#finally getting to the actual dinner scene like jesus christ

[daincrediblegg]

ONE WARM LINE SNIPPET RAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!

LMAO OK HERE have this little piece that I got down this weekend enjoy <3

Sir John had asked for beef tongue, of course. It was all he could deign to talk about on their ride over, what little she had heard of his conversation with James, and when the meal was received it was consumed with gusto. Sinclair had never gained a taste for the appendage, or the capers that had come with it, and when time came for the head to be carved, she had insisted on some generous slice of the cheek as well as a sliver of the nose. The latter request had put an odd and confused expression on poor Gibson’s face, as well as Hodgeson from across the table, but she had no intention of consuming it herself. When her ration was finally served, she plucked the chewy cartilage from her plate and drew her hand beneath the table where Neptune had laid in wait patiently for any such scrap of meat from the table to carelessly fall to the floor. Despite how ravenous the beast had seemed for any such luxury, the giant was ever so gentle as he took what she had offered from her hand, and settled himself by her feet to enjoy the gelatinous morsel.

She had caught a somewhat off-put glance from Lieutenant Little as her gaze and attentions turned back to her own plate, wiping the miniscule amount of gristle and saliva from her hand as she returned to her own meal. She began to cut into her meat and he did the same, this time in utter and complete silence.

WIP ASK GAME

[thenightshadowqueen]

Divorces and Teddy Bears—Watchthrough Thoughts

I’m not sure if anyone likes reading these, but I do, and I figure I can’t be the only one, so here we go. (Plus, they’re fun to make.)

The little card and “beginning-middle-end” editing is amazing

The presents in the title card being addressed to “Peter Steven”, “Priscilla”, and “Johnny and Janae”??????? They know their fanbase; I died

I love this stage

Also captions!!!

I love Luke being so confused at the beginning and just going “Oh!” when he gets it

“I was dressed as a sheep” ah, taking lessons from Sam, are we?

AJ’s sassy walk!!!!!!!

Okay I love Mrs. Claus holy shit

“Leave the keys in the sled, yes. So I can start the engine of the sled.” I love it when Sam points out logic flaws without even breaking character (although I also love it when he breaks character too)

Poor Snowdrop, being assigned as the child of divorce and forced into the middle

Also Luke’s hair???? He looks amazing

The camera quality is great as well

“We feed directly on your emotions. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” Luke????

Congrats to Luke for finally getting his diagnosis!

Also Luke directing the audience to cheer for him and then to stop is amazing (reminds me a bit of that clip of him getting the room to be quiet in that recent Genre game)

Tom changing the scene just to crouch behind the chair… This caught me so off guard (in the best way possible)

I know someone already said this but Little Krampus has huge Scottish Robin vibes

Also I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: how the FUCK does Tom move like that?

Tom stroking at a strand of Luke’s hair like that is so weird and I’m here for it; Tom’s character choices are always top-notch

I think “sassy women who fly to warm places to cheat on their husbands with men called Javier” is my favourite niche sub-genre of AJ character (insert that thing about nickels and things happening twice) (shoutout to Tracy) (also I know that Tracy didn’t canonically sleep with Javier but like… she totally did, right?) (or with a different Javier) (there are always plenty of Javiers available in the SFTHverse) (and she has been fucking everyone (direct quote from her))

I love it when AJ fucks up some tiny, barely-significant thing and Sam just CANNOT let it go and it becomes an actual plot point

AJ’s passport photo poses are gorgeous

“The most wanted terrorist in the North Pole” Jesus Christ Sam

Also tangent but can I just say that AJ wearing friendship bracelets is everything (and am I right in saying that I think those were the ones made by fans? Or am I misremembering? Because if they are that is so fucking sweet)

Now I really want to learn more about the Great Battle

Sassy Tom!!!! I love sassy Tom

The Sam and Luke elves remind me of the Oompa Loompas from West End Big Boys

I love Luke’s determination to climb on Sam and Sam’s determination to prevent it

“~Rudolph motherfucker~” have I mentioned that I love AJ?

Audience to the rescue!

“Initiating micro-space” AJ???

Javier having basically all of his buttons undone… Xavier flashbacks, anyone? (Also, Tom having basically all of his buttons undone… he definitely remembers the latest DnD livestream)

“I was expecting a sexy lady with a big beard” hell yeah, bearded women!

“Is [having your shirt unbuttoned] the local custom?” “No, only when we are awaiting a lover. Which, again, you are not; you are two children.” I love that Tom has to remind Sam to not unbutton his shirt because… it’s Sam

“My manservant was surprised” one, of course Javier had a manservant, and two, they need to stop making me think of BBC Merlin because it kills me every single fucking time

Luke just casually telling this random man that he’s 2000 years old… god, they really do never leave the North Pole, do they?

“Tell me a little less” I love Tom

“I’m definitely the receiver in the relationship” TOM (but also good for Javier)

AJ oh my fucking god

“That’s how it works up there” god I love Sam’s very specific “suspension of disbelief” voice

“That looks like a plot point that’s almost been abandoned” Tom is amazing

Oh, Luke, you’ve just set yourself up for another Pocket scenario

“I just wanted the pussy” Tom

“You know it’s casual” does she? Because she’s moving halfway around the world for him

“Wow, that sounds very transactional to me” I mean… yeah. Yeah, it does

“Hey, let’s not blame someone with a disorder, shall we?” I love Sam holy shit

Tom singing!!!!!!!!!!!! He sounds so creepy??????? He’s doing an amazing job

“~I just realised there’s no cable on this mic at all~” Tom has been freed!

Oh my god I love seeing Tom so happy

Tom’s villains are always amazing for a lot of reasons but especially his physicality???

Tom is having so much fun

AJ’s expression when Tom puts their faces close together is amazing; it’s like, “I have no idea what the fuck you’re doing but I’m going with it”

“Poor little teddy bear Christmas man.” I love Tom trying to bring back the title (“I have so many names and that is not one of them”)

LUKE!!!! (his Little Krampus movements are amazing)

Also Snowdrop :(

AJ just staring blankly into the camera is so fucking creepy

Luke good fucking god

Thought we were going to get a kiss for a second there…

Sam singing!!!!

I love the audience singalongs!

AJ singing!!!!

Holy shit I love this play

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates!

[kookygranger]

He Came From Hawkins

The day Steve Harrington's afterlife changed forever.

Ghost!Steve Harrington x Witch!Reader

Series Masterlist

750 words

The patter of rain against your bedroom window lulls you as you sit in front of an unorganised stack of books, the rug underneath you tickling at your thighs. You’d come upstairs looking for a particular book. One of your oral histories of the music scene in New York, but you can’t remember which, or even particularly why and now you think you might just take a mid-morning snooze.

Not an actual nap, just a moment or an hour to close your eyes and listen to the rain. You’re just about to get up from the floor, the soft cotton of your sheets calling you when you hear a noise downstairs.

It sounded like a voice, deep and confused.

Your front door is unlocked; there are no threats in your witch’s coven up in the mountains, but it wasn’t common for any of your sisters to come in uninvited. Everyone knew you valued your privacy. An introvert who wasn't always up for company.

You make your way downstairs, the wood creaking under your light steps as you descend slowly.

“Uh, hello?”

“Jesus fucking christ.” You stumble clutching at your heart that’s rapidly increased in pace. A young man is standing in your living room. “Wh–who are you?”

“Steve Harrington.” The boy reaches his hand out as if offering to shake yours before faltering and placing it back in his pocket. “I think I’m in the wrong place.”

“No shit.” You take him in, this boy who allegedly broke into a witch’s house in the middle of a well-established, secret coven. Your eyes flick from the moles on his exposed neck, the perfect quaff of his thick hair and widened hazel eyes, finally noticing the slight translucency to his form as he stands before you. “Oh, you’re a–“

“Ghost? Yeah.” He holds up a hand, face squinting as if to say what are you gonna do about it? “I was supposed to be like moving on to whatever comes next I guess.” He scratches his jaw, “I was just in this trailer back in Hawkins, saying goodbye. This witch, a good witch, was helping me say goodbye–and now I’m here.” He looks around your house. “This isn’t it is it? Like, the afterlife?” His eyes fall back on you, giving you a once over before smirking, “Not that I’m complaining, it’s just not what I expected.”

“No, you’re still in the land of the living…kind of.”

He nods, taking you in again, “You don’t look that shocked.”

Your shoulder shifts in a slight shrug, face showing little emotion, “I’m a witch too.”

“Oh, cool.” He smiles wide, a sureness in his features that prickles at your skin. “Do you know why I’m here?”

“No,” you shake your head, and he bites his lip. “I don’t see what business you could have here I’ve been borrowing this land for eight hundred years.”

“Right, well I just died last week so…where are we?” He looks around again, trying to get a glimpse of any recognisable landmarks outside of your window.

“Uh, Catskills.”

“Never been.” He frowns.

“Right.”

The ghost of Steve Harrington didn’t leave that morning, or the next. He wasn’t sure where he was supposed to go so, he stayed.

It was weird, even for a witch familiar with the unexplainable nature of the world. You didn’t really know how to help him, your experience of communing with spirits lacking. Steve said he didn’t mind. Told you with that disarming smile of his that he’d just hang out until he figured out what to do.

So, he did. He hung out.

He hung out while you pottered about your house, cleaning the kitchen, doing laundry, reading by the window with the afternoon light. He hung out as you cooked dinner and settled in front of your staticky TV in the evenings. He hung out as you watered your garden, looking on from the window as you nervously smiled at fellow coven members passing by, his gaze burning the back of your neck.

The ghost of Steve Harrington wasn’t leaving. In fact, he seemed pretty settled, growing in confidence every day with the amount he stared at you, unabashedly and with a smirk that made your body tense.

“Is there a problem?” You didn’t have to look up from the book you were reading to know he was doing it again.

“No. Just admiring the view.”

You shake your head, hiding your fluster with a look of agitation, “Any closer to figuring out your next move?”

“Nope.”

You bite your lip at the evident smile in his voice. “Great.”

[ddejavvu]

ANOTHER JAMES POTTER THOUGHT LMAOOO. k. so. hear me out. fake dating!James potter. sirius brings it up, the idea of you and James fake dating, cus youre all nervous about going to a family event cus it'll just be more comments about your lack of love life constantly. so sirius mentions that maybe you should just bring someone and say that theyre ur bf; it'd be easier AND you wouldnt be alone, muddling your way through awkward social conversations and such. remus, surprisingly, agrees with sirius when you laugh at the idea. ever the empath, he softly explains how it could be a great idea for you, and it'd solve a few issues at the same time. James doesnt really say anything till sirius suggests you bring him as your fake boyfriend, and James is immediately lighting up like "im your boyfriend??? yeah??" and he just.. cannot be told, no matter how many times you stress that he'd be a fake boyfriend, he just repeats that hes your boyfriiiieeeennnddd though. plain and simple.

he definitely takes his role seriously. makes excuses like, "we have to practice kissing, id kiss you ALOT as your boyfriend, yknow. and I dont want you to freeze up if I kiss you for the first time and you dont know how to react. we MUST practice." also holdsur hand all the time now and hes shameless about it - "but lovely, im ur boyfriend im meant to hold ur hand, cmonnn". even gets jealous like a real boyfriend would now (not that he didn't before, but now he lets it show).

at the event, also has a habit of stealing you away and keeping up the boyfriend role, im saying he lays it on THICK, doesnt matter if no one else can see it or is paying attention. im talking touchy, he probably nuzzles his face down into yours alot,constant love sick expression on his face. its gets so bad that even ur brother is like "wow, didn't realise youd get an actual boyfriend. like, what blackmail do u have on him?? did you finally submit to the devil and curse him or smthn cus Jesus fucking christ sis look at him, hes mooning over you from across the room. seems like an alright bloke though. maybe."

can imagine that hes touchy and sweet and etcetcetc but also. after ur little event is done, he stops joking and pretending, bends down to you and "so can I be your boyfriend now. pleeeaase?? ur auntie even said that I must be a lovely young man.. you think im a lovely young man too, right? so I can be ur boyfriend?? ]: please?"

FAKE DATING JAMES IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE TROPES WITH HIM!!!!!!!!! BECAUSE BECAUSE BECAUSE he'd want to 'sell it' just like you mentioned, and he'd plan these insane grandiose gestures that have you melting for real and then you sneak off to a private area and he's giggling like they totally bought it!! and ur weak in the knees like yEah they did!!

you stress so many times to him that he's your fake boyfriend. fake. FAKE. but he absolutely refuses to say that, he calls it method acting. he's gotta get in character, he can't tell himself it's fake all the time or it'll seem fake!

no bc even before you get to your parents house he's like okay so let's practice our kisses. we're gonna need casual cheek kisses, the 'i-don't-want-to-make-a-scene kiss', the 'we-think-we're-alone' kiss, the forehead kiss, the hand kiss, the air kiss- and he's rambling on about all the ways he's gonna smooch you up and your cheeks are on fire.

the days leading up to the event he does practice! whenever you walk out of a room he grabs your hand and tugs you down to kiss your cheek, he makes you kiss him goodnight every night before bed, he even insists that you give it all you've got when no one else is around so that you get comfortable being passionate with him.

he greets your mom like the perfect gentleman, bringing her a bouquet and offering to help with dinner. but when she politely declines the help he sits on the floor at your feet while you're on the couch, spreads ur knees so that he can sit between your calves, and hangs out with the kiddos on the floor. he's their big jungle gym, constantly has children crawling all over him, and they definitely ask him scandalized questions like 'you KISS her?!?!?!' and then he gets this big shit-eating grin on his face and leans up to lay a big fat wet juicy smooch on your lips and they all chorus 'ewww!' and run off to giggle about it somewhere else. it leaves james with no more playmates, so he hoists himself up onto the couch and wraps an arm around you, proceeding to be sickeningly sweet and domestic and cute. definitely a nuzzler, ur so right <33333

YES THE TEASING FROM EVERYONE ELSE SKGNG ur grandma is like 'i'm glad you found a good man before i die' and ur auntie is like 'does he have an older brother??' everyone is enamored by this loverboy you've brought home, and he plays the part so well that no one ever realizes it was fake.

which is good, because it isn't for long. he definitely begs for you to give him a chance at being your real boyfriend, but you don't bother even giving him the chance, you just tell him you already know he'll be a fantastic real boyfriend because he went so above and beyond when it was only supposed to be fake :') ur so far gone for him and it's the best night of his life, i guarantee it :')

[ashe-stxr]

RIDDLEBIRD VN CGS 7/16

"Last time I was sent there for killing a cop, how long do you think they'd keep me there for killing the mayor?"

"Are you seriously threatening me right now?"

jesus christ. i always forget how bad my executive dysfunction gets when im hyperfixated on something. especially when what im hyperfixated on is a fandom so i just want to spend all my time scrolling through tumblr or tiktok just to see the silly guys my brain has decided to attach itself to. so that being said, i havent done that much work on the visual novel this month like i hoped. which again, SUCKS because i had this month off of work, which surprise, instead of being my most productive month of my year, the lack of structure only made me depressed and worsened my already bad life habits. luckily, my executive dysfunction also extends to posting art, so i actually have a few CGs to show off this week :]

but essentially what im getting at with all this is im kind of kicking myself right now because i was really hoping to get this first chapter out for playtesting in time for the one year anniversary of me starting this :// (or at the very least finishing the CGs) so right now i have absolutely no idea what next month is looking like in terms of progress while my motivation is kind of on standby for the time being while i try to wait out this hyperfixation (this happened in april/may of this year as well, and the months after were my most productive so crossing my fingers and hoping this happens this time as well !) i know that the standards ive set for myself dont actually exist outside of my head but i cant help but feeling awful about how this month went 😭

anyways, complaining to the void about my problems aside, this CG and the whole scene its in is very interesting !

writing arguments are really hard, so this scene was sorta pushed to the end in my writing process, but i think it turned out pretty well !! the funniest thing about the coward routes is that i wrote them side by side, so i would go from writing about these two having a nice heart to heart during dinner straight to ed making vague threats to oswalds life LMAOOO the emotional whiplash i went through was an experience unlike anything else ive gotten while writing

the final result of the CG ended up being 28 pictures/frames as well. which is still only the second biggest set in the first chapter,, the second half of this set i actually tried out something new by making it have a comic feel to it. i might have to make its own post for it, since i didnt want to clutter this one too much

[myththefangirl]

Good Omens Trailer for S2 Spoilers:

So a few interesting things about the trailer I can note after watching it 100 times.

First of all, why is Crowley back?

Not counting Crowley driving and parking the Bentley (on the other side of the street, too, it looks like), this is the very first thing we get in the trailer.

Crowley, looking a little bothered, comes into the shop and rings the bell. More out of spite than anything since Aziraphale is sitting right there. But the angel, still looking at the paper in his hands, only responds 'I can see that.'

It's definitely strange, but it's clear Crowley's a little bit angry. With what, who knows?

Honestly, my first guess was that he tried to tell Aziraphale he loved him and Aziraphale tries to push him away. If so, fuck, this scene is going to be so awkward. Other than that, I really don't know. Could be that Crowley went to check on Hell, and possibly came back with some bad news?

On another note, we do get a look at Aziraphale's newspaper.

If you zoom in, it reads something about a phenomenon- but it's not in Tadfield. Is it perhaps something Gabriel caused?

Speaking of Gabriel, the 'Gabriel lost his memory and now lives in the shop' theory was very much correct. But the strange thing is, that even Heaven can't seem to find the angel. Weren't they supposed to be the ones who took his memory away- as punishment?

So why can't they find him?

Anyway, we do get some interesting scenes with Gabriel but I especially like this one;

Gabriel: You know what it's like when you don't know anything at all, yet you're totally certain everything would be better if you were just near one particular person?

Aziraphale: *Smiling fondly* Eh- no. Certainly not.

This is going to be one good season. Also, I know none of us missed the scene where they're dinning together. And Judging by Crowley's clothes, it's right after the church bombing scene.

But Jesus Christ, it's so romantic. Like, I get the wine. We've always seen them drinking wine. But the candles? Really? Is that super necessary? Makes me wonder if the scene is actually post-Armageddon and Crowley's just dressing up for the occasion. Either way, it's a very nice dinner date.

We also get angel Crowley. Interesting.

Huh, all those fanfics are going wild rn.

Crowley also has a breakdown next to that one angel statue that we saw in the opening credits for S2.

Lastly; Aziraphale does his magic show?

Certainly looks like it. And, we can finally confirm it was him in the opening credits for this season. Can't add another picture, so here is another post I made.

[scentedflowersong]

Let me tell you, this dinner party is putting Tramalchio to shame 😎

Look beyond the cut for details...

As Medea prepares the dinner party, Jabberwocky questions her mother's motives for inviting their enemies to dinner at all, however, Medea just smiles and sends her to look after Maria (poor JW, how sad to be an almighty powerhouse of chaos when you're stuck babysitting)

Emma and Regina don't waste any time trying to 'wake' Kara, even mention the Black Mercy, but Kara refuses their 'story', especially when Lucy comes in - SQ immediately recognise their granddaughter (it's not ideal circumstances, but this way, at least Emma and Regina could meet Lucy - who might or might not ever exist in their timeline)

Meanwhile, in the peacekeepers camp, Jasmine and Tiana strategise and Mal suggest burning Camelot's army to a crisp - there she goes, true queen, Hook doesn't even desrve her

Gathered aboard the Hispaniola, Medea's guest try for civility and toast to new friends (LOL) and otherwise exchange pleasantries, Zelena, always needing to be the firestarter brings up Kara, but she also manages to calm the situation down, for the time being... (As I said, after this, Tramalchio's dinner party will seem enjoyable)

Back in Kara's mind, SQ pull out the big cards - Lena and Alex, but no no avail, only Lucy starts asking the hard questions - trying to calm Lucy, or probably just wanting to get rid of the two weirdos who claim to be her long dead mothers, Kara asks what she needs to do...

...but it turns out they can't leave Kara's apartment, on the contrary, Henry and Ella arrive amd act like SQ were a part of this dream version of their lives all along - the worst part? Emma and Regina fall under the Black Mercy's spell as well, bloody hell

Lancelot is having the same amount of luck trying to reason with his wife - surprise surprise, try a true love's kiss, or distracting her with sex at least, damnit, Lance

On the opposite side of the battlefield, Will, Alice and Robin try to get to Anastasia who turned fully into the Red Queen and is as adamant as Guinn, but at least Merida reveals she's not actually under Medea's control and promises Mulan to take care of her wife - good luck with that, love

Hook finally reached it's boiling point (LOL I'm hilarious today) and makes a scene while the other party guests try to not to get set on fire and enjoy the meal insted ONLY for the delicious roast turns out to be SMEE! Jesus almighty! That...that is a step too far, I mean, nothing is too far for the Satan's lover but Christ! And worst of all, all of the guests are now CANNIBALS! So many cleansing will need to be done...

Desperate Alex makes a deal with Rumple to get into Kara's dreamscape - and thank goodness for that, cause SQ are now trapped in there too, but luckily, wake up once Alex bursts their little bubble - the whole situation quickly turns into a Coraline-esque fight with the fake younger Swan-Millses which FINALLY wakes Kara up as well

In the hospital, Kara waits all of one minute to get her head around what just happened and then is dead set on finding Medea (and tearing that bitch apart, fingers crossed) - welcome back, sweetie

Something Wicked This Way Comes, Chapter 28

Storybrooke Harbour. Aboard The Hispaniola. (While Medea uses her magic to set the table, the Jabberwocky sits reclined on one of the chairs.) Jabberwocky: “Are you sure you don’t need me here? You know how I enjoy our suppers.” Medea: “Whatever their insidious intent against me… And I don’t doubt their narrow, little minds have one… Tonight’s dinner shall work for my purposes, too.” Jabberwocky: “How can you still invite them here knowing they mean you harm, Mother?” Medea: “Oh, it will take a harder heart than theirs to trouble me. A heart like mine.” Jabberwocky: “And mine.” Medea: “Hm. Do not worry yourself and keep your focus on the child. If any of my guests choose to act on their nefarious urges against me then rest assured that this may turn out to be their last supper.” “Kara’s Apartment. Continued.” (After allowing them inside and listening to what Emma and Regina have to say, Kara stands with her arms folded and a dubious look upon her face.) Kara: “Uh, I’m sorry, did you say ‘coma’?” Emma: “Yes, but we’re here to help you.” Kara: “I’m not in any coma, I’m standing in my apartment.” Regina: “No, Kara, you’re not. You’re being trapped in this fantasy life while in a comatose state by a creature known as the Black Mercy.” Kara: “If I’m in a coma, how are you here?” Emma: “We used the sands of Morpheus to enter your dreams.” Regina: “We believe Medea set the Black Mercy on you before you could rescue Maria on the bridge. Don’t you remember?” Kara’s Apartment. Recent Past. (While awaiting the call to head to the bridge, Kara pulls a bottle of water from the fridge and takes a sip. Seeing a gift on the coffee table, she walks over to it and pulls open the wrapping. Picking up the box, she notices a sticky residue seeping through the cardboard.) Kara: (Disgusted:) “What the hell?” (Placing the box back down on the table, she hesitates for a moment before opening it. Taken by surprise, Kara barely registers being attacked by a plant-like creature before everything turns black.) “Kara’s Apartment. Continued.” (Kara shakes her head, trying to shut out the memory.) Kara: “No, this is crazy. This…” Young Girl: (Calling from across the hall:) “Kara, what’s wrong? (Entering the room:) Who was at the… (Emma and Regina turn to see a young girl standing before them, her eyes wide:) …door.” Emma: “You. You’re the girl we saw in the Crystal Cave.” Young Girl: (Cautiously:) “Hello.” Regina: (Smiles:) “Hello.” Emma: “Hey.” Young Girl: “Are you… my grandparents?” (Caught completely by surprise, Emma and Regina’s jaws drop when they realise they are in the presence of their granddaughter Lucy.)

Chapter continues on AO3… Chapter 28

[feathertayl]

I’m going to need people in fandoms to stop pretending that it’s somehow feminist and empowering for a female character to get fridged and shoved into this typical 1950s nuclear family setting at the end of a series —especially if it’s a shounen series and it doesn’t make sense for the character to end up this way. It’s not anti-feminist to think that these characters deserved better than what their pea-brained (usually male) author wrote for them.

[hanazuma-inactive]

Hello! This is kind of a long request and well- Hopefully you’re fine with doing temporary Body Swap. :>

So basically Bakugou and his Male S/O are pro heroes and when out on a mission, they both get hit by a villain who has a swap quirk. Basically, they just swapped bodies. (Y/n is in Bakugou’s body and Bakugou is in Y/n’s body, they basically just switched minds.) They are told by the other pro heroes that the two should go home and take the day off. Unfortunately, nobody knows how long the quirk effect will stay, but they were convinced it was only temporary. So the two go back to their shared apartment and the day goes on pretty normal- besides the fact that, you know, they’ve swapped bodies. Though later Y/n gets a bit of an idea. What if he were to f*ck Bakugou in this body? The thought seemed kinda strange at first since he would literally be f*cking his own body, but he couldn’t deny that the thought was turning him on. Especially wanting to see Bakugou’s reaction. So, he basically handcuffs Bakugou to prevent him from struggling and.. while in the middle of doing it, something happens.. Shit! Why did it have to happen now?? Y/n panics in his head as he realizes they just swapped bodies again, and he is now at the mercy of Bakugou Katsuki himself..

I actually sent a request kinda similar to this to someone else but it was a while ago and they haven’t responded so they may not have liked it, or it just didn’t arrive. And sorry for choosing Bakugou again, you just may be able to figure out who my favorite character is.. Sorry for my rambling.

If you don’t wanna do it, that’s fine. Anyways, have a good day/night, man!

in his shoes (nsfw) bakugou x reader

pronouns: he/him

warnings: body swapping during sex, bottom and top reader+bakugou, selfcest (?), degrading, bratty behavior, claimming and possesive themes, bondage (handcuffs)

a/n: i really like this concept and i will write it don't worry 😎👍 i usually write all of my requests anyways. im also sorry this took literally 5 years.

_____

katsuki bakugou and y/n bakugou. the two of you have been married for 2 years now after you guys started working as heroes. you both went to UA and graduated at the top of the class. neither of you had time for love or romance resulting in neither of you confessing you feelings for each other. gladly, things managed to work out in the end.

"he's on it again, i need the bakugous here right now."

hearing the police force requesting your assistance, you and your husband show up on the case. it turned out to be the villain that the two of you couldn't capture the last time during patrol. 

"HEH?! look y/n, it's this motherfucker again. what's up with this loser, coming back every time it's annoying." 

"play nice now katsuki, let's just go and restrain him and let the police take care of the rest."

the two of you move quickly to match the villain's rapid movements. katsuki flew around using his quirk to attempt to catch him but failed. the villain was surprisingly agile and you guys had a tough time trying to chase him down. 

after around half an hour of chasing you finally cornered the villain on top of a tall building in the middle of the city that was still in construction. the ground was hard to walk on and somewhat unstable but you managed to find your balance. 

"alright, give it up, you've got nowhere to run now. 

"what he said, stop resisting and i won't blow your face off."

the villain's expression turned to fear as you started to close up on him. out of panic, he used his quirk. it was a small beam that didn't hurt at all. however, after a few seconds your body started to heat up, you looked over to katsuki and you could tell he was feeling the same. what was happening?

seeing the two of you struggling, the villain quickly left the scene but he had trouble moving around due to his surroundings. his movements were also somewhat impaired due to fatigue. it was most likely the aftereffect of his quirk which was why he was pretty reluctant in using it. 

the strange feeling in your chest wouldn't go away and your vision started to blur. next thing you know you woke up on top of the same building to see yourself lying next to you. was his quirk duplication? no it couldn't have been. you tried to stand up but felt the weight of some heavy armor dragging you down. you look down to see yourself wearing katsuki's hero costume and his gauntlet. still in awe, you heard a groan in your own voice next to you. 

"shit… wtf happened, y/n where are you where-" 

it didn't take long for your husband to find out what happened. 

the two of you have switched bodies.

you both tried to explain to the police who's who but it only ended in confusion. you went home with your husband after they put the two of you on break for "damaged mental" from the villain because the majority of the police thought you guys were crazy. 

there weren't any cases similar to body switching between heros before so the doctor said there's nothing that can be done other than attempting to wait off the effect. so there you were, in your husband's body, cooking dinner for the man while you saw your own body lazily sitting on the couch with your legs spread open watching the tv. 

life went as normal for the next two days, since you two were both males there weren't any problems whatsoever. however, one day a thought flew into your mind while taking a nap with katsuki. since he was the one who would usually top, now that you're in his body wouldn't it technically mean you get to top? 

physically you would be using your boyfriend's body to fuck yourself. but the thought of the all mighty bakugou katsuki taking his own dick, his bratty attitude, and lastly breaking him and making him fall apart by your touch aroused you in an indescribable way. you knew katsuki wouldn't agree to this due to his prideful personality so you had to take other measures to carry out your plan. 

you and kastuki had all sorts of toys laying around and you decided to give him a taste of his own medicine with them. while he wasn't looking you grabbed the vibrator, handcuffs, and blindfolds and put them all on the nightstand. now that everything is in place, all you have to do is wait to catch katsuki off guard tonight when he gets tired.

later tonight, after finishing dinner, katsuki was yet again sitting casually again on the couch watching tv, not giving a single care to the world. 

"heyy katsuki!"

"hm? yah?" 

"come with me for a second? i want to show you something!" you said with a sly grin on your face

katsuki didn't care enough to talk back, neither did he think this could lead to the ill intentions you had with him tonight. following you into the bedroom, you gestured katsuki to sit down on the bed. he obeyed although he began to have a suspicion of what you're about to do. using your new body, you abused katsuki's strong muscle and speed to restrain your own body with the handcuffs you prepare. there was no way for katuski to fight back in this situation because your body was simply not built enough to resist his. 

"h-huh? what are you doing dumbass…if you're joking s-stop it now, it's not funny." 

"oh i am very serious katsuki, now that i'm inside your body. i am going to fuck your brains out. i'm gonna thrust that bratty attitude of yours right out the window." 

hearing you say that, your husband looked away to avert his eyes while you heard a small gulp coming from his throat. you could tell he was nervous and that's exactly what you wanted. katsuki has never bottomed in his life before and he does plan on doing so either. 

finally having katsuki in your grasp, you decided to carry on with your plan. you put on the blindfold for him as he jolted in surprise. katsuki tried to get out of the handcuffs but later found his attempt futile. these were the toys he used for you too and he out of everyone should know it's impossible to get out of them. once your husband stopped moving you gentlt took off his pants, leaving him exposed wearing only your boxers with an erection under it.

"aww katsuki~ already hard and i haven't even done anything yet, maybe you're better off being the bottom hm?" you teased 

"s-shut up you shit head, just get on with it, whatever evil plan you have in store for tonight…"

"no need to rush katsuki" you said as you entered his asshole with 2 of your fingers, loosening him up for the vibrator. 

"we have the entire night."

you heard your own voice whimper as you explored more with your fingers. soon enough it was time to put the other toy in. your fingers left for a bit preparing the vibrator, leaving bakugou panting from the pleasure and clenching his hole around well, nothing. you turned on the vibrator and katsuki immediately noticed the familiar sound of what's in your hands. 

"o-oi y/n, don't put it in here, i-i won't be able to take it." 

"oh i'm sure you can~ you made me do it plenty of times, why can't the big and strong bakugou katsuki do it?"

without mercy, you put in the vibrator quickly and let the show play out. katsuki was moaning and groaning while you stroked your own cock enjoying the view. katuski's cock was bigger than yours and you weren't used to jacking off such a big dick but it was a nice first.

seeing a wet spot forming on katsuki's underwear, you knew he was ready to go. you took off katsuki's underwear to see the precum leaking from it, so much it looked like he was about to cum any second now. next, you took out the vibrator and started to spread some lube on your cock. you positioned yourself on top of the katsuki and teased his pink hole with your huge cock. 

"what do good boys say katsuki~?" 

"tch! i'm not saying it, y-you sadistic fuck."

you slapped katsuki's ass so loud that the neighbors probably could've heard you.

"i'm the one in control right now, you listen to what i say, understood?"

"f-fine, jesus christ! p-please y/n, put it inside me…" 

"that's a good boy…" 

after you fit ¾ of your cock in katsuki was already panting heavily trying to catch his breath. it reached his prostate you leaned down on his chest to bite on his nipples to make him feel even better. his hole clenched on your hole so tight you were barely able to move your cock around. you continued to make thrusts and sped them up each time. 

during your thrusts you suddenly felt the weird feeling when fighting the villain again. both you and bakugou's body started to burn up but it wasn't as painful as it was last time. next thing you know everything was pitch black. you felt a piece of black cloth on top of your eyes and a familiar size inside your ass. it didn't take you long to realize that you and bakugou finally switched back. 

you were glad to be back in your own body but why did it have to happen now?! out of all the times it could've happened this was no doubt the worst possible timing. you just teased the crap out of bakugou and now that he's in control again he can take his revenge right here, right now.

"oh? would you look at that…our bodies switched back…" you couldn't see katsuki say this but you could already tell the evil smile on his face. 

"k-katsuki i'm sorry, i didn't mean to tease you that hard i was just trying to have some fun y-y'know." you desperately tried to explain. 

"too late now baby boy… bad boys get punished for what they did. now… get ready, for the night of your fucking life." 

regret, nothing but regret. bakugou was already an aggressive person when it comes to sex, now that you pissed him off even more you weren't prepared for what he was about to do to you. 

without warning, katsuki pulled back his hips and thrusted into you harder than ever. you took his entire length right away and the full feeling in your ass was too overwhelming for you to handle. you started to blabber nonsense, unable to form words due to the pleasure. 

"c'mon baby… gotta speak up if you want me to understand you." bakugou said knowing damn well you can't talk back. 

incoherent moans and groans escaped from your mouth as you felt dry orgasms again and again from katsuki reaching your prostate. you were on the verge of passing out till you saw your husband's panting just as hard as you. you could tell he was very close as well. you tried your best to stay conscious and cum with your husbands. 

katsuki let out a loud moan as he cummed inside you. you reached your orgasm too cumming all over yourself. katsuki licked up the cum on your stomach as you slipped into sweet unconsciousness. he gave you a warm smile and patted your head as he took you into his arms and fell asleep with you. 

[hopeintheashes]

Fuck-It Friday = the 2.1k that exists of this draft so far, I guess.

post-6x07.

under the cut because it gets an M (or E?) rating on AO3.

He goes again when he gets home from the clinic.

That's not as bad as it sounds. He'd had to get back to his car, and call AAA, and wait for it to get towed, and then take an Uber back to his place, and by the time he's done all that it's nearly noon and he's soaked in sweat and he hasn't eaten anything all day beyond a single glass of that damn green juice for breakfast right before the end of shift.

So. Real food, practically inhaled, and three glasses of water (another thing he hasn't had all day), and then he flips the switch that brings down the blinds and strips on his way to the shower. He leaves his clothes in a pile outside the bathroom door.

He just stands under the water for a while. He hasn't stopped moving all day. He's exhausted but too keyed up to sleep. He can't fucking believe it's finally done.

Thank god.

The relief is a dozen-fold. Connor and Kameron finally have what they need. They won't be calling ten times in a row or showing up at the station and blowing his cover. He can stop fighting his way into the clinic's lobby only to be turned away again and again. And.

Well.

He hadn't even sat down once he'd gotten into the room at the clinic. Barely glanced at the magazines before setting them aside. Hadn't even pictured anyone, not really, not beyond a vague idea of hot and tanned and muscles and curves. After a month— a fucking month— there was no time or need for fantasy, not even with the weirdness of there are strangers right outside that door, and they all know exactly what's going on. Pure physical reaction: button undone; zipper down; go, go, go, go, go. Stars exploding before his eyes, legs shaking so hard he could barely stand, almost fucking up the actual collection part when his whole lower body went numb with the release.

He's hard again just thinking about it. The way he'd gasped his way into it and then cried out, too far gone to care whether anyone could hear.

He exhales through pursed lips and pours conditioner into his hand.

~ ~ ~

Eddie sends him a selfie from the beach.

There are photos of Chris surfing as well, so that's got to be why he send them in the first place, but. This one. Full screen.

Goddamn.

He hesitates. Swipes the photo closed.

Brings it back up again.

Jesus Christ.

He forces himself to close the photo. Pulls up porn instead.

One of the guys in the scene looks like Eddie.

He tries not to think about it, and fails.

~ ~ ~

Okay. He's got himself under control.

His month of need is satisfied (at least, it'd better be, after three times in half a day…), he can eat what he wants, and the deed is done. So. He can just move on. Not think about any of it.

Yeah.

Eddie texts him just as he's thinking about what he's going to do about dinner. Want to come over?

Fuck.

He does not get hard when Eddie gives him a hug at the door.

There's a rush, though. This certainty that if he hadn't spend the entire day exhausting himself, he'd be up for it again.

Heat rises in his cheeks.

He thinks about Pennsylvania winters, and freezing lakes.

Exhales, and smiles at Eddie like he hasn't lost his mind, and the moment is over before Chris comes into the room.

~ ~ ~

Dinner is good. Normal. They play a board game, after, and have some ice cream, and watch just one episode (yeah, turns out to be two) of this show Chris has successfully gotten Eddie hooked on. Chris is falling asleep on Buck's shoulder by the time it's done, and Buck's head fucking aches with how much he wants nights like tonight all the time. With how fast Chris is growing up. With how much he misses when he's not there.

You do realize he's not your kid, some voice in his head says, and the wash of it is bitter in his mouth.

Eddie's looking at him, concerned. Buck swallows and shakes his head. Shakes himself. Gently convinces Chris to wake up enough to make it to his room.

"Come on, kiddo. Time for bed."

Chris mumbles a half-hearted protest, but lets Buck pull him to his feet. Braces himself on Buck's arm for the walk down the hall, his muscles uncoordinated with sleep.

"Night," Chris says through a huge yawn, and Buck ruffles his hair.

"Good night. Sleep well."

~ ~ ~

He's tired enough that he's thinking about heading home so that he can go to sleep, too, even though it's not even nine.

Thinking about it makes it worse: The tiredness and the thought of trading the coziness of the Diaz house for the emptiness of his own apartment.

Not just fatigue and dispassion.

Exhaustion and dread.

"Buck?"

His hands are shaking, just a little. He tucks them under his thighs.

"Yeah."

Eddie's standing at the entrance to the living room, looking at him with concern again. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Oh. Uh." He pulls a hand down his face. It comes away damp with sweat. "Water?"

The furrow of Eddie's eyebrows deepens. "Okay?"

He should've asked for a beer.

"So," Eddie says, when he comes back with water for Buck and a beer for himself. "Sperm donation?"

Buck groans and hides his face in his hands. Eddie sets down his water on the coffee table and sits down next to him on the couch. Buck was hoping they could have this conversation from further across the room. Or never. "Connor's an old friend. They needed help; I decided to help."

"Hmm." Eddie takes a sip of his beer.

"What?" Buck turns his head in his hands to look at him sideways.

"What's the story with them…" Eddie gestures vaguely with his beer bottle. "Showing up at work?"

Buck sits up enough to grab his water off of the coffee table, and takes a sip. "They got nervous. The process was taking… longer than expected."

Eddie raises his eyebrows.

"Not that part! Just." He takes another sip of water to avoid meeting Eddie's eyes. "Every time I tried to go to the clinic, there was some sort of roadblock. Sometimes literally a roadblock."

"So you've been at this for…?"

He squeezes his eyes closed, already knowing what Eddie's going to say. "A month."

"A month?" Eddie leans in, incredulous. "And you just… didn't mention this? At all? For a month?"

"It wasn't supposed to take that long!" Defensive. "It just kept getting pushed back."

"Wait." Eddie's eyebrows furrow. "A month since they asked, or a month of roadblocks?"

He bites his lip, guilty.

"Buck!"

"I didn't…" He squeezes his eyes shut again. "I didn't want you to try to talk me out of it. Or into it, I don't know! I just needed to make the decision myself."

"With Hen," Eddie says, and Buck groans.

"Yes, okay, with Hen! And Maddie."

"Okay!" Pointedly nonchalant. Like that doesn't bother him at all.

It's not remotely convincing.

"Sorry." Looking at the ground.

Eddie softens. "Okay. So they asked, and you said yes, and then you spent a month running into roadblocks."

"And drinking green juice." Head tipped back against the couch. "And not—" Jesus, he's not even drunk. He snaps his mouth closed and sits up.

Real smooth.

"And not…?" Eddie asks suspiciously.

Oh, god. "Um. You know." His cheeks are burning again.

"I do not." Eyebrows maximally raised.

"Uh." He makes an entirely unhelpful hand gesture. "Practicing for the big day?"

"What?" Utter confusion, and then Buck can see the moment that it clicks. "Oh—"

"Yeah."

"Buck." He puts down his beer. "A month?"

"It wasn't supposed to be that long!"

"I would've…" An equally vague gesture. "Exploded, probably."

Oh, god. These images of Eddie, alone in his bedroom, giving in to the need. Of the point where every brush of fabric takes him right to the edge. Of wet dreams. He pulls a pillow into his lap. "It was… not ideal."

"And then they showed up." Serious, again. "Which is…" He clasps Buck's shoulder, which does not help the other issue at hand. "Not great."

Buck blinks at him. "Well, they tried to call."

"Okay? Did they try leaving a voicemail? Waiting until you were off shift?"

"It was… urgent, I guess. With the… cycle, and everything." God, how did he end up talking about his ex-roommate's wife's ovulation with his best friend? "If they didn't get it in time, they would've had to wait another month."

"And they didn't have that information a week ago?"

"I don't know, Eddie, okay?" He crosses one arm across his chest and picks at the pillow's seam with the other. "It's done."

Eddie's quiet for a minute, drinking his beer. "So what happens now?"

Buck gives him a look. "I think you know what happens now."

Eddie doesn't take the bait. "Do you get to find out if it works?"

Buck frowns. "Why wouldn't I get to find out if it works?"

"I don't know, that might not be part of the deal for some people. What did you guys agree to?" At Buck's look of confusion: "Like, level of contact? Will you get pictures? Did you give them permission to tell the kid who you are?"

"I…" Buck's suddenly very cold. "I don't know." He swipes at his forehead, and his hand comes away sweaty again.

Eddie puts his beer back down. "You didn't talk through any of that?"

"No?" He's starting to feel slightly sick.

"But you signed some sort of paperwork."

"At the clinic, but that was just the, yes, it's me, I'm donating to these people, all that." He frowns. "I think. I was kind of in a rush."

"Buck."

"What does it matter? It's done." He picks up his water with a shaking hand.

Eddie scrubs at the spot between his eyes. "It's done until this kid gets on 23andMe in eighteen years and nine months. Or until you start getting pregnancy updates and birth updates and baby updates and then it all just kind of… fades away. Or until you go fourteen years with nothing and then they decide the kid is old enough for them to give them your name, and next thing you know they're following you on social media. Or showing up at your place of work."

"Eddie." Almost a whisper.

He shakes his head. "I promise I'm not trying to be cruel. This is just the sort of shit you have to think about. Talk about. Because…" He hesitates, then plows ahead. "These people don't seem like they have the strongest grasp on boundaries. Among other things."

"Eddie," he says again, a little bit desperate, because it's done, okay? It's done.

He's sweating. His heart is beating fast. It feels like he can't quite breathe.

He tries.

His chest is tight. Too tight.

He's shaking.

He's not getting enough air.

"Hey." Eddie, in close. "Oh, hey, no, you're okay."

Is he? He feels like he's losing his mind.

The weight of Eddie's hands on his shoulders takes him by surprise and grounds him in equal measure.

"Okay," Eddie's saying. "Okay."

He's taking slow, deep breaths, waiting for Buck to mirror him.

He can't,

and then he thinks, maybe—

and then he does.

Okay.

~ ~ ~

He's shivery in the aftermath, head aching from the tension.

Eddie's hand is on his forehead as soon as he starts to come down.

So.

Maybe not just from the tension.

"What do you think," Eddie murmurs, running his fingers through Buck's hair, "stress fever?" He traces down Buck's jawline and Buck shivers. Eddie frowns when he hits the tender lymph nodes under Buck's jaw. "Or fever-fever?"

He wants to sink into Eddie's arms. "Stress," he manages, and Eddie nods. Sometimes he wishes Eddie didn't know that particular quirk about him.

He also can't picture a world in which Eddie doesn't know.

Or.

He could.

It's lonely, and it's cold.

He shivers again.

"Lie down. I'll get you a blanket."

He does.

~ ~ ~

He opens his eyes to darkness.

His throat hurts, and his head hurts, and he has to pee.

Well, one of those he can fix, anyway.

Eddie calls his name when he opens the bathroom door when he's done. Buck hesitates, then pushes open Eddie's bedroom door.

"C'mere." His voice is rough with sleep and his hair is a mess. Buck steps forward, and Eddie catches his hand and pulls him to sit down next to him on the bed. "How're you doing?"

Buck shrugs.

[tbc]

[miracleonice87]

Cape Cod Confessions - Kevin Hayes

a/n: this one hit me outta nowhere and I blame my Philly loves @broadstbroskis and @princessphilly for enabling me 😉😘 (jk you know I adore you.) writing this one actually made writing feel fun again. I'm grateful for that. also hey, I'm writing for Kevin Hayes now! keep that in mind for the next prompt list lol.

warnings: I think just swearing. also heads up, this is an OC. I like them and I ain't sorry.

word count: 4.4K+

_____

The familiar scene in the yard of Kate’s parents’ summer home on Cape Cod would normally fill her with contentment and peace, as all her family and closest, lifelong friends were gathered together in celebration. Her brother was marrying his college sweetheart in twenty-four hours, and Kate had every reason to be happy.

Today, though, after not being part of such an occasion for many months due to work obligations back in Seattle, Kate felt strange pangs of guilt and discomfort. Days like today made her wonder why she had ever left Boston in the first place.

And seeing her childhood best friend Kevin manning the grill, his nieces and nephews hanging from his long limbs as he promised them he would play with them as soon as the food was finished, made her wonder why she had ever left him in the first place.

How she had ever left him in the first place.

Kate was still lost in her own thoughts when, from across the lawn, she heard a shrill scream, followed by an ecstatic, “Auntie Kate!”

Her goddaughter Neila’s voice was unmistakable, and Kate set her purse on the grass just in time to catch Neila on her running jump, all the way from her Uncle Kevin straight into Kate’s arms. Pure joy flooded Kate’s soul as she caught Neila, giggling, and held the little girl to her chest.

“My beautiful Nene!” Kate exclaimed, kissing her cheek. “I missed you!”

Neila pulled back, pushing her hair away from her face. “I missed you, too,” she said sincerely before throwing her arms around Kate’s neck again.

A moment later, Neila wriggled out of Kate’s hold and turned toward the crowd of family and friends on the patio.

“Auntie Kate is here!” Neila announced, eliciting chuckles from the adults. Except for one — Kevin, whose eyes had already been glued to Kate since his niece’s initial squeal upon discovering her arrival. He’d turned his back on the grill to find his niece holding onto Kate’s hands and hopping backwards in an effort to pull her to join the party on the patio.

Kevin looked on as Kate threw her head back in laughter, and he felt the sort of distinct happiness that he only found when Kate was near. He couldn’t stop staring, mesmerized by how radiant she looked in her lilac sundress, with her curls thrown over her shoulders… that is, he couldn’t stop staring until his brother clapped him hard on the shoulder.

“Steaks are gonna burn, Kev,” Jimmy said loudly in order to bring Kevin back down to earth. Kevin simply nodded and turned back to the grill. Jimmy’s eyes traveled to where Kate stood reuniting with her immediate family, and a soft smile found his lips.

“She looks beautiful, no?” Jimmy spoke into Kevin’s ear, more softly this time. He was always more than willing to publicly embarrass his little brother when it came to an array of subjects. But Kate wasn’t one of them. Jimmy wouldn’t dare.

Kevin only nodded, again. Jimmy squeezed his shoulder, then scooped up his little son in his arms and headed to see his old friend.

Kate’s parents, her older brother Patrick, and his fiancée Joelle had just finished taking turns greeting her with hugs when, over her brother’s shoulder, she spotted Jimmy carrying Beau.

“Baby Beau!” Kate gasped, holding out her hands as Beau smiled and reached out for her. “Who let you get this big?!” she questioned as she took him in her arms. He simply giggled and laid his head on her shoulder.

“Hello, Kathleen Paige,” Jimmy greeted, using her full name as he had for Kate’s entire life, no matter how much she had hated the Irish moniker as a young kid.

“Hi, J,” she replied fondly, leaning in so that he could wrap her in a hug and plant a kiss to her forehead. “Your boy is getting way too big,” she told him, tickling Beau’s belly and making him laugh.

“Tell me about it,” Jimmy said. “How are you? You look great.”

Kate glanced downward, tucking some hair behind her ear.

“Thanks. I’m okay,” she replied uncharacteristically dryly, switching Beau to her other arm. “It’s good to be home,” she added without elaboration.

Jimmy nodded in understanding.

“It’s good to have you home,” he agreed, then tilted his head toward the house. “Kristen’s inside. She can’t wait to see you.”

Kate beamed at the mention of Jimmy’s wife, one of her closest friends for years now.

“I can’t wait, either,” she said, just as Beau reached back toward his dad, making them both laugh. “Here, take your mini me. I’m gonna go finish my rounds,” she told him as her eyes flickered in search of the younger Hayes brother.

Jimmy retrieved his son and smirked down at her, his own eyes dancing.

“You do that,” he encouraged, teasing in his tone.

Kate rolled her eyes, but, just as Jimmy had anticipated, she headed straight toward the barbecue next, passing at least a dozen other people who had been waiting to see her.

“Hey, grill master,” she said, her hand gently coming to rest on Kevin’s back.

Her touch took him by surprise, and he nearly fumbled the tongs in his hands as he turned to greet her, his tall frame towering over hers.

“Hey, Katie girl,” he spoke, and Kate realized just how much she had missed that voice speaking those very words. She could only grin like an idiot.

Kevin pulled Kate in, his arms crushing her against his chest, and she hugged his waist as she felt his heartbeat against her ear.

“Missed you,” she said simply.

“Missed you, too, Kate,” Kevin said, his voice rumbling against her cheek. She pulled back to look up at him with a relieved sigh as he grinned at her.

And in that moment, she finally felt some of the contentment and peace she’d been searching for.

_____

Hours later, after the cookout lunch and the rehearsal dinner, when the attention-commanding nieces and nephews had long been put to bed, Kevin found Kate where he’d always found her on summer nights at the Cape — down at the boathouse, her feet dangling above the water, her short stature prohibiting them from actually being submerged.

“Fancy meetin’ you here,” he found himself saying — immediately followed by an internal monologue of, God, Kevin, why are you so fucking lame?

Despite his pathetic attempt at humor, Kate still smiled up at him.

“I knew you’d find me eventually,” she replied, letting her gaze drift back across the water.

Kevin hummed in response as he set down the pair of beers he’d brought and took a seat on the dock beside her.

“I’m surprised you’re not with the girls,” Kevin said. “They’re up there poppin’ bottles in the kitchen.”

She laughed softly at the thought. “Nah, just needed some time to think,” she told him.

Kevin nodded, knowing not to press any further if Kate wasn’t feeling forthcoming.

“Well, I come bearing beers,” he said, offering her one of the bottles.

With a grateful sigh, she murmured a “thank you,” and accepted the cold beverage. And that was just another item that fell somewhere in the middle of the long list of reasons why Kevin adored her — because she never needed champagne or an apple martini or a Mai Tai. A beer that matched his always suited her just fine.

Kevin was smiling at the thought, and when Kate caught him, he quickly saved face by lifting his bottle in the air.

“A toast,” he announced. “To Pat and Joelle.”

She nodded, lifting her beer toward his. “To Pat and Joelle,” she echoed, clinking the neck of her bottle against his. “Cheers.”

Kate took a long pull, looking back across the cape, and after a few silent moments, Kevin casually reached for her ankles and swept her legs atop his lap, his free hand resting on her shin. It certainly wasn’t anything unusual — anyone who knew Kate and Kevin and their relationship knew that they had always been affectionate with one another. (So much so, in fact, that on many occasions, Jimmy had muttered, “Jesus Christ, just fuck already.”) But it had been so long since he had initiated such a gesture that Kate would have been lying if she said her breath didn’t catch in her throat a little.

She sniffed and made work of picking at the label on her bottle, trying to act as cool and collected as possible.

“You look great, Katie,” Kevin eventually piped up, interrupting the silence and making Kate feel somehow more nervous and more at ease all at once. She tucked her chin to her chest with a breathy chuckle. “I mean it,” he added earnestly. “I should’ve said it before, but… anyway, just wanted to tell you now.”

She tilted her head up to look at him, and Kevin had to remind himself to breathe as she shot him her famous pursed-lipped smile, pushed to one side of her mouth.

“Thanks, Kev,” Kate said softly. “You do, too.”

“How’s work?” he asked, assuming that he’d be posing a simple, run-of-the-mill question, one that might lighten the mood and give his heart rate a chance to slow a bit.

But Kate snorted, lowering her bottle from her lips after a swig. “What work?” she asked cynically.

Kevin’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?” he asked, confused.

She cleared her throat, turning to face the full moon instead of him. “The magazine shut down,” she finally admitted. “It’s been almost a month now, I guess.”

And for once in his life, Kevin was speechless.

Kate had started working for the small, independently-owned Pacific Northwest tourism magazine five years ago — the publication was the whole reason she’d moved to Seattle in the first place. She was so proud of her photography that was featured in each issue, and so was Kevin — though Kate didn’t know it, he had subscribed to the magazine after her first photo was featured in an issue early in her time on staff. And since the monthly magazines were mailed to his place in Philly and not in Dorchester, he realized that he would have had no way of knowing about the shutdown if it weren’t for Kate directly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kevin asked gently, concern evident in his tone.

She shrugged. “Not something I really felt like talking about this weekend,” she replied, rubbing her hands along her upper arms to warm them from the cool ocean breeze. “Not necessarily something I was all that proud of.”

Kevin’s heart sank. “But it isn’t your fault, Kate,” he said, squeezing her calves. “You didn’t have any control over the magazine going under.”

She heaved a sigh. “I know, but…” she began, tipping her head back wearily, “it just feels like everything’s crashing down around me in Seattle. Half a dozen of my friends have moved away in the last year, my freelance clients are dwindling seemingly by the day because everybody and their mother think they can be their own photographer, and now the magazine’s gone. It just feels like I’m failing at everything, Kev. Failing at life.”

“Hey,” Kevin said firmly — immediately. He nudged her chin with his thumb so that she was looking straight at him, those sea blue eyes of his suddenly the only thing she could focus on, as all of her self-doubt was washed away, even before he continued to speak. “You are not failing. You’re 28 years old. This is just a part of growing up, Kate,” he assured. “This shit happens to everyone. Remember when I got shipped to Winnipeg and then to Philly so quick? I went through the same shit. I felt like nobody wanted me, like I couldn’t do anything right. But it got better. It always does, Katie. Especially for people with as good a heart as you.”

Kate sniffled, wiping at a lone stray tear with her knuckle.

“Thanks, Kev,” she said softly, followed by a few more quiet sniffles. “You’re the best. Reasons why I love you,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Kevin’s brows lifted and his eyes widened as he looked at her, wondering if he’d just heard her correctly.

As with the physical touch, it had always been this way with Kate and Kevin when it came to their long-simmering feelings for one another. One of them would slip up and say some shit like “I love you” or “you’re so hot” or “come home with me,” and then try to play it off or walk it back, while the other person was left reeling, unsure of whether or not the other had truly meant what they’d said.

“I mean, you know, like I—”

“I love you, too, Kate,” Kevin said without hesitation, not walking anything back, interrupting Kate’s hopeless stuttering.

She glanced at him, taking a few chugging sips of her beer, and shook her head.

“No, you don’t,” she asserted flatly. “You’ve had a lot to drink. So have I. It’s a wedding weekend and we’re—”

“No, Kate,” Kevin insisted. “I mean it. I-I love you.”

And Kate suddenly felt really dizzy, like, really dizzy, and not because of the alcohol or the day she’d spent in the sweltering July sun. Dizzy like her best friend since diapers had just fully admitted that he love loved her in a manner far more sincere and more convincing than all those other times before.

“I… I gotta go to bed, Kev. Big day tomorrow,” Kate said abruptly. She drew a deep breath, swung her legs out from beneath Kevin’s hold, and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before pushing herself up from the dock and heading for the steps. “‘Night.”

_____

“You did what?!” Jimmy asked on the golf course the next morning, coughing as he nearly choked, not because of his cigar smoke, but due to pure shock upon hearing his brother’s declaration.

“I told her I loved her,” Kevin said. “And she told me I was just drunk, and I told her I wasn’t, and then she went back to the house.”

“I think I need to lie down,” said Keith Yandle, Kate and Kevin’s mutual lifelong family friend, as he dramatically took a seat in the golf cart.

Jimmy stood slack-jawed in front of Kevin, waiting for more.

“And?!” he finally prompted.

Kevin shrugged. “And I haven’t talked to her all morning,” he said, earning groans from Jimmy, Keith, and Noel Acciari, another longtime member of the crew. “But I don’t regret it. And I’m bringing it up again tonight.”

“At her brother’s wedding? What, are you nuts?” Jimmy accused.

“No, that’s perfect,” Keith bellowed. “You know how girls get about weddings. All gooey and shit. Just get her a couple drinks at the reception. She’ll cop to loving your sorry ass, too. We all know she does. This has only been about three decades in the making.”

Kevin hated to admit it, but Keith was right, and he knew that Jimmy knew it, too, as Jimmy stood with his hands on his hips, sighing as he exhaled cigar smoke.

“Alright, fine,” Jimmy said, putting his hands up and rounding the golf cart to take the driver’s seat. “That’s not your worst idea ever, Yands. And you know what, Kev? I’m proud of ya. I wasn’t sure ya had it in ya.”

Kevin let out a singular chuckle and adjusted his golf hat.

“Neither was I.”

_____

“He said what?!” Kristen said loudly from the makeup chair as Kevin’s sister Justine squealed in the hair chair next to Kate’s.

“He told me he loved me,” Kate replied incredulously, still not convinced that last night was anything more than some fever dream. “Like, actually loved me. And I didn’t say it back. Because I’m an asshole.”

“No, you’re not,” Kristen assured firmly as Justine waved Kate off. “He caught you off guard, that’s all. You’ll have plenty of time this weekend to make it up to him,” she said, waggling her eyebrows.

Justine flung out an arm and squeezed Kate’s elbow.

“Wait, are you gonna say it back?” she asked in a sharp whisper.

Kate just pursed her lips, smiling crookedly.

_____

“Jesus fuck,” Kevin muttered as Kate walked into the narthex of the church to be lined up for the walk down the aisle. Noel elbowed him in the ribs.

“We’re in a church, bud,” Noel muttered. “You’re gonna get struck down, and I’m gonna be standing next to you when it happens.”

Kevin barely heard him as he watched Kate approach her brother, who let out a “wow” at her appearance and pulled her in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Wow was putting it lightly. Her hair was left long and curled, save for a few pieces pinned back from her face, and she donned an elegant, v-neck, pale blue bridesmaid dress that appeared to have been designed just for her. Her makeup, though simple, was flawless, accentuating her strong features, making her hazel eyes, in particular, impossible not to notice.

Kevin had never seen Kate look more stunning in all his life. And that was saying something.

Kate turned toward the groomsmen next, her eyes immediately locking with Kevin’s, despite Jimmy’s wolf whistle and Noel’s “damn, Katie.”

She shot them both an eyeroll before refocusing on Kevin.

“Hi,” she said dumbly.

“Hi,” Kevin repeated. “You look beautiful, Kate. Perfect.”

There was that pushed-to-one-side, pouted-lip smile that made Kevin’s pulse race.

“Thanks, Kev,” she replied. “You look really handsome.”

Kevin gave her a grateful smile, then took a step closer to her.

“Can we talk later?” he asked, softly enough that he hoped no one else could hear and then subsequently give him shit for asking such a middle school question. His breath against her ear sent shivers through Kate, and his low tone made her mouth go dry.

She nodded, looking up at him doe-eyed and unable to form a single word. He nodded, too, and before she knew it, he was reaching for her hand, brushing a soft kiss against the top of it, and giving it a quick squeeze.

Kate didn’t have a chance to overanalyze his actions because the wedding planner quickly marched through the group, announcing that Patrick and his groomsmen needed to make their way to the altar for the start of the ceremony. Kate stepped forward to pull her older brother in for one last hug and a few whispered sentiments, then she smiled shyly at Kevin, smoothing her hand over his lapel as she passed, unaware of the knowing smile that Jimmy and Kristen shared watching the two of them.

_____

Back at her parents’ house for the reception, Kate was well on her way to a hangover for her flight back to Seattle tomorrow. Naturally, she’d been seated next to Kevin at the head table, and though the two of them hadn’t yet found time for an actual conversation, they each knew it was coming, which only increased the number of trips they’d both already made to the open bar.

After the meal, Pat and Joelle were invited to the dance floor in the middle of the yard, beneath twinkling string lights and the glow of the moon, and the strains of “Marry Me” by Train came over the sound system, filling the salty air with the peaceful guitar melody.

Kate’s jaw dropped just slightly, but enough for Kevin to take notice.

“That asshole,” she whispered.

Kevin held back a laugh at her reaction to this significant, romantic moment in her brother’s life.

“What?” he asked quietly.

“This is my wedding song,” she told Kevin incredulously, putting her hand to her chest. “I’ve said that since I was, like, in middle school. He knows that.”

Kevin wasn’t sure if it was the drinks or how breathtaking Kate looked or the feelings he’d long been pushing down finally bubbling over, now that he had let his little confession slip last night, but he suddenly heard himself say, “We can use it, too. Nobody’ll remember by then.”

Kate stiffened in her chair and snapped her head toward him.

“What?” it was her turn to whisper.

“Oh, come on, Kate,” Kevin said, sipping his whiskey casually. “Let’s not kid ourselves. That’ll be us up there someday.”

And there was that goddamn smile of hers again — Kevin knew she was trying so hard not to pull a full-on, megawatt grin, which was fine by him because he was perfectly happy with this version. Preferred it, actually.

She cleared her throat and shook her head.

“Don’t hold your breath, Kev,” Kate replied lightheartedly. But her tone was… less than convincing, some might say. Even less convincing was the way she almost imperceptibly leaned closer toward Kevin, whose arm rested loosely around the back of her chair.

And at that, Kevin smiled into his glass.

_____

Somehow, even in the midst of her own brother’s lively wedding reception, Kate still found her way to the boathouse. Kevin hadn’t even bothered to look for her elsewhere — once he noticed that she’d disappeared from the dance floor, he grabbed two Boston Lagers from the bar and headed for the dock.

She smirked when she heard his footsteps.

“Want some company?” he asked on his way down the wooden steps.

“Only if it’s you,” she replied, the flirtation evident in her tone.

Kevin smiled, pleased with that answer, and took his familiar spot next to her.

“Nice day, huh?” he asked, again pulling her legs across his lap before nudging the second beer into her hand.

“Really was,” Kate replied, clinking her bottle against Kevin’s for yet another toast.

They sat wordlessly for a few minutes, staring out at the water, listening to the laughs and chatter and music from the party up in the yard.

Eventually, Kevin cleared his throat, drawing Kate’s attention.

“Listen, Kate, about last night,” he began, but Kate’s anxiety spurred her to interrupt.

“No, it’s okay, Kev,” she said, shaking her head quickly. “You don’t have to explain—”

“No, I do,” Kevin insisted. “I-I don’t know if you’re getting it.”

She frowned. “Getting what?”

Kevin opened his mouth, looking into her eyes, then closed it again with a humorless chuckle.

“I meant it,” he finally said. “I said I loved you. And I meant it.”

Kate couldn’t break from his gaze despite the flipping sensation in her stomach, and despite the warmth creeping up her neck. The intensity of his stare was foreign to her — she was so used to happy, joking, jovial Kev, who never took anything too seriously. Even his earlier comment about their supposed future wedding reception had been tinged with sarcasm.

There was no ounce of him that was kidding now. That much Kate could see.

“You’re perfect for me, Kate,” Kevin continued. “You always have been.”

She blinked, tucking her loose waves behind her ear.

“Kev, I—”

“Wait, wait,” he laughed to himself, shaking his head before taking a long pull from his beer. “Listen, you gotta let me finish, because it took me this long to get this far. Okay?”

She nodded. He took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on hers.

“I love you, Kate,” Kevin said. “I love you in the worst way. The most real way. Not just some fleeting, fling-type shit. I mean, I want it all with you. Everything. The whole fuckin’ thing. Ring, wedding, babies in little ‘13’ jerseys. Nice house, a dog. Picket fuckin’ fence. I want what our parents have. And our siblings. You’re the only person I wanna share that with. Ever.”

Kate was crying now, blissfully unfazed that her mascara tears might stain her pretty makeup. Though, they didn’t, because before they could, Kevin’s thumbs had wiped them away, and after rubbing his fingers together, he smoothed his thumbs along her cheekbones.

“And I’ve always known it,” he continued. “But it took you going away and coming back for me to work up the balls to say it.”

Kate hadn’t flinched this whole time, Kevin noticed. In fact, her eyes grew brighter and her soft smile a bit more noticeable with each word he had spoken. But she had yet to utter a word. He studied her in anticipation.

“You gotta say something, Katie girl,” he said nervously. “I’m dyin’ here.”

But there was little left for her to say, she realized, and so instead, she leaned in, cupped Kevin’s neatly-bearded cheeks in her hands, and kissed him like she had never kissed a single soul before. And Kevin kissed her back, his relief evident in his tender touch, in the way he exhaled softly against her mouth.

As soon as Kate pulled her lips from his, hers curled into a breathless smile, and she leaned her forehead against his.

“I love you, too, Kevin Hayes,” she whispered, her fingers combing through the hair at the back of his head. “I’ve loved you since forever.”

“Be with me,” Kevin blurted, as if he actually needed to. “Like, officially. I wanna do this with you.”

She nuzzled her nose against his and circled her arms around his neck.

“Oh, we’re doin’ this,” Kate told him, beaming. She pressed a kiss between his brows and whispered, “Can’t get rid of me now.”

_____

Three summers later, in her parents’ yard on the Cape, Kate twirled around the dance floor to “Marry Me” by Train with a tall, reddish-brown-haired, blue-eyed boy from Dorchester, the very one she had loved since she was a little girl, long before she even fully understood what love was.

But now, Kate knew exactly what love was, because she knew Kevin.

Her newly dubbed husband leaned down to speak softly into her ear as her song continued to play.

“Remember that night we finally got together, when Pat and Joelle had their first dance here?” Kevin asked. “And I told you, ‘someday it’ll be us up there,’ and you told me not to hold my breath?”

Kate hid her face in his chest and felt her face warm, chuckling bashfully. Her recoiling only caused Kevin to hold her tighter and press a kiss to the top of her head. His thumb and forefinger found her chin and angled her face toward his.

“I’m glad I held my breath, Katie girl,” he said, his voice low.

Kate nodded, her eyes damp with unfallen tears. “I’m glad you did, too, Kev,” she said.

[slashingdisneypasta]

Jack Bass x Younger!Reader || Oneshot

Title: Bass's.

Notes:

I have no idea when this is supposed to be set. Just go with it.

I have two things to say about Jack in this gif, though. 1. Does he not know how to carry a tray. And 2. I love this statement, here. Its like 'Bart's Dead, Chuck. I can barely contain my joy, Chuck. Its taking all my willpower, Chuck, to keep a monotonous expression. Also Chuck I am carrying a tray, do you see this?'

Plot: Bart Bass decides to be his creepy fucking self (Not that Jack is exponentially better in any way but whatever) towards you, Chuck's best friend- but thankfully, Jack accidentally walks in on the scene and gives you a get out of jail free card.

Good old 'lesser of two evils' shit. I love stuff like that.

Warnings: BART BASS being predatory, and a bit of age difference (You and Jack. I'm going by actors ages though so there's only a, like, 11 year age gap between him and Chuck which is not that bad if you ask me). Sexual references.

~~~

Chuck looks from his phone, that's flashing Blairs name, to you and your big, wide eyes and lips mouthing 'Don't you dare', then to his father quietly tapping away on his phone on the couch a few feet away... then back at his phone.

"Charles- " You hiss, prepared to threaten his very existence but he cuts you off first- slipping off the bar stool beside you and heading for the hallway.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom."

Why am I friends with him again!? You think, but stay quiet and hope that Bart doesn't realise that you're back there despite having said hello to you earlier when he came in. You think, if you stay quiet like a mouse, he will forget your existence and keep texting until Chuck gets back- although, who knows how long he and Blair can go on for.

Depends what its about, honestly. If its about revenge or espionage... well, the conversation could last quite some time.

Should I just leave?

The impulse to run away is a strong one, as you sit there with your cheeks heating up and you start to feel nauseated. You never liked Bart Bass, from the moment you met him. Before that, actually. You had heard Chuck talking about him to Nate before you even became friends with them, and none of what you heard was good. And then you did meet him, one day when Chuck invited you over to do a school project. Or 'school project' as he so obnoxiously put it. You really did end up just doing a school project, though. Hence your friendship nowadays. Bart was creepy towards you even then, at 16 with terribly died hair and the wrong eyeshadow.

You've been very careful since then to never be alone with him like this. You would talk to him at parties if you were forced to, say hello to him when Chuck had you at his place and the man walked by, but that is the extent of your communication with the creep. Always, always, someone would be around. Chuck, mostly. But also staff, or Nate, or random fundraiser ladies, or Jack who Chuck the bastard never left alone with all willy-nilly like this, unfortunately, or Lily, or literally anyone else possible on the earth.

You've even hidden away in the men's bathroom, which is disgusting no matter how expensive the restaurant, with Nate before to get away from this man when Chuck once ditched you both at a dinner with him. And that's the story of how you got your first kiss, too, and it was from Nate Archibald. Hell yes.

That's how much this man makes you want to grab your bag and flee.

But you don't. You stay glued to your seat, super still, listening only to the tap-tap-tapping noises that Bart makes and the bump-bump-bump noises your heart is making right into your throbbing ears.

Until it stops.

Not the bump-bump-bumping, oh no. The tapping. And, nightmarishly, it's replaced by a groan and footsteps coming towards your turned back.

"Y/N," As soon as he says your name, his hands fall on your your shoulders and you literally jump under his touch. Shit- Shit- Fuck- what's happening- "I've been meaning to speak with you recently but Chuck- ah. Well you know him. He refused to share with me your telephone number. But I knew you'd turn up here at some point, so not to worry."

"Uh... right." You cant even force yourself to be your normal, cheery, polite self in this position. You just want him to get. off. of. you.

"Did you want a drink?" He asks, in that possibly cheery (But only because its slightly louder then his usual husk level) but mostly still scary voice he uses to convey emotion, letting go of you thankfully and rounding to the other side of the bar. You shake your head, though. He raises his brows, picking out a scotch for himself. "You don't drink? Shocking, seeing as you're friends with my son."

Oh I drink. You think, giving him a shrug. Just not in situations like this one. Also, what must he think of Chuck? Jesus Christ. For sure, your boy likes debauchery but what's wrong with that?

"Well, I like that." Bart pauses before pouring his drink, to appreciate you. "Mature."

Damn it. It makes your skin absolutely crawl.

"So... " You take a deep breath, tucking your hair back behind your ears rather then ruffling it back like you usually would to get it out of your face- lest that be recognised as some kind of extremely subtle form of flirting. God, fear makes you think weird things. "What did you want to discuss?"

"Oh- Just, your future. Where are you going to school? Will you be sticking close to us?"

Us? US? No, I'll be far far away, from you.

You don't really want to tell Bart where you're going to be going to school, because in your fear addled brain you know that that will just lead to 'Which campus?', or 'Where will you be staying?' and you really don't want it to go there.

You're just taking another, shakier deep breath, when the front door of the apartment opens and shuts loudly and set of feet trample down the hallway towards you. Immediately total relief plashes over you and you wipe your face. Oh, thank god.

Jack Bass appears in the doorway to the living room, looking as put-together yet somehow simultaneously still totally relaxed, as always, and forces aa polite smile onto his handsome face. "Brother. Y/N? Its good to see you."

You have no idea. "Good to see you too Jack. Uh- Chuck's in the bathroom."

"Thanks. For that... enlightening, information, Y/N. I needed that." You cheeks flare up in embarrassment, but ultimately you just roll your eyes as Jack flashes you a subtle wink, and turns promptly to his - much, - older brother. "Bart."

The older brother in question looks less then pleased at his baby brothers appearance in his home. Right now. And he possibly isn't thrilled about that little wink, either. Like you two are in on some kind of joke together. "Jack... What are you doing here?"

"Simmer down, bro. Just visiting." Even you know that that excuse is weak, but anything that comes out Jack's own monotonous voice right now is blessed where you're concerned so you certainly don't say anything. Or make any faces, which would be more appropriate. "Y/N, I don't think Bart-man here's too happy about my presence." Hm, no. You'd have to agree with that observation- not that you've looked up at Bart since Jack came in. You wont risk it. Jack glides through the room with the practised grace of a man who's lived 3 quarters of his life in suits and the other, happier quarter in board shorts, and ends up right next to your chair, an arm resting on the bench in front of you.

If you weren't already so nervous about Bart, you would blush about Jack.

"At least tell me you're glad to see me."

You grin, which is less forced then you thought it would be prior to trying it. Damn, he's good. You think, realising he just swepped in here and made you comfortable in less then 50 words. "Always, 'Uncle Jack'."

"Oh," He groans, like it physically pained him to hear you tease him like that. A tiny smirk even slips through his usually emotionless - well, not emotionless. He has one standing colour, that being sly, - stone statue of a face. "'Uncle Jack'- Please, stop. I'm barely a decade older then you."

That's enough to make anything else possible, inappropriate. Unfortunately. "Hey, I said I'm glad to see you." You wink, a bit sly yourself. "Count your blessings."

His grin widens a bit, like the dangerously charming Cheshire cat-type that he is. Genes that Chuck inherited, clearly, if his track record with girls say anything at all, but that Bart obviously missed out on. "You've got a point."

"She's a remarkable young woman." Bart pipes up, making your stomach tie itself up in knots again, and you immediately revert your gaze to your lap. Remarkable young woman... you want to barf. "Who, I was actually having a conversation with before you burst in here, unannounced." He takes a slow sip of his drink, then mutters. "And uninvited."

"Well that's great." Jack straightens up, clapping his hands together and finally showing his teeth in a smile. They're really freaken white, compared to his skin, deeply tanned by the hot Australian sun. "A visit would be kinda uncomfortable without a conversation; I'll join. I can converse with the best of 'em, Bart. I assure you."

"It was private." The old man sneers, thinking that he's got the upper hand on Jack, and all you can do is hope to god that he's wrong.

Jack turns his head back to look at you, and you meet his gaze tentatively. Your eyes scream, 'Please don't leave me alone with that guy'. He promptly looks back to Bart. "Well Bart why don't we ask the lady in the room what she wants? We are gentlemen here aren't we?" Then Jack makes a face, all crumpled up and unsure, for a moment. "Err. Well actually... 'gentleman' might be a bold faced lie. We'll ask anyway. Y/N! Do you mind if I weigh in here?"

"Not at all." You say quickly, flashing a tiny, thankful smile. He gives you another wink- this time actually subtle. So Bart didn't see it. Your smile gets a little bit bigger, relaxing. He's got you.

"Great." You watch him pull out the stool beside you, that Chuck - who has still not returned from his phone call with Blair. You assume some, likely cruel vengeance must be involved. Possibly involving that Humphrey guy, - had vacated and settles down in it. He then sets his arms firmly on the bench and looks up attentively at Bart, not breaking eye contact with him. Boy these Bass's like their stare downs. "So?" He prompts, expectantly. And a little arrogantly- a Bass speciality that you truly don't mind at all. "What's on the agenda, today?"

Bart glares heatedly, back.

~

Throughout the awkward discussion between the three of you, which your good friend Chuck has yet to return to discover - at this point you're resigned to him having climbed out the window and scaled the building probably, - , Jack constantly, skilfully changes the subject for you whenever Bart rears to close to somewhere uncomfortable. He makes jokes that make you laugh, he nudges you with his elbow at times - but never touches you any more then that, although you honestly wouldn't mind it if he did, - and takes the attention off you a lot. At times you truly thought you saw steam come out of Bart's ears.

When finally Bart gives up and excuses himself, saying he as an early dinner with Lily, you feel exhausted and relieved. After the door swings shut behind him, you cover your face with your hands and deeply sigh.

"So, what was that about? You looked like a trapped mouse. I recognise that look, I invented that look." You pull back slightly from your hands and glance over at him, to see him thoughtful for a moment. "Well, not by making it. By... causing... it... Either way, it was not good." He shakes his head, taking a sip of his own drink - scotch, - that he made Bart pour for him; Raising his eyebrows at you for an explanation over the rim of the glass.

Jack's always been great, like this. Even when he was horrible, he was the lesser of two evils between him and Bart. Good for a laugh and quality eye candy in a pinch- and that counts for a hell of a lot when it comes to surviving Bart Bass and the Upper East Side. And he had the power and pull of an adult, but knew what the hell was going on like one of you.

So he always made you feel at ease.

You ruffle your hair back, and sigh, straightening your back finally from their hunched over position they live in when you're uncomfortable and pushing back your shoulders. "He was just, saying some weird stuff... and Chuck disappeared to talk to Blair." At that, Jack nods in total understanding. Like ah, yeah. Got ya. Finally, you shrug. "He just makes me really uncomfortable. No offence, but I hate your brother."

As you watch Jack's eyes don't even flicker; He's totally on board with what you've said. Then he finishes the rest of his scotch in one gulp. "Ahh- I hate him too."

"As do we all." Chuck's voice suddenly pops up, as he appears in the doorway like Jack had earlier. You have to practice some serious self control so as to not laugh, at Chuck so coincidentally turning up again at the perfect moment to proclaim his hatred for his father. Jack grins back at Chuck coldly, nodding. Yeah. "Anyway, Y/N, I apologise but I'll be having to abandon you. Blair's waiting for me at her, empty, apartment." He pauses for a moment for dramatic effect, in perfect Chuck Bass fashion, and you roll your eyes, grinning. Jack smirks. "But you're welcome to stick around a while and help yourself to the amenities All on my tab, of course. Good to see you again, Jack." Then he pockets his phone and heads toward the door. The second Bass of the day leaves the building.

"Bye, nephew!" Jack waives as the elevator doors close behind Chuck then swiftly turns around back to you, to which you raise your eyebrows. "So, what do we do now?"

"I dunno." Shrugging you grin and turn your stool to angle your legs towards Jack. "When Chuck says those magical words 'All on my tab'," Those words, oh; You speak them with just as much raw, breathy sexual arousal as the man himself would. As the words demand. 'All on my tab'. Good lord, sex if they were words. "I tend to take advantage."

"An easy girl to please; That's what I like to see." Your cheeks flame up at those words out of Jack's mouth as he turns to look down at the room service menu. Yes, Jack Bass has toed the line, between platonic and flirtatious since the very moment you met the man... but that seemed a little bit more then toeing the line.

And you get a far different reaction to him doing it then you do the other Bass brother.

You don't even really mind the implications of his words.

"You're staying back with me?" You ask, feeling hopeful at the idea.

"Yeah well, I cant in, uh, good conscience," He makes a bit of a show to you, of pressing his hand to his chest totally earnestly as those words 'good conscience' come out of his mouth. "leave you here unguarded in case Bart comes back, can I? Besides, the way you said 'All on my tab'- man, you could sell moonshine at an AA meeting with that voice."

"Ha," You laugh, rolling your eyes and shaking your head. "Well, thanks."

"Oh. Don't thank me. You're just using what uh, your mama gave you. I actually encourage you totally, to do that more often- "

"No!" You exclaim, sighing in exasperation; But there is still a smile on your face you cant seem to shake. "For not leaving, today. When you walked in. It would've sucked if you had, not that I would've blamed you at all."

"Hey, just call me your knight in shining armour." He doesn't look up from the menu, flicking through it. Then turns to you with one of those beach boy/politician, toothless grins of his. "Besides you were automatically, my favourite person in the apartment. I mean, anyone with... uhhh- different, appendages to what I have, instantly gets a one-way ticket access to my rare bouts of chivalry. Now come over here, pick out what you want off here."

You just gape at him and that comment, making him stifle a laugh and return to the menu himself.

Bass's.

[hannie-dul-set]

“i'll take your word for it and no one else's.” [lee jeno]

SUMMARY | maybe snooping through your friend’s phone wasn’t that much of a good idea. or maybe it was. either way, you didn’t regret it. PAIRING | lee jeno x reader GENRE | friends to something, fluff, lots of bickering JHDFJ WARNINGS | swearing, invasion of privacy (LMAO idk) WORD COUNT | 2.1k TAGLIST | @danishmiilk​ @lucyinthesunshinee​ @sehunniepot​ @nct-writers​ @czennienet​ @neowritingsnet​

a/n: i didn’t think i’d turn another one of my dreams into a fic, but here we are HAHHAHA i tweaked a few bits and pieces to make it work (setting + added some dialogue + changed the ending because i WOKE UP before it could finish hmph) but please enjoy this unscheduled fic!! <3

early summer afternoons were warm.

bright rays of the sun were showering on your skin as you lounged on the park bench, hot enough to make you feel the season but not too hot to singe your skin. it was the perfect weather to waste the day outside, and your younger brother and cousin decided to haul you outside so they can play basketball at the park.

but you didn't know why your friend jeno decided to come along.

"your brother messaged me," he grinned at you, plopping down beside you with a long, refreshed sigh. a towel was slung around his neck and he used it to wipe the sweat on his face. "what? why are you staring at me like that?"

"since when were you close with my brother?"

"am i not allowed to be friends with the little guy?" he joked, but apparently he took the unamused look on your face completely the wrong way. "oh my god, are you afraid that he'll take all my attention away from you?" to further tease, he brought his smug face closer to yours that was dumbfounded in shock, his stupidly irritating smile moving in closer.

sometimes you wondered if this was the same boy who helped you cross the street the first time you met.

but you loved him nonetheless.

"like hell i want your attention," you sneered, lightly shoving him away with a glare. he only laughed at your display of annoyance. "go back to playing with the kids or something, you goof."

the never leaving grin in his face seemed brighter against the sun, and he playfully ruffled your hair before running off to disappear into the court.

"as you wish, m'lady."

you let out a huff of air, rolling your eyes as your cheeks were involuntary tugged upwards, prompting a smile to form on your lips. you brought your hands to your hair, fixing the mess that jeno left with, and your gaze landed on the phone he left beside you. the screen flashed on. someone was calling him.

brows knitted together, you picked up the ringing phone, unable to recognize the caller id. you brought the device to your ear, standing up walking towards the court— you figured that you'd just answer whoever that was now and just pass it on to jeno once he was at reach.

"hello?"

"oh, hello there!" there was a pause from the caller "is lee jeno around, miss? would you mind giving the phone to him?"

the voice was that of a middle aged woman's, but it wasn't someone that you recognized. you assumed it was a relative of his or something because you'd know that this was his mom if it were her. "ah, give me a moment! i'll just look for him."

your feet stopped at the edge of the court, the sound of a ball bouncing into the concrete jarring against your ears. not bothering to look at the scene in front if you, you covered the mic with your hand before deciding to shout.

"jeno! someone's calling you!"

there was no usual prompt answer from your friend.

"he's not here!"

the loud voice of your brother answered instead, causing you to narrow your eyes into the court scene with a tinge of confusion masking your expression. there was indeed no mop of blue hair within the area, and you were only confused even further.

"where did he— aish, nevermind."

scratching your head, you swiveled your heels and decided to just head back to the bench. "hi, sorry. i'm not sure where he is right now. so if it's fine with you, can you call him again later? or maybe i could just tell him to call you back when he returns?"

"oh, then can you just relay this to him? it won't take that long, i promise."

you inwardly sighed, but agreed nevertheless. oh, you were definitely gonna ask him to treat you and the kids dinner later. why the fuck did he just disappear like that? now you were responsible for memorizing whatever this woman was telling you (apparently it was about an architecture summer program he was interested in— the lady was a head from his department and she was just calling to tell him that he was accepted. she says she'll be forwarding more details later through text).

"alright, thank you! i'll be sure to inform him when he gets back."

the call ended, and you groaned. you were about to close the phone, but then all of a sudden a notification appeared with a quiet ding!

[haechan 🌟 liked your retweet.]

ding!

[ohhh shit why do i feel like i know who this is.]

"huh."

you knew that you shouldn't be snooping inside your friend's phone. you knew that you shouldn't be invading his privacy no matter how enticingly juicy the bait was. you knew that it was flat out wrong. but—

"ah, just a peek," you clicked on the notification. "payback for making me deal with his stuff."

a hint of excitement rushed through you. jeno never told you his twitter. actually, you didn't even know he had one. he was always buried with studies, sports, and friends so you didn't expect him to keep up with social media— this fact enough was surprising, but the moment the screen finally loaded the tweet

you were even more surprised than you were a few seconds ago.

[@markly tweeted: "it's kind of funny how sometimes we just meet random people at the most random of moments and you don't expect it but they just end up sticking by your side until now"]

[@leejeno quoted: "yeah. a few years back, i saw this girl while i was walking. it wasn't the usual path that i took to school. i saw her having trouble crossing the street because there was a dog hanging around (she's scared of them) so i decided to help her. she couldn't even look at my face back then out of embarrassment but earlier we were calling until four in the morning. if i took a different path that day or if i didn't help her, i don't know how i'd be like right now because she's become one of the most important people in my life."]

your heart skipped a beat. two beats. three. it was running a mile a minute and you could barely even breathe to catch up.

[@do0 replied: how are you two right now?]

[@leejeno replied: "we're good haha. i'm going with her and her brother to the park later. we're still really good friends.]

[@leejeno replied: but i'm not sure if i want things to stop there."]

"hey, sorry for running off there. i went to get some— whoa. whats up?"

oh my fucking god.

you shot up, eyes wide, and you automatically turned off the phone. broken stutters left your lips, as the leaping of your heart to your throat prevented you from saying even a semblance of a coherent sentence. all you could think of when you met his worried gaze, the way he rushed to your side to check on you, was the last thing you read. your grip on his phone tightened.

but i'm not sure if i want things to stop there

you were gonna fucking lose it.

"hey, are you okay?"

quick, gentle hands landed on your cheeks, fingers brushing against your skin like a match igniting a flame. you nearly got lost and tongue-tied all over again, but you quickly slapped his hands away in a scolding fit. "jesus christ, i'm fine. you just surprised me. are you a ghost or something?" you glared at jeno, but it only lasted one second because you couldn't bear to look at him without your insides going crazy. because of that, your eyes flicked to the plastic bag he dropped onto the bench. he brought you something to eat.

"a-and before you ask—" you defended yourself indignantly when he didn't even accuse you of anything. "i wasn't snooping. the school called. it was about your summer program. you got in."

"oh? they called already?" you nodded. "ah, let's talk while walking— the kids are mad because i only got you food. they're asking me to buy the entire store for them to compensate," he released an airy laugh. you mentally scolded yourself.

keep it cool. you repeated the mantra inside your head as you strided beside jeno, your brother and cousin racing ahead of you. street lights were lighting up and the sky was fading into the night. cool cool cool cool cool. keep it cool.

the walk to the store felt way too gruelling than it normally would. it wasn't even that far. you told jeno everything the lady had told you, including the more detailed texts that she'd be sending later on. you thought that he'd be a lot more excited after hearing— he was interested, after all. but to you, he just seemed dismissive. "should i go?" he mindlessly asked.

"what are you talking about?" your brows furrowed. "yeah, of course. you wanted to, right?"

"but it's gonna last an entire month this summer," he yawed, stretching out his arms and hooking you by the neck, causing you to halt and stumble into him. you held back a squeak, and he looked at you, eyes gleaming with curious anticipation. a car sped by. "you still want me to go?"

those damned words that you read echoed inside your head again. you wondered if it resonated into the fucking nerves of your heart, as well.

"i—i mean," you stammered. "it's only one month. and it would also help you a lot in the future, right? you'd make a lot of connections during the camp. so yeah, i do want you to go."

he blinked at you. a hum sounded from his closed lips. he let go of you and resumed walking. you gaped when he left you behind.

was this karma?

"hey, what the hell?" quickly, you caught up to him, grabbing onto the sleeve of his shirt so that you could hang on to him. "why are you being sulky? i didn't do anything wrong!" technically you did do something wrong, but he didn't have to know that.

"you said you wanted me to go."

"you're a baby," you scrunched your nose is disapproval. "i only said that because you said you wanted to go."

jeno abruptly stopped. maybe you were causing a scene in front of all the passersby, but you really didn't give a fuck anymore when your head was in a looped up mess. all thanks to your extremely difficult friend who apparently doesn't want to just be your friend. you swore that he was driving you insane on purpose.

he pulled out his phone and faced the screen to you. your sweat dropped.

[@leejeno replied: but i'm not sure if i want things to stop there."]

"even after reading this," he started. "you still want me to go?"

"w-well."

he just had to be so fucking sharp. well, you weren't exactly slick either. maybe he saw a glimpse of the screen before you got to turn it off earlier. heat started to rise from your neck into your face, a grinding mixture of embarrassment and desire to be hit by a moving truck afflicting your nerves. why were you the one suffering? shouldn't it be him?

"no."

he hummed, turning off his phone and shoving the device into his pocket. arms crossed, he leaned in to your face, bearing a look of feigned innocence. "but you said i'd make a lot of useful connections."

"you can make those anywhere."

"and it's only a month, right?"

"that's thirty days too long."

"and—"

"oh, come on!" you exclaimed, balling your fists in vexation. another car sped by with an accompanied honk. jeno simply wore a look of faint amusement at your little outburst. "i don't want you to join your stupid summer program. happy now?"

"well, if you say so."

you stared at him. he patted your head, eyes disappearing into a pair of crescents with a smile.

"i'll take your word for it and no one else's."

you were left frozen and dumbfounded in the middle of the sidewalk as jeno brazenly spun his heels to chase after the runaway kids that went before you— literally leaving you behind. letting a curse slip past your breath, you also went after them. he was definitely driving you insane on purpose.

sometimes you wondered if this was the same boy who helped you cross the street the first time you met.

this was one of those times.

"you said you weren't gonna go, you asshole!"

"payback for snooping through my phone!"

but you could still love him nonetheless.

© hannie-dul-set, 2020.

[storiesofsvu]

What are you hoping to see on next season of SVU?? 👀

hmmm.... i haven't thought about this too much yet, so we'll start with some more all around thoughts. (90% that probably won't happen lol)

-a larger principal cast; i'm talking, add in a new detective (or bring back an old one), bring back huang/another actor in that role, bring back melinda/a new me, and have them actually be in most episodes

-more court scenes. JESUS CHRIST. the last two, even three seasons haven't been that good. i want to SEE the court room, we barely get to anymore and it fucking sucks.

-Rita. obviously. and pls give her the stylist she had in s17, cause that was her prime looks. and let's wrap up that arc they left wide the fuck open with gallagher please?

-gimmie some soft rollisi with the girls, like nice little family dinner softness.

-more joe! and him being happy!

-some lgbt representation in the squad/main cast would be great. that was fun while it lasted.

-tbh let's just have this be the last season. wrap it up nicely, bring back some fan favourites for cases/episodes throughout the season. let them have one last hurrah, then have the season finale be liv's retirement party, with all the old friends in attendance. (and then give us For the Defence to fill the time slot...)

Also while we're at it.

Organized Crime: let's get Ayanna and Denise back on track please!!??? why the FUCK do we have to keep burying our gays. i *knew* something was going to happen the moment it was revealed Bell was married to a woman, i just *knew* it and I YELLED when it happened.

[h0tch-r0cket]

Infatuation (18+) {a.h.} : chapter 8

summary: you needed a job. aaron hotchner needed a babysitter. the rest was inevitable.

word count: 4.9K

warnings: explicit language, building tension, drinking alcohol

table of contents

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

"Hey Esmé? Are you up? I really need you right now," you called out through her bedroom door. You shifted your weight on the balls of your feet, knocking on her door.

Aaron had just dropped you off at your apartment, leaving you stunned at the fact that the two of you almost kissed in his car. You had to talk to someone about it otherwise you were certain you would have spontaneously combusted on the spot. You threw your head in your hands in frustration and let out a frustrated groan as you knocked on her door, this time a little bit harder than the first.

"Esmé, please." Artemis was at your heels and she barked at the door, as if she was trying to help you out and get Esmé's attention.

Aggravated mumbling from behind the door grabbed your attention as you heard Esmé shuffling her feet on the floor. When it opened, she was rubbing her eye with one hand and waving her finger around at you with the other.

"I swear to God, Y/N, this better be life or death because I am exhausted. I had some guy puke on me at the ER on my shift and I'm not in the mood to deal with-"

"He tried to kiss me in his car after his lecture," you blurted out to interrupt her rambling.

She stopped rubbing her eyes, looking at you with the one uncovered eye extremely wide. "I'm sorry. Can you repeat that?" She took a step closer to you, still keeping her one hand on top of her eye.

You took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down. "Aaron. He tried to kiss me today after the lecture."

Esmé quickly grabbed onto your hand and dragged you into her room, making you sit down on her bed. She stood in front of you and was pacing back and forth, her face contorted in disbelief and confusion.

"Aaron...tried...to...kiss...you," she said slowly as if she was taking a moment to process what you just told her.

"Yes, Esmé. It was after his lecture before he dropped me off here." Esmé continued to pace in front of you, holding her chin in her hand.

"Aaron tried to kiss you," she said faster.

"Esmé. I know. Focus here, please. I literally don't know what the fuck to do with myself right now," you said, a hint of annoyance in your voice. You knew that it was a lot to take in and quite frankly, you were still reeling from the moment yourself.

"How the fuck did that even happen?" Esmé asked as she finally gave you her undivided attention.

"It just sort of came out of the blue," you told her. "Well, maybe not that out of the blue the more that I think about it."

"Why's that?"

"He said some things during the lecture and I am pretty positive that they were supposed to be directed at me. Or I guess how he feels about me," you explained. Esmé squatted down in front of you, resting her hands on your thighs.

"What the hell did he say in the lecture?"

You briefly told Esmé about how he kept looking at you during that one specific part of the lecture, how Zeus didn't care about what people thought and that he just wanted to be with the woman he loved.

"He said that in front of everybody?" she asked, her eyes widening in shock.

"Yeah, E. That's why I'm trying not to read too much into it because it was a lecture after all. But it just felt so real."

Esmé let out a small laugh and stood up. "Y/N, I told you this man was smitten. Look at him! He almost kissed you in his car. Jesus fucking Christ. It's like he got smacked upside the head and is finally growing a set to not just tell you how he feels but to show you how he feels."

"I'm trying not to get my hopes up," you said quietly, the lingering uncertainty rattling around in your head.

Esmé looked down at you and furrowed her brows. "Wait. You said tried to kiss you? How do you try to kiss someone and not actually kiss them? I mean it's not that hard. You just have to-"

"Esmé," you said, cutting her off from her impending rant again as you heard the excited yet confused tone in her voice. "He got a call from Jack's school so he had to take it."

Esmé flopped down on the bed next to you on her back and stared up at the ceiling. "So you're telling me that it literally was like a scene out of a fucking movie? Oh my god, Y/N," she said excitedly as she held her face in her hands.

You shrugged your shoulders, twiddling your fingers in your lap. "I guess it was kind of cliché. But, God, E, when I tell you I felt like the world was completely stopped around us when he was moving his head closer to me," you said, exhaling deeply.

Esmé propped herself up on her elbows and a smirk grew on her face. "How about next time you see him, you just go for the gusto. Fucking grab him by the collar or something and just go for it."

You laughed at Esmé's so-called advice, rolling your eyes.

"I mean come on. He clearly has a thing for you already and you sure as hell do too, so might as well reassure his thoughts and feelings by sealing the deal and finish what you started in his car," she continued. She sat up on the edge of her bed next to you, wrapping her arm around your shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "And you know just for your sanity, and mine," she muttered as she spoke. Esmé grabbed onto your chin and turned your head to look at her. "Turn your fucking phone off," she said, sending you a death glare as she still held on to your face.

"Noted," you said, laughing lightly as she poked you on your nose, letting go of your face. Your phone buzzed in your pocket and you grabbed it quickly, hoping it was the person you needed to hear from the most.

                                     Aaron Hotchner

-Hey, Y/N. Just wanted to let you know that I am keeping Jack home from school tomorrow. Don't worry about coming here to watch him. I took off for the day to make sure he's doing alright.

-And thanks again for coming to my lecture. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

                                -Tell Jack I hope that he feels better soon!

"Oh my god, did he ask you out yet? Was that what that message was?" Esmé asked excitedly.

You shook your head no and put your phone away. "Jack is sick so I'm not going over there tomorrow."

"Well that's not the worst thing in the world. Now you have an extra day to figure things out." She paused, giving your leg a reassuring squeeze. "And now I have the next day to help you come up with a plan to seduce Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome."

"I don't think that will be necessary," you laughed lightly, not wanting Esmé to meddle in whatever was going on with Aaron.

"Me making the plan? Yeah, probably not. But you definitely have to get into his pants," she encouraged. "Don't let this one get away from you."

"I'm not planning on it."

-----

Your days off flew by and before you knew it, you were back to your daily routine of watching the young Hotchner.

"How are you feeling, buddy?" you asked Jack as he wrapped his arms around your legs when you picked him up from the bus stop.

"A lot better. I slept a lot yesterday and the day before. I missed school though," he said as he looked up at you from around your waist. "But it's okay. Ms. Kingston told me not to worry about my work or anything." He let go of you and you began to walk towards the Hotchner home.

Your usual game of pebble kicking commenced as Jack told you about his school day.

"Hey Y/N?" he asked as he hopped up the stairs to the porch.

"Yeah, Jack?"

He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at you as you grabbed the key to the house from your pocket. "I missed you while I was sick."

You smiled, ruffling his hair. "I missed you, too." You unlocked the door and headed inside, being greeted by the German Shepherd who was eagerly anticipating someone coming home to be with him.

Jack gave Buster his usual scratches behind the ear before going to do his homework at the kitchen table.

You settled down on the couch, still trying to figure out how exactly you were going to bring up the whole almost kiss incident later on with Aaron later on when he got home from work.

It was all you thought about the past two days, keeping you up at night. With Esmé practically interrogating you every time she saw you, you were growing more anxious to talk to him. You worried that there was a lapse of judgement. That he was just caught up in the moment.

But you hoped that wasn't the case.

You hoped that that was his overall intention. That he did want to kiss you. That the words he spoke during his lecture, although they were about the myth, that they applied to the situation that the two of you currently found yourselves in. The words seemed too real, too thought out to only be about the way that the story went. And the fact that his mannerisms in the lecture changed when he was talking about the desire to be with someone and that he didn't care what others thought. He went from glancing around the room and pacing in front of all of his students to stopping dead in his tracks and looking at you.

You could vividly remember how his eyes were searching yours in the lecture hall, as if he was hinting that it all was about you. That it always had been about you.

As you sat on the couch and tried to process everything and think of what you were going to say to Aaron, you were interrupted by the young Hotchner plopping down on the couch next to you.

"Y/N, I'm hungry," he said as he twiddled with his fingers.

"What are you in the mood for?" You turned your attention towards the boy as you propped up your elbow on the back of the couch.

"Can we make pizza together?" he asked softly.

"Make pizza?" You were shocked at his request, not expecting him to want to make his own dinner.

"Yeah. It would be fun and delicious." He smiled softly at you, and you knew he was going to win. That kid was slowly leaving a lasting impression on you, one that you never expected. You truly cared about him the more you spent time with him and you wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

You glanced at your watch quickly to get a gauge on the time. "We probably won't have enough time to make our own sauce but we can buy it from your favorite pizza place and still make everything else like the dough. Does that sound good to you, buddy?"

"Yeah!" he hollered in excitement. You gave him a quick high five, an agreement on the plan for the night.

"Give me a few minutes to check to see what Dad has in the kitchen for the dough and toppings and then we'll head out to the store for everything else," you told Jack as you got up from the couch.

"Thanks, Y/N!"

"Of course, Jack."

————

After your successful shopping trip to the grocery store and the pizza place, you and Jack were back home prepping the kitchen for your pizza making night.

"Alright, Jack. Ready to start?" you asked, looking at the ingredients scattered on the counter.

Jack nodded in excitement from across the counter and eagerly awaited your instructions.

You helped him measure out everything for the dough and had him start to mix it together while you grated the fresh block of mozzarella cheese to use for your pizzas. And of course, according to Jack, no pizza night would have been complete without pepperoni for the topping so you were going to cut that up as well.

"Okay, Y/N. The dough is all done," Jack said as he wiped his hands off above the counter. He looked adorable as ever, his shirt lightly coated in a bit of flour and a couple little white spots of flour on his face.

"Nice work, Jack," you said as you put down the cheese, figuring you grated enough. You passed Jack a sliver of the pepperoni, taking one for yourself. "Always fun to snack while you're cooking."

He nodded, leaning across the counter awaiting your next instruction. You cleared the countertop of everything besides the bowl of dough by Jack.

"Step one," you said dramatically, trying to get Jack even more excited, "is to put some flour on the counter." You took a pinch of the flour in between your fingers and sprinkled it onto the counter where the two of you were going to work. Jack followed your lead and sprinkled some flour on the counter too.

"Why are we doing this?" he asked curiously.

"It's so the dough doesn't get too sticky on the counter." He let out a small oh as you grabbed the bowl of dough in front of him. "Are we doing little pizzas for everyone or one big one to share?"

Jack tapped his finger on his chin, taking an ample amount of time to think about his decision as if the world depended upon it. "Little ones," he decided.

"Alright, well in that case we have to split the dough evenly." You grabbed the nearby knife and cut the dough into 3 equal parts, one for you, Jack, and Aaron.

"Now what?" Jack asked.

"We have to knead the dough," you explained as you placed one of the sections of dough on the counter where you had sprinkled the flour. You rolled the dough around for a second to coat it in the flour and watched as Jack stared at you, mesmerized at what you were doing.

You rolled the dough on the counter, working to get the air bubbles out of the dough. You kneaded it for a few minutes until you heard the familiar car alarm chirp in the driveway.

"Dad's home?" Jack asked, clearly not expecting his father to be home so soon.

You glanced at the time to see that Aaron was home about two hours earlier than you had anticipated. "I guess so," you said as you heard the front door open.

You continued to work the dough as Aaron came into the kitchen.

"Wow, what's going on here?" he asked as he leaned against the entrance of the kitchen.

"Making pizza," Jack said simply.

"Mhm," Aaron hummed. "Who's idea was that?"

"It was mine," the young Hotchner admitted happily. "I'll be right back. I have to go to the bathroom."

"Make sure you wash your hands good if you're going to be making this pizza," Aaron called out as Jack ran down the hallway.

You chuckled lightly at Jack's unnecessary announcement as you continued to roll the dough around on the counter. You glanced over to see Aaron watching you work the dough. He furrowed his brows as you worked, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

"Can I help you?" you teased, clearly catching him watching you.

Aaron let out a light laugh, coming over to where you and Jack had been cooking. "Nothing, I just—" He paused and clicked his tongue. "It's nothing."

You brushed a strand of hair off your forehead with the back of your hand and looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. "No, what was it?" you asked.

"You're doing too much to the dough," he told you, raising his eyebrows as his way of pointing towards it.

You scoffed playfully, feigning a hurt expression at his comment. "Well, Mr. Chef Boyardee, how should we be kneading the dough then?"

Aaron rolled up the sleeves on his dress shirt and you watched as he came around the counter.

You definitely weren't expecting what was coming next.

Aaron stood behind you, pressing his front against your back as he wrapped his arms around your body, his forearms boxing yours in. He placed his hands on top of yours, starting to guide your hands in rolling the dough. His hands covered yours completely, manipulating their movements to continue to knead the dough. He moved his head next to yours, keeping a watchful eye on the workspace in front of you. You felt the warmth radiating off his body as he continued to stand behind you.

"You don't have to work it so much," he whispered into your ear. You shivered at the closeness, trying not to lose your composure as Aaron continued to move your hands, now in a more circular motion to work on getting the dough to be the right shape and to have a bit of a crust.

"The less you keep kneading it, the better," he continued. You leaned back against him, falling into a state of intoxication because of the whole incident that was unraveling.

You couldn't form any coherent words. Or any other thought than the fact that you wanted Aaron to take you right then and there on the countertop. It took all your willpower not to moan in the moment, even though you felt at any moment one would slip past your lips.

Aaron could feel the way your body tensed when he first came up behind you. He thought that maybe you felt uncomfortable in the situation. But then as your body relaxed underneath his touch, he figured you were enjoying the moment just as much as he was.

He didn't want to ever let you go. The feeling of your body pressed against his was permanently engraved in his mind.

He wanted more.

He was tired of running around his feelings. He was determined to talk to you about everything.

"Aaron," you muttered out, practically breathless as he stayed behind you even though the pizza dough had long been stagnant on the counter. Now, it was only the two of you pressed against each other, both of your hands locked together on top of one another on the counter.

"Hm?" he hummed as he leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss on your shoulder.

"We need to talk later," you said, feeling overwhelmed by the closeness of him. You knew that you had to talk to him about the events of the past few days and if you didn't stop him now, you wouldn't have been able to help yourself.

"Whatever you want," he muttered as he pressed another kiss underneath your earlobe.

As much as you didn't want him to, Aaron let go of you and you could still feel the way he was pressed up against you. You could subtly make out the mildly toned muscles that were hidden underneath his dress shirt and you imagined what they looked like, how they would have felt underneath your fingertips.

You tried to shake the thoughts from your head but to no avail.

You stood there practically frozen as Jack skipped back into the kitchen. "Okay! I think I can make my pizza now. I think I'm going to be an expert," he asserted.

"I'm sure you are, buddy," Aaron said as he washed his hands in the sink.

"Alright Jack. Let's get going," you told him, feeling your cheeks blush thinking about what just happened.

You were truly in deep shit and there was no going back.

————

"Can we play a game now?" Jack pleaded as the three of you just got done eating the pizzas.

"Go pick one out," Aaron said as he wiped his mouth off with his napkin.

Jack ran up to his room, leaving you and Aaron alone. Again.

He cleared his throat as he took a sip of his wine. He placed the glass down in front of you and clasped his hands together, his honey eyes glancing at you. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked.

You took a deep breath, trying to prepare yourself for the impending conversation. "Well to start, I guess, I want to ask you something."

"Anything."

"Now this may be my brain just over analyzing but in, uh, light of recent events we'll say," you started, trying to phrase everything the best you could, "the day at your lecture. I know you were talking about the myth of Zeus and Io. But I just... the words seemed to be saying more than just that. Am I overthinking or was there actually something behind all of that?"

"You'd be right about that," he said bluntly as he took another sip of his wine. "It wasn't just about the myth."

You felt your cheeks blush again as he looked at you. "So you actually meant it?"

"You're a smart girl, Y/N. I figured you'd pick up on it," he said with a smirk.

"And in the car when we were about to kiss—"

"Interruptions are never fun," he interjected. "Like I said that day, Y/N, you're such an amazing person. And if my actions haven't been clear about that and the way I feel about everything, then what can I do to make it clearer?"

Your eyes widened, realizing what he just told you. You figured that some part of him had some sort of feelings for you but to hear it from him was a whole different sense of euphoria.

"I don't want to force you into anything that you don't want," he added. "I know that there are a lot of things about all of this that could be a bit taboo to some people."

You nodded your head, taking a sip of your own wine. "What makes you think that this isn't something that I want?" you asked curiously.

The footsteps of Jack returned and Aaron raised his brow as a way to tell you to stop the conversation for the time being. Later, he mouthed to you as he got up from the dinner table and grabbed your empty plate from in front of you.

"I haven't played this game in forever," Jack said dramatically as he rattled the box in his hands.

"What is it?" you asked as you got up from the table to see what he had.

He held the box out in front of you and you felt your heart race. Of course, it was just the thing that you needed right now to add to the tension that was clearly building between you and Aaron all night.

"Twister!" he hollered.

Jesus fucking Christ, you thought to yourself.

You pinched the bridge of your nose, trying to figure out a way out of playing. You couldn't see it actually helping the current situation in which you found yourself. If anything, you knew that it would make you want to have Aaron absolutely destroy you into oblivion.

"Jack, buddy. I, uh, don't think that this is such a good idea after eating such a big dinner," you told him, trying to think of anything to get out of playing the game. "You don't want to get sick."

"I'll be fine! Come on, Y/N," Jack practically whined.

"Yeah, come on Y/N," Aaron said smugly as he came up from behind you. "It'll be fun to say the least." He placed his hand on the small of your back as he guided you into the living room. Jack ran around in front of the two of you, quickly laying out the mat for the game on the floor.

You whipped your head around towards Aaron, your eyes wide. "What kind of sick joke is this?" you whispered at him.

He shrugged his shoulders and shoved his hands in his pockets as he smirked. "I had nothing to do with this. But," he whispered as he moved his lips closer to your ear so that Jack wouldn't hear what he was about to say. "I'm sure it won't be the last time the two of us get tangled up together."

"Cheeky bastard," you said back to him, feeling his words go straight to your core.

"Come on guys! I'll go first," Jack said as he spun the dial. "Left hand green." He smacked his hand onto the green dot closest to him and was waiting for you or Aaron to make the next move.

"Let the games begin," Aaron said loudly, making sure to steal a glance at you as the smirk grew on his face.

It wasn't long before the three of you were all twisted and tangled on the game mat. You were positive that you were mere moments away from falling over but you were determined to hold on, if only for a bit longer.

Aaron was thankful for his son for being his unintentional wingman. The game allowed him to be close to you with absolutely no remorse in his body. Especially the few times your ass had rubbed against his groin area. He clenched his jaw each time it happened, trying to not let it affect him. Or at least not that much.

He couldn't even remember how you got tangled up with him on the mat, your limbs crossing here and there with your fronts facing each other.

He was surprised to see how you were twisting and bending your body and could only think about how you would be in bed when he was relentlessly fuc—

"Right hand green," you announced as the spinner for the game came to a halt. "Oh no," you groaned as you soon realized how far away you were from the green spot.

"Don't think you can do it?" Jack teased as he peeked over at you and looked at your current situation.

"No, no. I got this," you told him. You stretched out your arm, reaching over Aaron's crossed legs as you planted your hand firmly on the green dot. "See? Told you."

"Dad, your turn!"

Aaron muttered under his breath, something about being too old for this game as he reached over and spun the spinner. "Left foot yellow?" Aaron peered down at his feet to see that his foot was already there. "Well would you look at that."

"You have to move it," Jack told his father.

"What? No, I don't," Aaron said, determined to keep his foot in place.

"Jack is right. Your foot was already there but you have to try to move it to a different yellow spot," you told him as you glanced at him over your shoulder.

Aaron rolled his eyes and begrudgingly moved his foot to the nearest yellow spot, which looped his body underneath yours.

"Right foot red for me," Jack said as he stretched out his leg to reach it. His foot just made it as it looked like he was in the position that runners were in when they were starting the race.

You flicked the spinner and watched it go until it slowed down, landing on a spot. "Right foot blue," you said. You stretched out your leg, going over Aaron's waist to get to the blue spot. "And that is how it's done," you said cockily.

A mere moment later, your knee buckled underneath you, as it gave out from tiredness underneath you. You quickly fell to the ground, taking Aaron down with you. You landed on his lap, a small huff of air leaving him from the impact.

"Are you okay?" you asked him as you tried to hold in your laughter.

He nodded, trying not to wince from the sudden weight that was dropped onto his groin area.

Aaron was, in fact, more than okay. Sure, the initial fall from you hurt like a bitch but as the two of you sat there for a moment, taking in what just happened, he really didn't mind.

"I win!" Jack yelled in victory.

"That you did," you agreed. You shuddered quickly as Aaron's hands found your waist, splaying them across it. It became all too noticeable to you now that you were practically straddling Aaron's lap right there on the Twister mat.

"You okay?" he asked you as his face softened in concern. You felt his thumbs run gentle circles on your hips as he awaited your answer.

"I'm fine," you assured, brushing the loose strands of hair off of his forehead with your fingers. "I fell on you. Are you okay?"

Aaron nodded his head, a small smile turning up on his lips.

"I think I'm more okay than I have been in a while."

-----

author's note:

i have literally had this chapter planned out and the idea in my head before i even any idea as to where this story was going and i am so excited that it's finally out there!

i hope you all enjoyed it! as always, thank you for your continued support <3

see you next chapter!

-jordyn

[super-unpredictable98]

Me and Ms. Adolphson (Me and Mrs. Jones AU)

Chapter 3: Mixed Signals

Warning: Strong language, veeery mild sexual content, alcohol abuse

(Me and Ms. Adolphson Masterlist)

"Sagaaaaaa," Alfie's voice echoed through the house. "The door!"

"You lazy wanker," she taunted as she went down the stairs.

"Oh, I love you too!"

"Jesus Christ, this place is a mess! Your mother will kill you, Alfie!"

"Yeah, yeah... She'll get over it."

"I didn't know you were a fan of boxers," Saga picked up a pair of striped underwear laying on top of the computer screen. "I imagined you more as a briefs kind of guy."

"That's actually mine," Billy grimaced apologetically.

"Oh God," she threw them at him. "I... The door."

When Saga opened the door, she felt like her world was ending. How the fuck did he find her there?

"Ake? What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Saggy!" the tall, blonde man with long hair and an equally long beard embraced her and lifted her up as if she was a rag doll.

"Saggy?" Alfie snorted.

Billy stared agape at the scene, he felt a sting in his chest. That man was huge, traditionally handsome, by the look of his clothes he was loaded, and could grow a beard (something Billy was never able to do). Suddenly he felt self-conscious and started to question why Saga was interested in him at all, but then he remembered her words: you have a glow.

"Inca told me you'd be here," Ake put her down. "I missed you so much."

"I-I... Missed you too. How long are you in England for?"

"Just a few days, then I go back and sort things out to move definitely."

"You're moving here?"

"Well, of course! If you are, I am too," he laughed as if it was obvious.

"Where are you staying?"

"I got a hotel, you can come and stay with me if you want. It's a lot better than... This," he looked around at the trashed living room.

"That would be indelicate with Mrs. Jones. I don't want her to think I'm ungrateful."

"Mum would be fin..." Alfie started, but Saga kicked his chair.

"Shut up, dickhead!" she muttered.

"Alright, then. Why don't you come by later and I'll take you out to dinner? I'll text you the address."

"S-sounds good," she stumbled on her words. "Goodbye, Ake."

"See you later," he gave her a quick peck on the lips.

When Saga closed the door, she was shaking from head to toe, her stomach in knots.

"Who was Chris Hemsworth's twin over there?" Alfie asked, finally looking away from his videogame.

"My boyfriend," her voice disappeared in her throat.

"You've got a boyfriend?"

"Seems like it..."

Saga ran away to the backyard, she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore, she needed fresh air. Billy followed, sitting by her next to the backdoor.

"So, I'm guessin' this makes things more complicated?" he mumbled.

"You think?" she scoffed.

"Well, at least now you can break up with him in person, it's better than over the phone."

"I can't break up with him. He came all this way and he's gonna move to England, I just... I can't."

"What about our kiss? And all we talked about?"

"I think it's best if we just forget it ever happened. Bury it deep somewhere in our brains."

"Bury our kiss... Like a serial killer would do?"

"Yeah, I'm really sorry," she gave him a sad smile. "Friends?"

"Friends," Billy nodded defeatedly.

"Are you upset with me?"

"No... I would rather have you as a friend than not at all."

"Alfie! Did I sleep through a rave or something?" Gemma's shout made Saga  laugh.

"Come on, let's help her."

The house seemed even crazier than before, Gemma had unplugged Alfie's videogame and he was freaking out, Jason had arrived with some problem from work... Saga felt bad for the amount of responsibility on her back.

"Girls let's go!" she called. "Alfie, you're working with Jason and this is final, if you wanna stick around, you need a job."

Saga occupied herself picking up trash and shoving it on the bag Billy was holding. After some struggling, both the girls and Alfie were ready to leave. Gemma fell on the couch with a heavy sigh but quickly sat up again.

"You look upset, Saga, what happened?" she noticed the girl's frown.

"Do not worry, Gemma, you have too much on your plate as it is, don't worry about me."

"Oh, dear, it's alright, it's called being a mother of three. It won't hurt me to just talk to you and help you get whatever is bothering you off your chest."

"I'll take this outside," Billy waved the trash bag on his way out.

"Well, my boyfriend is in town to visit me and now he wants to move to England," Saga sat down on the couch as well. "I was about to break up with him, but now I lost the nerve."

"Oh, I know how you feel. It took me way too long to divorce Jason," Gemma groaned. "What's wrong with this guy?"

"Nothing really, he's okay."

"You just don't like him anymore."

"Yeah."

"Because you like someone else... And this someone else is Billy."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, I'm nearly twice your age, I've been through this sort of thing before, several times," she laughed. "And I'm a mother, it comes with magical instincts."

"How am I supposed to break up with a guy who came from Sweden and is willing to give up the rest of his life to be with me? We've been together for so long, he might not bring me that excitement, but he's a safe choice and my family likes him."

"Look, I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you that every single time that I followed my head instead of my heart, I ended up in a bad situation. If you love... Hamburgers," Gemma quickly changed the subject when she saw Billy coming in again. "Don't force yourself to eat hotdogs. It'll just give you indigestion."

"That is good advice," he agreed, trying to fight a grin. "I'm goin' job huntin'. Wanna come, Saga? You're lookin' for a job as well, right?"

"Right, sure."

She took his hand and they walked to the door, Gemma gave her a pointed look, which only increased the confusion in her head. Saga nearly screamed when she turned around the corner and bumped into Tom, who was running down the sidewalk.

"Hey," she clutched her chest.

"Hey there," that guy was weirdly happy all the time, that was a little freaky. "Off to a morning run too?"

"Not really, more like a morning job search?"

"Saga and I don't wanna bring more trouble to Mrs. Jones, so we gotta start pullin' our weight around the house," Billy joked in that charming way of his.

"I imagine it must be a little crazy with five of you in there with her... You could move in with me if that helps," Tom stared at Billy with hopeful eyes.

"No!" Saga nearly screamed, but covered her mouth when she realized her exaggerated reaction. "I mean, it's his choice, I didn't mean to intrude."

"Wow, that is... I'm not sure," Billy not only didn't want to leave and be away from her, but he was also a tad bit scared of how Tom never stopped smiling.

"I'm probably being a little selfish here, but grown-up company would help," Tom chuckled. "I know you can't get more grown-up than my Poppy, but still... Actually, you should both come, the box room has a queen-size bed and very thick walls. I promise to give you some privacy."

"Oh, we are not..." Billy smiled awkwardly. "We're not a couple."

"You're not?" he furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, it seemed like you were."

"Just two good friends," Saga's cheeks grew red. "Who have definitely never kissed or anything."

"Yeah, definitely," Billy narrowed his eyes playfully. "I'd never be so lucky."

"In case you change your mind, here's my number," Tom handed him a very fancy business card. "Call me if you want out of the madhouse."

"Cheers," he took the card and put it in his pocket.

"Well, I'm gonna say hello to Gemma. Happy hunting for you two."

"Thanks, Tom," Saga nodded politely.

Billy draped his arm around her as they walked up the street, a shit-eating smirk tugging at his lips.

"Definitely have never kissed or anything..." he repeated. "I'm sure that was very convincin'."

"Well, I panicked."

"I noticed, but it was good for my ego the way you reacted when he suggested I move."

"Oh, shut up..."

——————————————————

After a long frustrating day of constant rejection, Billy and Saga decided to get a drink. They sat at the counter and she let her head fall and hit the wood top, while he observed the insane amount of pink balloons all over the place.

"What can I get you?" the nice lady that served them the other night asked.

"Probably about... Half a pint o'lager?" Billy dropped a handful of coins on the counter.

"You guys are Alfie's mates, right?"

"Yeah," Saga groaned without lifting her head.

"It's on the house," she poured two pints.

"Thank you," Saga took hers and drank a generous amount. "I never got your name."

"It's Rachel."

"I'll pay you back once he gets here," Billy took his glass as well.

"You know what? Why don't I take it out of your wages?" Rachel cocked an eyebrow.

"D'you need someone?" Billy asked excitedly.

"For today? Definitely. My entire staff got the flu and I've got half a dozen hens arriving at five."

"I'll probably need more than a pint t'do the whole stripper thing."

He said that exclusively to watch Saga's reaction and it did not disappoint, she nearly choked on her drink and widened her beautiful blue eyes.

"I've got that covered," Rachel laughed. "But I do need a barman and a waitress if you guys can help."

"When do we start?" Saga was still recovering from the near-choking experience.

"How long does it take to drink a pint?"

"I never drink on duty," Billy immediately went behind the bar.

"I do, but don't worry," she chugged the rest of her drink. "Done."

"Wow," Billy raised his eyebrows. "Remind me to never challenge you to a drinkin' contest."

"It's just a silly trick I use to make the boys fall in love with me," she joked.

"It works... Don't you ever do that in front of Alfie, alright?"

"Can I finish yours?"

"Please," Billy gestured to the glass still half full.

In about an hour the so-called hens arrived. There was a bit more than half a dozen, but nothing they couldn't manage. Alfie arrived as well and was very pleased to see the clientele for the night.

"Wow, is it my birthday or something?" he rubbed his hands together.

"Yes," Saga folded her arms with a tray in hand. "We decided to get you a  variety of women since you can't seem to get one by yourself."

"Nice one," Billy high-fived her.

"Are you included in the package, Ms. IKEA?" Alfie waggled his eyebrows, biting his lip suggestively.

"I am," she leaned over him with a mischievous look on her face. "I'm in charge  of erotic torture, want me to get my whip and high heels?"

"No, thanks," he shivered and quickly left to sit with the other girls while Billy cackled.

"Well, work awaits," Saga took the drinks he placed on the counter and headed to the tables.

"You're doing great," Rachel approached Billy. "I could offer you a couple of shifts this week."

"Thanks, but it might not be enough. I might need t'go back home," he huffed at the prospect.

"If there's nothing for you to stay for, it makes sense..."

"Well, there kinda is," he watched as Saga started bickering with Alfie again.

"Alfie?"

"He's cute, but no," Billy mocked. "It's complicated."

"So Saga's already taken then."

"Against her will, but yes."

"Against her will?"

"Yeah, apparently she never wanted to date this fella. Her dad made her, it's been five years, and now she's too scared t'get out. And the cherry on top of this shit cake: he's just arrived in town and he looks like three of me, but with blonde hair and loads o'money."

"Ouch..."

"I know."

"What are you guys talking about?" Saga joined them.

"Nothing, I was just offering you guys a few shifts if you want..." Rachel looked down at her schedule.

"I'll take it!"

"I'll take it too," Billy quickly accepted.

"Great, tomorrow at four?"

"Amazing!"

Saga's smile disappeared when a young, slightly buzzed girl with a bunny costume approached the bar and gave him a flirty look.

"Hey," she drawled.

"Hi," he leaned against the wall.

"I'm Taylor."

"Billy."

"So, Billy, are you single?"

"No, he's not," Saga said before she could stop herself.

He flashed her a taunting smile, it was undeniable that he loved her reaction, even though it was a bit confusing since she said earlier they were supposed to be just friends.

"Sorry," she shut her eyes with regret.

"It's alright, she wasn't really my type anyway."

———————��——————————

As time went by, Alfie only got drunker and drunker. He did shot after shot and by the end of the night, he was already dancing shirtless on a table while the group of bachelorettes cheered him on. Saga and Billy exchanged a look and both silently agreed that was enough.

"I might've had too much to drink," Alfie nearly fell, but Billy held him.

"No kidding," Saga tilted her head.

"I'm gonna be sick..." he moaned as the girls moved to another table. "Where are all the bunnies going?"

"Watership Down," Billy joked.

"Is that a new club?"

"Nevermind, mate, let's get you a cab and take you home, okay?"

"I got it," Saga put the tray down and wrapped Alfie's arm around her own shoulders to support him. "Rachel, do you mind if I leave a little early to take him home?"

"No, it's alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," she groaned under his weight. "Let's go, big boy."

Luckily, they made it home before Alfie got sick, so that's a victory... Saga waited by the bathroom door with water and when he was done she turned on the shower to get him clean, maybe sober him up a bit more.

"Are we gonna shag in the shower? I won't tell your boyfriend, it will be our little secret..."

"No," she laughed as she pushed him in.

"But how are you gonna resist me?" Alfie slurred before belching.

"Believe me, I'll find a way," she rolled her eyes with a smile.

As Saga was putting him to bed, he kept blabbing nonsense that she would definitely use against him once he was sober.

"It's usually bigger than that, the water was too cold," he pouted.

"Keep telling yourself that, buddy," she covered him with a blanket and turned him to the side. "If you need anything just give me a shout, I'll be right downstairs."

"Thanks, Saga," he sighed. "Billy was right about you... You are an angel."

"Goodnight, Alfie," she smiled to herself, feeling her heart race in her chest.

When Billy arrived about an hour later, Saga was still in the living room, playing  video games, the only thing she could think of to take her mind away from the  crippling doubt growing in her brain.

"Wow, you beat Alfie's high score..." Billy leaned over the back of the chair. "I thought y'were havin' dinner with Thor tonight."

"I told him I had to take care of a sick friend."

"And where is he?"

"Asleep, I shoved him in the cold shower and tucked him in."

"You're really a natural caretaker, aren'tcha?"

"I suppose."

"So, should we talk about what happened at the bar?" Billy sat in front of her.  "Y'know... With the girl."

"I'm really sorry about that," Saga put the controller down.

"You don't have t'be, but you can't deny I'm gettin' some mixed signals here. First we kiss, then y'tell me we're just friends, then you kiss me, then your boyfriend shows up and we're back to bein' just friends, and then... Tonight."

"I'm confused, Billy, I don't know what to do. I want hamburgers, but it's hard to just go for a burger when you've been eating hotdogs for five years. You get used to the indigestion. That's all I know how to eat, that's all I'm used to, that's all my parents ever let me eat."

"I like bein' your friend, Saga, I really do, but I feel like things might be easier for us if I move in with Tom. We can still hang out and talk, but we'll have fewer moments like this. When we're alone, and all I wanna do is kiss you until I lose my breath."

"Oh God, why do you have to say those things?" Saga whined. "I don't want you to move out, but if we keep kissing that's just gonna lead to... Other stuff that happens after the kiss. It might be safer."

"Then safer it'll be," Billy kissed the back of her hands. "I'm gonna pack my things."

"Well, you don't have to leave now. It's late, it might be dangerous, Tom is probably asleep anyway."

"I think I do," he held her face gently with a cheeky smirk. "Otherwise the other stuff that happens after the kiss might happen. We're all alone, the moonlight is comin' through the window, it's nice and quiet, the lights are dim."

"I mean, it doesn't have to..."

"D'you really trust yourself? Cause I don't trust myself, at all. Lookin' at you right now, I just wanna take you in my arms, undress you while I kiss my way down your body, run my fingers through your hair, and whisper in your ear how sexy you are... And neither of us would want that happenin', right? Especially not now that your boyfriend's in town."

"R-right," Saga stammered, her chest heaving with just the image of what Billy described. He seemed extremely amused by her reaction. "That's not what friends do."

"Will you talk to Mrs. Jones for me?" Billy gave Saga a tight hug.

"Sure, I'll let her know," she wanted to cry, but she wasn't sure why.

"Goodbye, Ms. Adolphson."

"Goodbye, Mr..."

"Delaney."

"Mr. Delaney, I'll see you around?"

"For sure, how could I ever let you live without my glow?" his beautiful smile only got more irresistible under the moonlight.

And that was it, Billy packed his bag and left, leaving Saga feeling empty and alone, like part of her was missing.

How could she feel like this after knowing him for only a few days? When Gemma arrived, she immediately knew something was wrong.

"What happened?"

"He left, he moved in with Tom."

"Oh, Tom mentioned he invited him over... I'm so sorry, dear."

"I know it's for the best, but I didn't want him gone," Saga felt the tears she's been holding back finally running down her face.

"I know, come here," Gemma held her. "I know it hurts, but I promise it won't hurt forever."

"It feels like everyone I like doesn't want me around. First Inca, and now Billy. Soon the girls will kick me out of the room if this keeps up."

"I want you around and I'm sure the girls do too... And Alfie! You guys are friends, right? With your playful bickering and all?"

"Yeah, I really like that twat," Saga chuckled. "Thank you so much for making me feel like I have a family."

"You do have a family, and friends who love you. That includes Billy, he's doing that because he cares about you," Gemma stroked her hair. "Now let's watch a movie and eat some ice cream, that is the best solution for a broken heart."

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