#fix yourselves lads

[justmeinatree]

09 - Made Of Something New : USA

Summary : you meet niall in your hotel bar. and there’s an intense connection.

previous part /// jump to pt. 1

TW : smut, choking, cheating (not on you, but none the less)

Word Count : 6k

Series Masterlist

GIF : @horansqueen

April 23 (next year) - Las Vegas, USA

when niall approached mully, asking him if he wanted to go somewhere, anywhere, the last thing niall was expecting was vegas. but here he is, in a way too crowded hotel bar, sitting in the back corner with mully and a few other lads, drinking way too many beers.

mully’s idea of “distract niall” was going great so far, thanks to an abundance of alcohol. and strippers. the best thing he could think of really. 

but, niall would have definitely preferred something quiet. something where he could try to sort himself out. things at home were bad again. 

after that fateful night in dublin, 13 months ago now, niall woke up feeling refreshed. having the opportunity to finally let out everything he’s held in, was incredible. he felt lighter, felt peppier. 

so he did the one thing mully desperately begged him not to do, and that’s to simply go back home as if none of this had happened. as if this feeling was going to last forever. as if the fog of drug you seemed to induce was forever lifted and he could be happily living his life again. mully laughed. shook his head. and watched him go off to the actual biggest mistake of his life.

but with time, especially when they hit around christmas break again, everything took a severe turn. and now, months after things went bad again, he was desperate. beyond incredibly desperate for some semblance of good. vegas apparently is the answer to that one.

and since the universe enjoys dangling temptation in his face, niall spots a very familiar frame standing at the bar. his entire body goes rigid, eyes locked, on whom he knows for absolute fact, is you, with a tall man.

mully notices the change in niall, eyes floating over in the general direction that niall seems to be locked in, when he spots you, “hey, s’tha-“

“shhh,” niall cuts him off instantly, watching the interaction you’re having very attentively. he watches you shoulder bump the man, his arm slinking around your neck in a quick squeeze. 

“niall,” mully tries again, getting nothing more than a head bob from his friend, letting him know that he’s paying attention, but absolutely not taking his eyes off of you. 

mully sighs, shaking his head, “if this isn’t a fuckin sign, i dont know what is.”

“she’s with a fuckin man, mully,” niall snaps, unable to take his eyes away.

christ, he is so fucking daft, mully thinks to himself. “mate, you have no idea who that is. you wanted to get away, you were searching for something good. i said vegas, vegas of all fuckin places. where there’s thousands of fuckin bars, and she’s here. aren’t you the one who told me that you’d inevitably bump into each other again ? looks like you’re standing in it.”

“she’s with someone,” niall groans, biting his lip. “besides, what am i supposed to say ? i was a real fuckin prick, please fix me again ? christ mully, she’s not as daft as you seem to think i am.”

mully laughs loudly at that, “no, i know you’re as daft as i make you out to be. you’re too fuckin blind to see it. but yes, if she’s everything you’ve made her out to be, you need to talk to her. for real. not just a cryptic break up in the middle of a fucking bar. at the very least, please just talk to her mate. for everyone’s sanity, including your own, give her some credit.”

niall watches attentively as you find a table with the mystery man on your heel, holding drinks and shots, settling yourselves at the chosen empty table.

and niall keeps watch, trying to figure out how you’re both interacting with each other. he reaches over for mully’s beer, gulping it down, as his is long finished. 

mully gives him a questioning look as niall gets up suddenly, ignoring whatever the lads were saying, beelining for your table. he couldn’t miss the opportunity, now that the man had walked off to the bar, leaving you alone at your table.

you never saw him approaching. had no idea he was here. but a shiver ran through your spine as his hand settles on the back of the wooden chair beside you, fingers tapping. “‘s this seat taken ?”

you didn’t have to look up to know it was him. you’d recognize his hand anywhere. as weird as it may sound, this exact moment happened in vancouver, and you can still vividly picture his hand from the fateful night almost 2 years ago.

you’d recognize his voice anywhere too. it was ingrained on your brain, making your heart beat rapidly through your chest at the sound of it in such close proximity. you’d recognize his smell anywhere as well. it was so fucking comforting. it was so fucking niall. fuck. he was right here.

you chance looking up at him, eyes locked with his own, as you delicately shake your head, “s’not taken.”

niall bites his lip, hard enough to draw a bit of blood, metallic taste sitting uncomfortably on his tongue. he’s looking at you, and your eyes are looking right back, and for the second time in his life, it’s not happiness looking back. and fuck, if he didn’t feel guilty before, he sure as fuck does now.

“petal,” niall whispers, fingers reaching out to softly run over your arm. his hand recoils into a tight fist, eyes shut, because fuck he hasn’t felt you in over a year. that familiar shock of warmth and softness and comfort and electricity ran through his fingertips, shooting to squeeze at his heart.

as his eyes blink open, he finds you looking back at him, the same pain mirrored in both your eyes. niall takes a deep breath, in search for some sort of grounding, when his vision falls to your chest. 

you can tell immediately that he’s noticed. his eyes are wide, chest beating rapidly, air seemingly knocked out of him, as he processes the small rose charm hanging from the delicate chain on your neck.

“you’re still wearing it,” he murmurs, struggling to find a breath, his fingers reaching out to lightly touch the charm he remembers so vividly. 

“v’never taken it off,” you reply just as quietly, biting on your lip, blushing, as you admit that to him. “never had the heart to.”

“fuck,” niall breathes, shaking his head, “can we go somewhere and talk ?” he sees the hesitation in your eyes, and really, he cannot blame you. could not be mad if you chose to walk away without so much as a second thought. but he needed to try. “please, petal, really need to explain,” he adds. “unless,” he mumbles, nodding towards the seemingly forgotten seat in front of you.

“no, no,” you shake your head. “s’my brother. his fiancé was joining us soon. they’re getting married tomorrow, the whole dinky tacky elvis chapel wedding thing,” you explain, knowing exactly what the scene may have looked like. 

as you notice him visibly relax, you take a deep breath, fighting with yourself, ultimately deciding that whatever comes out of this talk, at least you’d have answers. answers you never thought you’d have. to the questions that have so heavily weighed on you for so long now. 

“we’re staying at this hotel,” you add, looking up at him. “we can talk in my room if you’d like ?”

“lead the way,” he hums, taking your hand in his to help you back up to your feet, following you to the elevators.

as you both stand in the elevator, you can’t help but be sucked into the parallel of this moment. it’s so similar to the night you met, you end up wondering if this is some sort of do over. the universe granting you with a second chance. your heart is beating out of your chest, your mind absolutely reeling. you can feel niall’s eyes scanning over you, feel his presence wash over you for the first time in so long.

there’s always been such an incredible pull towards niall that you can’t quite seem to explain. you close your eyes, biting on your lip, as you fight the overpowering urge to crumble into his arms. the only thing holding you back, being the thinning willpower of your still wounded heart.

niall follows you silently, down the hall, and up to your door. he watches you fumble with the keycard, again, unsure of whether he’s more nervous or excited to get beyond the threshold. 

the last thing he expected, however, as he closes the door behind himself, is to catch a glimpse of your tear filled eyes, just before he feels you pressed against him, face buried in his neck in an attempt to conceal the tears. 

your arms wrap tightly around niall’s body, hands fisted in his tshirt, taking a deep breath, as you feel your body start to tremble. 

“petal,” niall breathes, his heart feeling too swollen to fit in his chest, frog stuck in his throat, as he feels himself crumble for you. he winds his arms around your shoulders, hands soothingly rubbing your back, squeezing you as tight as he can, face buried in the top of your head. “i’m so sorry, pet. you didn’t fuckin deserve any of that.”

your hands glide down from his back to his hips, gripping onto him, pulling your face from niall’s neck, to look up at him, “wanted to talk, yeah ? i really need you to explain,” you hum, nodding towards the bed. you slip out of his arms, sitting with your back against the headboard, legs crossed.

niall mimics your position, sitting in the middle of the mattress, legs crisscrossed like yours, knees almost bumping into each other, as he faces you.

you look at him expectantly, wanting to hear him out. wanting to hear his side of the story. hear what exactly was going on last year. 

“i dont think i ever told you- no, i know i never told you,” niall corrects himself, shaking his head. “but, after mexico, i really started to look at you differently,” he decides to jump right in, laying it all out. “when we met up in italy, i did rent that place for you. and then in sweden, i met up with you because i wanted to be with you on valentines day. and when i called while you were in south korea, i was ready to fly you out and rent a house for you in the uk so i could have you close for a bit.”

you’re left stunned, your brain processing this information. you’re sure your face is showing all the emotions you seem to be hurled through. confusion, being the main one.

“my home life became an absolute living hell,” he continues. “i wanted you. wanted to be with you more than anything. and that scared me, because it was supposed to just be one night in vancouver. what hap-“

“what happens in canada, stays in canada,” you murmur, nodding. “you know, i dont even understand why i feel the need for this explanation so badly. i knew going into this, the second agreement i guess, since we broke that canada rule pretty quick. but, i knew what i was singing up for. i knew that one day you’d have to end this. i was the side piece.”

stab. stab, stab, stab, stab, stab. stab. for a moment, niall wishes he was actually being stabbed. apparently your brain shuts down for too much physical pain. but emotional pain, you have to live that shit. and right now, niall was being ripped apart by it.

“you’ve said that before,” niall recounts, eyes closed, as he takes a deep breath, his hand raking through his hair. “knew what you were signing up for,” he quotes from you. “said it at the cafe in mexico. hurt me just as much to hear it then as it does now,” he murmurs, taking another deep breath. “i think, for the both of us, somewhere along the line, this relationship became more than we could have ever even imagined signing up for. and fuck, please, petal, you were always so much more than a side piece.”

“so what did this relationship become for you ?” you chance asking. “because i always knew that you enjoyed the comfort and safety and trust that i seem to be able to give you. i always knew that was a big part of it.”

“i was falling so hard for you,” he whispers, like a secret spoken into the calm of the evening. a stark contrast from the vegas party goers just now ramping up for the night. 

“i used to tell you that you were intoxicating. but i never explained what i meant by that,” he hums, taking a breath. “your skin is softer than anything i’ve ever felt. your smell is the most comforting mix of lavender, honey, and coffee, and it has me fuckin obsessed. your presence relaxes and calms me more than anyone i’ve ever been around. your voice is so smooth, i wish i could bottle it up and listen whenever i wanted. everything, absolutely everything, was more, whenever i was with you. more relaxing, more happy, more comfortable, more safe, more feeling, more intensity. i thought i had met my perfect person, but the moment i sat next to you in vancouver, i knew, for fuckin fact, i was sitting with my perfect person. it just took me a really long time to even admit that to myself. i guess i was scared to lose the life i had.”

he watches as unshed tears gather up in your eyes, watches you try to blink them away, as one stray tear cascades down your cheek. niall’s quick to wipe it clean, fingertips brushing over your cheek, as his hand settles in your lap.

your fingers intertwine themselves with niall’s own, his thumb rubbing soothingly against your knuckles. “do you want to know why i’m here, petal ?”

you nod, biting your lip, as you look up at him, eyes still red rimmed and increasingly full of tears, not trusting your voice at the moment.

“i needed to escape again. my home life is bad again. knowing that you’re out in the world, living your life and it’s not with me. knowing that there’s someone so perfect for me. someone that makes me feel better than i’ve literally ever felt. but i couldn’t see you,” he shakes his head, “s’been increasingly hard. i’ve had more fights and disagreements, more uncomfortable silences and awkward encounters, in the last year as i think i’ve ever had.”

“but then, why ?” you murmur quietly, your voice catching in your throat, your head still busy processing all of this new information. “why did you walk away from this when you did ?”

“i was scared,” he admits again. “scared because if i bring you into my life, for real, maybe this fantasy bubble we’ve been living in wont be able to thrive. it’ll just be real life, and i could never forgive myself if bringing you into my life ultimately leads to our demise.”

“that doesn’t make sense,” you furrow your eyebrows. “instead of living happily with me, with the off chance that we end up unhappy with each other, you chose to end it and make us both unhappy right away. no shot at any happiness.”

“i didn’t say it made sense,” he hums, hand squeezing yours. “and trust me, mully gave me so much shite for it. i just couldn’t live with myself anymore. couldn’t live with how addicted i was to you and how i couldn’t fucking have you the way i wanted. it was tearing me up, hurting me so bad. it was easier to push you aside, and i’m the biggest prick on the planet for it.”

“yeah, you are,” you sigh, the joking tone not going unnoticed. “i had fallen for you. i can properly say that i was in love with you,” you admit out loud for the first time. “and you really hurt me. didn’t even give me so much as an explanation. i had to just walk away. nothing else i could do,” you explain, as niall grips into your hands harder, bringing them up to his lips, kissing softly along your knuckles, eyes closed as he feels the pain you went through.

“it killed me even more when i was travelling for work, and i knew we were in the same city,” you murmur, niall’s entire body deflating, his forehead now resting against your hands that he’s holding onto for dear life, in fear that you’ll disappear from him again.

“fuck,” he breathes wetly, a few tears gliding down his flushed cheeks. “fuck, how many, petal ? how many times ? i didn’t know, fuck. fuck. when ?”

you poke your thumb out of his hold, stroking his skin gently, looking to comfort him in any way possible. you really hadn’t meant to hurt him, you were just letting him know. “five,” you mumble quietly. “i was in spain at the time of some golf festival, in brazil at the same time as your summer festival, in france during fashion week, in new york city during the jingle ball, and in california while you were doing promo.”

niall blinks up at you, letting go of your hands in favour of ghosting his over your hips, “can i ?” he whispers.

you find yourself nodding, wanting to be comforted too at the moment. you dont understand what you’re feeling at all. angry, sad, happy, elated, confused, shocked, heavy, light, scared, and it all jumbled itself into some kind of clustered numbness. you wanted to feel. feel him again.

his hands land on your hips, fingers giving a squeeze as his thumbs rub lightly, complete and total familiarity hitting him hard. without so much as a second thought, his body took over. like muscle memory in a sense, he pulls you into his lap, your bum settled between his knees, legs wrapped around his waist, niall latching onto you.

he had you in his hold again. there was no way in hell he was ever letting go this time. niall’s arms were wound tight around you, his face buried in your shoulder.

you feel yourself relaxing into him, muscle memory of your own, as your senses are overtaken by niall. his smell, his touch, his calming breaths, the tiny pecks he cant help himself from trailing over your collarbone, air fanning over your skin as he speaks, “gonna make it up to you, petal. if you’ll let me,” he adds with a shake to his voice. nerves taking over, making him squeeze you tighter, knowing full well that this may be the last time he ever sees you.

“i know i hurt you, but i’ll spend the rest of my fucking life making it up to you, sweet girl,” he whispers, face tucked into your neck, breathing you in for a moment, before looking up at you, trying to decipher your thoughts.

but truthfully, you didn’t know what to think. you were all consumed by the presence you’ve done nothing but crave for the past 13 months. on the other hand, you’re left wounded by everything that transpired. 

niall notes your hesitation, leaning his forehead against yours, eyes closed, as he remembers something you told him back in vancouver, “have a little faith, petal,” he whispers, eyes filling with tears, the heaviness of the moment really hitting him. “can’t tell me any of this is a coincidence. not anymore. i know you feel it too, pretty girl.”

you squeeze your eyes shut, your own filling with tears as well, taking a shaky breath as your hands settle on niall’s neck and jaw, pulling him in to slot your lips with his.

niall groans out, in slight surprise, taking a deep breath through his nose, as if life was filling his lungs again. his arms wrap around you impossibly tighter, his tongue soothing your bottom lip as he sucks on it lightly.

as your lip snaps back into position, niall’s forehead rests against yours, momentarily catching his breath, before dipping back in. but you’re quicker than he is, pulling away, just slightly out of reach.

“petal ?” he blinks his eyes open to find yours already staring back at him, looking at you in question, nerves bubbling up into his chest.

“i can’t just leave this time,” you whisper, seeing relief wash over him, ready to give you absolutely anything you asked for. “it needs to be different, niall.”

“anything, petal, fuck, i’ll do anything for you,” he groans, his lips pressing to yours again, savouring every moment, every detail. taking in the intensity of you again. getting lost in you. it’s almost as if no time had past. the ease of falling back into you, the immediate calm, easy, perfect, so fucking right. none of it goes past him, finally admitting everything to himself, and falling into this fully.

niall lays you down on the mattress, hovering above you, lips never having parted from yours, too enthralled in the bursting feeling that is you. how your kisses are so much better than any kisses he’s ever had. is it the lingering coffee taste, that’s become such a signature in his brain ? is it the softness of your lips brushing up against his ? is it the smoothness of your tongue darting out for tastes of him, and just more more more ? is it the sharp nibble of your teeth, biting at his kiss raw skin ? or is it just because it’s you, his beautiful petal ?

he may never find out, and he’s okay with that, as long as these kisses keep coming. in an effort to calm himself down, at least slightly, niall kisses down to your chin, taking his time over your jaw to your neck. 

as he makes his way slowly down your chest, your thanktop fairly low cut, giving niall tons of access. and based on the hardening outline of your nipples, he could guess that you’d foregone a bra again. he eventually finds himself ghosting his palms over the sides of your breasts, looking up at you in question, “can i, petal ?”

you look down at him, nodding, your tits quickly spilling out of your top, niall’s mouth immediately attached to your right nipple. your hand instinctually, gripped into his hair, keeping him in place to work over your pebbled nipple.

he groans against your skin, feeling so all consumed by you. his eyes flick up to yours, melting at the sight of you. calm, ease, comfort, relief, all good things shining back at him through your gaze.

niall’s tongue flicks over your nipple, mouth leaving your breast to meld with yours again. he kisses you slowly, lips pressed hard against yours, mumbling a low, “missed you so fuckin much.”

you groan, pulling him back to your mouth, fingers buried deep into his hair, having a strong hold on his roots, feeling like this is too good to be true. like if he’ll evaporate before your eyes.

with one leg spread out, and your other leg bent at the knee, foot planted firmly on the bed, niall slotted between your legs, you can feel his cock stiffening up against your hip. you instinctively roll your body up into his, a breathy moan working its way out of niall’s chest.

“fuck, wanna see you pet,” he groans, gripping into your tanktop, working it down over your hips, taking your pants and panties along, down your legs, leaving you completely exposed to him.

niall’s eyes roam over you, biting his lip, as he realizes the only thing you’re wearing is the rose charm necklace. it makes him feel at home. vulnerable, yet comfortable. 

as he’s about to lean back into you, searching for your mouth again, your hands fall onto his chest, pushing him back slightly, “want you to strip too.”

with the words barely out of your mouth, niall’s shirt is discarded onto the ground, pants shimmied off his legs, lips mingling with yours in a quick kiss, before trailing nips and sucks down your body.

he settles himself between your thighs, hands pressing both your legs open, his eyes settled right on your glistening centre for the first time in over a year.

you can hear the groan bubble out of niall’s chest, whispering, “so fuckin gorgeous, my beautiful petal,” breath fanning over your heat, before his tongue darts out, licking a long stripe from your entrance to your clit.

you moan, hips bucking up in search for more, niall groaning again, “fuck, so good,” dipping down for another taste, “missed your cunt, missed you so fucking much.”

and with that, he delves right in. his mouth snogging over your pussy, no rhyme or reason, completely lost in your smell, your taste, your softness, your warmth.

niall sucks back your arousal every time another wave bubbles out of you, his tongue lapping at your inner walls, before flicking expertly over your clit. his arms wrapped themselves under your thighs, hands resting on your waist, holding you into position to keep you from wiggling too much.

your brain was an absolute mess, the only thing you could focus on was niall. you were a moaning mess, one hand tucked into niall’s hair, the other fisting the sheets, your ears ringing too loudly to hear his own groans. your skin was prickling, body completely at ease in the presence of someone so familiar. it was so easy to fall back into this with him, if you weren’t so fuckin blissed out, you might be a bit scared of it.

his tongue keeps flicking over your clit, sucking it tightly into his mouth, teeth nipping softly over your sensitive bud. you could feel your stomach muscles starting to twitch, legs trembling more and more erratically, as the telltale signs of your orgasm start approaching quickly.

“fuck, niall, m’gonna cum,” you whimper, legs attempting to close on his head.

you can feel him moaning against your centre, hands slipping from your waist to your thighs, keeping your legs spread for him, as he can feel your cunt starting to clench. he laps and sucks at the creaminess of your orgasm, groaning breathily at the sweet taste of your high.

your muscles tense up, trembling through your high, feeling the long licks of niall’s tongue working you through. 

as you start to come down, he rests his forehead against your mound, eyes locked on your soaked pussy, biting his lip, watching one of his fingers slink into you. he couldn’t help himself, he was so fuckin lost in you. he knew you were still coming down, knew you were sensitive, but fuck, he wanted to feel it all, right now.

a loud moan escapes your lips, back arching off the bed, trying to escape his tight grip. but niall’s much stronger than you are, pinning your hips down to the bed, curling his finger right up against your sweet spot. he didn’t even have to look for it, knew exactly where it was. he swears, he could draw a full map of your body with ease.

“fuck, pup, look at you. taking me so fuckin well, yeah ? made for me, sweet girl,” he hums, watching your legs shake, your inner walls starting to clamp down on his finger, completely abusing your spongey spot.

“f-fuck, fuck, niall-“ you whimper, hips wiggling on their own accord. “s’too much, m’gonna burst,” you whine shakily, another orgasm ripping through you.

“let it go, puppy,” niall groans, watching the orgasm burst through you, squirting on his hand, mouth, neck, and chest, due to his incredibly close proximity. “fuck, yes, that’s it, pretty girl. fuckin soak me so good. christ i missed your cunt.”

without any opportunity to come down from either of your orgasms, with niall’s finger still working inside you, his mouth is latched back onto your clit, tongue licking up your orgasm.

“niall,” you whimper loudly, hips rolling into ? away from ? his mouth, unsure of what your body truly wanted at that moment. you were already chasing another orgasm, feeling better than you remember feeling in the last year. but your pussy was so sensitive, you could swear you were going to burst again. “fuck, m’gonna- gonna again,” you groan out, losing your words.

“that’s it, puppy,” niall groans, pulling his mouth away just enough to look up at you properly, your eyes falling on his absolutely drenched face and neck. thankfully you were too overtaken by euphoria to be embarrassed. 

“show me what i’ve been missing, yeah ?” he coos, a second finger entering you alongside the first, mouth delving back into your cunt.

your eyes roll back, a loud moan of profanities mixed with his name echoing through the room, as you cum again, soaking him and the sheets below even more.

niall groans again, unable to contain any of the sounds that his body is so desperate to make, sucking the squirt right out of you, swallowing down as much as he can.

“fuckin christ, puppy,” you can feel him groan against your heat, your entire body twitching with the feel of his breath against you. “missed this. fuck, missed you so much.”

he slowly pulls his fingers away, watching your cunt clench around nothing, biting into his lip, eyes raking up to find your face, “okay, pet ?”

“mhmm,” you hum, nodding, blissful smile on your face, taking in just how wrecked he looks from eating your pussy. “lookin so good right now, ni,” you murmur, sighing around a smile, looking up at him cheekily.

he notices the smirky look on your face, eyebrows furrowing, “what’s going through that mind of yours ?”

“remember that night in vancouver ?” you ask. “you took a photo of me. said you didn’t wanna forget that moment.”

niall smiles at the memory, because fuck, how could he forget ? he’s looked at that picture more times than he even wishes to think of. “course i remember, petal.”

“s’my turn,” you coo, blushing slightly. “dont wanna forget the way you look right now. you’re fuckin glowing niall,” you giggle, “and not just because i soaked you. i dont know if you realized how well i could read you, but i feel like i haven’t seen this true, happy you in a really really long time.”

niall sighs, eyes looking down as he collects himself, blinking back up at you, “it’s because of you,” he hums. “m’happy because i’m with you. and i wouldn’t have it any other way,” he smiles, reaching down off the bed to fiddle with your pants, digging through your pockets to grip your phone, passing it to you.

“dont mind that you take a photo,” he bites his lip, “but i have a request.” without so much as another form of explanation, niall lays down next to you, guiding your arm up, to take a photo of the both of you together.

you blush, tucking your face into his cheek, a big smile taking over your features. upon looking back at the photo, your heart melts at how incredibly blissfully content, happy, comfortable, fucked out you both look. you hope to be able to cherish these kinds of moments for a very very long time.

niall takes the phone from your hand, dropping it further down the mattress, rolling himself on top of you, kissing you deeply, tongue dipping into your mouth at the first opportunity. his fingers ghost over your neck, murmuring against your lips, “how you feeling pup ? how’s your cunt ?”

your tongue pokes out to playfully lick at his bottom lip, smiling at him, “m’feeling amazing. m’sure my cunt would say the same. want your cock, wanna feel it again, niall, please.”

his teeth dig into your bottom lip, hard, his rock hard, bare length rolling through your folds. you both moan simultaneously, niall at feeling the slick warmth of your arousal coating his prick, and you at the over sensitivity of his tip bumping into your clit.

“c’mon,” you whimper, not wanting any more teasing, your body absolutely craving him, hips lifting from the bed, in hopes that his member stays snagged into your entrance.

but niall rolls his hips just right, the tip of his cock entering you effortlessly, your walls stretching around his length, welcoming him.

as he bottoms out, his head falls to your chest, mouthing at your breasts to keep himself distracted from the overwhelming feeling of you. how wet you are, how tight you are, how fucking perfect you are. he feels fully consumed by you, getting completely lost in it.

“fuckin hell, puppy, m’not gonna last,” he groans against your skin, stomach muscles already trembling, “missed you so fuckin much, fuck, you’re the best. best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

you gasp for breath, your mind numbing at the feel of niall. your legs wrap around his waist, heels digging into his bum, needing him close. your hands card through his hair, fingertips tingling at the silkiness of his brown locks, grounding yourself from the hard thrusting, his cock reaching depths of you that no one else has ever seemed to reach. 

“niall,” you whimper, making him look up at you, watching your face. “m’gon-gonna cum again. fuck, fu- missed you so much. you have no idea, mi-missed you so fucking much,” you babble, tears running down your cheeks.

overwhelmed. that’s the word you’d both been searching for. although it seemed more than your basic overwhelm, you wouldn’t know how else to describe it. 

niall takes in the emotional state you seem to be in, his forehead resting against yours, one of his hands finding its way to your throat, laying on your neck softly, “m’right here pup, right here with you. not going anywhere, ever again. you gonna cum for me ? hmm ? milk me dry, puppy,” he coos, his fingers gripping into the sides of your throat, cutting off the airflow to your brain.

in an instant, your cunt is clamped down around his cock, tighter than niall even remembers, your orgasm ripping through your body. you’re a moaning mess, thighs squeezing his hips tightly, your entire being tingling in over sensitivity, niall feeling you soak his cock again.

“yes, pup, just like that,” he groans, the hold on your throat loosening, as his orgasm hits him as well, your pussy pulling every last drop from him.

as you both work at catching your breath, niall kisses along your collarbone and neck, fingertips rubbing over any bit of skin he can reach.

“fuckin soaked your bed, pet,” niall murmurs, light airy chuckle leaving his lips. 

“was too good, ni,” you whisper breathily, body spent, not even caring that you’re literally laying in a puddle. 

“wanna come stay with me tonight ?” he asks tentatively, knowing you’d agreed things would be different, but not having lined up what exactly that meant. “can’t have ya staying in a wet bed.”

you giggle, blush rising from your chest to your neck and cheeks, “that’s so embarrassing, fuck,” you groan, hiding your face in your hands. “i dont wanna impose. can always crash with my cousin.”

“not imposing, petal,” he whispers. “want you to. if you want to that is ?”

you smile bashfully, niall noticing the sparkle in your eye, the larger your smile becomes, “of course i want to. wish i never had to say goodbye.”

niall bites his lip, thinking everything over as quickly as he can, pecking your lips, “tomorrow, i’ll need to fly home,” he explains, mouth ghosting yours. “give me a week, tops. and i’ll come find you. wherever you are, i’ll get myself to you. everything will be different, petal. for the better. i promise. just have a little faith in me.”

Part 10

……

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

tags : @acesofspadess @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @kathb59 @jerseygirlinca

[eruanna1875]

The Lost Boys (Guidesman, C1)

Chapter One: No Name

C1 on Tumblr: First (you are here!) - Next

~~*~~

The Woodsman mumbled a tune with no name as he knelt to chop away the soulless wood. But then, few of his songs had names. Few were even real songs. Those that were, and that had lyrics of any kind, often went wordless into the air. He hadn’t had the heart to truly sing for years.

Not that he thought about any of this. The Woodsman simply hummed and chopped, collecting the branches he so needed. Then, when he’d gotten the best of his reaping, he gathered them up and placed them in his bundle. Strapping it onto his back and slinging his axe over his shoulder, he picked up the all-too-familiar lantern with care, and strode on into the dark. The woods were always dark here.

The Woodsman felt his grip on the lantern-hoop tighten, almost involuntarily. Just a little more for the bundle, he thought to himself, mind immovably on his task. Then back to the mill. That should make us enough oil for a long while, shouldn’t it?

His mind almost ended with a name, but he quieted it. The work first.

Yet though the work directed his thoughts, it did not seem to direct his feet. As he walked through the woods he knew as well (if not as dearly) as his own home, he found himself turning. Doubling back. It was as if he was compelled, ever so gently, to retrace his steps through the fallen leaves.

He stood still a moment, glancing around by the lantern-light. There was no one near. No wandering witch that might enchant his steps. No solid shadow that might call forth the heedless with song. Nor did it feel like any such dark forces.

But he nonetheless felt a nameless something, tugging at his heart to return.

The Woodsman refused to allow imagination (or hope) to run for the reason. Instinct, he told himself, taking the path laid for him through the mist. In these woods, instinct has warned me away from many a peril. And perhaps there is a better tree in this direction.

This tide in the affairs of men, like the current of a deep river, drew him onward. Instinct was not its true name. Yet on instinct of his own he was focused—so focused, indeed, that he hardly noticed where his destination lay. That is, until he ran right into it.

They startled him. These strange figures and muttered voices, so suddenly before him. Without thinking, he reared his axe in his hand, ready to strike at any foe. “What’re you doing here?!” he shouted. “Explain yourselves!”

The unnamed voice now squeaked and stammered fearfully. “Calm—calm down, mister! Wh-whatever you do here is your business!” The oddly-dressed figure held up his hands: he was only about the height of a fireplace mantle. The one at his side was even smaller.

The Woodsman’s axe lowered.

Children.

“W-w-we just wanna get home with all our legs and arms attached!” the boy finished, staring with wild eyes.

His alarm at the presence of such youngness here was buried beneath frustration. “These woods are no place for children!” he snapped, in reproach of their rashness. “Don’t you know the Beast is afoot here?”

“The Beast??” The taller boy couldn’t help a shrill crack in his voice. “We don’t know anything about that! We—w-we’re just two lost kids trying to get home!”

Lost. He felt his shoulders ease, very slightly. Only lost. Hardly likely the lads could’ve helped that, even if they crossed the borders on a reckless dare, or… or on curiosity.

“Well,” the Woodsman sighed, fixing his gaze on them both, “welcome to the Unknown, boys.” His eyes narrowed. “You’re more lost than you realize.”

The boy eyed the trees about him uneasily. His little friend, however, seemed unaffected by the dark greeting, smiling up at the elder child. “See, Wirt? You were right. We should’ve asked him for help!”

“Greg!” The sharp word was fraught with anxiety. Though he avoided the Woodsman’s gaze, the boy kept glancing toward him, then off into the shadows, as if weighing their chance of escape.

Hmm. The Woodsman’s frown shifted as he eyed the odd and disheveled pair. They had names, it seemed. ‘Greg,’ the younger, a frog in his arms and a teakettle on his head. Of all things. And ‘Wirt’ was the elder, with a tall, pointed cap and a soldier’s coat like a cloak. He could’ve been no older than thirteen or fourteen years of age. No older than…

Perhaps the wood is enough for the moment.

“Well, come along,” he grumbled, hanging his axe on his belt. He tightened his pack as he turned.

“To—to where?” A squeak in the last word.

“If you want my help,” he replied over his shoulder, “I’ll bring you to a house where we can speak freely. Then we can talk of help.”

Without looking back, he began to walk. There was a hovering moment of pause at his back. Then, the sound of little feet, pattering on behind him, and a nervous groan as other shoes followed.

“So,” said the smaller voice, “I’m Greg, this is my frog, and that’s my brother, Wirt!”

“Greg, stop giving our names to strangers,” Wirt whispered.

“But you already said my name!”

“Shh!”

“You shh!”

Though he said nothing, the Woodsman nodded. Brothers, too. I thought as much. His mind began setting things aside, for later or for never. Questions that would likely not be asked. Ideas of how these two brothers might have found their way into the Unknown. Wonderings of why his steps turned back to find them.

“Well, I guess you’re not allowed to have our names,” Greg went on, with only a trace of disappointment. “What’s yours?”

A heaviness fell on his chest, if but for a moment. His tread slowed, if so little that it was hardly noticeable. “There is no name for me in these lands. I am only a woodsman.”

“Great,” muttered Wirt. “Not suspicious at all.”

But neither Greg nor his croaking companion seemed to notice his mutterings. “That’s okay, Mr. Woodsman.” Even unseen, the smile in the boy’s voice was evident. “My frog doesn’t have a name yet either.”

[hummingbird-of-light]

Against All Odds

Part 275

McCoy

“I’d love to see more of Aberdeen,” McCoy said in answer to Francine. “But whatever you guys want to do is fine too.”

“Are ye sure that’s a good idea?” Robbie asked.

McCoy looked over at the younger boy.

“I just meant, it’s only a day since, yer father… wouldn’t that just make headlines?”

McCoy raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“What do ye mean?” Scotty asked his brother.

“Well,” Robbie began to color as they all looked at him. “Wouldn’t the papers try to make it into a bad thing? ‘Prince out having fun, while king is laid up?’”

“Robbie has a point sir,” Spock said.

McCoy let out a sigh. Robbie was right.

“That’s a bright lad, Robert,” said Granddad proudly.

“I guess I should check into that with Father. Or Leah I suppose,” said McCoy. He hid a smile as he looked over at Robbie again. Some of Leah’s royal sensibilities must be rubbing off.

“I could use a hand with some things around the house,” said Granddad, “if that isn’t below ye.”

“Never,” McCoy returned a smile to Granddad. “What things?”

“The garden’s looking a wee bit ragged. It needs some tending too. It’s getting harder to keep up and harder to admit that,” Granddad chuckled.

Scotty’s knee pressed harder into McCoy’s. As McCoy thought about it, it was the first time he had heard such a laugh out of Granddad. It had a warm, rich note to it.

“Of course we’ll help,” Scotty said.

Jim was the only one who looked pained at the idea of doing chores. Scotty and Robbie were used to it, Spock had his own jobs to keep up at the palace and McCoy enjoyed opportunities to get his hands dirty.

“Ye can help me in here Jim,” Francine said. Her smile had a secret hidden in it. Jim looked over in interest, and nodded.

After breakfast, McCoy sat in Scotty’s room with his PADD. He and Jim had finally each moved their things between rooms. Granddad had told them to take a bit of time before he would need them outside. McCoy decided to call Leah and see how their father was doing.

He was watching Scotty work on something at his desk and missed when Leah answered.

“Hi Lenny.”

McCoy jumped as his eyes darted back to the screen.

“Hey. How’s Father today?”

“Continuing to improve. Dr. Boyce is quite pleased with how he’s recovering.”

“Good.” There was relief in the word. “Umm, did you have a good chat last night?”

Leah stared at her brother before answering. “Yes.”

“Good,” McCoy said again. “I won’t pry, but did you get yourselves on the same page about everything?”

Leah slowly nodded. McCoy could see her slight hesitation.

“We did.”

“Glad to hear it.”

McCoy saw Scotty turn his head slightly as if trying to hear.

“Hey, so another question, we had thought about going to town today, but Robbie pointed out that might look bad. Is there a magic number of days we should wait? Wouldn’t want to cause any stupid articles about an uncaring prince.”

“Ugh,” Leah groaned. “That’s a good point. Not that we care about those because we know the truth, but good for him for catching that. Maybe wait until Father is released to go back home? That should just be another day or two.”

“Ok. I just wanted to check first,” McCoy said. “I’ll let you get back to being queen now.” He grinned.

“Take care Leonard.”

“Bye.”

McCoy sat the PADD aside and stood. Crossing over he wrapped his arms around Scotty from behind.

“Ready to go help Granddad?” he asked.

Part 276

Scotty

Scotty hadn’t meant to pry but he couldn’t help overhearing the talk between Leonard and Leah either. Were they talking about Robbie? They had to. And Scotty wondered what their call had been about. But he wouldn’t ask. It was none of his business after all.

The Scotsman’s eyes were still fixed on his little project when Leonard wrapped his arms around him.

“Ready to go help Granddad?”

Scotty nodded slowly, not looking up from his work though.

“Aye, just a wee moment.”

He felt Leonard’s chin resting on his shoulder as his boyfriend eyed his movements closely.

“What are you working on?”

Scotty smiled to himself.

“Just a wee surprise for someone’s birthday.”

“Birthday?” Scott heard the confusion in Leonard’s voice. The prince seemed surprised since it obviously wasn’t his birthday Scotty was talking about.

“Granddad’s.”

Now Leonard’s head finally moved and he stepped beside Scotty, staring at him in disbelief.

“What? When?”

“Tomorrow.”

There was a sly smile on Scotty’s face and it only widened when he saw Leonard’s face.

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me? I… I don’t have anything for him.”

But Scotty quickly shook his head.

“Ye don’t need to. Granddad doesn’t care about presents. Or his birthday itself as a matter of fact. He just likes us to be there for him.”

Leonard still didn’t look too happy about not knowing earlier.

“But you have something.”

Scotty chuckled.

“Well… I can just say that it’s from both of us if that makes ye feel better. Aaaand… I’m done.”

Before Leonard could say anything, Scotty was already at his feet and kissed him.

The prince seemed taken aback by it a first but when Scotty pulled his head back and grinned, he just shook his head.

“Unbelievable.”

Scotty laughed before he pulled Leonard along.

“Let’s get to work. But, shhh, no word to Granddad. Mum is planning a surprise party for him and we have to keep him distracted by keeping him outside in the garden so she can bake and hide the presents.”

Now Leonard was smiling too.

“Ahh, so that’s what she needs Jim’s help for,” he said and Scotty nodded.

“Aye… I just hope the lad can keep his mouth shut.”

“Alright, yer highness, ready to get yer hands dirty?” Granddad asked Leonard once the boys got outside. There was a grin on his face but Scotty knew that he was just teasing the prince.

“Always. I am actually quite excellent at gardening. Just ask Mother.”

Scotty could believe that. He knew that Leonard was quite athletic so a wee bit of work in the garden would be easy for him.

“Well then… how about the two of ye take care of the huge laurel. It’s gotten far too big over the year.”

Scotty exhanged a glance with his boyfriend.

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

Together they would surely be able to cut that tree down.

[punkscowardschampions]

Buster & Rio Pt.2

Buster: [I don’t know how you’d even begin to recover from something as intense as that regardless but then add the fact it’s also incest, soz guys, at least you’re in the perfect location to steal a drink and he will when he’s able to move]

Rio: [and it’s no more likely anyone is about to pop down now so you can allow yourselves to take a moment, even if it does very little to compose you, you’ll at least have time to fix some of the physical mess that was made]

Buster: [exactly my boo, that’s all they can really do rn, make themselves look less indecent and make sure they’re serving lewks again, obvs will also pass her this bottle he’s stolen, whatever expensive whiskey or gin or wine it may be, when he’s had a swig of it himself]

Rio: [take it ‘cos lord knows you’re going to need it, whatever you plan to do with the rest of this night]

Buster: [mhmm, there’s no way he isn’t looking up those stairs towards the door thinking like how the fuck do we just go back to the pub and pretend that didn’t happen if that’s supposed to be the plan here]

Rio: [‘I can leave for a bit’ with a shrug like it is that casual because in terms of you socialising with anyone else, it’s your best bet ‘do actually have more mates, like’]

Buster: [‘Do what you wanna do’ because not gonna insist she leaves or stays rn that is the wrong kind of desperate, taking the bottle back like it’s his equivalent of her v casual shrug]

Rio: [‘tah’ with the obviously in our tone but in bants not annoyance or anything]

Buster: [‘How bored I’ll be ‘til you decide to come back is their fault, not yours’ shading this entire fam with a single sentence, soz lads]

Rio: [‘can’t stay here and fuck all night’ actually making ourselves laugh with how sad we sound about it, can’t even fully laugh ‘cos despite it being ridiculous we’re still actually like meh, how rude of the rest of you to exist rn]

Buster: [‘We could, if I pick where we’re hiding’ like can’t actually stay on these stairs, no, and yours was terrible lol]

Rio: [so offended on the low haha ‘well, take your turn then’ taking the bottle back from him and making to go upstairs with it]

Buster: [a look like I know you wanted to be found, it’s fine, as he ofc grabs her wrist to stop her going because he said we as in we’ll hide from everyone not I’ll hide from you]

Rio: [‘I have to count’ as if you’re playing actual hide and seek and you need to be that pedantic about the rules, but obviously letting yourself be stopped because we know you’d be forced into a break to chat if you went back in properly]

Buster: [‘No you don’t, we’re making our own rules tonight’ because you are truly and we couldn’t be less soz about it]

Rio: [‘so tell me what I actually have to do’ as if we’ve been won over/weren’t already so down]

Buster: [has not let go of her wrist, so pulling her closer to him ‘wait’ with the same energy as he said it in the toilets earlier]

Rio: [breathing in when you pull us into you like it’s a direct result of that we can’t help ‘I’m bad at it’ but nodding because will]

Buster: [‘I’m not asking you to be good for much longer’ blatant because can’t pretend y’all aren’t gonna be being feral again v soon]

Rio: [do your best 😇 impression like I’m trying, boy]

Buster: [pull her into an actual hiding place you think could work and then into a position y’all would wanna be in to see if it does ‘I’ll still take you to heaven’ like it’s that easy and bantsy and not saucy in this confined space]

Rio: [‘you and your lines’ shaking our head like we aren’t hearteyes]

Buster: [‘it would be about worshipping you’ like if I was gonna try and do a line, all or nothing, like he said]

Rio: [‘me first though’ like remember, as if you’ve had time to forget that]

Buster: [‘your turn’ because not only did he remember but now he’s really thinking about it enthusiastically]

Rio: [‘your turn’ like this is all about you, actually, pulling your dress down so you have some padding for your knees on this definitely concrete floor, just here in your pants and heels nbd]

Buster: [at least you can give her whatever jacket/jumper you probably have with you because it’s only march without it feeling like an OTT gentlemanly gesture, as long as you can find it from wherever it’s been abandoned lol]

Rio: [still ‘see, you have manners too’ ‘cos it’s still sweet when we’d clearly fuck up our knees if the situation demanded it because duh, whatever you want]

Buster: [‘Nobody else is around to witness what could be deemed another miracle’ because everyone in this fam thinks he’s a massive cunt rn and that’s how he wants it]

Rio: [just a thank god look ‘you don’t like that much of an audience’ unzipping you again ‘cos we’re down here for a reason that we’re gonna make known now]

Buster: [‘that specific audience would definitely kill the mood’ because yes they would, the fam don’t need any of this to be happening ‘we shouldn’t even be talking about them, you especially’ not him lowkey being like you are down there for a reason, crack on lol, how rude]

Rio: [when you know you can get him saying his pleases before you know it with what you’re gonna do so you’re just like oh okay]

Buster: [just LOOKING at her because always and especially from a position like this]

Rio: [obviously we know how to look good whilst doing this because that’s the whole gig so enjoy]

Buster: [full shade to the chaotic chelsea girls who definitely do not lol, but you can reward her by saying her name so indecently]

Rio: [raising a brow like yeah? But obviously not stopping to say shit now, going harder instead]

Buster: [dying about it so he can’t say anything either, not coherently anyway ‘this isn’t like I thought it would be’ eventually getting said though, thank god you can tell it’s a compliment and not an insult]

Rio: [doing puppy dog eyes like it was an insult though purely so you can show off some more and be more feral as per]

Buster: [the eyes killing him even before she’s being more feral so the ‘oh god, don’t’ is so !! and the sounds that follow it when she is being feral are just ridiculous, again hooray for how loud the pub clearly still is]

Rio: [pausing with just your tongue still making contact like don’t? ‘Don’t you wanna cum for me?’]

Buster: [‘of course I do’ with all the feeling ever, obviously ‘I’m not gonna want to cum for anyone else after I have for you though’ soz posh gals of london but it’s true and we’re saying it]

Rio: [torn between the biggest smile and immediately getting back to it and taking him all the way down your throat ‘cos entirely unrepentant about that and it’s obvious]

Buster: [have to hit her with the second ‘baby’ of the night because if not now, when]

Rio: [you know we’re about it and have to adjust because that blatantly turned on by how turned on he is]

Buster: [‘I can’t believe you waited this long to show me what a good girl you are’ because he said earlier about waiting for her to tell him when she was hiding]

Rio: [‘now I’m the best’ like if this is happening the once, aren’t you happy it’s when we’re in our prime and both know as much as we do, carry on showing him that that’s no lie, making your own noises because your kink is showing]

Buster: [‘You’ve always been in a different league’ again true, she really has been serving that hard for a long time and he’s always noticed it obviously]

Rio: [the ‘always will be’ is only being conveyed through our actions and the way we LOOK at you]

Buster: [‘I know’ as if she said it out loud ‘Who else could come close to being on your level?’ nobody is the answer, hence ‘nobody I’ve met’ and unlike his sister he actually has left London so a bigger compliment lol]

Rio: [so glad you can’t speak right now ‘cos overwhelmed is the closest we can get to describing the state you’re in, just put that energy into making this leagues above what you’d both imagined it to be because the feeling is so mutual]

Buster: [you’ll have to die and end this because the feeling is so mutual and there’s just no way you wouldn’t when she’s giving it her all like this]

Rio: [trying to compose ourself once again like we’re not here fucking our cousin and loving it ‘fuck’ after all the deep breaths]

Buster: [helping her up off the floor as if he’s any more composed because just a gentleman like that haha, fixing her hair as an excuse to just touch it and also her face]

Rio: [touching his lips with your thumb ‘where’d you learn to make noises like that?’ ‘cos most boys are way too insecure to, especially at this age]

Buster: [‘I’ve learned I can get away with whatever I like, and why wouldn’t I, I’m not getting any complaints about it’ because he is too secure, this boy, and unrepentant]

Rio: [do a little smirk like yeah, that tracks]

Buster: [‘Asking you where you learned to make me wanna make noises like that is more of a cunty question, but I will, if that’s where you were trying to lead me’]

Rio: [‘It’s not like I want to brag about my number’ like excuse you, I’m not a teenage boy, why would I be trying to lead you there, but we’re amused]

Buster: [‘you don’t want to tell me?’ with a smirk and a raised eyebrow because also amused and now intrigued]

Rio: [‘what do you think it is?’ folding our arms like no, you tell me YOUR guess lol]

Buster: [‘Oh, so you think I’m an idiot?’ like in no way am I walking into that trap sis haha]

Rio: [making a mhmm that’s what I thought sound ‘anyway, no boy has taught me anything’ like let’s not get it twisted]

Buster: [‘No shit, how could they, none of them are good enough for you’ again just true]

Rio: [‘not gonna rush to defend my exes’ not that they’ve all been trash but the last one lowkey was there so not trying to get into all that]

Buster: [‘they wouldn’t be exes if you had nothing but excellent references to hand out to the next girl and kind words to pass along to me’ with a shrug]

Rio: [‘do you date?’ because no reason you would know beyond he clearly doesn’t post like that but that could just be because boy]

Buster: [‘I’ll think about it’ like she’s asking him on one, for the absolute bants]

Rio: [doing the UGH like oh you]

Buster: [picking the stolen bottle up from wherever he left it and having a drink before offering it to her ‘they can’t keep up with me either’ like these gals are likewise not good enough for me to answer your question]

Rio: [‘yeah, I’m not dating anymore’ having your proffered drink before realising that sounds like you’re saying that because of what has occurred here and you’re like oh no, no, hang on lol ‘I’m focusing on making money now, my career’]

Buster: [taking that bottle back and giving her an amused look even though he didn’t think that was the reason ‘That’s stupid’ not elaborating but he clearly means that you can do both/have it all because child of baze]

Rio: [just thinking you’re being a uni snob about it ‘it’d be stupid to waste these years stuck in a classroom when I can do it later if I want to’]

Buster: [‘Definitely what I meant’ with the tone really clarifying that it was not at all lol]

Rio: [gesturing like okay go on because you did not say a full sentence so what did you mean lol]

Buster: [‘You’re limiting yourself unnecessarily, why would you when you can easily do both?’]

Rio: [‘I’m not the problem, and if I have to make sacrifices, I’ll make them for my career, not these boys who want it the other way ‘round’ shrugging like see? ‘You wouldn’t date someone who never wanted you to study to get your straight As, like’]

Buster: [‘You don’t have to make sacrifices, date smarter, better, instead of giving up all together’ doing his own shrug back]

Rio: [giving him a bemused look ‘if it was that easy, we’d all find our soulmates and start our happily ever after as soon as’]

Buster: [‘if you care about doing things the easy way, all you’ll find is you’ve fucked your career before you’ve started it’]

Rio: [‘I just said it’s not easy’ nudging him with your foot like oi, you know that’s not what I meant/who I am]

Buster: [‘because everything you want requires effort, you wouldn’t if it didn’t’]

Rio: [‘I dunno, I wouldn’t complain if the universe dropped my perfect partner in front of me, like Edie and Liam’ shout out to y’all ‘but if it doesn’t happen, you make it, that’s not a problem for me now though’]

Buster: [‘the universe didn’t, they’re together because they wanna be and they wanna be because they both put in effort’]

Rio: [‘they’re still perfectly suited, you could work twice as hard and not get half the result, some things just are right’]

Buster: [‘they’re well suited because they have similar interests and goals in life, it’s not hard to find someone like that’]

Rio: [‘then I’m sure you will’ like okay good for you, going to find your bag to retrieve some weed and rolling papers to make a joint up]

Buster: [just watching her do this from within this hiding place like okay, good talk, sis]

Rio: [have a few drags of that before offering it out ‘come on, you’re acting like I said I was joining a nunnery’ like let’s not make the mood weird now]

Buster: [shaking his head because he’s clearly a stimulants only kind of bitch, like his parents, which is hilarious because booze is such a big depressant actually but anyway ‘I’m not, you’re acting like I’m being a cunt for having a mindset that’s based in reality instead of fairytale bullshit’]

Rio: [smoking some more like suit yourself, eventually exhaling like no ‘I’m not but you not getting that a lawyer is a more exciting prospect to a girl than a sex worker is to a guy is the fairytale bullshit, yeah, I already know that’]

Buster: [‘you won’t be dating insecure teenagers for the rest of your life, at least I hope not, or yeah, you’d need a lawyer’ with  an eye roll like come on ‘men who have their own prospects don’t need to make you feel like you’re doing something wrong’]

Rio: [doing a mini laugh at this ‘my last three boyfriends haven’t been teenagers’]

Buster: [‘Well, they’re still insecure, and I could still beat the shit of out any of them for you’]

Rio: [‘thanks’ rolling our eyes but we’re being more sincere than sarcastic with the thanks ‘I swear, I’m actually fine with it though’]

Buster: [‘Of course you are, you know you deserve better, and it’s out there, you’re not going to settle for less instead of finding perfect’ sincere af actually]

Rio: [‘you’re so sweet’ also sincere af and not taking the piss ‘that’s what I meant, I know I can’t waste time with guys I already know it won’t work with before I’ve started, not anymore’ like you’re so grown up and not 18 but you feel it]

Buster: [‘You’d be the only one who regretted it’ because none of these flop men would when she’s so slay]

Rio: [smiling at him and gesturing for him to come here]

Buster: [do obviously]

Rio: [doing a really chill blowback energy by taking a drag then making out with him]

Buster: [responding like it’s been a thousand years since your last makeout sesh]

Rio: [stub this out, thankfully the floor is concrete ‘cos you need both hands to pull yourself into him and deepen said kissing]

Buster: [finding a way to be on top of her because he has yet to be and that’s honestly a tragedy, even if that’s lying on this concrete floor because fucks we do not give rn or ever]

Rio: [it’s absolutely necessary and we will roll all over this floor if we have to to make it happen because feeling a type of way rn, especially looking up at him]

Buster: [we know he’s as about it, would not be risking fucking up these expensive clothes he looks great in if he wasn’t and there is not a single thought for that rn so, all he cares about is kissing her as intensely as possible]

Rio: [you know we have to ‘daddy’ you for the first time even if it’s in a kiss and into your mouth as we’re wrapping our legs around you like be closer]

Buster: [thank god she’s as feral because she’s going to feel exactly how turned on he is by that and also thank god y’all are in the cellar because would be sending her through the floor if he could with how !! the movements are about it]

Rio: [biting his lip because it’s there and if it wasn’t yours it would be our own because of everything we’re feeling, touching you because cannot let how turned on you are go unnoticed ‘please fuck me’]

Buster: [fam if any of you see the bruises she’s gonna have because of the lack of clothes she’s wearing, no you don’t, respectfully, because he’s gonna leave the most dramatic lovebite on her neck rn too, simply must be doing the absolute MOST like that as he’s also starting to fuck her, I don’t make the rules]

Rio: [when this sends you even further than you already were ‘I’ll be thinking about you after they fade’ like that’s a promise boy]

Buster: [Nancy, you especially mind your business, bitch, we all know what you’re like, she’s been MIA for ages for a reason, the deets of which are none of your concern, thank you, REALLY going in to make sure this lovebite won’t fade for a long time, because no control over the accidental bruises this floor could be giving, but that he can ‘I’ll be thinking of you every time I cum’ the way he just promised every single time like it was nothing, disrespectful to any girls of the future, but not soz cos you’re all flops]

Rio: [us making up some random hookup at that party like will that appease you miss ma’am lmao not concerned ‘cos everyone else can mind their business because this has gotta happen ‘no one has ever fucked me like you’ repeating what he said earlier ‘cos true]

Buster: [‘you can do more to me with a look’ the way that’s true even though this boy has probably had orgies and all sorts with the girls in his horny little squad, are you not embarrassed, ladies]

Rio: [‘you can show me, every time you cum’ probably not but you know]

Buster: [‘I’ll pay to watch yours’ get you a man who supports your business endeavours]

Rio: [‘can’t we just do this, easter?’ just listing off functions after that you could hook-up at like why not]

Buster: [‘yeah, we can’ when you mean that so wholeheartedly in this moment because would do this forever]

Rio: [‘fuck buddies’ like it’s a deal and we are beyond buzzing about it]

Buster: [‘film it and we’re work colleagues’ again not taking the piss, so serious rn]

Rio: [STARING at him full !! but involuntarily moving our hips more erratically because so into what you just said]

Buster: [STARING back so she knows he’s serious and not just chatting horny nonsense, need this gal to know we support her in her career it’s so important, pinning her by her wrists again, that move, REALLY trying to fuck her through this floor again]

Rio: [‘I want everyone to see you own me’ loud enough you’re lucky the party is louder or that’d be happening live in person]

Buster: [‘I love fucking you, they’d love watching us’ careful with that l word please, but I love that you’re thinking about how much money you could make her and are buzzing about it for her]

Rio: [‘I love your cock, I could fuck you for hours, days’ like depending on the occasion, the amount of content you could make, not that we’re too focused on it when we’re too obsessed with you in this moment]

Buster: [‘you’re on’ but not at all the way either of them said it earlier because we know he can barely get those 2 words out rn with all the moaning and breathing going on ‘there’s so many ways we haven’t fucked yet’ because truly there is and that’s really hitting him rn]

Rio: [‘I want to do it every way with you’ bucking our hips up so hard because we’re pinned but we’ve got no control of our body beyond what he’s providing ‘I wanna be your slut’]

Buster: [literally pulling her up by her hair one second to basically slam her down the next because he’s too about everything she just said]

Rio: [all the yes’ being screamed ‘cos we love to see it ‘I was begging for this, I needed you to show me how you treat sluts’]

Buster: [‘I know exactly what you want’ the and I always will is blatant obviously]

Rio: [‘daddy’ like an answer for what we want as much as a moan that was inevitable] 

Buster: [grabbing her waist hard enough to leave such dramatic bruises, not even trying to, it’s just the d word, and biting her collarbone like the neck lovebite isn’t already !! enough to attract everyone’s attention]

Rio: [looking at him with the biggest hearteyes ever ‘it means you can have me whenever you want, no matter what’]

Buster: [‘you’re mine now’ no notes]

Rio: [‘your baby girl’ kissing him as if that can quiet either of you at this point ‘everything you want’]

Buster: [simply must get those pierced nips back out because haven’t forgotten how into it you both were, lowkey actually ripping or destroying her bra in some way in the process because we can’t ever ruin your dress fully so soz hun you’ve gotta be a casualty of how rough we’re being at this time]

Rio: [‘I’m gonna-’ because you haven’t in a minute and you didn’t need that much extra stimulation to send you over the edge lbr so you’re fully losing it]

Buster: [hardcore going in on her nips with both his hands and mouth and obvs not stopping but still telling her to despite that as if any extra encouragement is remotely needed]

Rio: [‘I might squirt’ just blurting that out because urgency if it’s about to happen lol]

Buster: [never not gonna just keep doing the most to encourage her to do this]

Rio: [obviously going to, going to casually be the most intense orgasm of your life, even if you have squirted before, nbd]

Buster: [really just messing up this cellar with no fuck’s given, I love y’all, at least there are plenty of bottles around to take the blame for how wet this floor could end up lol, who can say if it’s happened to you with any of the other girls you’ve been with, but regardless, SO into it, it’ll send him too, how could it not ‘you’re the hottest girl I’ve ever seen’ when he can remotely speak after all that]

Rio: [it’s not going to be immediately apparent, like I am soz to everyone who works in this pub for this but also shh, you’ll never know lol; ‘you’re so fucking good’ as breathless as it is possible to be whilst still conscious, kissing wherever we have landed on him, not even sure ourself but must]

Buster: [putting his arm around her because will hold you close to us wherever you are while we try and recover as if that’s remotely possible]

Rio: [just laying here as if it’s a comfy bed and not the literal ground ‘how did we end up here?’ genuine question, even if it sounds like you mean the cellar floor and not like the whole concept of this hookup in general]

Buster: [‘It was my idea’ because lowkey it was he was the one who was like we should get it out of our system etc and he was the one who literally asked where they could go, plus also his idea to go to the cellar if she did mean that haha]

Rio: [an amused noise like oh, thought it might be ‘credit and blame, yeah?’ like I see you, how gentlemanly]

Buster: [‘Where it’s due, promise and a threat’]

Rio: [holding onto the arm he has around us, feeling the muscles ‘it’s just weird, the times it could have before, or could never have’]

Buster: [‘Yeah’ because agreed, it’s v weird ‘not that I’d let it be never’ like oh it had to happen, gal, even if not tonight or any time soon]

Rio: [‘you’re damn right’ like you better not have ‘cos neither would I, giving him a little nip on said arm but probably not hard enough to leave a mark just like too late now]

Buster: [‘I get what I want, whatever it takes, I’ll find a way to make it happen’ because he just is that bitch]

Rio: [nodding ‘cos we know this about you and we like it ‘are you ready, for school to be over?’ ‘cos a huge step and people are either ready for it or so not usually]

Buster: [‘I’ve been ready for it to be done since this year started’ cos so sick of school and over his life by now]

Rio: [‘yeah, me too’ not that we’re a school hater like some characters but when you’re trying to do what she is it’s gonna cause issues like you’re clearly keeping it relatively lowkey and minor ‘til you’re done in these months because you’d deffo get kicked out for it]

Buster: [‘that girl was a wake up call, to how fucked it all is, it’s not like I was oblivious to it, of course not, but christ’ a shoutout to Chlo for that one]

Rio: [‘Nance was telling me about them all, as if I knew, or would wanna hear it’ because we know leaving school is your downfall and the dizzying heights are never reached again ‘anyone decent, anything you learnt there that was, they’ll stick around’]

Buster: [‘Ava’s the only decent person in the whole postcode and I don’t have to worry about losing track of her when I leave it’ so real, so sincere]

Rio: [snuggling closer to you as a response ‘cos a vocal one isn’t necessary to this ‘sorry that girl did that to you, I had a similar thing happen in my friend group, was messed up’ the Lexie of it all, we all remember]

Buster: [snuggling closer to her in response to the Lexie stuff because we hate to hear that, though he clearly assumes everyone’s friend group is as fucked as his, or did, because why wouldn’t he]

Rio: [neither of you know the full tea there but truly believe that she was your stalker and was like obsessed with Liam too, whoops but you weren’t totally innocent so soz but only a bit sis; rn though we’re attempting to sit up and pull you up too ‘this floor is fucking freezing’ like you’ve literally only just realised because have lol]

Buster: [finding his jacket or jumper he gave her to lean on earlier and putting it on her, regardless of whether she’s remotely got re-dressed in her own clothes at all yet or not]

Rio: [when you’re a foot smaller than him so you look adorable and you feel it cosying up in this]

Buster: [giving her the biggest heart eyes ever as he says ‘fuck’ quietly and softly like lowkey as an intake of breath because she looks so cute and he can’t deal ‘I didn’t think that through’ because now wants to take it off in the sauciest way immediately]

Rio: [holding up your wrecked bra like no we didn’t but we’re the least mad about it anyone could be ‘looks better without but you know, family function’ 😏 like really tried to keep it respectable here]

Buster: [getting his phone out and online shopping right here rn for new lingerie for this gal, so she can see what he’s doing but not well enough to see what he’s picking because will surprise you with that delivery that you’ll realistically get when he’s gone because I doubt y’all are here for long]

Rio: [putting your head in his lap so you can just gaze up at him casually]

Buster: [‘fucking beautiful’ almost to himself because we just can’t believe what this girl looks like and how iconic she is]

Rio: [‘you’ll see as soon as I get the package’ like that’s what he meant because you can’t handle how you feel rn either]

Buster: [running a finger over her lips because they’d be so bruised at this point, you’d think it’s absentmindedly because still doing this shopping but he’s very aware of what he’s doing]

Rio: [‘you know you’re stupidly attractive’ hoping your finger goes in our mouth when we talk and then you can just leave it there, casual]

Buster: [nodding cos yeah, he do, lol, fully reading her mind there and allowing that because he would]

Rio: [so comforting, also stopping you saying anything too extra so thank God, just look at him and shh]

Buster: [has definitely also sent whatever boy perfume he wears as requested earlier and some boujee expensive flowers]

Rio: [we love to see it, even though we know this all means we gotta go back into this party soon so we’re wrapping this jacket/jumper ‘round us even more]

Buster: [pulling her closer to him, once he’s finished shopping and there are no surprises to ruin, for the same reason ‘I’m going to miss this’ as if not saying you makes it any more casual]

Rio: [‘same’ quietly ‘cos what are y’all saying, what does this mean, can’t get into all that right now, that’s for sure ‘easter’s soon, come back for it’ because we’ve already said that so we can again, that’s not dangerous territory]

Buster: [‘I will’ because he has every intention to, whether we decide to cockblock y’all or not]

Rio: [‘you’ll be so busy revising you won’t have time to miss anything’]

Buster: [raising the bottle like he’s cheersing to that before taking a v big drink because that is the plan but we all know y’all will blatantly still be pining for each other]

Rio: [y’all are lying to yourselves but we understand why, take your own drink ‘cos you know you’ll miss him the minute you have to leave this cellar and he’ll still be in the same building]

Buster: [just trying to kiss her and put EVERYTHING into it while at the same time pretending it’s not blatantly a goodbye kiss]

Rio: [‘if you turn me on again we won’t go’ ‘cos true but also cannot ‘cos we know what’s happening]

Buster: [picking her up and putting her at the top of these cellar stairs like that’s job done and you’ve forced her to go but of course I’ve gotta be a cliche and say he ends up kissing her again against that very door as he opened his mouth to say something/was about to turn and go back to wait nearer the bottom]

Rio: [kissing him back with the intensity you were trying not to encourage because can’t help it]

Buster: [keeping those cliches coming because doing the thing where he pulls away like okay we gotta stop only to carry on kissing her again a second later even more !!, rinse and repeat more than once, obvs]

Rio: [god knows how long you’ve been doing this, not y’all but genuinely being unable to stop it feels like ‘I don’t wanna go’ as if that wasn’t obvious and is also an option]

Buster: [it would feel like not long enough on the one hand but far too long on the other ‘good, don’t’ definitely not an option but we all understand why it feels like the best one when he’s really got her pressed up against this door and is kissing her so dramatically in between those words]

Rio: [‘I can’t’ like literally could not currently but also simply don’t want to that much that it feels impossible]

Buster: [‘I need you so much more, still’ because nothing is out of his system at all yet thank you, not that it ever will be now but, agreed you very much can’t go]

Rio: [‘when you come back, we’ll get a hotel’ like we’ll have more time and be smarter about it, none of this was planned, obvs]

Buster: [making a lil plan in between all the kisses that are still happening, like namedropping the best hotel in Dublin and the boujee suite they are gonna get and for how many nights etc etc]

Rio: [just the most enthusiastic kisses all over his face and neck whenever he’s talking and we can’t kiss his lips because excited]

Buster: [he’d feel better for having a legit plan so when it’s all been decided finally stepping back slightly to look her over to check she’s in any kind of fit state to go back in to that fam function, doing anything he deems necessary whether that’s playing with her hair or pretending he’s gotta touch her face because she’s got a eyelash/some makeup and not just cos he wants to, and it goes without saying the final step is smoothing her dress like he did earlier]

Rio: [hand back his jacket/jumper as your final step girl, despite how badly you would not want to, especially after all that attention you just wanna melt under ‘give it a minute’ because anything you might actually want to say will only have you back at square one so you get back out there, not before one final look back, of course]

Buster: [the way he’d be holding her wrist for a final time when she hands him his jacket/jumper back would not be helping, do your own final look back as you’re turning to go back down these stairs and wait, of course]

Rio: [after a while of being back out there, post a pic with some of your siblings or something of the sort as a good to go message]

Buster: [do go and take the bottle that you’ve blatantly downed the rest of the contents of while you were waiting so you have the excuse to go up to Fearghal like yeah I stole this btw as something to do, he’ll obvs pay for it he’s not a total dick]

Rio: [at least Nancy is gonna corner you when she sees you because it’s obvious you’ve hooked up with someone so you will have to regale her with that false tale whilst doing the dance of pretending we don’t notice you when you’re the only person we’re properly paying any attention to]

Buster: [but that convo will remind you you’ve still got her stash so you can go and do more of it and get away for a sec, you could even take Nancy with you even though you hate her to do Rio that favour, she’ll come for drugs and it’s funny because won’t have worked out they’re hers]

Rio: [oh hun, you flop]

Buster: [living for the ruster glance being exchanged]

Rio: [the subtle shade of it all sends me because we don’t like to give up on anyone but it’s really obvious you wanna be this bitch so we’re just like okay then girl, you do you but we really cannot lmao]

Buster: [at a certain point you have to, or you’ll end up like your mother with Ro and Joe, Rio is really gonna flip her shit about the Nancy and Grace situation and I for one, will be loving that]

Rio: [someone needs to tell this girl some home truths, not that baze fam haven’t tried but damn lol]

Buster: [for now though, do your drugs and bring your flop sister back unfortunately, I’m sure she’s doing his head in already]

Rio: [did not dare message you ‘cos we know how nosy she is but when you’re out we can]

Rio: how much 🍾 has she managed to down whilst we were gone, like

Buster: Enough to fill the bath at the [the name of whatever boujee hotel they decided to stay at] for as long as we’re booking ourselves in

Rio: she’s not invited to test that but we can

Buster: I’ll think about it while she’s testing me

Rio: you should

Rio: patience of a 😇

Buster: What did you tell her about where you’ve been? 

Buster: I’m as impatient to hear all about it

Rio: Oh, well she wanted ALL the details, obviously

Rio: met someone at that party I dipped to

Buster: Yeah? And what was he like?

Rio: mindblowingly fit, good dancer too

Buster: He kept up with you then?

Rio: Yeah

Rio: it was like trying to catch my own breath instead of lapping like usual

Buster: I know exactly what you mean, babe

Rio: you do?

Buster: I’d bet on it

Rio: sounds like you’ve had a good one too then

Buster: I had some things I needed to do

Rio: gotta be productive, even on the holiday

Buster: exactly

Rio: you’d have got on

Buster: What makes you say that?

Rio: he put in a lot of hardwork too

Rio: might wanna fight you though

Buster: Most lads do

Buster: I’ve already won one fight tonight

Rio: I know who I’d bet on

Buster: So come on, why would he have a problem with me?

Buster: you said we’d get on before

Rio: couldn’t be anything personal, could it

Rio: just got a bit of a temper, as some dickhead at the party can attest to

Buster: What else are parties for?

Rio: Well, I had other plans for him, honestly

Rio: but he didn’t disappoint me

Buster: Do you have any plans to see him again?

Rio: Oh, it’s happening 

Buster: Tell me

Rio: If you had a girl like me willing to do whatever you wanted, you’d wanna see her again as soon as possible, right?

Buster: You know I seize opportunities, I don’t waste them

Rio: There you go then

Rio: he’d have to be an idiot not to want a repeat

Buster: and you wouldn’t want one yourself if that was the case, I’m sure I heard from somewhere you’re done with men like that

Rio: he’s a lot of things, not that

Rio: my ex would be here if that’s what I wanted

Buster: You’re a lot of things, but not somebody who needs to give an ex another chance

Rio: Hell no

Rio: even if I’m the one that ended it, I don’t do that

Buster: I find it impossible to believe you aren’t always the one to end it

Rio: Sometimes

Rio: best case it’s mutual and not totally shaming

Buster: Shame exists for people like Nancy, not people like us

Rio: I’m not ashamed of any of it

Buster: Good

Rio: you look it

Buster: It’s my favourite of the constant family functions

Rio: I could’ve guessed that

Rio: is one of the only ones you consistently turn up at

Buster: It was one of the only ones that wasn’t a complete waste of time

Rio: and granddad is your favourite

Buster: He was, but from tonight onwards, I have a new favourite

Rio: well I know you’re not talking about Libi so don’t even try to take the piss

Buster: Do you, what gave that away?

Rio: You did call her an it, even if you said she was cuter than Bils

Buster: that wasn’t personal, at least not to her specifically

Rio: I get it, babies

Buster: I’ll form an opinion when she’s formed a proper personality

Rio: You’re such a lawyer already

Buster: Look at us, progressing to genuine compliments already

Rio: 🤔 is it a compliment or

Buster: Arguably you didn’t intend it or be or you wouldn’t be trying to make me doubt the validity, but yeah, it very much is

Rio: I think it’s adorable, the way you weigh everything up like that

Buster: it could be argued even more easily that I’ve been impulsive enough for one night

Rio: isn’t that what parties are for

Buster: Yeah, but if you don’t know when to stop you end up like my sister

Rio: I suppose so

Buster: you wouldn’t find me attractive then

Rio: If you’re asking if I also find your sister attractive, it’s a no

Buster: It wouldn’t be the first question I felt compelled to ask you right now, no

Rio: Go on

Buster: What are you doing your best to put me on the spot about?

Rio: Ask me what you actually want to

Buster: I don’t need permission or prompting, if there was something I wanted to ask you, it would have already been asked

Rio: Okay

Buster: You’re angling for me to say something, what is it?

Rio: No I’m not, it’s a game but you’re obviously more distracted by whoever you’ve been cornered by than I am

Buster: I’ve obviously missed the part where you explained the rules, at least

Rio: it’s just truth or dare, without the dare part

Rio: told you I was bored

Buster: Well, by all means, go first, babe

Rio: What are you doing right now, I can’t see you

Buster: That’s your first question?

Buster: I’m outside, I couldn’t hear a word the poor girl who’s trying to flirt with me now was saying

Rio: Considerate, like

Buster: I have my moments and I know how to pick them

Rio: Not going to disagree

Buster: The more girls I’m seen talking to from here, the more reason I have to want to come back

Rio: You don’t need to explain anything

Buster: not to you, maybe, but my more immediate family might be interested in why I’m suddenly excited about spending easter hols differently to how I typically like to

Rio: Yeah, it makes sense

Buster: which is why I’m doing it

Rio: I didn’t say I didn’t understand

Buster: Of course you’d understand that she holds no other appeal for me, this girl, any other girl

Rio: If she did you wouldn’t be on your phone, dead giveaway

Buster: it’s probably another that I couldn’t describe a single identifying feature or personality trait she possesses, even if you paid me the cash back I gave you earlier

Rio: I’m not going to, just fyi

Rio: I can fill in the blanks myself

Buster: I wouldn’t bother if I were you, there are rather a lot and it wouldn’t be a very fun game

Rio: Noted

Rio: are you going to ask me a question that isn’t just judging my question in disguise of your own

Buster: Not until you ask me a more interesting question yourself

Rio: You’re so picky!

Buster: Hardly

Buster: you can do better without having to push yourself much

Rio: what if I can’t right now

Rio: what if all I’m bothered about is where you are and what you’re doing

Buster: Where do you want me to be and what do you want me to be doing?

Rio: I want to dance with you

Buster: that’s what we’re going to do, but you still need to answer where, am I coming to you or are you coming to me?

Rio: Sure she wouldn’t be happy if I gatecrashed

Buster: Neither of us give a fuck about her happiness

Rio: We can’t dance here

Buster: Do you know her?

Rio: I don’t know, what’s her name?

Buster: [post of a pic of y’all to his story and tag her so she can see if she does know this random or not]

Rio: I don’t think so

Buster: so come here

Rio: really?

Rio: it’s still a risk

Buster: Okay, fine, count to 60 and then come here

Buster: I’ll make sure she’s gone in 30

Rio: No, you’re right

Rio: don’t do that

Buster: I’m rarely wrong

Rio: Enough impulsiveness for one night, right

Rio: stick to that

Buster: You wouldn’t be acting impulsively, I can tell you’ve put loads of thought into how you want to get rid of her, by now it’s premeditated 

Rio: I might have had some ideas

Buster: talk me through your plan at least, as you’re too scared to go through with it

Rio: I am not too scared, I’m just not having some random hoe mean you can’t come back 

Buster: She’s irrelevant in any sense larger than the fun you’ll have making her go away

Rio: I’m not having her see anything that makes her want to socials stalk you

Rio: and she wouldn’t hear anything I’d tell you anyway

Buster: exactly, you’ve got it under control

Rio: I can do it with a look, you’ve said it yourself

Buster: yeah

Rio: I don’t need to touch you

Buster: So what are you waiting for?

Rio: to stop needing to touch you

Buster: she’ll be long gone by then, me too

Rio: don’t

Buster: Truth, you said, I’m not allowed to lie

Rio: well I’m drunk and I wish you didn’t have to go

Buster: I don’t yet, nor do I have to be stood here with her, I could be anywhere and we could be doing anything

Rio: let’s find another party, I just feel like I’m wasting time here

Buster: It could be the same one, none of them will remember this many drinks later

Rio: You’ll be too busy to punch anyone else

Buster: I need to touch you, the same way you do me

Rio: I can’t focus on anything else, still, it needs to be more

Buster: the rest of the night

Rio: We don’t have to come back, it’s fine, we’ve shown our faces

Buster: Nobody’s paying as much attention to your face as I am, and will

Rio: I’m coming to meet you, whether anyones there or not

Buster: I’m going with you, no matter what

Rio: tell me I’m your favourite

Buster: I’ve never called anyone baby before

Rio: never, not even accidentally

Buster: no

Rio: [show up and launch yourself at him for the most intense kiss ever otherwise you’re gonna say something, risky because you are just outside but we’re doing it anyway]

Buster: [we’ll allow y’all not to get caught because in no world is he stopping her or doing anything else but kissing her back as intensely]

Rio: [‘I missed you’ because at least saying it during a makeout you can just pretend it’s purely because of this, nothing else]

Buster: [picking her up and walking like we gotta go rn immediately cos same but not stopping the makeout remotely despite all the peeps and obstacles you could walk into]

Rio: [you’re blatantly just crashing into people, excuse us Dublin, at least get to a wall you can makeout against without the danger of getting caught by anyone because you can’t make it a full street away like this]

Buster: [the side of a different building is fine, just not literally the pub your fam owns lads, that’s all we ask of you, as per going at this like it’s been a thousand years and not probably like an hour lol]

Rio: [‘fuck anyone that isn’t you tonight’ so seriously like I can’t and won’t entertain anyone else when this is too pressing an issue]

Buster: [‘It’s just me and you now’ literally are behaving like y’all are the only peeps on this street, excuse us but nobody else even registers rn ‘and I’ll fuck you right here’ probably don’t but I appreciate the sentiment sir]

Rio: [holding his head so you’re THE CLOSEST to each other as is possible because the !! is so real ‘I’ve not been alone with you enough’ like that is a tragedy and I need to bite your neck about it immediately ‘and you can fuck me wherever and whenever’]

Buster: [The SOUND, thank god this isn’t an empty street actually because if it was that’d really carry but as it stands you’re getting away with it slightly more, soz not soz that she hasn’t bitten him like that up to now and he is !! about it ‘no rules but ours’ like yes, agreed, I can and I shall, putting his jacket/jumper back on her as if that in any way hides how indecent y’all are being because the way he’s touching her, like he said he needed to, is too much]

Rio: [dying at this gesture even if it’s meant to be practical it’s still so possessive and we love it ‘I wanna be an us like this, it feels so-’ not needing to finish that sentence because your moaning covers how it feels, obviously you need to touch him right back]

Buster: [‘you’re my fucking favourite, my baby’ no notes, we all know how indecently he’s saying this, like don’t you forget it, as if she had or is likely to]

Rio: [🥺🥺🥺 ‘I need you so badly, I’ll do anything for you to make you happy’]

Buster: [‘it makes me weak when you look at me like that’ because CANNOT handle that face actually]

Rio: [covering your eyes like a kid like okay, I’m sorry ‘better, daddy?’]

Buster: [kissing her hands as he uncovers her eyes, literally every finger and we know he’s being ridiculous about it, they aren’t just cute little kisses, gotta be extra and put like every finger in his mouth ever while he’s using his to do the most to her like they aren’t in public and obvs kissing her eyes too eventually but that’s soft and cute and in such direct contrast ‘Don’t be’ as if she said sorry out loud]

Rio: [looking at him in actual disbelief at how hot he is, not to mention how much noise we’re making because if everything he’s doing ‘I’m so glad it’s you’]

Buster: [saying her name because hard same and also we have to because how much noise she’s making is really hot and we’re so about it]

Rio: [gotta put your own fingers in your mouth to fully coat them in spit so you can harder for him because necessary ‘I love how many people want you, how jealous people would be of me’]

Buster: [absolutely going over the lovebites he did earlier as though they aren’t fresh af still ‘I’d have to go offline forever, how popular you are’ slight exaggeration but I respect it]

Rio: [‘no one else can have me like you, we’re… blood’ getting caught on the last word]

Buster: [his MOAN on that last word, not to mention how hard he’s going, as if he already wasn’t ‘there’s nothing more important’]

Rio: [‘you can be so important to me, if you want it as badly as I do’ shouldn’t be possible to do all we’re doing with our hands yet here we are]

Buster: [‘you know how badly I want it, there’s no if’ again no notes because he couldn’t be doing or reacting to what she’s doing more]

Rio: [‘we could do so much together, I can keep up with you’]

Buster: [‘it’s happening’ because literally rn with how extra y’all are being, you’re doing too much excuse you, but also obviously this is just the start and you both know that]

Rio: [nodding like yes, on both counts ‘I fucking love being your family, you know’]

Buster: [you’ve gotta kiss her for a sec and shh because I don’t trust what you could say atm sir]

Rio: [kiss him back even if you insist on getting the ‘I mean it, I’m so proud of you’ out between said kissing]

Buster: [I’m EMBARRASSED by how hardcore that would get to him, but we all know it would]

Rio: [shamelessly manoeuvring so you can put him inside you even though you’re on the street because you know he’s that close and you are too so you must]

Buster: [‘You deserve everything you’ve ever wanted’ literally in now being fucked on this street but also in the sense of all her success and this man being supportive of her endeavours]

Rio: [‘best daddy’ because a coherent sentence is not being achieved now you’ve said that and we’re doing this, making 0 effort to hide what we’re doing]

Buster: [likewise on being blatant and not being coherent ‘best girl, Jesus, you’re so good’]

Rio: [doing the most out of control movements that there’s no mistaking what you’re doing and what you’re trying to achieve ‘for you, only you’]

Buster: [‘cum all over my cock in front of all these people, angel’ not him calling her angel for the first time rn like this and here, sir please]

Rio: [we know that’s going to get you though, for sure, saying your name as we do]

Buster: [no decorum and too much audacity, both of you, as always I’m like, imagine seeing this as you’re trying to go about your evening ‘I’m gonna fill you with mine too’ shhhh frankly]

Rio: [‘please, please, I need you to stay inside me all night’ at least this is a party atmosphere and people do get wild but honestly]

Buster: [‘say it again’ because we love the word please, that’s an understatement]

Rio: [‘please fill me, I want it so much’]

Buster: [obviously do it whilst being TOO LOUD because just that !!!]

Rio: [‘oh, fuck, thank you, thank you daddy’ because manners always, despite the unholy way we’re fucking this cum into ourself harder]

Buster: [this boy’s breathing and the levels of eye contact while she does this are both unholy ofc, me like, don’t say you love her rn it’s too soon]

Rio: [I’ve had to stop it so many times, the extraness always, just grinning at you and not stopping]

Buster: [me too, bub, me too, give her heart eyes and leave it at that thank you, boy]

Rio: [reach up on your tiptoes to kiss him so chaste in comparison]

Buster: [‘It’s official, you’re my soulmate’ that is not at all a platonic thing to say, you might as well said ILY bitch]

Rio: [‘is it’ because can’t be trusting yourself to say anything else like you didn’t lowkey stop breathing and are now breathing so shallowly]

Buster: [‘Yeah, completely’ unrepentant like yes you’re perfect for me and perfect in general]

Rio: [just hanging ‘round his neck and your feet are probably still off the ground ‘I can’t believe you’re real’]

Buster: [twirl her around v dramatically like she’s lowkey on a fairground ride because we’re as shook by the night’s events and therefore have gotta smirk and be pretending we’re so fine ‘you’ve gotta get used to it, babe’]

Rio: [‘no I don’t’ like this is too much fun thank you and I have no intention of coming off this cloud any time soon]

Buster: [a look like oh you that’s just lowkey heart eyes ‘come on, you wanted to dance’ like let’s go, just carrying her through these streets]

Rio: [‘we are a bit’ ‘cos twirling down this street basically but not going to stop you from carrying us ever]

Buster: [‘when we are for real, you’ll have to take this off’ playfully pulling at his jacket/jumper with a not at all fake little pout because don’t want that to be a thing but do wanna dance and do know what y’all are gonna dance like and that she’d overheat to death]

Rio: [‘I won’t let anyone nick it, keep my eye on it proper hard’ like y’all wish, this is mine and so is this boy, booping his bottom lip with our nose]

Buster: [obviously kissing her again, we simply must, like and I’ll keep my eye on you, without needing to actually say so]

Rio: [‘I missed you back there’ ‘cos y’all really thought you could do that and simply could not]

Buster: [‘it was a bad idea’ like yeah we shouldn’t have bothered trying to do that gal]

Rio: [‘just trying to behave’ with a sigh for dramatic effect like y’all always are lmao]

Buster: [‘Behave for me, not them, you’ll have more fun and fewer regrets’ fully shading this entire fam and her role in it there, soz everyone]

Rio: [a LOOK like what was that if not behaving for you ‘not for anyone else’s benefit, though there was a crowd’]

Buster: [a smug smile because he got away with it like he lowkey gets away with everything always]

Rio: [shaking your head affectionately ‘cos we know what you’re thinking there]

Buster: [‘you were perfect’ no notes]

Rio: [‘I don’t think you’ve called anyone angel before either’ like I know I did good]

Buster: [‘I don’t know any others’ the truest thing ever, these chelsea gals are feral and if any of the american gals could’ve been called angels he wouldn’t because they’d be too boring lol]

Rio: [hide in his neck making cute little overwhelmed noises]

Buster: [holding her closer while she does that because it’s adorable]

Rio: [‘you’re-’ stop yourself ‘cos any and everything you could say is so extra]

Buster: [‘I meant what I said, I’ve met my match in you’ because sis it’s beyond mutual]

Rio: [‘realised’ ‘cos the headfuck of obviously knowing each other your whole lives but not enough]

Buster: [a nod, like yes exactly]

Rio: [‘but now you know…’ … like we can do this as long as we want]

Buster: [‘we both do’ because again beyond mutual]

Rio: [‘I know how much I like this’ kissing his ear for emphasis]

Buster: [‘I like how vocal you’ve been about it’ in her ear just cos]

Rio: [running your hands across his shoulders, one side to the other, making a mhmm noise ‘I could tell’ doing a mischievous lil smile ‘cos same, obviously]

Buster: [obviously he’s rolling his shoulders while she does that because gotta show off how muscley he is or who is he]

Rio: [just appreciating and asking him how often he works out and how]

Buster: [show off about it, I don’t know your life like that hun I’m just a chubby lil gal]

Rio: [we don’t know all about that but y’all chat about it]

Buster: [you’re clearly that kind of boy, all your posts would be gym/football/boxing or party/being social and messy and rich related, so you can give it the bants vibes of I know you’ve seen all my posts, you should know this etc etc as well]

Rio: [‘I only stalked you occasionally’ rolling our eyes like lol please ‘I don’t use my personal that much now’]

Buster: [😏 like yeah sure but he believes her actually because likewise, they weren’t being that extra about it clearly or something would have happened sooner, passing her his phone like lemme follow your other one then]

Rio: [put in the details and then accept the follow on your own phone]

Buster: [shamelessly looking at all this content despite the fact he’s still also carrying her and walking]

Rio: [just hiding again lowkey because we know this hasn’t been an easy subject in the past]

Buster: [stops scrolling and walking when he notices this, pulling her hair but gentle like look at me not like !! ‘Be proud of it’ because he sincerely thinks she’s good at this and should be]

Rio: [‘I am just-’ shrugging but we are meeting your gaze]

Buster: [shaking his head while holding this eye contact ‘no buts’]

Rio: [‘it’s cool’ doing the I’m fine smile like see]

Buster: [‘Yeah, what you’re doing is’ cos not letting this drop, we shall be your hype man from this day forward]

Rio: [‘I know what I’m doing, even if people don’t see it’ like I have a plan, regardless of what anyone has to say either way]

Buster: [‘I see it’ cos he do, we’re not even just saying it to be like ily]

Rio: [kiss his cheek ‘cos ily but also thanks]

Buster: [‘Tell me the truth, am I going the right way?’ because y’all were distracted when you were going to that party in the first place and you are again now so it’s believable to me he’s like are we lost or not lol]

Rio: [when you’ve been legit paying no attention lmao like oops my bad, clearly have gone slightly awry but ‘we can cut through here’ directing him now]

Buster: [give her own kiss on the cheek like ty cos not trying to be fully lost and wandering these streets forever]

Rio: [‘you wanna dance too’ like I know, I got you]

Buster: [LOOKING at her because remembering when they did and it was everything]

Rio: [lowkey giving him a lil nudge in the side with our foot like you do a horse lol, like come on boy] 

Buster: [will be lowkey running for the bants, again excuse us anyone else who is probably around]

Rio: [don’t get stampeded by us getting into this party] 

Buster: [soz that it’s a flex how fit he is and he will take every opportunity to remind her]

Rio: [the way I’m sure this party is getting to that stage where everyone is just passing out but y’all do not care, go to the kitchen to get drinks]

Buster: [they are the party and they will bring it, Winnie says they also have to do what remains of Nancy��s coke stash off each other, because weren’t brazen enough to do that earlier but can now]

Rio: [essential behaviour, as well as playing the ridiculous drinking games like you know this one, this one etc]

Buster: [an excellent idea boo, then actually do go dance because even if nobody else is by this point, y’all wanna]

Rio: [we don’t care if it’s only us and the other people who refuse to wind down]

Buster: [it just gives you more room, literally, to be extra, but before you dance he’s gotta tie that jumper of his around her shoulders how posh kids do]

Rio: [just faux modeling that like how do I look like it’s a fashion statement]

Buster: [dying about it because he’d blatantly have been wearing it like that at points in the night cos of how rammed and therefore hot the pub would’ve been but the difference between that and how adorable she looks rn because it’s giant on her, the biggest heart eyes of all time]

Rio: [‘are you homesick?’ like you’re just really about this posh girl lewk and not us being cute]

Buster: [‘If I lie that I am, will it encourage you to attempt the accent?’ because always fun to take the piss on the rare occasion characters actually have different ones]

Rio: [lol ‘I don’t think you’d like that’ like it isn’t gonna be complimentary hun]

Buster: [his own lol because agreed, he’s so sick to the back teeth of literally everything chelsea related and has hardly been subtle about the fact ‘No, I like you’ sir we’re getting dangerously close to the other l word here, excuse you]

Rio: [‘yah?’ like a v posh person which just makes us giggle, never mind you ‘that’s all I’ve got’ like I can’t do no more soz you will have to kiss me instead thanks]

Buster: [doing a grimace like thanks I hate it, but it can’t help but become a smile as he’s kissing her]

Rio: [‘not how I’m gonna start being vocal, don’t worry’ like what a turn-off, just swaying to this music as we have another makeout]

Buster: [‘You’ll be too busy telling me how much you like me’ in between all the kisses he’s using to try and make her because say it back thank you]

Rio: [‘you know how much I like you’]

Buster: [‘I know how much you like this’ as he’s kissing her, adding ‘and this’ each time he does something else like move to her neck or jaw or earlobe or wherever ‘that doesn’t mean you don’t think I’m a cunt’ shouldn’t be said in as flirty of a manner as it is being, like that’s a term of endearment all of a sudden]

Rio: [‘I could do this with anyone’ the ‘could’ being moaned through slightly gritted teeth ‘why would I choose to do it with a cunt?’ like that’s not me]

Buster: [‘because I can make you feel good whether or not my morals and manners match up’ doing the MOST rn like see, I’m so skilled at this]

Rio: [‘do you want me to hate you?’ biting our lip trying not to be fully overwhelmed immediately]

Buster: [‘Why would I want that?’ in between continuing this indecent makeout sesh ‘I could go home and hatefuck anyone there’ because true, they all suck that hard]

Rio: [‘seems like you’re pushing for something’ emphasize that in the most obvious way]

Buster: [‘does it?’ likewise be as blatant about it]

Rio: [just nod !!]

Buster: [‘yeah?’ just doing even more, obviously]

Rio: [‘yes’ as if it’s been forced out and we were unable to not ‘cos lowkey]

Buster: [leading her by the wrist, because always, back to the kitchen so he can put her on a counter and help their insane height difference, a lot of the other surfaces are probably taken by passed out peeps at this point, but that’s okay because this is a mood and no fucks given about knocking anything off there, it’s not his house lol]

Rio: [‘I can’t handle how much I like you right now’ like boy I am DYING in every way and you know it]

Buster: [opening a cupboard door so she has somewhere to rest her feet on because he is nice and not a cunt like that, there is no need for him to be taking her shoes off though except she probably has nice feet, true, and they’re not in a cellar, but here we are]

Rio: [‘it might be the bare minimum but you don’t get how so many people don’t ever do that much’ because you are nice and we do think so]

Buster: [‘of course I do, I’m surrounded by those people’ because all his friends are actual dicks and we’re not kidding ourselves otherwise this late on in the chelsea experience]

Rio: [‘why don’t you think you’re nice then?’]

Buster: [‘they finish last, everybody’s heard how the saying goes’ with a shrug like it’d be fucking stupid of me]

Rio: [‘do you feel like a loser right now?’ raising a brow like really]

Buster: [‘you know how I feel right now’ because no, clearly not]

Rio: [‘you’ve already told me you don’t think I’m a terrible person so we’re even’]

Buster: [‘you’re even polite when telling people to shut the fuck up’ amused, lowkey playing with her foot that’s resting on the top of this cupboard door]

Rio: [‘that tickles’ 😳]

Buster: [more deliberately playing with said foot now to try and turn her on because who is he otherwise]

Rio: [‘got yourself to blame if I kick you’ we’re doing nothing of the sort because any and all attention you give us makes us feel the best]

Buster: [‘I’d blame you’ with all the daddy energy ever because excuse you you’re meant to be good, obviously kissing the arch of her foot whilst making eye contact, I don’t make the rules]

Rio: [the GASP because ‘holy fuck’ has to be said on this intake of breath ‘you weren’t joking, the worship line’]

Buster: [‘I’m so serious’ try not to think of my sister’s ex as he’s working his way to and then going on her toes or we’ll cackle ourselves to death, not the same vibe remotely, sir]

Rio: [that was a sneak attack and so not it, at least we’ve shown clear interest here because lawd haha ‘it’s so far fucking beyond bare minimum’ like I retract and amend that statement just btw ‘cos this is everything]

Buster: [really proving how far beyond bare minimum it is by how much he’s doing as per, giving her a foot massage at the same time because multitasking 5ever]

Rio: [‘I want you to stay’ as we’re throwing our head back]

Buster: [doing all that foot stuff lowkey forever and THEN not at all casually kissing up her entire leg from her ankle to her thigh, taking a ridiculous amount of time to do it, and giving her such a ridiculous lovebite on her inner thigh that the dress will cover but y’all will know exists]

Rio: [LOOKING at you from this position because nothing could be more of a turn-on ‘I think you’re the nicest’]

Buster: [LOOKING back at her as he takes her off this counter and manoeuvres y’all so that she can sit on his face because of course that’s what’s happening here, yet again we’re doing the most on a random and uncomfortable floor, god bless ‘I look forward to hearing what you think of me after this’ because she will die]

Rio: [‘scuse us to anyone in/anyone who might need to be in this kitchen anytime soon because as per there’s no attempt to not be blatantly doing what we’re doing]

Buster: [soz that none of these chelsea kids have any boundaries and he genuinely doesn’t believe that any consequences could or will apply to him atm because he’s yet to really face any in his life, y’all are gonna just have to deal with this level of feral because he does not care, he’s doing his fave type of saucy antics with his fave person to do it to and living his absolute best life]

Rio: [none of y’all are gonna want them to stop so badly you call the police lol, you might throw some water on them and kick ‘em out but clearly not even happening so for tonight we’re just living laughing loving ‘you are so fucking good at this though’]

Buster: [if every bedroom and bathroom wasn’t clearly already taken they could be in one of them, you’ve brought this on yourselves tbh random party peeps, needs must, when you know you’re v good at this but you’ve still gotta go even harder as if to prove yourself even better because just that bitch, plus he LOVES it, we all know]

Rio: [‘you like that even when I’m technically in total control, you can still get me begging you’ not at all casual assessment]

Buster: [reading him to filth with the 100% accuracy of that lol, hence just doing literally everything he can to make her beg him rn, pulling out all the stops like he wasn’t already doing the most]

[howlingbreeze]

Characters Out Of Context

Tagged by the everlasting @andromedatalksaboutstuff, I'm choosing to use a story that's been *written*. So, Hold Fire it is.

➥ Include one character quote — of your choosing ⁠— from each chapter of your WIP (or as many chapters as you'd like).

➥ Give absolutely no context, save for what's between two parts of an interrupted sentence, should that occur. You may mention who said it.

➥ Have fun, no pressure!

Tagging: @kahvilahuhut @artbyeloquent

“Keep yourselves quiet, keep yourselves stable as you climb down the rope ladders. We will not be going fishing tonight boys. Am I clear?” - Alexander.

“Fix this knot private, do you want to lose your pack before you get to the bloody field?” - A Lt.

"You don't need to talk, but I need you to move your arms so I can clean you up," - Alexander.

“Fucking loud, innit.” - Thomas.

“We’ll have a couple of soldiers at the viewpoint but you’ll be out there alone.” - A Sgt.

“You look like hell, mate.” - A Royale Marine.

“This is not what I’d imagined it would be,” - Thomas

“I’ll do my best, but you know those bastards aren’t afraid to use their grenades.” - Sammy.

“Hancock, you’ll be in the first group, Frederick the second group. I will lead from the front.” - A Sgt.

“We need to go, King.” - Alexander.

“Walk with me so they don’t notice anything weird,” - Myers.

“No girl, but I do have a sister. We’re twins, which seems to interest people most.” - Kye.

 “Who is down there?” - Alexander.

“Nice work lads, keep it up, almost there,” - A Sgt.

“We’ve seen it, men who don’t listen? They get killed and we have to bury them, I have to tell their family they are dead.” - King.

“Hopefully once this is over you can get sent off to the hospital on Imbros and get some rest.” - Alexander.

“He was running next to me,” - Case.

“Let me grab a medical kit, show me where he is,” - Sarah.

“Really hope my ass doesn’t start bleeding,” - King.

“I don’t think we’re done yet.” - King.

“Yeah, wasn’t too bad. Quiet,” he replied through a full mouth, “a bit hard to fall asleep.” - Kye.

‘Can I…touch you?’ - Alexander. (do not look at the change in quotation marks).

“No trouble. You’ll learn to deal with Kye’s behaviour. Just remember that I am on your side, I believe in you to perform the job you signed up for.” - Alexander.

‘None of it was to feel proud for, that’s for sure.’ - Alexander.

‘Do you ever get used to the sound?’ - James.

“Hancock, number twenty-six just died. Erik Baldwin. Here’s his medallion.” - A Lt.

“You suggested it, to be completely honest.” - Alexander.

“Stop being so formal, you don’t need to do that here it’s just us.” - Thomas.

“He needs to look good for his boss, right Dandy? Gotta save the world and all that jazz,” - Thomas.

“Yeah, hope things go smoothly for everyone.” - Alexander.

“You know, he was a pain in the ass but I kind of miss Kye’s stupid comments on you’re announcements,” - King.

“Should he bere somewhere, Thomas was right behind me.” - King.

“You know anything about the transfer?” - King.

“Can you, can you hold me?” - Thomas.

“Stay safe, don’t die.” - Alexander.

“Will do, see you soon King.” - Pin.

“Masks!” - King.

“That is awfully close to our men Wells,” - Alexander.

“We should move at least the support company, it looks liek they are on the trajectory to shelling the support lines next,” - Alexander.

“Hancock! Over here!” - King.

“Thanks man.” - Alexander.

“You best be better by the time I get back,” - Alexander.

“Doesn’t feel right does it?” - King.

 “It’s over.” - A Capt.

“You alright, mate?” - King.

[klingb3rg]

Avs’ PP looks... very bad

[bluejaem]

⌗ the little moments with them ( ver. dreamies )

not requested , warnings. mentions of food (jeno) , inspo ♡

(✿) —; MARK LEE. calling each other. it’s those days when you guys aren’t able to meet each other for a long time, you tend to have these long video calls every week where both of you’d talk about your week went. and no matter how tiresome your week must’ve been, these catching up sessions made you forget about all of that. the stupid giggles, goofy smiles, snarky remarks, just everything. “gosh, i missed talking to you,” mark blurted out, making you smile the way he had been the whole time.

(✿) —; HUANG RENJUN. when he fixes your hair. the smile. let me repeat that once again, the smile. it’s those times when you’re really focused while doing something, or just talking, and renjun just stands there, admiring your beauty. he slightly leans in, tucking the stray strands of hair behind your ear, which made you pause. “sorry, you were saying?” he asked, a coy smile on his face. “well, of course! now i’ve forgotten it myself!” you whined, making renjun’s smile grow wider.

(✿) —; LEE JENO. the late night walks and trips to ice cream shops. it’s those nights when neither of you want the night to end, wanting to spend time with each other till the end of it. which results in the two of you going on those late night walks, jeno’s hoodie embracing you, hands wrapped around his arms, and your head slightly leaning on his figure. smiles plastered on your faces as you both walked under the familiar shadow of the moonlit streets, making your way towards the little ice-cream shop around the corner.

(✿) —; LEE HAECHAN. bubble baths and wine. “cheers to us,” haechan said, raising his wine glass while at it. “i swear to god, lee haechan, if you break my expensive wine glass—” splash. you feel the luke warm water hitting your face, the bubbles slipping off your face along with the droplets of water. “oh, you did not,” you said, wiping the water off your eyes with your other hand while the lad in front of you broke into fits of laughter. “why don’t you let me help you wash your face as well, lover boy?” you said, keeping the wine glass down, and scooping out some of the foam like bubbles in both your hands. “you would not—” “oh, yes i will.”

(✿) —; NA JAEMIN. when he kisses you to shut you up. don’t get him wrong, he loves it when you have something to say and would never want to interrupt you, nope. but there are times when you start blabbering absolute nonsense. and when none of jaemin’s tactics work, a kiss always seals the deal. “why do these families in horror movies always choose big mansions to move into?? dude, out of all places you chose the most creepy looking—” jaemin, not knowing what to do, locks his lips with you. and pulling back, he wears a sheepish smile on his lips.

(✿) —; ZHONG CHENLE. watching a movie with him. “are you crying?” chenle chuckled, instinctively scooting closer to you. wiping your dried up tears, you denied his accusation, “crying and me? pfft, never.” a subtle smiled formed on his lips as he wrapped the blanket around you both, pulling you closer to himself. he then patted on his shoulder, smiling proudly to himself, he said, “well, if you wanna cry, let me be the shoulder to cry on.” a dry chuckle escaped your lips at this statement, but nonetheless, you did end up crying— and on his shoulder this time.

(✿) —; PARK JISUNG. whispering things to each other. it could be random question, or just you guys in your own little world whispering random things in the other’s ear and giggling to yourselves. whispering random “i love you’s” to each other just to see the other’s reaction. and this was yet another one of those moments. “hey, sung?” “hmm?” leaning in, you softly whispered, “i love you.” jisung’s nose scrunched as his lips morphed into the most adorable smile, “and i love you too,” he whispered back, giving your hand a little squeeze while at it.

© BLUEJAEM, 2021

[chaewandz]

ROSE — chapter 03: Awks green rooms…

“so are we all wearing black?” joonie asked, adjusting her dress in y/n’s dressing room mirror.

“yup.” y/n turned and smiled.

“you look beautiful. but shouldn’t you be wearing a different color? this is your event y/nnie, shouldnt you be standing out?” joonie ran her hands along the smooth fabric of y/n’s dress.

“I have a plan.” y/n winked and brushed joonie’s loose strands of hair away from her face. “are you almost ready?”

joonie nodded and the pair linked arms, walking out of y/n’s dressing room to meet with the producers.

“I don’t think I know how to tie a tie actually…” jake laughed lightly, somewhat embarrassed.

“let me do it for you, sir.” the stylist quickly made his way over to jake to assist him.

on the other side of the room, heeseung stood facing the mirror, fixing his hair over and over again.

“it looks the same.” jake whispered.

heeseung spun around in an instant, placing his hands on his hips.

“only joking!” jake lifted his hands in the air in defense.

heeseung spun around again, fixing his hair in the full length mirror for the final time.

“where do you think the other guys are?” jake asked, thanking the stylist as he left the lee-sim dressing room.

“probably in rooms just like this one. do you think they’re alone?” heeseung questioned, now joining jake on the couch.

“who knows. maybe they know each other as well?”

heeseung shrugged his shoulders and the two returned to a comfortable silence, waiting until someone in charge would enter their room giving directions.

“you five will be entering the carpet area first, as a pair and a trio. you can decide the order amongst yourselves. then once you reach the carpet, the princess will go forward on her own to get her solo images and the rest of you will follow. then once you’re finished you will return to your dressing rooms and the suitors will walk the carpet. there is a tv in each room so you can all watch live. sound good?” the producer thoroughly explained the process, clipboard in hand as the girls huddled around him.

the group nodded and the producer smiled.

“alright you guys can just relax here and I’ll give you the cue when we go on air. good luck ladies!” he then bowed and was gone in an instant.

“he’s nice.” youngeun noted, following the man with her eyes as he exited the premises.

y/n nodded, also watching the producer leave.

“so what order should we go in?” isa asked.

joonie suddenly clung to y/n’s side.

“alright then I guess that leaves us three together” sakura announced, laughing as she linked her arms with isa and youngeun.

y/n laughed as well, patting joonie’s head.

“mate. bruv. lad. cheers! innit.” beomgyu paced the floors repeating different british slang.

“beomgyu, when I say this I’m coming to you as a friend. please. shut the fuck up.” taehyun whisper-yelled from the couch.

“I second that.” hueningkai added, fixing the cuffs on his suit.

“how is it that we all wound up being picked. this isn’t a prank right? what if we’re gonna get kidnapped… see this is why I need to be british. that way y/n will know I’m nothing more than a small innocent boy who is in need of protection. therefore, she will save me and leave you all to suffer within the walls of this place.” beomgyu continued to pace the floors.

“I hope she eliminates you first.” hueningkai muttered.

“same.” taehyun added.

“ok well jokes on you two when she picks me and you have to watch our wedding from your couch!” beomgyu began practicing his red carpet poses in the mirror as he spoke.

hueningkai and taehyun exchanged glances, both communicating something along the lines of “that would never happen.”

“niki can you take my picture- this photo is going to be so good at parties after y/n and I are married.” sunghoon insisted as he adjusted his hair.

“absolutely not.” niki scoffed. “this is every man for himself! plus if you wanted photos maybe you shouldn’t have been such assholes at the shoot last week.”

“ok well that was sunghoon and not me so- how about my photo instead?” sunoo batted his eyelashes, his face resting in the palms of his hands.

niki just rolled his eyes and retied his shoes for the fourth time that hour. it kept him calm for about five minutes, then he’d unite and tie his shoes again.

“you’ll just have to settle for the red carpet photos I’m afraid.” niki shrugged his shoulders.

“what if I were to show y/n your yearbook photo from junior year. like what would you do in that entirely most definitely hypothetical situation?” yeonjun proposed.

“YOU WOULDNT.” soobin nearly launched into the air.

“you’d be surprised.” yeonjun declared, a mischievous grin on his face.

“then I’ll just tell her all about your great triumphs at rugby! like the time where it was raining and you slipped and fell on your face so hard you had to be dragged off the pitch in tears.” soobin retorted, giggling.

“WELL THERE WAS NO WAY NOT TO SLIP IN THAT LEVEL OF RAIN. i for one think she’d find it cute!”

soobin let out a stifled laugh.

“let me fix your tie, it’s all kinds of wrong.”

yeonjun laughed as soobin leaned forward to fix it.

the two then patted each other on the back, a way of wishing good luck.

“jay you can’t possibly be mad at me.” jungwon leaned over the back of the couch.

“you’re right. why would I be mad that my best friend secretly went after my crush of fourteen years and is now about to steal her from me right in front of my eyes!” jay threw his phone aside, almost yelling at jungwon.

“I really thought our friendship meant more than a girl.” jungwon whispered, now sat next to jay on the leather couch.

“it does. which is why I’m so pissed. i thought you respected me enough to not potentially sabotage my one chance with the girl of my dreams. guess I was wrong.” jay lowered his voice, clearly more hurt than he was angry.

jungwon just sat and stared at jay, unsure of what to do as jay refused to make eye contact.

suddenly the door opened, revealing a man in a headset holding a clipboard. the two perked their heads up towards the door in sync.

“we’re ready for you guys!” the man announced, grinning.

← previous masterlist next →

author’s note: are we ready for the red carpet ladies and gentlemen🤭 joonie and y/n are so cute☹️what are our thoughts on jay and jungwons drama.. is jay being dramatic or is jungwon a bit of a snake guys.. it’s truly a bit of both! also I wonder what y/n’s plan is hmmmm🤔 I guess we must wait and see! also sorry for taking so long !! was waiting for my best friend/editor to review it 👍

taglist: (open!!) @cwsana @emoworu @strwberrydinosaur @justbored48 @flwrsforriki @deafeningballoonnacho

send an ask to be added!!

synopsis: after she turns 18, y/n’s parents arrange a competition for young suitors in her town to compete for her love, a family tradition that brought about her parents’ marriage. twelve men are selected, but who will win her heart?

[finelinevogue]

Can you do one where Harry take his children and YN to one of his concert and their just dancing around singing along on stage with Harry.

i love this concept so much!! i kinda of wanna make it sad though soooo it’s gonna be harry’s final show :/ hope you enjoy;

oli - 29, felix - 27, belle - 24

The concert had been amazing, but unfortunately it was coming to its’ end now.

The final show.

That’s what Harry had decided to call it; a clever play on words with reference to his first ever solo single. The last 50 years had been a rollercoaster for Harry, from growing up just a kid in Cheshire, to going on the X Factor and winning the hearts of millions and from being in the most successful band of the decade to going solo and still being absolutely beloved. Times had changed, though. Harry had changed. He had a beautiful family of 3 now, excluding his wonderful wife. His children were his universe, no question about it, but they were getting older now - Harry was getting older. He was 50 this year and with that in mind he’d decided to retire. Retiring had involved a long conversation with you, along with a bottle of red wine, about whether it was the right decision or not. But it was - is.

You had suggested he put on one final, massive show, to celebrate his life and his achievements along with all that the fans have too. Tickets were open internationally and it was being streamed on various TV outlets for those who couldn’t attend. The tickets sold within 47 seconds. 47 seconds. It was being held in the Olympic Stadium in London, because it was Harry’s home and it held the most number of people he could genuinely allow.

The concert had started with ‘Fine Line’ songs, which merged into HS1 songs with a few One Direction songs as well. The entire set list had been composed by the fans with various polls on social media, with the concert supposedly lasting 2 hours (although with support artists and a few extra surprises it was more likely going to be 3!)

It had been beautiful so far. Magical. Unforgettable.

Every chance he got, without making it grossly obvious, he looked at you. He'd told you to stick your thumbs up at him every time he caught your eye, so he knew that you were okay - and every time, you did.

The concert was coming to an end now, which everyone was dreading. How could +30 years feel like it'd only been thirty minutes? You were devastated, so you could only imagine what his fans were thinking.

"Hey!"

The end Kiwi, for the second time, strummed throughout the arena and you knew it was time for the final song. His final song.

"Mum, is this the end?" Belle asked you, from where she was standing next to you. You had been dancing together all night and gotten progressively more tired. Your feet hurt. Your throats burned. Yet, as always, it was so worth it.

"Yes, Belles, it is." You tell her, and she pouted sadly. "Dad won't want to see you sad love, okay? He can still sing to you before bed?" You teased her, reminding her of a time when Harry would do such a thing, not wanting her to be all sad. It was supposed to be a celebration, but even you could admit that is was pretty hard-hitting.

"Really mum?" She asked.

You booped her nose annoyingly, before answering. "Every night if you want him to."

The lights changed from their green tone, thanks to Kiwi, back to a bright, white light. It beamed on Harry, making him look even more like the angel that he is. He dragged his microphone back to the centre stage and took a deep breath for beginning a speech he'd told you he'd prepared.

"So this is it, my friends." He laughed sadly into the microphone. He brushed his hair back and took out his in-ears to hear the audience. They were all awwing and crying, but what else did you expect? Their favourite artist was retiring - who wouldn't be crying a river?

"I, um. I'd like to take a bit of time to thank certain people." He coughed, something he always did after performing Kiwi due to his asthma. You thought it was lovely that he'd planned a speech to thank his management and crew. They did so much work backstage and you definitely didn't think they got enough credit for their hard work.

"Okay. I've made a little list..." Harry pulled out a tiny bit of crumpled paper from his pocket. "Just in case I forget anyone." He joked to himself, but made everyone laugh anyways. "So I guess first off, I should start with you lovely people." He pointed around the whole stadium, showing he was talking about the fans. "What you have done for me is indescribable. I think to myself, everyday, am I worthy of even being here—"

"Yes!" An army of agreement echoed around the arena, making Harry stop, blush and smile to himself.

"Well thank you! Um. You have been the best fans ever, and I know you will continue to be. I know you don't owe me anything, but all I ask you to keep loving yourselves and treating people with kindness, because I know I can count on you lot to do that, for me." He sniffled at the end, making you bite your lip to prevent the tears from falling for you. He looked so vulnerable right now, but you knew he'd be feeling on top of the world.

"Jheez." He sniffles again. "That's one thank you down and i'm already crying." He looked to his band to share the joke with.

“Dad’s such a wuss.” Oli laughed, holding his arm around Beas waist, making the people around you chuckle in agreement.

“Shut up you - Mr-tears-in-your-eyes!” You pointed out, laughing as he flipped you the bird - which then got him a hit off his grandma Anne.

All of Harrys family and friends were here, in a special cornered off section. It was such a thoughtful thing for Harry to do. All his family, and a fair few of yours, were sat down along with Harrys closest friends. Everyone was sharing laughs and drinks, whilst using every inch of space to dance along to your husbands boastful music.

"Secondly, my touring family. From Jeff and Ben, to Sarah's Kitchen, Adam, Mitch, Sarah, Charlotte and Nyoh, not forgetting everyone backstage and behind the lights, music and cameras. You've all been the greatest. Everything you do is second to none. You're all talented, warm-hearted, people whom I will carry in my heart forever. Thank you." You noticed members of the crew and band starting to tear up now.

"Moving on to my boys. We've been through it all, lads, and I couldn't have asked for four better brothers than you all. Louis. Liam. Niall. Zayn. Thank you." Everyone cheered ten times louder, maybe because this was as close to a One Direction reunion as the fans were ever going to get, but definitely because Harry had mentioned Zayn. You saw a girl faint at the mere mention of all the boys in the same sentence. The boys lifted up their beers to Harry, stood close by to where you were standing.

"I guess I should say thank you to the women who made all this possible. Mum. Gem. Thank you for signing me up all those years ago. Thank you for believing in me. You've made me the - crap, sorry! - the man I am now and I love you both." Harry prayed to them both, whilst bowing, and swiftly wiped away the tears afterwards. Anne and Gemma, on the other hand, were proudly crying.

"Ol, Fix and Belles. You rascals make me get out of bed every morning and give me more of a purpose in life. You four give me so much joy and happiness. I love you all, even if you do drive me up the wall on an early Saturday morning! Thank you, my loves." You stood close to all your children, giving them the support they needed in this moment. Belle was crying against your chest, the ever-so-emotional woman she was. Felix was stood up, with Heather, with his drink raised to his dad. Oli was to your side, trying to remain cool and stoic, but you still caught the tears that ran down his face.

"Now." The audience calmed down again after awing over your babies. Harry cleared his throat before beginning again. "This evening keeps on reminding me of a very special person in my life. Someone who is my everything and that's my beautiful wife, Y/N." His words make your breath hitch in your throat. You never expected him to say anything about you. I mean, what had you done?

"Mum." Belle called out to you, in affirmation that this was real.

"She's more than just a wife. She's a lover. She's my muse. She's my best-fucking-friend, apologises for swearing but sue me. I was hesitant to let go of all this, at first. What would I do with myself now? You know? People tell me i'm 'happiest on stage', and for a time that was true. Until I met Y/N. She's made me realise that family makes me the happiest. She makes me the happiest." He jumped down off stage, taking the microphone with him. He ran his hands along the fans in the front row, but had no intention of stopping until he met you.

You felt Belle leaving your side, but you were too captivated by Harry to fully understand what was happening.

"So what am I going to do now, you ask? Well..." Harry cheekily smiled at you. "I'm going to make her the happiest woman alive, just as she makes me the happiest man." You began to cry again and the chorus of thousands of fans clapping and screaming surrounds you, only to all stop when his lips meet yours. He tasted like a combination of salty sweat and mint, but he was home. After a minute of crying, kissing and 'i love yous' , Harry ran back to the stage before Jeff could shoot him.

"Thank you all. All my love." He said whilst adjusting his microphone. "Please sing along if you know the words." He asked, full well knowing every single person will be screaming out the lyrics to him.

"Just stop you're crying it's the sign of the times. Welcome to the final show. Hope you're wearing your best clothes."

[peakyblindersxx]

whiskey business - john shelby x reader (part 6 of ?)

gif by my queen @michaelgreys, i'm basically her fanblog now but im not mad about it :) i mean just look at him!!1! i almost fainted

a/n: first of all, if you stuck around to this point, tysm for reading!!! this has been one of the most amazing fics ive ever been a part of and it's all thanks to the gorgeous @stxdyblr-2k, who generously took control of the next few parts. her brain is beautiful and we all owe her flowers or something. when i read what she sent me i couldn't bring myself to change much except for some small edits, so pls give her lots of love if you like it!!!! i'm still working on requests as well :)

love, abi xxx

read part one two three four five | my masterlist

tagging: @datewithgianni, @mayaslifeinabox, @deepdonutkid, @springsoulofengland, @lilymurphy03

prompt: nothing this good can last forever. john doesn't know how to feel, and neither do you.

warnings: nsfw! a teensy bit of smut, angsty as fuck prepare yourselves accordingly, a lil fluff if u squint, yeah this fucked me up

Obviously, it wasn't the last time.

Over the coming months you had many last times; his mouth pressed against your neck said as much. As his responsibility at work increased, you'd find yourself heading to his office after your lectures and night classes more often, perched on his lap, smoking, while he finished up his numbers under your critical gaze.

Thomas was more than aware; his snarky comments made it obvious he had his ways of monitoring your actions. You'd seen the dark car lurking outside your rallies and lectures, and no matter how you'd try to throw him off, not even telling Ada where you were going and even, in a moment of desperation, through your neighbours back window, somehow, his silent shadow was still looming. He was practically begging you to make a mistake, to give everyone an easy out. You just couldn't give him the satisfaction. You knew Tommy saw the world as a chess board, always several moves ahead of his opponent. Even when you played him in chess club all those years ago, you could outflank him if you thought on your feet and kept him thinking he was winning until you obliterated him in the end game. It was brutal, sure. But as he told you, there were bigger games at play. You had your own. Thomas could read your mail, intercept your phone calls and have you followed, but he couldn't hear what you said out of earshot. Your lot could smell an interceptor in your ranks, so spying at that close of a proximity was out of the question.

That's why he'd decided to let you have John. You knew his silent approval and his constant management of the narrative meant he saw a tactical gain. There was only so much information he could get from Ada, but John? He just had to agitate him in the right way and all your secrets would come tumbling out. It was difficult hiding your world from John; of what he knew of, he was supportive, quizzing you over current affairs and political discourse, listening intently. Yet, you had to watch your mouth. You had to keep a barrier up and you knew John sensed the distance. Fundamentally, there was nothing either of you could do.

So here you were, in a comfortable limbo. Your days were filled with work, evenings were for lectures and reading groups at the city's university, Ada and you often stopped for a drink or three; you'd go by your flat to freshen up, and then to John's office. Sometimes, you wouldn't visit for a week or so when the guilt sent you over the edge, it was draining to be living so many lives and knowing you were betraying the person you loved most on earth. Ada was oblivious, taking you on her nightly adventures filled with men, dancing and waiting while she was busy kissing in dark corners. Sometimes a young blinder would ask if you wanted to be walked home. The first occurrence you thought was sweet, but as the nights it occurred coincided with nights John seemed extra pent up, you'd decided to ask. The boy, who couldn't be older than twelve but who you knew was trained in using firearms and had a revolver pinned to his hip and a razor in his cap, looked confused.

"Mate, it's not a tough question. Why do you come and ask?"

"There's a phone call." He shrugs, "Isaiah or Michael tells us to go and get you."

Isaiah and Michael were somewhat aware? Fucking hell. Your fling was basically a military campaign at this point, so many of your friends were complicit. The little lads who ran as messengers around Birmingham were complicit. You had to just end it.

But when you sat on his thigh, his chin hooked over your shoulder, it felt so worth it. He never turned you away when you came crawling back. He never mentioned it until after you were finished, hooked under his arm.

"Fucking missed you, gorgeous."

Sometimes he'd remind you not to be a stranger with a wink, but you could tell it was tearing him apart too. He never once came to you. That's how he could justify it in his mind; obviously, the bare minimum was not having sex with his sister's best friend, but in failing that, waiting for you to initiate it was somewhat better. He barely talked to Ada now, citing work as an excuse, but truly the guilt sickened him. He couldn't believe he was prepared to continuously hurt his little sister and betray her. But every time you turned up at his door, he couldn't find it in himself to turn you away. In his mind, every single time you came to visit him was the last time he'd let it happen, yet he was always waiting for you to come back, his blind closed to signal he was prepared. He never would call, it had to be your choice.

You'd been off and on for over five months now. It was so difficult to hide in plain sight, but you just couldn't stop yourself. Neither of you purposefully meant for this to be happen but fuck, was it fun.

For your birthday he'd gifted you a fur coat from the same shop his sister, aunt and the fashionable crowd of Birmingham had purchased theirs. He joked that you looked like a "proper razor chaser", kissing you when you pouted at his teasing, begging you to wear only the coat when you fucked him next. It was a practice for blinders to buy a coat for their wives and girlfriends as a status symbol. You were neither, but John claimed that being his "favourite lass" also counted.

John was a laugh, but you knew at any time he could close his door to you. Until he decided he couldn't be bothered with you, you weren't going to get caught. You just had to be careful until he got bored.

***

You did end up putting a foot wrong. It was a Thursday night; you were sitting on the edge of John's desk while he was ridding you of your blouse. It was past midnight, Birmingham was asleep. You almost didn't bother coming out tonight, but you knew John had lost a deal and you wanted to be there for him. Your skirt and stockings were strewn across the desk with his shirt, vest and waistcoat, muddled into the files and papers which were once neatly stacked.

His fingers were pumping in and out of you, his mouth lapping at your breast, your head tipped back in euphoria, groaning. The stress made him more affectionate and tender with you, and it was nights like these that made you wonder. Wonder if this could ever be something more, something real.

John's body suddenly pulled away from yours, quickly turning the light off.

"John, what-" You were cut off by John’s hand over your mouth, muffling your words.

"Shut up and get behind the desk." He hissed. "Someone's coming upstairs."

You quickly grabbed your clothes from the shiny oak surface and crouched, hiding yourself from view, quickly making yourself decent. You weren't going to get shot through the head with your tits out. You listened to the stairs creek, and it sounded like a group. You two were easily outnumbered. They were talking, but the thick panels of wood muffled their voices.

As your eyes adjusted to the darkness, the cracks in the door giving the room a dulled glow, you could make out the figure of John. He was free of his shirt, toned body on display, standing with his back flat to the wall, revolver produced from a discreet notch in the door frame, gaze fixed on where they'd enter. He was tense, ready. The door was unlocked from the outside, the door handle twisting.

John's lip shifted in confusion yet still he kept his trigger finger ready, not a single shake from your general.

The light flicked on and a shriek rang out. It was blinding, and you stood up slightly dazed. Finn was in the doorway, John next to him clutching his chest, panting and lowering the gun.

"Jesus Christ, Finn, can't you knock like a normal person? Scared the shit out of us." John bellowed, shaking as the adrenaline coursed through his body, resting his hands on the edge of the desk as he regained his breath.

"You're the one who pointed a gun at me! I didn't even know you were in 'ere!" Finn yelped.

The commotion had attracted the attention of Ada and Isaiah, who had come running and stopped in their tracks upon seeing you standing behind John's desk in the middle of the night. They weren't stupid. John was topless, your clothes obviously rumpled, both with matching tousled hair and practically stinking of guilt. You'd been caught red handed. Ada's eyes flicked between both you and John, and you could practically see the pieces of the puzzle clicking together in her mind, all the moments she found questionable since you'd returned suddenly making sense, realising she had been deceived by the two people who she was meant to trust most in life. Finn looked absolutely crushed, he'd never been able to conceal his emotions as well as his older brothers and sister, linking his fingers through Ada's, squeezing her hand.

"I forgot to drop this off earlier." Finn stated, holding up a money box, "Ada had keys so we thought we'd sneak in so I wouldn't get done by Tommy. We did call round yours, Y/N. We thought you were in bed."

"I'm sorry." You said. It was not enough but you just didn't know what else to say. You couldn't make it right, you'd really fucked up this time. Tears pricked at your eyes, as Ada examined you in silence.

John stepped in front of you defensively. "Look, Ada-"

"How long has this been going on?" She asked, her voice shaking with rage. You and John exchanged a glance. "I said, how fucking long?"

"Five months, six in a fortnight." He answered.

Isaiah whistled lowly. "That's fucked. I thought it was only a few times, that it'd finished."

"Never really over when it's John is it." Finn interjects, you glance to him, were you just one in a long string? You shouldn't be surprised but it was easy to pretend he may actually care about you.

"You've been fucking around for six months behind my back?" Ada yelped, Finn trying to comfort her but she pulled away from him. "And you fucking knew Iz."

"I'd expect this from you, yeah? Wouldn't put anything past you these days.." she sneered at John, "But you? You?! You're meant to be my best mate, but here you are sneaking about fucking my brother?"

"Ada-" you began, eyes welling with tears.

"I thought I could trust you. You're just another fucking razor chaser, aren't you?" She spits. "That's why you came back."

"No it wasn't, Ada-"

Her eyes flashed with anger, but this time John was on the receiving end. "You bought her that fucking coat ,didn't you? The fur one. You did! Fuck's sake!" Her fists were clenched, shoulders squared. For the first time in your life, you understood why crowds parted for Ada Shelby. Understood all the free drinks and cab rides, the nervous serving staff declaring your meal on the house (always acknowledged by Ada with a hefty tip), understood why the men of Birmingham didn't last long with her.

"Did it feel good to swan about town in that fucking coat, while acting as though you cared about me? It's so fucking embarrassing. All trussed up because my knobhead big brother makes you feel special? Thanks for rubbing it in my face."

"Ada, I love you. I never meant to hurt you, I got caught up and that's on me. It's my fault."

"You're not acting like you love me. This isn’t what love is, Y/N." She retorted.

You couldn’t do anything but nod. She was right.

John opened his mouth to speak, Ada silencing him, a scowl darkening her features.

"I don't care what you have to say. Any of you. Who else knows?"

"Thomas, Michael, Arthur-" John listed off slowly, each name prompting Ada to break down a little bit more in front of you.

"I didn't know Arthur knew." You said pointedly, John sending you an exasperated glance. He was planning on dealing with that later, but right now was about his sister. Fuck him if he thought you were going to stick around much longer. You didn't want to hear him justify everyone else knowing about your fling with your best friend being left completely in the dark.

"That all you have to say for yourself?" Ada snaps at you.

"I have fucking no defense, do I Ada? I should've walked away." You pushed your hair back, frustrated at yourself, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. You begged yourself not to cry. Tears wouldn't help anything.

"Why didn't you?"

You didn't know. Your silence only riled her up.

"Why didn't you fucking walk away?" Ada yelled, slamming her hands on the desk.

You felt hot tears run down your face, quickly moving your hands to dab at your tears.

"Don't you dare fucking cry. After all you've done, you don't get to cry in front of me." Ada growled at you, John going to shush her, obviously wanting to comfort you. "You can all fuck off. You've all lied to me and gone behind my back. Fuck’s sake, you could've just told me. You could've just told me."

"We didn't want to hurt you." John said, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder but she flinches away.

"This hurts so much more. You get that you all lying to me is so much worse, don't you?"

"We weren't thinking."

"You really fucking weren't." Ada laughs bitterly, shaking her head, blinking away tears. "Fuck you lot."

She stormed out, tailed by Finn, begging her to slow down and talk to him, protesting his innocence in the situation. Isaiah hesitated in the doorway, his eyes flickering between you and John.

"I had no idea you two've been at it for so long."

"Iz, fuck off yeah? I've had enough today." John shot back, sliding across the desk towards you. "You alright, lass?"

"We're done here, John."

He slid off the table, his hand cupping your face, "Hey, gorgeous, I get it but don't go breaking my heart tonight. Can we just leave this for tomorrow? Sleep on it."

The idea of getting any sleep at all tonight was laughable, you'd be up all night replaying these moments and torturing yourself. Tonight couldn't get any worse so you had to finally end it. Now was the right time.

"John, it should've never happened."

"But it did."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. It's over."

"Y/N. You know for me it was never just about-"

"You're making it difficult. Stop making it difficult. Whatever you say isn't going to change that right now we have to do the right thing."

"I know you're right, but I don't want to let go. Is it so wrong to want you? I adore you, you know that."

You wouldn't meet his eyes. Sighing, John pressed his forehead to the side of your head, chin brushing your shoulder, eyes closing. He was begging you to stay with him. There had to be a solution, you'd figure it out together. His voice was cracking, eyes glassy. He looked so much younger when he was pleading. The tall bloke who terrorised the Midlands with his razor rimmed cap, a revolver in his hand, and a ruthless trigger finger had vanished. You wanted to stay, burning to curl up with him and for him to kiss it better.

"I should go." You told him. He rested his forehead on your shoulder, letting out a shaky sigh before pulling away, nodding.

"I'd drive you home but obviously-"

"Obviously."

John suddenly turned from you, eyes narrowing at Isaiah who was still hovering at the door. "Thought I told you to fuck off. Make yourself useful and get Y/N home safely." His tone was ice cold once again.

Isaiah nodded, offering his arm to you. You reached the door and instinctively looked back at John. His eyes met yours, staring at you from his desk, just as you knew he would. He prepared himself to watch you leave every night, but this time was different. That was it with you two.

Isaiah strode down the street with you in silence. You were tucked into his side as was customary with the upcoming blinders who were particularly ambitious, but there was no relaxed chat.

"Isaiah. What’re you thinking?" You asked, voice tinged with nervousness.

He sighed, running his free hand across his jaw, "That was intense in there."

"Just how he is." You shrugged.

"Does he love you or sommet?"

"Fuck knows… does it matter?"

"Of course it does. Do you love him?"

"Drop it. None of that matters, it shouldn't have happened in the first place so it can’t," You snapped, the anger at the situation you'd created suddenly overwhelming.

Isaiah whistled, raising his brow at your obvious turmoil. "You're in fucking deeper than you want to admit."

He walked you up your path, watching you turn the key to the side door leading to your bedsit. You paused, turning to him.

"Iz… I don't know what to do next."

It was so dark, you could see his face only by the lit cigarette burning to embers between his fingers. He inhaled deeply, pausing before delivering his carefully laid out plan of avoidance. Obviously the event of him crossing the Shelbys and losing their good graces weighed heavily on his mind. You nodded, listening intently, noting his ideas of relocation but he explained they were a final resort. The best thing to do was try to regain their trust; in the long run, he had calculated, it was the only option that didn't result in your life being haunted by the Shelbys. Even if they left you alone, their enemies would make a point to go after you, seeing you as an easy target. The other option was to leave the country.

"Good luck, Y/N. I mean it." He muttered as you turned the handle to the temporary safety of your home. You nodded, offering you cheek for the polite good night kiss you'd become accustomed to. He rolled his eyes and obliged, pressing an affectionate kiss to your cheek and ruffling your hair. "I'm serious. Watch your back."

***

John broke down when he finally heard the lock click shut. His eyes had been prickling with boiling tears, his jaw tensed to hold them back. He yelled out in anger, flipping his desk with force, a loud crash as the wood splintered against the stone flooring, glass shattering from the photo frames. His hands went to his head, unable to stop the gasping breaths escaping from his trembling lips, his face reddening.

"Fuck’s sake." He growled. He'd fucked everything up. He had nothing, just as he'd told you the first night you returned. The consequence was no surprise, he'd anticipated the fall out for a while, but he couldn't resist you. He was completely guilty and had no defense; his only justification being that you made him think with his cock, not his brain.

Fuck’s sake. Polly was going to murder him. She'd always had a soft spot for Ada, as the only girl in the family, and was no stranger to lecturing him over his flirtatious behaviour around Ada's friends. She'd murder him. He had a half mind to never go home. He rubbed at his eyes with his knuckles. Polly had no use for tears. That's what she'd tell him when he was a boy coming home with a skinned knee. This was far worse.

He was also sure that he was a worse brother than Tommy, perhaps the worst in the world. His baby sister, who he'd helped to toddle, carry proudly on his shoulders after school and race with her on his back through the fields on the outskirts of Small Heath, had walked in on him obviously in the midst of fucking her best mate. If he had swallowed his pride and actually talked to her, he wouldn't be in this mess. He could've told her that things changed, that for the same reasons Ada loved Y/N he had fallen for her, that he was truly sorry but she had to know before it got too far and someone got hurt. He couldn't go back.

He should've never approached you that night.

He should never approach you again.

He looked over the mess of his office, the splintered wood and shards of glass, a confetti of paperwork. Now nothing mattered. None of this mattered. He'd lost everything and he had only himself to blame.

[redwinterroses]

RIIIIIIIIIGHT SO.

I just finished chapter 13 of Dog At The Door and holy hot cross buns batman if you're not reading this fic you NEED to. It's literally one of the best written fics I have ever read in my life and I've been reading fanfiction for over 15 years, lol.

I went back and reread the entire fic to lead up to chapter 13 and I decided to treat it like I used to treat things I had to read in college so I took notes as I went and please I am warning you this post is incredibly long. Almost 3k words. PLEASE do not hit that "read more" button unless you're good with having to scroll past it all and also spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution.

~*~

Rereading Dog at the Door reactions (spoilers, obviously):

· Doc finding Ren’s body to be cold and for a second thinking he’s actually dead—my heart

· “That’s Ren, alive and kicking.” Oh…no, Doc. No it’s not.

· The first “Where is my hand?” hits different the second time through

· Gah the ice and winter imagery ALL over the place—my English degree brain wants to watch and see if that shifts to warmth at any point as we go? Thoughts for future Red to think.

· It’s fascinating to me to see Doc constantly thrust into the prey role. This is a guy who is very much not that person normally, but something about the Red King is beyond anything he’s really encountered before—or at least not since Dinnerbone—and it pushes him into an entirely new role that he clearly chafes in

· “I should get back to work on your new arm soon,” he says, making a mental note to add claws to the fingertips. Honestly Doc why tho. XD

· “It feels like something Ren would want him to do.” </3

· Side note: I just watched Doc’s freaking hour long shulker farm vid, and that’s making it a lot easier to hear his voice in this fic

· I’m more curious about the hand.” New Ren laughs a bit at his own words, as though there’s something funny about that phrasing. I MISSED THIS LINE THE FIRST TIME THROUGH

· The bead curtain being cursed hippie treasure XD

· The fact that Doc just so quickly accepts that Ren is gone—maybe not permanently, but at least for now—is kind of heartbreaking. Because you know he hasn’t really accepted it, he’s just… deciding not to feel anything about it. Just nod and move on and pretend you don’t need to stop and cope with the possible/probable death of your best friend and the fact that Someone Else is wearing his skin. That’s so sad.

· “high-fiving the finished hand with his own metal hand.” Aww… Doccy.

· “He shoos away the images of New Ren holding him up by the throat supervillain-style and turns around.” Hmmmmmmm want that fanart. Scary New Ren/RK is good stuff. (post-chapter-13 Red popping in with a WHAT THE HECK)

· “that makes him seem like a ghost in Ren’s body.” YA KNOW. LIKE HE IS.

· Okay side note time: why is the Red King here? Ya know? Like – in 3rdLife the idea of a possessing spirit of bloodlust makes some sense. But why stick around? Was RK trying to escape the 3L server, or was this not deliberate? At what point did he take over from Ren—at Black Heart Altar? In which case, was the whole idea Ren’s to begin with, or was he influenced? Maybe it happened the first time Ren died? The Red King took over then—or at least started to? Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts, thoughts…

· Wait more theories—what if RK is connected to the ????? entity that spoke to Martyn when he died? In which case, cMartyn said he was considering making that canonically a Watcher (he ended up not doing it, but he also didn’t do anything that contradicted it either). I’m not saying RK is a Watcher… but boy he sure does stare a lot, don’t he.

· Holding the screwdriver like a dagger—mmmm

· Okay funny thought: all this frost, RK’s gonna need to be real careful about rust lol. And straining the metal, tbh, all that freezing and thawing is going to have an effect but the rust idea is making me laugh

· Until I realized it would look like blood and it’s not funny anymore

· “Renbob is in the beanbag stuffed next to the driver’s seat” right so is this where Renbob sleeps because I have been wondering—

· “something about having two people look like Ren when neither of them are makes Doc stop to take a shaky breath” *sob*

· “Renbob clears his throat, looking up at Doc with a smile that is so obviously fake that it hurts.” Ugh the LOT of you stop repressing everything you’ll give yourselves a collective hernia

· “he’ll probably have to break the news to the other hermits, too, Iskall and False and all the others.” All these painful lines I somehow missed the first time through

· Awww warm air comes in when Renbob opens the door—with the flowers and everything, Renbob is so easily associated with spring, I love this contrast.

· Aaand there it is, yup, RK is shocked to see his face on Renbob, and Renbob is shocked to see that this is so clearly Not Ren.

· They both recover pretty quickly, though. Survivors, both of them.

· RK calls Renbob their “ferryman” and I’m not sure if I was supposed to get “crossing the river Styx” vibes from that But I Did. (does RK think he’s dead? That they’re all dead?) (post-chapter-13 Red here with a little bit of wordless screaming.) (and also a bit of pride that I picked up on this.)

· “And what a help you’ve been! Fixing me up, replacing my hand.” Hi yes, 911? there’s a dagger stabbed into my feels.

· “he’d rather remember rage than see another person’s heart break.” Dang that’s such a raw line. Oof.

· ”the Red King says, his voice hoarse with tears.” Really interesting that this blood deity can feel such emotions—like, anger or even fear, I can get. But to see this entity upset to the point of tears is fascinating.

· “There is a crown on Doc’s workbench.” Right, yeah so like—is RK unwillingly manifesting these artifacts? Because that’s wild, man. …how long before he manifests an “enchanter”?

· “I’ve never seen it [the crown] clean before.” Okay that definitely implies that maybe RK didn’t come around until after Black Heart Altar?

· “The Red King has the crown in his lap when Doc turns back around, claws gently tracing over the engravings, leaving frost patterns behind.” I really wish I had art skills because there’s this image in my head of a drawing of the crown held in RK’s hands, with his face (one eye glowing, one in shadow) reflected in the surface, and frost patterns following behind a claw that’s daintily tracing the surface. But I can’t draw so—

· RK asks for a change of clothes. What was he wearing when they rescued him, I wonder? The Red King outfit with the fur capelet? Or Ren’s Stargazer outfit? Which begs the question: where does Stargazer fit into all this? Was Ren’s return to Hermitcraft RK free, but when he came so close to dying to Sith, RK found that as a gateway to take over? (Post-13 Red here, Looking Intently at this note.)

· Awww… the image of a one-legged RK clutching new clothes to his chest and hopping down to change in the bathroom… That’s weirdly endearing. He’s less menacing when he stands up somehow. Less lurking, maybe.

· Oooohhhhh he messed up his back sleeping on the floor. Gotcha.

· Doc keeps telling himself (and RK) that saving him and working on these parts is “the right thing to do” and while he’s not WRONG I just want to see him realize that it’s not only the right thing, it’s realistically the only thing, because if he didn’t, then he’d have to deal with the fact that he’s lost his best friend and we can’t have that.

· “I don’t need to eat” ummmmmm no hold on this definitely implies that RK is possessing a dead body and I’m not okay with that where is Ren

· LOLOL “I can’t stand to see [you do] this” is such a raw line to be about watching Doc eat cereal with his hands

· “The voice doesn’t belong to who he thinks it does.” Ugh, Doc. This isn’t the first time he’s lost a close friend to Something Else, something otherworldly.

· “All of them are waiting for him, waiting for him to do something more, something better—” aaand there it is. Doc’s characterization in this fic in a single sentence.

· Doc waking up and thinking he’s seeing Ren and RK’s hesitation and the gentle “I’m not Ren”—OH MY HEART

· RK’s coffee = Renbob’s friendship bracelets

· Randomly can I just say that I love how RK’s dialog is all in italics? It concerned me at first because I thought it was going to keep pulling me out of the narrative, but instead it really just feels right. Also I’m looking forward to the moment when he says something and it’s not in italics because it’s REN and oh my lands please give this to me I beg you (post-13 Red here with a bit more mindless screaming)

· “watch your tongue with me, Atlas, because I’m the one person you can pass the sky to.” Okay okay okay—English studies brain coming out. This suggests that there is a burden RK and Doc can share: something Doc is currently struggling against that only RK can help him with. In the moment, I don’t know if this is really fair of RK to say—after all, Doc does technically have Renbob too, if we’re just talking about Doc’s unhealthy coping mechanisms. In fact, if that’s the context, then Renbob is a much better fellow-Atlas because he and Doc have known each other much longer and they’re both dealing with the loss of Ren. BUT, knowing about the upcoming conversation where Doc and RK both realize that they’ve lost someone (Ren for Doc, Martyn for RK) this line suddenly has a lot more weight. Again, I don’t think that in that moment RK quite has the right to pull this zinger. But in later context, it turns out to be true after all. They are the only two with this particular shared pain.

· Doc upset with himself because he can’t get over his “stupid hang-ups” DOC MY LAD. “I’ve lost my best friend, you’re in his body, and I don’t know how to process any of these emotions” is not a “stupid hang-up” PLEASE stop blaming yourself for everything!?

· “I’m so tired” in the middle of his nightmare—oh my gosh. That hurts so much for some reason.

· I also very much wish I had the ability to draw the image of Doc with tears on his face, staring dead-eyed down at his workbench while RK looms over from behind, pinning his wrists to the table with one metal arm and one frost-bitten one, a look of exasperation and concern on his face. Why can’t I draw the things

· “How do you know Etho” “I watched him die.” OW ow ow ow ow

· Doc takes this as calmly as only someone used to living in a world where death has low consequences can. Oh. Oh—that means… huh. Doc isn’t used to losing people permanently on any basis, especially not death. So no wonder he doesn’t know how to process Ren being gone (I can’t bear to write “dead” there). He literally doesn’t have context for it… and what context he DOES have is like—I mean, Etho and Bdubs came back. Ouch.

· “Twenty-five.” The Red King makes the number sound like a threat. Yet another banger line I missed the first time through. Imagine waking up and thinking you’re in 3rd Life again but instead of 14 players there’s almost twice that many and you think you don’t know any of them.

· I still don’t quite understand the “when was etho added/should have known there was something different” bit or why RK is so emotional about it… but I have trust that it’ll make sense at some point. (post-13 Red: ...is this something about the fact that he thinks he's dead...so he thinks Etho has died before? Like, that 3rd Life wasn't Etho's first hardcore? ...I feel like I'm almost grasping this but I'm missing an element somewhere.)

· And now a sword. RK. My man. You need to stop manifesting things—especially when they scare the ever-living daylights out of you.

· I absolutely adore the in-universe lore that Fire Aspect is a PvP enchantment because it threatens dropped loot, and yeah I very well might steal that. (Along with something I read at one point who-even-knows-where that Knockback is a coward’s enchantment, because I love that too.)

· He really shouldn’t. / Doc picks up the sword by the scabbard and hands it to him, hilt extended. Doc you already trust this guy so much and you don’t even know it—but is it just because you still subconsciously trust the face he wears? Or is it something deeper?

· Ugh, the “I was supposed to kill someone for him” conversation/scene is SO FREAKING GOOD

· “I don’t want it. Not like the crown.” Why, though? Why doesn’t he want it? Because it’s more to do with death than kingship? OH. Oh, I hadn’t even considered that. I’ve been thinking of RK as this like, god of blood and vengeance but maybe he’s not. Maybe he hates the bloodshed (“the blood! It’s drippin’ in me eyes… I’ve been blinded by the violence…”) just as much—more?—than Ren did/would have. Huh. That’s a new facet.

· Oh my heart the “have you ever lost someone and it was your fault” line. Dagger to the feels. Dagger to the feels.

· This like… “I’m on a roll and even though I know I should stop I really don’t want to” mode? Man. That’s relatable. Especially when you’re working to avoid dealing with something else.

· “Not making it for you—it’s for Ren” oh ouch ouch ouch the denial suddenly breaks through it’s okay, Doc I’m with you on this

· The second time reading through it’s far clearer that Doc has a blind panic attack here—when he starts rambling that Ren’s coming back, he’ll be there for season eight and RK goes to…do whatever he was going to do and Doc just blanks out. The manic productivity should have been a warning sign, the poor guy is crumbling.

· “Doctor” and “he’s not sure he deserves that title right now” UGH Doc needs a hug someone please hug him and tell him it’s all going to be okay. Someone please hug me and tell me it’s all going to be okay.

· “his hand on his throat” over the scar from the Red Winter axe? </3

· “I did do that. I have done that.” RK admitting to it actually having been him in Doc’s nightmares?

· Okay sorry the conversation about beating Dinnerbone will never not be funny to me

· RK mentions that people used to call him m’lord or Ren, and then mere minutes later you have “Ren. You couldn’t save him because of me, could you?” He knows exactly what’s going on here. Not maliciously, but he’s no dense-head, he’s put the pieces together. (post-13 Red: MOST of the pieces. Most of them.)

· Watching Doc slowly stop fighting his nightmares—like, the first time, he fights. The second time, he accepts it but still struggles. And this time… this time he gives up before it even starts. That hurts, man.

· Good grief the whole “get my head chopped off” / “you really don’t want that” bit. O.O I’m not sure what emotion I’m feeling but I’m Feeling An Emotion.

· “Snow’s new. Dream’s not.” </3

· …Doc’s not gonna be a fan of snowier-snow after this trip…

· "Dr. M77" Actually he’s Doc Monster, RK, but we’ll let it go. XD

· OKAY BUT THIS EXCHANGE? The “how are you feeling” / “better” / “you’re a bad liar” / “I said better not great” that’s such a good exchange and I don’t know why every other time I’ve ever seen it used they stop at the lying accusation? Doc with the snappy comebacks, man.

· Aaah, Doc and RK, two establishment bros bonding over a shared disdain for hippies.

· The bit about the fella who wore an iron helmet and called it a powdered wig—fear is in my heart. *shoves Scar into an obsidian box and blocks it closed*

· “Who was Ren to you?” </3

· Doc is more than willing to spread the flames, to sear his loss into RK’s bones. / The king’s face stops him. Ren’s face stops him. Holy CRAP is that a good set of lines. So much going on there, and ALL of it good.

· Again. I wish I could draw. I would draw RK sitting on the edge of the bed, gently hugging a collapsed-in-on-himself Doc. </3

· “And I hate the devil that forced us apart, that mixed my blood with his.” *adds another layer to Scar’s obsidian fort*

· OKAY STARTING CHAPTER THIRTEEN I made the mistake of logging into Tumblr earlier and saw people screaming so I’m sure I’m not ready for this but here we go

· Oh no RK has been hippie-ified

· “You started a paramilitary organization because you have hay fever?” *dies laughing*

· Ugh I need to go back and watch s6 I’ve only seen the tail end of Mumbo’s side of things and there’s so much I don’t know.

· HAHAHAHAH I do know the trident bit though—

· Wait he said Scar

· PANIC

· “Kingslayer. bloodthirsty. Time King. The coward. And the mastermind behind it all, the loyal soldier to the very end, the whole damn reason either of us are in this mess.”

· HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP HOLY—

· “Is this the afterlife I deserve? After everything, this is the hell I’m going to endure?” I AM SCREAMING

· Doc pinned to the wall with ice, struggling to breathe—I CAN’T WHAT IS HAPPENING

· ((You know I’d get through this a lot faster if I stopped pausing to write reactions—))

· “A break in the ice. A whisper of spring.” Symbolism. Symbolism.

· “Ren was dead when I found him again,” NO I REFUSE TO READ THIS

· “don’t use the hand I built you to hurt yourself” DOC. SIR. MY HEART.

· RK don't run, RK get back here—what are you—

·

·

· I

· JUST

· ACTUALLY

· SCREAMED

· AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

· *several long moments of just breathing*

·

·

·

· *rereads*

· Holy crap on a garbage cracker with an extra serving of what-the-heck sauce

· REN

· REN

· Okay lol okay hahaha calming down

· I literally threw myself back in my chair away from the computer reading that last paragraph. I don't usually... physically react to things I read. LOL. Heh. I’m. Ah. I’m not emotionally invested in this or anything.

· Holy crap.

· Okay. Okay. Okay.

· Um.

· Great chapter, guys. Awesome stuff. Really good. I’m absolutely okay right now and it’s all totally fine.

· …please enjoy your break and get lots of rest and I very much look forward to the return of this fic you have no idea.

· I need to go breathe for a little bit.

EDIT: no, you know what--I'm not going to be a nice polite fangirl over here and quietly hope y'all see this I'm straight up tagging you, @fluffy-papaya and @betweenlands. THANK YOU but also how dare.

[footballxposts]

Eternity - Ben Chilwell

Prompt: They propose to you at a friends wedding.

Listening recommendation: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol (slowed).

Warnings: not that long, still fluff it’s all I know how to write, swearing

_______________________________________________

eternity

/ɪˈtəːnɪti,iːˈtəːnɪti/

noun

infinite or unending time.

"their love was sealed for eternity"

“Nervous bro?” a sweaty palmed Chilly asked a calm and collected Mason, the soon to be married man who was now fixing his tie at the alter patiently awaiting his beautiful fiancé to arrive, with you and her other three bridesmaids.

“Come on mate. We both know that’s not me now is it?” Mason grinned.

“Yeah if anything it’s you that looks like you’re about to collapse.” Declan teased, patting Ben on the shoulder with a thud.

“Fucking hell mate could you hit me any harder?” Ben asked before giving Declan a death glare. “Don’t even think about.” They other two laughed. “Besides, if you were in my position you’d be shitting yourselves as-well.” He continued.

“I’m the one about to get married bro.” Mason scoffed winking cheekily afterwards.

“Yeah and not only are you, my best mate about to get married, but I’m about to propose to Y/N afterwards. It’s a double bloody homicide if you ask me.”

“What is with this guy and tiktok references mate, eh?” Declan pointed with his thumb toward Chilly, and before Mason could answer, everyone had stood up as the four of you and his fiancé’s dad readied yourselves to walk up the aisle. Upon reaching the top, you stood behind the bride opposite the lads.

Chilly, who was your best-friend, was now staring across at you. Though nothing ever romantic had happened between you in all the years you’d known him, you knew you were in love with him. He made you laugh like nobody else ever could and cared for you more than anything. You even bickered in petty arguments like an old married couple all the time and everyone always noted it.

You furrowed your brows at him, and he shook his head at you, smiling at you whilst biting his lip. “What?” You mouthed at him, the priest continuing the ceremony.

“Nothing.” He mouthed back through a smirk.

“Tell me.” You rolled your eyes.

“You next?” He joked winking at you and nodding towards Mason and his bride-to-be, his teasing causing you to silently giggle, though it wasn’t as silent as you thought, gaining you a disapproving look from the priest and the audience of the church. Chilly was laughing too, before composing himself and apologising to the priest. You two were inseparable, and like two little kids, messing at the back of class.

“Yeah, right. To who?” You nodded rolling your eyes again. He simply shrugged, smiling sheepishly down at his feet, knowing he was about to ask you the very make or break question that would mean a forever with him once the ceremony was over.

Declan nudged him and nodded his head up at him, confusing you, but sending your stomach into a frenzy of butterflies. That’s what it was like with Ben, he gave you an overwhelming feeling of comfortable nervous little butterflies on a cool London summers day, but you glowed around him like fireflies on a warm California campfire night. And nobody else made you feel like that. Only him. He was the one.

After everyone had congratulated the newly weds outside of the church, it was time for the bride to throw her bouquet of flowers in traditional fashion. As you, and the other gorgeous women laughed together, you searched for Chilly, knowing his eyes would meet yours and he would be making some sort of face at you, you giving him the two fingers back. But he was nowhere to be found.

Before you knew it, she had thrown them, and the other girls had quickly moved away from where you standing. Everyone gasped as you caught them, your brain rattled with confusion and terror. Y/B/F, now Mason’s wife, put her hand up to her mouth. Mason and Dec were both grinning like Cheshire cats. “What?” You asked, heart about to beat out of your chest. “What is happening?”

A tap on you shoulder came from behind. Your jaw dropped, eyes widened. You gulped before turning around. Spinning on your heels, Ben was stood there, beaming like there was no tomorrow.

“Alright loser.” He laughed, tears welling up in your eyes.

“Um, hi- uh, what the fuck is going on?” You shook your head.

With that, he got down on one knee and it felt like time had completely stopped.

“Y/M/N, you know me better than anyone else on this entire planet. So you’ll know that I’m a massive flirt, bit of a cheeky ladies man, Casanova if you will, though you like to call it being a womaniser, player and cocky little prick.” You giggled through sniffles. “I mean what can I say? When you look like this and you’re talented mother-fucker it’s kind of inevitable.”

“Eyyy that’s my boy.” Mason shouted as the rest of the Chelsea players in attendance whistled.

“Oh for god sake-“ You sighed laughing and shaking your head once again, this time at them.

“Oi, eyes on me.” He continued taking your hand. “So yeah, I guess am all those things. But, when it comes down to it, out of everyone in this world, there’s only one person I truly want to spend the rest of my life with. The person who’s stuck by me and supported me in everything I’ve done and hopefully will continue to do. The person who lights up every room she walks into, makes me laugh on days I don’t even want to. The person who is so beautiful, she puts everyone else to shame. And finally, my best friend and possible soulmate that I’m beyond in love with.” His voice breaking as tears welled up in his own eyes.

Pulling out the most gorgeous ring, you take a deep breath. “Will you marry me Y/N? Please say yes I’m gonna need someone to wipe my arse for me in a few years, and I’m kinda running out of options. That and I can’t return it.” You laughed knowing that was the most Ben Chilwell proposal you could have ever heard.

You stayed silent, suspense killing him. After what felt like an eternity of quietness, knowing he was panicked, you finally answered.

“Oh go on then.” You smiled as he pulled you into the biggest hug ever, and everyone cheered coming over to you both.

“How long have you all been planning this then?” You asked your fiancé, Mason, Y/B/F and Declan.

“Nah he only decided it last night, Mason and the missus gave the A-okay this morning.” Declan giggled to himself, his girlfriend slapping him. “Don’t mind him.” She roller her eyes.

Looking you deep in your eyes, Ben cupped your cheek. “Truthfully, I’ve been thinking about it for the longest time ever and realistically I should have asked you to be mine a long time ago, I wanted to but I didn’t have the balls, and well.. Mase told me now was better than ever, so it seemed like the right opportunity.” You nodded understandingly and embraced him again, feeling Declan and Mason either side of you’s also getting in on the action.

_______________________________________________

A/N: once again I don’t know who asked for this but I hope you enjoy it pretty 🧚🏻‍♀️

also, Ben Chilwell is a good person to have as your fave ;))))

[skeezsbbygirl]

peaches + bang chan (pt. 2)

Hello lovelies! (ಥ﹏ಥ)

in celebration of 500+ followers, here is a part two for ‘peaches’!!! thank you so much for the love uwuuu <3 hope you guys enjoy!

STREAM GOD’S MENU AND VOTE FOR OUR BOYS.

“Juno!” you called for your soon-to-be three year old daughter.

You were picking out clothes for her to wear on her special day, but she had other priorities, sneaking out of her room when she knew you were preoccupied with searching for a pair of shoes that would suit her dress.

“Juno, baby, come on,” you urged, a sigh escaping your lips as you searched her playroom and found nothing. A fit of giggles echoed through the halls, rooting from yours and Chris’ shared room, and upon hearing your daughter’s outburst of happiness, you ambled towards the room, her clothes still within your possession.

You smiled at the sight that welcomed you. Chris had Juno on his shoulders, bouncing her up and down, mimicking lines from an animated movie that they watched last night. Seeing them together reminds you of just how much Juno resembled her father, right from her brown curly locks down to the dimples that adorned her chubby flushed cheeks. You could faintly trace your features on her, but Chris begged to differ, insisting that Juno had your sweet smile and your doe eyes.

“Alright, fun’s over,” you announced, making them turn towards to where you were standing. “But mom,” Juno pouted, still settled within her dad’s arms. “You heard the queen,” Chris joked as he nuzzled his nose on Juno’s cheeks, peppering them with soft kisses while he was at it. “Dad, stop,” Juno giggled, pushing Chris’ face away with her small hands. 

“Alright, princess. Go get dressed with mommy,” Chris said as he gently settled Juno down, giving you a quick kiss on his way to leave the room to check on the preparations for the party. Your daughter immediately sauntered towards you, clad in her white shirt and black leggings, giving you a kiss on the cheek as you squatted down to meet her eyes.

“Let’s wear the dress, yeah?” you beamed at Juno, who enthusiastically agreed. You helped her slip into the dress, fixing the white ribbon that decorated her torso and tugging at the hem of her dress to fix any folds and creases. You tucked some of her curls behind her ears in order to give light to her features.

“Mom,” Juno spoke. You hummed in response, prompting her to go on. “Is Jae-oppa coming?” she asked. You let out a soft chuckle, amused at how Juno has grown shy the moment she questioned you about Minho’s boy -- Jaehyun, who was two years older than your daughter.

“Yes, he is, baby,” you confirmed. “And all your uncles too,” you added, which earned you a cheer from Juno.

After an hour or so, you finally got yourself and Juno ready. You headed downstairs, with Juno holding your right hand. The both of you sauntered towards the backyard and as you opened the glass door that led you outside, Juno squealed in bliss, awestruck at the sight of her party.

Upon hearing your daughter’s shrieks of excitement, Chris ambled towards her and showed her around.

Pastel colored balloons and streamers were everywhere, white table cloths were draped over round tables accentuated by pink and white roses that were beautifully arranged in glass jars, and fairy lights decorated the main table which held Juno’s birthday cake alongside trays of various sweets. The long buffet tables were soon filled with food as the caterers started arranging the dishes.

There was no hiding the fact that Chris spoils you and Juno a lot. He makes it his top priority to provide for both of your needs and wants -- even the most outrageous requests of Juno wanting to have her own outdoor playhouse. When Chris was away for work, he always made sure to call his favorite girls, checking in on you and Juno throughout the day. He was always there for the both of you and he makes his efforts known by showering you with a ton of affection and gifts.

After a while, guests started coming in and both you and Chris busied yourselves with catching up and thanking them for coming. 

“There’s the birthday girl!”

Juno ran towards the owner of the voice.

“Uncle Felix!” she greeted. Felix squatted down, holding his arms open for Juno as she embraced him. Felix held her in his arms as he got up, kissing her cheek in the process. “Happy birthday, princess,” he said and Juno thanked him, before politely asking to be put down, running off towards the bouncy castle at the far end of the yard with Chris’ younger brother.

“The beautiful creators,” Felix joked as gave you and Chris a hug. “How’s everything?” he asked. “So far, so good,” you answered and Chris nodded in agreement. “I’m glad to hear that. So, any plans for baby number two?” he teased, earning him a light slap on the arm from you. “Lix,” you playfully glared at the male, to which he responded with a laugh. 

Chris gave him a high-five. “Trust me, bro. I’ve been hinting at it for months now,” he commented. You shook your head at their playful antics. “We’ll think about it,” you said.

Honestly, you’ve been thinking about wanting to have another baby, more so when Juno was asking you for a sibling and Chris was dropping hints all around, ever since Changbin’s wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy seven months ago.

“Fine, but it would be cute to have another little boy, or girl, around,” he stated, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. 

You fell into another line of conversation, but you guys were interrupted by a chorus of hollers that sounded all too familiar -- one that you have been hearing for years.

“Hyung!”

“(Y/n)!”

You and Chris took turns as the both of you welcomed them with hugs. 

“Hi, Seojun,” you cooed at Changbin’s son, who was nestled within his mother’s arms. “He’s precious,” you said, caressing Seojun’s cheek with the back of your index finger, which earned you a gummy smile from him. “Can I hold him?” you asked Luna. “Of course,” she nodded and carefully handed Seojun over to your possession. 

You called Chris over as you bounced Seojun on your hip. “Hey, bud,” Chris smiled, letting out baby noises to which Seojun responded with incoherent babbles. “Juno’s going to be all over him once she sees him,” Chris spoke as he took a glance at your face. Radiant and beautiful as ever, he thought.

“I know, she’s been asking for a sibling for months now,” you replied. “More reason to add another member to our family,” Chris stated as he leaned in to give your forehead a kiss, his silent way of asking you to think about it. You offered Chris a sweet smile, “We’ll see, babe.”

Seojun let out a soft whine, his arms extending towards where his mom stood. You quickly walked over to Luna and handed him over. “Go on and grab a seat, I’ll go and get Juno,” you said and Luna nodded with a smile.

Your eyes scanned through the crowd and soon after, you finally spotted Juno.

“Juno, honey!” you called out for her and she turned towards your direction. “Your uncles are here, come say hi, baby,” you beckoned her over. She obediently followed you, taking a hold of your pinky as you led her to the guys.

Upon her appearance, various greetings and compliments were thrown her way. She beamed in response, but as soon as she spotted Jaehyun, she shied away from them, opting to hide behind you. 

Chris’ eyebrows furrowed in confusion, uncertain of what -- well more of who -- made his daughter flustered. He followed her gaze and it landed on Minho’s boy, who was holding a small bouquet of roses. “Oh gosh,” he breathed out, which earned him a chorus of laughter.

“Juno, Jae-oppa is here,” you looked over to where she was, gently grabbing her arm to prompt her to show herself. Juno shook her head instead, “Don’t wanna.”

You let out a chuckle and picked her up. Juno wrapped her arms around your neck, burying her face into your hair as she resisted on showing her face. “Look, sweetie. Jae got you flowers,” you coaxed but she only let out a soft whine in response. “It’s roses, Juno,” you added, knowing that they were her favorite.

“Happy birthday, Juno,” Jae said as he approached the both of you. You squatted down to meet Jae’s level. Juno wiggled in your arms, turning her head sideways as she took a peek at the boy. Jaehyun flashed her a smile as he offered her the bouquet. “Go on, sweetheart,” you whispered to Juno, encouraging her to reach out to Jaehyun.

All of you watched in amusement as Juno gently took the bouquet from the older male, muttering a small ‘thank you’ in the process. 

“You’re welcome,” Jaehyun replied.

You let out a soft chuckle as you stood up with Juno in your arms. “Mommy, can I go play now?” Juno asked and you nodded, setting her down gently. “Go join her, Jae,” you gestured for Jaehyun to follow. You awed at the sight of Juno grabbing the boy’s hand and merrily running towards their friends.

“I mean, she got good taste,” Jisung joked and you all fell into a fit of laughter. “Ji, she’s three,” Chris defended, his protective side showing. “Exactly,” you noted, ambling towards Chris and wrapping your arms around his torso. “Which is why you shouldn’t take it too seriously, plus Jaehyun is a good kid,” you explained.

“Got it from me,” Minho chimed in. “Hyung, let’s not push it,” Changbin teased. Jeongin and Hyunjin immediately held Minho back from attacking the younger lad. 

Soon, their playful antics came to an end and it was time for Juno to blow out her birthday candles. 

“Happy birthday, Juno!” everybody greeted in unison, followed by applauds and cheers from the crowd. 

[A few hours later...]

You let out a soft sigh as you tucked Juno in, moving some of the stray curls away from her face. “Sweet dreams, my love,” you whispered and kissed her forehead. You switched her night light on as you made your way out of her room.

You walked across the hall and entered your bedroom. Upon your arrival, Chris looked up from his phone, flashing you a sweet smile and beckoning you over to where he sat on the bed. 

“Is Juno asleep?” Chris asked and you nodded in response as you eased yourself between his legs, snuggling further into his embrace. Chris held you close, planting a kiss on your cheek, then your nose, and finally your lips. “I figured, her eyes were getting sleepy when I was giving her a bath,” he chuckled. “I’m glad she had fun,” you claimed, “I can’t believe she’s already three,” you added.

“And crushing on Jaehyun,” Chris sighed, making you laugh in response. “Oh come on, babe. Let it go,” you playfully rolled your eyes at him.

“Thank you for everything, Chris,” you spoke after a moment of silence. “You do so much for us,” you continued. “No, baby. Thank you for everything,” he insisted, rubbing the small of your back. 

“You make me want to be a better person, a better husband, and a better father. I can’t imagine my life without the two of you in it,” he paused to take a better look at you, his brown orbs staring deeply into yours. “I will always be here to love you, to protect you, to make you happy, and everything else within my ability,” he continued.

“I love you so much,” you beamed, leaning in to give him a kiss. As you were about to pull away, Chris caught your lips and deepened the kiss, molding his lips with yours with such passion and longing. You slowly moved to straddle him, your lips still connected with his, and Chris wrapped his arms around your waist. 

The shared kiss was intense, yet it still held his affection for you. Chris pulled away from your lips, only to pepper kisses along your jawline, slowly moving down towards your neck. He sucked on the soft skin, stopping his actions once he left a deep red mark. 

Chris flipped you on your back, his body now on top of yours, but careful not to crush you underneath him. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered as he rested his forehead against yours.

“I love you, (y/n).”

“I love you, too.”

The both of you stared lovingly into each other’s eyes, taking in each other’s presence.

“So about Juno’s wish for a sibling,” Chris hinted. You giggled as you lightly hit Chris’ arm.

“Well then, stop talking and get to work, babe.”

[marvel-ousnesss]

Hand in Hand

Pairing: Harry Styles x reader

Summary: Y/N and Harry the night of the Brits.

word count: 2806

masterlist 

A/N: I wrote most of this on my phone so sorry for any typos or mistakes. Lots of love 💜💜💜

“Y/N, Y/N!”

You approached the source of the storm of voices with a wide grin on your face. You still couldn't hide the thrill that your fans brought you, nor you could stop yourself from just hanging with them for a bit. You ambled through the red carpet exchanging smiles and posing for selfies until you reached the end of the path.

When you stepped inside, you greeted a few other people who had arrived at the event and went to freshen up a bit so you could pose for some photos.

You looked at yourself in the mirror and grinned widely. You felt like the girl singing covers in her room, yet here you were, attending your first-ever music awards as a nominee —with one of the best albums of the year under your arm.

As you made your way back from the restroom, you felt a presence behind you. Before you could turn around, they spoke.

"Well hey, fancy seeing you here.” Harry's voice was raspy, tinted with mischief.

You stopped, turned toward him with an amused half-smile.

"Right back at you,” you joked back. “Do you come here often?"

He exhaled a fruity laugh and smiled at you, finally allowing his gaze to drift down onto your figure and then back to up to meet your own. "You look… wow."

He made you blush with almost no effort but you were quick to cover it up, doing your best to get rid of the tension that seemed to constantly glide around the two of you.

"Well, don't you look 'wow' yourself", you smirked.

It had been going on for a few months now; flirting here and there, hanging out at parties, and even a few dates which you had tried to keep out of the spotlight. Nevertheless, headlines hadn't stopped gushing on about 'the newest, freshest face of the industry' and the 'beloved, eclectic Harry Styles.'

Looping your arm around his you subtly prompted him to continue walking toward the awaiting cameras, where you were headed before bumping into him. He obliged, smoothly guiding you through the crowd of crew members, press, and artists.

After a moment of hesitation, his hand traveled to the small of your back. When you felt his tender fingers against the silk of your gown, you lifted your head to look at him.

"So, what’s the game-plan for tonight?”

“Y’know how ‘t goes,” he explained. “Step one: performance, step two: get hold of all the tiny statues, step three: world domination.”

You laughed, but insisted, “really, how’re you doing; ready?”

Even if he seemed to be perfectly collected, you knew that tonight’s show had his head spinning. This was gonna be his first live performance of the year, and, to be honest, you thought it was admirable that he decided to go through with it after what had happened that weekend.

“‘m just a mess of nerves and excitement right now. Tonight needs to be brilliant.”

He didn’t wanna talk about Caroline’s death and you were ok with it, so you didn’t push on the topic.

“I’m sure it’ll be. The whole album’s just amazing; and, you know, the guy who sings it isn’t that bad either.”

He chuckled lightly, then sighed, “just hope I make it justice.”

You smiled, “you will.”

That’s when you found yourselves between the gray wall upholstered with logos and brand names and the army of photographers equipped with cameras of all sizes.

You both faced them and quickly displayed your best angles.

Offering a smirk as he fixed the collar of his blazer, Harry asked, “what ‘bout you, eyes on the prize, I assume?”

You turned around with grace, so that the back of your outfit was visible, then faced the cameras over your shoulder.

“Well, yeah,” you sighed dramatically. “But, to be frank, I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep them there with you looking so dashingly handsome.”

His eyes widened for a second and he let out a ringing laugh, his cheeks reddening slightly. It was truly a beautiful sight. However, no longer than a moment later, he concealed the gentle blush with a snort and a devious grin, which he directed at the cameras.

“I know ’m irresistible, love,” he smirked. “And I hate to tell you this, but I‘m ‘a be professional tonight, no funny business.” His tone was dripping with feigned seriousness.

"Your loss," you flipped your hair.

_______

You guided Y/F/N to the table where your team had been placed. Being honest, she was thrilled to be there with you, but also quite surprised that you had honored the promise you both made back in middle school. When you had first told her about your YouTube channel —after a fair amount of bugging on her part—, she had shown complete support and joked about being your date to the met gala. But, as the met was still clearly out of your league and you had missed the Grammys because of your mom’s birthday, here you were.

She already knew your manager so you introduced her to the rest of them before taking a seat, ready to enjoy the rest of the evening.

The first few minutes were full of laughter and conversation. When the event officially began, you watched the presentations with a gaping mouth and cheered hastily when every award was presented.

Before you knew, it was already time for Harry’s performance. You bit the inside of your lip when he climbed upstage, effortlessly rocking a lace jumpsuit that gave a deific, but simple air to him.

“Can’t believe you turned that down to bring me,” your friend whispered to you.

“Seriously?, my first ever-awards were something I needed to share with you, dork.”

“Awww, friend.”

“Aww”, you mocked, then hit her shoulder lightly. “Shush, let me listen.”

Everything happening on stage was truly breathtaking. You mouthed the lyrics as your gaze followed his every move. His eyes were full of stars and his voice was so flooded with emotion that it made chills run down your spine.

“I’ll rip his throat out with my teeth if he ever fucks up.”

Those words somewhat pulled you out of your daze-like state. Part of you wanted to ask her what she meant, but it was no use. For her, you were an open book, so you didn’t even try to hide how bad you had fallen.

Only with a glance your way, Y/F/N managed to catch the way in which your eyes twinkled when you looked at him and the way you blushed ever so slightly when she brought him up.

You tried to conceal the impact of her words with a sip of your drink, to which she responded with a smug wink.

The following half an hour or so went by uneventful. You nearly fainted when Lizzo performed, and it didn’t get better when you discovered she was but a few tables away from you, next to where Harry had been placed. A couple of categories where presented and the moment you dreaded the most arrived.

Celeste was flawless on stage, and you couldn’t be happier for her. Yet, as you listened to her song, your brows were glued in a frown and the corners of your mouth seemed to weigh a ton. It was time for the rising star award, and then came international female solo —to which you had been nominated.

You turned your head to the side when you heard the scratching of a chair against the floor, and offered a quivering smile to Harry, who had not so discreetly sneaked to your table.

“Hey,” he mumbled, taking hold of one of your hands under the table.

“Hey.”

Celeste’s speech, which ended before you would’ve wanted, was followed by Sporty’s introduction to your category. You tried to stay positive as the nominees were announced.

Y/F/N managed to dodge Harry and get her hand on your shoulder. She gave him an awkward attempt of a smile, then looked at you. “You got this.”

You nodded at her words but, not so deep down, you knew this wasn’t gonna be your year.

“I’m so excited, they’re all so brilliant,” Sporty began.

Harry’s grip tightened on your hand while she opened the envelope, and you barely heard him mumble, “come on.”

That’s when the winner was announced. Billie’s name echoed through the speakers across the place and your face fell for a few seconds.

You were quick to recover and clapped just as eagerly as you had for the rest of the winners, but the smile plastered on your face quivered a bit as you swallowed a wave of disappointment.

That changed when she got to the stage, that’s when utter pride kicked in. While Billie said a few words in acceptance of the award, Jack Whitehall made his way to the table and squeezed a chair between you and Harry. You let out a snicker as he clumsily tried to sit comfortably, then you moved a bit back.

He was given his cue by the camera guy and began.

“Congratulations, to Billie Eilish! Now, I’m just so excited to be here with this power couple who, for some reason, are not officially a couple yet.”

"Glad to have you."

His eyes drifted between the two of you, then settled on Harry. “Harold, you’ve been coming to the brits for 10 years. Not to make you feel old.” Then he looked at you. “Y/N, on the other hand, this is your very first time here.”

"Yup," you chuckled. "Total newbie."

“Sorry for the stock question, but how’s it feeling so far? Kidding, we don’t wanna talk about that, do we? I bet you’ve already got at least five rehearsed versions of the answer to that question.”

You snorted.

“Let’s get to the point here.“ Jack leaned closer to the table, to which you responded by mimicking his posture. “Ever since the ‘Up All Night’ era, when Harold here was just a lad with his little bow tie and a mop on his hair, he’s been a ladies man.

Harry scoffed and waved his hand dismissively.

"And, as such, he can only be paired to someone like you,“ he pointed his finger at you in mock accusation, “my dear Y/N, who has been leaving a fair share of lads and ladies’ hearts broken —including my own— ever since your very flare-up on that strange platform which somehow houses both Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ and your phenomenal album ‘Tears of Blade’. However, putting my broken heart aside, I wanna Know… you didn’t come as each other’s date, why’s that?"

Harry took a sip of his drink, "I tried, but she turned me down."

Jack faked shock. "Should I get my hopes up then?"

"Oh no, none of that."You shook your head. "I just brought a friend tonight."

His mouth opened in realization, then he smirked, wiggling his brows. "Not to intrude, but… a special friend of yours or a friend friend."

You threw your head back, laughing, then said, "Jack, this is Y/F/N. Y/F/N, Jack."

"Hi." She stretched out her hand, which the host gladly took.

“I like the way your hand fits in mine,” he gushed.

——————————

You struggled to stay awake in the car to your place, your eyelids didn’t seem to be obeying you anymore and your head was feeling too heavy for you to lift. Harry chuckled when he looked at you, bringing you closer to him so you could use him as a pillow. For the rest of the ride, he quietly hummed to the music playing and did what he could to ignore the feeling of numbness that was beginning to invade his arm.

You woke up when the car stopped and raised your head, scanning your surroundings. When your gaze met Harry’s, you smiled. He grabbed your purse and helped you out of the car, then you both took the lift to your apartment.

"Make yourself at home," you said, taking off your coat and shoes.

"Thanks, love." He hanged his blazer on the rack by the door, together with his vest and the purple pashmina that adorned his neck.

After changing into some sweatpants and a t-shirt, you made your way to the living room and found Harry, neck deep into your fridge. That's when you recalled you hadn't done any grocery shopping.

"Tell me if you find something, my fridge's just sad to even look at," you jested, standing behind him.

"S'not that bad. I mean, carrots, beer, tortillas, we could do wonders out of this," he scoffed, still looking for something worth looting.

After no avail, he closed the door.

"Or… we could order pizza."

He chortled, "Y/N/N, we ate like an hour ago."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

He sighed, letting himself fall to the couch in fake exasperation. "Woman, you’re a bad influence." Now, that was a yes.

You giggled when he ended up sitting on the floor, then taunted, "worried your Gucci suits won’t fit you anymore?"

"Ha-ha very funny." Harry settled on the floor, grabbing one of the decorative pillows.

"C’ mere," he patted the spot beside him.

"The couch’s right there."

"So?"

"So?" you mocked, "you come here." You clumsily sat on the couch, but he grabbed your ankle and pulled you to the floor. You let out a squeal but, taking advantage of the boost he had given you, managed to place yourself on top of him, caging his body between yours and the couch.

You were about to gloat, but he placed a hand on your waist and used the weight of his body to push you back, turning the cards.

"You got me where you want me, what are you gonna do?" When you spoke, your voice came out quieter than intended.

Harry's hand found the hem of your shirt and he began tugging it faintly, brushing your skin ever so slightly. He looked at your lips for a moment, then your eyes.

"'Ve got a few ideas-" his words were drowned by the doorbell ringing.

"Fuck," he groaned, head burying in the crook of your neck. Your fingers curled around his silky locks, then you mumbled, "I have to get up, you know."

He grumbled something else, but you pushed him off you.

You received the pizza and locked the door, proceeding to put the cardboard box on the marble counter. As you cut the tape with a small knife, Harry joined you in the kitchen. Stepping behind you, he placed his hands on your sides and a kiss on the line where your neck met your shoulder.

"Patience is a virtue, Harold," you teased.

"Don't care."He rested his head on your shoulder but his hands carried on with the feathery strokes.

Just then, you opened the box and swiftly turned around, giving him a quick peck before stepping out of his grasp.

"Help yourself," you instructed while grabbing two beers from the fridge.

After giving him one, you took hold of a slice and walked toward your previous spot on the living room floor. "Don’t know bout you, but I’m starving."

Harry followed with the box in hand, after settling once again, he placed the box between the two of you and grabbed the remote control.

You shook your head and scoffed, "all that wailing and you're just as hungry as I am."

"Not my fault that the bloody doorbell killed the mood." He took another bite.

Three beers per head later, as the credits of Dirty Dancing rolled up the screen, the pizza had been discarded long ago. You hummed to the credits song as your head rested on his lap, enjoying the feeling of his hands playing with your hair.

"Thanks for tonight," he mused.

"What d'you mean?" You adjusted yourself so that you were looking up at him.

"Just, you know, "he hesitated, finding the words. "You made sure it was a great night."

Your mouth opened in realization before you smiled, lifting one of your hands to his cheek. “That's what 'm here for." Then you sat up, and joked, "besides, 's only fair to admit that, for a business night, it was fun."

"You break my heart, love" he sighed, "all your business partners get after parties like tonight’s?"

"Nah," you avowed, "just the cute ones."

"I'm relieved, then." He pulled you to him by the waist.

You beamed, throwing your head back, "you're unbelievable."

When you straightened up, after your laugh died down, his gaze found your lips once more and he leaned in. "Can I kiss you?"

Your hands moved up to the back of his neck and, without a word, you pressed your lips to his.

Requests open!

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Pushed Around

Prompt: i looooooove you protective knights Merlin drabbles from over quarantine, the frantic energy of these large children fretting over Merlin is hilarious and so precious (': would you ever write your take on the classic "a visiting knight/noble is a dickwad to Merlin but he doesn't tell anyone bc of either worries of diplomacy or something else and then when Arthur and the knights do find out they have to have a serious chat w Merlin about his priorities and self-worth?" bc,,, it would be awesome

Thanks for the req! I do love this trope...

Read on Ao3

Pairings: merthur, but can be platonic or romantic, you decide

Warnings: uhhh nobles can be dicks

Word Count: 3372

The problem with Merlin is that he doesn’t say nearly enough for all the talking he does. Honestly, the man can ramble on for hours and hours without being interrupted and never say one word about himself. He’s spoken about how Arthur sits wrong for longer than a council meeting for goodness’ sake. And yet in all that time, he’s never said a single thing about himself.

 It would be impressive if it didn’t get them into nearly so many stressful situations that could’ve been avoided had he asked for help.

In fairness to Merlin, servants asking for help from anyone other than fellow servants isn’t exactly normal. In unfairness to Merlin, when has ‘normal’ ever been very high on his list of things to strive for?

 They’ve all gotten fairly used to it. Merlin will be doing something and one of them will notice that perhaps there’s a…better way to do that. Or perhaps he’s doing it with a little less skill or proficiency than he normally does and gods, Merlin, how long have you been hurt for? Merlin will shrug and smile sheepishly at them and say that it’s nothing to worry about. Only Gaius seems to be immune to that, raising the Eyebrow of Disappointment and Merlin will bow his head and let him tend to whatever he’s done to himself this time. The problem is Merlin seems to know this and does all he can to avoid doing these things in front of Gaius. Which leaves the rest of them to struggle frantically to keep track of Merlin while he’s frantically keeping track of them.

 But they’ve gotten used to it.

 Arthur is allowed to be an absolute prat—Merlin’s words, not his—in the mornings, insisting Merlin do all sorts of ridiculously elaborate chores to assess whether he’s hurt himself, whether something’s wrong, or whether he’s done something to upset Merlin more than tossing the occasional boot at him. If Merlin doesn’t snipe back or calls him ‘sire’ unironically, something is definitely wrong and everything is on pause until they fix it. No exceptions.

 Leon, as the closest thing to Arthur’s right hand aside from Merlin, takes every opportunity to stand next to him, regardless of how proper it is. Leon may not be immune to Merlin’s impish little excuses, but Merlin is not immune to the protective-older-sibling looks Leon gives him or the gentle way Leon arranges his cape so that Merlin looks even more inconspicuous behind the copious amounts of red fabric. Leon never says a word, and Merlin would never admit it, but there are times when, if you looked at them from behind, you would see Merlin reach out to clutch Leon’s cape and Leon reach to hold his hand.

 Percival is not a small man. Anyone standing opposite him better think very carefully about whatever they’re about to fight over. Odds are it won’t be worth it. Often all he has to do is stand up and they’re babbling apologies or excuses. Merlin, on the other hand, is a slight man who looks as if he’s always about two seconds from tripping over his own feet. Percival makes sure to stand in front of him.

 Elyan has a way with words. Not that he’s the most loquacious speaker, nor the most forceful, but he’s got a voice that makes people listen. It’s not Arthur’s authority, nor it is Uther’s unmistakable iron, but it is a quiet power. Oftentimes, people don’t seem to respect Merlin. Some go so far as to refuse to remember his name. Elyan’s never had a problem making them see reason.

 Gwaine is not known for being discreet, nor is he especially reserved in demonstrating that he’s here for Merlin, not for Camelot, not for Arthur, but for Merlin. Sometimes Merlin just needs a little reminder that he’s worth fighting for, and not just because he’s fighting for something bigger than himself.

 Lancelot is the only one that can actually get Merlin to talk, reliably. The man can see through Merlin’s nonsense in a way that rivals Gaius. Unlike Gaius, Merlin won’t fight him on it. It’s difficult to get Lancelot to tell the rest of them, despite what he’ll have you believe. But if Merlin looks a little happier afterward, then it’s all fine.

 So yeah, they’ve gotten used to it. What they haven’t gotten used to are the people that go out of their way to make life for Merlin harder.

 “There’s another tournament?” Merlin huffs as he throws the blanket over Arthur’s bed. “Didn’t you just have one?”

 “That was a joust. This is a melee.”

 “You’re all throwing yourselves at each other with various pieces of metal,” Merlin remarks dryly, “what’s the difference?”

 Arthur rolls his eyes as he gets up, glancing out the window to see the approaching knights. There aren’t nearly as many as the last tournament, thank goodness, but that does mean that this one won’t be nearly as easily decided.

 “As long as I’m not cleaning up after all of you this time…”

 Arthur frowns, looking back at Merlin straightening the bed covers. “What do you mean?”

 “Last time. I was working non-stop. Had another knight almost as demanding as you are.”

 “I’m allowed to be demanding,” Arthur says, “you’re my servant.”

 “Mhmm, sure.”

 “No one else is.”

 “You tell them that, sire.”

 “I will. Who was it?”

 Merlin shrugs. “Don’t really remember his name.”

 Arthur sighs, walking forward and resting his hand on Merlin’s shoulder. “Yes, you do. That’s what you say when you don’t want to tell me someone’s name.”

 “You don’t know that.”

 “I do,” Arthur says softly, turning Merlin to face him, “so you can tell me.”

 “That’s not how it works.”

 “Sure it is.”

 “No, it really isn’t.”

 “Merlin,” Arthur huffs, “if something is wrong, you know you can tell me.”

 “But nothing’s wrong!” Arthur just gives him a look until he sighs, picking up the laundry basket. “Alright, fine, his name was Tobias, are you happy now?”

 “Yes, I am, thank you.” Arthur gives his shoulder another pat before moving away. “The next time he’s here, I’ll make sure you’re nowhere near him.”

 As it turns out, that doesn’t go as planned. Because Sir Tobias didn’t just sign up for the joust, he’s here for the melee too.

 “Arthur Pendragon,” the man roars, clapping Arthur firmly on the shoulder, “thought you’d seen the last of me, eh?”

“Thought that bruised backside you got from falling off your horse would’ve kept you away.”

 Tobias throws his head back and laughs. “You’ve got spirit about you, lad. It’ll serve you well if you can hold your nerve.”

 “My nerve has never failed me before,” Arthur replies cooly, gesturing up the stairs, “though I’m sure you know that by now.”

 “We’ll see come the melee.”

 Merlin is out of sight, helping the stablehands tend to the horses. As Arthur walks up the stairs, he sees Tobias glance around and huff softly to himself.

 “Is there something wrong?”

 “No, no,” Tobias says quickly as they enter the hall, “just glad to see you’ve not assigned me the same servant this time.”

 Arthur straightens. “Excuse me?”

 “The gangly boy that tended to my chambers last time,” Tobias says, waving his hand, “right awful he was. Glad you’ve fired him.”

 “I see…”

 Arthur does not, in fact, see, but he makes a point to tell the knights not to let Tobias near Merlin.

 As it turns out, they don’t have much of a choice. Arthur needs Merlin to help him get ready, and Tobias is of high enough rank to be near the prince as he does so. Luckily for Merlin, he just has to stay inside the tent.

 Unluckily for Merlin…

 “Arthur,” Gwaine calls from outside, “they need you to come look at the shields.”

 Arthur gives Merlin’s arm a squeeze and steps away, ducking out of the tent. Gwaine leads him over to a table laden with shields, each with a different insignia painted on it. The Pendragon crest gleams in the light, next to the sigils from each of the other knights fighting. None of them has so much as a scratch.

 “Very good, sire,” the attendant says, sweeping them along to finish the final preparations. Arthur follows Gwaine up the hill to where the others are standing, Leon turning and nodding solemnly ate his approach.

 “Are all of you competing, then?” Arthur leans against the wall.

 Leon shakes his head. “Lancelot and I will be sitting this one out.”

 “Not growing weary are you, old friend?”

 “Weary of people attempting to kill you while I’m already engaged in combat,” Leon replies wryly, “and weary of Merlin being the only one able to do anything about it.”

 “They won’t listen to him when he calls for a stop to the tourney,” Lancelot adds.

 “And so you can keep anyone away from him,” Gwaine says firmly.

 “Precisely.”

 They head back down the hill, just in time to see a flutter of movement from Arthur’s tent. Gwaine frowns, rushing forward and throwing it open.

 “Merlin?”

 “I’m here,” Merlin says, getting to his feet, “just fell.”

 Arthur rolls his eyes fondly and reaches down to help him up. “At some point, Merlin, I do have to wonder.”

 “It’s fine, I just picked up something without realizing it was attached to something else.”

 “I see.”

 The rest of the knights glance at each other over Arthur’s shoulder and Elyan stalks off toward a neighboring tent. Leon bows deeply and tells Merlin that he and Lancelot will wait for the others to finish their training before coming to collect him.

 “There’s still a few more days to go,” Merlin says softly, “I don’t see why you all had to come here so early.”

 “It’s to make it fair, give the knights the chance to get used to fighting in the same place.”

 Merlin grumbles to himself as he goes about finishing up. Arthur catches him gently by the elbow as he turns to leave.

 “Are you alright? Really?”

 “Arthur, I’m fine. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

 Arthur sighs. “I would really like for one of these to go off normally for once.”

 Arthur does not, in fact, get what he wants.

 Not that anyone is particularly surprised that there’s a knight who managed to sneak a poisoned weapon into the training grounds, but someone clips Arthur through his armor and he winces, immediately aware that something’s wrong. Merlin spots it a mile away, because of course he does. The knight is quickly escorted away and Arthur shakes his head, calling for a search of all the knights’ belongings and weapons.

 “You’d think we’d get better about this,” Lancelot mutters as he and Merlin approach, Merlin rubbing his shoulder, “and that they’d stop trying.”

 “At least we caught it before the actual melee.”

 “Merlin, there you are,” Gwaine says, pulling Merlin to his side, “good. Now, you and I are going to have a talk.”

 “About what?” Arthur looks around. “What’s going on?”

 Lancelot just mouths that they’ll be back as Gwaine sweeps them both along the corridor. Arthur brushes it to the back of his mind. That’s not the first time they’ve done something like this.

 It’s the night before the melee. Merlin is late. Arthur paces up and down the length of his quarters. The knights have all vanished hours ago. Merlin is late.

 A knock.

 “Enter.”

 Leon sweeps inside, a stony look on his face. He glances around the quarters and bites back a curse. “Merlin’s not here, is he?”

 “No,” Arthur says, his blood beginning to run cold, “no, he isn’t. Where is he?”

“Gwaine and Lancelot are already looking,” Leon says, shutting the door, “but…sire, may I ask a question?”

 “Always,” Arthur says immediately, “you don’t need to ask.”

 “How long has Tobias been…allowed near Merlin?”

 “He hasn’t,” Arthur growls, hustling down the corridor, “but what has he done?”

 “He was more brazen during the joust.” Leon shoulders a door open. “But now—“

 “Merlin!”

 Arthur rushes forward as Merlin turns the corner. Startled, Merlin barely has time to turn all the way before Arthur’s wrapping him up in a protective arm and turning him back toward the safety of Arthur’s chambers.

 “Where were you?”

 “I was, um…”

 Arthur bites back a curse and hurries faster, Leon hot on their heels. Along the way, they come across Elyan and Percival, coming up from the armory.

 “Arthur, we need to—“ Elyan breaks off when he sees Merlin in Arthur’s arms. “Merlin?”

 “My chambers,” Arthur growls, “now.”

 “What about Gwaine and Lancelot?”

 “They’ll find us.”

 “Guys, whatever this is, it’s fine,” Merlin tries but Arthur simply opens the door to his quarters and sits Merlin down. “Really!”

 “Merlin,” Leon says quietly, “where were you just now?”

 Merlin glances at Arthur. Then back to Leon. “Helping Amelia.”

 “And who were you helping Amelia help?”

 Another glance at Arthur. Arthur closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

 “Merlin,” he says slowly, “I need you to answer me honestly, please.”

 Merlin nods, evidently a little taken aback at how soft Arthur’s voice is.

 “Were you helping Amelia because she asked for your help, or were you helping her so Tobias would get angry with you instead of her?”

 The silence that fills the room is more than enough of an answer.

 “I’m going to kill him,” Gwaine announces, kicking open the door, “now where’s—there you are.”

 “Gwaine, I—ah!”

 “Don’t break him,” Lancelot chides gently as Gwaine sweeps Merlin into a hug, “he’s probably still hurt.”

 “Hurt?” Arthur looks from Lancelot to Merlin. “Merlin—“

 “It’s fine.”

 “Can you allow us to be the judge of that,” Leon asks, settling a hand on Gwaine’s shoulder and moving him away, “please?”

 “It’s just a few bruises, he doesn’t even hit that hard.”

 “Not exactly helping your case here,” Gwaine snarls, stalking toward Arthur.

 “Merlin.”

 “…why’re you guys so upset?”

 Arthur winces. Merlin looks back and forth between them.

 “No…really, I don’t—I don’t understand. You lot hit me.”

 “Not like that!”

 “It’s fine, I don’t—“

 “This isn’t fine, Merlin, you’re being hurt.”

 “So?”

 The room falls silent. Leon draws back as if Merlin reached out to smack him across the face. Percival bows his head as Elyan bites back a curse. Lancelot stares at Merlin like he’s grown a second head. Gwaine looks at Arthur.

 Arthur’s chest clenches so painfully he fears he’s going to have to send for Gaius. Merlin…Merlin doesn’t believe that he’s worth worrying about when he’s hurt? Merlin doesn’t care that he’s getting hurt? Merlin is letting someone hurt him?

 “Merlin…”

 “What?” He looks around at all of them in confusion. “What it is? Why do you all look so…so…”

 “Upset?” Leon tilts his head. “Because you just told us you don’t think you’re important.”

 “But…this isn’t that big of a deal. It happens all the time. Why is this time any different.”

 “How often,” Lancelot says, “would you say this happens then?”

 “Every time there’s a tournament.”

 “Every tournament,” Leon repeats quietly, “there is a knight that does this?”

 “Sometimes more than one.”

 “And you…let them?”

 “It’s not like I have much of a choice.”

 No.

 No, no, no, this isn’t right.

 This isn’t right.

 Merlin is the man who waltzed right up to Arthur on his first day in Camelot and told him to stop being a prat.

 Merlin is the man who spat in Uther’s face as often as he could.

 Merlin is the man who demanded that everyone is treated as a person, be they servant or noble or royal.

 This is wrong.

 “Merlin,” Arthur manages, “Merlin, of course you have a choice.”

 “If I don’t do it, they’ll hurt someone else. And I’m used to it.”

 “But you never should’ve gotten used to it,” Arthur cries, rushing forward and grabbing Merlin’s shoulders, “damnit, Merlin, why don’t you protect yourself?”

 “I’m fine, Arthur.”

 “You’re letting yourself get pushed around and beaten by someone, you’re not fine.”

 “I have to put up with you, don’t I?”

 Arthur burns.

 Something in his chest squeezes so tight it breaks. He takes his hands off of Merlin like he’s been stung, backing up until he hits the poster of his bed. His mouth is open in shock and he can scarcely draw breath.

 Merlin thinks…Merlin…did he do this to Merlin?

 “I don’t understand why this is such a big deal,” Merlin is saying far, far away, “it’s not like I’m not…why’re you all looking at me like that?”

 No, no, Merlin is Arthur’s Merlin, he—he’d never hurt his Merlin, he’d never—no, he hasn’t—but—Merlin—

 “Arthur, are you—are you crying?”

 This is Arthur’s fault. This is Arthur’s fault, isn’t it, he’s messed this up, he’s messed Merlin up, he’s ruined it—he’s ruined everything.

 “Sire,” comes Leon’s—is that Leon’s?—voice from somewhere to his left, “you have to breathe, come on…”

 Arthur gasps, the air burning the inside of his throat. He does it again, frantically blinking to clear his eyes. Tears stream down his cheeks—so he did start crying—as the image of Lancelot and Gwaine talking to Merlin swims into view in front of him. Merlin’s brow is furrowed and he keeps shooting concerned looks Arthur’s way.

 “I never meant—“ Arthur swallows— “I never meant to hurt him. I didn’t—I never meant any of them, I—“

 “Shh, sire,” Leon murmurs, “we know. Nothing is simple right now.”

 “But that’s not what Arthur does,” Merlin protests, “he—is that why you guys are so worried?”

 Merlin turns and flies at Arthur, hands immediately coming up to cup his cheeks and numb away his tears, muttering all the while.

 “That’s not what I meant, Arthur,” he babbles, “I didn’t—I didn’t mean to—you’re not like them, I just—that’s what I’m used to, I didn’t know that there was a difference—“

 “I never meant to hurt you, Merlin,” Arthur says, gripping Merlin’s arms tightly, “I just—you must believe me—“

 “I do, I do—“ now Merlin’s crying too— “I just—“

 “Alright, you two,” Leon hushes, gently laying a hand on both of their shoulders, “let’s have you two sit before you fall over.”

 The knight guides them both to the bed, sitting them on the edge. They’re no help; they’re too busy crying and clinging onto each other.

 “Now, why don’t you two have a chat, and we’ll be outside.” Leon ruffles their hair affectionately and sweeps the others out into the corridor despite Gwaine’s protests.

 Arthur swallows. “I never meant to hurt you, Merlin,” he mumbles, “nor do I believe that you’re—a fool or an idiot or stupid or anything.”

 He clutches Merlin tightly. “You’re important to me.”

 Merlin nods. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you lot, it’s just…that was how the older boys in Ealdor treated me. I got used to it. And it always made sense.”

 Arthur shakes his head furiously. “It doesn’t make sense, Merlin. They were hurting you. People are hurting you. That’s not alright. That’s awful. And I’m going to stop it.”

 “You can’t just fight all the nobles who don’t like me.”

 “Watch me.”

 “Your father will—“

 “To hell with that,” Arthur snarls, “they’re hurting you. And I won’t stand for it.”

 Merlin sighs, slumping forward. Without a thought, Arthur catches him, pulling him closer and tucking his head over Merlin’s.

 “…you really would fight them for me?”

 “Yes, Merlin. I would. And I will.”

 He feels Merlin grin against his shoulder. “You’re going to make Tobias never come back to Camelot, aren’t you?”

 “Perhaps.”

[rohanrider3]

Brace Yourselves, I have THOUGHTS on this guy

Okay so I just watched Wizards (Tales of Arcadia) and I, along with many other folks, adore one (1) wizard in particular--Hisirdoux Casperan, better known as Douxie. I’m sure you’ve seen the art, the posts, and, well, the internet lately.

BUT HERE’S THE THING. One of the (many) reasons I love this guy. He’s not what one typically gets in a main character, AND he’s very different than other protagonists we’ve met in Arcadia. 

TLDR: Protective, kind-as-summer, ultimate “good older brother vibes” wizard who simultaneously 1) doesn’t think much of himself, 2) tries his hardest, and 3) is actually SUPER FREAKING POWERFUL is unique and I love him for all those reasons and more!! (Details (and spoilers) below the cut)

1: He’s young, yes, but he’s extremely experienced. He looks 19, but is 919. As the first episode shows, he’s been doing his best to live a good life and master magic for NINE CENTURIES. All the while looking like a kid! Douxie lived through the fall of Camelot, has seen technology blossom and evolve, AND has seen countless people come and go, all the while completely on his own except for Archie.

2: He’s extremely humble. He’s apparently been working odd jobs FOR ALMOST A MILENNIUM--so he can work from the shadows to protect people from terrors they don’t even know about--and works hard AT ALL OF IT. Menial jobs AND demon-fighting. First episode, he clearly WANTS to use magic to clean up the cafe (and as a former customer service worker I would have sold my wisdom teeth for magic, LET ALONE magic clean-up help!) but he refrains from doing so, because he really took Merlin’s advice to heart.

(Side note: IMO, Merlin’s an ASS. But the advice he gives in the beginning of “Wizards”--along the lines of “Relying on magic alone isn’t enough, first you have to master how to live well and THEN you can master magic, hard work is extremely important and not to be skipped”--is good. AND DOUXIE STICKS WITH IT FOR OVER 900 YEARS. OF HIS OWN VOLITION. Merlin’s in a tomb, he hasn’t been glaring over Douxie’s shoulder all this time!) Which brings me to-

3) Douxie, although a hard worker, sincerely good guy, and all around badass wizard, doubts himself a LOT (thanks Merlin’s endless snarking and yelling.) BUT, instead of always fighting/planning to get Merlin to approve of him, Douxie instead focuses on doing the right thing. But it isn’t easy and Merlin’s dismissal of him/his ideas/Merlin’s constant disparaging put-downs hurts him. But he doesn’t let it stop him.

4) Douxie CARES. A LOT. He’s patient, kind, eager to help, works hard, and has protected humanity from horrors it didn’t even know about for CENTURIES. While he was still an apprentice, with no master, and no other magic users (that we’ve really seen) that could teach him more about his own magic or how to use it. The hedge wizards are cool, but we don’t get to see much of them and it looks like they’re more of a side society in Arcadia than something Douxie’s strictly a part of.

5) Douxie protects whoever he can whenever he can. To him, all life is precious, and he gives off major “is anyone else protecting this person or trying to make things better okay cool cool cool, I’m gonna try to do that as much as I can for as many as I can right now!” attitude. Which gives off major older sibling vibes to me. 

(To emphasize, he cares about EVERYONE. He’s distraught at the thought of Arthur’s death, HE’S the one who uses his magic to remind--not enchant, REMIND--Arthur and Morgana of their old love of the forest and of Gwen (apparently the glue that held their trio together) and how, each in their own way, they miss her and still love each other. HE’S the one who’s constantly checking the time continuum, and keeps trying to tell Merlin that it doesn’t have to be Arthur vs. Morgana. But Merlin outright pushes him aside/ignores him, and events take their course. Interesting note: Right during the big fight scene in the past with Arthur vs. Morgana, just before Arthur cuts off Morgana’s hand with Excaliber and she falls to her death, you’ll notice the time continuum is blue. Which means it’s fine. The future is good. Douxie could go back to his future no problem. BUT WHEN HE SEES MORGANA’S DEAD FORM as part of the repaired timeline, HE SHOUTS AND RUNS TOWARD THEM TO TRY AND STOP IT. Morgana being DEAD didn’t mess up the timeline. Excaliber being broken did. But Douxie was still trying to save Morgana AND Arthur, and only the blast of magic from their fight knocked him back. And he still grieves her death as one of the parts of his failure, even while Merlin pushes him aside and focuses on Arthur and Excaliber in the aftermath of the battle.

6) Does anyone else think Douxie has a major guilt complex/super messed up self esteem? Because Douxie tearfully shouting “I’m so sorry! This is all my fault!” to Merlin, AS DOUXIE’S OWN LIFE IS IN DANGER AFTER HE TRIED TO SAVE HIS FRIENDS and keep the Arcane Order from destroying the world...that hit hard. His life is on the line and (most likely) his last words are a plea for forgiveness to the Master that routinely dismissed him as an incompetent idiot and was more than happy to leave teenagers (!TEENAGERS!) who’d fought and risked everything to protect the world to die horribly at the hands of his enemies. Douxie--caring, kind-hearted, I-get-my-ass-rountinely-handed-to-me-but-always-get-up-again DOUXIE was the one who ran back to get Jim and Claire. Not Merlin. Merlin was *this close* to leaving to protect Nari for the greater good, and only reconsidered because Douxie had thrown himself into the fray (and despite his best efforts got thrown hard into a rock wall by The Green Knight. And then volleyball spiked into the (equally hard rock) floor and crushed by MindControlledTrollJim.

7) Douxie DOES NOT GIVE UP. Merlin writes Jim’s injuries off as hopeless and him as a lost cause, but Douxie relentlessly tries to figure out ways to fix things. Arthur and Morgana’s relationship, Jim’s injury/worsening curse, all the scenarios where they (it looks like) have to choose between saving their friends AND the world. He doesn’t just shrug and write off losses the way Merlin does. Douxie keeps throwing himself at problems and putting himself at risk to solve them.

8) He’s honest. (Certain Lad of Fortune bowl games aside ;) ) Merlin only told Jim the problem with the wound and left it at that. Douxie makes sure that Claire knows the reality of the situation and promises he’ll find a way to fix it. He knows their situation isn’t ideal, but he refuses to just shrug and leave things as they are. He’s more than willing to throw himself wholeheartedly into finding a way to fix things and refuses to let defeat stop him. Which leads me to, finally--

9) Douxie willingly, without flinching or making a big deal about it, walks into the jaws of death for his friends and the world. For Pete’s sake, he does it with a SMILE. He KNOWS getting his friends back is a long shot. He KNOWS the Arcane Order cannot get Nari AND the Seals, or else the world is doomed--AND he could easily have chosen to go on the run, with the Seals, for the rest of his life. His friends would have died (or worse), Nari would have been trapped with the Order for the rest of time, but the world (and Douxie) would have been safe. Why? The Order doesn’t know he has the seals. Merlin said they could be FOUND if his staff was destroyed, he didn’t say they were STORED there. (And yeah, I wanted Douxie to trick the Order with fake Seals too, but after some thought I’d argue that they’re ancient and powerful enough where they probably wouldn’t have been fooled by or chased after a fake.) Also, going on the run with inanimate objects your hunters don’t know you have and having the kind of magic Douxie does--he could have had a niiiiiice life. Maybe a little mobile, but arguably MUCH easier than constantly making sure a small forest spirit doesn’t get snatched up by her angry brethren. In any case--

Douxie’s plan included--and even hinged on--his willingness to die buying his friends and Nari time to escape. He BUILT IT INTO HIS PLAN. And that bravery, courage, and matter of fact heroism--along with that defiant smirk he gives the Order when they threaten to kill him--is why I love this guy so much.