#for as much as i poke make fun of aurora for being a bit of a dumbass she really is a lot smarter than she lets on

[serene-sun]

𝕮𝖔𝖒𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖇𝖆𝖈𝖐♫♬ p. 3

Pairing: no pairing, but lowkey dewther + Swiss

Summary: it’s ok! Everyone has mixed emotions in times of injury.

A/n: there’s a very very mild sex joke? Not even about sex. 16+!! Also plz appreciate my phantom and Aurora vlad era headcanon. There might be a part 4, but it will be short

Previous chapter

“Well, tell us about yourselves now that your both settled down.” Sunshine asked enthusiastically, patting a seat for both the ghouls by her on the couch.

They were all in the ghoul den, they had just finished their little tour and going on about what they will be doing. And all of the Ministry history, including the goal of the ghost project.

“Well, as you know already, we are siblings.” Aurora says, grabbing the tea cup mountain handed her.

“And we’re middle ghouls, we’ve been here before.” Phantom says, also being handed a cup. “But I will say, we’ve never been in an era like this one.”

“What do you mean love?” Cumulus asks

“Last time we were here was 1476, or was it 1475?” Phantom says, recalling his past years.

“Yeah, 1476, Hungary, it was so much fun. Although I feel bad about the amount of people we killed but that was a different time.” Aurora shrugs

The room stiffens, and goes awkwardly silent.

“Do you mind me asking why you went back to the pit?” Sunshine asks, trying to ease the awkward silence.

“Vlad died, he was kinda lame anyways.” Phantom says, taking a drink to his tea

“Vlad? As in Vlad Dracula?” Swiss jokes, laughing at his own joke

“Yeah” Aurora answers, sipping her tea again

“Well anyways! I hope you like the Ministry!” Cirrus changes the subject.

“Yeah, I’m sure you will love everyone.” Cumulus added

“You guys are welcome to join the pile if you wish.” Rain invites

Aethers been a bit quiet, too quiet for sodos liking. Sodo taps his shoulder, signaling for him to follow as he leaves the room.

“Hey…everything alright?” Sodo asks

“Yeah yeah, it’s just…I still feel bad.” Aether replies

He’s being honest, he knows that it won’t be the same for everyone. The new ghouls haven’t even heard their music yet.

“It’s ok, it will be alright.” Sodo reassures him. “We’ve got this.”

“Yeah but, do they?” Aether shrugs

Sodo sighs

“I mean, they were just talking about their last time on earth.” Aether takes a deep breath, “and to think they were that feral? To think about who they used to work for compared to copia?”

“Aether….we are here. We are strong. We are capable of handling them. If they get out of control, we can easily send them back to the pit.” Sodo grabs his hands

“It’s not just how they might act, it’s their talent too. What if…what if he’s better than me?” Aethers breathe hitched as he feels tears prickle up at the thought. “What if I’m the one sent back? What if the fans love him more than me? What if-“

“Aether!” Swiss’s voice interrupts, swinging out the door. “We’re going to watch a movie, do you wa-“

His eyes catch onto a tear that rolls down Aethers cheek.

“Aeth?” Swiss asks, closing the door behind him. “What’s wrong?”

“Look, neither of them are replacing anybody!” Sodo faces aether, ignoring Swiss.

“Replacing? What’s all this about?” Swiss asks, coming behind aether and setting his arm around his shoulder.

“How could you, THE aether, be replaced?” Swiss chuckles, “yeah it might not be the same, but it’s just limited time you know.”

“But what if he-“ aether starts

Sodo quickly shuts him down, “what if he plays in your spot for one tour and it not the end of the world?”

Aether looks down at his feet, sighing another uncountable time.

A crack can be heard from the door to the ghoul den, making all three ghouls snap their heads to only see the newer two ghouls poking their heads out.

“Were you seriously eavesdropping?” Sodo snaps

“So cliche…” Swiss shakes his head

“Uh…sorry, we didn’t mean to offend you. Just know we may of heard all of that, but we never meant to hurt you in any way.” Phantom admits.

“True, it’s not like we chose to be summoned. It’s an exciting ordeal, but we have ghouls at home, so neither do we wish to replace you aether.” Aurora insists

“You heard….all of that?” Aether asks, a frown still on his face

“Yeah…” phantom replies

“We’re sorry if we came off as evil or feral earlier. Truth is, we’re just nervous about this. We haven’t been here in so long, it’s like another dimension.” Aurora bit her lip

“Yeah, plus suddenly being around so many male ghouls…” phantom looks to his side out of embarrassment, “the need for absolute dominance is obviously annoying, as it is for every male ghoul.”

Sodo snickers, looking down to see where and why he hid his lower body behind something.

“But don’t forget, we’re the ones being replaced.” Aurora brings their attention back.

She smiles at aether, encouraging his happiness a bit more.

“It’s alright, I’m not usually a sore thumb, I apologize.” Aether straitened his back

“No! You have every right to be upset, if I was in your position, I’d loose my cool.” Phantom steps closer to him.

“I swear we won’t act up too, it sounds like your papa is pretty chill anyways.” He adds

“Yeah and from what I hear, this isn’t that big of a deal.” Aurora adds in

“Exactly, it’s just a leave of absence! You’ll be back in no time, ready to give them your all.”

[roxdelrosario]

[ciswoman, she/her] Welcome to Aurora Bay, [ROXANNE “ROXY” DEL ROSARIO]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [HAILEE STEINFELD]. You must be the[TWENTY-FIVE] year old [COOK AT FOUR LEAF PUB]. Word is you’re [PASSIONATE] but can also be a bit [ANNOYING] and your favorite song is [SAVIOR COMPLEX BY PHOEBE BRIDGERS]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [FISHER’s COVE]. I’m sure you’ll love it! **wc for Kalina’s step-sibling**

BASCIS:

Name: Roxanne del Rosario

Nicknames: Roxy, Ro, Rox, Ro Ro, Rosario

Age: 25

Faceclaim: Hailee Steinfeld

Gender: Ciswoman

Pronouns: She/her

FAMILY:

Father: Antonio del Rosario (deceased)

Mother: Cheyanne Slater

Step-Father: Michaël Slater

Step-sister: Kalina Slater-Horne

pet(s): Havana rabbit named Cookie

BIO:

Tw: cancer, parental death, depression, grief

Roxy grew up in a very loving home as an only child to a wonderful couple, Antonio and Cheyanne. Some of Roxy’s earliest memories were laughing in the kitchen while she helped her mom clean vegetables for the dishes her father would make. That’s where it seemed all their best memories were; in the kitchen cooking or in the dining room eating. It was something that brought her family close together, and Roxy often wondered why her father never became a chef. 

It didn’t take long for Roxy to be the one cooking herself. Her father had taught her everything she knew in the kitchen, and he loved teaching her about his culture through their love of food. With every Filipino dish she was taught, her father explained more about his culture over dinner, and those became her favorite nights. Of course, Roxy loved to experiment with different dishes and techniques, so those nights they had their Filipino dinners were special and far between. 

Life was good, but when Roxy was in middle school, Antonio was diagnosed with cancer. It was scary and hard on the family, emotionally and financially. With Antonio sick, Roxy took on making dinner as just a small way to help out. It was hard on her and she couldn’t bear the thought of losing her best friend. Antonio beat his battle of cancer, and he was doing well recovering so things were looking up for the family. 

High school was hard for Roxy. She made good grades so it wasn’t the academics that were difficult, it was difficult for her to make friends. She was a bit awkward and some thought she was too excitable, and she was poked fun at for wanting to be a chef, but Roxy would never stop being herself. She had dreams and ambitions. She wasn’t going to throw that away to fit in. 

In 10th grade, however, she made friends with a group of girls. One had invited her to sit with them at lunch and the rest was history. Some of those girls enjoyed playing video games, and although Roxy had never really played anything like that, they got her to try it. She was hooked. Roxy did odd jobs like cleaning houses in her neighborhood, dogsitting, and even babysitting so she could save up for her own PC. And when she finally had enough to buy one, she would play games throughout the night with her friends and even started making friends completely online. 

But the summer after finishing 11th grade, Roxy was told her father had cancer again. Except, he’d been fighting it for much longer than she knew. It wasn’t until he was so sick he was in the hospital that she was told. It hurt her so deeply, but her father wanted to keep it a secret because he knew how much the first time upset her. This wasn’t like the first time though, this was much worse. 

Roxy’s father got to watch her graduate but he passed away the summer after. She was lost and she felt like she lost her best friend. Roxy stopped cooking, didn’t go to college right away like she’d planned, and she couldn’t even get out of bed some mornings. 

It wasn’t that Cheyanne didn’t love Antonio, but she was doing exceptionally better than Roxy was. She’d gone to therapy, she was working and thriving in life, while Roxy withered away, losing friends and hurting constantly. Roxy still gamed and she had plenty of friends on discord but real life friends were nonexistent now. Even those she played games with had slowly drifted away after moving off to college. She wasn’t sure what she could do to even help herself.

When Cheyanne started dating again, Roxy just became angry. But it was one night that Cheyanne was going to invite her new boyfriend and his daughter over for dinner when she asked Roxy to make one of her father’s Filipino dishes for them. Instantly, Roxy felt tears fill her eyes. Because while Cheyanne was dating and it felt like she was replacing Roxy’s father, Cheyanne still wanted to honor him the way they always honored him and his culture when they had special dinners.

Roxy agreed, made dinner for Cheyanne’s boyfriend and daughter, and everything went well. Roxy was astonished by how close she felt to her father making that one dish, and she fell back in love with cooking. It was all she ever wanted to do. It helped her find some kind of closure with her father’s death. In the meantime, she was trying to get out more and heal instead of hiding to wallow in her pain. It was after Cheyanne and Michael got married that Roxy really started to get to know Kalina. At first she was terrified to get to know her new step-sister, and at first it was a little bumpy. But it didn’t take long for them to become friends. 

Roxy and her mom moved to Aurora Bay with Kalina and Michael, and life has been much better. A year or so ago, Roxy got a job at Four Leaf Pub as a cook, where she tries to learn all she can about the restaurant business while she’s working and trying to save for culinary school. She hopes someday she can fulfill her dream of opening her own Filipino restaurant in town.

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

Friends

Co-workers (Four Leaf Pub)

Regulars at Four Leaf she's befriended

Online friends she used to game/still games with

Exes

Blind dates

People she can dogsit for (she's saving up for culinary school)

Houses she cleans regularly for extra cash (for culinary school lol)

I'd love to plot out more!

@aurorabayaesthetic

[yafaemi]

You've been visited by the random OC question fairy! :D ~☆

Pick five of your character's most influential milestones (moving away from home, a first kiss, a death, etc.). Why and how did these milestones affect your character?

Ah! Hello there! ^-^ Thank you for the question!! I have to be honest, this one took me a fair bit of time to write up lol. It got a lot longer than I expected. :P But ya! I ended up answering for Aurora, I never seem to do much with her and I thought I’d change that on this occasion. :D

1. The first one that comes to mind for Rory is the... weird circumstances around her father’s disappearance, reappearance, and then death.

Technically, Aurora’s father was only present in her life for about four/five years. Not for the reasons one might assume. It was a bit of a family scandal that drove him to leaving in the first place. 

It’s a bit of a long story, so for the sake of not going off track, let’s just say there’s a reason that Aurora only has a half-sibling. They don’t share the same father. 

But ya. He ends up leaving, heartbroken and betrayed. And he stays away until Aurora is around 6 years old. He returns into her life, and for as happy as Aurora is about it, her mother definitely isn’t. She confronts him after a while, and then learns the grim truth behind his return. 

...He’s dying. He doesn’t have that long left, and whatever time he does have would be best spent with his daughter that he’s missed so much. Even if he still hasn’t forgiven her mother, and never will. But he couldn’t hate Aurora for something that wasn’t her fault, and he spent too long regretting how he left. 

He’s gone by the time that Aurora is 10. His final words are basically telling Aurora never to forsake the people she cares about. Never betray the trust that they give her. In the end, doing so would hurt herself more than anyone else. 

It’s safe to say that she takes that to heart. Ever since, Aurora has maintained an almost unsettling level of loyalty to her friends and the people she cares about. She’s joked about the fact that she’d probably hide a body if one of them asked her to, though it’s more just a fact than anything at this point. It’s definitely gotten her burned in the past-- more times than she’d care to admit-- but she’s gotten good at figuring out who does and doesn’t deserve her trust. 

2. The second is when she’s around 12 years old. This is around the time that Aurora actually learns that she has a half-sibling. (Who is, in fact, another one of my OCs! His name is Oliver.) 

Because of financial issues that Aurora’s mother was having back then, she couldn’t actually take care of both kids. Not to mention that she didn’t want Aurora’s father to know about this. So, in slight desperation, she reaches out to Oliver’s father. She explains that she can’t take care of both children, and begs him to come and take Oliver. So he does. 

And then, years after the fact, he contacts her and demands that she take Oliver back, or he’s getting thrown out onto the street. 

With events forcing her hand, Aurora’s mother explains everything. She explains why Aurora has a half-sibling she never knew about, and then adds on that he’s going to be living with them from now on. And Aurora is furious. 

She has never forgiven her mother for this, years later. It caused a rift in their relationship that even after 12 years, Aurora still hates thinking about. 

It’s one of the very few things that Aurora will actively avoid having to talk about with anyone except Oliver himself. And even then she still hates talking about it. She’s usually a very cheerful, energetic person, but even a hint of that topic coming up and suddenly she’s about as energetic as a funeral attendant. 

3. This also has to do with Oliver. This happened when Aurora was 16, and Oliver was 14. 

Now-- before this point, when Oliver first arrived, they hated each other. They would fight constantly, until their mother came to break it up. And even then, the fighting would start pretty swiftly afterwards. 

Aurora was still dealing with a lot of feelings about this-- never getting enough time to process what her mother had told her, the newly emerged grief of her father’s death, and now having to deal with a sibling she neither wanted nor even knew about. It was a little too much, a little too fast. She ended up being told about all of it a week before Oliver arrived. She didn’t speak to her mother for a week afterwards. 

And it was about the same for Oliver, as well, in the way of having to deal with a lot of feelings on the situation. His father should not have been allowed to take him. Oliver’s father was a despicable person who put him through living hell for no good reason. And now, after almost being thrown out onto the street, the woman that he was told wanted nothing to do with him was going to take him back. He was told at a young age that his mother hated him, hence why Oliver had no actual memory of meeting her, or any memory of her in general. 

Anyways, both Aurora and Oliver of them ended up mellowing a little bit as time went on-- and with a timely argument between Oliver and his mother, in which she found out the truth of his erratic behavior-- allowing what one could tentatively call a heart-to-heart happen. 

Their relationship definitely changed, at that point. They stopped their ceaseless fighting, and actually started working together more. They still fight sometimes-- that’s just sort of inevitable-- but it was nowhere near as bad as it used to be. 

At this point, Aurora just feels like she’s a better person for knowing him. She’s not really shy about the fact that Oliver inspires her— even if he doesn’t see why. 

4. When Aurora was 19, she managed to convince her mother to allow her to travel. And travel she did. She spent half a year travelling to and fro, living life as a fledgling adventurer before finally taking a prolonged stay in Sharlayan, under the sage guidance of a long-time acquaintance. 

It was this acquaintance, in fact, who ended up teaching Aurora everything she now knows about Sharlayan astrology-- even going so far as to gift to her a very well-worn Soul of the Astrologian before leaving Sharlayan behind, themselves. 

It’s been one of Aurora’s most prized possessions ever since. While she usually doesn’t have the patience-- or really the focus-- to sit down and pour over books endlessly, astrology is one of the few subjects that she’ll gladly lose sleep over learning about. And she does. A lot. Probably more than is healthy. 

It gave her something to pour a majority of her excess energy into, really. Instead of nearly getting blown up or maimed by increasingly mad stunts. Aurora was never a perfect student by any means, but she certainly was a dedicated one. It just took finding the right subject. 

Really, it changed her whole outlook on learning and the pursuit of knowledge. Not to mention gave her a boost of confidence in a realm where she’d always sort of struggled with. 

This… isn’t really necessary to mention, but it does kinda tie into this! Aurora, since this point, has always argued when people call themselves stupid. She used to do it too-- but she’s since had an epiphany. It’s not that anyone is really stupid. Different people are just smarter when it comes to different things. Not understanding something doesn’t mean you’re stupid in general. 

5. Of all the things on this list, this is probably the most recent. And it’s meeting the rest of my OCs-- a group whom I affectionately call The Gang. There’s technically 6 of them in total, including Aurora, though I don’t really mention all 6 here. 

It all started around 10 months ago. Since then, the band has only grown, and the Gang has only become closer and closer. They’re basically like family now. 

They mean the world to Aurora-- she fully believes that her life would be a far worse place without them. 

At this point, they’ve been with each other through some incredible highs and lows, and come out stronger together for it. Aurora knows that if she ever needs help, she can find it from one of them, since they would help her without a single thought. And she would do the same for them a thousand times over. 

It’s the happiest that she’s ever been, having them by her side. Aurora very firmly believes that everything she’s been through and experienced led up to meeting them, and she wouldn’t forsake them for the world.

[ermegtei]

❝orange sheets❞

៚ tighnari, kazuha, xiao, albedo

ᝰ mornings with genshin boys ☆

꒦꒷ i had a fun time writing this so i wanted to share it ;) UNEDITED pls ignore my mistakes i'll fix it later <;/3

tighnari loves admiring your sleeping face.

perhaps it's the drool that's rolling down your chin. or your rosy cheeks, likely due to you sleeping under the blanket. either way, you're adorable. he could just look at your face for hours and hours until you wake up—ah... you woke up already.

then come on, get ready with tighnari.

he smooches you, seperating with a pop!. a small groan escapes your throat from the sunlight peeking through the curtains.

"you wanna get up?" a slow nod was all he needed to push down the blanket and hop off of the bed, scrunching his nose as he stretched his sore muscles.

despite the walk to the bathroom being very shot, you still held hands, intertwining your fingers with his. you missed him, even in your slumber.

getting up early together was uncommon. one of you wakes up earlier than the other and leaves for lecture while the other... well yknow.

you sat on the toilet, rubbing your eyes since you were still groggy from the deep sleep you had. you hadn't slept like this for a while. was it because you didn't have to force yourself up from the alarm or was it because you rested well in his arms?

your thoughts were interrupted from your red pucca toothbrush in your face with toothpaste on it. ah, you forgot you left your toothbrush at his home.

you lazily took it from his hand as you glanced up to see him with his garu toothbrush in his mouth, a smile decorating his face at your droopy eyes.

in each others eyes, you both looked like love itself.

you put your toothbrush in your mouth but you didn't make an effort to actually brush your teeth, just letting it stay there, resting on your tongue while a few drops of water dripped onto your face from tighnari rinsing his mouth.

he wiped his hands with your shared pink towel and with a raised eyebrow, he asked—

"aren't you gonna brush your teeth?"

"i'm.. tired." despite the satisfying sleep you still couldn't move your arms.

he crossed his arms, an amused look on his face as he watched you sit still, perhaps hoping for something.

"you're not a kid anymore." he grumbled, crouching down infront of you as he pushed your bangs out of your face before grabbing the toothbrush, holding it in a position comfortable for both of you.

he let out an ahh as if telling you to open your mouth, so you did.

kazuha is... confusing.

he's both a heavy sleeper and a very light sleeper.

sometimes he wakes up at the asscrack of dawn because you sleeptalked a bit. sometimes you could be laying on top of him, suffocating him and he would still be sleeping like a bear.

and today was one of those bear days as you called it.

it was 12:56am. though not very late, you woke up hours ago and you were incredibly bored so you tried doing many things to wake him up.

you poked his cheek, gave it a few hard slaps, even tugged on his hair and gave him cpr because you were starting to get concerned for your boyfriend who didn't move a single muscle during these long dreadful hours.

you hoped these would've woke him since you didn't wanna exactly shake him awake but it did little to nothing so you gave up, pouting and slowly facing the other way to leave kazuha alone and maybe get a bit of sleep yourself.

and it seems your tiny movement was the stupid thing to finally wake him up.

you almost wanted to call him aurora, not because he was sleeping as much so much but because he was as beautiful as her.

the lazy smile when he saw your face set butterflies in your tummy, the feeling still pulling at your heart strings despite how long you have being dating him.

"have you been waiting long, my love?" he asked despite the answer basically written on your face in bold.

"i've waited like,,, an eternity. now let's get up please." you pulled him up despite his protests to lay down a bit and cuddle. (you almost wanted to but held back hehe)

with a loving gaze and a lazy grin, kazuha managed to get you to sit infront of him on the couch as you scratched your head a bit before shifting into a position that's easy for him to brush your hair.

he loves your hair, short or long.

he gently brushed the knots, chuckling a bit at your ouch!-s.

moments like these make you appreciate how simple and calm he is.

trying to heal someone who doesn't want to be healed is gonna end with you being hurt, they said.

but they didn't know anything.

they didn't know how he watched over you, his healer.

you slept rather late so it was obvious you were gonna wake up late too. but that was fine with xiao, who couldn't sleep no matter how hard he tried.

he didn't want to burden you and interrupt you from your dreams so he sat next to you, lap covered with the blanket.

when you would talk his ears off or just cling onto him, he didn't have time to think about anything other than you. but with the room being completely silent and your soft breathes barely reaching his ears, he could only think about the future.

his future.

would you guys still be together in a few years, or would you finally realize how unworthy he is?

would you guys marry? or maybe even—

"g'morning..." your quiet voice startled him a bit. he turned to look at you and saw your left eye open while the other was closed, still trying to get used to the bright light from above you two.

"a-ah, i'll turn it off-" when he was about to pul off the sheets you quickly gripped his forearm, slightly squeezing to feel his soft skin.

"sleep." you only let out before pulling the covers over you two, holding his waist tightly as if you guys weren't close enough already...

it made xiao almost a bit jealous at how easily you were able to doze off but letting out a small sigh, he closed his eyes while holding your head to his chest.

what he said about not being able to sleep no matter what... might've been wrong, proven by you ♡

albedo was so used to pulling all-nighters, he could go days without sleeping until his body HAS to shut down.

you had a breakdown last night, sobbing into your arms, fat teardrops falling onto the table like a river. you had to finish this assignment by 6am in the morning, random timing but that's what your professor said.

you hadn't slept the other day so it was already taking a toll on your body but your assignment wasn't even close to finishing. your hands shook as your fingers messily tap tap tap!-ed on the keyboard.

your grades on this class was not so good and your professor gave you chance to get extra points but you still couldn't do it.

filled with frustration, your blurred vision failed to notice your boyfriend walking into the room with concerned eyes.

all you could remember was him rubbing your back and placing soft kisses on your forehead while you weeped into his hoodie. but as your cries turned into soft hiccups, he talked you into laying down.

you knew you shouldn't have but hearing his voice begging you to rest was just enough to soothe you to sleep.

a disappointed sigh left your lips as the horrifying image of a big red F lingered into your mind.

too late now, you could smell a sweet smell coming from the kitchen and a smile unconsciously made its way onto your face.

quickly jumping up, you made your way over to albedo, placing your hands on his hips and squeezing as a 'surprise!'

despite you being behind him, you knew he was smirking.

"you okay?" he turned around to rub your bare arms, his hands that was usually covered in gloves, also bare. his soft palms felt like feather tickling your arm.

you nodded, a soft smile painted over both of your faces. though you thought he looked like a sculpture compared to you

he turned his gaze to the table and raised his eyebrows, an indication to go sit down and so you obeyed.

when you sat down your eyes shifted to your laptop, the memories from yesterday tugging the corner of your lips down.

but the kiss on your eyelid and the plate of breakfast albedo made for you erased the thoughts like a breeze.

"i'll be back soon, okay? eat well and take bath." though his caring self made your eyes turn into hearts, the first part of his sentence also made the frown appear again.

a low hearted laugh escaped hid throat but he rubbed his thumb on your hand before walking to the door and putting on his shoes.

as soon as the sound of the door closing rang in your ears, something in you was telling you to check out your assignment one more time, even if it was 10am now.

you don't know what you expected but your lips parted and your eyes glistened at the screen.

"Assignment sent.

5:59am @______"

[kwritingbooks]

co-written by me & @shroombloomm

catch up on: tumblr or wattpad

Aurora is antsy after Harry disappears again without a word about it. And since there's a stargazing class opportunity again, what better excuse is there than to find out if he's home? It's not like that could get her in a sticky situation again...right?

AU: star-being!harry x astronomy-student!aurora

AURORA'S POV

It had been another few days since I had seen Harry, but it wasn't as unnerving as it was the first time. I understood that he didn't work on certain days, but the fact he seemed to drop off the face of the Earth was the part I had the hardest time wrapping my mind around. I mean, I missed my parents while I was gone too, but they had phones. I took full advantage of FaceTime calls and texting them any time I had the chance. Maybe I just didn't understand the full gravity of his situation, so I shouldn't judge.

The professor had scheduled another one of the stargazing events for tonight, in hopes that we would catch something. This time he seemed more prepared for it. He said everyone was welcome to bring their own equipment, but he would also be bringing telescopes and other tools himself for us to use. I was excited for this one, and I wanted Harry to come with us. So, even though I had yet to see him the past few days, I wanted to try. So, that was why I found myself walking down his road this evening. To hopefully drag him along to tonight's viewing.

There was a small glimmer of hope that he would be back by now, sitting in his living room listening to whatever he found himself listening to. Which was another thing– what did he listen to? There was so much about him that I had no idea about, and I seemed to be intrigued by his unknowns the more I was around him.

As I walked up the sidewalk, I watched his quaint apartment complex start to develop in front of me. The evening sun made the scenic surroundings look more beautiful than they actually were; the golden glow creating a shade of orange and pink over everything. The small reflection of the disappearing sun reflected against one of his windows, and I crossed my fingers that he would poke his head out with his usual wide grin; teeth brighter than the sun it reflected off from.

No such thing happened, but that was fine. It didn't fully diminish all the hope I had about him being home yet. I considered checking his mailbox that was right beside his door, but I didn't want to push any more boundaries that I had accidentally crossed when I went through his cabinets the other night.

I felt my heart pick up as I walked up his steps, his front door now inches away from my body. I prepared myself for the worst, starting to fully expect the fact that he wasn't home. The last thing I wanted to do was be disappointed by his lack of presence. Not that I couldn't handle not being around him, but tonight seemed like something he would have been sad about missing. He was the only classmate that I knew that shared my interests to the same magnitude, so it was more fun when he was around.

I raised my finger up to the doorbell, pressing gently against the button. I could hear the faint bells ring out throughout his home, and I tried to make out any other noises that could have been made, whether footsteps, doors opening or closing, or even the familiar giggle. The outside noises of a car passing and dogs barking in the background was all I heard, though. Without much hesitation, I tapped my knuckles against the door.

"Harry?" I said through the woodened entrance.

My brows knitted together as I waited for a response, but nothing still. I knocked again a little harder this time in case he didn't hear me, but when my knuckles met the door, it cracked open a little bit. My lips parted in confusion, taking a step back.

Had he not closed his door all the way? He must have been here if the door was open, right?

Everything in me was telling me not to go inside, but then I thought about the worst-case scenarios. What if he had passed out on the floor? Knocked his head? Hurt himself in some other way?

I swallowed my nerves as I pushed the heavy door open, taking in a slow step as my eyes wandered around the still house.

"Harry? You in here?" I called out as I walked into the house, closing the door behind me. I didn't want people to think I was breaking in with having just my head in the door. I waited a few moments but was yet again met with silence.

But, why would he leave his door open like that? For anybody to just come in?

I was a prime example of that. I couldn't help but look around his apartment, the floors creaking underneath my feet as I walked. Each empty room showcased that he was truly nowhere to be found.

The kitchen was clean, meaning he hadn't been here, or he was naturally that well kept. His bed was made with no hints of someone laying there recently. Everything just seemed so dull and empty. Where was his personality in all of this? There were no signs of pictures of his family, nothing.

Maybe he was so busy with his family he never got a chance to decorate. I made a mental note to help him spruce things up at some point. Harry was too bubbly to have an apartment that felt like this.

I had come to the conclusion that he wasn't home, and that I literally just walked into his house without him being there. I stood there briefly staring at the wall while I thought about how weird Harry had made me feel the last few times I had seen him. I typically wouldn't do things like this, but something was compelling me.

I shook my head, placing a flat palm to my forehead as I turned to leave his apartment, but then I heard keys jingling and footsteps that came from outside the front door. My heart dropped to my stomach as I backed away, trying to think of a good reason as to why I would be in here. I mentally wrote out a very long apology letter to him in hopes that he would forgive me and not think I was weird for basically breaking in.

The door opened and I stood still like an idiot. My body was telling me to run, but my mind was telling me not to because that would mean I was trying to hide, and I had nothing to hide.

Harry came in through the door, his hands fiddling with the keys as he went to close it. It was so weird seeing him alone, or at least when he thought he was alone. His lips were pressed into a flat line as he mindlessly walked further into the house, focusing hard on something else.

"Holy–fuck!" Harry finally had looked up to see me standing in his living room. His eyes widened for a moment before his features softened back to normal.

"Aurora, you–you scared me. I didn't expect company today." He breathed out with a flat hand against his chest, trying to control his breathing from the scare. I had flinched too when he screamed, startling me as well.

But not as bad as I had startled him.

"Harry, I can explain–" I started to say nervously, but Harry's lips curved into a wide smile that showed off his dimples as he sat his things down onto the table. He was so calm about it all, like he wasn't angry that I had just come into his house without him knowing.

"How have you been, Aurora?" He asked as he made his way to the couch, walking right past me. I stood there still dumbfounded, wondering if he was secretly pissed off at me and plotting ways to kill me before I could walk out of the house.

"Um..." I rubbed my arm, turning towards him as I pursed my lips in confusion. "I'm fine? I just stopped by because I haven't seen you in a few days, and we have a stargazing meeting tonight with the professor."

"Oh." His lips curved into a frown as his hands met his lap, firmly squeezing his legs as he leaned forward. "Yes, I suppose I have been away for some time... I was visiting my parents again. I, uh...what time is the meeting?"

"You see your parents a lot." I blurted out, fiddling with my fingers nervously. "I mean, that's not a bad thing, but it's just–you disappear and I get worried because you don't tell any of us. I mean, not that you have to tell us, but–"

"I'm sorry I worried you, Aurora." Harry said thickly as he stood to his feet, a sultry look on his face as he walked towards me. "I don't mean to disappear out of nowhere, it's just that–my parents are...ill. I have to see them often to make sure they're taken care of."

"Oh...okay." I felt bad all of a sudden, like I had intruded again. I never had that problem before; I never really cared about the intricacies of others' lives unless they were close to me. I wasn't sure what changed between now and before meeting Harry, but it was an odd feeling. I didn't like it, it felt like guilt.

I shuffled slightly under my feet as I fiddled with my fingers again. Desperately I hoped he wasn't upset, even if he didn't want to admit it out loud to me. I still felt like there wasn't a way that he couldn't be. Wrong timing seemed to be giving me a bad rep, but none of it was on purpose– whether it was going through his cabinets or his door opening from my knocks. I was just caught at the wrong time, and I hated how that painted me out to be. Hopefully he could understand that.

"They're okay, though, don't worry. It's only a couple hours away, so I take advantage when I'm not having classes." He spoke up.

He must have noticed the discomfort I exhibited in my body language, because he sounded so reassuring. Did this guy ever get annoyed by anything? If someone were to barge into my house, without my knowledge, and then proceed to ask about my sick parents, I would have been pissed. Why wasn't he?

"I'm sorry." I forced out a laugh in order to calm my nerves. "Uh, so, you wanna come? It sounds exciting. He's gonna have the telescopes out, red flashlights, and even one of his old sky maps. I thought you'd like it." I smiled shyly, hoping he would be as enthused about it as I hoped.

His eyes immediately seemed to light up, more excited than I guessed he would be. His reaction sent a wash of relief over me, and I smiled back.

"That is exciting! Let's go!" He beamed and began making his way out the door again. I couldn't help but laugh slightly as I watched him disregard the bags he just came in with, still piled on the table by the entrance. Some of the contents of the bag had even spilled out, but he paid no attention to it.

I followed him out, and he was almost at the sidewalk already. He spun back around to me, his smile yet to falter.

"You not gonna lock your door?" I asked, skipping down the steps. Maybe that really was a habit of his– not locking doors behind him.

He scrunched his eyebrows at me. "Should I?"

I laughed, slightly dumbfounded. "I mean, yeah, probably. Might not just be me accidentally walking in next time."

He shrugged his shoulders as he rushed past me, allowing the locks to click into place. He let out a satisfied hum as he caught back up to me again. He matched my pace as we walked down the path. He normally walked a lot faster than me, considering how much longer his legs were to mine. I appreciated the fact he didn't make me catch up to him. I really wasn't in the mood to speed walk.

It was a comfortable silence between the two of us while we treaded our feet down the path. Every now and then I would glance up at him and he would be entranced by something else each time. At one point he stared intently at a squirrel that kept trying to cross the road, but would be stopped from a car rushing past. He looked like he wanted to run up and help the squirrel himself, but then it finally found the right chance and got to the other side unscathed. Harry smiled contently to himself from its success.

"Those little furry things are weird." He said shortly after.

"The squirrels?" I laughed, slightly confused. "Yeah, they're some weird little things. I raised one when I was a kid with my dad. It fell from the tree when it was a baby, so we helped it get better." I smiled down at my walking feet as I looked back on the childhood memory.

"Did you name it like you did with Astro?" He questioned, peering over his side at me.

I chuckled, forgetting about that part of the story until he asked. "Squirrely. I wasn't very creative with names when I was a kid, but I was adamant about naming him myself."

He smiled at me with his hands in his pockets, his dimples exposing briefly from the expression.

"Did you have any pets growing up?" I asked.

He bit at the inside of his cheek when I questioned him, looking back ahead of him again.

"Er, no..." He trailed off for a moment. "Parents were never...a big fan, I guess."

"Oh, hm." I hummed out. "At least you could get your own now that you live alone, though. If you ever need me to babysit while you go to your parents, I would totally do that for you." I offered.

"Wait, really? You would really do that for me?" Harry gaped back at me. His brow perked up as his lips curved into a big grin, his dimples poking out as his cheeks went red from excitement.

"Of course, I'm sure Astro would love to have someone else around other than me." I chuckled lowly as we came across the coffee shop that knew me way too well. "Wanna get some coffee before we head to the meeting? It's gonna be a long night."

"Oh, yes." He hummed, stopping in his tracks as he stared at the sign that was lit up. I stood next to him, glancing over out of the corner of my eye as he fixated on the details of the shop.

"Can I be honest with you, Aurora?" He rasped out.

"What's up?" I said as I pushed past the doors to the coffee shop. He followed incredibly close behind me as we stood in the line of people. I felt Harry brush past me, his breath hot against my ear. It made me flinch for a moment. I hadn't expected him to get that close to me.

"I've never had coffee before." He confessed thickly before pulling away from my ear, a slight frown curved onto his lips as he shifted his feet. I blinked a few times, glancing between the menu and him.

"That's okay, it's really good. It just gives you energy to do things. Wakes you up. I need it every day or I might end up killing somebody." I laughed out into my hand, gazing back towards him as he stood there uncomfortably with his face contorted in confusion.

"That's–violent." He tried to let out a chuckle, but it came out as a soft breath instead.

The line shortened and we had both gotten the same thing, because Harry got too overwhelmed by all the choices. I opted for my usual– an iced coffee with caramel and oat milk. Harry stared down at the cup like he was examining it while I had already started to drink mine. I could hear him twirling around his cup as he examined the ice floating around and it made me chuckle through my sips.

One thing about Harry that I had learned was that he seemed pretty sheltered— very sheltered. My observations were that his parents really shielded him away from the world, and it didn't bother me at all. I never had to show anybody new things and it was really exciting that I was getting to be the one to do it.

Honestly, I felt kind of bad that he seemed so starstruck by the most minimal things that I took for granted every day. It gave me a new perspective about everything; a new sense of gratitude, even.

"Wow, this is really good." Harry said as he sucked down on the straw. The coffee was quickly disappearing from the cup the more he drank, but he didn't pull away from the straw– not even for a moment.

"So good, wow. This is magnificent. I would like another one." He said casually as he shook the cup of ice around before throwing it into the trash.

"Jesus–you will probably need a glass of water after that. Let that kick in first before you get another one." I scoffed playfully, taking a sip of my iced coffee that was about half full. "You sure like those sweet drinks, don't you?"

"I suddenly feel..." He shifted onto his feet, contorting his face as he tried to think of the words to say. He went to raise his hand to place two fingers on his chin, but his hands were now shaking and I couldn't help but giggle.

"My heart is racing, is this normal?" He swallowed thickly, shoving his shaky hands into his hoodie pockets suddenly.

"You'll be okay." I patted his back as we walked towards the field. Harry was now walking way faster than me, like faster than I had ever seen him walk before in my time of knowing him. His posture was straight, his feet carrying him quickly as we walked into the field where the class was.

"Do you ever feel like running? I feel like running right now. I wonder if this coffee gives people some sort of superpowers. Maybe I could lift a car. Who knows?" His head veered to the right as he heard a noise. "Hey, look, a bird. I've seen those a lot before. They fly really high, did you know that–" Harry was talking rapidly, not even realizing that he had left me behind. When he looked back, I was ten feet behind him, trying to catch up as I suppressed my laughter.

"Aurora, you have to keep up with me, I have so much to share with you." He sighed out, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles as I finally had caught up to him. He looked down at me with a wide grin, putting a hand on my shoulder as he leaned down near my face. I was shocked for a moment, nearly wanting to back away, but my feet were stuck.

"Like I was saying, the birds. I've read a lot about birds in class before. They are quite fascinating creatures." He bored into my eyes, exposing little crinkles in the corners from his wide smile.

"Harry–" I laughed out, shaking my head at him as I playfully pushed his shoulder to create some distance. "No more coffee for you." I said as I pulled my bag to my side, grabbing a water bottle out of it before handing it over to him.

"Drink this."

"There is a centrifugal force coursing through my body." He hummed to himself in shock as he looked down at his shaky hands, his eyes widening in pure surprise.

"A what?" I laughed out as I nudged him to keep walking towards the circle of people waiting on us. He looked back, confused for a moment, and then he hummed once he recollected what we were doing.

"I am vibrating, my dear Aurora." He said matter-of-factly as we approached the group.

I rolled my eyes, like I was going to ever get that. It seemed like he knew a lot about physics as well. I was impressed with the things he knew and how he articulated it. He seemed incredibly smart, and I couldn't help but blush at the certain things he talked about.

"Aurora, Harry, glad to see you two finally made it." Professor Collins smiled flatly at the both of us as he continued to finish setting up the telescope for us to see. Harry was already on the ground, lying flat as he stared up at the stars without being told to.

People were staring at him weirdly, and it made me scoff. As if they weren't here to do the same thing. Some people in this class were so stuck up, and they never really made anybody feel welcome in the group. That was why I didn't talk to them— or care to talk to them. Probably also why I gravitated so strongly towards Harry since I met him. He couldn't care less about embarrassing others with his interests. Being around people like that was much more invigorating than being surrounded by those who thought they were too good for doing the same.

"You do realize we aren't watching the stars yet?" One of the girls had laughed out towards Harry. I vaguely knew her; I think her name was Candace. She was one of the girls that made sure that people felt looked down on for actually enjoying the class and not just taking it for credits. Like I said before— high school behavior.

"Are you talking to me?" Harry's head craned over towards Candace that was sitting a few feet away from him. She laughed out into her hand, causing the girls circled around her to giggle. "I don't get it, what's funny?" His lips went from a smile, but it faltered when he used his elbows to sit up.

"Candace, why are you such a bitch?" I hissed out, my hand sneaking into Harry's grip. He nearly broke his neck when he snapped it over to me, looking at me in surprise as he gawked down at our hands laced together.

I didn't give her any time to respond, I stood to my feet as I pulled Harry up with me and grabbed my bag to move away from her. Our hands were still loosely intertwined with each other as we walked to a different spot. I felt his hand go still, but then it tightened around mine as his thumb slowly started to stroke the back of my hand. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him biting back a smile with reddened cheeks, which caused my heart to stir a bit.

"I don't think I like Candace." Harry whispered to me, giving my hand a squeeze before letting it go, and I followed suit.

"Just ignore her, don't let her make you feel bad. She's a miserable person. I don't even know why she's in this class if she's just going to sit there and not listen to anything the professor says." I sighed as I made a spot for us under the moonlight's path.

"Were they laughing at me?" Harry looked at me with a deadpanned expression, but his lips almost fell into a frown. I think he was trying to hide the fact that it hurt his feelings, because he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth as he looked away from me.

"Harry, I–" I frowned.

"Alright, let's get this class started."

He faintly smiled at me before turning his head back towards the sky. I tried to rid the thoughts that sprung up as I watched him look upset from her words. God, what I would have given to be able to beat her a–

"Glad everyone could make it! Turnout is better than it's ever been!" The professor chimed in, breaking me from my angry thoughts. He clapped his hands together, startling me and a few others from the sudden noise. Although he seemed to do that a lot, it never failed to shake me a bit.

He continued to go on about topics that I already knew like the back of my hand. It was hard not to trail off into my own world as I gazed up ahead, completely engulfed by the vastness above. Tonight was a near perfect night without any clouds in sight to obstruct our view. I was beyond excited to start toying with the supplies he brought. I had a few of my own at home, but they weren't of the same quality that the school provided. Plus, I could never pass up the opportunity to use the lab's equipment.

Off to my side I caught others approaching the objects that sat on the ground. The instructor, Professor Collins, beamed his flashlight amongst everyone's faces in the direction of the tools. I gave up on trying to call him by his first name like he offered earlier.

Sorry, Jerry.

"I'll be switching over to the red flashlight here shortly, in order to preserve some of the darkness we've got tonight. With that being said, I'd also ask you all not to flash your own lights or have your phones out during this time. If you need to, please step away from everyone so as to not interfere with their observations."

He gave another once over between all of us as he made his way over. He clicked the white-light flashlight off, resulting in a brief moment of pitch blackness mixed with various chatters. Another click brought on the red glow surrounding everyone.

"May take everyone's eyes a moment to adjust our scotopic vision, so just give it a moment for it to configure. Once they're adapted, it'll be easier. Also consider that looking at any other lights, such as phones, will interfere with your pupil dilation all over again." He said as he ventured over towards the variety of telescopes. "Now, I'm giving everyone free range, so please treat everything respectfully and let me know if you need me."

I got up excitedly, pulling Harry up once I got to my feet.

"Which telescope do you wanna look at? I've been dying to try the Galilean Refractor. It's supposed to be the sharpest in getting the images out. Its mechanisms are built with different mirrors where it collects lights. It sounds so cool." I smiled, waving him over to the empty scope stand.

"That one sounds cool. I'll take these funky glasses while you do that." He absentmindedly said in my direction, already pulling it over his eyes.

"You mean binoculars?" I chuckled. "I think those are Celestron Skymasters. Expensive fuckers."

He was too focused on what he was seeing to respond back to me. I didn't even think he recognized that I had said anything to him once he put those on to begin with. That was fine, though, I was perfectly happy just sitting there and looking up at the stars.

Which, by the way, I had never seen something so beautiful. The telescopes I had used in the past didn't measure close to what this one did. It was as if I was just looking at pictures, not that this was real life. All of the colors were so vibrant, the stars dotting so magnificently between each other. It was as if I was falling in love with astronomy all over again.

I faintly heard Harry talking to himself, but I hadn't realized until a few moments passed. I was so taken aback by my own findings that I had zoned out.

"...81 stars make up Orion's constellation. The big red one is named Betelgeuse, but the brightest star is called Rigel! It's right there..." I assumed he was pointing upwards somewhere, and I tried to move my telescope to see what it was more closely. "It's blue colored, but you can't tell unless you're right up on it, like outside of Earth. Every now and then, Betelgeuse does get brighter than Rigel, though."

He laughed to himself as if he told a joke. "And that's Orion's belt: Alnilam, Mintaka, and Alnitak... Such wonderful places..." He trailed off for a moment, taking everything in. I heard him place the binoculars down and I peeked behind me. It was slightly amusing how he spoke about the stars as if it was a visitable destination.

"You know about Orion, right? It's the brightest and most known and it lies right on the celestial equator! It's been around since ancient times, and I love that it's still so popular now. Some even call it the 'Hunter' because of its Greek origins. Orion is basically the godfather of hunting, because of him being seen hunting with his bronze club in the underworld. It's claimed that he could hunt any animal ever, and he was the best at it." He chuckled again. "Isn't that crazy? Did you know that?"

My eyes blinked hard at him, winded by the influx of information he just threw at me. I enjoyed listening to him rant about the stars, because it reminded me of myself when I went on my own tangents to my friends. This must have been like what Nina felt when I did this to her.

Whoops.

"I've heard some of that, yeah. Not the specifics, though, so I'm impressed you knew all that at the top of your head." I laughed out, spinning back around to the telescope in front of me. "You'll have to tell me more about what you know later. I'd love to pick your brain about it."

"Pick my brain?" He sounded worried, and I heard him take a step back from me.

I giggled, looking back over to him. "Not literally. Have you never heard that phrase–" I stopped, reminding myself of his potentially sheltered upbringing. He didn't think like I did and that was fine, but it was just hard to get used to sometimes.

"I meant like I'd like to hear more of what you have to say is all. It's a figure of speech, I promise." I chuckled, watching Harry become more relaxed as I reassured him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Professor Collins eyeing Harry carefully while he helped others with the other things he had brought.

"You seem to know a lot about astronomy." Collins said once he was caught staring.

"Oh, uh, yeah. It's my favorite thing to learn about." Harry cleared his throat as he shoved his hands into his hood pockets, a soft grin on his lips as he rocked back and forth on his feet.

"Interesting." He softly spoke with a smile, nodding as he turned back to the student in front of him.

-

After class I walked with Harry back to his house. At this point he was crashing hard from all the caffeine he had earlier, and I thought it was cute the way his eyes were so sleepy and half lidded while he trudged his way down the sidewalk.

"You really didn't have to walk me home, honestly. I really appreciate it, though." Harry rasped out, his voice was now very thick and hoarse from how tired he was. I kind of liked it when it was deep and tired, dare I say...it was attractive?

"You do know that I live two blocks from you, right? It's not a problem." I chuckled as we walked to his front door. Harry got his keys out as he invited me inside, pushing the door open and gesturing towards the inside of it. It wasn't too late so I thought I would stay for a bit before heading back home.

That was my excuse anyway.

"Whew, what a night." Harry mumbled as he closed the door behind him, locking the door before he sauntered to the couch. My stomach started to growl, reminding me of how hungry I was. I must have gotten side-tracked and forgotten to grab dinner.

"Are you hungry? Maybe I can make us some food?" I sat next to him closely, partially on purpose, but he didn't have to know that. "When was the last time you had a home cooked meal?"

"Home cooked meal, huh?" He pursed his lips as his brows knitted in thought, looking away towards the wall as he shifted in his seat. I noticed that his arm was wrapped around the top of the couch and if it had fallen, it would be wrapped around my shoulders.

Was it bad that I wanted his arm around me?

"I suppose I haven't had time to have home cooked meals, but you really don't have to do that, Aurora. The gesture is incredibly sweet, but–"

"Shhh, say less. I really don't mind cooking for us! Plus I'm starving." I interjected before he could say no, because I knew that was where it was heading. "I can get us some groceries and we can cook, does that sound okay?"

"Well, I–" Harry cut himself off, gazing down into his lap, lost in thought before he looked at me with a shy smile. "Okay, we can do that. Where should we go?"

"There's a store down the road, we can just go there and get some food." I sighed as I started to get comfortable on the couch. It was almost impossible for me to get back up.

"Can we sit here for a bit before we go?" Harry took the words right out of my mouth, and I smiled, nodding over at him as I leaned up.

The empty ache of my stomach became less noticeable from the softness of his offer. Sitting and enjoying the quiet moment was too peaceful to pass up.

"Yeah, of course. That sounds nice."

NEXT UPDATE: 03/22/22

[mirobami]

Hello! May I request a kind of sequel? to the bami clan(background and reader being like let’s get yall some teddy bears) fic? Just fluff you know, y/n taking all pf them out to see things and buy them ice cream??? and the song being Runaway-AURORA

Your fics are just *chef’s kiss* ✨beautiful✨

━ TAKING OFF THE MASK

CHARACTER(S): The Bami clan

SONG: Runaway (AURORA)

A/N: Hi hi, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Honestly, I wanted to write a second part too so >:D you read my mind (this was longer than what I expected), let’s get started! 

The day Y/N had said that they’d be able to go through their childhoods, even for a short time, was arriving sooner than anyone had expected. They were all eagerly waiting for that day, more than any of them had thought. As much as they tried to seem casual, it was clear that they wanted one day in which they didn’t have to worry about money or poison or anything obscure. 

Y/N had given them the place where they had to meet up and the time as well, but what she didn’t expect was them being there earlier than what she had expected. From what she could see, there was still a bit of awkwardness amongst everyone for the sole reason that they had been against each other and now they were all supposed to hang out with one another. It didn’t matter, she’d find a way to break the ice.

“All right! So today’s plan is to go to Build-A-Bear, eat as many sweets as we can, let you buy literally anything that your parents never let you--within reason, we’re not taking home a sword--I’ll pay for it all, don’t worry.” The bright smile on Y/N’s face made them all feel more elated.

With those words, they followed Y/N around like ducklings to see where she’d lead them until she led them to a mall. So many people were bustling around, shopping bags in their arms as they talked with their companions or just bopped their heads slightly to the beat of the music overhead. The songs were completely different than what they all usually heard so they had to stand there for a bit to drink it all in.

“This is a commoner mall?” Miyo asked.

Y/N blinked. “Please don’t tell me your malls are bigger, I’m gonna feel more broke.”

Miyo made a pained expression, as if trying to say no when in reality it was true, their malls were so much bigger. Y/N sighed and pulled them all towards the Build-A-Bear workshop. Inside, there were already a couple of people picking out bears and talking with the cashier. It seemed like the clan had never seen anything like it before so when Y/N let them loose, they all tentatively walked in before walking everywhere. 

Y/N went over to the cashier and watched as they all started talking with one another, mingling for the first time and bonding over bears they wanted. Yumi, Ibara and Miroslava were hanging around the bears before picking up the ones they wanted and walking towards the station where the bear would get stuffed. Rin, Sumika, Erimi and Rei were all talking casually with the bears in their arms, looking through clothes. Miyo, Miri and Nozomi were picking out clothes, showing each other the cute clothes they found. Kirari and Ririka were already dressing their bears up, having chosen the same bear but with different clothes. They all seemed to be having fun, smiles spreading on their faces.

The price was higher than what Y/N had expected, but it was worth it if it meant they’d be happy. Sure enough, they were chattering happily as they walked out of the store. 

“Okay, what do you guys want to do next? I’m thinking playground but if you guys want to buy something else here, we can do that too.”

It was a unanimous vote on the playground. All of them went to a playground that was near Y/N’s home and it was surprisingly empty. Y/N was also surprised, considering there were usually tons of kids playing there, but not today. It’s like the universe had decided to let the clan have fun for that day. Y/N held out her hands. “Give me your stuffed animals and go, I’ll take care of them.”

With the biggest smiles ever, they all let Y/N take their bears and immediately went towards the playground. It seemed like none of them even touched sand on a playground because they were playing with it rather than the structures. Miyo was on the swings with Sumika and it was clear from their laughter that they were enjoying it. Rin and Ibara were making a sandcastle with Terano, who was sitting on the side of the playground, unable to go and play on the structures. She didn’t mind, she was just determined to build a better castle than the boys. 

As Y/N continued watching, she silently told herself that whatever the Elders did to these kids, she’d have a good long chat with them and perhaps hire some people to toss them into a retirement home. It was clear that these kids had never had a real childhood and here they were, having the time of their lives like they never had before. It made her sad at first and then happier because she was the one doing it. No one had done it for them, so it was up to her to do it and she couldn’t be more content. 

Miri and Erimi were on the slides while Yumi and Nozomi were having a battle on the monkey bars. Miroslava was supposedly the judge for the castles along with Rei and they were both grinning as they ever so sneakily poked Rin and Ibara’s castle when they weren’t looking. The castle didn’t crumble but one wrong move and it’d be destroyed. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Y/N heard a cry of agony and it was Rin and Ibara lying face up, their castle destroyed as Miroslava and Rei started laughing with Terano. 

There was a sound of an ice cream truck nearby and Y/N called out, “Do you guys want ice cream?”

The clan suddenly felt bad, considering that she was paying for all of them but it was like she could read them. Crossing her arms, she said, “I wouldn’t be taking you guys out if I didn’t know that I’d have to pay for you. Go and order, I’ll pay for you.”

A few moments later, they were all sitting with their ice creams, happily eating them as they concentrated on the landscape around them. Y/N had a gentle smile on her face as she watched them look at everything with childish wonder, obviously never having been there. Yumi and Rin were sitting near her legs and they both leaned against her, making her heart clench. Tear away their jobs and they were just so adorable. “So what did you guys think?” 

“Can we come here again?” Kirari asked immediately and Terano nodded in agreement. 

Y/N smiled and chewing on her last piece of ice cream cone, she said, “Of course. I don’t mind.”

“Can we go to your house at some point too?” Yumi asked nonchalantly. “We want to hang out with you there!”

It seemed like the clan also wanted this and with a laugh, Y/N replied, “I guess we can do that too and sleepovers. I don’t mind at all, you guys deserve it all.”

Not only did Y/N care for them, the entire clan cared for her just as much if not more. Here she was, doing so much for them and she didn’t even expect anything back. So this was the feeling of love they had never felt. Just a rush of adoration swelled up within them all at this girl who gave them a chance when no one else would. This was the girl who they would be able to call home at some point, just not yet. However, they all already knew from one day with her that they wanted to be around her. That’s exactly what they planned to do. 

Now take me home, home where I belong, I can't take it anymore...

[charmedbaek]

loyal - bbh - part 1

index | part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | part 9 | part 10 |... (ongoing)

summary: a year ago, you landed your dream job and made your move to the city. not knowing anyone, you moved into the spare room of coworker’s beautiful apartment, and quickly became close friends. her loyal social circle quickly adopted you as one of their own, giving you some of the best friends you’ve ever known. you have it all. there’s only one problem: Byun Baekhyun. not only your friend via your roommate, but her longtime crush. completely off-limits to you, as she’s made it very clear. but when love interferes with the life you worked so hard to build, who do you stay loyal to?

genre: smut, angst, fluff, MATURE/NSFW lmao

warnings: explicit sexual content, swearing, alcohol use

words: 10.3k (she’s long i’m not sorry)

author’s note(s): she’s finally here!! i’m so excited for you guys to finally read this, i’ve been going CRAZY ever since i posted the preview and got so much positive support, so thank you all!! feedback is much appreciated so please let me know what you think. and be sure to let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list for part 2. i’m planning on making the series somewhere around 10 parts so i hope you all are excited for shit to go down :)

tag list: @baek-byunies @baekhugme @falsemagic @fullsuninbloom @gyuniiverse @jummyjammy @kylomeyon @lightmochi @littleflowercrown13 @making-me-blush @marks-aurora @myexolib @smile2sushii4me​@stormymoonlight @yixing-jaebeom 

“This is just pathetic.”

You looked up from browsing Twitter on your phone to see your roommate, Minji, staring at you disapprovingly from your doorway.

“What?” You asked innocently, setting your phone down beside your pillow and sitting up inside the fort of pillows you had created on your bed.

Minji sighed, entering the room and sitting at the edge of the bed next to you. “It’s Friday night. Are you really just going to lay here doing...” She waved her hand, gesturing towards your comfortable attire of an oversized hoodie and gym shorts. “...this? Again?”

You looked at her and scoffed. “What do you mean this? I’m fine. I’m comfortable.” You said, reaching over her lap to grab the bag of pretzels that seemed to live on your nightstand these days. Minji snatched the bag before you could get to it, tossing it to the floor with a groan. “I’d say you’re a little too comfortable,” She said, poking your bare thigh. “How long has it been since you came out with us? A month? Two? I don’t even know. The rest of the guys keep asking me where you’ve been, and I have to tell them you fell asleep on the couch after one glass of wine after work.”

“Shut up!” You exclaimed, grabbing one of your many pillows and smacking her with it playfully. She wasn’t wrong though. You’d had your job as an assistant editor for just over a year now, and it was draining. The assistant part of the title didn’t mean you were just grabbing coffee for the bosses, but rather doing all of the work that the senior editors at the magazine didn’t feel like doing. It was a lot of stress, and lately you hadn’t felt like doing much on the weekends besides sleeping until noon and taking a midday nap. 

And it was true, you hadn’t seen much of your friends recently. Well, technically they were Minji’s friends, but after a year you were finally comfortable referring to them as yours. You missed them a lot. But you felt too tired to be any fun.

You fell back against the pillows. “I’m just relaxing. I had a tough week.”

Minji raised her eyebrows at you. “Need a stress reliever?” She asked suggestively.

“Minji, before you even-”

“Come on!” She whined. “Just fuck him! Please! I know for a fact he likes you.”

The he in question was Minji’s friend Jongin. Yes, he was your friend too. Although it was evident to you, and everyone else, that he’d like to be more than that. His gentleman-like behavior towards you was a bit over the top, never letting you open your own door or pay for your own drink. The way he gently placed his hand on the small of your back while letting you walk in front of him was cordial, but it didn’t make you feel butterflies. The way he placed his hand on your knee, and never any higher, when you sat beside him was affectionate, but it didn’t get you... well, wet.

Sure, he was sexy. And kind. And tall. And honestly, drop-dead gorgeous. But that was the thing. He was too perfect. In the year you’d known him, you found it difficult to find a single area he was deficient in. It was unnerving. You just couldn’t bring yourself to want him like that.

Were you leading him on? You didn’t think so. But you were never one to pass on a free drink.

It would be a lie, however to say you’d never had a one-off fantasy about Jongin. After all, he was incredibly hot. You almost hoped he would just try his luck and kiss you one of these days, but his courteous demeanor would never allow him to be so bold with a woman. 

And though nothing close to fucking had ever happened between you two, the rest of your friend group seemed to assume you were meant to be together.

The group consisted of five before you came along. They had all known each other since high school, so it seemed like fate when you arrived, making an even group of three guys and three girls. They had laughed about how they were finally like Friends the TV show, all paired off into even male-female pairings.

The most solid couple was Chanyeol and his girlfriend Soonja. They had been high school sweethearts, and were very affectionate towards each other. Like, very affectionate. Always all over each other, even after ten years of being together. It was kind of gross at first. But you got used to it.

Next, was Jongin. He occasionally brought a random, boring girl to your hangouts, but things never lasted. And everyone seemed to have it in their minds that the two of you would make the perfect couple. In their minds, you were already together, making another seemingly perfect dyad to fit in with them.

Lastly, there was your roommate Minji. You had met at your job and quickly became close with one another. She was the one to indoctrinate you into the group, and for that you were eternally grateful. You had moved to the city alone with nothing besides your belongings for your job, and she had taken you under her wing.

Her pairing was the most interesting. Though she was technically single, there was-

“Baekhyun!”

Yeah, Baekhyun.

“Baekhyun!” Minji shouted again. “Come in here!”

You heard Baekhyun sigh from where he sat on the couch in your living room, slowly making his way to where Minji and you sat in your bedroom.

“What do you want?” He asked, peeking his head through the entrance.

Minji stood with a huff, walking to the door to grab Baekhyun’s wrist and pull him into the room. “Tell Y/N that she should just fuck Jongin. We all know it’s gonna happen eventually.” She said.

“Oh no,” Baekhyun said with a chuckle, shaking his head. “I’m not getting involved in this.”

“Please!” Minji exclaimed. “She said she’s stressed from work. I told her fucking him will get her mind off of it.”

“How? By dry humping on his bed? Him feeling her boobs over the bra?” Baekhyun made himself laugh. “How about when he asks ‘Is that okay?’ before doing literally anything?” Baekhyun was laughing hard now, wiping a tear from his eyes. “No, I don’t think that’ll solve anything.”

You laughed with him at the thought. Jongin was overly polite. Any sex fantasy you’d ever had about him was always ruined by thoughts similar to those Baekhyun had described.

Minji was not as impressed. “You’re no help!” She shouted at him, shoving him back outside the room and slamming the door.  She returned to your bedside with a sigh. “Please just consider getting laid, Y/N.”

“Hm...” You thought out loud, tapping a finger on your chin. “Baekhyun’s pretty funny. Maybe I’ll just sleep with him.”

“Ha!” Minji squawked as she slapped you on the arm. Hard. “You wouldn’t dare.” She said with a glare, only half joking.

And that was the final pairing. Minji and Baekhyun. No, they were not together. They never had been. Minji had had a crush on him since college, when she said he “got sexy”. They were close friends, and she was pretty much in love with him.

Whatever you wanted to call their relationship, Minji was overly protective of it. The very first time you had hung out with the group, she pulled you aside to explain to you that no, they were not dating yet, but he was hers. She joked that she would kill you if you touched him.

And if she hadn’t warned you, you might have tried. Baekhyun was extremely sexy. When you met him, his hair was the white-blonde that you loved the most on him. You were intoxicated by your first thoughts of him, that his plump lips would be incredible to kiss. That his long, slender fingers would feel amazing inside of you...

But it wasn’t just that. He had a bright smile that always lit up any room, and a fun, chaotic energy that could always make you laugh. You were smitten by him. Plus, the two of you had always had a great time together. You’d pretty much hit it off right away as friends, constantly texting about work, complaining about how annoying Chanyeol and Soonja were. 

It wasn’t uncommon for the two of you to hang out alone, either. You both loved art, and he’d taken you to a few gallery openings that he organized for his job. You often dragged him to the theatre to see foreign films that would bore the rest of your friends to sleep. Whenever you wanted opinions on your projects for work, Baekhyun would meet you at your favorite coffee shop to help. Out of any of your friends, even Minji, he was the one who was always there for you.

But whatever your outings with Baekhyun were, they were not dates. 

No, that would never be allowed.

It had been a year since Minji’s initial warning, which you had respected completely despite your attraction. From her description at the time, you had assumed they’d get together at some point, but it hadn’t happened. And you were pretty sure it wasn’t going to, so you didn’t feel bad hanging out with him.

That was, until a few weeks ago when Minji made you make a promise to her. She begged you to give her more alone time with Baekhyun. She asked you to stay in your room whenever he came over, worried that you might be scaring him from making a move on her. She asked you to stop spending so much time with him alone, because it was distracting him from the time she thought he owed her.

Sure, your feelings were hurt. But Minji was the reason you had these incredible friends and this beautiful apartment, so you didn’t argue. You were loyal to her. Even if you were sure she was imagining her entire relationship with Baekhyun.

But your perception of their relationship and your initial feelings towards Baekhyun didn’t matter. She was his. That was that.

You smiled through your teeth at Minji. “I would never. You know that.”

“I know,” She smiled back, patting you on the shoulder. “But I am being serious. You’ll feel better if you have sex.”

You sighed. “I don’t know. I’m not in the mood for being disappointed.”

“Trust me, I get it.” Minji giggled. “At least come out with us tonight? Please?” Minji pleaded, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout.

You let out a final sigh as you gave in. “Fine. Sure. Okay.”

“Awesome!” Minji cheered. “I’ll pick something out for you to wear. Be ready to go in thirty.”

You exited your room wearing the dress Minji had picked for you, heels in hand as you shut the door behind you. With a huff, you sat yourself down on the couch next to Baekhyun to strap the shoes on. 

He looked up at you from his phone and stared. “What are you wearing?” He asked as he set his phone down on the coffee table.

“What are you, my dad?” You scoffed, looking up at him from your shoes.

Baekhyun chuckled. “No, no, I’m serious. Is that, like... lingerie?” He asked carefully, eyeing your figure while clearly trying not to stare too long at any one spot.

“The dress?” You asked, looking down at Minji’s selection. It was a black slip dress, short and decently low-cut, trimmed with lace. “It’s just a dress,” You shrugged. “Though I’m sure it’s some part of Minji’s plan for me to go home with someone.”

Baekhyun laughed again, turning his attention toward his phone. “Well, it just might work.”

“Yeah, I’m sure Jongin will love it.” You mumbled as you finished buckling the strap on your heel.

Before you could lament on that inevitable situation any longer, Minji burst through her bedroom door. “I’m here, I’m here. Let’s go.”

“I got us an Uber,” Baekhyun said as he stood from the couch. He turned to offer you a hand, which you accepted as you stood up on your wobbly heels. Minji was right, it had been a while since you’d been out, and your feet weren’t used to this abuse.

“You alright? Drunk already?” Baekhyun asked with a raised eyebrow as you stumbled a bit.

You squeezed the hand he had offered as you caught your balance. “Not yet, hopefully soon.” You laughed, not looking forward to the way your feet would feel at the end of the night.

“Come on, Baek.” Minji chirped as she grabbed him by the arm, pulling him towards the door and his hand out of your grip. She opened the door, leading him out and into the hallway of your apartment building. 

They continued down the hallway, her hand still latched onto his forearm. You sighed as you followed them through the doorway, fishing in your purse for your keys. Stopping to turn your key in the lock, you watched the pair turn the corner towards the elevators, catching a glimpse of Baekhyun looking back at you. You sighed. It wasn’t completely unlike Minji to disregard your existence when she was with Baekhyun. It was understandable, given her situation, but it was still annoying.

You rushed to catch the elevator with them, wincing as your heels pinched your toes with every step. You slipped in just before the doors closed, catching your breath as you clutched the railing. Minji and Baekhyun barely seemed to notice your struggle, as she was still clinging onto him and had begun explaining her latest business card design in lengthy detail.

You reached the ground floor and exited outside, finding your Uber on the crowded city street. Graciously, you got into the front passenger seat, allowing Minji and Baekhyun to be together in the back. You figured this was probably one of the times she would want you to give them space, to do whatever the fuck it was she thought they did.

You and the driver rode in silence, while Minji continued to chime about design and color theory to a quiet Baekhyun. In the rearview mirror, you watched her leaning on his shoulder and running a finger through his dark, wavy hair.

You glowered into the mirror as you stared at her fingers twirling his locks. It made your blood boil. You shifted in your seat to see a different angle from the mirror, only to lock eyes with Baekhyun.

You quickly looked away, embarrassed, choosing to stare out of the window for the duration of your ride.

When you arrived at the bar, you quickly exited the vehicle and rushed towards the building, not waiting for your friends in the car. You pushed open the front doors and looked for your friends. Quickly, you spotted Chanyeol towering over Soonja in the corner booth with his arm around her. You huffed as you sat, muttering a quick hello and sliding in next to Chanyeol.

He eyed you as he took a sip of his drink. "Did you come by yourself?” He asked as he set his glass down.

“No, Minji and Baekhyun should be walking in.” You answered under your breath, staring aimlessly at the crowd of twenty-somethings mingling loudly around you.

Soonja looked at you with concern. “What’s wrong?” She asked, reaching over Chanyeol to rest a hand on your shoulder. You shrugged in response, but she pressed. “Seriously, Y/N, what is it?”

You sighed. “They’re just being annoying. Minji can’t keep her hands off of Baekhyun, and they ignored me the whole way here, and it’s just...” You trailed off.

“Does that bother you?” Chanyeol asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

You snapped to look at him. “No. I just don’t like being treated like I’m invisible.”

Before Chanyeol could ask any more questions, Jongin walked over from the bar, a drink in each hand. With a smile, he set one down in front you and slid into the booth beside you. “Gin and tonic with two limes, right?”

You gave him a small smile. “Yeah, thanks.”

He smiled brighter. “No problem.” As he put his arm around your shoulders, Minji and Baekhyun finally made their way over. Minji looked at you as she sat. “Why’d you run ahead?” She asked, clearly a little annoyed.

You raised your glass from the table. “Thirsty.” You said dryly, bringing your drink to your mouth and taking a large sip. You could tell you were going to need a few more gin and tonics to make it through the evening.

From that point, things proceeded as your nights out normally did. Soonja found her way onto Chanyeol’s lap, her lips close to his ear. The two didn’t pay much attention to anyone else, as per usual. Baekhyun made a few trips to the bar to order a drink, Minji following him each time. You chuckled each time Baekhyun returned to the booth with one drink, leaving Minji alone up there to buy her own. You chatted politely with Jongin about work, not paying much attention since you were busy watching Minji make a fool of herself.

A while passed as a few more drinks passed your lips, and you found your eyelids getting heavier and heavier as you leaned further and further into Jongin’s side. He was warm, but then again so were you from the amount of alcohol you had consumed.

“Want another?” Jongin asked, already getting up to go back to the bar.

You laughed a little. “Jongin, you know I can buy my own drinks, right? I have a job. It’s all I talk about, actually.”

He shrugged, not too concerned with your response. “Yeah, I know. I’m just trying to...”

“I know, I know, trying to be nice.” You rolled your eyes and gave him another small smile. “Let me get my own for once, please.”

Leaning forward to hop over Jongin and out of the booth, you noticed Baekhyun at the bar alone waiting for a bartender. Minji was nowhere in sight, and you took the opportunity to join him. She wasn’t there to stop you, and what harm could it do to just chat with him?

Shoving aside the drunken college students to his right, you rested your elbows on the bar and looked up at Baekhyun. “Hey, Baek.”

He turned to face you, flashing you his signature bright smile. God, you loved his smile. Especially when you were drunk. “Hey, what’s up?”

Your smile grew as you stared at him, leaning further onto the bar. “Drunk. Getting drunk.” You slurred, peering up at him through your eyelashes.

“Oh, yeah?” He laughed, putting a hand on your shoulder to keep you from completely falling flat onto the sticky wooden surface. “What are you drinking?”

“Please don’t,” You whined. “I just gave Jongin a speech about how I can buy my own drinks.”

Baekhyun shrugged and let out another laugh. “Suit yourself.” He said as the bartender delivered his drink. He grabbed it and took a sip of the dark liquid, tilting his head back to reveal his neck as he drank. You stared a bit longer than necessary. 

His neck was just so... pretty. You suddenly found yourself wondering what it would be like to leave a mark on it.

But before you could fantasize any further, he brought his drink down and turned away, heading back for the bar. You sank further onto your elbows and let out a long sigh, ordering another gin and tonic. Somehow, you felt like Minji could sense your dirty thoughts about Baekhyun. You felt guilty. You respected her wishes, but sometimes you just couldn’t help thinking about him, especially when he looked like... that. His white t-shirt and oversized denim jacket hanging effortlessly over his lean frame. The way his recently-dyed dark hair fell over his forehead in soft waves. It was a lot for your drunk self to take in.

Vowing to stop your thoughts before Minji read your mind, you suddenly felt a hand on the center of your back, just where the lace of your dress met your skin. You turned, ready to tell Jongin once again that you were capable of paying for one drink, but you were met by Baekhyun’s wide brown eyes. 

“Can I ask you something?” He asked, scanning your face with a bit of concern.

He seemed nervous, and it put you on edge. “Yeah, of course.” You replied a bit shakily.

Baekhyun suddenly leaned in close to you, his lips nearly touching your ears. You knew it was just so you could hear him over the noisy bar-goers and blaring music, but him being this close to you made your heart race.

“Do you... like me?” He asked softly before leaning back to search your face for an answer.

You gulped, feeling like you’d been caught, like he’d heard your thoughts about him moments ago.

He shook his head before you could answer, letting out a weak laugh. “No, I mean, like... we’re friends, right? You think I’m a good friend?”

You sighed a little in relief, taking a sip of your drink that had just been delivered. “Of course, Baekhyun, yeah. You’ve been a great friend.”

“Okay good.” He smiled. “Because I just felt like... I don’t know. Like you were avoiding me or something. When you ran out of the car. I feel like I never get to see you anymore.” He finished, his smile fading a bit as he finished his explanation. “I miss hanging out with you.”

You bit your lip, not wanting to reveal the promise you had made to Minji, or the fact that her being all over him had irked you earlier. “Baek, I swear I’m not avoiding you. It’s just, you know... Minji-”

“Hey!”

As if your words summoned her, Minji poked her head between you and Baekhyun, ending your conversation as she grabbed his bicep. “Can we dance Baekhyun? You promised me we’d dance.”

It wasn’t much of a question, as she was already pulling him away from the bar. Baekhyun gave you a sad smile as he was dragged away, and you sighed for about the thousandth time that evening. You watched Minji turn so her back was pressed against him, grinding a bit sloppily onto him. Baekhyun seemed apathetic, more focused on taking another sip of his drink than on Minji’s hands on him. 

You lifted your drink once more, downing it before slamming it back onto the wood, having seen enough. You walked past your booth, ignoring Jongin’s expectant stare, and headed towards the bathrooms in a dark corner towards the back of the bar. Pushing past a few younger couples making out next to the door, you entered and leaned heavily on a sink.

You looked up to inspect yourself in the mirror. You could tell you were drunk by the way you swayed back and forth as you tried to focus. Your hair was a bit disheveled from resting your head on Jongin’s shoulder all night. Not being bothered to fix it, you wiped at the small amount of mascara that had rubbed off under your eyes.

Maybe Minji was right, you thought to yourself. Maybe you should just give in and fuck Jongin. You knew he’d agree if you went back out there and asked him to come home with you, especially given your sexy, unkempt state. Even if it wasn’t the best fuck of your life, it would probably help distract you from your outlawed thoughts about Baekhyun. You decided to consider that option after one more drink.

Giving your messed up hair one more quick tousle, you turned to go back to the booth. But when you opened the door, you were met by Baekhyun’s intense stare.

“Baek-”

Before you could finish the word, Baekhyun was grabbing your wrist and pulling you towards a nearby empty corner.

“What the fuck are you doing?” You whispered harshly, wriggling the hand still in his grip. “That hurts.”

Baekhyun quickly let go and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. “I’m sorry,” he said as he shook his head, looking up from his feet to meet your gaze. “I just wanted you to finish what you were saying before. About Minji.”

“Baekhyun...” You rolled your eyes. “Don’t make me say it.”

“Say what?” He asked, though from the look on his face he appeared to know what was coming.

You peered over his shoulder to look for any of your friends watching, but the entire booth was blocked from your view by another wall. You spoke once you were sure they couldn’t see you. “Minji likes you. A lot. Sometimes I think it’s better if I just stay out of her way.”

“You think that?” He raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer. “Or she thinks that?”

“I...” You pulled your bottom lip into your mouth, considering your words carefully. “Sometimes it’s easier to just do what she wants, right? I mean, you do it too. She can be kind of controlling, especially when it comes to you.”

Baekhyun scoffed, taking a step back and removing his hands from his pockets. “You think I do whatever Minji wants?” He asked bitterly.

“Not everything, but I mean-”

Baekhyun’s lips were pressed against yours before you could finish your sentence. The kiss was forceful, his eyes closing as he took your cheek into his hand. 

Your mind was racing. You knew you were kissing him back, feeling your own lips moving gently against his, but it didn’t feel real. You were floating, the alcohol in your veins simultaneously lifting you off the ground and pulling you towards the floor.

He pulled back slightly, his hand still resting on your face. You were both breathing deeply, clearly out of breath from the moment. His lips were nearly still on yours when he asked, “Do you think she would have wanted me to do that?”

“No.” You laughed breathlessly into his mouth, looking up to meet his eyes.

He was looking at you intensely, his brown eyes sparkling in the neon bar lights. “Because I wanted to. And I’ve wanted to for a long time.” He said as he rubbed his thumb against the apple of your cheek. “What about you? Did you want to?”

“Yes.” You said softly, not being capable of much more than one word answers at the moment.

Baekhyun smiled. “Good. Then let’s do what we want.”

And with that, his lips were back on yours, just as intense as the first time. And this time, you were sure you were kissing back, and with just as much force as he was. 

Feeling Baekhyun’s tongue press against your lips, you parted your mouth to grant him access inside. The kiss deepened, and you felt your arms reach up to rest on his shoulders, your hands threading themselves through his soft hair, your nails dragging lightly against his scalp. The action earned a moan from Baekhyun, and he used his entire body to press you against the wall, his hands pressing flat against it on either side of your head. You whimpered, feeling his hips grinding into yours.

Kissing Baekhyun was just as intoxicating as you had imagined it would be, his lips just as soft as in the dreams you hoped Minji never found out about. He was taking you without asking for permission, because he knew you wanted him, too. And you didn’t need anyone else’s permission.

Except, maybe you did.

“Wait!” You broke the kiss to exclaim. You pulled back sharply, smacking your skull against the exposed brick. “Ow.” You reached up to rub the back of your head.

“You okay?” Baekhyun chuckled, replacing your hand with his as a rubbed slow circles on your minor injury. The feeling sent chills straight through you.

“Baekhyun...” You trailed off softly. “You know we can’t. It’s not right.”

“Says who? Minji?” Baekhyun questioned.

“Well, yeah.” You answered.

Suddenly, Baekhyun pulled his hand away from your head and took a step back, exhaling deeply. “God, I am so sick of her controlling everything I do. She thinks she owns me.” He said, beginning to raise his voice. “Everywhere I go she needs to know. Anyone I hang out with she needs to check out. Do you know how hard it is to meet girls, let alone have sex when I have Minji up my ass like that?”

You sighed. “She just really likes you, Baek. She’s being overprotective.”

“Yeah, and it’s ruining my life.” Baekhyun put his fingers to his temples and closed his eyes. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to kiss you, Y/N?”

You shook your head. You honestly had no idea he wanted to kiss you outside of your dreams.

Baekhyun laughed dryly. “A long time. Basically since we met. But Minji made it seem-”

“Seem like what?” You interrupted.

He opened his eyes to look at you again, sighing. “She made it seem like you didn’t want me around lately. Said you’d rather hang out alone in your room than come talk to me. I even tried to tell her one time that I thought you were hot, and she completely shut me down, saying you’d never be interested in me, saying that Jongin would kill me if I tried anything with you.”

You stared up at him, bewildered. “She said all that?” You asked softly, voice laced with disbelief. Baekhyun nodded.

“No, none of that is true,” You clenched your fists, the anger running through your veins boiling. “She told me the first time I met you to stay away from you, because you were hers. And I wanted to respect that.”

You took a deep breath and continued. “But you and I are friends, too. And I like spending time with you. But lately, she asked me to give you guys time alone, which I tried to do.” You felt tears stinging in your eyes at Minji’s betrayal. “It makes sense, I mean, to try to keep me out of the way after you told her that.”

You waited for a long pause before you started again. “Look, I like you. Like, really like you. And I always have. But Minji-”

Baekhyun didn’t let you finish, returning his plump lips to yours to sweep them up in another kiss. This one was softer, more gentle, and he moved his lips across your cheek and against your ear. “I don’t want to talk about her anymore.” He whispered, lips brushing against your skin. “She doesn’t matter. We can just focus on us now. Okay?”

“Yes,” You breathed out softly. “I want to.”

Baekhyun smiled against you. “Good. Because I’ve been waiting for a long time to do this.”

He kissed his way downwards from your ear as you lifted your arms to wrap around his back. Gripping onto the denim of his jacket, you let out a small moan as he pressed his teeth into the delicate skin just below your jaw. And again, when he bit into the soft skin at the base of your neck.

Tilting your head forward to rest in the crook of his neck, you used your leverage on his back to pull his hips to meet yours once again. This time, it was you who grinded up into him, feeling the prominent bulge against you growing through the fabric.

“Shit,” Baekhyun whispered into your neck. “How are you so hot?”

You giggled, continuing the action as Baekhyun’s hands drifted downwards, exploring your curves through the silk of your black dress. They finally reached the bottom, and he rubbed his thumbs where the lace trim met the skin of your thigh. You sighed deeply at the repetitive action, as Baekhyun pulled his head away from your neck. He slipped his hand underneath the lace and lifted, looking to your face for a reaction.

All you could do was lean your head back against the bricks, anticipating the pleasure that was coming.

And Baekhyun didn’t disappoint. He slowly dragged his fingers from the spot on your thigh to where your lace underwear rested on your hip bone. Sneaking his fingers under the fabric, he pulled it back and released, letting it snap back against your skin. You moaned at the sensation. “You like that?” Baekhyun hummed into your ear. You nodded, feeling the wetness at your core getting more intense. “Kinda kinky,” He hummed to you again. 

You giggled softly. “Trust me, that’s just the beginning.” You whispered back.

Baekhyun’s eyebrows raised, his eyes wide as he looked back at you. “I’ll remember that for later.” He said darkly, turning his attention back to his fingers. He traced the bottom lining of the fabric, slowly going from your hip right to your center. You hummed at the feeling of his fingers so close to your most sensitive area, as he drew small circles with his fingertips over the fabric.

“You want me to touch you?” He asked, voice dripping with his sinful intentions.

You nodded as you hummed again, bucking your hips slightly into his touch.

“Then I want you to say it.”

Your eyes widened as his words sent another wave of arousal straight to your core.

You took a shaky breath. “I want you to touch me, Baekhyun.”

You’d barely finished the last syllable of his name when he slipped his fingers underneath the fabric, pushing it to the side. He cupped your entire heat in his palm, the hard flat of his hand pushing against your clit. “Already so wet,” He whispered before placing a soft kiss on your cheek. You groaned, pressing into his hand to increase the pressure.

He slowly curled and uncurled his fingers, running them softly back and forth over your wet, sensitive skin. You gasped when you felt the tip of his middle finger nudge against your folds.

“Baekhyun.” You sighed, reaching down to grab his forearm. 

He looked up at you with concern. “Everything okay?”

You nodded. “More than. But we probably shouldn’t do this here.” You looked around, noticing the thinning crowd of the bar that left you more exposed than when you began.

“Okay,” He said, removing his hand from under your dress. “Let’s go, then.”

“Wait, wait!” You whispered, grabbing his elbow as he turned to go. “We can’t leave together. Because of... you know. Her.” 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Fine, you’re right. I’ll leave first. I’ll wait for you at the end of the block on the right.”

You nodded, and he gave you a soft kiss on the tip of your nose before turning to return to the booth of your friends.

Standing at the edge of the wall, you listened in when he said he was taking off.

“But Baek,” You heard Minji pout. “You came here with me, you can’t just leave without me.”

You heard Baekhyun sigh. “I’m going to my home. You’re going to your home. It’s fine.” Minji didn’t complain again after his short response to her, but you could feel her fuming through the wall.

Baekhyun said his goodbyes to Jongin, Chanyeol, and Soonja, and you heard his footsteps lead out the door.

You waited for a few minutes behind the wall, not wanting to make it too obvious that Baekhyun had just had his tongue down your throat only moments before. And he certainly had. And you had certainly kissed him back. And more.

Holy shit. 

The one man you were supposed to keep your hands off of, and you couldn’t resist. You didn’t even try to resist. Maybe it was the liquor, but you had completely melted under his touch. 

You could still feel his fingers on you, and suddenly you needed more. Every late-night sex dream you had compartmentalized and tried to forget for Minji’s sake came flooding back to you, and you wanted him. Bad.

Quickly coming up with an alibi, you turned the corner and faced your friends once again. “Hey, I think I’m gonna head out.” You turned to face Minji directly. “You know Chaeyoung, from work? She just messaged me and said she had a big fight with her boyfriend, and asked if I would come over.” You lied through your teeth.

“Oh, okay.” Minji answered softly, apparently still a bit bruised from Baekhyun’s words. “I’ll see you in the morning then, yeah?”

You nodded. “Yeah. Goodnight guys!”

Jongin stood. “Let me walk you out, Y/N.”

“No!” You shouted, a bit more forcefully, and suspiciously, than you meant. You bit your lip, lowering your voice back to a reasonable volume. “No, no, I’m fine. Thank you though.”

Before he could protest, you grabbed your purse from the table and rushed out the door and into the cold evening air.

As he said he would be, Baekhyun waited for you at the corner, hands shoved in his pockets, his breath visible in the air. When he spotted you approaching, he was grinning from ear to ear. Wordlessly, you began walking together step by step around the corner. Neither of you needed to speak to know you were heading for Baekhyun’s high rise apartment building. It was only a few blocks away, quick enough to walk. And there was no chance in hell you’d risk taking him back to yours and Minji’s place.

The cold air was sobering you on the walk, but it didn’t change your mind about what you were on your way to do. If anything, you felt more sure of yourself, taking long, purposeful strides to keep up with Baekhyun.

You only stopped once on your way, when you passed your favorite corner coffee shop. They were closed, but you stared inside at the counter and chairs flipped upside down. “I miss this place.” You stated. You hadn’t been in a few months when you came with Baekhyun, since before Minji’s request was made. 

The darkness in the shop allowed you to see your reflection peering in, and Baekhyun’s figure next to you. You looked from his face back to yours in the reflection, and it dawned on you that this was really happening. You were here, with him, and only him. He caught your eye in the reflection and smiled. “Tomorrow?” He suggested. You nodded, and quickly went on your way to finish the walk.

Not long after, you made it to the building, Baekhyun buzzing you in through the main entrance with his key. The two of you politely walked past the nighttime security guard, giving him a small nod and continuing towards the elevators.

Once the elevator doors closed behind you, you picked up where you had left off.

Pressing your back against the wall, Baekhyun enveloped your lips in another powerful kiss, biting into your lower lip and pulling away slightly. Now that he knew you liked a little pain, there was no way he was going to be easy on you. Though you winced a bit at the feeling, you rested your hands on his shoulders and pulled him back against you, slipping your tongue inside his mouth.

You didn’t let go of each other when the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Hands and lips on one another, you moved out and into the hallway, making your way towards Baekhyun’s door. He took one hand off your waist to fumble in his pocket for his keys, never breaking contact on your mouth. Eyes closed in bliss and one hand still on you, he slipped the key in the lock and turned, opening the door to bring the two of you inside.

Finally.

The door was slammed shut behind you, and you found yourself once again with your back against the hard surface. What was in front of you was nearly just as hard, Baekhyun’s erection back with a vengeance and pressing against you as he moved hip lips to your neck and began sucking.

Everything about this moment felt amazing, apart from your feet. As you predicted, these heels were killer, and you wanted nothing more than to get them off. “Ow,” You whispered mindlessly as you struggled to kick the shoes off.

Baekhyun pulled back to look at you. “What?” He asked, eyes wide.

You laughed. “It’s my feet, these shoes. They’re killing me.”

Baekhyun grinned. “I’ll take care of it.”

Suddenly, his hands were gripping the underside of your ass, lifting you up off the ground as he returned his lips onto yours. He pressed his chest against yours, pushing you harder against the door for leverage as he removed your shoes one hand at a time, throwing them aimlessly into the living room behind him.

“Thanks,” You laughed breathily onto his lips, wrapping both of your legs around his back and pulling him closer.

Once both of his hands were again focused on holding you up, he moved you from against the door and carried you past the kitchen, down the hallway towards his bedroom. He closed the door once you were in the room, before gently letting you down to sit at the bottom edge of his bed.

You looked up at him from where you sat, watching him shrug his jacket off and toss it aside. Next off was his shirt, revealing his lean body as he lifted it. You licked your lips at the sight, taking his actions as your cue to remove what little clothing you had on as well.

But just as you start to lift the fabric of your dress, Baekhyun’s hands were on yours, stopping you. “No. Leave it on, please?” He asked, his puppy dog eyes begging you.

“Why?” You looked up at him quizzically.

Baekhyun responded with a shit-eating grin. “I told you it was gonna get you laid, didn’t I?”

You snorted, recalling what he’d said to you before you went out for the evening. “I guess you were right.”

Removing your hands from the fabric of your dress, you placed them on Baekhyun’s backside and pulled him closer to you. Standing in front of you, his toned stomach was at your eye level, and your eyes lowered as your hands flew to his belt to undo it. It was quickly off and tossed to the side with the rest of his items, your hands already working to undo the button of his jeans.

Baekhyun chuckled. “You seem pretty eager, huh?”

“I guess I wanted this just as bad as you do.” You retorted, glancing up at him with a smirk.

Returning your attention to what was in front of you, you shoved his jeans and boxers down below his hips in one go. As they fell to the floor and he stepped out of them and kicked them behind him, you couldn’t help but stare as his dick slapped against his stomach. Given his smaller, lean frame, you were shocked at how thick he was, and the thought of him stretching you out made your mouth water.

You must have stared a bit too long, because Baekhyun let out a playful, impatient sigh.

“Are you gonna do something, or wha-Oh,”

Before he could finish the word, your hand was wrapped around his base, lips around his tip. Your tongue danced over his slit, tasting the salty precum that had already seeped out. “Oh, wow,” Baekhyun groaned softly, his fingers wandering through the hair on the back of your head.

Finding work for your free hand, you gently cupped his balls, gently dragging your fingertips back and forth along the underside. Baekhyun cursed under his breath, his head rolling backwards and eyes pressed shut.

Pleased with your work, you started moving your head to take more of him into your mouth, one hand still wrapping firmly around his base. You bobbed back and forth, humming occasionally as you did so, reveling each time Baekhyun softly repeated your name.

“You’re pretty good at this, huh,” He said breathlessly, head still tilted back in bliss. You hummed again at the praise, taking his balls in your hand once again as you gave him a squeeze.

He groaned loudly at the action, hips bucking forward harshly as his cock plunged further into your mouth and slammed into the back of your throat. It took you by surprise, coughing around him as you pushed him away by his thighs and leaned back.

“Oh god, shit, I’m sorry,” Baekhyun apologized profusely, hands moving from your hair to hold your face. You laughed, still out of breath as you looked up at him. “It’s okay,” You answered, wiping the spit off your chin as you quickly brought him past your lips once again. His hands returned to the back of your head, gently caressing the nape of your neck.

You knew he wouldn’t try to push you to go further, but you wanted to feel the sensation once again. You wanted to choke around him.

Placing your palms flat on his ass, you slowly pushed him further and further, getting ready for the gag reflex that you knew was coming.

“Are you sure you want to...” He started, but cut himself off with a sinful moan as your throat started to constrict around his tip.

You held him there for a moment longer, as long as you could take it, before pulling your head back slowly until only your lips remained on the swollen pink head. Taking a deep breath through your nose, you began to repeat the sequence, slowly bringing him inside further and further until he completely blocked your airway. “Fuck,” He moaned again as you held him there.

Once more, you pulled back slowly, but this time he slipped out of your mouth as he gently pulled your head back.

“Was it good?” You asked breathlessly, your chest heaving from your effort.

“Yeah, it was good,” Baekhyun also breathed heavily. “More than good, actually. I was about to cum down your throat.”

You laughed as you wiped your mouth with the back of your hand. “We wouldn’t want that, now would we?” You asked playfully.

“Absolutely not,” He growled, his sultry, low voice reminding you just how wet and desperate for his touch you were.

As if reading your mind, he raced to lower himself onto you on the bed, kissing you deeply as he moved you both further up towards the headboard. The kiss was sloppy and needy, and you moaned into his lips and you fisted his hair with one hand.

Breaking from your lips, Baekhyun pushed himself up over you. Gently, he rested his hands on your thighs and pulled your legs apart from one another. He settled himself on his knees between them, which prevented you from closing your legs. You smiled softly as his eyes hungrily raked over every inch of your body, licking his lips hungrily. “You’re so perfect.” He murmured, bringing his eyes back to meet your gaze. 

“Stop.” You blushed and looked away, embarrassed by the compliment. Quickly, Baekhyun’s hand was on your chin, turn you back to peer up at him.

“No, I mean it.” He said forcefully, his eyes wide. Your small smile grew into a bigger one. He smiled in return. “And I want to see your pretty face when you cum.”

Leaving you with his lustful comment, he returned his attention to the bottom edge of your slip. Pushing it upwards over your hips, he revealed the black lace fabric you had covering you underneath. “You know, I think black suits you best, like the dress.” Baekhyun smirked, his hands ghosting over your wetness through the fabric, “Too bad we have to take them off.” He said, slipping his fingers underneath and pulling the underwear down and off your legs.

He leaned back down so his pretty face was only inches from yours. His hand rested on your stomach just above your most sensitive area, drawing slow circles. “Now, remind me again what it was you wanted me to do earlier?” He asked, feigning ignorance.

You rolled your eyes, anxious for him to give you what you needed. “Baekhyun, just touch me.”

“Like this?” He asked, bring his palm to rest flat over your folds, the heel of his hand putting an immense amount of pressure on your clit just as he did at the bar. He rubbed his fingertips over your skin gently, picking up the wetness that had been building since he first kissed you.

You moaned softly at the feeling of him rubbing you like that, bucking your hips upwards to increase the pressure. But as you did so, Baekhyun’s free hand came down forcefully onto your hip, pressing it into the mattress so you couldn’t lift yourself off it again.

His hand on your pussy remained stationary as you whined, desperate for him to move. “Baekhyun, please,” You begged pitifully. But instead of moving his hand, he just stared at your face with a smirk as your eyebrows scrunched together in frustration.

Eager to mimic his words from earlier, you breathlessly spit out, “Are you gonna do something, or wha-”

And just as you had before, he cut you off before you could finish the word, plunging two fingers past your folds and into your core, a loud gasp escaping your lips at the sensation of him deep inside of you. Not even your fantasies of his long, perfect fingers inside of you could prepare you for how far inside you they reached.

You let out another whiny moan as he began to slowly pump his fingers in and out of you, his face still close to yours as he breathed in the sinful sounds you were making. “You can be as loud as you want, baby,” He sighed into you. “It’s just us, remember?”

As those words came out of his mouth, he curled his fingers upwards inside of you, hitting the spot that made you moan out his name.

He pumped in and out a few more times, increasing his speed. “Come on, I know you can do better.” He taunted, curling his fingers once again with more force. The feeling had you seeing stars, eye rolling back as you nearly screamed his name.

“That’s better.” Baekhyun sighed.

His hand that had been pushing your hip down was suddenly on your clit, rubbing fast circles as he other hand increased speed inside of you. 

“Shit, Baekhyun, oh my god,” You moaned, feeling every muscle in your body tensing in sequence as the pleasure built. You knew you wouldn’t last long with both of his hands working against you like this, and you screwed your eyes shut in anticipation of your climax.

Just before you tipped over the edge, Baekhyun removed both hands from you with a smile. You whined at the loss of contact, your orgasm ruined as your walls clenched around nothing. “Why’d you do that?” You asked breathlessly.

Baekhyun was clearly pleased by your reaction, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Because I waited for you. Now you have to wait for me.”

“I used my mouth. That’s harder work.” You pouted.

You were quickly shut up by Baekhyun’s fingers pressed against your lips, the ones that had just been inside of you. You parted your lips to allow them in. He slipped them inside, and gave you a smirk. “Next time, I’ll use my mouth, and I bet I can get you to scream even louder.” You sucked on his fingers, tasting the sweetness of your own arousal, and you felt your stomach flutter at the mention of a next time.

Baekhyun must have also felt the excitement his words caused, quickly bringing his lips back to yours to taste you on them. “Mmm...” He hummed against you. “I bet it’ll be even better when my mouth is on you for real.”

"Stop making promises and just fuck me, already.”

Baekhyun grinned at your words, just as eager to do what you both came here to do. Reaching over you, he opened the drawer of his bedside table, pulling out a condom. He ripped it open before tossing the wrapper somewhere on the floor, then sat back on his heels to roll it on himself. You watched as he did so, practically salivating at the thought of him finally inside of you.

Once it was on, he leaned forward again, one hand holding him up beside your head, and the other lining up his dick with your entrance. He looked down at you, his smile never fading, and stared into your eyes. 

“Ready?” He asked softly, gently rubbing his tip between your wet folds. You shuddered at the teasing sensation and nodded. “Yeah, ready.”

With that, Baekhyun began pressing into you slowly. You each let out a mutual groan as your walls pulled him in deeper, and your fingers latched onto his back for dear life. He slowly pushed himself inside of you further, inch by inch. “God, you feel so fucking good,” He growled, using all of his strength to not start pounding into you immediately.

Just as you had imagined, his girth was stretching you intensely, causing a dull ache as he slowly gave you more and more to take. He let out a sharp breath when he felt himself bottom out. The feeling of his tip press against your cervix forced a cry from your lips, which Baekhyun swallowed as he kissed you deeply.

“Hurts?” He asked with concern, lifting his lips from yours to search for any amount of pain in your eyes. “A little,” You admitted, still pressing your fingertips deep into the skin of his back. “Just give me a minute. It’s been a while.” You laughed breathlessly,

“Whatever you need.” Baekhyun obliged, holding himself stationary above as the sweat pooled all over him, the dark hair sticking to his forehead becoming damp above you. You could tell he was struggling not to move by the way he turned away from your gaze. The sight of him falling apart above you made your discomfort dissipate and turn to pleasure, your walls squeezing around Baekhyun.

“Please, I have to move.” Baekhyun sighed, the feeling of you clenching sending him to the edge. You nodded, and he slowly pulled out before easing back into you, creating a slow and steady pace with his hips. You groaned at the delicious feeling of him moving inside of you, filling you completely with every slow thrust. You found his eyes, giving him a reassuring squeeze on his bicep. “You don’t have to be gentle with me, you know.”

"Oh, thank god.” He let out a sigh of relief. “I can’t take it this slow.”

And with your words guiding him, Baekhyun increased his pace, earning small groans from you each time he filled you to the hilt. You bounced on the bed with each rock of his hips into you, opting to grab the headboard above you with both hands so as to not slow him down. “Don’t stop, Baek,” You moaned up at him. “Feels so good.”

He groaned at your words, squeezing his eyes shut to focus on his movements. You watched his face contort in concentration, thoroughly enjoying the look on his face as he fell apart above you, whispering your name each time he thrusted in. “Does it feel good?” You questioned him teasingly.

Eyes still shut, Baekhyun let out a breathy laugh at your words. “Yeah, feels amazing,” He answered between grunts as he continued thrusting.

“Then fuck me harder.” You egged him on breathlessly. “I know you can.”

Baekhyun’s eyes shot open at your challenge, catching the impish look you threw at him. “Harder? No problem.” 

And he met your challenge with determination. Carefully, he pulled himself nearly all the way out, before slamming himself back down onto you as hard as he could. The blow caused you to let out your loudest moan yet, and before you could recover he was crashing into you again. And again. And again. Each time, you screamed louder than before, causing the smirk on his face to grow. “How’s that?” He asked sarcastically. “Hard enough?”

You let out laugh between gasping breaths, trying to regain some amount of composure in your current situation. “Yeah, good,” You managed to pant out. “Not gonna be able to walk tomorrow.”

“That’s the goal,” Baekhyun muttered back. Suddenly, his long fingers were wrapped around your neck, as he pulled you to lay sideways. Not letting go, he quickly repositioned himself so that he lay behind you, and began thrusting up into you once more.

You moaned louder and louder with each thrust, the new angle allowing him to hit the spot that had you screaming his name just minutes before. You felt yourself starting to slip away, your vision going hazy as every muscle in your body began to tighten, the pit of your stomach dropping. You clenched around him as he groaned, the tightness pushing him closer and closer to his own edge.

Baekhyun could sense you were nearly there, bringing his free hand down to where you were connected to rub fast circles into your clit. You knew you were a goner, and syllables leaving your lips incoherent. You pressed your hand on top of Baekhyun’s that was still around your neck, encouraging him to squeeze harder. He groaned as he followed your instructions, tightening his grip on your airway. “Cum for me.” He whispered delicately into your ear. “It’s just us, remember? I’m here.”

His words pushed you over the edge, and you struggled to gasp for air as Baekhyun brought you to your climax, both hands on you and dick buried deep inside you. The wave of pleasure that washed through your whole body was so intense, your vision completely blacking out as you shuddered and shook in Baekhyun’s grasp, repeating his name over and over, “Baekhyun, Baekhyun...”.

He continued holding you and rubbing your over-sensitized area as you came down, your walls clenching spastically around him. Releasing his grip from your throat, he continued thrusting fast and hard into you from behind. “Gonna cum,” He muttered out between fast breaths, the feeling of you spasming sending him over the edge. His hips sputtered and a string of curses fell from his lips, mixing with your name as he came undone in your ear and released into the condom. 

He slowed and pressed himself deep inside of you as both of your breathing subsided, still coming down from both of your highs. You turned your head to look back at Baekhyun, his cheeks flushed and drenched hair framing the blissful look in his eyes. He was absolutely beautiful. He caught your eye, noticing you staring, before kissing you deeply, his hand coming up to rest on your cheek.

You pulled back slightly, smiling. “Didn’t you say you wanted to see my pretty face when I came?”

Baekhyun laughed, rubbing his thumb on your rosy cheek. “Next time, yeah?”

You nodded, not able to control your smile.

He slipped out of you and stood from the bed, looking around the floor to locate his boxers. As he pulled them on, you adjusted your dress that had remained on but migrated up to your chest. You sat up on the bed, bringing your knees into your chest and admiring Baekhyun’s figure. 

Turning back to look at you, he grinned. “I’m gonna get some water. Need anything?” He asked.

“Water would be great.” You replied as he turned to exit the room. Hearing the faucet run in the kitchen, you decided to rid yourself of your sweaty garment, opting for Baekhyun’s discarded t-shirt on the floor. Slipping it on, you smelled the remnants of his cologne, heaving a deep sigh and smiling involuntarily. The shirt didn’t completely cover your ass, but it would do. 

You slipped into the bathroom to inspect your appearance in the mirror. You hair, which was already somewhat of a mess to begin with, was even bigger now, and your makeup a bit more smudged. But you looked free. You felt happy.

Baekhyun appeared in the mirror beside you, glass of water in hand for you. You accepted it with a quick thank you, gulping it down.

“So you like being choked, huh?”

Coincidentally, you nearly choked on your water when Baekhyun blurted it out.

Catching yourself, you gasped for air and tried to recover.

“I mean, first you want to choke on my dick, then you want me to choke you out?”

“Baekhyun!” You gasped, slapping him on the arm.

“I know you said you were into some kinky stuff, but damn...” Baekhyun chuckled the shit-eating grin returning to his face.

You rolled your eyes. “Like you didn’t like it.” You teased back.

Baekhyun shook his head. “Never said I didn’t. Looks good, by the way.” He paused to look you up and down, his shirt draped over your body. He scratched the back of his neck. “I assume, you’re, uh, gonna spend the night?”

You blushed a bit at the question, shifting on your feet uncomfortably. “I mean, yeah, if that’s okay. If I went home now, Minji would-”

“It’s totally fine, don’t worry.” Baekhyun reassured you, gently placing a kiss on your forehead. “You wanna borrow some shorts or something? If I wake up in the middle of the night with your bare ass against me, I can’t promise I’ll behave...”

You laughed, the comfort of being with Baekhyun returning. He graciously offered you a pair of gym shorts, which you accepted.

As you set your glass of water on the bedside table, you felt drowsiness from your activities and night of drinking overtake you. Slipping between the sheets, your eyelids felt heavy.

Baekhyun flipped the light switch before joining you in bed, snaking an arm around your waist and pulling you close. 

“Goodnight.” Baekhyun whispered, intertwining his legs with yours.

You smiled, eyes closing. “Goodnight.”

Before you lost consciousness, one last thought passed through your mind-

“It’s just us, remember?”

You hoped it was true.

[101flavoursofweird]

Fic Questionnaire

Thanks for @sixtyfourk for tagging me! I’m putting the questions under a cut because it’s quite long :’)

I’ll tag @northernscruffycat, @northelypark, @edward-elbowlick, @vermontwrites, @asa-liz, @yoshi-g-teh-first, @call-me-rucy, and @aquamarineglow but if there’s anyone else who wants to do this, please go ahead!

How many works do you have on AO3?

107… but a lot of these are just reposts or prompt-inspired fics that are 10 lines long!

What's your total AO3 word count?

378242 words

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Professor Layton, PLvsAA, Layton Brothers Mystery Room, Rhythm Thief, Voltron: Legendary Defender (I only watched the first two seasons, haha…), The Ancient Magus Bride (I was in it for the cute dragon mage— not for the main romance), Steven Universe, Ace Attorney (only as a part of PLvsAA), Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, My Hero Academia

…10 fandoms altogether, but some like PLvsAA and LBMR fall under the PL category.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Aizawa Doesn’t Give Hugs - MHA- 1111 kudos - (Why can’t I update my most popular fic?)

Fireflies - Steven Universe - 221 kudos - (Again, WHY DID I NEVER UPDATE THIS?)

Reset - PL - 134 kudos - (This is the one I feel the worst about because it’s an ongoing long fic for my main fandom and I’ve had so much support from readers but I just can’t find the strength to update it…)

Worth Fighting For - PL - 86 kudos - (My incomplete Whumptober fic!)

Mending - Voltron - 85 kudos - (I think this was one of the first fics I posted on AO3 and I was really happy about the response it got! And for a fandom I’d never written for before!)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I usually respond to comments pretty quickly because I want to show my appreciation for people who take the time to comment :) If I’m ever slow to respond it’s probably just because I’m busy or I’m trying to formulate a long response. If a person leaves a longer comment, I try to make my response longer!

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

That’s probably ‘To Boldly Flee’. It’s a fic I originally posted on FF.net but it’s now part of an Aurora & Luke oneshot series called ‘Looking Foward’ on AO3. The fic stars Aurora and Luke in an AU set during Azran Legacy. It diverges from canon after Descole steals the Azran keystone in the Nest. Aurora doesn’t want to go to the Azran sanctuary and face her ‘duty’ as the Azran emissary— she also doesn’t want to get STABBED IN THE HEART— so she decides to run away with Luke.

Aurora receives even more angst in this AU than in canon. After Descole’s betrayal, she starts to doubt herself and her friends, aside from Luke.

With a bit of help from Rook and Bishop, the two of them fly to London and then to Misthallery when they hear Targent have taken over the town. During this time, Aurora has her identity crisis about being a golem and having the fate of the world resting on her shoulders. She eventually decides to help Luke save his hometown because Luke is worth the world to her.

This all culminates with Luke getting fatally(?) wounded and taken to the Golden Garden. Aurora is so distraught by this point that she almost ‘floods the whole world’ in a kind of failsafe doomsday device the Azran may have implanted in her. Luckily, Descole and Layton show up to assure her that Luke is alive— but just barely. Aurora returns to her normal self and they get Luke to hospital. Aurora waits by Luke’s bedside for him to wake up. Aurora mentions that Emmy’s fate is unknown, but they still mourn for her.

In the original FF.net ending, Luke wakes up.

In the AO3 ending, Aurora just keeps waiting for Luke. ‘She could not age, so she would wait until he awoke. Even if it took forever...’

If I ever did write more of this story, Aurora and Co would probably go to the other Azran sites (Ambrosia, the Infinite Vault of etc) to search for a cure for Luke. But at it is, the fic is left open-ended as to whether Luke ever recovers.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not really hate but there was one anon review that may have been ‘too brutal’ (their words). I can’t say it hasn’t affected the updates on that particular fic.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I wrote a couple of light smut fics back when I really shipped Layton/Emmy. I think I’d cringe if I went back to read those fics (but then again, I do that with a lot of my old writing). I can’t see myself writing smut now.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I can’t say I’ve had a fic stolen, but I was reading a fic a while ago and the wording was veeery familiar. I’m not sure why because the fic was already good up to that point? Why would they bother copying my writing? XD I can’t complain, though! We’re all technically stealing the original creator’s characters and concepts by writing fanfic.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, for my Rhythm Thief AU, Déjà Vergier! In this AU, 16-year-old Raphael gets taken in by the Vergier family. A Deviantart user called BakApple kindly translated my writing into French. With the help of Google Trabslate, I started translating their French Rhythm Thief fic— ‘July the Fourteenth’— into English, but I didn’t get around to finishing it. My translating skills are nowhere near as good as BakApple’s!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I wrote a PL fic with called ‘If You Only Had Time’ with an awesome writer called Glowbug. It’s an AU (of course) where Rachel Bronev survives and she runs away from Targent with eight-year-old Emmy. Glowbug doesn’t seem to be active online anymore, which is a shame, but I don’t mind! I’m just glad we were able to write 6 chapters.

I don’t think I’d co-write any more fics now… but more for the co-writer’s sake than mine! I’m notoriously bad at updating long fics and I struggle to write under pressure or within a time limit. There’s a reason why I don’t enter Big Bang events, as much as I’d like too :’)

Writing fics is a hobby first and foremost. If I don’t feel like writing something, I’ll leave it and come back later, hopefully with renewed inspiration.

But I’m always happy to discuss fic outlines/ideas/characters’ with other people!

What's your all time favorite ship?

Apparently the ship I’ve written the most fics for is Janice/Melina on AO3?

There seems to be more content for them recently and that makes me SO HAPPY.

Ranhengela might be a close second favourite… Sometimes I literally forget both of these ships aren’t canon.

My favourite characters tend to be those who are so selfless and would sacrifice their lives for the ones they love— e.g. Janice and Henry— even if their significant other is presumed to be dead. I want these characters to be happy but I also want them to through ANGST.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I don’t want to say Reset… but maybe Reset? I haven’t given up completely but I’ve lost a lot of confidence with this fic. What I wanted most out of this story was for Luke to bond with other characters aside from Layton— his parents, Arianna, Emmy, Flora etc.— and to give these characters a chance to shine. But I guess I realised I can do this without all the crazy plot twists and time travel mechanics… like in Ready Now, for example. Most of that fic is just Arianna bonding with Luke, Layton and the others, and it’s hopefully giving Flora her chance to shine too! I guess after giving Arianna her own chapter in Reset I just really wanted to write about her, haha.

What are your writing strengths?

Someone mentioned in a nice review that I often fuse canon with fanon? That’s usually just me poking fun at the series— like when Arianna’s mother asks about Flora’s age and her adoption status, Arianna and Tony just shrug at her comedically. Who knows, really? :’)

I’ll often just make two character sit in a room TALK about their feelings.

Dialogue is an easy one, but I like writing dialogue for characters and getting their voices down. (I will forever portray Dalston with his official Yorkshire accent— not the fake posh accent they gave him the the US version of Miracle Mask.)

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I think it’s cool! …If it’s not used to mock another language— apart from English. Please make all the English jokes you want. I’ll probably agree with you and laugh at them.

I remember when I was re-reading Goblet of Fire and I cringed every time J. K. Rowling wrote about a character who wasn’t English.

I’ll occasionally throw French words or sayings into Rhythm Thief fics especially because that’s what they do in the game. It’s hilarious how Charlie has an English accent but then she’ll sprout a random French phrase.

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Pokemon, but that short oneshot is long gone.

What's your favorite fic you've ever written?

I’m going to be boring and say Bonds Left Unbroken— an AU where Layton and Desmond both get adopted by the Laytons. I think I enjoyed the earlier chapters more, focussing on younger Desmond and Hershel, and especially their time in Stansbury. The later chapters don’t really branch out from canon that much, aside from the fact that Hershel and Desmond are on the same page during Azran Legacy.

I feel bad that I never got around to finishing the ‘bonus’ episodes, but it kind of just felt like the original series with Desmond phoned in :’) But I’m still proud of the original fic!

[alj4890]

Bryce x F!MC*Chris in a one shot.

A/N Just because I need more Bryce in Open Heart and was feeling a little angsty at how little we see him along with the whole "friend" mess. Plus it has been a crazy week personally spent in doctors' offices and hospitals, so my mind has definitely been in a medical mindset, LOL.

Rating PG for a little bit of language

@krsnlove @openheartfanfics ​ @ofpixelsandscribbles ​ @anotherbeingsworld @choicesficwriterscreations​ @twinkleallnight​

Masterlist

Ghosting

Chris didn't know how things had gotten to this point.

It couldn't be the work hours. She worked the same shifts Bryce did.

They had not had a fight. The last time they were together had been perfect. Romantic. Sheer heaven.

But if it was, then why had she not heard from him?

Not one phone call.

No texts.

Zero conversations at work.

Not even a flash of his flirty smile.

Absolutely nothing.

Chris thought they had become closer than ever when she was poisoned. Knocking on Death's door had caused Bryce to admit...well almost...what was in his heart.

And she certainly had not held back how she felt about him.

Then what happened? Why the silence? Why the pretending they did not have intimate knowledge of the other? Why was Bryce only speaking whenever their friends were around?

"Rookie?"

Chris looked up. Ethan, Harper, and Tobias were staring at her as if in expectation.

"Sorry." She mumbled. "My mind was elsewhere."

Ethan didn't bother to hide his irritation. "Do you know when it will arrive at work or is that too much to ask?"

"Lay off, Ethan." Tobias warned. "Everyone has their moments."

"Not weeks' worth." Ethan snapped. His eyes cut to Chris. "If being a part of the diagnostic team is too much for you then--"

"It isn't." Chris got to her feet, glaring at her mentor...one she thought was a friend. "I know you wouldn't understand since I doubt you're human, but this hospital is not my entire life."

Ethan stiffened, preparing to rip her a new one, when she turned on her heel and left the office.

Grumbling about a pretentious know it all doctor having something rather uncomfortable shoved up a certain orifice that should never be treated so badly, Chris hurried toward the elevator and slammed on the down button.

Without looking up, she stepped forward and into the arms of the one she hadn't had any contact with.

"Whoa there!" Bryce dropped his arms and ran a hand through his hair. "Where's the fire, Valentine?"

Tears pricked her eyes at something like that being the first words he said to her after weeks of radio silence.

Ignoring him, she reached over and punched the first floor button.

Bryce cocked an eyebrow. "Chris?"

She folded her arms and kept her gaze locked on the floor numbers counting down.

He reached over and stopped the elevator.

"What are you doing?!" She knocked his hand away when he brushed her hair over her shoulder.

"Checking to see if there has been any damage to your ear." His lips twisted into that smile she had once claimed made her melt. "I could have sworn you had perfect hearing."

That did it. That was the spark to set off the tinder that had been doused in gasoline, propane, and napalm.

Chris rounded on him, causing him to back up against the wall.

"How would you know if my hearing was perfect? You never talk to me!"

His eyes narrowed. "I do too."

"You don't!" She wanted to grip his scrubs and shake him. "You haven't called. Come over to see me. Asked--"

"I've been busy working and studying." He snapped back. "You're not the only doctor who has to do that."

"Please." Chris hit the button to get them going. "We used to study together. I know you don't break a sweat over books."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed how hurt Bryce seemed.

"Chris, I know we, well, I mean I--"

She eyed him struggling. "Save it, Lahela. I don't care anymore."

He visibly blanched at her choice of words. "Chris, come on. You don't mean that."

"I do mean exactly that." She walked out of the elevator, leaving him devastated as he watched her walk out the front door of the hospital.

****************

That night, there was a timid knock to Chris's bedroom door.

"Who is it?" Chris called out from under her mound of blankets.

"It's us." Sienna, Elijah, and Aurora poked their heads in.

Chris softly groaned at her roommates' unwillingness to let her wallow in misery.

"Is she under the blankets or preparing to show Scalpel Jockey that she doesn't need him to have fun?"

Chris sat up with a start when she heard Jackie's voice on speaker phone.

"Really?" She sighed. "Every roommate has to be in on this?"

"She's been under at least three blankets." Aurora reported to Jackie.

"Five." Elijah finished counting the corners.

"Five blankets!" Jackie exclaimed. "This is worse than we thought."

Sienna sat down on the bed and threw her arms around Chris. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened." Chris wriggled out of her embrace. "I just needed to be alone." Her bottom lip trembled at the thought of this actually being her reality. "I'm--I was--tired."

"Is she doing that lip twitch when she won't share the whole truth?" Jackie asked.

The other three said, yes.

"Don't you have better things to do?" Chris snapped. "Jackie should be focusing on patients and interns minding their residents. You--"

"I am." Chris could practically hear Jackie's proud smirk. "But I am one of those highly talented doctors who can not only keep watch over my patients and keep those interns in line, but also make a friend of mine get her act together."

"I have my act together." Chris grumbled. "My act can be together while enjoying the comfort of my room."

"Get dressed." Sienna ordered. "We're going to Donahue's."

Chris shook her head. She could feel the familiar sting of tears forming at the thought of seeing Bryce there with the other surgeons. "No thanks."

"I'm sorry," Sienna's voice had sharpened. "Did that sound like an offer?" She jerked the blankets off of Chris. "Aurora, pick out an outfit that will make men drool. Elijah, go start the shower. And you," she jabbed a finger toward Chris, "You will get ready and go out tonight."

Chris's jaw dropped while the others scrambled to do as she said. She could hear Jackie's compliments over Sienna's bossiness as her friends left the room.

Knowing she wouldn't get a moment's peace, the young doctor forced herself out of bed for a night of drunken revelry.

***************

"Here." Sienna slammed down a tray of shots. "First thing to do is to get you relaxed."

"How relaxed do you want her?" Aurora asked eyeing the numerous glasses. "This will send Chris to the emergency room!"

Chris was tempted to down them all just to get out of staying in the bar crowded with doctors.

"They're not all for her." Sienna giggled. "We can't let her drink alone."

Elijah picked one up with a grin. "Anything for a friend."

"Is she drinking?"

Chris's eyes darted toward the cell phone sitting on the table. "Jackie?! Why are you still on the phone?"

"I told you. I have wonderful multitasking abilities." She replied. "Now down three shots."

Chris glared at the phone while doing so. She winced at the burn while slamming the third glass down. "Happy now?"

"It's a start." Jackie cackled. "Now go flirt and mingle. Dance and Gary! Who allowed Fisher to give an enema to the patient in room 3145?!"

"Have fun with that." Chris smirked at the panic she could hear before ending the call.

Aurora blinked a few times after her fourth shot. "I don't know why I try and keep up with all of you when it comes to drinking."

Elijah side hugged her. "Because you're the best."

A shy, delighted smile appeared on her face.

Sienna pushed Chris out of the booth. "Go do what Jackie said."

Chris caught herself before stumbling into Tobias. "Okay, okay. Jeez you are freakishly strong for someone so tiny."

Sienna burst into giggles while trying to appear fierce. "Don't you forget it."

Chris shook her head while making her way to the bar. Not bothering to meet anyone's eyes, she squeezed in between two men and asked Reggie for a bottle of water and a Rum and Coke.

"Looks like you're feeling better, Rookie."

Her gaze flew to Ethan's. "Not really." She cocked her head toward the back table. "I have too many doctors forcing their prescription upon me."

He chuckled at that before sobering. "Listen Chris, I'm--I apologize for being hard on you today."

"Me too. I mean for not giving our work my full attention." She dropped her head for a moment. "I promise I'll get my head back into the game, coach."

He nodded in approval. "I know you will." He squeezed her shoulder before finding his way to his usual seat.

She slipped onto a barstool while waiting on Reggie to finish her order.

"Another round of beers please."

Chris froze at the voice coming from over her shoulder.

Bryce moved beside her before realizing it was Chris.

His eyes widened.

She ignored him.

"Hey." He said softly.

"Hey." She repeated in what she hoped was an I'm not interested in you, hope you get your heart stomped on tone of voice.

He folded his arms on the bar, drawing her eyes to the way his t-shirt formed over his muscles. His hair was flopping dangerously close to his right eye causing her to be tempted to brush it back. His handsome face held sad longing in its expression.

His eyes were traveling over her low cut top and miniskirt before lifting back up to her face. "You look amazing, Chris."

Her lips twisted into an overly bright smile. "I know." She thanked Reggie when he handed her drinks over. Sliding out of her chair, she made certain to brush up against Bryce.

His body stiffened with lips parting in anticipation. His hands lifted to grip her waist, as if hoping to keep her there.

She immediately sashayed away, casting a mischievous look over her shoulder. "Have a good night Bryce."

"Chris, I--" he slouched against the bar as she left him for the back patio.

*****************

After delivering the beers to his fellow surgeons, Bryce glanced more at the texts Jackie had sent.

If you don't get that big head out of your ass, you will lose Chris forever.

She's not the type to stay single. Chris can only wait so long on you to decide what your relationship is.

Because me and everyone else are going to make sure she moves on.

And stop introducing her as your "friend". Everyone knows that's a load of BS.

Slipping his phone back into his pocket, he headed out to the back patio.

***************

Bryce halted in his tracks. Sitting beside Chris with his arm draped along the back of a seat meant for two was Tobias.

The pair were laughing while looking at one another.

Bryce grit his teeth together while trying to appear casual as he hurried over.

"I nearly lost it when you told Mr. Thompson--" Chris jerked her head to the left when Bryce squeezed into the spot next to her.

He smiled at her while slipping his arm around her waist. "Thanks for saving me a seat, Beautiful."

Her eyes narrowed.

"I never saved a seat for you. Feel free to take the one over there, Bryce." She turned once more toward Tobias.

Not one to give up easily, Bryce leaned close to her ear.

"I can't keep my eyes off you." He whispered.

He felt her stiffen. "Try." She ground out.

"Try what?" Tobias asked, thoroughly enjoying the couple's fight.

Color flooded Chris's cheeks.

"Can't we go somewhere private?" Bryce whispered.

"Feel free to leave!" Chris snapped.

"I guess I should go and check on Ramsey." Tobias chuckled at Chris trying to explain she meant for Bryce to leave. "See you at work Thursday, Valentine."

Chris wiggled away from Bryce. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to spend time with my favorite doctor." Bryce scooted closer, keeping his arm around her.

Chris eventually ran out of room to escape him. "I'm not your favorite anything anymore." She lowered her voice when she noticed other patrons turning their attention toward them. "I doubt I ever was."

Bryce's teasing expression fell. "Chris, you have been since that first day I found you crying in the supply closet." He ran his fingers through his hair while huffing at himself. "If I'm being honest, you have been the only one I wanted since I first laid eyes on you."

Chris shook her head. "Yeah, well, wanting me whenever you felt like it is not what I thought we had." She downed the rest of her drink. "I thought we were a couple in love."

Bryce leaned forward, bracing his arms on his legs as he looked at her. "Chris, we--I--you mean more..."

Her heart picked up the pace in anticipation. She knew hoped he felt more for her than friendship with a side of sexual attraction.

When he seemed stuck at finding the right words to express his feelings, she felt her need to be under every blanket in her apartment return.

She rose unsteadily to her feet.

"Chris, wait." Bryce pleaded, reaching out for her hand. "You know how I feel about you."

"No." She shook her head. "I really don't. Each time I think I do, you then stop calling and start introducing me as your good friend."

"You are a good friend. The best." He stood up pulling her into his embrace, hoping she would understand. "I've never had that."

She snorted, trying to push him away. "Please. You make friends everywhere you go."

His arms tightened around her. "I don't mean that. I mean, I've never been friends with someone I dated."

She stilled. "What?"

He shrugged. "I usually picked the most attractive and went after them. I didn't feel the spark of friendship and attraction for any of them." A soft smile formed as he looked into her eyes. "Until you came along."

Her eyes narrowed. "So you've been ghosting me because of that?"

"Yes." He shook his head. "No. I mean, I didn't mean to." His head dropped in frustration. "If I was with anybody else, you would have been the friend I would have gone to for relationship advice. But since you are the one I want to be in a relationship with, I couldn't come talk to you about how I should go about this."

Chris's lips were parted in confusion.

Bryce decided he wanted to communicate his feelings in a different manner.

Taking advantage of the position they were in, he captured her lips in a heated kiss. He felt a sense of triumphant when her fingers tangled in is hair. His hands drifted down, molding her soft curves to his hard muscles.

Bryce was dazed by the way she responded to his touch.

Chris broke away from the kiss. Her breath brushed his lips while she lifted her eyes to his. Gripping his t-shirt, she shook him.

"As a friend," she began, "I suggest you tell this Chris exactly what is in your heart or else she will end up ghosting you for a change."

His typical flirty smirk formed. "You think she might feel the same way about me?"

"Maybe." She replied, smiling back. "You'll never know if you don't tell her."

"I do hate unsolved mysteries." He muttered leaning down to kiss her once more.

Chris placed her index finger on his lips, stopping them from meeting her own. "Feelings first Lahela, then that."

"I love you, Chris." He responded.

She relaxed in his arms. "I love you too, Bryce." She leaned forward to kiss him. "And I'll make sure to give you an outline of how you will behave in our relationship.

His laughter soon turned to a moan from the intensity of her kiss.

"An outline huh?" He teased.

"Maybe a PowerPoint presentation." She smiled against his lips. "What else are friends for?"

[flooffybits]

Blushes and Giggles

Idol: Shin Ryujin (Itzy)

Anon: Hello~ I'm the one that requested the Itzy scenario where Ryujin's s/o is also an idol from another group who is their sunbae. Their relationship have been public for a while now and the two groups went to a show together and the MCs are teasing the two and their members eventually join in the teasing as well. Thank you, keep up the good work. ~🐧

Author’s note: I made a few adjustments to this and I hope you don’t mind.

☕buy me a coffee☕

"So, we would like to welcome Itzy for joining us today." The host gestured to the five girls as they smiled and waved to the camera. "But, for today's episode, we've decided to have another guest to join them!"

Surprised, the five looked to the pair in confusion while they smiled at them. With their cue cards at hand, they went on to introduce the other group.

"After a recent comeback, this group took over the charts with a powerful concept in a dream-like state." The first explained and immediately, Ryujin's thoughts could only go to one group. But it seemed she wasn't the only one as the rest of her members grew even more excited.

"Without further delay, let's all welcome Aurora!"

Upon seeing you and your group members entering the room, the girls all began to clap and squeal upon seeing your familiar faces, and Yeji even nudged Ryujin as soon as she saw you approaching them.

It was already known that you and Ryujin have been seeing each other, if not for the numerous pictures that the two of you have shared over the year, along with ones caught by Dispatch. JYP and your own company have confirmed your relationship after a long talk, and now people were just looking forward to see more interactions between you and your girlfriend.

You all stood next to the girls and bowed as your leader counted. “Color the world! We are Aurora!” You cheer before looking to the hosts. “Ah, this is such a surprise, don’t you think?” The question was directed to Itzy, more specifically, Ryujin, who kept glancing over to you while you offered her a small smile.

“We weren’t really sure if it would be a good idea to have two groups together, but Aurora has been a highly suggested group along with Itzy. Fans have been looking forward to seeing you all together.” Your members laughed at that because they knew, ever since the news broke out, people have been adamant to see you and Ryujin in a closer setting.

“Ryujin isn’t even hiding the way she’s looking at Y/n.” The second host called out, and said girl quickly felt her face heat up while she turned her head, embarrassed with getting caught though as the host said, she wasn’t even subtle about it.

Her members grinned at the absence of her usually composed self while the hosts began to poke a bit of fun. “You’ve been quite the topic lately. Would the two of you care to show off a bit for your fans who are excited to see you?”

Surprised by the request, you look to each other, silently having a conversation if it was okay to publicly display your affections until Ryujin gave you a small smile and nodded her head as a sign that she was okay with it.

“What exactly should we do?” You asked curiously when you moved to stand next to your girlfriend. Since your two groups were standing right next to each other, you were able to stand close enough to hide the way your hand found hers when you had both yours behind your back and she was quick to link her fingers with your when she pretended to scratch at her back, keeping her hand there when you waited for the hosts to explain what you would be doing.

Your leader, who was stood beside you, was able to catch the action and smiled lightly, chuckling while they tried to listen and Jisu giggled quietly when she nudged Yeji before subtly eyeing the two of you.

“Just exchange a few words. You’ve just finished promotions while Itzy has only started theirs. Being a sunbae as well, maybe you have some things you want to tell her and then vice versa?”

You were quick to understand that and smiled, happy to actually tell your girlfriend how proud of her you were. Since you were both very busy, you failed to actually see each other for more than just a few minutes.

“I’ll go first? Or you?” She asks and your group’s maknae butts in. “Since Y/n is the sunbae, they should go first. Set an example.” They teased and you shot them a playful glare, laughing when everyone else did. “They’re right Y/n. Be a role model.”

Shaking your head, you looked to the girl standing next to you and offered a tiny smile, a little shy with having to be the center of attention like this. “Ryujin-”

“Ah, don’t be so shy. Don’t you call each other any cute nicknames?” The host cut you off and the two of you went red with embarrassment as you stammered out a reply. “I, um, don’t think it’s appropriate to do that here.” But your leader gave you a small push, closing the little distance between you and your girlfriend even more.

“These two are so gross when they’re in the mood to be cute, but they’re a very laid pack pair.” The rapper of the group explains, immediately getting sounds of agreement from not only your members, but Itzy as well. “Unnie is always teasing us when we’re together, but as soon as Y/n sunbaenim is calling or texting her, she’s so quiet unless she’s giggling or talking to them.” Yuna added, causing the blush on said girl’s face to worsen as she covered her face with her free hand and you rubbed the back of your neck.

“Okay. Uh...” Clearing your throat, you met Ryujin’s eyes once more and felt your heart skip a beat at the shy smile sent your way. “Babe.” You could feel the heat creeping up your neck again when you hear your members snickering behind you. “I know that you’ve worked really hard for this comeback. Even though I would ask you for a bit of a hint, you never tell me anything.” You try to joke just so you could calm your racing heart.

And hearing Ryujin’s little giggle did help in doing so.

“You’re still promoting, but I hope that you don’t forget to take care yourself. I say this as both your sunbae and partner. Your health is your priority because the most important thing is your own well-being. I know that you’re probably tired of me reminding you, but I hope you know that I do it because I care about you.”

Her eyes shine brightly while she nods along to your words, squeezing your hand as a means to encourage you to say whatever it is you wanted.

“I know you’re doing your best and all I hope for this is that you continue it with a smile on your face. I love you.”

“Ah! That was so cheesy!” The hosts joked when they all clapped and you had to let go of your girlfriend’s hand to cover your face and hide from view because you’re sure that you’re as red as a tomato. “Even the tips of their ears are red!” Your maknae announced, confirming your suspicions.

But aside from the embarrassment, Ryujin carefully took your hands away from your face and laughed when she forced you to meet her eyes again. “We have a show to film, come on.” She teases, making you scoff lightly and give her a light push, though refusing to let her hands go. “It’s your turn, not mine.” You shot back, making her stick her tongue out and you to make a face.

“They’re always like this.” Chaeryeong sighs in false exasperation. “They have this playful little banter between them that we actually thought they were about to fight before.” Yeji tells them. “A little while after they told us they were dating, Ryujin just started yelling stupid all over again and, being concerned, I went to check on her. When I got to the room, she was on Facetime with Y/n and they were calling each other insults.” She explains, her eyes growing a little wider at the memory. “When I asked them what was going on, they just started laughing and said that it was nothing.”

“Yeah, that was funny. Yeji looked so scandalized.” Your girlfriend confirmed the memory with a laugh and you bit back your own laughter and just smiled apologetically at the girl. “If it’s any consolation, we did treat you the week after that happened.” You tell her and she waves a hand to tell you that it was all a joke, grinning before she’s gesturing to her groupmate.

“Right, Ryujin, stop trying to delay the inevitable.” The host joked and the blonde huffed before smiling back at you, squeezing your hand.

“I don’t know what to tell you that you don’t already know.” She chuckles and you instinctively reach to tuck her hair behind her ear when you saw it falling to her face. “Seeing you perform again was an absolute thrill, even though we were just beginning our promotion and you were wrapping up yours. Getting to see you do what you love reminds me of how much I admired you from the very start.” She says, her tone growing soft compared to the joking tone she was using earlier. “You’ve done well and I’m so proud of you. All I can say is probably... I’m thankful that I have someone who became my means of inspiration as well as being the person loving me the way I love them.”

The others had cringed and the hosts clapped their hands again when you hugged your girlfriend, sneaking a quick kiss to her temple before you pulled away. “Ah, you’re both so sweet. We hope that you both continue to grow together, along with your members. I can see why so many fans are eager to see this side of Ryujin and Y/n.” The first host commented while his partner nodded. “It’s rare, but you can really see how these two care for each other.”

After that, the program proceeded, a few smiles exchanged between you and your girlfriend that many people noticed and could not help but poke some fun at you. At one point, your group had to go against Itzy on who gets the prize, and being the sneaky girls that they were, Chaeryeong and Yuna whispered to Ryujin in distracting you just so they could win.

And it wasn’t that hard for her because as soon as she was walking closer, you were already moving away to avoid her

“Yah! Y/n, you have to beat them, not let them win!” The host told you as you looked like a lost puppy after Ryujin had cornered you, away from your members. “This isn’t fair!” You complained as the girl had her arms raised to catch you in case you tried to run away.

“Come on, we’re just playing.” She giggled and you send her a small glare while trying to maneuver away. When you went to run, however, Ryujin was quick to follow and circled her arms around your waist, planting her feet firmly on the ground just so you would struggle with getting away from her.

In the end, they did win and you could only sigh, though smiled as you watched your girlfriend cheering along with her friends at their victory. “This is a show, guys. You can be clingy after.” The host had joked about your girlfriend’s tactics and you both ended up blushing, though laughing as well.

After wrapping up the show, you were all saying your goodbye’s, bowing to the staff and then making your way out to the van for your next schedule when you finished getting changed.

“No goodbye for me?” The sound of your girlfriend’s voice stopped you at the exit and you smiled as you turned to look at her. “Well, you should know by now that I don’t plan on telling you goodbye any time soon.” You tell her, making her grin as she went in for a hug. “You’re such a sap.” She mumbled into your shoulder, drawing another laugh from you as you rest your chin on her shoulder.

“Well, when you’re dating Shin Ryujin, it’s hard not to fall so deep in love.” Your claim causes her blush to return tenfold and she pulls away to swat your arm. “Stop it.” She whined when you giggled before letting out a sigh when her manager waved her over, signaling that it was time to go.

Her eyes looked to your face and you gave her a soft smile, pecking her cheek when you separate from each other. “I’ll see you later, don’t worry.” You tell her and she nods her head before pressing a feather-like kiss to the corner of your lips.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

[alittlebitgoofy]

if i had my way i would be yours chapter five (taywhora)

fuck ME this chapter kicked my ass but i’m gonna go insane if i go over it any longer so here it is, the long awaited chapter with some smut. it’s the last scene if you want to skip it, the rest is clean

ao3 link

Tayce felt like she was floating on air when A’whora got close to her. Her heart couldn’t handle the cuteness of her roommate in their affectionate moments. She had no idea what she did, innocently cuddling into her as friends did. 

Because they were just friends. Only friends and nothing more. And it totally wasn’t eating Tayce up inside with every moment she realised that. Not at all. 

A’whora herself was just glad to have her friend back, living without Tayce in close proximity was so strange, she loved the way the brunette always kept things interesting in their flat. There was always something going on with her and even when there wasn’t she made something happen. Somehow trying to relax and watch a movie turned into a gossip session, rife with giggles and stories of stupid things no one else would find as funny. But it made them laugh until their faces hurt. Because they were together. 

A’whora took Tayce’s coming out as a chance to bond over something different. She introduced Tayce to small bits of queer culture at a time, though she’d absorbed a lot through being best friends with a lesbian for years and having their whole circle of friends being part of the LGBT. 

“How do I know this will scream I like women?” she’d questioned while A’whora helped her with outfits for a night out. The pair were determined to make sure Tayce had a good first experience at a gay bar while out. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, a similarly dark flannel shirt, and a leather jacket. She could not have looked more gay if she tried, though the way the jeans clung to her ass made A’whora rethink agreeing to help her with everything. How was she so hot? She would look so good under her clothes, what A’whora could give to rip that flannel off her and- 

She needed to sort herself out before they left. Her feelings, how hot Tayce was and alcohol was a dangerous combination. She could hold herself together if only Tayce would stop looking so good. 

---

They were late to get there, they always were with Tayce’s lack of time management and A’whora having to spend hours getting ready for anything. It was a bad combination but that didn’t motivate them to fix it, plus people were used to Tayce being late, including A’whora because they were attached at the hip.

They joined Bimini and Asttina once they got inside, Lawrence and Ellie joining soon after. 

“So what actually happened? She was fuming, you were having communication issues and now it’s all fine? You two never cease to amaze me.” Asttina got right to the point, an eyebrow raised as A’whora gave a nervous smile 

-

Tayce felt relaxed by the alcohol in her system, though neither her nor A’whora were particularly drunk; they were a fun level of tipsy, giggling amongst themselves much to their friends' chagrin. A’whora was joking about something, Tayce found it hard to focus on her speech with how cute she was. Her dimples showed as she smiled, laughing at her own joke. 

“Tayce? Are you even listening! That was really funny!” She whined, poking Tayce in the shoulder to get her attention, pouting as she got an eye roll in response. 

“Maybe if it was that funny I would have listened.” Tayce quipped back, holding back a laugh as A’whora whined even more. 

“You’re such a bitch, why are we even friends?”

“Because, someone has to put up with you. Figured I'd give the world a favour.” Tayce smirked, delighting in the huff that the blonde let out before taking another sip of her drink.

“Tayce!” 

“I’m kidding, you’re sweet if not a bit annoying sometimes, it’s what I love about you, you know that, dumbass”

“Yeah, I am pretty loveable.” A’whora bounced back quickly from her annoyance, her chest warming at the compliment. She tried to play it off, flicking her hair in an overdramatic show of confidence. 

“Your ego isn’t” Tayce deadpanned, erupting into laughter as A’whora gasped, hand on her chest in exaggerated shock. 

“You’re cute, don’t let it get to your head though.” Tayce wondered if it was the alcohol giving her the confidence to say what she thought. A’whora could react in any kind of way but she didn’t care. 

“You’re not so bad looking yourself, still a bit of an ass though.”

“You say that like you’re not the biggest cunt I've ever met.” 

“Well, you are what you eat.” The blonde grinned as Tayce shook her head at the comment. She delighted in shocking her and causing reactions, 

“You’re disgusting oh my god.”

“What? You’ll discover how good it is soon enough. I know it’s been a minute but you’ll find a girl to show you soon.”

“Aurora please stop talking about my lack of a sex life.” Tayce shook her head, for all that she loved about her A’whora did not have a way with words. She was open to a fault and found it hilarious how squeamish Tayce would get when she got explicit. She could handle most of it after a while but the way she would switch mid-conversation was something too unpredictable to deal with. 

Despite all that, she was still adorable in the way she burst into giggles at Tayce’s plea, agreeing while trying to compose herself. 

“What are you two laughing about, it must be something hilarious to have her laughing like a diseased seal.” Lawrence interrupted them, though Tayce was thankful that A’hwora couldn’t go further with her comments. She wasn’t drunk enough to deal with it yet. 

“Wouldn’t you lovebirds like to know? You two been shagging in the toilets or something? Haven’t seen you since you came in here.” Tayce looked them up and down, noticing the lipstick slightly smudged. They’d been getting up to something, it was obvious by the way Lawrence stammered trying to respond with a quip and failing. Ellie stood silent, shaken by how perceptive Tayce could be.

A’whora had no such reaction, laughing harder as they stood slack-jawed and hanging onto Tayce in a feeble attempt to calm herself. 

“At least they’re finally doing something about it, watching them fumble around their feelings while ignoring any possibility of mutual feelings was just painful.'' A'whora shook her head, delighting in the way Tayce snickered, nodding emphatically in agreement. She internally sighed in relief that Lawrence was still in shock and didn’t notice the way she looked at Tayce when she laughed. 

She didn’t need them pulling attention to her feelings. 

Not when she could barely hold them in.

“What is it with everyone tonight? Bim and Asttina are all over each other, have a bit of class you hounds!” Tayce exclaimed, shaking her head in mock judgement at the couples. Part of her still didn’t love seeing people in a situation she found almost impossible but it was easier now, as if the weight had finally been lifted when she came out to A’whora. It felt good to be understood, to have someone so attuned to you they knew what was happening and exactly what she needed. Tayce shifted, perhaps it was the alcohol but she couldn’t help but think she didn’t deserve how lovely A’whora was. Though no one did, she was perfect, too good for the world she lived in.

She ached to verbalise it, pull the blonde close, and whisper how much she adored her, though Lawrence and Ellie were still there and they were in public. She just wanted to give affection but it didn’t come easy. Maybe with some time? 

The scots seemed more interested in each other than whatever light conversation had happened between the four of them, something must have been in the air to explain the way their companions split off into pairs, interested in no one else than their partners. 

Tayce wished she could be one of them, hold A’whora close and press soft kisses to her as the alcohol broke down her barriers, leaving her a melted putty in A’whora’s hands. 

“What’s got you thinking so hard? Is everyone pairing off making you have an existential crisis or something?” A’whora jabbed lightly, Tayce letting out a laugh at the comment. She didn’t know how to respond, it wasn’t easy to communicate your feelings to your roommate, the fear it would make things unfixable between them heavy on her heart after their previous spat. It wasn’t worth the risk, not to lose her. 

“I just think it’s funny how they paired up. Lawrence and Ellie used to mope with us about being single while Bims was the only one with any balls to say something to someone they liked. Now it’s just us two.” Tayce mused, feeling a hand take her own and give it a slight squeeze. A’whora stared at her, smiling softly. IT was an innocent gesture that sent her reeling further. She really had no idea the power she had in making Tayce feel like she was floating at any sign of affection. 

“It’ll happen to us eventually, you’ve only just come out there’s no need to rush things, no matter who you date.”

“Thanks, Rory. You’ve been really helpful with all of this.” Tayce’s softer tone told the blonde everything she needed to know. Her words were tender, heartfelt. It was a rarity for Tayce to be so open, it felt good. 

No words had to be exchanged. Maybe something was different, they stayed close, Tayce’s hand stayed held by A’whora’s own. Tayce felt a warmth envelop her body that couldn’t have been the alcohol. The way A’whora looked at her just added to it, something playful in her eyes as she smiled at Tayce as if she’d done anything more than sitting there and melt over her pretty roommate. 

“Shit, I think everyone is going to do their own thing, Tayce, maybe we should go?”

“Yeah, I was getting kind of bored of watching them almost fuck in a bar. Takeaway?” Tayce asked, smirking as A’whora’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. 

“You read my mind.”

---

“You good there, Rory?” Tayce watched her roommate distractedly attempting to put some chips in her mouth and failing, blinking in surprise at Tayce calling her attention. She shrugged, the alcohol had mostly faded and she was too busy trying to distract herself with anything that wasn’t Tayce’s current state of dress. She’d complained of being too hot, stripping into a bra, and still in her jeans. It drove a’whora insane to look at. She couldn’t hold herself in if she looked for too long. Though she turned to Tayce as she spoke, soon coming to regret her decision. 

“You like what you’re seeing?” Tayce felt A’whora’s eyes on her, mouth agape. She wanted to mess with her, winking. Internally she was delighting in the way she blushed at the comment. Was she always this easy to rile up? It was probably the alcohol but they both felt pretty sober now. Something about having the blonde unable to take her eyes off her was enchanting. It made her heart speed up, something fluttering in her chest but something else she wasn’t so used to. Something churning below, a desire for a certain someone she was finding harder to contain by the minute. 

“You should put a shirt on,” A’whora muttered out meekly, unable to verbalise much of anything above a pitiful whine. She couldn’t do this, not with Tayce being so hot and her being so pent up. It had been too long, she just wanted to hold someone and make them scream in pleasure. She wanted to know what Tayce would sound like mid climax, would she squeal? Breathe heavily? A’whora pegged her as a quieter person, letting out low moans and grunts as she was pleasured. She wanted to test it, see what would make her squirm and-

Fuck. 

She was too horny to be dealing with this.

“What if I didn’t? Would it drive you insane if I took this shirt off? You wanna see my tits, don’t you, you absolute hound.” Tayce eyed her up like a predator staring at its prey. The way she licked her lips while maintaining eye contact sent A’whora. She couldn’t handle it anymore. She crawled over, placing Tayce’s box of chips on the side before unhooking her bra. Tayce let out a hum of curiosity, nodding to signal A’whora to keep going. 

This was far too interesting not to watch. The way A’whora’s eyes stayed trained on her chest, flickering up to gauge Tayce’s reaction every time she did something. With another nod she went further, hands cupping Tayce’s breasts, thumb running over her nipples, and delighting in the way Tayce’s breath hitched. She kept at it, Tayce letting out small noises at the action. Something was about to happen, they both knew it. It was the last chance to bail out before they ended up doing it and Tayce just nodded once more, eyes serious as she smiled at the blonde. 

A’whora took the go-ahead, pulling her into a searing kiss. Tayce could feel her lust in the way she grabbed at her hair, lightly pulling it to steer her into where she wanted. Tayce followed her instincts, letting her lips trail down A’whora’s cheek and feeling herself wetten at the noises she let out. 

A’whora was loud, she knew that already but to be causing those noises and seeing her squirm was doing something to Tayce. She couldn’t hold herself back. She had to close the distance between their lips as A’whora let out a soft moan. 

“We should take this to the bedroom,” A’whora spoke quietly, not sure how much she could get out without Tayce getting more noise out of her. 

Tayce nodded, following A’whora as she pulled her into her room and lightly pushed her down onto the bed. She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as she got on top of her, hovering about her body as she pulled her into another lustful kiss. 

Tayce tried to get the same rise out of A’whora, running her hands all over her body. Grasping at her tits as A’whora had before. Something had shifted in her the second they hit that mattress. Her eyes sparkled with something that sent a shiver down Tayce’s spine. She knew exactly what she wanted and wouldn’t focus on anything else. 

She wanted Tayce, and she was going to get her. 

A’whora took the lead, her hands exploring the body beneath her as Tayce groaned in pleasure. The sound encouraged her more, snaking her hands down to where her jeans were still on, unzipping them, and helping Tayce out of them. A few fingers fell to her underwear, rubbing through it to see where she was and delighting in the soft whine Tayce let out. 

A thought crossed her mind about making her beg for it, drawing something out of Tayce that she’d never seen but it wasn’t the right time for that. She just wanted to make her feel good, they could play around next time.

Tayce didn’t know how to deal with the pleasure erupting through her body. She muffled a moan into her hand at how well A’whora seemed to know what she was doing. Every flex of her fingers sent ripples through Tayce. She was helpless against her touch and could only let out low moans begging for more. 

A’whora blessed her, speeding up her fingers. Tayce threw her head back, shamelessly letting out a loud groan at how good it felt. She couldn’t help but melt against her roommate's touch. Something about her was so good, it was better than anything Tayce had ever felt. 

If this was what sex was like, she’d never want to go to anyone else. 

She wanted to pull A’whora into another kiss but her body had made another decision, her mind clouded only able to focus on the building feeling of irrepressible pleasure.

A’whora felt her building up, speeding herself up and pressing kisses to Tayce’s thighs, suppressing a smirk at how she gasped at the feeling. She removed her fingers slowly, pressing her mouth to her slick cunt. Tayce let out an uncharacteristically high whine as her tongue hit all the right spots. She squirmed against 

Tayce let out the sound again, lasting longer as she climaxed, A’whora moved back to her fingers to lull her out of it before crawling up to cuddle Tayce as she laid back, recovering from it all. 

“What about you?” Tayce hummed, her tone thick with tiredness. A’whora wanted to laugh at how easily she was wiped out but thought better of it. She was too cute like this, a dopey grin playing on her features as she was still running off the high from her orgasm.

“I’m alright, I just wanted to make you feel good. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that.” A’whora shrugged, her chest warming as Tayce scooted closer to curl into her arms. 

“Me too.” The dopey smile returned, Tayce’s words warm with affection in a way that made the blonde’s heart soar. 

Tayce didn’t say much more, passing out with her head on A’whora’s chest, held close by her arms. This was it, all she wanted. A’whora savoured the moment before succumbing to her fatigue, smiling as she heard a muffled “gnight Rory” on the brink of consciousness. 

[wiypt-writes]

What The Stark Spangled F**k?

A Stark Spangled Forever One Shot: Capsicle

Summary- Rori and Jamie spark some memories of Tony, and Rori plays her dad, well and truly!

Warnings- Some language words!

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Stark Spangled Forever Masterlist // Main Masterlist

“Honey!” Steve called, shutting the door behind him. “I’m home!”

He tossed his keys into the dish on the sideboard in the hallway, smiling at the photo of Lucky that sat just behind it with their old dog’s collar looped over the frame. Kicking off his shoes he stowed them in the rack before he shrugged off his jacket. It wasn’t often he wore a suit to work but there’d been a faculty meeting today with a few of the Deans present so he’d thought it was appropriate. Katie had approved a great deal that morning too…

Speaking of which…

“Doll?” he called again as he headed towards the bottom of the stairs, dropping his jacket over the bannister.

“Hey Soldier!” she called back, “I’m just changing Harry…he decided to tip the entire contents of his dinner down him. Guess he doesn’t like sweet potato…”

“Don’t blame him.” Steve yelled back “It’s disgusting.”

“Oh hush…” she shouted back, as he gave a chuckle.

“DADDDYYYYY!” he heard a familiar call and a door flew open upstairs, Rori bounding down the steps to greet him already dressed in her pyjamas as it was almost 7.

“Hey Princess!” he smiled, catching her as she threw herself at him from 5 steps up. “Did you have a good day.”

“Yeah!” she grinned “We learnded about numbers and I did the alphabet, although one of the other girls was mean to me.”

“Mean to you?” Steve looked at her “How?”

“She said nasty things.” Rori looked down, fiddling with his tie.

“Oh baby…” he said, kissing her head. “Wanna tell me about it?”

“Can I have a Capsicle? I ate all my dinner…”

Steve sighed, “You mean posicle?”

“Emmy says they’re capsicles…” she shrugged.

Thanks Tony for that one…

Steve looked at Rori  for a moment as she turned her big green eyes on him and he gave another sigh and nodded.

“Whatever, sure, come on…”

Shifting so she was on his hip, he continued his way down the hall and popped his head into the den where Jamie and his friend Sebastian were sprawled on the sofa, playing a computer game. Stark was led at Jamie’s feet chewing some kind of squeaky toy, his bushy tail thumped lazily as he glanced up at Steve before resuming his eager chomping.

“Hey fellas.” he smiled.

“Hi Mr Rogers.” Sebastian looked at him smiling.

“Hey dad.” Jamie muttered, eyes not moving from the game.

“Just gonna get Rori a popsicle, you want one?”

“No thanks, mom said when you were home we could get pizza as it’s Friday and Seb is sleeping over…” Jamie said, before he yelled “Dude, you let him get away…”

“Sorry Jay…” Seb replied, his tongue poking out from his mouth as he tapped at the controller.

Steve watched the two 9 year olds for a second before his attention turned to the TV.

“What are you playing?” Steve frowned, watching as something exploded on the screen.

“Avengers Alien Invasion…” Jamie said, before he paused the game and looked up at his dad, grinning “Bet it’s not as fun as when it actually happened for real in New York…”

“Fun isn’t’ exactly the word I would…” Steve trailed off “Hang on, did you say Avengers…”

“Yeah!” Sebastian nodded, “It’s a computer game from like years ago. We found it in my brother’s room. Mrs Rogers said it would be ok…”

“So, like, it has the Avengers Characters in it?”

“Yup.” Jamie nodded.

Steve frowned further, before he grinned and looked at his son. “So which one are you?”

“Iron Man.” Jamie shot back

“Seriously?” Steve looked at him, his voice indignant.

“No offence, but in the game Uncle Nee’s powers are awesome.”

“I’m Captain America Mr Rogers….” Sebastian smiled at him “After Tony you have the most power.”

Steve stood there for a moment before he scoffed and shook his head “Whatever…”

He turned to leave the room, closing the door behind him as the sounds from the TV started again. Trying not to feel too offended at the fact his own son had chosen Tony over him on a damned computer game, he headed into the kitchen setting Rori down on the counter.

He opened the freezer, dug out a blue popsicle for her (her favoured colour, unlike her traitorous older brother) and handed it to her.

“So, wanna tell me what happened?” he asked, leaning on the breakfast bar, looking at her as she sat perched by the refrigerator opposite him.

“So we were doing the alphabet and some words…and I knew them all. But I was good daddy, I put my hand up and I didn’t shout out…but Ariana called me a smart ass…”

She’s not wrong. Steve bit back the retort as he looked at his daughter’s indignant face, trying hard not to laugh at her expression. “Well that’s not very nice.”

“No, I told her that.”

“I’m sure you did.” Steve continued to hold his face straight.

“I told her she shouldn’t say mean things to people as it can make them cry.”

“Did you cry?”

“No.” Rori said, sucking her popsicle. “I called her an idiot instead.”

“Well you kinda lost the moral high ground there.” Steve chuckled as Rori cocked her head.

“What’s a moral high ground?”

“Nothing, doesn’t matter.” He said, straightening up as Katie walked into the room, a clean Harry on her hips.

“Hey…” Steve smiled as he gave her a kiss “Hey buddy!”

Harry grinned and held his arms out so Steve could take him. He kissed his cheek before he looked at Katie “How you feeling?”

She dropped her hands to her bump and sighed “Tired…”

Steve gave her a sympathetic smile, at almost 20 weeks now this pregnancy was taking its toll a lot more than the other 3 had. And he knew she was trying to be brave about it, despite how exhausted and worried she was about it all.

“Oh Steve!” she let out an exasperated sigh and he looked at her, frowning, before he followed her gaze to where Rori was sat eating her popsicle.

“What?” he frowned.

“I told her she wasn’t allowed one as she hadn’t eaten her dinner!”

Steve looked at Katie, then to Rori who looked at him innocently.

“Seriously?”

Rori shrugged, absolutely no fucks given that she’d just been completely busted after telling a big, fat lie to her dad.

“Aurora!” Steve said, sternly “I don’t like being lied to, you know that!”

She turned her eyes to his and looked at him “Sorry.”

“No you’re not.” Katie narrowed her eyes at her. She walked to remove the popsicle from her and Rori yelled, jerking her hand away.

“It’s mine.”

“I don’t care!” Katie said sternly. “You do not tell lies, and you do not go behind my back to your dad.”

Rori glared at her, before she held her hand out sighing as Katie took the item off her.  Rori rolled her eyes and before Steve or Katie could stop her she hopped off the counter, the part of her that was half super-soldier making it easy as she landed with a thud on her feet.

“Go upstairs and clean your hands.” Katie looked at her. Rori’s hand fell to her hips, mimicking her mother’s stance and Steve hastily looked away, to avoid laughing at the look on her face. She was so like Katie it was untrue and for the third time in ten minutes Steve found himself thinking about his late brother-in-law, wondering how on EARTH Tony dealt with Katie when she was growing up.

“Whatever.” Rori said, and she turned with a flounce and left the room.

“Honey, I didn’t know.” Steve began to protest his innocence as Katie rolled her eyes, picking up the popsicle which had started to melt down her wrist.

“You’re such a sucker where she’s concerned, Steven.” she said, her voice was stern but her eyes told him a different story as they shone with good humour.

“Only because she’s so much like her momma.” Steve winked. “I believe I’m also a sucker where you’re concerned.”

Katie snorted before she glanced at the popsicle in her hand and shoved it in her mouth, eyeing Steve as she did so.

“Pretty sure it’s me who does the sucking Soldier.” she said, her mouth making a popping noise as she pulled the ice lolly from her mouth.

At her actions Steve felt a familiar stirring in his pants.

“Behave.” He narrowed his eyes at her, as she grinned and shrugged, before she too flounced from the room calling to the boys in the den about ordering pizza.

“Women.” Harry mumbled to his father, in a tone that sounded ridiculously like Bucky leaving Steve in absolutely no doubt where he had learned it from. Steve looked at him, before giving a snort.

“You’re not wrong pal,” he chuckled, “you’re not wrong…”

 **Original Posting**

[checkurwindow]

ten ways

Book: Open Heart

Warning: So sweet your dentist would be concerned Rating: General Pairing: Bryce x F!MC Word count: 6500+ Author’s note: I finally wrote something that isn’t angst and oh god is it long. I spent so much time on this so please please consider reblogging and let me know what you thought of it, and maybe check out my masterlist while you’re at it.

1.

There was truly no better way to start off senior year than arriving late to her first class. 

In her defense, she had left the house early. For once in her life, she was actually going to be early to school. She was so proud of herself, and was so certain that she had extra time that she allowed herself to stop at a drive-thru and get a drink as a reward to herself. Everything was going according to plan. 

That is, until the lady in the car in front of her decided she wasn’t pleased with her order and made the barista redo it; and to make sure he didn’t mess up her order a second time, the barista was extra careful. And extra slow. 

She groaned as she watched the time tick pass minute by minute. Just her luck. 

She watched the barista hand the drink to the lady in front and breathed a sigh of relief. Yet, the car didn’t move, not a single inch. The drink was already in her hand, but the lady just had to continue to talk with the barista. 

She cursed under her breath and banged her head on the steering wheel in frustration. She must’ve been more aggressive than she was expecting, because her horn went off, and loudly at that.

She jumped back in shock at the noise. The lady poked her head out of her car window and immediately began lecturing her on how rude she was being. At least, that’s what she assumed she was saying, she really couldn’t hear her with her windows rolled up. She bit her lip, gave a little wave, and mouthed an apology.

Eventually, the lady finished her rant and left the drive-thru. She got her drink, no longer a reward and more of a consolation, and sped to school.

There weren’t any other students in the parking lot by the time she got there, only a reminder of just how late she was. Shoving all her things back inside her backpack, she locked the door and hurried into the building.

Of course, her first class just had to be with Mr. Anderson. Any other teacher would have just let her tardiness slide, but not him, never him. She opened the door to his classroom, and any conversation that had been going on stopped. 

More than a dozen pairs of eyes turned their attention to her, and she wanted to melt into the floor right then and there. 

“Nice of you to finally join us,” Mr. Anderson addressed her. He narrowed his eyes at the nervous student, leaning against his desk as he sized her up, “if you’re done being a distraction to my class, I’d appreciate it if you would take a seat.

She swallowed roughly and nodded. He went back to lecturing the class on how his classes would be conducted, and she did her best to find a seat as quietly as she could. Instinctively, she made her way over to where her friends were sitting.

Bryce moved his backpack off the desk next to him and quietly whispered, “I saved you a seat.” 

She gave him a grateful smile and mouthed back a ‘thanks’.

Sienna leaned forward, “Anderson really wasn’t amused with you, huh?”

“I swear he hates me,” she insisted.

Bryce rolled his eyes, “he doesn’t hate you, Boo.”

“Bryce is right,” she said, “everyone knows he just hates women,” she stressed the last part with exaggerated disgust.

2. 

Late-night study sessions had evolved to become code for hanging out at Danny’s house and messing around. 

Sienna was dating Danny, so naturally, she had become friends with him and his friends by association. Sienna, Aurora, and her were actually trying to study. Danny and Elijah were discussing the school football team’s chances of winning their next game, and Jackie and Bryce were in the kitchen getting snacks and undoubtedly bickering about something completely irrelevant. 

“Okay, Sienna,” Aurora held up a flashcard, “what can you tell me about the defenestration of Prague?” 

“Uh, people were thrown out of windows for fun?” She replied, barely having read that chapter of the textbook.

“No- well, actually, I suppose you’re technically not completely wrong.”

She let her body fall back against the back of the couch and closed her eyes. If she had to stay there any longer, she would’ve thrown herself out the window. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to hang out with her friends, it was just that after a long day of school, she wasn’t exactly thrilled to spend more time with the people she had already spent most of the day with. 

“Sorry I’m late, I just spent the better part of the last hour trying to explain to a group of freshmen that I won’t be dating or teaching “my ways” to any one of them,” he shuddered dramatically as he walked into the living room where everyone was.

“Ah yes, I almost forgot I was friends with the Bryce Lahela,” she said overdramatically.

He rolled his eyes but decided to amuse her nonetheless, “what can I say, I’m just clearly superior.”

She scoffed but refused to dignify him with any further response. Instead, she closed her eyes and pretended she was back at home under her warm, soft covers. 

“I brought you food.”

That caught her attention. Cautiously opening an eye to see if he was telling the truth, she was met with the sight of him holding up a bag of fast food that he must have picked up on his way over. She couldn’t help the growing smile on her face as she sat upright. 

“For me?” She asked.

“Of course, Munchkin” he handed the bag over to her, “you skipped lunch to finish up the science project you were behind on and I’m certain you haven’t gotten around to eating anything yet,” he said confidently.

She happily pulled an order of large fries out of the bag, “have I ever told you how amazing you are, Bryce?”

He smiled, “not often enough.”

“Well, you are. So amazing.”

She had just finished the fries and was looking through the back to see what else he had gotten her when Danny called out to her.

“What are your thoughts on Rafael?” He asked.

“Aveiro?”

“Yep.”

She tilted her head, “he’s okay, pretty cute. Why?”

“He told me he likes you, even wanted me to ask if you were single?” Danny said nonchalantly.

Sienna immediately got invested and joined in on the conversation, “she is very single, and I for one think they would be a great couple!”

She could feel her cheeks begin to heat up, and suddenly she found the hardwood floors very interesting, “I don’t know…he actually likes me?”

“That’s what he told me,” Danny replied, “can I give him your number?”

She weighed her options before giving a careless shrug, “Yeah, why not?” 

“You and Rafael? I knew this day would come,” Aurora commented.

“Okay, we’ve talked about this long enough. We need to study,” she insisted, pulling out her textbook.

“I’d rather not fail this test,” Bryce agreed.

Everyone begrudgingly went back to their previous activities, and Bryce took that opportunity to fill up the space next to her on the couch. She flipped through pages of her textbook before coming to a stop. She passed the textbook to Bryce and pointed to a large picture on the page.

“This one’s my favourite,” she said. 

“Wanderer above the Sea of Fog,” he read,  “you’re a fan of Caspar David Friedrich?”

She shrugged, “I guess I’m just a fan of the Romantic moment in general. Everything was so creative and beautiful. I just think it’s crazy how this painting holds so much emotion.”

Bryce frowned, looked at the painting, then back at her, “it certainly is romantic.”

She gave the painting one last look before she began flipping through the pages of the textbook again. Bryce watched her curiously as she read over the vocabulary words for that week. After a while, he decided to say what was on his mind. 

“So,” he broke the silence, “you and Rafael, huh?”

“Yeah,” suddenly, the furry carpet on the floor looked beyond interesting, “I used to have a crush on him in middle school, remember?”

His mouth broke out into a smile, “Sienna and I used to tease you about it all the time! No wonder you’re so bad at chemistry,” he joked. 

“I happen to be pretty extraordinary at chemistry, thank you very much.”

“Hm, I think that botched experiment that nearly killed Mrs. Durnam tells a very different story,” he said, and she playfully punched his arm. 

“She’s still alive, isn’t he? Plus, you were the one who didn’t make me double-check!”

He had an amused look on his face, “keep telling that to yourself, babe.”

3.

He was tired, the sheets were too hot. It had been a long day, his body was exhausted. The air in his bedroom was too cold, his mind was tired, too. If he would just close his eyes and stop thinking, he’d be asleep in mere minutes. Now the sheets were hot again, so he kicked them off. Then the air was too cold, so he pulled the sheets over him again. Not thinking ironically proved to be harder than perceived. Go then if you must, but remember, no matter how fooli- damn it, Sophocles, damn your terribly beautiful words.

Bryce threw the covers onto the other side of the bed and sat up. He wasn’t going to get much sleep that night no matter how hard he tried, anyway, no need to lie to himself. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, if there even had been any sleep in the first place.

There was no doubt that he was tired both mentally and physically. But emotionally? His heart was eternally restless when it came that. He crossed his room and sat down at the expensive wooden desk, fully accepting that getting any rest that night was no longer a viable option.

The bright light from his computer was a harsh contrast to the darkness of the room, but his eyes adjusted soon enough. Bryce didn’t even know what he was doing on his computer in the middle of the night. 

But his subconscious knew. His fingers opened up the application and started scrolling. No, no, yes. God, no. yes, definitely, perfect. And that went on for an hour or so, though Bryce wasn’t exactly keeping track of time. He’d be near-dead at sunrise, but he wasn’t going to get any sleep until he finished. 

When he actually did finish, he smiled contentedly to himself. A wave of calmness washed over him, and before he knew it, he was face down and lost in his dreams asleep.

He looked terrible the next morning. Well, as terrible as Bryce Lahela could look. He still dressed as great as always, even styling his hair with a little more volume than usual. He was still sharp as ever in class, but anyone who really knew him could tell that he was a total mess. 

“Hey, you okay?” She asked during lunch in Mr. Jericho’s classroom (He had been kind enough to let a bunch of teenagers spend lunch in his class; the cafeteria just wasn't cool enough for them).

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine.”

She cocked her head to one side, “no you aren’t, spill.”

“Don’t worry about me. I actually have a little something for you,” Bryce fished his phone out of his pocket.

“You have something for me?”

“Sending it now. Aaaand…...check your phone!”

She raised an eyebrow and cautiously unlocked her phone to look at the text he had sent to her.

“Sophocles and Serotonin,” she read off her phone, “ what is this?” 

“I made you a playlist of songs that I thought you’d like.”

“Seriously?” A smile emerged on her lips, and Bryce couldn’t help himself but to reflect it, “When did you even have the time for this?”

He shrugged nonchalantly, “I happened to have free time last night.”

“With Mr. Anderson's early deadlines? I smell a steaming hot pile of bullshit, Lahela,” She looked up at him, a teasing lilt prominent in her tone, “I appreciate the playlist even more now that I know you took the time out of your night to make it. Thank you, Bryce.”

She leaned forward on the desk she was seated on and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He froze like a deer in headlights, and if she noticed, she definitely didn’t say anything. He compiled himself back together before she could notice that his usual smirk wasn’t as smug as it usually was, and leaned back against the desk behind him in an attempt to look cool. 

“So, what’re you doing after school?” He asked in his best casual voice. 

“Rafael and I are going to see a movie.”

“That’s actually still a thing?”

She shot him a look that made him raise his hands up in surrender, “Yes, it’s still a thing. He’s a good guy, I really like him.” 

“But is he good enough for you?” He crossed his arms, eyes not leaving hers. It wasn’t that Bryce didn’t like Rafael. Rafael was great, but no guy would ever be good enough for his best friend. 

“He is,” She said with an eye roll, “why do you care anyway?”

“Just looking out for you, Sweetheart.”

“I can take care of myself perfectly fine, Scout.”

His eyebrows shot up his forehead, an impressed look across his face, “trust me, I know.”

4. 

Summer felt like an eternity ago, when in reality, it had been less than two months ago The yellow-orange leaves and updated Starbucks menu was enough to convince anyone that it was already October. 

It took a lot of sweet-talking and a tiny bit of bribery to convince Bryce to attend the Homecoming football game, but with Sienna’s assistance, she eventually got him to cave. She wanted him there, but more importantly, she wanted him to give her a ride there. 

Of course, she could have taken her own car, but she would much rather not waste her own gas when she could take advantage of his instead. It wasn’t like it mattered to him, his parents paid for his car, insurance, and gas anyway. Plus, the seat warming function in his cushy Mercedes Benz was a huge incentive.

She spent most of the ride over to the stadium raving over the seat warmers, and he spent most of the ride making fun of how obsessed she was with said seat warmer. Eventually, they parked outside and paid for the entrance fees. 

“It’s kinda co-” before she could even finish her sentence remarking the cold weather, Bryce handed her a comfy looking (and feeling) sweatshirt. She looked down at the maroon sweatshirt, then back at him, her mouth slightly ajar, “You brought an extra sweatshirt for me? I didn’t even ask.”

“You didn’t need to,” he shrugged. 

She put on the sweatshirt and stared at him with wide eyes. Bryce glanced at her, bit the inside of his lip, then shook his head, “Don’t go thinking I care about you or anything now, Lovey. I couldn’t have you taking the sweatshirt I’m wearing, then I’d freeze up. 

She looked up at him with a smug grin on her face that made him regret bringing her the sweatshirt in the first place, “Yeah? Is that really all it was?”

“Yes, that’s all, Sunshine,” he did his best to act all annoyed by her questioning, but instead found it endearing in the end. 

It took him a moment, but eventually, he came up with a half-decent excuse, “besides, you know my grandma would kill me if she knew I let you freeze. I swear, sometimes it seems like she loves you more than she loves me.”

“That’s because she does,” she pointed it out like it was the only possibility, “can you blame her? I’m funny and adorable. You’re just a grumpy old man that I had to drag to this game.”

“That’s it. Take the sweatshirt off, I hope you freeze,” he said with the dirtiest look he could muster and she had the audacity to throw her head back and laugh.

She reached into her bag, and after digging around, she pulled a five-dollar bill out of her wallet. Thrusting the money into Bryce’s hand and pushing him in the direction of the concession stand, “here, go get some popcorn for us. Maybe then you won’t be so irritable once you get some food in you, I’ll find us some good seats.’

Bryce grumbled something about “you’re irritable” but nonetheless ventured off towards the concession stand. 

She climbed the steps up the stadium and immediately found Sienna and Danny sitting in the student section, all decked out in their school colours and face paint. Sienna greeted her with a warm hug. 

Pulling back, Sienna took note of what she was wearing, “is that Bryce’s?”

She looked down at the Stanford sweatshirt she had wrapped around herself, “Oh yes, it’s pretty comfortable, actually.”

Sienna pursed her lips and mulled over the new information, “What’s going on between the two of you?”

“What do you mean? We’re friends,” she shrugged.

“And Bryce knows that?” She paused, “Do you know that?”

She narrowed her eyes at Sienna, “Yes, of course I know that. I’m dating Rafael now, okay? Bryce and I have always just been friends, and that's all we’ll ever be.” Sienna nodded her head, “Okay, okay. If you say so, I believe you. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt, I care about both of you.”

“There aren’t any feelings between Bryce and I, don’t worry,” she said, but those words didn’t leave her mind for the rest of the night.

5. 

Bryce had spent a significant amount of the week dreaming about the coffee and cookie dough ice cream that was waiting for him in the freezer.

It was his favourite flavour, and there was just enough left in the carton for one last bowl of that sweet sweet goodness of a food. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t eat the last of it until he really deserved to. After spending his afternoon being productive and studying for the test he had tomorrow, he decided that he finally earned that delectable bowl of unhealthy but utterly delicious caramel-colored ice cream. 

He made his way down to the kitchen, humming an upbeat tune and sliding across the smooth marble floor in his most comfortable pair of socks. Bryce had made it all the way to the freezer, barely moments away from the compartment holding his currently most prized possession when a hasty knock at the front door stopped him in his tracks.

He paused. He was oh so close to getting to his ice cream; maybe it was just a delivery? He debated answering the door or ignoring it and getting the ice cream first. He was starting to lean towards just going for his bowl of ice cream when there was a knock at the door again. With a scowl on his face, he abandoned the freezer and any hope for happiness he had left and made his way to the front door.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” He said in surprise when he saw who was standing at her doorstep.

“I didn’t know who else to go to. Sienna’s out with Danny, and Aurora and Jackie aren’t good in situations like this,” she spoke quietly and sniffled in between sentences, trying not to let any more tears fall down her cheek, “sorry, I just-”

He interrupted her by pulling her into the darkening sky and into his house and arms. She melted into his touch and gripped his shirt tightly as she hugged him back. 

“What happened?” he asked softly, rubbing circles into her back with his thumbs.

“Rafael and I broke up.”

Bryce sighed softly and rested his chin on her head. He bit his lip and weighed the options in front of him, before he came to a reluctant conclusion. He pulled away just enough so that he could look her in her teary bloodshot eyes.

“I think this is the part where we break out the ice cream.”

She offered him a slightly trembling smile, “ice cream couldn’t hurt.”

He led her to the kitchen and began digging through the freezer while she hopped onto the counter beside him. He hid a frown from her while in the process of pulling the nearly empty carton of coffee and cookie dough ice cream out of the freezer.

“You wanna tell me what happened?” Bryce asked, retrieving a bowl from one of the cabinets.

“It wasn’t even a bad break up,” Despite her words, she still wiped at her tears using the sleeves of her shirt, “we mutually agreed that it was best for both of us.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded, “he’s just...not the one, I guess.”

Bryce felt something twist and turn in his stomach, and he knew it wasn’t right to be happy when his friend was so miserable, but he was anyway. He did his best to hide the smile that wanted to form at the corners of his mouth, “I’m sorry, Cupcake.”

She laughed, “Cupcake?”

He rolled his eyes, but the grin on his face remained, “I’m trying something new, okay? Running out of nicknames.”

She couldn’t help but match his infectious smile, “you’re not gonna have any ice cream?” she asked as he passed her the bowl.

“Nah, not in the mood for it,” he lied.

6. 

“Did you get enough sleep last night, Hon?” She was already in mid-yawn when he had asked the question.

She held a hand over her mouth and nodded, “yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

“You look terrible.”

She scowled at him, “wow, just what a girl wants to hear. Anyone ever tell you you’re one hell of a charmer, Lahela?”

“You’d be surprised, actually,” he gave her a teasing smile, “so who’s the cause for your sleepless night?”

“Napoleon Bonaparte.” She made an emphasis on the textbook in her hands, “Why’d I ever let you convince me to take an AP class with you?”

“Because you so desperately enjoy spending time with me?”

“Nah, that’s not it.”

“Ouch,” Bryce held a hand over his heart, “you really stayed up late studying for the quiz?”

“Some people have to study, okay? Not everyone is as gifted as Bryce flippin’ Lahela.”

“Flippin’? Really?” He stifled a laugh.

“We’re at school, gotta keep it PG,” she shrugged, “so yeah, I stay up and study sometimes. High schoolers aren’t supposed to get a normal amount of sleep, it’s not a big deal.”

“Yeah, well, sometimes I worry about you.”

She tilted her head to the side and gave him a small smile, “you don’t need to worry about me, Bry.” 

“Believe me, if I could just shut it off, I would. Look, I’ll make you a stack of flashcards next time so you can get more sleep.”

She was about to say something in response when her phone rang in her pocket, “I should get this.”

She went out into the hallway to answer the call, and Bryce turned back to his lunch, not even bothering to hide his growing smile. 

“Bryce.”

He jumped at the sound of a voice and turned to see Sienna sitting at the desk across from him. Had she been listening to them the whole time? He had completely forgotten she was there; a fact he certainly wasn’t about to share with her. 

“Yes, Sienna?”

“Do you have a crush on her?”

Bryce blinked a few times, certain that he hadn’t heard Sienna right, “Excuse me?

Sienna rolled her eyes, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, “You heard me right. I’m not blind, Bryce. I see the way you look at her when you think no one is focusing. Do you have a crush on her?”

“That’s ridiculous, where’d you even get the idea from?”” He made a face like he was disgusted by the very thought of it. 

“Oh, I dunno, you just do whatever it takes to make her happy. Not to mention that you have a different pet name for her every time I see you two, seems pretty affectionate to me, Bryce.” She did always have a talent for laying out the facts.

“We’ve been friends since before I could remember, of course I care about her. And so what if I have a nickname for her? It doesn’t mean anything.”

“It’s not like you have a nickname for anyone else.”

“I call you...Si...all the time,” he paused to rethink what he just said, “I have a nickname for everyone.” 

“We both know that’s a load of B.S, are you really telling me that you don’t like her?”

“I don’t like her,” and it wasn’t an exact lie, because the feelings he had for her had progressed far beyond liking. 

7. 

“There’s nothing people appreciate more than a hand-made gift, right?” She said and pulled out a ball of azure coloured yarn.

Bryce crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against a wall, “Sure, except maybe a nice Rolex or a new car.”

She gave him a look, “I don’t know what it is about me that makes you think I can afford a Rolex or a new car. I’m an unemployed high school student, my only income comes in the form of birthday cards from my grandparents.”

“Well, I’m sure Sienna will love the scarf you make for her.”

“Yeah, how hard could it be?” She muttered and stared blankly at the mess of strings in her lap.

His eyes widened a little, “Wait, you’re telling me you’ve never crocheted before?”

“I'll get the hang of it soon enough,” she pulled up a beginners guide on YouTube, and five minutes later, she had a knotted pile of yarn in her hands. She huffed in frustration and began to aggressively pull at the yarn.

“Let me help you.”

“You? Know how to knit?” She raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. 

Bryce rolled his eyes, sitting next to her and taking the “scarf” out of her hands, “This is crocheting. You don’t even use knitting needles”

“Apologies. And how do you even know how to crochet?” 

“I may or may not have taken lessons a couple summers back to impress Alisson Rivers?” He admitted, quickly untangling her “progress” and began to expertly thread the loops of yarn together. He held up his work to her once a pattern had begun to form, “being incredibly sexy has its perks,” he jokingly winked at her. 

“I hate that you’re good at everything.”

He snorted and gently began to move the work into her hands for her to finish the rest, “Not everything, maybe just most things.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,”  She waved him off, now laser-focused on the project in front of her and determined to get it right that time. Bryce gave her tips and advice every once in a while, but for the most part, he let her work on it by herself. She was a fast learner. 

“Sweethea-” Bryce cut himself off, remembering the conversation he had with Sienna earlier. He cleared his throat, “you’re never gonna get it like that.”

She looked up at him with furrowed brows, “What?” He swallowed roughly and shook his head, “It’s nothing. Just...you’re going to wanna pull the yarn a little tighter or it’s all going to unravel before you’re even finished.”

“Oh,” She gave him a thankful smile, “thanks, Bryce.”

8.

It was almost 2 in the morning, and she knew that getting any more than four of sleep was out of the equation at that point. She wasn’t exactly trying very hard to sleep. She had tried to refresh her Instagram feed maybe two dozen times now, but it wasn’t as if anyone was going to post in the middle of the night. And even so, Instagram was doing a fairly poor job at keeping her mind distracted. 

Sighing out in frustration, she threw her body back onto her bed with a loud sigh. She wrinkled her nose and finally caved in to her temptations, navigating to the facetime app on her phone. Hesitating one last time, she tapped his contact with her thumb. The phone began to hum as she waited for him to pick up. 

“Hey, Bry. I know it’s late,” she said when he finally answered the phone. She frowned when he realised he was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, “sorry, did I wake you up?”

“No, no. I couldn’t sleep anyway,” replied his groggy and raspy voice. 

“I know you’re lying, Bryce. Don’t worry about it, go back to sleep”

“I was already up.”

“No, you weren’t. It’s really fine, don’t let me bother you.

He stopped rubbing his eyes and looked at her firmly through the camera, “Maybe I was asleep, but I’m up now, aren’t I? Don’t worry about waking me up. Besides, I’d much rather be talking to you.’

She pursed her lips, giving him a doubtful look. He was too polite to ever tell her if she was bothering him. She couldn’t tell if he genuinely wanted to talk to her, or if he was too courteous to tell her otherwise.

He noticed the look she gave him, “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you don’t believe me. I would’ve stopped being friends with you years ago if I didn’t find all your annoying habits endearing as hell. I promise,” he shot her a smug smile that almost made her wish she hadn’t called him up. 

“How kind of you,” she said sarcastically.

“I try,” his grin widened, if that were even possible, “so what did you want to talk to me about?” 

She chewed on her bottom lip and shrugged, “I dunno.”

“You don’t?” Bryce narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to the camera. After he had examined her carefully, he leaned back and crossed his arms, “Yeah you do. What is it?”

She shifted uncomfortably by how easy it was for him to see right through her. Once more that night, she caved, “Earlier, when you told me to tighten the yarn. You stopped yourself from calling me ‘sweetheart’.”

He tensed, but she didn’t notice, “I mean, what’s so unusual about that? That's a perfectly normal thing for someone to do.”

“I know,” she nodded, “but you always call me some cheesy pet name. Always. So, did something happen? Are you mad at me?”

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head, “No, of course not. Everything’s fine,” he paused, “that really upset you?”

“It’s just that you’ve always had a nickname for me, I guess I got used to it.”

He laughed through his nose and couldn’t stop the amused smile from spreading across his lips, “Okay, Boo.”

9. 

“Am I finally going to get to see your mural?”

Bryce rolled his eyes, “It isn’t my mural, Love. It’s the senior mural, it’s not like I’m painting it.”

“Yeah, but it was your idea,” she gave him a playful nudge, “I don’t know why you haven’t told me what it is yet. I’m sure if the amazing Bryce Lahela designed it, it’ll be the best senior mural this school has ever seen. 

“Don’t get your hopes up, Babe. I’d hate to disappoint you.”

“You could never disappoint me,” she said matter-of-factly, “you’re Bryce Lahela.”

They turned the corner to see their fellow senior, Kyra Santana, working on the mural. The previously beige wall was now covered in black, gray, and light blue paint. In the middle of the painting was a figure made up of colourful handprints standing above the blue-gray ocean in front of them. 

She stared at the mural with an open mouth. She glanced from Kyra, to Bryce, then back to the artwork in front of her.

“It was my idea to make the figure all colourful with the handprints,” Bryce said, “I thought it would be nice to let our class literally leave a mark on this school.”

Kyra smiled at the mural and set her paintbrush down, “I was a great idea, the splash of colour is just what it needed,” she turned to her, “what do you think?”

“Like it? No, I...I love it, it’s perfect,” she turned to Bryce with wide eyes, “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, this is my favourite painting.”

“I noticed--don’t give me that look. It’s not like I care that much, you just never shut up about this painting. It’s annoying, really,” he muttered, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck and looking down at his shoes.

She smiled and turned her attention back to the mural, “I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love this. I can’t believe you remembered.”

“Of course. It’s worth it, seeing how much you like it.”

There was a beat of silence.

“You’re the kind of person I could fall in love with, you know that?” She didn’t take her eyes off the wall that the mural proudly sat on, and Bryce was glad.

Maybe if she had looked at him, she would have seen his breath catch in his throat and his eyes widen just a little bit. If he was the kind of person she could fall in love with, then why didn’t she? Bryce was flustered, and if she had noticed his lack of response, she didn’t mention it.

10.

Their high school was filled with rich kids. Their high school also had a debate team with a minimal number of members. These factors resulted in Bryce and her having their own separate hotel rooms when they attended a debate function in Washington D.C.

After a long day of debating and watching other teams debate, she and Bryce walked side by side down the narrow corridor to their respective rooms. Every now and then, they sneaked looks at each other when they thought the other wouldn’t notice.

Bryce cleared his throat, “So that guy in the blue shirt asked me for your number.”

She glanced up at him, “He did? Did you give it to him?”

“No.”

“What? Why not?”

“Thought he was out of your league. I told him you snored like an ogre and gave him Jackie’s number instead,” he said with a careless shrug.

She gasped and shoved his shoulder, “Are you kidding me? You know I don’t snore, he was cute and interested in me!”

“Can’t imagine why.”

She scowled, “For your information, I’m adorable. I’m funny, enjoyable to be around, and have a high tolerance for assholes who shut down opportunities for their friends. And I’m extremely attractive, which is an added plus.”

“You don’t need to sell me on reasons why you’re dateable,” he chuckled softly.

“Oh yeah?”

At that very moment, they turned to face each other. Their teasing banter stopped when they realised that they were only inches apart, able to hear every inhale and exhale of the other. His gaze flickered down to her lips, and it was only for a second, but she hadn’t missed a single bit of it. 

Bryce took a step back and cleared his throat, standing rather uncomfortably, “It’s late, we should go to bed. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” she echoed before they both hurriedly turned around and stepped into their own rooms.

Had he almost kissed her? Did that really just happen? Her mind wandered as she leaned against her hotel room door. 

Maybe she had just imagined it. She shook the thought out of her head and grabbed a sweatshirt along with a pair of shorts out of her suitcase. Maybe she would stop thinking about it after a good night's rest. She changed, brushed her teeth, and was about to turn the lights off when she felt that nagging feeling bubble up in the pits of her stomach once more.

It was naive to think her mind would stop racing that night if she didn’t confront Bryce about it. She set the covers that were in her hands down and made her way out into the fluorescent-lit hallway. She had made it all the way to his door when she stopped herself. 

Was that really what she wanted to do? If she brought up their almost-kiss, would they ever be able to go back to being friends? Did she even want them to go back to being just friends? She bit her lip and glanced back at her own room door. She should’ve just gone to bed, it wasn’t worth putting their entire friendship on the line. But then again, she would always wonder what could have happened if she never followed her gut.

She raised her fist to knock on his door, but before she could make contact, the door swung open. They once more stood face to face, their wide-eyed expressions mirroring each other. For a moment in time, all that stood between them were the accelerated heartbeat and the flutters they felt for one another. 

Bryce’s arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Her hand had found its place on the back of his neck and guided his lips to hers. His eyes were half-open, sneaking glances at her to assure himself that he wasn’t dreaming. Her overwhelming scent and the feeling of his hands threaded through her hair were all too real.

He pulled her into his room, kicking the closed door behind him. Placing both hands on his broad chest, she pushed him back onto the bed and climbed on top of him, straddling his hips.

Thoughts were racing in her mind. She tried to put reason to the way he gripped her waist so tightly that there were sure to be bruises there the very next day. She tried to put reason to the way his pupils dilated as she went in for another kiss; she came up empty-handed. 

There was no way she felt the same, Bryce told himself. There was no way that she loved him the way he loved her. For as long as he could remember, he had been in love with her, and for as long as he could remember, she had only seen him as her friend.

He missed the warmth of her lips when she pulled away, but he couldn’t help but admire the way her lips were slightly swollen and her hair was a mess. Her eyes were mesmerising, and the way the light highlighted the softness of her skin made him fall even more. He took that moment to memorise every line and curve of her face, forever branding that memory into his head. 

She leaned in to kiss him again, but he pushed her away this time and sat up, “Stop. we...we can’t do this.  This can’t just be a one-time thing.”

“What?”

He felt his heart twist inside his chest and he clenched his jaw, “Because I love you.”

Her lips curled up in a smile, “I love you too.”

[ckyunmoon]

Just Friends III / Drew Starkey

not my gif, credits to owner!

A/N: So here’s part three! I kinda like the way the story is coming out, especially since I’m basically improvising everything I’m doing. Hope you like it! 

Here you can read part one and part two.

Summary: You and Drew have been friends forever, and when you start to acknowledge your feelings for him, he is casted on Netflix’s show ‘Outer Banks’.

Pairing: Drew Starkey x reader.

Warnings: None, i think.

Word count: 1,110.

You were hanging on set with most of the cast, chilling and joking with each other, some of the jokes being recorded as a part of the tomfoolery as they called it. You almost lost your breath when Drew came where you and the others were, he was wearing a light blue suit, with a black bow tie and his hair back, looking like a whole snack if you ask me, you thought.

'Hey, how did it go?' You asked. Things between you were almost like always, sometimes there was some tension between you, especially when the girl he was seeing, Aurora, was joining the group. She was working on the show as the director’s assistant, so she was constantly around when they were on set. 

'Good, yeah. Now I know that Rudy is very good at spitting at people's faces, so yeah…' He said smiling.

'Is that so?' You said, turning to face Rudy, who had just arrived too.

'I mean, yeah… But in my defense I'll say: his character is VERY annoying.' Rudy said, moving his hands to the air. 

'You got me there, man. I am annoying.' Drew said, fixing his suit. 

'I mean… you're pretty annoying...' You said laughing. He looked at you like he was genuinely offended. 'Hey, your words, not mine.' You kissed his cheek. 'Anyways, we were thinking of going out tonight, you in?'

'Yeah, I was going to ask you too, Aurora told me.' Your smile faded, it would be a lie saying you were not a bit jealous of her, but there was nothing you could do, so you just nodded, letting him know you were going too. 'I have to go back, I still have a couple of scenes left, I'll annoy you later.' 

'Have fun, Drewie.' You went to take a seat next to Madelyn, who was talking to Maddie and Jonathan. 'Hey, what's up?'

'Hi love, we were just betting on how long it will take before Drew notices you have feelings for him too and makes a move.' Madelyn said with a smile.

'Oh God, drop that already… he's with Aurora, it seems to be going good, let's leave it there. Besides, I have to leave soon and he'll stay here, it's better that way.' 

'Hey y/n, I'm not saying this because you're my friend or anything, but… he likes you, how could he not? Like, the way he looks at you and how he treats you… I'm pretty sure he does.' Madison said, totally convinced of it.

'Besides, he kinda told me a few days ago…' Jonathan said casually, like he was not holding tactical information.

'He what?!' Madelyn yelled, immediately covering her mouth with her hands when she realized how loud she had talked.

'I knew, I just knew it, I have a sixth sense for this kind of stuff.' Madison said, feeling like she just won the biggest prize.

You just looked at Jonathan, eyes wide open, not even able to say a word. 'What did you just say?' 

'Well, he didn't mention your name or said it directly, but the other night when we went out to have a drink, me and the other boys were talking and the question kind of came up.' He said emphasizing the 'the' and raising his brows.

'What question, what are you talking about, Jonathan?' You said trying not to sound as impatient as you felt.

'Well he was the only one who came here with someone, so most of us thought you two were a thing, so we asked. He said you were just friends, but he kept looking at you the whole night every time he had a chance.'

'That doesn't prove anything I guess, he just said the truth.'

'Y/n, he said and did the exact same thing as you, and yet here we are, trying to guess if he has feelings for you too.' Madelyn said. 

You sighed, trying not to get your hopes up. 'Then why would he be with someone else? It makes no sense whatsoever.'

'Maybe he's trying to leave behind the feelings he has for you because he thinks you don't feel the same?' Madison said, trying to comfort you.

'I don't know, he's seeing someone, I'm not going to get in between them, that’s not who I am.' You sighed and hoped the subject was over. 

‘There’s something more…’ Jonathan said hesitantly. Of course there is, I have to keep suffering with this, you thought. 

‘What is it?’ 

‘That same night, Rudy said something about thinking you were cute, and Drew just… backed off and didn’t say a word again until we stopped talking about it.’ He said carefully.

‘He has no idea how you feel and he was trying to not get in the way in case you liked Rudy too.’ Madelyn said.

‘We don’t know that for sure and I guess we won’t unless he and Aurora break up or something, because I’m not asking.’ You said shrugging. 

                                                         º

After you were done getting ready you went to the living room, where Drew was sitting on the couch, waiting for you to leave together.

‘Are you ready?’ You asked looking at him. He looks so good without even trying… You thought. 

‘Yes, I was waiting for you, let’s go.’ He said picking up the car keys and closing the door after you.

The car ride was shockingly quiet, in an uncomfortable way, so you decided to poke a bit more in the open wound, because why not? ‘So… How are things with Aurora?’ 

Drew frowned ‘What?’ 

‘You know, the dating and all that stuff, are you guys doing alright?’ 

‘Y/n… we’re not dating. She’s been helping me get some scenes right, just like the director wanted them. If I was dating someone you would’ve been the first to know. Where is this coming from?’ He said in a surprised tone, looking at you for a moment before focusing on the road again.

You could feel how your cheeks were starting to burn. Thank God the inside of this car is so dark at night, you thought. ‘Oh... I just thought… You two were spending so much time together I thought… Nevermind.’ You were relieved to be honest, this changed a lot of things.

‘What about you?’

You looked at him in shock. ‘What? What about me?’

‘Yeah, you know, you like someone from the cast?’ He asked carefully.

‘Oh… yeah I do. But he has no idea apparently.’

‘Then you should tell them.’ He said, not moving his eyes from the road.

‘Yeah… Maybe I will.’ You said, smiling to yourself. 

Taglist:  @beatement-l​ @cherryobx @delightfullynlove @difficultlttldevil @drewsephsmiles @drewstarkeyisababe @drewstarkeyobx  @drewswannabegirl @fttayla @hxnnxhhhhh11 @ilovejjmaybank @ityagirljay @jewel25 @jjtheangel @kindahavefeelingskindaheartlesss @miss-good-looking @multifandomlovess @nas-marie-loves-u @netflix-imagines @obx-paradise-on-earth @outerbankslut  @pm-my-hubbies​ @pogie-style @prejudic3 @rochyu  @skatespitfire @slutforjjmaybank​ @simpforstarkey @starkeystyles @sunwardsss​ @tiredfeels @tomhardybby  @unknownuserlea  @wesnewa  @windexplanet @wtfiskpop

[jamilelucato]

together [F. W.] || pt.2

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Slytherin!reader

Part 1 available here || together MASTERLIST || Part 3 here!

Summary: Professor McGonagall has had enough of yours and Weasley’s pranks. She has an idea of how to stop it, but will it be enough?

A/N: I forgot to tell you that Reyna is a character that I invented myself — so is some other random Slytherin’s students, since we don’t get to know many of them in the books. With that said, let’s dive into this part! Hope you guys like it!

There will be a third part, of course! If you wanna be tagged, just ask!

Words: 8.129

Tag List: @witchything​ @randomlonelytorment​ @themusingsofmany​ @stuckindilemma​ 

Fred was the one who woke you up in the morning. "Good morning, y/N," he said, after shaking your right hand.

You looked down at him a bit embarrassed by what you might look like in the morning. You two used ten of the thirty minutes McGonagall had given you to change clothes and get ready.

It was the start of your second day with a binding charm that connected you and Fred, not being able to be more than five centimetres away from his wrist. It wasn't such a nightmare, though. The older Weasley twin was very gentle, although he practically paid attention to no class, he was fun to have around.

You two remet at the end of Gryffindor's stairs, right on time.

"Ok... so, I'm taking you to breakfast at my table."

"What?" you questioned, leaning your head away.

"It's for you to have social experiences... You don't talk to anyone during the times you're eating, and that's bloody depressing," Fred explained, lowering his tone while you guys left the Gryffindor's room. "Besides, I sat at yours yesterday."

"Because I slept in your room! We had a deal!" you contested, a bit rebelled.

"Come on, y/N, just one meal," he asked, with puppy eyes. You grunted and ended up accepting.

He guided you along the corridors of Hogwarts until you finally arrived at the Great Hall. Although everybody was still looking at you two, they didn't seem so shocked anymore. They quickly calmed down and got back to eating.

Reyna found your eyes from across the room — you tried to use your hands to signalize you were sitting with the Gryffindors. Your friend wasn't angry, though, because she had other friends to sit and talk.

"y/N, I present you to my friends," Fred said, pointing with his hand to the part of the table he wanted you to sit. He sat next to George, which you already knew, and you sat next to him right after. "Friends, this is y/N y/L/N."

"You are terrible at introductions" Hermione commented, her mocking smile widening.

Your eyes crinkled at the corners. "Right?" and then, turning to the rest of the table and not just Hermione, "Good morning, everyone."

Harry and Lee Jordan shook their head at your direction, opening their mouths in smiles, but Ron and Ginny didn't do anything. They kept on eating their breakfast, ignoring your presence. Fred noticed that you saw their reactions. "That was awkward, thanks, family."

You smiled, embarrassed. "It's ok."

Fred pulled his brows together but said no more. He started serving himself and you as well, which you were thankful.

Professor McGonagall passed just behind you and commented: "Everyone needed was informed about your situation, Miss y/L/N and Mr Weasley."

"Oi! Thank you, Minerva" Fred said, tilting his head in her direction. She almost reprehended him for using her first name but said nothing and just kept on walking until her table.

"Only I can call her that" you pointed out once she had left your earshot.

"Correction: not even you can call her that," he said, smiling at your expression.

When you looked away from Fred, your eyes met Ginny's. She tried to smile but stopped along the way.

"Are you friends with Malfoy?" she asked.

"Oh my God, Ginny, you can't just ask people if they're friends with Malfoy," shouted George, pretending to be worried. "But are you?"

"Not at all," you answered, making Ginny sigh, relieved. "He's just a pain in my ass most of the time."

"Can you not go back to 'asses'? We spend the whole afternoon yesterday about it," Lee Jordan interrupted. His comment made you laugh, and, soon enough, everyone was laughing.

Ginny seemed braver to ask you stuff, but you weren't offended, it was nice answering her doubts, and you hoped it would make her have a better view of the Slytherins. "Yes, we welcome muggle-borns to our house", "No, we don't talk to snakes" and things like that were some of your answers.

Ron didn't take long to start talking to you once he noticed how nice you were to his sister. Though his questions were more related to Draco Malfoy — and you didn't know much about him to give complete answers —, Ron was pleased with the information you were able to give out.

Hermione and Harry seemed happy with you; Harry, surprised to find such likeable Slytherin that didn't come from a family of Death Eaters — he had a rough past with those. Hermione was surprised when you told them your mom was a muggle-born.

"Yeah, mom was Hufflepuff," you informed, "Who would have thought she'd have a Slytherin daughter?"

Everyone laughed at your attempt to joke.

"What house was your father?" asked Harry, looking curious.

"He didn't come to Hogwarts, but Ilvermorny," you answered, forcing your mind to remember the things he used to tell you about the school. "Yeah, he's American."

Fred and George were excited about that news.

"He was... I believe it was a Thunderbolt. He didn't use to talk much about the school."

Fred tilted his head at your direction. "Use to?"

You weren't sure if you wanted to explain to everyone what had happened to your father, you didn't even want to tell Fred, but seeing that the rest of the table began to focus on the owls that were arriving with letters and other kinds of stuff, you decided to say something.

"He died when I was a kid" you whispered to Fred, making your answer short and giving no extra detail.

"I'm sorry," he said, with a sad smile and his wide eyes stared at yours, but you looked away, feeling you were about to be sad and that was not what you wanted after such enjoyable breakfast.

An owl found Fred, and he looked scared about it. "What is it?" you asked when he took the red envelope out of the owl's beak.

"It's a howler" he answered, down turning his lips.

You knew what a howler was, but you never received one — your mom was too much of an angel to send you one of those. She did, however, use to send you a three pages letter about how disappointed she was with you — she did that two years ago when you got three detentions in just one day.

Fred swallowed hard before opening his howler. What you thought it was his mom's voice came bursting and loudly — maybe even the Slytherins could be hearing that.

"FRED WEASLEY, HOW MUCH TROUBLE CAN YOU STILL CAUSE??" it started screaming. A lot of the kids around you laughed. "DO YOU WANT TO DESTROY THE SCHOOL?"

The screams kept on going while Fred listened to it rather patient. You were paying attention to every word until you owl — who were lost after she did not find you at the Slytherin's table — found you at the Griffindor's.

"Thanks, Aurora," you said to her, taking the letter and giving her a treat.

"Aurora?" Hermione was confused by your owl's name.

"Yeah, inspired in the Disney princess. My owl likes to sleep a lot," you said, and eating no more, you owl left, probably to do the exact thing you said she liked the most.

Hermione smiled, happy to hear you were a fan of muggles' movies.

Fred's howler hadn't stopped yet: "Tell that girl I'm sorry for her for putting up with you, but Professor McGonagall told me she is a good student that might put you in line. Oh! And tell Georgie to learn something with her as well!"

George and Fred stared at you, with confused looks.

"What can I say? I am a good student!"

"You're practically always in detention" pointed out George, who had seen you walking the corridors with Mr Filch a lot.

"But I have perfect grades," you remarked. Ginny giggled at your phrase.

"Is that another howler?" Fred asked, looking for the letter in your hand.

"Oh, probably not. Mom's not much of a screamer," you said, looking away. "No offence to your mom — she's seems wicked!"

"One would think that" Ron replied, making everybody laugh one last time before getting up and heading to class.

You carried your mom's letter to every class, not ready to read it yet. You and Fred had decided to attend only the best lessons of each other's schedule. For example, if you had Potions and he had Charms, you'd go to Charms. However, things didn't go as planned.

Dumbledore found you two after your first class and gave you a piece of paper with your new schedule — still a mix of both, his and yours, but in a more academic way than the fun one you and Fred had planned.

Disappointed, but not surprise, you and Fred headed to double class of Potions. You had no problem with Snape, but you had to admit he was not one of the most exciting teachers. Fred seemed to have a problem with him, but that was because Fred was a Gryffindor and Snape didn't really like that.

Lunchtime finally arrived, and you and Fred ran down the corridors to the Great Hall, because you were both starving after Snape made you both taste the Hunger Potion you had prepared at class — the requested one was a Felix Felicis. In your defence, that was an advanced potion that nobody in class managed to do.

Fred was heading towards the Slytherin's table when you poked him timidly "Fred?"

He stopped and looked down at you. "I wouldn't mind sitting with your friends" you continued, averting your eyes while your face turned as red as his hair.

Once he understood your words, he slowly opened a smile with no teeth and reached for your arm, which he squeezed during all the time it took for you to get to the Gryffindor's table.

"I told you you'd like them!" he said, still smiling. You gradually stopped being ashamed and started feeling happy.

Everybody from breakfast was happy to see you and started asking what were classes like with Fred around.

"Does he do anything at all?" Ron asked.

You giggled, "it's practically all me," you let out, receiving a fake punch to your arm from Fred.

Ginny arrived and sat at your left, eager to tell you everything she heard about you around the school. It was a lot of gossips, and eventually, you stopped listening. Students seemed to have invented the worse theories for your situation possible, you couldn't understand why.

She stopped to talk when the food got served, and you took that time to read your mom's letter.

"Dear y/N, How are you, sweetie? Minerva told me all about it. I don't understand why you insist on play pranks on the school, isn't being caught horrible? Back at my days, the most fun I had was throwing hidden parties maybe you should do that. She told me about the boy as well. If he comes to be too bad, please contact me, and I'll put an end to this. But, right now, it appears to be super wicked! I told Minerva you wouldn't feel it as much as a punishment — I was young once, and I know all I would give to be around a cute boy all day. Oh, how I know he's cute? His father has shown me a picture of every single one of his kids while on work; although I don't know which one of them you got tied up with, they all looked extra handsome in the pictures!"

The letter didn't stop there, but you had to stop reading once you noticed chuckles and fast breaths close to your neck. You turned your head immediately and caught Fred reading your letter over your shoulder.

"Fred!" you shouted, slapping his arms, but not hard enough so he wouldn't be angry.

"Sorry, you seemed concentrated, I wanted to know why..." he said, fighting laughs, "Please thank your mom for the compliment, I am truly handsome."

"Yeah, right!" you slapped him once more. George giggled from behind Fred.

"I'll stop! I'll stop!" he promised while you hit him.

"Good" you sighed, going back to reading, this time positioning the letter closer to Ginny.

Your mom went on about the new things she bought for the house and the new muggle movie she had watched. You were not interested to know those things, but you would never tell her so — she became such a lonely woman after the loss of your father, that you liked that she saw you as a best friend. Fred didn't try to read what she had written anymore, or at least, he was able to cover up.

The first week was the worst to get by — you sometimes forgot that Fred Weasley had to follow you everywhere around, like times when you wanted to go to the restroom, and you didn't warn him, making it impossible for the thirty minutes free to be used.

Classes were exciting at first, but then they turned back to the usual boredom. If you and Fred wanted to be free of the spell to enrol yourselves at the Triwizard Tournament and prank people again, you needed to behave. Professor McGonagall seemed to be approving your actions since she started to smile down at you from her time at dinners.

Scared of abandoning Reyna to your new Gryffindor's friends, and having to go back to her when it all ended, you discussed with Fred the possibility of having at least a meal in the Slytherin's table, so you could talk to your friend and find out how things were going. Reyna was happy to have you back — according to her, she did have other friends, but none of them was as good of a listener than you — and she ended up starting a friendship with Fred, glad for his spontaneous playfulness.

George decided to sit one day with you two at the Slytherin's table, and he and Reyna hit it off well, at least, better than you were expecting since George was shyer than his brother.

It didn't take long for each one of them from Gryffindor to sit at the Slytherin's table too. One day, Ginny ran to you to talk about a lesson she was having difficulties — and she wanted your help because Fred told George who told her that you were excellent at Charms.

Lee Jordan sat down one day, followed by George, to talk about how much he missed Quidditch, finding a fan amongst the table: Reyna. She had gone to every single Cup her father managed to buy tickets, and she could spend hours talking about the sport — apparently, so could the twins and Lee, because you had to call out their attention to go to classes.

One week before the binding charm deadline, you put an end to all that run the Gryffindors did to sit with you and Fred. You found Reyna walking in the Great Hall and reached her before she sat down with a proposition. "Reyna, it's ok if you say no, but why don't you come to sit with us at Griffindor's?"

She stared at serious before opening the biggest smile ever. "Really? Can I?" you shook your head yes, with Fred smiling right next to you.

"We'd gladly have you," he said.

"Then let's go!" she said, reaching for your hand and pulling it hard towards were Lee Jordan and George Weasley were sitting.

The harsh pull got you by surprise, and before falling, you reached for Fred's hand, dragging him with you. You three ran to the Gryffindor's table, all giggling. Fred couldn't stop looking at your hand in his, and thinking why hadn't he done that before. It felt perfectly fit and warm.

Reyna was more welcome at the table than you. As you once noticed, she could be a perfect Hufflepuff if not because of her powerful ambition. Reyna dreamed becoming the Minister of Magic, and you were sure she wouldn't rest until she got the job.

Hermione liked her a lot because of that ambitious side.

Ron and Harry were worried at first, probably because they were the ones there with the most resentfulness towards your house. However, Reyna managed to charm their worries away, playing with her hair now and then, you were sure the boys were falling in love. Lee Jordan, no doubt, awaited the same fate, as he was only able to flutter his eyelashes.

As faster as October had come, it was already about to go. They announced that the Beauxbatons and the Durmstrang would be arriving on day 30, so it would mean the end of the Binding Charm.

You didn't know how to feel. At first, you were relieved — Triwizard Tournament was about to start, and you had pondered an idea that you thought it could work to get in. Still, at the end of Transfiguration class, you were reconsidering your emotions. You would go back to your room — filled with conceited girls that you had no friendship what so ever. You'd miss Lee Jordan's remarks and nicknames for the students, and even Towler snore.

Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Harry were kids you'd be missing a lot. Especially Harry, who you noticed to have a rough life and you felt like hugging him for his innocence sometimes.

But, fundamentally, the ones you'd miss the most were the Weasley's Twins. They followed you to practically every class, and because you three shared a prankster spirit, most of the time you guys had the same ideas and the same jokes — even though Reyna was remarkable, she'd never think about cool pranks like the ones you and the Weasleys invented.

Not that you had put those ideas in practice either. You just couldn't risk McGonagall extending the duration of the curse.

Fred Weasley had grown in your concept — he was more than a boy seeking the best in life by the fun and no hard work. He had a big heart and was very sensible. Although he was always messing with Ron, he was a perfect older brother, paying attention to everything any of his younger siblings said.

He was no longer your rival, but a dear friend.

Would he still be your friend without a spell around?

Professor McGonagall pulled you two aside at the end of the class. "I just wanted to say," she started, with a whisper before the last student walked away and she raised her voice, "that I'll undo the Binding Charm tomorrow, after the Halloween's Feast."

You and Fred kept looking at her, neither of you with the courage to say something about it.

"I just won't be able to do it earlier, having to assist every guest for the Tournament."

"We understand," you said since Fred didn't seem ready to say a thing.

"Well, with that said... you may go. I believe our visitors are about to arrive," she gesticulated for the door. You and Fred slowly turned back at her and left, both very quiet about what you had just heard.

"What's wrong with you two?" George asked, approaching you in the middle of the corridor. All the students were gathering to see the arrival of the Beauxbatons and the Durmstrang, and they seemed very loud about it.

You and Fred exchanged looks, not so sure about how you were feeling. Could he be feeling the same confusion?

"Tomorrow night I'm back to my room," you said, trying to explain it easily. George looked from you to his brother, staying focused on Fred.

Reyna hushed at your direction, visibly excited. "y/N! Oh, Merlin, you have to have a look at the Durmstrang's boys!"

She pulled your hand, again forgetting that everywhere you were, Fred had to accompany. You turned to face Fred, letting your puppy eyes out and reached for his hand, that he was more than pleased to offer.

Reyna guided you to the crowd of students, walking in the Great Hall. "They'll sit at the Slytherins'! Should we go there?"

Lee Jordan found you four along the way. "Please, take us to your house table. Krum is among those students!"

George opined. "Don't do so, we won't' be able to get Ron, and you know how he is going to be," and even though Reyna and Lee wanted to go to the Slytherin's, they respected George's request, turning back to the Gryffindor table.

The group formed a line: Lee Jordan followed by Reyna who pulled you, who pulled Fred who talked to his brother. The place was way too crowded to walk with no trouble, so along the way, Reyna was telling about the boys she had liked the most. "There's one at Beauxbatons, tho..."

You didn't notice George and Fred talking about you from your behind, distracted by the volume of the conversations that surrounded you. But, whatever they were discussing, they ended it before sitting down at the table.

Ron was, as George predicted, frustrated with Krum to have sat next to Malfoy, but it didn't last long, due to soon enough he was charmed by a Beauxbatons girl that came closer to our table to get some food.

Dumbledore finally started talking, introducing Mr Crouch and Mr Bagman as two of the judges, as well as himself, Madame Maxime — from the Beauxbatons — and Professor Karkaroff — from the Durmstrang.

Mr Filch approached Dumbledore with a wooden chest encrusted with jewels. The Headmaster continued: "As you know, three champions compete in the tournament, one from each participating schools." He explained that they would give grades to the participants and the one with the highest total after the tree tasks would win. "The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore placed the goblet on top of the casket, where everyone could see it. "Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champions must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," said him. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward."

The Headmaster then said — and he didn't even need to ask for silence, as everyone stood as quiet as they could — that the goblet would return the names of the most worthy tomorrow night.

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," said Dumbledore, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once placed in the entrance hall."

Fred, George and yourself growled at that part, angry that the Headmaster was still going for that prohibition.

"There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion," warned Dumbledore, at last, finalizing his speech. "Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

"An Age Line!" Fred said, his eyes glinting as you followed him and the rest of the Gryffindors back to their Tower, leaving Reyna behind.

George suggested fooling the goblet with an Ageing Potion, but Hermione corrected him, pointing out that a student younger than seventeen wouldn't stand a chance. Fred and George ignored her comment and started pining over Harry Potter to see if he'd like to participate. The boy didn't answer.

Arriving at Fred's room, George seemed eager to talk to his brother but also scared to do so with you around. You rolled your eyes at them. "How much minutes we have left for today?" you asked Fred, wondering if there were minutes left from the thirty-minute break Professor McGonagall had given you.

"Perhaps a full five-minute break," he said, unsure.

"Perfect!" you said, jumping out of bed and heading out. "You have five minutes to talk to your twin, George."

You closed the door behind, only able to hear movements, but no words. There was no need, though. They were probably discussing how they'd put their names in the Goblet of Fire. What they didn't know was that, with five minutes free of Fred's fast eyes that read everything you held, you were also thinking of a way in for yourself.

You found Hermione still sitting at the common room, with books all around her. Noticing her friends weren't around her, you took the opportunity to ask her something.

"Hermione? Do you have a minute?" you asked, sitting on one of the chairs next to hers.

She looked up at you while you looked down to see what was she writing. It seemed to be about house-elves, but you didn't understand what she wanted to know about them that wasn't pretty obvious.

"Sure, y/N. What do you need?"

"I was thinking... Ageing Potion. Do you think it would be possible for one to pass Dumbledore's Age Line with one of those?" you asked, deep down already knowing the answer.

"No, I don't believe it could, Dumbledore is clever about those things," she said, looking up to think, "Perhaps Polyjuice Potion would be a better solution — disguised as someone else, you might be able to pass the Age Line."

You tried to follow her process of thought, looking down at your clock to see how much more minutes you still had.

"But then again, would the goblet take your name if it came from someone else?" she wondered out loud. "Oh! Perhaps Wingardium Leviosa could do the trick!" she exclaimed, happy with herself for thinking a solution.

"The Levitation Spell?"

"Yes! You can write down your name and levitate to the goblet! It's so simple though it might not work..." she said, getting said by the end of her phrase.

"But it might just do the trick! I don't think Dumbledore would expect a student to fly their name around..." you said, thinking more about it. You got up at the look of the time. "Gotta go, Hermione. But thank you, thank you so much!"

"You're welcome!" she shouted while you ran up the stairs, desperate to avoid being pulled by the spell.

You pushed the boys' dorm room in a quick move, looking at your wristwatch, thinking you would be able to make it in time and the spell would drag you in that horrible way it did the first time.

A crash sound echoed through the room and down the hall.

Fred Weasley, although very happy to have some privacy with his brother to talk about their Ageing Potion, was paying close attention to the time. He feared y/N would lose track of it and he'd be pulled to next to her with a harsh movement. He didn't like it the first time it had happened because it hurt a lot.

Therefore, when they had only thirty seconds left to be attached again, Fred decided to get out of the room and look for her. He pulled the door open with the last glance at the clock — five seconds.

And then, y/N was just at the other side of the door, but not close enough — the spell felt the need to push them against each other, and that was how the loud crash sound echoed. y/N's chest bumped to Fred's, causing the rest of the boys to laugh — the only one that didn't think it was funny was the one sleeping, Kenneth.

He quickly surrounded you with his arms, in fear of your fall. You held yourself up by supporting your weight around him. You could feel your face turning red, and you didn't want him to notice that the embrace made you embarrassed.

"Are you guys ok?" Lee Jordan asked from behind Fred, making you shrank, even more, blushing. Some laughs followed the comment, probably from George.

You swallowed before slowly letting go. Keeping your wrist close to Fred's, you stared at him, forcing him to lower his head. His eyes, wide and sparkly, stared at you with his lips pursed.

His embrace finally loosened, and you both walked towards his bed and the mattress. "Good night, guys," he said, in a mocking tone, filled with anger. One by one, George's and Lee's lights went off, and the room seemed quiet as ever.

But, over Fred's bed, all you could do was think, think, and rethink. You were only able to fall asleep way over three a.m., and by the look of Fred's face the other day — he had dark circles around his eyes, leaving him with an uneven tone, which probably could be seen in yours as well —, he hadn't had a good night of sleep either.

"Good morning to you two," George said while you and Fred got out of the common room and walked towards the Entrance Hall. It was Saturday, and you could have stayed in bed longer, but you were too thrilled about the Goblet of Fire to keep yourself inside.

When Fred noticed his brother and Lee's presence, he got a better look at his face, smirking a bit.

"Look away, y/N," he said, asking not so much politely. You rolled your eyes. As if you didn't know what they were about to drink! After drinking the potion, they hurried down the staircase, forcing you to run to follow them.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were already there, watching the goblet and talking with the people around it.

"Done it," Fred whispered to Harry, and you frowned from behind him. "Just taken it."

"What?" Ron asked.

You pressed in hand over your robe to feel if your paper was still there. You had hidden it there during the free time you got to take a shower.

"The Ageing Potion, dung brains," said Fred.

"One drop each," said George, rubbing his hands together with glee. "We only need to be a few months older."

"We're going to split the Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins," said Lee, grinning broadly.

"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," Hermione warned, but in a more hostile tone than the one she used with you last night, "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this."

Fred, George and Lee ignored her.

"Ready?" Fred said to the other two, holding a slip of parchment in one hand and grabbing your right hand with the other. It was nice having his warm touch, and you wondered if he did it just out of habit or because he missed it too. "C'mon, then — I'll go first —"

They tried walking in — Fred stretched himself out all the way, leaving you out of the circle and trying to put the paper inside. However, it didn't work — they landed painfully, dragging you around the ten feet fall.

Fred and George now had big white beards, and everyone was laughing at them. If the fall hadn't hurt you so much, you would have laughed as well. They noticed their new looks and joined in. You took the opportunity of their distraction to take your parchment out of hiding and cast "Wingardium Leviosa" with the lowest voice ever.

The paper flew around — being so small, not everyone noticed — but, although you moved your wand towards it, the parchment wasn't able to pass the Age Line.

"I did warn you," said a deep, amused voice, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall, followed by Professor McGonagall, who looked furious.

He got closer to you all who were still sitting on the floor. " I suggest you both go to Madam Pomfrey."

"Oh, no, you wait a minute!" shouted McGonagall, stopping you in your way fo getting up.

Fred looked at you, scared.

"What was this? Do you three thought you could prank Dumbledore's Age Line?" she asked, but neither of you answered.

"Minerva, no need..." the Headmaster started, but McGonagall didn't let him finish.

"I'm sorry, Dumbledore, but those two —" she pointed to you and Fred "— are under my supervision. And I said no pranks!"

"What did I do?" you questioned, facing down to yourself, who had no beard or old look on your face.

"You — do you think I didn't saw that parchment flying alone?"

"Wingardium Leviosa? That was clever, could have worked," commented Dumbledore, in a fascinated tone.

"It was Hermione's idea" you informed the Headmaster.

Fred looked back at you for a second, as if his eyes were saying "you did that! Wicked!"

"So, forget getting free of each other anytime soon. I'm revoking it — how long is yet to be determined," Minerva said, pausing only to breathe. "Start being those behaved students you spent the month being and you might see yourselves free of this by the end of the school year!"

You and Fred exchanged looks, embarrassed for taking the lecture in front of everyone.

"Off you go, now!" she shouted, not just for you two but for the rest of the crowd that was forming as well.

You had to follow Fred to the hospital wing, most to Madam Pomfrey's dismay.

"What are you doing here? Allergies?" she asked.

"No, I'm with Fred Weasley, ma'am."

"You can leave now, dear, I'll cure him."

"No, Madam Pomfrey, see, I can't leave because..." you started saying, but she interrupted you.

"Are you the two dimwitted that caused Professor McGonagall one of her wost phases?" she asked, looking down at Fred, who sat at the available bed. "I've never seen that woman so angry — binding two students forever, what was going on in her mind?"

"I ask myself the same" you sighed, thinking that now, not only you weren't able to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, you also couldn't to go back to your old routine. Wasn't that what you wanted, though? Only one day ago? Now, you seemed to disagree.

***

Madam Pomfrey took her time to dis-age the boys.

Fred was lying still over the hospital bed, waiting for the medicine to work. So did George, on another bed, at your left. You were sitting on a stool Madam Pomfrey offered you after seeing this would take a while. She asked for someone to bring us sandwiches — since you hadn't eaten breakfast —, but now that it was over, you stayed there, pretty bored.

George couldn't stop looking at himself with the small mirror offered, looking for his face during the dis-ageing process. "Look, now I might be fifty!" he was very thrilled with the transformation.

Fred ate his sandwich at a slow pace, and once it was over, he stayed quiet, staring at the ceiling. Both of you had a lot to say, but no one had the courage.

"So... you guys are stuck together, huh?" George said, trying to break the silence, turning himself towards you and Fred. "Shouldn't matter that much — if we are not goin' to be able to be champions at the Triwizard Tournament, after all."

You stared at George. He had such a simple way of seeing things.

"We're not gonna be able to win best pranksters either," you pointed out, pressing your lips together while crossing your arms.

"We're not gonna be able to win apart," corrected George, "Maybe we can all win together."

"Not very likely. Besides, we can't prank anyone if we wanna be separated one day," you said, raising your cheeks.

"McGonagall doesn't seem to be in the mood to separate you two anytime soon," George replied, "so have fun or whatever. When school's over, she'll have to undo the spell."

Fred seemed rather quiet, staring at his brother's eyes like he wanted to say something but never coming forward with it. It annoyed you.

The boys were now looking like they could be forty, and you thought they look quite handsome.  Not that older guys were your type, but, yeah, Fred and George could be those sexy old actors that your mom insisted on being a fan.

"Well, I guess if I'm already in the kitchen, I can stand the heat," you said, sighing.

Fred looked at you, "Am I that horrible?"

"What? No! That's not what I meant!" you answered, desperate to undo the misunderstanding. "It's just..." you started but noticed you couldn't finish, not with him looking at you like that, not with the fact that just in two months you had more friends than in your whole life. "It's nothing; this hasn't been a punishment at all. You're right, George, we can have some fun together."

You tried to dodge his eyes to look at George, but you couldn't stop staring at Fred. He was getting younger by the minute, looking back like himself, and you couldn't be more glad. He had been your best friend in those couple of weeks, and you couldn't just trash it all because you rather be pranking the school alone.

"That's the spirit!" George said, looking back to the mirror in his hand. "Look! We're probably twenty-five now!"

Madam Pomfrey reappeared, hours later.

"You boys are free to go. You've been sixteen for quite a while now, but I wanted to make sure you wouldn't start getting younger," she said, and looking at your horrible face she added: "It happened before."

Fred and George got up, passing their hands over their faces, to feel the young texture they missed.

"Go, dinner will soon be served!"

"Well, that goes a day without doing a thing!" Fred complained, reaching for your hand to walk out of the hospital wing.

You were surprised but let him have your hand anyone — his touch was nice and firm, something you'd always welcome.

You were one of the firsts to arrive at Gryffindor's table. A girl, you saw her playing Quidditch before, was sitting and waving at you three.

"Fred! George!" she called out. The boys headed to her direction, sitting in front of her. "I've put my name in!"

"Really?" Fred asked, smiling. "That's wicked, Angelina!"

She seemed extra happy with boys approval.

"Oh! I guess I didn't introduce you two, did I?" Fred said, looking back at you. "Angelina, this is y/N; y/N, this is Angelina. She's from our Quidditch team."

"Nice meeting you, Angelina," you said, feeling your cheeks turning pink due to the attention.

"Nice to meet you too, y/N," she said, "I heard all about what you two did. I was in the girls' toilet that day — what a scare you gave me!"

Instead of sounding angry at you, she started laughing, and you and the boys joined in.

"Now I understand why you and Fred have been hitting off so well — you're practically the same!"

"No, we're not!" you quickly replied, used to being in defensive.

Anyway, you didn't think you were like Fred. He was taller, probably braver and more reckless. Besides, it was rare times when you got caught — except two years ago, that was a year of bad luck — and the boys were always running away from some angry professor.

Angelina didn't matter with your reprehension. She kept on laughing, focused on something George was telling her — by the looks of it, he was telling her about how hot he'll be at forty-five.

Harry, Hermione and Ron arrived finally and took a seat next to you and the twins.

"Hope it's Angelina," Fred told them.

"So do I!" said Hermione. "We'll soon know!

Everybody seemed impatient, eating fast to get to the part where Dumbledore would announce the champions. The students from the other school were all very fancy, but you could see they were anxious just like the rest of Hogwarts.

You didn't know who you were rooting for — you hadn't seen Reyna all day, so you had no idea, apart from Angelina, who had put their names in the goblet.

As Dumbledore got to his feet, the students all shut, paying attention to the headmaster's every move. He warned that, as he would be calling the names, the champions should get up and march to an indicated chamber where they would receive instructions.

The Goblet of Fire shone with his sweeping of wand, and everyone was watching — you could notice that Fred and George weren't even breathing in excitement.

Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment that fluttered out of the goblet and read: "The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum."

"No surprises there!" yelled Ron as a storm of applause swept the Hall. Fred looked back at you as you were the only two laughing at Ron's cheering.

Viktor Krum got up and walked towards where Dumbledore had instructed. Dumbledore continued: "The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!"

A silvery blonde girl got up, to Harry's and Ron's enthusiasm. Aperantally, she was the same girl that had caught their eyes the night before.

The Beauxbatons didn't seem happy with the champion selected, as Hermione pointed out, but you couldn't understand why couldn't they cheer for their friend.

Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment — the room fell in silence. "The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!"

"No!" you thought you heard Ron say, but you couldn't be sure; every Hufflepuff was standing, clapping fervently and screaming as Cedric got up and made his way past them.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. He kept on talking about how we should support our champions and cheer for them, but he suddenly stopped speaking as the fire of the goblet seemed to turn red again, rising upon it a new piece of parchment.

Every student looked confused, but no more than Dumbledore who held the parchment for a long minute before reading it out loud. "Harry Potter."

There was no applause. The whole Gryffindor table, including you, turned to stare at Harry, everybody shocked as the poor boy.

"I didn't put my name in," you heard him tell Ron and Hermione.

"Harry Potter!" Professor Dumbledore called again. "Up here if you please!"

The boy got up almost stumbling in his robes. You, Fred and George, followed him with your eyes — he was marching slowly, possibly not believing that his name got picked. At least, you and the Twins couldn't. You had tried the Levitation spell and the Ageing Potion — what could Harry have tried that worked?

Most of the Professors disappeared into the room Harry had entered and the ones left suggested for you all to return to your dorms. You looked around to everyone — they were whispering. However, so many of them were doing so that the volume started to increase.

Fred looked at you. "Did you know Harry put his name in?"

"No, I had no idea" you answered, only then noticing he wasn't asking you, but George, who was right behind you.

"No, nobody told me a thing" his brother responded.

Hermione and Ron where whispering non-stop, probably discussing how and why had Harry done that. Nonetheless,  there was a question you noticed nobody was asking, and you were very curious about it.

You gently squeezed Fred's arm, who glanced at you as he stood up.

"Fred, why are there four champions if there are three schools?" he seemed bewildered with your question, showing he hadn't think about that.

"Don't know," he said with pinched lips, "It seems weird, doesn't it? Like something is off?"

"Yeah..." you replied, looking away from him to take a glimpse at the Hall. The visitors had already left, and the Hufflepuffs were also gone — probably to organize a party.

Slytherins and Ravenclaws were the majority left — even Gryffindor was going back to their house common room — and they didn't look happy.

Fred reached for your hand again, and you noticed he was starting to do it without thinking — holding your hand had become a habit for him. You liked it.

George followed you two, with Hermione and Ron right behind. Aside from the remaining questions, they were thrilled with Harry Potter's participation. You and Hermione were the only two that showed some kind of worry for the boy.

Gryffindor's common room was unrecognizable, filled with all the students from the house, something very unusual for so late at night.

You found Reyna amongst the invited students from other houses. She had a cup in her hands and was talking to Lee Jordan in a corner; they looked focused on one another, so you decided not to disturb.

Harry finally entered the room with an astonished expression. Fred ran to his direction, dragging you with him — he hadn't let go of your hand yet.

"You should've told us you'd entered!" bellowed him, half annoyed, half impressed.

"How did you do it without getting a beard? Brilliant!" roared George, appearing from nowhere.

"I didn't," Harry said. "I don't know how —"

But Angelina had now swooped down upon him; "Oh, if it couldn't be me, at least it's a Gryffindor!"

Other girls started approaching Harry, who barely could breathe. You felt sympathy, but that wasn't much you could do to help — the most you managed to do was to keep the twins from continuing to harass the boy.

George began to serve you with some beverages and weird foods they had collected at some point, and even though you tried to dodge the things, you couldn't say 'no' to everything. You ended up drinking more than you should, feeling dizzy almost instantly. Fred had already released your hand, to get more freedom to hold things his brother and friends offered.

Reyna came closer to you in the middle of the night, and you hadn't even noticed her until she started speaking. "So exciting to have met Harry before he got selected! Well, I owe that to you. You have been, truly, a good friend lately."

You shook you head yes, regretting immediately to have done the movement.

"Are you ok?" she asked, worried.

"Drank too much. I'm not used to..." you paused, uncertain of what you had taken "whatever they served me," your friend started laughing.

"You should go to bed."

"I can't tho," you replied, "I'm attached to Fred, remember? And I don't wanna make him leave..." you stared at the boy mentioned, who seemed like he was having the time of his life surrounded by his Quidditch mates.

"y/N, I think he'll understand —"

"No, I'll just drink water," you interrupted her, "He is so happy, I won't ruin this for him."

Reyna didn't look very convinced, but she left to fetch you a glass of water anyway. She returned just some seconds later.

"It's juice — I couldn't find water."

She watched you drink it, making you uncomfortable. Could you be looking that horrible? You didn't think so. Yes, you were a bit dizzy and a bit slow, but you weren't unconscious. A part of your brain was still thinking about how Harry's name entered the Goblet of Fire even.

Reyna didn't leave you side, not even when Lee called her. She kept giving you juice and things to eat, but they didn't taste good.

Angelina and the other chasers finally disappeared in the crowd, leaving George and Fred behind. Fred eyes immediately met yours, and he began to worry.

"You didn't drink the whole cup my brother gave to you, did you?" he asked, touching your face with his right hand, trying to find a good light to analyze it. "I shouldn't have let him..."

"Don't look at me like that — you drank it too, and you don't look as perfect as before." Your words paralyzed him in place before he opened a smile.

"I did drink more than one cup, y/N."

"Oh," you sighed, frustrated with yourself. You noticed that Reyna ad finally left your side, and wondered if she went meet Lee. Do they have a thing?

"Come on, let's go upstairs," said Fred, "This party is dying anyway."

"No, I want you to enjoy yourself" you protested while he reached your waist.

"I've enjoyed myself enough. Believe me, tomorrow morning we'll both be looking terrible."

You blinked for what felt like an eternity. "I never look terrible, Freddie."

He froze at the second rung of the stairs to the dorm. Then he giggled and kept on going up, helping you. "Not a lie," he simply said, making you smile, but you thought he didn't notice because of how dark was at the stairs.

When you got to his dorm room, you could see, even in the dark, that someone was sleeping at Keneth's bed, and you assumed it was probably him since he never slept too late in the night.

Fred helped you to get under the covers of his bed, and that was the last thing you remembered of the night.

[captainkingsley]

The scent is becoming familiar — warm, earthy tea with a hint of spice. It's imported from Aurora now that the waters are regularly traversed, ships bringing the tea with so many other new things for the people of Albion. Logan finds that it's a large improvement for everyone involved and can't help the swell of pride that his younger brother has done so much in his time as king. He's helped only now that his temperament has settled, and each week after spending countless hours helping in the halls of the castle and beyond, he and Cedric sit for tea and talk. 

They don't have the time to update each other on what's going on beyond their work, so Cedric shuffled their schedules until he was able to secure an hour at the end of the week for just the two of them. It's more than Logan was able to do when he was king — he'd become so distant then, that he and Cedric had become unfamiliar to each other. Now they were determined to be brothers again, even if only for a short time each week. 

Logan stares at Cedric as he stirs a small amount of sugar into his tea, and then raises a brow as he scoops another three into the steaming cup. 

Some things never change. 

"So," Logan begins, breaking the quiet, steepling his fingers as his elbows rest on the table, "You and Benjamin Finn."

Cedric, with the cup against his lips, makes a sputtering sound as hot tea splashes his face with the force of his sudden exhalation.

"I'm sorry?" Cedric says, a strain in his voice. Logan adjusts his posture and dips his spoon into the sugar bowl, looking at Cedric with nothing but seriousness in his eyes.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm saying," he chides, "I've seen the way you look at him."

"Look at him," Cedric questions, incredulous. "I don't—"

"Please. You stare at him like Griffin at dinner." Logan says, and at his name, Griffin's ears perk up. The dog looks hopefully at the food on the table, proving Logan's point perfectly. 

"I look at him as a friend," Cedric says, setting his cup down with a gentle tap, lifting his chin to look away from Logan's accusing stare. 

"Cedric. I've known you since we were children. I can read you — and you're lying right now." Logan says, a hint of a laugh in his voice. Despite the teasing — and the truth behind it — Cedric finds some comfort in Logan's laughter. It shows he's improving, that he's getting used to expressing emotion outwardly once more, and Cedric can't help but crack a small smile. Logan catches the shift in his expression and immediately points it out, linking it instead to Cedric undoubtedly thinking of Benjamin. 

"Actually," Cedric corrects, "I was thinking about how glad I am that you're well enough to tease me about these things now."

Logan blinks, shocked at the change in conversation, and fiddles with the handle of his teacup. He is feeling more like himself lately, no doubt thanks to how much he's been pushing himself to work and help repair the damage he'd done to Albion. It helps also, he thinks, that people are beginning to get to know him beyond just being the former king. They see something in him, now, that hasn't been seen since he was the young prince standing at his father's side. The world has gone from being the endless expanse of suffering and gloom that he had seen in his time under the Crawler's influence to something bright and full of hope. Thanks to Cedric for the work he's put in and the slaying of the darkness in the past year, Logan has felt as though a veil has been lifted from his eyes and he sees the world for what it truly is.

But more to the point — Logan has started something here that he intends to finish. He clears his throat and covers his mouth with one closed hand as he does so.

"Still. I'm not letting you change the subject." Logan says, and Cedric rolls his eyes as he leans back in his seat. Griffin, beside him, steps up to rest his snout on Cedric's knee. Absently, Cedric ruffles the dog's ear. 

"Well, you're not getting me to admit to anything." Cedric says, stubborn. 

"But you admit there's something there by saying that." Logan points out, and Cedric narrows his eyes.

"That's — what are you playing at, Logan?"

"Just looking out for my little brother. I don't want to hear that you've gotten your heart broken by a straight man or anything—" Logan says, waving his hand. "You have a bad habit of that."

“So I’ve had bad luck in the past with this sort of thing. The reason I have feelings for Ben is because he’s straight, isn’t that what you’re getting at?” Cedric crosses his arms. On his knee, Griffin looks up with his big brown eyes as though begging for scraps. He likely is. 

“You don’t know what he is or isn’t,” Logan says, finally taking a short sip of tea. The warmth of it makes his nose heat up, leaves a gentle bit of heat lingering on his cheeks and in his throat. “But you just admitted it.”

"You sneaky piece of shit," Cedric laughs, the words an affectionate jab in the way brothers are wont to do. “Fine, okay, yes. I’ve got a bit of a thing for Ben. Nothing’s going to come of it.”

“You don’t know that.” Logan says. “Despite the fact that I know he dislikes me and I find him a little too loud for my tastes, I want you to know that should you pursue Benjamin, you have my support.”

It’s strangely comforting, in a way. With both of their parents gone and Walter as well, the only family Cedric has left is Logan ( and Jasper, but Jasper has found a home for himself in the Sanctuary ) to approve or disapprove of his choice in partner. Not that he’d listen to Logan unless he was extremely adverse to a choice — because if Logan denied someone for him so adamantly, he’d have to listen as to why. Cedric stares down at the cup of tea he’s left sitting on the table, the deep brown-red color soothing in its stillness. 

“Thank you.” Is all Cedric can say for a long few moments. He’s not sure if Logan knows just how important his opinion is to him. 

Silence draws between them. It’s peaceful. Logan stirs his tea, the gentle clink of metal against ceramic like the rhythmic ticking of a clock. Griffin huffs out a long sigh and Cedric pets him once more, ruffling the fur on the top of his head. His collar jingles as the dog pulls away and goes to sit in his bed once again, resting his head on the cushioned edge of the bed. 

When the comforting silence has drawn on for longer than Cedric expected, he breaks it with a lopsided smile as he says,

“So, you and Thomas?” 

Then it’s Logan’s turn to sputter as he sets down his teacup, eyebrows drawing together as he glares at Cedric.

“No.” He says, short and simple. Cedric grins, much like a cat who’d gotten into what it’s not supposed to.

“Oh, come on. You spend all your free time in the library—” He says, and Logan tilts his chin up.

“I’ve been helping ship the duplicates of books to Aurora.” Logan states. 

“Mm-hm.” Cedric leans onto the table, putting his chin in his hand. “And that requires you being in the library late at night?”

“I—” Logan starts, his cheeks coloring.

“I’m sorry,” Cedric says, shaking his head. He looks down at his cup once again, the sugar in the bottom not fully dissolved. His hair falls in front of his face. “I won’t bother you about it. But I do want you to know I’m happy you’ve made friends, and that you’ve found someone like Thomas.” 

Logan stays silent, watching Cedric as he tilts his head to smile at his brother.

“Even if it’s frustrating as hell that you found him after I’d sent numerous suitors your way and you never told me—”

“That was you?!” Logan says, his voice raising. Cedric laughs, throwing his head back as he does. Logan stands from his seat, mouth dropping open and closing again, three times before he swallows harshly. “One of them didn’t leave me alone for two days!”

“I’m sorry!” Cedric says, his voice still caught between bouts of laughter, “I just wanted to make you happy, I thought I knew what I was doing!”

Logan can’t find it in him to be mad after that. He lays his hand flat against the table, leaning against it as he stares down at Cedric, who’s wiping his face after his fit of laughter. Without thinking, he reaches over with his other hand and ruffles through his hair, grown out longer in his time as king. The motion is familiar, bringing back memories of their childhood and days spent without a care or thought of what was awaiting them. His heart feels warm, fuller than it has in quite some time.

“Hey, Logan?” Cedric says as Logan’s hand withdraws. 

Logan hums a questioning sound.

“If you marry Thomas, you’d better let me help plan it.” 

“And let you ruin my color scheme? I don’t think so.” He says, tilting his chin upward in a show of fake pompousness. But Cedric can hear the affection in his voice, the subtle playful tone. 

“I’ll find a way to meddle in your wedding.” Cedric says. And it doesn't even matter to Logan that he's barely past getting to know the man who would be joining him in this hypothetical wedding — the idea of anything past asking him to dinner hasn't crossed his mind in the slightest. What matters in the moment is only that Cedric is back to poking fun at him, just as when they were young. 

Logan snaps back with a remark about the possibility of Ben Finn joining Cedric at a wedding and the tables are turned, with Cedric protesting any possibility of such a thing happening. 

They jab at each other back and forth until someone comes to steal Cedric away to talk in front of some representatives from a village across Albion. They part ways and Logan puts it into his mind to keep an eye on Ben's actions around Cedric the next time he's around, just in case. 

"Logan!" Cedric calls over his shoulder as he's headed down the hall. Logan looks up.

Cedric waves a hand at him. 

"I love you!"

He turns the corner. Logan shuts his eyes and smiles, feeling — finally — like proper family once more.