the moment, no. I just came here for some things real quick.”

“Do you have anything to write with?” he asked her.

“Yes! I have a couple of pens in my purse.”

“Okay. When we get up front, I'll find something to write on.” He turned his attention to the jars of salsa on the shelf behind her. “What salsa do you think I should get? The one with corn and black beans, or the straight up tomato?”

“Corn and black beans. Sounds heartier.”

“Agreed.” He nodded at her and took a jar off of the shelf, and she giggled.

“What?”

“You just look funny taking salsa off of the shelf there and asking me about it.”

“Why? 'Cause of the tattoos and the hair?” Chuck ran his fingers through his wavy hair at that and showed her a little smile, complete with little apple cheeks as well. Sam kept on giggling at that, and then he led her back to the front of the market.

“Are you done, by the way?” he asked her.

“Um—” She turned to the shelf at the end there, and she took a couple of bags of cheese crackers for the girls. She had no idea what those girls liked, but it was a start from that point onward.

“Okay,” she said, and that brought a laugh out of him. They reached the first line and Chuck stepped back and put out one arm to beckon her in first.

“Why, thank you, Mr. Gentleman,” she told him, and she began to check out there in front of him. Once she had it all paid for with some of what money she had in her wallet, she stepped off to the side and awaited him at the wall. The sun beat down on the back of her head and she knew that school had to be out at any given moment.

“By the way, you got a couple of pieces of paper nearby?” Chuck asked the fluffy haired cashier, who searched about the spot for one. And then she handed a pair of small white sheets of paper to him. Once he thanked her, he handed one of them to Sam, who then used her free hand to take out her pen from her purse. For a moment, she had forgotten her new address but then she wrote it down with a bit of speed.

She also wrote “the big house by the lake” right next to it in parentheses; and she handed it over to Chuck, who had written down an unfamiliar number on that other piece of paper.

“That's our management's number,” he told her as he handed over the paper, and she exchanged with him.

“The big house by the lake,” she said, and he chuckled at that note.

“I should also give you my number, too, seeing as this is my neck of the woods,” he added as he scribbled another number that she didn't recognize, and then he handed it to her. “Remember, if you need anything, call me. Or call Tiff, or Eric, or any one of us. We'll come for you. Anything you want. You're not just our first member of the fan club, but you're a friend to us now.”

“That's hell of a long drive, though,” she pointed out. “It's like the times Joey would drive from upstate down to New York City.”

“It's alright—really, it's alright, Sam. We're all from California, we know this whole entire place like the backs of our hands. And people here do it all the time, driving from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles, and for work, too.”

The line inched ahead and Sam bowed closer to the door. Chuck was right behind her the whole entire time as she headed outside to the small square parking lot. He put his sunglasses back on and then turned to her. Right there, with the sun on the side of his face, he actually resembled to a true Native American chief, even without a headdress upon his head.

“In fact, you know what?” he started again.

“What's that?” she asked as she held her groceries down near her knees.

“Our friends Death Angel are playing a show down here some time next week in promo for their new album. Tiff and I'll come get you and we'll go see them together. The three of us and—I think Alex is gonna be with us, too. I'll have to ask him.”

“Okay!” Her face lit up at the sound of Alex's name. “Um—what time is it gonna be?”

“Seven o'clock. I think? That's what Mark told me.” She thought about Aurora and her encounter with Mark before her wedding. Like a distant memory at that point, especially with her there, three thousand miles away, clear across the country.

“House by the lake you said?” he asked her.

“Yeah. It's three stories and literally down by the water, too. You'll know it when you see it.”

“Okay.”

She threw her arms around him and he returned the favor.

“There will be more hugs in the future,” he vowed to her. Without another word, they parted ways and she doubled back down the street to the house in question.

With every step along the way, therein lay one thing she didn't understand with Bill and his status at the school, and how he found his way to convince the dean and the higher faculty that Sam had come with him. Perhaps he fooled them along the way as well.

Marla helped move the desk into that third floor, which meant that no matter what happened over the course of the next year or so, she could continue on with her art. All the time in the world without the girls nearby, and without Bill at the helm as well. All the art she could imagine for herself as she strode in through that heavy glass front door and into the vacant foyer. The girls still hadn't returned home, but she could leave the crackers in their bedroom however.

Sam padded up the stairs to the loft with her own food. Perhaps when Marla had a new job at the school, and Bill was released from payroll, she could in fact find her way back to school and back to New York in the end. That is, if Marla did in fact land a job there and Bill did in fact tell the truth to her. If nothing, Sam would relish her time alone and there by the lake, and in a place in which she had lived at no less.

“I'm pretty much done with school anyway,” she muttered to herself. Then again, there had to be a better venture out of there, even with those two little girls nearby. They weren't even her children, but she had to do something for them. Before she took her spot back on the edge of the bed, something stopped her right in her tracks.

She brought her attention to the desk on the far side of the room, to that one drawer.

She opened the drawer and still at the bottom was that piece of rice paper.

He was nearby her for real from that point onward. Alex was no longer a mere scrawl on a sheet of paper, but a mere day's drive.

If nothing else, Testament would serve as her escape as she smiled at his scribbled name for a moment before she closed the drawer.

[cupcakemolotov]

New York, New York

So I finally finished a thing, and its not what I thought I was going to wrap up first but that is life! It is completely SFW, and very much “Canon, what Canon?” And its been more years than I willing to admin since I applied for colleges, I just glossed over those details. :)

Also, formatting, why are you like this.

-

Caroline rolled her eyes. “Bon. I don’t want to say I told you so but…”

The groan was loud in her ear. “I know, I know. But who would have thought it would be this bad?”

“Me. I thought it would be that bad,” Caroline said with a laugh. “And then I told you about it so you could avoid it. And then you didn’t.”

Bonnie muttered something so low, even Caroline’s vampire gearing couldn’t quite catch it. “Well, we're going to put down rules. As I’ve already told Elena, I might not be a vampire but I have a perfectly good set of ears and there are some things I do not need to hear.” Bonnie huffed out the last sentence. “And I refuse to have to spell my own bedroom to sleep.”

Caroline bit down on the side of her tongue to keep from commenting, knowing it would do little good. Somehow Damon and Bonnie had become friends, and while she would never understand it, she and Bonnie had come to an agreement. Caroline wouldn’t be automatically negative about Damon as long as Bonnie managed to do the same for some of Caroline’s friendships. 

It was a work in progress. 

“Well, if you need some breathing space, you are welcome to come hang out with me for a weekend. I’ve been melting my credit card, and I might as well use those points for something instead of shoes.” She glanced towards her bedroom and grudgingly admitted the next sentence. “I really don’t have the closet space for more shoes.”

Bonnie seemed to consider that. “Shoe collection aside, it can’t be that small…”

Caroline laughed. The apartment was a small one bedroom and technically outside of her budget, her dad’s insurance money only went so far, but she hadn’t felt a lot of guilt over her teeny tiny use of compulsion. Not when the renting market was so high and her textbooks were so expensive. And while hardly microscopic, her bed barely fit into the space designated as her bedroom. She did have walls that separate her bedroom from their living room, her couch, TV, and small table were tucked pretty close to her tiny kitchenette. The big selling point had been the claw-foot bathtub. She’d given up having a real shower, the  shower-head had been rigged above the tub and the shower curtain she’d bought was super cute but if she’d still been human the breeziness of the space would have been murder. Overall, the space she had carved out for herself was cute but cramped. 

And she wouldn’t change it for the world.

“It really can be. You should have seen Mom’s face when she agreed to co-sign, which is another really weird thing about this city. My credit check was stellar, I had the cash for the down payments and still they wanted a co-sign, but whatever. The good news is my obsession with HGTV has taught me plenty about hiding organizers, and thankfully, I don’t really need the kitchen.” She wrinkled her nose and looked down. “Though carpet is new but seriously ugly, so I am going to have to invest in a rug, I think.”

“The lack of needing a kitchen thing is kind of ideal for New York, but I personally am going to miss your stress brownies, though my hips wont,” Bonnie said with a sigh. “And your note taking. I already miss you in Physical Science, and why are Gen Eds so terrible?”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “It cannot be that bad.”

“Says you,” Bonnie retorted. “And anyway, Elena just stuck her head in to remind me that I promised to go to some Freshman Orientation event, so I guess I gotta go. Stay out of trouble, will you?”

“You first,” Caroline retorted. Bonnie laughed and disconnected the call. For a moment, she held onto her phone before sighing and setting it on the coffee table and flopping onto her couch. If she closed her eyes and listened she could hear everyone in her apartment building, which was something she hadn’t really thought about when deciding on an apartment.

Not that she’d had much time to figure things out. Weeks instead of months, but Forbes women were nothing but resourceful. And very, very determined.

Caroline just hadn’t expected her mom to get stubborn about her college experience. She’d expected Liz to be fine with Caroline going to Whitemore and sticking close to home, and it’s been a shock when things had gone sideways. When Caroline had marked down NYU on her SAT application form, it’d been on a whim. She’d been required to pick three schools and some part of her just couldn’t stick to the local community colleges. 

And later, when her counselor had handed her the application packets, she’d stared at them for hours, considering. She had never thought she’d get in or that she’d get enough of a scholarship that living in the city would be manageable if she was careful. Very, very careful with a bit of compulsion thrown in at least. She’s considered it for all of thirty seconds before tucking the acceptance letter away. 

There was just too much going on that she could walk away. Even with the Originals packing up and moving on, there was still her mom to worry about. One of the perks of being a vampire was that she could always pick up those dreams later. 

Her mom had disagreed. Loudly. It’s taken three days before Caroline has finally cracked, and admitted why she had refused. And she’d learned a lot about her mom that morning that she hadn’t expected, and hadn’t had much time to contemplate with the scramble of getting into NYU. Her mom hadn’t even argued when Caroline had dragged her to NYC to check things out and to smooth over the issues her late application had caused. 

Compulsion really was quite handy if she was careful with it. But more importantly, NYU was totally close enough that if she had to she could get on a plane for an emergency, but her mom, in a bit of underhanded maneuvering that Caroline had admired, had made a very specific list of what could be considered an emergency. And then she’d invited Elena and Bonnie over for dinner, and her mom had also explained it to them too. It’d been weird to have someone else fight that battle, but good. 

Above her, something crashed and there was muted swearing and Caroline sighed heavily. She was really going to have to make a point to stay well fed. Going on a rampage because Courtney in 4A couldn’t keep her dog from yapping at all hours of the night was not ideal. She had been prepared to listen to her neighbors have noisy sex, well, at least until she could get Bonnie here to do some proper spell work, but the rest of it was a learning curve. So far, eating had been going okay. 

She’d been getting tips. 

And boy, would her friends freak out as soon as they learned who she’d been texting. But Caroline had always considered herself pragmatic, and her options had been limited. Stefan would rather light himself on fire than give her any kind of 101 Guide To Eating People Without Killing Them, and she would rather light herself on fire than talk to Damon. 

Klaus…

She blew out a breath. Klaus was her friend, even if her graduation ceremony had made his position on… things… perfectly clear. But weirdly, she’d found his words strangely boundary defining and a relief. Last love was definitely not now, not anytime soon in fact, and his acknowledgement of that had eased the knot she always seemed to carry around in her chest. And so when she stood in the middle of the hustle and bustle of more people than she could remember really seeing in one place, like ever, she’d let herself text a number she’d refused to admit to anyone she had memorized ages ago. 

And he had responded. 

And Klaus had kept replying, no matter when she sent him a question. In between organizing her life and schedule, he’d been extremely helpful without any sort of judgement. If anything, he seemed more resigned to her lack of knowledge than anything else, providing her with Vampire Basics she’d never thought to ask Damon or Stefan about, and the knowledge had helped. Accepting the monster under her skin was not something that was going to be easy, but Klaus providing actual information about the whys and the hows helped far more than she thought she’d ever tell him. 

And his faith in her control was not something she’d ever expected to need. But he’d offered it with no prompting and the truth was she made an excellent vampire. She was good at it, thrived with the challenges of it, and she thought the next few years would be good for her. And it was nice, knowing that if she screwed it up she’d have people who’d help her fix it. Even if  some of them were just  a tiny bit more dangerous than others. 

Head tipping to the ceiling, she chewed on her lip and sighed. Putting Klaus in one category had never been easy, even when he’d been firmly in the villian bucket. She didn’t doubt he would continue to refuse any easy labels, and she thought she might be okay with that. 

For now. 

Pushing to her feet, she stretched and sighed. Classes started in two days, and while she’d already organized her books and started doing some pre-class reading, there was no harm in double checking her planners and reorganizing her books. And after, maybe she’d go for a walk. Check out some of the all night places near her place to plan for future all nighters. The kind of places you’d take broke friends to for pie.

The sudden knock on the door startled her, because she hadn’t noticed any unusual footsteps. For a moment, her pulse slammed in her ears as she recognized the slow thump of a dead heartbeat. A familiar barely their heartbeat that promised something old was outside her door, and one that should not be in New York City. Reaching for the phone she tossed on her coffee table she picked it up and typed out a quick text. No point in guessing who was there; not when it was pretty easy to check without moving any closer to the door. 

Caroline [8:30pm]: Seriously, tell me you are not standing outside my apartment. Like, right this second. 

A soft vibration, a low noise of amusement was all the confirmation she needed and Caroline stomped towards the door and yanked it open. “Are you serious right now? How do you even know where I live? I didn’t tell you that.”

Eyes gleaming, a hint of dimple curving in his cheek as he looked up from his phone, Klaus smiled at her. “Hello, Caroline.”

Arms crossed, she leaned against the door and huffed to cover the way her pulse skipped at the sight of him. He looked the same, same clothes and same hair, but she felt his presence with an awareness that did not bode well for her intentions of thinking of him as only a friend. Klaus had always straddled that line but here, outside of Mystic Falls, it somehow felt different. Better. And that was not something she could allow with her plans laid out in front of her. Plans that did not suit him. “Yeah yeah, hi. Why are you here?”

He slipped his phone back into his pocket, lips tugging upwards. “I was in town, and I thought I would stop by. See how you are settling in, perhaps come up with an idea for a house warming present, since it seems you will no longer need that mini-fridge, hmm?”

“In town,” she repeated, ignoring the rest of his words. “Doing what? Because I am attempting to avoid vampire shenanigans for the next four years, Klaus. I promised my mom.”

“Nothing like that,” he assured her. “Just a quick errand, and I head back to New Orleans tomorrow. I am quite invested in you having the experiences of your choice, sweetheart. No one will bother you while you are here.”

Caroline paused. “No one...  as in no one? Are you threatening people again? People I haven’t even met?”

“Not yet,” Klaus said mildly. 

She bit the tip of her tongue to stop the barrage of words that wanted to spill out. Slowly exhaling, she forced herself to let it go. There was a time and place for this discussion and she wasn’t sure right then was it, not when she was so surprised to see him, and she could hear some of her neighbors coming up the stairs. “Don’t think we won’t discuss this later but I suppose you can come in?”

“Thank you, and I don’t doubt it,” he murmured as he took her invitation and stepped into her home. His gaze swept her space and for a moment, she had to stop herself from fidgeting. This was her first space that was hers and Klaus was the only person besides her mom who had seen it. He walked slowly through her public space, and his words were sincere when he spoke. “You’ve done a lovely job with your home, love. “

For some reason, she had to fight down a blush. “Thanks. The carpet sucks though.”

He slid her a laughing glance. “An entirely fixable state of affairs.”

“You will not compel my landlord,” she warned him, exasperation almost hiding the hint of her own smile. “About carpet or anything else, Klaus.”

He made a low noise but no promises. “And how are you liking New York?”

She did smile then. “I love it. But we’ll see if that sticks when I have to deal with the snow this winter and pushy people and an overheated subway. I’ve been warned.”

His laugh was soft. “I think you’ll manage. And while it's a bit late in the evening, could I interest you in dinner? My treat.”

Caroline eyed him carefully. “Taking me to dinner will not get you out of explaining how you have my address or any potential yelling about it.”

Klaus slid his hands into his pockets and dimpled. “I would expect nothing else. But I do hope that’s not the only topic you wish to discuss tonight.”

Curious, she tipped her head. “Oh?”

He lifted a shoulder, gaze intent. “I assume you’ve picked out your classes? Have your semester organized down to the hour? And while I am certain you more than have the knack of feeding down, sweetheart, I’m happy to answer any remaining questions you have or even provide a demonstration or two.”

The idea of hunting with Klaus did something funny to her stomach, and she turned towards her room to cover it. “I’ll think about it. Give me ten minutes to change and then yes, you can take me to dinner. But not something fancy, I am not in the mood for multiple forks. But wine would be great.”

His laughter followed her into her bedroom and she shut the door. Taking a deep breath, she forced down her tangle of emotions. One night out with Klaus wouldn’t hurt anything, she reminded herself, and he was right. She did have questions, and lists, and she should probably take the opportunity to go over everything while he was here in person. Plus she’d be willing to bet he had an opinion or two he’d be willing to share about rugs. 

Squaring her shoulders, Caroline headed for her closet to slap together a friendly dinner date outfit that would be suitable even if he did take her somewhere with too many forks. But they were definitely going to be chatting about his business in the city, and how he would not be dropping by without warning whenever he wanted to.

No matter how nice it was to see him. 

[descendantofthesparrow]

Encore - Harry Hook x reader - part 14 - comfort

@musicarose​

=

It had been a long day at work, Karens, assholes who thought just because you smiled at them you wanted to date them, and impatient people who couldn’t fathom that they weren’t the only people who wanted a certain cupcake.

As you unlocked your door, you spotted a dark form hunched over on the couch, it was shaking and choked sobs echoed in your ears.

“Harry?” you whispered, dropping your bag on the floor and quickly closing the door behind you, jumping over the back of the couch to sit beside your sobbing boyfriend.

“Harry what's wrong?” you whispered, trying to pry his hands away from his ears and pull him into your chest, hands rubbing his back. “baby what's wrong?” you pressed your lips to his cheek.

“i-I” he whimpered, wrapping his arms around your waist slowly “I went with Ben to the isle ta do a check up on the kids an’- an’” he sniffed, hands tightening their grip on your shirt. “I saw one of da’s….clients” he stopped, hearing the click of your jaw as you clenched it, realizing what was going on.

“I get it, Harry, it's okay not to be okay, please tell me they didn’t try anything?” you spoke as calmly as you could, hand drifting up to his head and running your hands through his hair.

“n-no” he coughed a little “he didn’t see me, I came here as soon as I saw him, I just…..i just got so scared and…everything came back” he muttered weakly, nuzzling into your neck as he calmed down.

“good, im glad you came here, how long-“ he shrugged.

“lost track of time” he muttered, pouting as you pulled away from him.

“ill be right back” you cooed as Harry continued to grip your shirt “im just getting some water for you” you gently removed his hand and walked into your kitchen.

You quickly grabbed a water bottle from your fridge and walked back into your living room, sighing as you watched harry wipe his face of dried tears.

“Stay here for tonight okay?” you muttered, handing him the water bottle and grabbing the pink fluffy blanket, wrapping it around harry and kissing his forehead.

“mmhm” he hummed, closing his eyes and smiling as you pulled away and turned on the tv.

“have we watched d3 yet?” you asked him, to which he shook his head no “alright d3 it is! I'll get some snacks okay?” he nodded and fixed the blanket around his shoulders.

As the movie started, Harry looked to you, a soft smile blooming on your face as you sang while grabbing snacks.

“I know you~ I walked with you once upon a dream~” you sang to yourself, glancing at harry from time to time, making sure he was alright.

Soon the popcorn was done and you poured it into a bowl and joined Harry on the couch, laughing slightly as Harry opened his arms and pulled you into his side, wrapping the blanket around the two of you.

“so what do you think so far?” you whispered, finally looking to the screen, it was just past good to be bad, and now the kids were being chosen.

“it's okay” harry muttered “when does uma-“ you snorted.

“like 45 minutes in” harry frowned and slumped into the couch.

“really? But that’s so long!” harry whined, glancing at the remote.

“well, there's…not a lot that happens before uma shows up, I'll give you a run down then we skip to you?” harry snorted and nodded.

“aye sounds good”

“Okay so ben proposes to mal, which you knew, they get the kids, hades tries to escape, Audrey steals the crown and scepter this is all in one day by the way” you chuckled as Harry whipped his head around to look at you confused

“wait Audrey stole it that early on? I thought she stole it the same day we found out?” you snorted and shook your head.

“yeah she had the scepter for like, two days before doing anything, im surprised no one thought ‘hey…audreys missing and so is the scepter and crown, and she's still upset over ben, maybe we should check on her?!’ but nope, everyone's focused on Mal and her problems” you ranted. Harry snorted and focused back on the screen.

“alrigh’ continue” you nodded, and snapped your fingers to remember your place.

“right so then beast essentially forces mal, mal, not ben, to close the barrier and im so confused why mal had that power when all ben had to say was ‘yeah not happening’ and that closing the barrier forever side story would have been done right when it started but anyway, Audrey curses mal to be an old hag” harry shot up at that, eyes bright and he fumbled for the remote.

“what! Where is tha’ I need ya see it!” you laughed and grabbed the remote, quickly scrolling to the scene.

“personally it's my favorite scene in the whole movie” you chuckled as you let the scene play, watching harry as Audrey appeared and started taunting mal.

“oooh burn~” he cackled, cheering as Audrey hit mal with the old hag spell “YES TAKE THAT YOU BITCH~!” you almost fell off the couch at that, holding your stomach as you laughed.

“o-okay okay so mal and the others go to the isle and the barrier dispells audreys curse and then you show up!” you skipped through more of the movie to where harry stole the bikes.

“so well just watch from here kay?” harry nodded and righted himself on the couch again, pulling you back into his arms and settled in for the rest of the movie.

=

“sooooo Persephone isn’t in here?” he asked midway thought knight falls.

“Nope, I think that was just…us” you muttered back, head buried into Harry's shoulder as Carlos slid on the shield to grab his sword.

“mmm” harry hummed, tossing some popcorn in his mouth, “is it weird that this seems…a lot more boring through the screen than it was in real life?”

“yeah” you laughed “when I went through it, it was so much more terrifying, I kept thinking ‘don’t screw up, don’t screw up’ cuz if I did I could have died or something”

“yeh almost did lass” harry muttered, pushing his cheek against your head “if it wasn’t for Persephone tha’ knight would have killed yeh”

“but It didn’t” you kissed his jaw “she saved me and im still alive”

“yeah” harry muttered “that’s true” he sat up a little as the scene ended and the ‘ice breaker’ scene began “uhhh wha’s this?” he laughed raising his brow at evie.

“oh this is just something that was supposed to happen but with everything going on it didn’t” you simply answered, giggling as movie evie complimented movie Harry's accent.

=

About an hour later you were slipping on some sweat pants and one of Harry's shirts, smiling as Harry was already asleep in your bed, curled up and snoring softly.

You were glad he felt safe enough to fall asleep that easily, especially after what happened that afternoon on the isle.

You frowned, you would have to do something about hooks “clients” you didn’t know if any of them had any lingering…’ feelings’ towards hooks reference to harry as payment.

Maybe it would be safe for harry to stay here a couple more days, and you would visit Ben to talk about those people.

You nodded to yourself, that sounded good. You shut off your bathroom light and walked across the room to join harry.

you slid between the sheets and tossed your arm over his shoulder, resting your head between his shoulder blades.

“I love you harry hook” you muttered to yourself, smiling as Harry sleepily muttered back ‘I love yeh too’

--end of part 14--

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[julessworldd]

Little Rose part 1

Request? No, just something that came to mind and thought it was a good fic idea. Finally got out of rut in writing again. 

Summary: Janie is Axl’s sister, who ran away with him to L.A. and lives with him and Izzy. She is close with Axl and Izzy, until Duff auditions for Guns n’ Roses.The pair slowly fall in love, at least that’s what Janie thought for a while. Duff gets married to Mandy, His and Janie’s relationship starts to go south. This will be a series, not sure how many parts. Warings: Angst, fluff, little smut, drugs/alcohol mentioned, fighting/arguing. As always enjoy!

LA was the land of dreams, some who make it and others’ who simply failed and ended up broke. My brother, Axl and his band made it huge and living their dream. Remember when we first came to L.A. off the bus, Axl was on a mission to find his best friend, Izzy. Took us two weeks until we found that skinny, dark-headed, Keith Richards knock off in Huntington Beach. I really missed those honey brown eyes and tight hugs from the fucker. Izzy was always like a brother to me back in Indiana still is to this day. 

“Axl, are you sure this is it?”, I asked huffing. 

“Yes! Janie, now come on. I know you’ve missed Izzy just as much as I have.”, Axl groaned, pulling me behind him. 

“He’s not here, Bill”, I whined as Axl opened a door. 

Sure enough, Izzy was licking a joint about to light up. “Izzy” I ran and tackled him down. “Janie!”, Axl yelled. “This fucker had me looking for you for weeks. I’m so happy to see you, Iz!”, I grinned pulling Izzy up. “Thought I could live without seeing those blue doe eyes of yours. Guess not”, Izzy smiled. “Whatever, Gypsy”, I rolled my eyes as he walked over to Axl.

Finally, those two made a band and was serious about getting new bandmates. Traci was cool, but something was missing from the band. “Izzy, what about this guy. Duff McKagan, bass player, punkrock, metal for a music taste?”, Axl asked. “Why not, call the fucker”, Izzy said lighting his cigarette. A couple hours later, the doorbell rang, “Janie, get that please”, Izzy yelled. I opened the door to see a Ramones’ T-shirt, “Wow, you’re tall. Are you Duff?” “Yeah, that’s me. Are you Izzy?”, Duff asked. “God no”, Izzy said walking into the room. “Fuck off, Jeff” I moved to let Duff in. “Bass player, huh?” I asked as I was checking him out. “Yeah, just started. And you are?”, Duff smirked. “Singer’s little sister, band’s bodyguard, name’s Janie” I said standing next to Izzy. “Don’t you have a kitchen or something”, Axl pulled me away from Izzy. “Axl, sorry for Janie bothering you” “She wasn’t, I have seven siblings”, Duff said unclipping his case. “Damn, I thought three was a lot,'' I said, stealing Izzy’s cigarette case. 

Later on, Steven and Slash came into the band. Duff got them a gig in Seattle at a party of  a friend of his. They took over the Sunset Strip like a storm, got signed fast. Duff and I got closer, if Axl knew he would kill Duff. A knock tore me from my thoughts, “Coming” I opened the door to Duff standing there with a bottle of vodka, “I’ve not touched you yet” “Shut up and get in here. God, someone is gonna see you!”, I pulled him in. “Afraid someone is gonna tell him”, Duff smirked. “Yeah and it will be your ass who will be six feet under”, I said, locking the door. “Forget about your brother, come let’s drink”, Duff pulled me to the couch. “Here”, He handed me the bottle, after placing me on his lap.  Soon enough, clothes were being scattered around the apartment, rough kisses against the wall. 

“Duff, move baby”, I whined as he lined himself up to my entrance.

Duff’s hips were thrusting in and out at fast pace, “Oh fuck, right there”, I moaned. “You’re so fucking tight, Janie”, Duff threw his head back before kissing my neck. Duff laid next to me after, getting a towel to clean us up. “Do you mind if I crash here?”, Duff asked. “You know I don’t, Duff” I yawned. “Come here”, Duff pulled me into his chest and threw the blanket over us.  “What the hell!”, Izzy yelled, making Duff and I jump. “Shit, hi Izzy”, Duff raised up looking at Izzy. “Don’t hi Izzy me. How fucking long have you been screwing my baby sister?”, Izzy yelled. “You’re not even related”, Duff sighed. “Duff, not now. After, you guys came back from Seattle from that mini tour.” I said looking down, not wanting to see Izzy’s evil eyes. “That’s been almost two years ago. Janie, does Axl know?”, Izzy asked. “No”, I mumbled. “Janie, I couldn’t hear you”, Izzy said calmer. “No, he doesn’t. We haven’t put labels on it”, I sighed. “You better fucking tell him, before he walks in like I did.” Izzy walked out. “Izzy!” I yelled. “I’m still here, you big ass baby”, Izzy yelled from the kitchen. “Stay here, I’m gonna go talk to him”, I threw a pair of shorts and Duff’s shirt on. “Izzy, can we talk?” I leaned on the living room wall. “Kinda why I’m still here”, Izzy said rolling his eyes. “Look, if I knew what it was. I would have told you and Axl”, I said, nuzzling myself to his ribs. “No, you wouldn’t have. And you know you wouldn’t, Janie don’t lie”, Izzy said annoyed. “First off, fuck you, Isbell! You don’t know what I would have done, if Duff and I were together. I don’t even know what the fuck we are, so stay out of my business!”, I pushed away. “Fine, I’ll fuck off. When he drops your ass for a groupie, don’t come crying to me, like you did with Chris. See ya never!”, Izzy stormed out. Duff had seen where Izzy yelled at me. I wanted to cry, I hate being yelled at and especially by someone I love so much. Izzy was the older brother, who saw the good in me and wanted me safe. Axl was protective, a little too much, but he means well and loves me. “Hey, it's okay. Izzy didn’t have his fix, you could see it in his eyes. Janie, please don’t cry.”, Duff walked over.

“What are we?”, I looked at him with tear filled eyes. “I don’t know, we never put labels on it. You’re a good girl, I like being around you and enjoy what we have.”, Duff rubbed my back. “So Izzy was right, you would fuck another girl. You don’t actually love me, you’re a musician. I should have known after Chris to stay the hell away from rockstars. Get out!” I pushed him away. “Janie, I’m not Chris”, Duff said hurt. “I said get out! Don’t you know how to fucking listen? Out, McKagan!” I stood up. “Fine, you’re just like your fucking brother anyways. And yeah maybe I will find another girl. She might even be a groupie or a stripper, I’ll decide in the car!” Duff got in my face. “Good. Hope she gives you herpes!” I pushed. “Fucking Rose attitude”, He shoved me back. “Get the fuck out!”, I yelled as he slammed the door. 

A picture frame fell from the impact

It was a picture of Axl and I, after he got a new car after the record deal. I was on the hood and had Axl between my legs as I hugged his chest from behind. He was looking up at me with that famous smirk of his.

I really need my big brother now

[hockeylvr59]

What Ifs, Part 2 || Jeff Skinner

Requested: [ ] yes [x] no

Authors Note: And I am back on my Skinner bs after seeing him play live this weekend. Enjoy part two which has been a year in the making. 

Warnings: um some playful sexual innuendo/cursing, alcohol consumption. 

Word Count: 2,546

_____________________

As you’d expected...your chance encounter and beach ‘date’ with Jeff had led to a million questions by your family, questions that for the most part, you didn’t have answers to. What you hadn’t expected to come from it all was regular contact, let alone a budding friendship. Yet, you were reminded of it all on a daily basis as texts from Jeff filtered into your phone. As the summer progressed, he’d send clips of his training or comments about how his sisters were driving him crazy and how he needed backup to handle them. 

By the time school was starting back up, in mid-August, you’d started having at a minimum a weekly conversation with Jeff. And if you were honest there was nothing you loved more than hearing him laugh as he told stories about his preparations for the upcoming season. It was crazy that you’d spent one afternoon with him and yet you found yourself missing his touch, his scent, and his attention in general. 

You’d been talking about your university’s football season and trying to get to as many home games as possible when Jeff suddenly stopped you, his excited tone of voice exclaiming that he had a fantastic idea. 

“I should come visit you and you can take me to a game…” His words were rushed and it took a moment for your brain to process them. 

“You really want to come here?” You found yourself asking, once again blown away at the fact that Jeff considered you a friend, and not just a friend but that kind of friend that you would cross state lines to visit just out of the blue. 

“Of course I do!” He exclaimed. “I won’t really have the chance to make a trip once the season starts so this would be perfect. I can spend time with you and you can teach me about your school’s football team.” 

With Jeff’s mind totally made up, plans were made in short order for Jeff to come down in less than a month. You didn’t have classes on Friday’s so he’d come down late Thursday so that you could go do something on Friday before the football game on Saturday and he’d leave Monday morning, taking in all of the time that he could without distracting you from your own priorities too much. 

In the week leading up to Jeff’s arrival, you worked not only to secure him a student guest ticket but also to get all of your classwork done so that there wasn’t anything to keep you from enjoying his visit. By the time he arrived Thursday evening, you were practically bouncing with the excitement of seeing him again, your body filled with more emotions than you could dissect. When his arms finally wrapped around you tightly in a hug, it was like everything was right in the world again and you clung to him for far longer than was probably necessary. 

Thursday evening was spent simply, curled up on the couch, tucked into Jeff’s side while a movie played on your tv. By the end of it, your head was resting in his lap and his fingers were carding gently through your hair, putting you to sleep. You’d insisted that Jeff didn’t need to pay for a hotel, that you could sleep on the couch and he could have your bed. He was too much of a gentleman for that though and so after bickering for a moment, the compromise was made that you were both adults that could share a bed. 

You couldn’t remember the last time you’d slept so well.

Friday was spent showing Jeff around your college town, pointing out your favorite hang-outs, the best restaurants, which buildings you’d had classes in and stories about the campus’s history. He’d insisted on trying one of the restaurants and swore he’d pout if you even attempted to fight him about paying for the meal. A pouty Jeff, while adorable, was the last thing you wanted so needless to say you didn’t put up a fight. 

With a 1pm kickoff Saturday morning, you were pulling Jeff out of bed shortly before 8am, giggling as he groaned and protested getting up so early. Still...there was tailgating to be done so you insisted, retreating to the bathroom to get yourself dressed before returning to find Jeff tugging a t-shirt with your school’s logo on. 

“When did you get that?” You inquired, secretly touched that he’d go to the effort to fit in and support the school that you attended and loved. His answer had been a casual ‘after we made plans’ that merely left you nodding as you grabbed your phone and headed to the kitchen to find something to eat. Within a half-hour, you were in the section of the parking lot belonging to your program’s tailgate with some wine coolers and beer bottles tucked into a disposable bag. 

The look on Jeff’s face as he took in the crazy environment was priceless and you handed him a beer before grabbing a drink of your own. Music was pumping from tents all around you, there was every type of food you could think of and alcohol was everywhere. It didn’t take long for you to find some of your regular classmates and you were quick to introduce your friend Jeff to them. Here, especially with people already on their way to drunk, it wasn’t likely that anyone would recognize him and he could just be a simple Canadian boy and not a hotshot hockey superstar. 

Though you hadn’t doubted that Jeff would fit in just fine here, it still amazed you to see just how seamless it really was. You’d each had a few drinks before heading inside the stadium, just enough to be buzzed really, but the way that his cheeks flushed was really too much for your heart to handle as you reminded yourself repeatedly that as attracted to him as you were, you were just friends. 

As you curled up in bed that night, Jeff went on and on about how much fun he’d had and how he’d never met a girl that knew as much about sports as you did and how impressed he was by your passion for the sport. You’d joked in return that you had to make up for your lack of athletic ability somehow and you’d fallen asleep to the sound of Jeff’s giggle in your ears. 

~~~~~~

With a weekend that had flown by too fast in the rearview mirror, you were back to strings of texts and the rare phone call as both of your schedules got busier. If you had thought you’d missed him before, it didn’t come close to how much you missed him now. You knew that you were in way over your head with your feelings for him but you were determined not to screw things up because he’d given you no signal that he felt the same way. If you could only have him as a friend, well that would just have to be good enough. 

Still...you were counting the days until Jeff played in Pittsburgh. 

As the game approached Jeff hinted at you coming to the game but as it was a Tuesday night game you led him to believe that you had an evening class and wouldn’t be able to go. Of course, that wasn’t true but you wanted to surprise him. You also didn’t want him paying for your ticket but that was another matter entirely. 

With your ticket secured and just a few days to go, you messaged Jack Eichel on Instagram (he was the only one on the team who knew who you were) and asked him if he could arrange for you to see Jeff after. You’d explained how he couldn’t tell Jeff because you wanted it to be a surprise and with Jeff’s captain on board you had nothing to do but count the mere hours until you’d see him for the first time in two months. 

Arriving at the arena with your Penguins jersey covering your body, you made your way down to the glass near the bench side corner of the Sabres warm up end. You had no problem getting right by the glass since the sabres were the away team and once again all you had to do was wait. You couldn’t help but wonder if Jeff would spot you on his own, you certainly weren’t opposed to that idea, you just didn’t want to be pointed out to him. 

As the Sabres took the ice, you couldn’t help but notice the grumpy look on Jeff’s face as he skated around a few times before crossing to the circle opposite you to stretch. On the other hand, Jack spotted you immediately as he passed and the smirk on his face at your shared secret showed that he was clearly enjoying waiting for his teammate to notice. 

For the first half of warm-up, Jeff was completely oblivious to your presence and the grumpy look on his face stayed there as he had the equipment manager look at his glove by the bench. With Jack just a few steps to your right you decided you’d finally had enough and tapped on the glass to get Jack’s attention. 

“What’s up with grumpy?” You screamed through the glass, your cheeks flushing as Jack yelled back ‘what do you think....he’s upset a certain someone isn’t coming…’ You hadn’t realized that leading him to think you couldn’t come would affect Jeff so much. Sighing, you shook your head before mouthing ‘go get him…’ 

Though you weren’t happy that anyone in the immediate vicinity of you was now aware of what was going on, as you didn’t want to be the center of attention, you couldn’t bear seeing Jeff look so upset when you knew that it was something you had the power to fix. The moment you had given him permission, Jack went off to track Jeff down, chasing him into the corner where you were standing. Jeff seemed beyond confused but when Jack turned him around to face you, you watched as it all clicked in Jeff’s brain and suddenly a wide smile showing off his dimples took over his face. 

With his mission accomplished Jack skated away but Jeff stayed for a moment more, pressing his gloved hand to the glass in front of you as if he couldn’t believe that you were real. He motioned to your jersey with a critical expression and you couldn’t help but shrug, smirking back at him through the glass. Your eyes stayed fixed on his for a moment longer before you smacked the glass in front of you. 

“Get back to work!” You yelled through the glass causing Jeff to skate away, this time absent a grumpy look. 

As warmups ended and you headed up to your seat it was with a light heart. There was something different seeing Jeff smile and then knowing that it was there because of you. 

By the time the clock struck zero in the third period, you were feeling slightly conflicted emotions. You were disappointed and a little annoyed that the pens had lost but at the same time Jeff had scored and the pride you felt because of that and knowing you were so close to seeing him had you bubbling with excitement. Waiting in your seat as the arena started to clear out you slipped out of the jersey, leaving you in a white long sleeve shirt with a buffalo on the front and the number 53 on the back. Your jersey now tied around your waist, you headed to the elevator to meet the Sabres employee Jack assured you would be waiting there for you. 

From the hallway outside the away locker room, you could hear the hollering and celebratory energy from inside and it only helped to fuel your own anxiousness. You weren’t sure why you were feeling this way but over the past 4 months, you realized that you were closer to Jeff than you’d been to pretty much anyone else in your life and it felt like there was something more to your relationship. Today, seeing the way he reacted to you only made you wonder more if he felt the same way, though you would never bring it up because you were too scared to lose someone you cared about so much. 

You were suddenly pulled out of your jumbled thoughts by the sound of the locker room door opening and when you looked up Jeff was coming through it, dressed to the nines in his suit. 

Unable to help yourself you dashed across the few yards separating you and threw yourself at him, your arms wrapping around his neck as he quickly caught you. 

“You scored!” You exclaimed, words quickly silenced as his lips pressed against your own for just a moment before pulling away. You didn’t have a chance to even think about the fact that he’d kissed you before he started speaking. 

“You’re here….I thought you had class tonight?” The awestruck tone of his voice made your heart skip a beat and your fingers teased at the curls at the base of his neck as you made a guilty face. 

“As if a measly class would keep me away…” You started before quickly continuing. “But really...I don’t have class. I just said that to mislead you because I wanted to surprise you.” Jeff’s jaw dropped in shock and he pulled away just a bit. 

“Wow...fuck you.” He teased, pretending to be far more offended by that than he really was. Without a second’s hesitation, you leaned closer, stretching so that your mouth was just below his ear. 

“You’d like that wouldn’t you.” You teased back, and when you pulled away again Jeff’s cheeks were bright red and though he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, no sound came out. 

Thankfully, before you could question whether maybe that statement had been a mistake, Jeff had composed himself and his hands at your waist were pushing you away from him just a step as he gazed down at the clothing covering your body. 

“Wait...is this?” He questioned, turning you a bit to confirm the answer to his own question before a satisfied grin took over his face. “It is.” He declared. 

“What…?” You shrugged. “You may never get me to root against my team...but I will always root for you.” You could feel the grin radiating through Jeff’s body as he held you close for another few minutes, soaking up what little time he had before he had to get back on the bus. 

When the time came that he did, in fact, have to leave, your bodies both sunk a little as he pulled away. “I’m so glad you came.” He whispered, pressing a soft kiss to your temple. Trying not to cry, you simply nodded at him and kissed his cheek before stepping back to watch him walk away. Just before he was out of sight he stopped and called your name. 

“Oh...and to answer your question. I would very much like that.” 

Maybe he did feel the same way after all...

[alwayschoosechocolate]

One-night stands and one-shot chances (part x)

University AU

Pairing: Jin x reader

Who says sex has to mean anything? Who says you can’t just screw around without all the heartache? Who says only guys get this privilege? What happens when the biggest playboy on campus suddenly meets his match and gets a taste of his own medicine?

Genre: casual sex, mentions of sex, bestfriend!Hoseok, onenightstand!Jin, romance

Word count: 4k

Taglist: @esplosionedicoloriintesta​​ @jeonjunggoodgod @rjsmochii​@spookidema​​ @pariz-lover​ @mymochimchimmy​ @seokjinnieismine​ @cloudyelizabeth​​ @livesmileandstaystrong​@thisistoooooomuch​@okaysoplshelpme​ @secondstanza​ @eanielsen07​ @lidda​ @6bottlesofwine​ @honeybeeforv​

Masterpost with the other parts of the story can be found here and my masterlist is here

A/N: Hi my loves! I am finally back with an update! Thank you for being so patient with me! I will try to be better moving forward. I even made a schedule for myself, so I should get better at posting regularly! Enjoy! And as always, let me know what you think in the comments!

Cuddling meant nothing. Cuddling meant nothing. Cuddling meant nothing.

Like a mantra, Jin chanted the words internally as the movie played on the screen in front of you.

No flirting. Nothing.

Gritting his teeth as he tried to pick up the movie playing on the screen once more, he reminded himself of how you always cuddled whoever was closest to you. It didn’t even have to be someone you knew. You were just always touching the person next to you. So that you were pressed against his side now with an arm draped across his stomach meant nothing, right?

Of course not. Before you had slept together, you had often cuddled him. Granted not alone in the house while watching a movie, but backhugs weren’t uncommon nor was the occasional shoulder rub.

Suddenly a lightbulb lit up in Jins head and he widened his eyes in realization.

If you didn’t consider cuddling to be flirting, then he could be as clingy as he wanted these days! No strings attached. No hidden meaning. Just free uncomplicated cuddles for an entire week!

Grinning at his own discovery, he suddenly felt way more at ease at the prospect of spending an entire week alone with you. He would just direct all his flirting into cuddling, and you would never need to know.

Settling deeper against the backrest of the couch, he confidently pulled you tighter in his embrace, making you look at him in confusion.

“What are you doing?”

“Just getting more comfortable. I’m getting sleepy and I don’t want to have neck pain from sitting in a weird position if I fall asleep,” he reasoned, doing his absolute best to hide his mischievous grin, when you simply shrugged your shoulders and allowed him to rest his head on the top of your head.

Fighting back the victorious smile from appearing on his lips, Jin took a deep breath as he tried to calm his heart. Despite the comfortable silence between you, the coziness of the blankets around you and the calmness of it all, he felt a tinge of danger in the air. Like a false sense of security.

He was so used to being on high alert around you that it felt wrong to actually be at ease with you.

“Can I ask you something?”, he asked, voice hesitant and slightly slurred as sleep had already seeped into his vocal cords.

“Yeah?”

“Why aren’t we fighting right now? You usually hate me. What changed?”

Biting back a chuckle, you reached up to ruffle his hair slightly and heard him hum slightly in response.

“You did, Jin. You usually treat me like dirt, but you’ve been nice to me today, so I’m reciprocating that,” you spoke sincerely and giggled slightly when you saw him frowning in confusion. “It’s really that simple. You’re nice to me, I’m nice to you. If you treat me like you have been before, I’ll give back just the same.”

Silently taking in your words, he kept his gaze on the movie in front of him.

“So if I’m nice to you and treat you well, you’ll be nice to me as well? We can go back to being friends?”, he asked slowly as if picking out each word carefully, like a kid learning something new and repeating it back to make sure they actually understood it right.

“Sure. When you stop treating me like an unintelligent object that you only want to sleep with, then yeah, we can be friends,” you shrugged, shifting slightly so his head wasn’t resting on you anymore and you were able to face him instead. “I mean that, Jin. I never hated you, but I did hate how you talked to and about me.”

Giving him a slight glare at the memories, you saw him wince and avoid eye contact just the same as he had when you confronted him about calling you a whore.

“I know, I was an idiot,” he admitted, giving you a sheepish smile. “I’m really sorry. I promise I won’t treat you like that again. I really do want us to be friends and honestly I think it would make everything easier.”

Now it was your turn to tilt your head in confusion, only making Jin roll his eyes at you.

“Oh, come on. We both know this has been awkward for the others. Me constantly disappearing, us fighting all the time. We’re like an old married couple who should really just get a divorce, but we haven’t even been dating,” he chuckled with an amused smile as he got up to fetch some water, leaving you alone to sort through your thoughts.

Sure, you knew everyone had been a bit on edge, but had it really been that bad?

Vaguely remembering Hoseoks reminder for you to try to not disagree with more of his housemates, your felt a twinge of guilt shot through your chest. Maybe this whole thing with Jin had gotten out of control, you mused as you looked towards the sound of him moving around the kitchen. If that was true, then Jin was right. You should at least try to make it work. If anything, then for Hobi’s sake. You didn’t want to be the reason he disagreed with his housemates.

And you did make it work. The two of you spent the weekend bundled up on the couch watching movies, eating Jins excellent cooking and actually getting to know each other. Though most of the time was still spent squabbling and teasing each other, the air between the two of you had gotten a lot lighter and the teasing a lot more friendly.

As the weekdays rolled around, you found a new rhythm; you went to work in the morning and when you got home, Jin had cooked dinner for the both of you. There were no problems, no arguments, no name-calling and more importantly, there was no flirting at all.

Walking home Thursday evening, you found yourself actually looking forward to coming home to Jin and as you opened the door and was met the heavenly smell of roasted lamb, you bit your lip to contain a giddy giggle of happiness.

“I’m home,” you called out, as you slipped off your shoes and tossed your bag next to the couch, before walking to the kitchen, where Jin greeted you with a casual smile from his hunched over position in front of the stove.

“Hi flower! How was work?”

Grabbing a piece of carrot off the cutting board and popping it in your mouth, you gave him a smile and a shrug as you hopped up on the counter next to the stove.

“Fine. Can’t complain. The receipt printer is still broken though, so I had to write all the receipts by hand,” you chuckled with a headshake as you munched on your snack.

“And you’re laughing at that?”, he asked with an amused smile playing on his lips, eyes still locked on the content of the pots on the stove, as he carefully stirred the content.

As per usual when he was cooking all his focus was on the food. Carrying out a conversation was somewhat possible, but you had quickly realized that he never looked away from the food for too long.

“Yeah, well,” you shrugged, taking advantage of his distracted state to observe him. Actually, observe would be the wrong word to use. You were blatantly staring at him, but you couldn’t help it. There was just something unbelievably comforting about seeing him move around the kitchen so confidently as he cooked. “I couldn’t fix it or do anything about it, so there wasn’t really any point in getting annoyed.”

“Oh? So I guess you won’t be needing the bottle of wine I bought you?”

Widening your eyes at his words, you let out an excited giggle as you hopped off the counter and practically skipped the few meters to the fridge and eagerly pulled out the wine with a wide grin.

Turning around to find two glasses, you missed the way Jins eyes had followed your happy steps with a fond smile and how he was now shaking his head with a soft chuckle, before he turned back to the stove.

Walking back to him, you carefully snuck your arms under his to give him an awkward backhug, holding both glasses in front of his chest to make sure you wouldn’t spill it.

“Thought so,” he hummed with a knowing smirk as he accepted one of the glasses and clinked it with yours, before you withdrew from the embrace taking your glass with you.

“How did you know I would like a glass of wine today?”, you asked, as you hopped back up to your vantage position now with your wine in hand.

“I didn’t really,” he shrugged with a cheeky smile, as he put the wine glass down on the opposite side of the stove. “But I figured it couldn’t hurt to have a bottle around.”

“Kim Seokjin,” you scolded with a laugh clinging to your words. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

“From a shared bottle of wine?”, he snorted out in a laugh, as he sent you a sassy smirk. “I know you well enough to know, that it takes a lot more than that to get you drunk.”

“That’s rich coming from you, Mr. the-mininum-of-shots-per-round-is-5,” you countered, as you raised a knowing eyebrow at him.

“There is no need to drag the eyebrow into this, missy,” he scolded, reaching up to tap his index finger against said eyebrow, causing both of you to break out in cackling laughs.

“So what did you do today?”, you inquired as you crossed your legs under you on the tabletop and took a sip of your wine.

“Not much. Went for a run, walked around town for a bit -” waited for you to come home – “nothing too wild,” he ended, sending you a small smile before turning off the stove and arranging the food on plates for you. “So what do you want to do tonight?”

“Uh, I was scrolling through insta on my break and found this recipe for a homemade facemask, I wanted to try,” you explain excitedly, while accepting the plate he offered you. “It’s like moisturizing and supposedly really good. I’m gonna try and make it after dinner and probably watch a series while it sits.”

“Mind if I join you?”, he asked, smiling at the way your face lit up in excitement.

“Sure, I can make like a big portion so there’s enough for both us,” you nodded as you dug into the food, already doubling up the quantities it would take to make enough for two facemasks in your head.

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Jin chuckled anxiously, feeling his ears burn in embarrassment. “Why would I want to do a facemask? I just wanted to join you for the tv series.”  

Raising an eyebrow at his statement, you tilted your head as you calmly finished chewing the bite in your mouth, before answering him.

“Why wouldn’t you want to do a facemask? It’s simple skincare, Jin.”

“Isn’t it a bit girly to do facemasks?”, he snorted, only making you squint your eyes at him.

“It’s a facemask, Jin. How on earth do you find that girly? Skincare isn’t gendered.” You tone was teasing, but the ice behind your words was hard to miss. “Besides, we agreed that this house would be both sexless and genderless this week, so even if it was, your words has absolutely no weight here,” you spoke in a firm voice, popping another piece of food in your mouth as your calmly observed him. “Your sexist understanding of the world has no hold in this house, Jin.”  

Feeling your eyes piercing through his and hearing the firmness in your voice, left him feeling like a little boy after a scolding, and his ears burned as he thought about how incredibly stupid you must think him to be.

That was until he heard your giggling ringing through the room, making him snap his head back up to find your eyes sparkling and your face split in a breathtaking grin.

“I’m just toying with you, Jin,” you laughed, only feeling slightly guilty for the horrified expression on his face. “You are wrong though. Very much so. But this lamb is so delicious that I’m gonna let it slide,” you winked at him, as you took another bite. “And we’re both gonna do the facemasks later, because it will be good for us and I really want to do this with you.”

Turning back to your food, you missed the way Jins face scrunched up in irritation at your words.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re unbelievably bossy?”, Jin scoffed, as he tried to stop his heart from galloping away in panic at the mere thought of making you angry at him again.

“Of course,” you giggled with a mischievous grin. “Hobi says it’s one of my key characteristics.”

“Well, he would know,” he muttered under his breath, as he silently finished his dinner, only faintly aware of you talking about the annoying customers you had had that day.

Pushing his food around in his plate, he felt annoyance stir in his veins. This wasn’t the first time you had shot him down and sure, he had said some incredibly mean things to you at some of those instances, but enough was enough.

“Remember, when you told me that how you treat me depends on how I treat you?”, he asked, interrupting your story about the non-fat double chocolate girl and making you slightly flustered, as you simply nodded with wide eyes at his firm tone and stern eyes. “Well, I’ve been nothing but kind to you this week. Cooking for you, buying your favorite snacks and drinks. Hell, we only watch the movies you want to watch, because God forbid, we watch something without a female lead,” he mocked with an eye-roll, as he forcefully put his unfinished plate down on the counter with a loud clank, making you flinch in surprise. “And I can live with that. But you need to stop treating me like a child. You boss me around, you mock me and you make me feel like the most idiotic person on the planet. Yes, you might know more than me about certain things, but there are other ways of letting me know that, than rolling your eyes and belittling me! I need you to stop it!”

With each word his voice rose and by the end he was heaving for air and had his fists clenched by his side, as he all but glared at you.

Eyes still widened in surprise by his outburst, you found it impossible to break the intense eye contact between you, as you took in his clearly frustrated state.

“You’re right,” you spoke softly, as realization hit you. “I’m so used to being on the fence about people being assholes to me, and you used to be one of those people. But you’re right. You’re not anymore, so I shouldn’t have kept treating you like one. I’m sorry, Jin.”

Your apology was sincere and the second Jin heard it in your soft voice, the anger evaporated and left him feeling empty. Not even better, just empty.

“I- Yes, exactly!”, he rushed out, frantically trying to hang on to the anger, causing you to smile gently at him.

“You’re not used to people apologizing to you, are you?”, you asked him softly, as you slowly slid down from the counter and walked over to his side and gingerly wrapped your arms around him as if afraid of breaking him. “I’m sorry, I belittled you. I really am. And I promise, as long as you’re kind to me, I won’t be such an asshole to you. But please stop being mad at me. I don’t like seeing you upset,” you spoke against the fabric of his hoodie, turning your face slightly and pressing a kiss to the soft skin on his neck.

Hugging him in complete silence, you allowed him his time to calm down, and when you finally felt his arms snake around you, you squeezed him tighter for a moment, squinting your eyes shut in the process when you felt him shake slightly in your arms.

“I’m sorry, I yelled at you,” he mumbled against your hair, his voice slightly unstable as he kept his hold on you firm. He felt the tears pressing for reasons he didn’t understand, he definitely didn’t need you to see them.

“’s okay. At least you didn’t call me any names this time,” you joked against his chest in an attempt to lighten the mood, though shock shot through you, when you realized what you had just said.

Pulling back from the hug with eyes widened in regret of your own words, an apology ready on your lips, it was all forgotten the second your eyes fell on his tear-glazed eyes.

“Oh, Jinnie. Please don’t cry. I’m sorry,” you rushed out in concern, as you reached up to cup his cheek, only to have Jin swat your hand away and walk away from you as an incomprehensible sentence left his lips, leaving you to look after his figure in bewilderment as you saw him disappear into his room and close the door after him.

“Dammit,” you whispered to yourself, as you felt the ache in your heart at his tears. Shuffling your weight from one foot to the other as you contemplated what to do, you felt completely torn and aimless as you stood alone in the middle of the kitchen. “You really should just leave him alone,” you muttered to yourself as your feet slowly carried you towards his door. “You really shouldn’t meddle. He obviously didn’t want to talk about it,” you scolded yourself quietly, as you stopped in front of his door.

Raising your hand to knock, you let it hover over the wood for a second, before letting your hand fall back against your side and leaning your head against the door frame.

He didn’t want your help. That’s why he walked away. You knew this. You needed to respect his boundaries, you reminded yourself. He had just scolded you for treating him like a child, and here you were ready to barge into his room to console him, like some overprotective mother. Lifting your head from the doorframe, your gaze stayed locked on the door, as if trying to see through it and make sure Jin really was alright on the other side. As the sight of his tear-filled eyes popped into your mind again, it took everything in you to not barge through the door to get to him.

Forcefully pulling yourself back from his door, you steered yourself to the kitchen and quietly started cleaning up with a sigh.

Normally the process would be accompanied by music from Jin’s little red speaker sitting on the windowsill, but it felt disrespectful to play it without him, so you worked in silence, packing up the leftovers, washing both the dishes and pots and pans and wiping down the counters.

As you finished, all that was left was the half-empty wineglasses staring back at you from the otherwise empty counter. Glaring at them in annoyance, you let out a sigh of defeat as you picked them up and cleaned them up as well. Staring around the empty and clean kitchen, you felt fidgety and aimless.

“What now?”, you sighed to yourself, as you thought back to your original plan.

You were definitely not in the mood for facemasks or tv series. Throwing a look towards the hallway and Jin’s room, you felt your feet carry you towards him once more, and this time you made no attempt to stop yourself.

When your knocks sounded through the hallway, your heart leapt into your throat and for a second you contemplated just slipping into Hoseok’s room on the other side of the hall and acting like you were never there.

“What?”

His voice was gruff and definitely not inviting in any way, but you couldn’t help it. You needed to make sure he was okay.

“Can I come in?”, you asked hesitantly, hand already resting on the doorknob.

“Why?”

“I just want to make sure, you’re okay. You don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to. I just want to be next to you. If you’ll let me.”

Your heartbeat pounded in your ears, and when you finally heard his accepting grunt, you let out a breath you hadn’t even realized you had been holding, as you pushed open the door to Jin’s room.

The room was unlit and the light from the hallway threw long shadows on the opposite wall. You hadn’t been in there since that night, you realized as you closed the door behind you and carefully made your way across the room towards the bed, where Jin was lying on his back looking up at the ceiling.

Carefully taking a seat next to his figure, you were reminded of how he had been sprawled out on the bed sleeping the morning after when you had left the room. The memory left a faint smile on your lips, as you fiddled with your hands in your lap to keep yourself from reaching out for him.

Lifting your head to look at him, you found him already looking back at you. In the dark of the room, his eyes rested on your features and yours on his as you carried out a conversation though none of you uttered a single word.

I can’t talk about. I don’t even know why. I’m sorry, his eyes pleaded, making your heart soften.

You don’t have to, yours reassured him, as your hand fell into his giving it a comforting squeeze.

Lie with me?, he asked, as he gave your hand a barely existing tug, making you smile gently as you nodded and curled up next to him on the bed.

Feeling his arms settle around you and hearing the distraught sigh of contentment leaving his lips as he pulled you closer, strung your heartstrings even tighter than they had already been, and you felt a lump forming in your throat.

Goddammit, Y/n! What the hell is wrong with you, you scolded yourself mentally. Don’t tell me this is all it takes for you? You see him cry once and suddenly you’re back in his bed again?

Trying to distract yourself from your own head, you focused your energy on softly tracing patterns on Jin’s shirt, very careful not to get too close to his pants, as you were suddenly awkwardly aware of what had happened last time you were here.

This is ridiculous, you thought with an eye-roll.

You cuddled with all the others all the time. This was no different, you reminded yourself as you walked yourself through all the times you had cuddled with the others. Hell, Jungkook had even cupped your ass in his sleep once, and there was absolutely no awkwardness between the two of you.

And just as you had succeeded in calming down your mind, you heard a soft snore coming from the man next you. Lifting your head to look at his face, you found his features smoothed out in his sleep. Smiling at his peaceful state, you decided that leaving him to get some rest would probably be for the best, but as you tried to free yourself from his grasp, he stirred slightly in his sleep rolling onto his side and tightening his hold on you.

“Stay with me, flower” he whispered into the darkness, and though you had no idea if he was still sleeping or awake, you felt no need to argue with him, settling deeper against him and closing your own eyes.

// Part xi //