#give her attention she's so nice and pretty and talented!!! also she just wants to be your friend!!!

[deiscension]

Thinking about how SQX always wanting someone by her side is because of her vanity demanding some form of attention focused on her at all times and just her naturally being a social butterfly and a trauma response (if there's not someone with her at all times then it will come back, it doesn't matter that she's a god and it wouldn't dare hurt her now, it will come back, and what if it dares hurt someone else again?)

[harrysgal]

I DIG YOUR CINEMA (1)

harry styles x yn aspiring filmmaker — social media AU

I posted this yesterday but I wanted to change a few things so I deleted it and now I’m posting it again lol it’s long but I still hope people like it!

About the smau: yn starts posting videos on youtube and is trying to build a career as a filmmaker. Things are going pretty well for her and she starts getting more attention when she creates content about shows she goes to. She’s also a fan of Harry’s music and some of his fans start getting suspicious when his team starts interacting with her.

Disclaimer: The story it’s set in 2021 and it will follow their relationship through the LOT leg in the US. Since this is nothing but fiction, I will be following some of the real timeline but also adding my own stuff. On top of that, I won’t be basing myself on Harry’s actual posts.

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I DIG YOUR CINEMA (PART 1) — MEET YN

liked by bestfriend, yourbrother, and 60 others 

yourinstagram here’s to a new year and new beginnings :)

view all 6 comments

bestfriend love youuuu  bestfriend im so happy to have you back!! 

↳ yourinstagram pls don’t let me choose a bf ever again ↳ bestfriend don’t worry. single squad for life ↳ bestfriend or until one of us gets married lol  ↳ yourinstagram 😂 love you!!

Jan 5, 2021 • 

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liked by bestfriend, yourbrother, and 75 others 

yourinstagram can you believe just three months ago this gal was heartbroken, unemployed, and out of dreams? guess the world reallyyyyy spins around, huh 😜

view all 8 comments

bestfriend yes it doesss  bestfriend now the universe is giving back what she deservessssss yourbrother i think i liked you better when you had no social life

↳ yourinstagram 😂 omg fuck off ↳ yourbrother if this is the language you use around my children i’m never letting you babysit again ↳ yourinstagram 😔 stop that’s not funny

Feb 10, 2021 •

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liked by sisterinlaw, bestfriend, and 60 others 

yourinstagram got myself a camera and a dream (plus an empty bank account)

view all 7 comments 

yourmom Are you OK? Do you need money? x

↳ yourinstagram im okay mom :) love you ↳ yourbrother my bank account is empty too

bestfriend can’t wait to be your +1 at the academy awards 

Feb 26, 2021 •

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liked by yourbrother, bestfriend, and 85 others 

yourinstagram step aside pls your girl just posted her first video on youtube and is now one step closer from becoming a filmmaker ✌🏻

view all 13 comments 

bestfriend THAT’S MY BESTIE sisterinlaw Loved it!! 💋 yourmom I miss you. Give me a call x yourmom Also you should post pictures of your face x

↳ yourinstagram 😂💗

childhoodfriend Nice to see you still love telling stories, haha great video!

↳ yourinstagram oh my gosh it’s been a while! 🥺 thank youuu let’s catch up soon  

Mar 19, 2021 •

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liked by yourbrother, bestfriend, and 167 others 

yourinstagram life lately

view all 23 comments 

user1 just watched your video on youtube about growing up and i’m in tears! you’re soooo talented

↳ yourinstagram omg that’s so sweet thank you so much :’) 

yourbrother why bothering buying a camera if you’re going to steal mine

↳ yourinstagram i didn’t steal it  ↳ yourbrother but you also didn’t give it back yet did you? 

user2 Loving your content!!

April 10, 2021 •

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liked by bestfriend, anotherfriend, and 319 others 

yourinstagram hellooooo i just posted another video :D even tho she’s not physically in it, i must admit our 20+ years together completely inspired this one. thank you for being there for me. i’m very lucky to call you my best friend and i love you 💗 hope you enjoy it!

view all 25 comments 

bestfriend i cant rn i’ll be back when i stop crying user1 amazing!!! another great video! loved everything about it, left me thinking and wondering about lots of things. i’m blown away by how talented you are.

↳ yourinstagram you’re so sweet 🥺 thank you, it means more than you can imagine!

yourmom Lovely girls 🥰 user3 This was my favorite so far!

April 21, 2021 •

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liked by bestfriend, sisterinlaw and 512 others 

yourinstagram got my first paycheck and went out shopping 

(ps: remember when my ex freaked out bc he didn’t want me to buy harrys album? lol here’s to you pal) (fine line you’ll be next i promise!)

view all 57 comments 

bestfriend harry styles album listening party tonight

↳ yourinstagram as if we don’t already listen to it everyday lol 

user1 you’re so real for this lol user1 also wtf? why didn’t he want you to buy the album? 

↳ yourinstagram bc he was jealous and insecure  ↳ bestfriend jealous that you’d bump into harry someday, mention you bought his album and he’d fall in love with you  ↳ yourinstagram lol talk about delusional  ↳ bestfriend he just knew your potential ↳ user1 😂😂😂

yourbrother so YOU are the reason why my daughter is suddenly obsessed? user5 Omg didn’t know you’re also a harry fan! What’s your favorite song?

↳ yourinstagram sign of the times always and forever

May 6, 2021 •

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liked by bestfriend, yourmom and 750 others 

yourinstagram just me and my little camera conquering the world ❤️ lol no but srsly, i know it’s only been a month since i posted my first video on youtube but so far ive had suchhhh a great time working hard to make my dreams come true :’) i sometimes fear my content isn’t much or isn’t professional enough, so the feedback i’ve been getting truly warms my heart and puts a smile on my face! thank you. thank you. thank you.

view all 86 comments 

bestfriend ❤️❤️❤️ yourbrother why are you still living in 2020? 

↳ yourinstagram why are you so annoying?

yourmom We’re very proud sweetheart x

↳ yourinstagram wouldn’t have done anything without your support! love you ❤️

user1 your content is AMAZING! the way you bring little stories to each video has me obsessed 

↳ yourinstagram i love telling stories so much!! im happy you enjoy them! 

user3 Honestly you’re one of the most creative people I’ve come across lately. The way you approach each topic with so much honesty and tell real life stories while not really including people in your shots is incredible!

↳ yourinstagram omg thank you so so much! this means the world me! 

May 6, 2021 •

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liked by bestfriend, sisterinlaw and 910 others 

yourinstagram hiii i just posted a new video on youtube and im really nervous about it lol this is really different from the others + a little longer, but also the most special so far. it includes a very memorable moment we lived as a family just a couple weeks ago so i trulyyyy hope you enjoy it! lmk your thoughts plssss

view all 103 comments 

user1 i just sent this video to everyone i know. i feel like i say this every time but this one is my favorite yet!! you’re so talented i want to live inside your brain

↳ yourinstagram hahahha you’re the best thank you sooooo much for your constant support!

bestfriend ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THIS WAS MY FAVORITE ONE SO FAR  bestfriend pls take me to a concert and make a short film of me dancing to my favorite songs too 😭 i beg you!!!!

↳ yourinstagram let’s do it! ed sheeran? beyonce? harry styles? ↳ bestfriend YES ↳ yourinstagram yes it’s not an answer lol you were supposed to pick one 

user8 👏👏👏 you’ve outdone yourself with this one!  user4 You’re so real about this one! My mom LOVES Shania Twain too and the day she saw her live for the first time was exactly like this! She just turned into a fangirl all over again haha 

May 27, 2021 •

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user2 Hey there. I’m so happy youtube just recommended this to me. I’m in love with your content! So creative and touching. I’m definitely going back to binge all your other videos now. I was just wondering, though, is this your real family? I’m only asking because from the way you tell the story it feels so much like watching a movie that it made me wonder if they were actors following a script 😅 hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Have a good one!

↳ youryoutube hiii thank you so much for watching and for being so respectful and polite about your comment! 😊 this is my own family, yes! i actually wasn’t planning on filming this, but my brother and i took my mom to see shania twain (who’s like, her favorite artist of all times!) and i woke up inspired to make a little video about it. i’m really glad you enjoyed it, and i’m actually really flattered by your question, because this was the first time i didn’t script a video at all and was really afraid in the end it wouldn’t come up the way i wanted to. so thank you!!  ↳ user2 Oh, wow! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer me. That’s really interesting to know. Loved how you managed to capture the emotions without actually exposing anyone. I also enjoyed how this isn’t just a “vlog”, if that makes sense. It truly feels like an actual story with beginning, middle and end (I mean, there’s even some drama in it!). So cheers to you! Can’t wait to see what else you’ll come up with in the future.  ↳ youryoutube THANK YOU! oh my goodness that’s exactly what i’m always going for :’) thank you, thank you!! 

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liked by bestfriend, yourbrother and 3,614 others 

yourinstagram hello????? i just woke up to the news that the one and only queen and goddess shania twain watched my video????? and shared it?????? what the hell it’s happening????? 

view all 245 comments 

yourbrother thought you were going to expose mom losing it on our gc haha bestfriend I’M COMING OVER WE’RE FUCKING CELEBRATING user1 😍😍😍 yesssss love to see you getting bigger and bigger!! user18 omg that video was so cute!! also love your aesthetic user14 your mom’s excitement was the sweetest it left me in tears  harryfan say 🙋‍♀️ if you’re here because gemma shared her video

↳ harryfan2 🙋‍♀️ ↳ harryfan3 🙋‍♀️

Jun 1, 2021 •

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liked by bestfriend, anotherfriend and 5,875 others 

yourinstagram good morning?? is life even real?? 

last week was sooo insane omg im still over the moon and also so happy reading everyone’s reaction to my mom’s dream coming true 🥺 everyone’s just so sweet and kind! thank you!! i wish i could spend the entire day around just chatting and celebrating, but today is a big and busy day for me so wish me luck im really gonna need it 

view all 541 comments 

bestfriend remember there was a time when i used to be the first and only to like your posts? :’) user1 good luck!! user4 Can’t wait for your next video! user9 I THINK I JUST HEARD YOUR INTERVIEW ON THE RADIO??

↳ user10 Yesss. I was driving to work and I heard that too haha ↳ user3 omg what did she talk about? ↳ user9 ＠user3 they were basically asking about the video/her mom. she explained that it was a really spontaneous thing and that she wasn’t planning on doing more of those but after seeing everyone’s reaction she’s changing her mind. oh, she also mentioned she never expected shania to see her video and that she still doesn’t know how it got to her in the first place!

Jun 8, 2021 •

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liked by anotherfriend, cuteguy and 6,513 others 

yourinstagram quick life update: got a part-time job. moved to a new apartment. completed my harry styles album collection. went on a date with a cute guy. posted another video. 

so far no complaints. 300/10.

view all 617 comments 

bestfriend can’t believe ‘went out for dinner with my best friend’ didn’t make the cut 

↳ yourinstagram sorry that’s bts content

user5 Your last video was amazing!! So were the last two before that!! Totally feel like you found yourself in the music field 

↳ user1 omg i totally agree! i can totally see this becoming a series or something like this ↳ yourinstagram ohhhh i love the idea!! :) 

harryfan any chance this cute guy was harry styles himself?

↳ yourinstagram 😂😂😂 minus 100% chances 

user3 Is this part time job film related maybe?

↳ yourinstagram i wish :( needed a normal part time job to pay for my dream job actually lol

harryfan2 omg which one of his albums did you get?

↳ user5 she already has self titled so she must’ve gotten fine line now

June 25, 2021 •

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liked by bestfriend, cuteguy and 8,315 others 

yourinstagram sorry i havent been here the past few days but i was busy playing hide and seek with my niblings (i just found out there’s a word for niece + nephew btw. how cool is that?!!)

view all 732 comments 

harryfan girl tell me why i came here to watch one video and never left? :’) 

↳ user1 lol same!! she’s great isn’t she?

yourbrother i hope you know you’ll be the one buying your goddaughter a ticket for that harry styles boy

↳ harryfan2 “that harry styles boy” lol excuse me sir? ↳ yourinstagram you’re about to get soooooo dragged and all im gonna do is sit here and watch lol ↳ sisterinlaw I’m sitting here, too!!

user4 your posts always brighten up my day 😍

July 3, 2021 •

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liked by cuteguy, yourmom and 11,798 others 

yourinstagram i can’t believe there are so many people watching me post stuff like this lol i don’t really know how to behave and i get easily embarrassed so if you don’t mind i’ll just pretend we are no more than 5 friends just hanging out okay? thanks!!

btw wanted to share that we took my niece to see ariana grande so…… guess what??? new video will be up tomorrow :D this one is once again a little bit different from the others idk im always trying new things so let’s see if it works!! 

view all 931 comments 

cuteguy 😍 bestfriend when is it going to be my turn? :(( user3 omg can’t wait!!! will we finally get to meet your niece??

↳ yourinstagram nooo:( i don’t feel comfortable sharing them on the internet. that’s also why you’ll see this video is kinda from a parents perspective? idk how to explain with words you gotta watch it to see it haha ↳ user2 we love a respectful and mindful woman 💪

harryfan can’t wait for the day you see harry omg i just know that will be the best video ever

↳ harryfan3 right like so many fandoms have been getting these incredible videos i’m so jealous

July 12, 2021 •

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liked by yourinstagram, bestfriend, sisterinlaw and 4,339,032 others

harrystyles LOVE ON TOUR will be going out across the USA this September and I could not be more excited for these shows. I love you all so much. I’m very excited, and I can’t wait to see you. H

view all 100,888 comments 

bestfriend ＠yourinstagram 🤭 harryfan ＠yourinstagram THIS IS IT DO YOUR THING PLS I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT user2 OMG ARE WE FINALLY GETTING A SHORT MOVIE??? SAY YES PLS OMG ＠yourinstagram user7 i feel like if yn doesn’t take ＠bestfriend to at least one show there will be blood 😂

↳ bestfriend ＠yourinstagram see? everyone knows it should happen ↳ yourinstagram ＠bestfriend STOP WE’RE SO FUCKING DOING THIS ↳ harryfan AIDHASASJDBAJHAJH I’M SO EXCITD

July 14, 2021 •

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liked by cuteguy, anotherfriend and 14,513 others 

yourinstagram had a reallyyyyy huge meeting today and i was losing my shit so this really cute guy took me out for a coffee :D 

(new video’s up!!! hope you enjoy it!)

view all 1,007 comments 

user4 are you guys sharing a piece of cake? stop that’s so sweet :(  user8 omg she has a bf?? but what about harry?? lol

↳ harryfan7 THAT’S WHAT I SAID!! she was supposed to go to his show so he could see her in the crowd and fall in love 😩 ↳ harryfan12 lol please harry doesn’t even know who she is. also maybe don’t be disrespectful to the guy she’s actually dating? ↳ user8 ＠harryfan12 it was just a choke chill out lol

user1 can’t wait for the new video!!! (also… important meeting??? 👀)

July 29, 2021 •

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liked by bestfriend, mollyjane_x, cuteguy and 17,283 others 

yourinstagram i dont think you guys will ever understand how much you watching and spreading the word about my videos has changed my life. it hasnt been even even six months since i started posting on youtube and yet it feels like i’ve lived four years so far. thank you soooo much for deciding to join this ride with me!

also, so much is happening rn that i feel like i need to sort some things out and reorganize myself. so there’ll be a new video up tonight, and then i’ll be taking a short break before releasing any new content. it won’t be long, just a couple of weeks that will mostly be used to feed my creativity once again lol (and also to plan and script some exciting new projects!!) 

i hope you stay around and wait for me. i’ll see you back really soon 💗

view all 1,345 comments 

sisterinlaw 💗 user1 take all the time we need we’ll be here waiting for you!! <3 user3 you deserve all this sooo much!! harryfan7 i see you molly 👀

↳ harryfan11 no bc how are you even a harry fan and don’t absolutely freak out when harry’s creative director likes your post?? ↳ harryfan8 also his manager following her??? i mean what are the chances of being just a coincidence? 

bestfriend i love youuu and i’m so freaking proud of you 💗 user4 I’ll miss your content because it always puts a smile on my face, but I totally understand and can’t wait to see what’s next!

Aug 13, 2021 •

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liked by cuteguy, mollyjane_x, gemmastyles and 19,107 others 

yourinstagram so……. i kinda quit my part time job to start this other full time job? which is now finally related to something i truly love?? 😅 oh god!! i dont even know what to say. all i know is that im about to start the craziest adventure of my life and even tho im about to board the plane i still cant believe it is ACTUALLY happening. again, thank you so much for spreading the word about my videos and for being so kind about them. thank you for deciding i was worth your time every week. im only here right now bc you gave me the chance in the first place so thank you thank you thank you! 

i’ll share more details as soon as i can (and when i’m sure i wont jinx it lol) but for now, THANK YOU!

view all 1,501 comments 

cuteguy have fun, call me when you land 😘 harryfan you’re going to the LOT and nobody can convince me otherwise!!

↳ user4 why wouldn’t she just say it, tho? ↳ harryfan idk she normally never shares she’s going to a show anyway she just posts the video later 🤷 

harryfan8 the fact that molly and jeff followed her and now molly likes all of her posts can’t be random. also she quitting her job and traveling the same day so many from harry’s crew are traveling? 

↳ harryfan2 AND GEMMA LIKING THIS POST? WHY IS PEOPLE SILENT ABOUT THIS?????

harryfan7 gemma liked this post but she doesn’t even follow her??? bestfriend i miss you already can’t wait to visit you!! user1 im so excited whatever it is you deserve it so much!!!!

Aug 25, 2021 •

— — — — — 

PART 2: LAS VEGAS

— — — — —

I’m not hopeful people will read and enjoy this, but if you happen to do so pls let me know? :( thanks!!

[saveyourblood]

Pretty Boy - Ch 1 (Evan Buckley x Reader) (Eventual Evan Buckley x Eddie Diaz x Reader)

Summary: You can feel Buck staring. When your eyes meet his, you realize he’s staring at your hand, which is still on Eddie’s knee. You slowly retreat, which makes Buck turn his attention to your face. You smile softly. He just looks out the window. The one where you're an advanced paramedic, Buck and Eddie are firefighters, and you think you might be in love with both of them. Originally posted to AO3

Chapter Summary: Your new(ish) co-worker has a special talent: getting on your nerves.

A/N: This is such a niche story and I am desperate for validation, please tell me if you enjoyed reading! Word Count: 3.5k Warnings: Swearing (if that even counts).

You’re ending the first half of your 24-hour shift the same way you always do—dinner with the team. Well, at least that’s how you try to end the first half of your shift. Of course, that’s also assuming that both the fire and medical teams are actually at the station and not on a call.

All things considered, this probably only happens once a week, if that.

When it works out, though, it’s a good time. You already spend a lot of time in the rig with Hen and Chim, being an advanced paramedic and all. When it comes to the firefighters, though, you aren’t as well-versed, so it’s nice to have a weekly ‘getting to know you’ session. It seems like these days, it’s a 50/50 shot if they’ll make it to next week's dinner.

The firefighting crew at the 118 is a revolving door of macho men. When you first started, it was Chim, Tommy, and Sal. Chim became a paramedic, so he didn’t exactly ‘leave.’ Sal got relieved of duty, so he didn’t really have a choice. Tommy left, but for something better. Maybe it isn’t so much the job that makes people leave; maybe being a firefighter at the 118 is a stepping stone for bigger and better things.

There is one firefighter that, if he left, you wouldn’t be heartbroken. In fact, it would probably make your shifts a whole lot better.

Evan Buckley, aka ‘Buck.’ God, even thinking his name makes you want to gag a little.

He’s a decent kid, but he’s just that: a kid. He’s a Probie; he’s only been on the job for about 4 months, and no one would assume otherwise. His heart is in the right place, but his brain hasn’t caught up yet. You’re starting to fear it never will.

“I know exactly what that polite, distant smile means: she’s bored,” Chim says as he leans over the counter, pulling you right out of your thoughts and back into reality. “This woman is so far out of my league, but she’s once-in-a-lifetime… I can’t let her go.”

“Lots of fish in the sea,” Bobby, your captain, chimes in. He leans over to pull something out of the oven.

“Not with the bait he’s using,” Hen remarks as she walks by. Her arms are full of dishes to set the table with.

“Amen, sister,” you agree, hot on her heels. She gives you a small smile and hands you the plates, which you accept with a smile of your own.

“Cruel, but true,” Chim sighs. “I met her on this new dating site, just for cops and firefighters, RomancingTheUniform.com. She’s an adrenaline junkie, so foreplay is me telling her stories about running into burning buildings and jumping into icy lakes and…”

“I’m sorry, wait,” Hen interrupts, “remind me: when was the last time you ran into or jumped over anything?”

“...I embellish a little.”

“Oh, noted.”

“So is she a cop or a firefighter?” You ask.

Chim gives you a look. “Why would she be?”

“Well, you said the website is for cops and firefighters,” you repeat. “Doesn’t that make her a cop or a firefighter?”

“Okay, it’s not just cops and firefighters,” Chim cedes, “it’s also for people that want to date cops and firefighters.”

“Ohhh,” you smile, “so cops, firefighters, and badge bunnies. What could possibly go wrong?”

“I’m telling you, the uniform is a major aphrodisiac,” Chim continues as he brings a salad to the table.

“Yeah, hence the term ‘badge bunny,’” you remark.

The conversation is interrupted by one of the engines backing into the station. You probably should have noticed it was gone, but frankly, as long as your rig is in the bay safe and sound, you don’t care what the meatheads are up to.

Speaking of meatheads…

“Oh good, PB is back,” you remark sarcastically.

‘PB’, aka ‘pretty boy,’ aka Buck. You started calling him Pretty Boy his first day, and over the months, you shortened it. He jogs his way up the stairs and dips a finger in the communal spaghetti bowl. You roll your eyes and take a sip of your coffee.

“Wash your hands!” Hen scolds as she pulls the bowl out of his reach.

“What if there’d been a call?” Bobby asks as he brings the last dishes to the table.

“I was in the neighborhood!” Buck defends himself. He takes one of the plates from Bobby’s grasp, but instead of passing it around like a normal person, he starts eating the food off the plate with his dirty hands. Sometimes, you wondered if he was raised by a pack of stray dogs.

Bobby starts lecturing Buck, and you smirk with a little satisfaction. Bobby’s going to write him up, and truthfully? It’s a long time coming.

“First infraction, two more, and you’re out,” Bobby says as he steals back the plate. “Wash your hands.”

“You know, you're not helping him by going easy on him,” Chim says once Buck is out of earshot.

“He just needs a little direction,” Bobby replies.

“I’ll remind you of that when he gets us killed,” you mumble.

The alarm bells start to sound through the station. Everyone groans, including yourself. So much for dinner.

Chim decided to catch a ride with the boys in the truck, so that leaves you and Hen in the rig.

“I’m sorry, dispatch,” you say into the radio, “118 RA responding: did you say the baby is in the wall?”

“10-4, 118,” the dispatcher responds. “Caller reports hearing a baby crying in his walls.”

“Copy that, 118 RA clear,” you say before hanging the radio back up. “Well, this will be fun.”

“You think you can play nice with Buck?” Hen asks, a smirk on her face.

“Hey, I’m always nice,” you reply.

“Not to him!” She laughs. “Don’t think I didn’t see you roll your eyes the second he got back to the station.”

“I can play nice and still think he’s a raging idiot,” you defend. “Besides, since when are you his biggest fan?”

“Trust me, I’m not,” Hen chuckles. “And I love you, but you don’t know how to play nice.”

“Why be the bigger person when you can be the bigger problem?”

That remark gets a full belly laugh out of Hen. “Yeah, that sounds like you.”

Hen parks the rig behind the engine in front. The boys come pouring out immediately, grabbing various tools and equipment. You make your way to the back of the ambulance, tossing Hen her med bag before picking up your own.

You follow the rest of the crew upstairs, and before you know it, the five of you are standing in some random guy’s apartment, listening for something that probably isn’t real.

“Look, I'm telling you, I heard a baby crying,” the man says. “Someone flushed a baby down the toilet.”

Hen picks up a bong off the counter and gives the man a look.

“I’m not high.”

You both raise your eyebrows.

“Okay, I’m pretty high, but it’s Sativa,” he says. “It makes you happy. It doesn’t make you hallucinate.”

“It could’ve been a rat,” Chim shrugs. “Sometimes rats get stuck in the walls.”

You frown. At the end of his sentence, you swore you heard a cooing sound.

“Shh,” you say to everyone, walking over to the bathroom. “Did you guys hear that?”

They're hot on your heels, watching as you take your stethoscope from around your neck and put it into your ears. You place the bell on the wall and wait. When you hear nothing, you begin rapping your knuckles on the tile until you do. Once again, it’s a faint cooing sound, not unlike a baby.

You then knock your knuckles on the wall until you hear a hollow sound. You take a marker from your pants pocket and mark an ‘x’ over it, knowing the space behind it is hollow. You take the stethoscope out from your ears.

“We need to open up this wall,” you say, pointing to the ‘x.’

“No, we’re being punked,” Chim disagrees. “It’s a tape recorder or something.”

“Maybe not,” Hen says, stepping forward. “Maybe a mother gives birth on the toilet and flushes it.”

“Okay, first of all, that's awful,” Chim says. “Second, do you know how pipes work?”

“If the baby is premature, its bones can bend and compress like sponges,” Bobby mentions. “We need to get in there.”

“Stand back, I got this!” Buck says, swinging his fire axe over his shoulder.

He runs up towards the wall with full intentions of swinging. Hen and Chim move out of the way and shout while Bobby tries to grab him. Ultimately, you’re the one to stop him, and you do it by placing both hands on the axe.

“Hey! Did you even stop to consider that you might hit a baby?!” You shout, adrenaline pumping through your bloodstream.

Buck just stares at you with wide eyes.

“Yeah, didn’t think so,” you spat, pushing the axe out of the way.

“Buck, go get the saw,” Bobby directs.

“Try to find some common sense while you’re down there,” you call after Buck as he walks out.

“Nice catch,” Bobby says, looking at you.

“How nice of me to save the baby from one of the LAFD’s finest first responders,” you reply bitterly.

You can’t help but look at Hen, who quickly looks away. Her avoidance gives you a small sense of victory because this? This shit right here? This is why you can’t play nice with Buck. His head is screwed on backward, and it can get people killed. Playing nice isn’t going to fix that.

Thankfully, Bobby takes the saw from Buck once he brings it up. He makes a few small cuts in the wall before he and the other boys are pulling at the drywall. They quickly expose a massive pipe running behind the toilet.

“That thing is huge,” you remark to Hen.

“It probably connects a bunch of the toilets in the units above this one,” Hen returned.

“So… even with the water turned off…” you start, a sense of dread filling your stomach.

“If someone above us flushes the toilet, it could drown the baby,” Hen finishes. Almost before she finishes the sentence, she’s running into the hall, yelling for people not to flush their toilets. The boys make a few cuts into the pipe, and in no time, they’re taking it to the floor.

“Guys, I can see the head,” you say, joining them on the floor.

They make a few more cuts until the pipe is one straight segment.

“Get the head out,” Chim instructs.

“Yeah, you gotta push from below,” Buck chimes in.

You try that, but the baby isn’t moving. You look to the corner, then at Buck.

“Bring me the defibrillator,” you instruct clearly.

Buck scrambles over, picking up the case.

“Just the lube, Buck,” you rephrase, but he’s already coming back with the whole thing.

“Take it, take it,” Buck says, passing it off to you.

You let out a frustrated sigh before grabbing the lube out and tossing the rest of it to the side. You pour some lube on the baby’s head, then down by its feet.

“Work that in,” you tell Chim.

You move your index finger around the circumference of the pipe, brushing the baby’s legs with lubricant as you do so. Then, you gently apply pressure to its feet, and slowly, you can feel it move forward.

“This is gonna be a scoop and run,” you mumble.

“Hen, get the ambulance ready,” Bobby tells her. You’re not sure when she got back, but when you look up again, she’s gone again.

Slowly, the baby’s head emerges from the pipe, and the rest of her body follows.

“She’s not breathing,” you quickly note, “starting CPR.”

You place your index and middle finger in the center of the baby’s chest and press down fast and hard. “Looks like her airway’s obstructed.”

“Buck, get the bulb syringe,” Chim demands. A few seconds pass. “Buck, come on!”

“I’m coming!” Buck barks back, clearly in a panic.

“Come on, pretty girl,” you say quietly as you continue compressions. “Come on, sweetheart.”

Buck returns with the bulb syringe and uses it, but it doesn’t help.

“Dammit,” you curse. “You’ll have to try a blind finger sweep.”

Buck looks at you, then Chimney, then the baby, then back at you. “Me?”

“You gotta learn somehow,” you remark. “It’s easy: just turn her head to the side, curl your pinkie, and see if you can scoop anything out.”

Buck is hesitant initially, but he eventually does as you tell him. It takes a few seconds, but he manages to clear the obstruction, and the baby begins crying. Everyone laughs with relief.

“Let’s get her wrapped up,” you say, reaching for a towel.

The four of you rush down the hall, you with the baby in your arms. The pit in your stomach returns.

“No one held the elevator?!” you yell.

“Dammit,” Chim curses.

“Give her to me,” Buck says, nodding to the stairs.

You stare at him.

“Come on, I’m twice as fast,” Buck pleads.

“Screw this up, and I’ll kill you,” you threaten before carefully handing her over.

Buck takes off down the stairs, but you follow after. There’s only so much that can happen in a few flights of stairs, but you aren’t willing to risk it.

“I got you,” Buck says to the baby, “you’ll be okay.”

A faint smile crosses your face. Maybe Buck isn’t so terrible after all.

“Come on, move it!” Buck shouts as you both make it out of the lobby and out to the rig.

You climb into the ambulance with him, but before either of you can even sit down, you hear someone yelling to wait. It’s not just anyone: it’s LAPD Sergeant Grant, or as you’ve heard Hen calls her, Athena.

“Wait, is that the mother?” Buck says, looking at the young woman with blood-stained pants in someone’s arms. “Yo, screw her! Look what she did!”

Never mind. Buck is still terrible.

“Sit down and shut up!” You yell at Buck. “This is not your call! She is a child, and she’s bleeding out!”

“Look what she did!” Buck repeated.

“Come on, let’s get her up here,” you say to Athena and the man carrying the young girl, disregarding Buck’s protests.

Bobby and Chim made it down, so they help haul the young girl up into the rig. Chim stays at the head while Bobby sits next to Buck, the spot you were about to sit in mere moments ago.

“If this baby dies, it’s on you,” Buck says, staring at Athena.

“Stop talking, Evan,” you snap as someone closes the ambulance doors.

Using his actual name seems to shut him up.

“What’s your name, honey?” You ask the baby’s mother as you cut away her shirt to place EKG leads.

“Marika,” she whispers. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“I know you’re scared, Marika, but you just have to keep breathing for me, okay?” you say. “My friend Howie is going to start an IV so we can give you fluids and medication. You’re bleeding a lot, so I have to do what’s called a fundal exam, okay? I have to press on your stomach to make sure your uterus is contracting back down normally.”

She stares at you, eyes filled with tears, before eventually nodding.

Using one hand to stabilize over the pubis, you begin pressing down the other into Marika’s stomach, a few fingerbreadths below her belly button. She lets out a few whimpers. You don’t feel the fundus, or the top of the uterus, like you should.

“Marika, you’re bleeding a lot because your uterus isn’t contracting. I have to make it contract by doing a fundal massage. It won’t feel that good, but it could save your life.”

Once again, Marika looks at you before nodding. This time, she closes her eyes.

Using firm and consistent pressure, you push one hand down where the fundus should be and make small circles. Marika lets out a few more cries of pain. You notice that, after a few minutes, the bleeding starts to slow, and her uterus firms up beneath your hands.

“Hospital ETA 5 minutes, hang in,” Hen chimes in from the ambulance's cab.

“Something’s wrong,” Buck says, staring at the baby in his arms.

You quickly move over to him. “Put her in your lap so I can see.”

Buck listens, moving away the towel so you can look at the baby. She’s cyanosed around the lips. You flip open a compartment and pull out the neonatal ambu bag. You hand it to Bobby, and you don’t even have to tell him to start bagging.

“I’m so sorry,” Marika says. “Is she gonna be okay?”

Bobby squeezes the bag every other second, delivering a breath to the baby. Her color is starting to look better, but she isn’t very responsive.

“Here, let me try something,” you say.

You gently pick up the baby and set it on Marika’s bare chest. After a few moments, the baby begins to move and cry out.

“Oh my god, why did that work?” Marika asks, wrapping her hands around her baby.

“Skin-to-skin can help babies regulate bodily functions, like temperature and breathing,” you reply as you place a towel over them.

You look over to the men sitting next to you. Bobby gives you a nod, and Buck avoids eye contact, but you can tell that he’s pissed. Fuck him, he doesn’t know his head from his ass anyways.

Once the rig pulls into the ambulance bay, you and Chim help the ER staff get the gurney out of the ambulance. Bobby and Buck follow suit, only Buck tries to follow them into the hospital. Bobby stops him before he does.

Bobby gives Buck some lecture about how we did our jobs, and now it’s their turn; it’s the speech every overly excited first responder gets at least once at the start of their career.

A cop car pulls up, and Athena comes out. She clearly found the person she was looking for, because she starts yelling at Buck.

“You do not get to choose who lives and who dies,” she lectures.

“Really? Because I was under the impression that kind of was my job,” Buck retorts.

You could seriously slap him.

“That mother was no less of a child than her baby,” Athena continues yelling, pointing a finger at the hospital. “You’re gonna get someone killed.”

“Well, maybe, but not today,” Buck says with a cocky head tilt.

You laugh humorlessly. “You know what, Pretty Boy?” you say, turning to Buck.

Fuck it. Bobby won’t put him in his place, and Athena isn’t allowed to, so you take matters into your own hands, literally.

Before you even fully comprehend what you’re doing, you’re wrapping a hand around Buck’s throat and pushing him against the ambulance. You aren’t choking him, but you don’t move your hand because keeping it there is your only leverage.

“I’m getting real tired of this tough guy bullshit,” you growl, your face only an inch from his. He’s quite a bit taller than you, but when you bounced him off the rig, his footing faltered, so he’s crouched at your eye level. “You wanna get real, Evan? You didn’t do a goddamn thing today except get in the way. While we were busy saving lives, you were shitting your pants and dropping the ball, not exactly what a tough guy is supposed to do.”

“Okay, enough,” Bobby says, trying to break it up. You’re far from finished, though.

You move your hand from his neck, but only so you can point it in his face. “You aren’t a god — you don’t decide who lives! You didn’t even save a life today: we did, because you kept fucking up. And if you keep fucking up like you did today, you definitely will kill someone, and your little jokes and midday booty calls and your shitty little grin won’t change that!”

Bobby ends up physically pulling you away while Athena makes some room between the two of you.

“Aren’t you going to arrest her or something?” Buck says, rubbing his neck. “She assaulted me!”

“She didn’t say anything that wasn’t true,” Athena counters. “I promise you, Buckley, the next time you screw up? It’ll be your last.”

Athena casts Bobby a glance before she walks away.

“You,” Bobby says, looking at Buck, “in the truck. Now.”

You start to walk over to the passenger’s side of the cab when Bobby calls after you.

“I want you in my office the second we get back,” He orders.

You clench your jaw. “Yes Captain.”

Ch 2

[justwinginglife]

thinking of a Hoshina/narumi x Vice captain! reader who was raised to be a traditional wife for wealthy clans 🤔 Like she looks and acts like what people would scream wife material and in the field she be an aggresive fighter but still keeping a graceful look on her....i imagine she'll be the type to use aggresive weapons like SMGs just to contrast her character

Disclaimer- I am a Hoshina girlie through and through and idk if I would even know how to write Narumi but I will give it a shot for you anon. Thanks for trusting me with this request, I will do my best.

Three's A Crowd

You always thought you'd marry well, after all, you'd always been told that being a wife was what you were made for. And not just because you'd been raised by a governess in a proper household, no- you made the act of being a wife look effortless. If being a wife was a job, you were the CEO. If being your husband was a prize, the raffle tickets would've sold out.

Your parents would joke to family friends that you glided out of the womb in stilettos, ready to host dinner parties with your best wine and your best smile. And then when you were the youngest female to ever make Vice Captain in such a short amount of time, people just assumed talent was in your DNA at this point. You could completely brutalize the hell out of a kaiju, not even get your hands dirty or break a sweat, and then be back home in time to instruct the household staff which table settings to use for dinner and maybe even recommend a nice dessert pairing for whatever meal the chef had prepared.

Now, coming from a well-established clan, you had always assumed you'd marry one of the Hoshina brothers as your family had deep ties to the Hoshina clan and you'd known them since you were young, but you had also recently caught the attention of the Captain of the First Division and you could never resist a man with power.

As the Vice Captain of the Second Division, you were constantly meeting with the Captains and Vice Captains of other divisions, but for some reason you didn't meet the Captain of the First Division at any of those stiff meetings. In fact, he never showed up so you thought you might never meet him. But fate must've had other plans because one day as you were on your way home from meeting with the Vice Captain of the First Division, a kaiju decided to take a bite out of a nearby building and that's where you met Gen Narumi.

It's like he had known they were going to strike because he was onto them in a matter of minutes, skewering them like a kebab. You were impressed but you didn't want to let him have all the fun, especially since this might be the only time you ever interacted with him again. So you raced him to take down the remaining kaiju in the vicinity, gunning them all down with equal parts aggression and grace. He had been quite impressed by your agility and the elegance with which you slew each creature. So much so that he actually started showing up to his meetings from then on just to get a glimpse of you. And then he got greedier and a glimpse just wasn't enough for him anymore, he wanted to talk to you, get to know you.

Soon, a rivalry had formed between Gen and Soshiro as they both raced after your heart. The two of them were so different, pretty much the only commonality they shared were their feelings for you.

Gen was a quiet lover, he'd shrug people off when they'd ask if he was seeing you, keeping to himself about the details. But then he'd secretly leave a vase of your favorite flowers for you to find the next morning and if you confronted him about it he'd simply say your apartment looked so sad that even a bunch of weeds he'd scrounged from some random field was an improvement to the place. The flowers were not in fact wildflowers as he claimed, you could tell he'd gone to great lengths to buy the most expensive bouquet he could find from the hothouse but he'd never acknowledge it.

Soshiro was the exact opposite- he was loud about his love. He'd sling his arm around you, and brag to anyone who'd hear him about what a catch you were. He'd remind you everyday how much he adored you. And though it bothered him that Gen was attempting to court you too, he always felt he had the upper hand, having never seen Gen make any grand gestures for you or declare his love for you as openly as he did.

You were used to many men vying for your attention but you never thought that two of the most powerful fighters in the JAKDF would be among your long list of suitors. In fact, the two of them paid such frequent visits to the Second Division that you didn't think you'd even have time to look at any other men. Not that they'd let you look anyway, they'd pretty much assumed that one of them would be the one to marry you.

They weren't wrong. You did intend to choose from one of them as you'd grown quite fond of your little daily routines with each of them. Soshiro was always the first person to text you something sweet in the morning, he wanted you to get a taste of what it would be like to wake up next to him. Gen was always going out of his way for you, picking up dinner from your favorite restaurant an hour away or buying you a pair of earrings you mentioned in passing months ago, once he'd saved up enough for them (you had expensive taste).

It was the first time you felt like more than just some prize, you were actually wanted and desired as a human being. You felt like maybe even if you didn't say the right things or laugh at the right time, even if you fell short of the perfection you'd worked so hard to achieve your whole life, they'd accept you as you were.

It was both a blessing and a curse as you knew you'd have to pick eventually. As different as Gen and Soshiro were, they both did not share well and this little arrangement you had, seeing both of them, would not hold up for long.

But you'd hold out for as long as you possibly could. For as long as they'd let you.

After all, true love is hard to find and you'd stumbled on double the jackpot.

[sapphicromanoffxo]

Tap Down | n.r x w.m

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Wanda Maximoff

Word Count: 3K+

Warnings: Natasha has a penis, semi-public sex, quickie, fingering, praise kink, degrading kink, blow job, face painting (ehe), daddy kink, a bit of edging, Nat being a horny mf, lmk if I missed something

Summary: Wanda decided to enrol herself to a tap dance class, a childhood dream of hers and Natasha had a deep sexual reaction to it.

A/N: so this is based on a request from a friend and I hope I delivered. 🫣

╰┈➤ Masterlist

Taking on the role of being an avenger has been quite a tough journey for Wanda. The tough training alone is physically demanding, but the reward comes from being able to help her team during missions that require her unique powers. To bring some balance to her superhero life, Wanda decided to join a tap dancing class—a dream she had as a kid.

When she was younger, Wanda really wanted to pursue dancing, but life often got in the way. Surprisingly, she managed to fit this interest into her busy life as an avenger, creating a nice break from all the action.

Excitedly sharing her tap dancing plans with Natasha, Wanda was met with a really positive response that warmed her heart. She talked about how, as a child, she used to beg her mom to support her dancing dreams. Natasha, understanding the need for a life outside of avenging, not only cheered Wanda on but also helped her find the best dance class in New York, showing true support for her girlfriend's passions.

Natasha had to take Wanda to her first dancing class because she had a meeting at SHIELD. Wanda was super excited for the day and gave Natasha a kiss goodbye. Carrying her duffle bag, Wanda entered the class with a ton of energy, making it feel like she could light up the whole city.

The class was pretty easy-going. The instructor started with the basics and then gradually moved on to dance sequences, which Wanda really liked. Wanda, being all pumped up, had practised a dance routine in advance in the compound. The instructor noticed her natural talent and let her show off her skills. This made a good impression on the class. Little did Wanda know, Natasha was watching her with proud and bright eyes, happy to see her girlfriend gaining confidence in her newfound talent. A pang of arousal shot through her and is plotting ideas for the night to come.

The first session ended, and Wanda was feeling pumped up and proud of herself. She didn't quite feel the exhaustion in her body due to the excessive training that she's having at the compound. She has to thank her girlfriend for her relentless workout since it's definitely paying off not just during missions, but also in her dance class.

"Wow, you did so good on your solo routine," Natasha complimented as she's approaching Wanda. "I'm not even the only one who was amazed by you, sweetheart."

Feeling suddenly shy, Wanda blushed at her girlfriend's compliment. "Thank you,Natasha. It just comes all natural to me."

Both women made their way to the shower room, and Natasha waited and sat on the nearby bench. Her mind is replaying how relaxed and confident Wanda was in her natural element. It also made her remember her days being a ballerina. Although those days do not bear any good memories so she set them aside and brought her attention back to her little witch.

Unsurprisingly, her dick twitches every time she imagines Wanda's perfect lithe body, under the spray of hot water. Her mind is playing tug of war on whether she should go inside the shower room and have her way with Wanda. However, her thoughts were interrupted by the girl whom she is currently salivating over.

"Natasha. I'm ready."

Freshly showered, Wanda's cheeks were flushed due to the hot water that soothed her muscles. Natasha found it extremely cute and decided to give in to her dirty thoughts.

"Wear your tap shoes for me?" Natasha requested with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Uhh. Why?" Wanda was suddenly perplexed by Natasha's request especially when they were about to go home.

Natasha looked around and was satisfied to see that they were alone. "Do you trust me?"

That question alone is loaded. It got Wanda thinking what is it that Natasha wants to achieve here?

"You know I do." Wanda responded while sitting on the bench to tie back up her tap shoes.

The moment Wanda had finished tying her laces, she was immediately hoisted up by Natasha which made her yelp in surprise and she wrapped her legs around her waist. Wanda will never get over how strong her girlfriend is and takes pleasure in being manhandled. What surprised her even more is when she felt Natasha's bulge touching her ass and can't help but to tease her a bit.

"You're hard already huh?"

A mild slap on Wanda's ass reverberated in the small shower room and her back was planted on the nearby wall.

"You turned me on much. Let me fuck you real quick in here, baby." Natasha whispered in her ear and proceeded in sucking on her neck.

A loud moan came out of Wanda's mouth and had a mild panic when she that they could be heard. She turned on the shower head with her magic so the sound of water hitting the floor will cover up her moans.

Natasha made a quick move to pull down her zipper as her dick is aching to be set free. Wanda flicked her wrist to help her girlfriend be free of the confines of her pants and boxer shorts so they can get going with their quickie. Thankfully, Wanda was only wearing a skirt and Natasha pulled her panties to the side. The widow didn't even check if Wanda was wet enough for her and immediately penetrated her hole in one swift thrust.

With her back arched against the wall, Wanda moaned sinfully at the sudden intrusion of Natasha's big dick and oh, the burn felt so damn good and would never complain by being fucked like this.

"Natasha!"

Ofcourse Wanda is already wet and would not need any foreplay to stimulate her. Natasha felt satisfaction within her core knowing that her baby can be easily fucked and would be so pliant for her.

"That's my good girl, so wet for me."

Wanda held on Natasha's shoulders as she felt her back hitting the wall with each forceful thrust. She knew Natasha would never drop her ass and her tap shoes are click clacking behind Natasha.

For some reason, the sounds of Wanda's shoes are turning Natasha on even more and doubled her efforts in pistoning her dick inside Wanda's pussy.

The wet sounds of Wanda's pussy can still be heard despite the sound of water running and Natasha continued her rough pounding by gripping Wanda's hips.

"Detka, I'm not going to last long. Your pussy feels so good around me." Natasha growled as she continued pushing Wanda into her orgasm.

With her eyes rolled back, and mouth wide open, Wanda couldn't even respond and only whined loudly to convey how much she loves it when Natasha talks to her like that.

Both of their orgasms are climbing high and their combined moans can be surely heard outside but couldn't give a fuck if anyone can hear them. Natasha latched her lips on Wanda's and kissed her intensely.

"Natasha, I'm cumming!" Wanda screamed while her legs shook violently, her shoes bumping to each other making sounds simultaneously.

"Me too,baby. Gonna fill you up real good."

Wanda grabbed on Natasha's biceps as she felt the white spurts of cum being unloaded inside her. Both women are breathing heavily after the intense quickie and Wanda's thighs are now feeling the strain of being held for too long against the wall.

Natasha pulled out her dick from Wanda's pussy and the witch pouted at the loss. "I want you to be inside me forever."

Chuckling at Wanda's dramatics, Natasha brought her down gently and tested first if Wanda can stand up properly.

"You good?"

"Yeah, my thighs and calves are now sore to be honest."

Wanda felt Natasha's cum ooze out of her pussy and a small drop landed on her shoes. Oops. She wiped it off at the back of her calf before Natasha noticed it and smiled wickedly at what she had done.

"Let's head home, I need to properly fuck you."

***

When they were on their way home, Natasha could not keep her hands on the wheels and ended up fingering Wanda. Wanda was sitting in an awkward position with her back resting on the door, her legs wide open and her pussy being fucked relentlessly by Natasha's talented fingers.

This is a testament on how good Natasha is in multi-tasking. Navigating through the streets of New York with practice ease and at every red light, she would lean down to suck Wanda's throbbing clit only to be edged once the traffic light turns green.

"Fuck, Natasha!" Wanda whined loudly after the third time of being falsely led to the brink of her orgasm.

The devil that she is while her three fingers are still inside Wanda, Natasha only chuckled at her girlfriend's frustrated state.

"Relax, detka. Let Daddy play with you."

Natasha then continued toying with Wanda's pussy, pushing her fingers deeper and making sure to hit the spongy spot that makes Wanda's eyes roll at the back of her head.

"Oh my fucking god, N-Natasha! Don't stop, don't stop!" Wanda pleaded as she's nearing her orgasm again, she can feel the tightening sensation deep in her stomach, she's focusing on reaching her high so she'll be put out of misery from being edged.

Just a few seconds more, Wanda chanted in her head and right when she knew she's about to finally let go, with her orgasm building and nearing its end point, Natasha purposely pulled out her fingers all together which made Wanda scream in frustration.

"What the fuck, Natasha?!" Wanda raised her left foot and was ready to kick Natasha's shoulder, still with her tap shoes on,but ofcourse Natasha caught it easily with her right hand and placed it on the back of her instead, effectively trapping her leg from moving.

With Wanda's current position, Natasha can clearly see how Wanda's pussy was glistening. Her dick twitched painfully inside her pants and was dying to be freed once again and to be buried deep inside Wanda's aching cunt.

"Patience, my love. You know that I will never leave you unsatisfied. Just wait until we reach the compound, okay? For now, behave for me."

Wanda huffed in response and rolled her eyes at her girlfriend. At this point there's really nothing else she could do than have her pussy be openly ogled at Natasha. But she's racking her brain on how to get back at Natasha somehow and much to her delight, an idea came into her mind. She estimated that they'll probably reach the compound in less than five minutes and knew can pull off her wicked plan. She carefully removed her trapped foot behind Natasha's head and sat properly this time around with both of her legs stretched out in the passenger's legs space.

Natasha glanced to her right, contemplating whether she have pushed Wanda too far and she was ready to reassure her even more that she'll be thoroughly fucked when they get home. What she saw instead was Wanda, with her eyes closed, biting her lips while her right hand was dipping lower and lower until it reached her pussy.

"What are you doing?" Natasha asked.

Wanda opted not to respond and moaned instead as her 2 fingers played with her sensitive clit, the smallest and lightest touch got her insides trembling. Touching herself while Natasha was literally inches away from her was something that she would never do, but the moment called for it and she decided to go with it. She heard Natasha groan beside her and that encouraged her to continue teasing her clit, she's really not planning to orgasm. There is no harm in playing with her girlfriend, right?

"Stop what you're doing." Natasha warned and Wanda only smirked at her reaction.

"But I wanted to cum, and you would not let me so I will do it myself instead." Wanda responded defiantly and inserted 2 fingers in her pussy.

The clenching wet sounds of Wanda's cunt filled the car which does not help the current boner Natasha has. She hit the gas even more, the engine roaring angrily throughout the busy street, eager to reach the compound so she could punish her girl for her bratty behavior.

Wanda's heart was beating erratically from both the desperate need to cum and the way Natasha was so focused on driving to the point she was no longer speaking and would not spare a glance at her. She moaned loudly when her fingers hit her g-spot but was feeling unsatisfied with the inconsistent flow of pleasure since only Natasha can make her see stars behind her eyes. She then later noticed that they had reached the garage of the compound. Natasha immediately climbed out of the car, opened the passenger's door and yanked Wanda out of her seat.

"You're too desperate to cum when I have just given you one in the shower room." Natasha growled behind Wanda's ears and pushed her to walk towards the car's trunk.

"Sluts like you deserve to be punished, don't you think?'

Wanda found herself being bent over, her arms twisted behind her and her chest resting on the trunk's spoiler. She whimpered at how she was manhandled but damn it, she likes it when Natasha is rough with her.

Belt unbuckled and zippers down, Natasha brought down her pants, not even bothering on removing it all the way off her feet. She spanked Wanda's left cheek three times for good measure and barked a command, "Open your legs wider, Princess."

The witch complied easily, eager to feel Natasha's cock inside her again. She didn't have to wait any longer when Natasha snapped her hips forward, penetrating her aching core with forceful thrust. It's as if today was one of those days where there was no time for foreplay and go straight to fucking.

"Your cock feels so good inside me."

"Oh yeah? I bet your fingers could not compare to this, huh?" Natasha taunted Wanda while perfectly giving her a backbreaking pounding and the sound of slapping flesh echoes throughout the open space of the garage.

"Jesus fuck, Wanda. Your pussy is clinging on my cock tightly. I can barely move." Natasha pulled her cock all the way out and reached her left palm towards Wanda's face. "Spit."

Wanda did so and spit a good amount of saliva on Natasha's palm which she lathered up to the tip of her cock for an added lubrication.

"Good girl."

Natasha buried her veiny shaft once again and this time, it's gentle and slow, wanting to feel more of Wanda's velvety walls hugging her lengthy cock. Her pace increased with each grunts to which Wanda welcomed wholeheartedly, driving her closer to her orgasm.

"I can't stop thinking about you, dancing on that tight dancing dress you've got. Fuck!"

"You're gonna make me cum!" Wanda whimpered desperately at what Natasha had said while also chasing the high that she's been wanting after being edged minutes ago.

"I knew I have to fuck you right after, you're so good baby. So fucking good." With great restraint and control, Natasha had to focus deeply to stop herself from cumming and spilling her seeds inside Wanda since she had different plans for her second orgasm. "You can cum now, baby. Give it to me."

Not waiting for a second longer, Wanda's juices coated Natasha's cock even more from the climax that was finally granted to her, and stars were swimming behind her eyes as she catches her breath from coming down the high. She then noticed that Natasha had stopped moving behind her and had already pulled out her shaft; it is evident that she has not ejaculated yet.

"Natasha?"

The woman only hummed in response and roughly pulled Wanda into a kneeling position, facing her dick which was slightly hitting her face.

"Suck."

Oh. Wanda understood right away what Natasha wanted and took the whole length in her mouth effortlessly. Giving Natasha a blowjob after she had her orgasm is one of her favorite things to do since she knows what's going to happen next.

"Ohh, that's it, sweet girl. Your mouth is so warm around me."

Natasha praised her girl while gently thrusting her hips forward, wanting to feel the tip of her cock hit the back of Wanda's throat. The moment it did, she held Wanda's head and this time, she's not being gentle and was forcing Wanda to gag on her dick.

In a swift motion, Natasha pulled out her meat and pumped it aggressively in front of Wanda's gaping mouth, "Shit, shit! I'm gonna cum!" Her thick semen landed on Wanda's face, and some went down her tongue, and lips. She made sure that every drop of her cum has been pumped out and panting heavily after.

Natasha looked down at her girl, who was currently using her fingers to gather the spurts of cum in her face and licked them clean with her tongue. The sight alone had her dick going hard again.

"Holy shit Wan—", her sentence was interrupted when FRIDAY' voice filled the room, making the two women jump.

"Agent Romanoff, Miss Maximoff. My sincere apologies for the interruption but Mr. Stark will be heading down soon and will be here in a minute or so."

The AI's warning was subtle yet clear, a silent reprimand for them to say that they should get the hell out of the place before both of them get caught in a very uncompromising position.

Natasha scrambled to put her pants up, thanking the lucky stars that she had decided to not fully remove them from her ankles.

Wanda on the other hand was horrified at their current predicament of being on the verge of getting caught, had it been without FRIDAY's warning, she might have taken Natasha's shaft in her mouth again.

"Oh my god!" Wanda exclaimed in a panic. "Let's get out of here, Tash."

Remaining composed and relaxed, Natasha simply smiled and reassured, "Relax, baby. We're okay. You've got nothing to worry about. We'll just walk nicely and act like nothing happened."

Trusting her girlfriend's calm demeanor, Wanda nodded and allowed herself to be guided by Natasha. They expectedly ran into Tony, who greeted them, "Ladies, I hope you had a good drive in the city." His gaze focused on Wanda, who was hiding behind Natasha, and he frowned at her unusual behavior, then noticed something.

"What's that on your hair, Wanda?" Tony inquired naively.

Natasha answered for Wanda without any shame in the world, "That's my cum. Bye, Tony." She dragged Wanda out of the garage, leaving Tony with his mouth hanging open.

[devnmon]

dating sadie adler, kisser of women hcs ♡

obviously i had to do this for my bbg sadie. she deserves MORE appreciation and if nobody will write for her I WILL!!!! i gladly will. i love her, so enjoy these! luv u all!

[also just pretend this is historically accurate bye!]

Sadie is a very intelligent woman... she knows how to hunt, how to use a gun, who knows what else is in that brain of hers. She must have so many hidden talents and skills, and you intend to find out what.

Though her addition to the group was somewhat abrupt, you and Abigail do your best to make her feel welcome. You aren't sure if Sadie feels the comfort that you hope your words provide to her at first. Once the group moves to Clemens Point, you find she's coming out of her shell little by little. You see it in her pristine new outfit when she returns from a run with Arthur, and the way she holds herself is much different than before.

This new version of Sadie Adler was fiery, confident and stickin' it to the man– you quickly found out not to get on her bad side. Though you think you'd let her do anything to you if it were the right situation.

The minute Sadie realizes what she's feeling for you is more than platonic... it takes her back a step. She never thought she'd find someone other than Jake to want in that way– but here you are. You're always at her side, perfect to her, and she will protect you like her life depends on it. When she silently swallows her feelings and pretends she doesn't care, you notice.

You all but have to drag her out of camp in the middle of the night to get a minute alone with her; otherwise there's prying eyes and others whose attention you really didn't wish to grab.

Once the two of you are alone you'll go off on how she's been avoiding you at every turn, rambling on and on like you'd done something wrong. "What happened to you?" you'd ask. She sighs and goes "You happened to me."

"I've been a fool. Do you hate me? What have I done?" statements flow from her when she notices you're silent, staring while she stutters over confessing her feelings. It's at that point you shut her up by kissing her and you can almost hear the sparks flying from the two of you. There's a big ass smile on her face afterwards and she kisses you in between her smiles. Sadie Adler is a smitten fool for you.

She's observant, patient and good with her hands. That is: she teaches you how to shoot a rifle, since you're more comfortable to ask her. She gladly shows you, and when you think you've got it, her arms surround you from behind to adjust your aim– and you're blushing. After she takes her hands away, you're flustered by the loss and silently begging for her to put them back.

Will match outfits with you nonchalantly as a statement to your relationship with her. Like say you're wearing an outfit with blue or white, she'll wear a blue scarf and her white shirt to match you. She'll even give you a piece of her jewelry to wear in that instance, or get you a piece of your own to match hers. Sadie's sentimental & cute like that!!!

Sadie will also leave you notes secretly, to which you fawn over every time. She also definitely gushes over the ones you leave her, when you compare her to the sweet flowers you pick for her. [Arthur noticed how hard she was blushing one time and got curious, she's had to read your notes in private ever since!]

Definitely gets veryyy touchy and affectionate when she's had a few drinks. She's slurring out "Heyyy pretty girlll I know where you can find a nice place to stay for the night..." in your ear and you have to excuse yourselves in *attempt* to get her to sleep.

Sadie is definitely the type to say "i owe you a hundred kisses" if you had a bet with her about something. Usually it was silly, harmless contests that either of you could compete against each other in playfully.

Sadie also introduced you to pranks, which she loves to pull on the other guys. One time the two of you messed with Arthur, sending him silly letters from someone named "Hugh Janus". The two of you tried to hold in your laughs when he got frustrated and yelled out "WHO THE HELL IS HUGH JANUS??" in camp unprompted.

Sadie is a huge cuddler at night, intertwining her whole body with yours to keep warm, especially when it gets chilly at night. There's not a smidge of space to have for yourself, it's shared with her always. Other examples of this are her linking her pinkie finger with yours when you're standing around the group. She loves physical touch so much that she'll do anything to have her skin on yours no matter what; if it's riding on the back of the same horse, or pouring her a drink, she's making some sort of contact. It's her way to say "I'm here & I love you". She's such a sweetheart to you.

NSFW

Yeah Sadie is a top this Sadie is a top that... may I suggest... she's a switch. On rare occasions, Sadie Loves being on her knees for you. She's a real freak like that. She'll beg and beg and beg until you cave and give her what she wants: you.

“Please, stop teasin’ me, just give me what I want. You know I’ll return the favor, sweet girl.” Her raspy voice, her gentle commands, her pretty thighs spread for you..

But when she's in control? Oh it's absoluuutely over for you. She'll praise you constantly cause she knows it's what you want to hear. “Doin’ so good for me, pretty girl. C’mon, let me hear you, use your words. I know you can.. Such a good girl.”

Her soft little whimpers & pleas as she climbs higher & higher. she’s so desperate for release & your touch, she’s basically sobbing for it. her eyes never leave you once she hears the same needy whine come from your side of the room, wanting to watch you come undone from the sight of her spread out for you.

You can't tell me she doesn't get off on you pulling her hair when it's in a messy braid. You love to run your fingers through it and grip, but it's too hot out for that. Plus she thinks it's easier for her braid to be pulled, and fucking loves it.

Her skilled hands could make you a whimpering mess, easily. She knows her way around, and boy if she isn't good at what she does.

"There you go, you got it, takin me so well..." in that accent of hers.. You'll fold every time. “Oh, look at you, pretty girl. Fallin’ apart for me so easily. D'ya know how whipped you got me?" Yeah, she's a lady who knows how to drive you crazy.

Then again... she's a goddamn tease. Especially if you've been bratty? Oh it's over for you. She feels your body up and down, making you work for any other sensual touches by begging. It's music to her ears. She lovesss to make you work for it.

She'll take her time for however long edging you with her fingers, then her tongue, and once you've had about two orgasms from just that, she sticks her strap inside you and gets another.

For aftercare, she'll ask you if you're feeling alright and lay with you after she cleans you up. Usually the both of you fall asleep afterwards, or take a bath or a shower before you do. Her brown eyes shine in the light while she tucks a strand of hair behind your ear and kisses your cheeks while you lie together.

[zimtlees]

HI !! I know I've said it a million times already but I love your art so much you're genuinely so talented 😭, I still feel so lucky you drew smth for me :)) and it gives me more inspiration for my art 🙏🙏 My obsession with adult Orel and Moral Orel came back once I came across you WOOHOOOHDJDJERRN And I was wondering, and I don't know if you already have but, if you would share more of your headcanons about him, his family, the immoral orel au, ANYTHING !!!1! I LOVE YOU AND YOUR HCS !!! I'm very invested... (y también pensé que nunca conocería a alguien que estuviera tan loco por él como yo, así que me siento mejor por eso) We've been blessed with everything you make and I get so happy every time you post :DDD and you're genuinely a very kind person so I hope you have a great rest of your day 🙏🙏❤❤ (and sorry for this long ass paragraph ask HRJHRHRBBR)

OREL HC????? Okay, first I'll say the hc I have (all silly, nothing serious?) and then I get cheesy...uh

Right, first let's start with uhhhh a silly headcanon I have is that when he was younger he wanted to be like Reverend Putty...for his great service to God and all that uh. Then when he grew up he'd want to study to be a doctor...it's a good profession for him (I know I explained this in a post a few months ago), he likes to help people, and he'd definitely give his patients loads of attention without being as negligent as the doctor in Moralton lmao. (I should do a whole post about this as I actually have a lot to say about his career path)

I'm a firm believer that at some point he continued to smoke weed...maybe in his teens?? He'd know it was wrong, but it helped him to zone out, so it was fun, plus he'd definitely hang out with people who smoked too, and Orel is...very easily influenced.

Definitely in school he'd be smart, but also REALLY DISTRACTED...and goofy, I'm pretty sure hardly any girls would be interested in him. (Maybe he also became a bit weird), he's bad at picking up hints and reading people's body language... so everyone would have to be REALLY direct if they wanted to talk to him about anything. (Aahh he'd probably have to move outta Moralton to study for a serious doctor career...then he'd have to adapt to new people...bad boys)

He'd probably only start officially dating Christina when they were both legal...and she had the freedom to leave her house whenever she wanted!!! Happy ending.

CHRISTINA IS SADISTIC-

...I didn't say anything, but if Orel is a masochist and Christina's an 'alternative' version of him then uh, I don't want to think about what would have happened in her chapter...

In his teens he'd really enjoy grunge and soft rock...uhgg I dunno, I just feel it. (Even though he's not that into music)

He's a goofy..nice...overprotective.....VERY overprotective dad, and that'd cause problems with his kids when they hit their teens...stupid (I love him) Orel..aahg, I mean, aahhh I also think he'd do loads of things that embarrass his kids!! But without realising lmao, he'd be like...trying to talk like them? That 'teen language' as he calls it haha.

IN HIS TEENS A LOT HAPPENED - UGH, not just between him and his parents...I mean also with his 'friends', even if he stopped being (just a bit) innocent, loads of people would definitely manipulate him into doing anything.

I don't think Clay and Bloberta ever divorced lmao, feel like they just stayed together and miserable...just like in that pic Orel has in his living room (Plus, I love that pic, it proves Orel doesn't hide his parents, he loves them despite everything and he'd definitely tell his kids to love them...wwgggh)

You know what I'm pretty sure about? Doughy and Orel got into a fight and came to blows in their teens, what caused it? Probably Doughy, in loads of episodes he looked like he was betraying his best mate for attention and affection from an adult...(but ugh, don't judge, it's written so well and we know why he did all that, even though that doesn't mean it was right, yeah, plus...there's no guarantee he changed after that, if we think about it Doughy had NO ONE, to teach him right from wrong), at some point he'd do a 'silly betrayal', to Orel...that'd make him SO ANGRY (cos it's not the first time) that mixed with a strong IMPULSE LMAO, he'd punch him, then he'd punch him back...and well, it'd all end with forgiveness and Doughy learning something.

And that's just a part of what I have cos I wrote a lot lmao...

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Private training

Career Tributes x recruit!reader

warning : obsession, some touching, kiss, no use of Y/n, nicknames

Summary : The four from the best districts there were, young examinees who had eliminated all others in the Hunger Games and wanted the four golden future teachers, four young teachers who had their eyes on a new recruit. The only solution private training four times because as outstanding talents they should be entitled to everything, shouldn't they?

info : Not only because of dear anon i found motivation and an idea for the four of them, it was also nice to write for them again, have fun reading :)

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

Cato

Everyone knew the golden boy from the second district, his strength for thousands of millions was to be seen when he simply broke the neck of one of the players, how fast and precise he was with the sword and had slaughtered his opponents, it was brutal, horrible but above all without mercy.

A young man now after the 74th games it would soon be the 75th games bigger more brutal and above all even more successful and more memorable than the last, which is why the respected mentor and coach was not surprised that he received a letter from Snow asking for his strength for the new players. But he hadn't expected it to be such an extraordinary new recruit.

So he found himself in front of this pretty little bird, almost too gentle to lift anything heavy and too powerless for a real blow, ,,But your wings are beautifully dipped in black,” he murmured as he approached her, entering her personal space and squeezing her hand, his lips approaching her ear and his hot breath giving her a goose bump.

His rough hands seemed to feel her body, but he seemed to have noticed this very thought as he withdrew with a smile of pleasure. The new black training uniform was tighter fitting whether intentionally for the audience or not he couldn't tell but it didn't bother him a bit as he watched what exercises she was doing.

Pure strength wasn't her strength anyone could see that but his blue eyes saw her agility, she reacted quickly well quickly almost more than well, ,,A quick flight you have birdie use that…come here!” he called to her and watched as she came back to him trying to ignore the judges watching over them as usual.

He had felt comfortable in the attentive makite but she seemed to want to disappear like a shadow but he wouldn't let that happen so he grabbed her in front of him and put the sword in her hand.

His hands on hers covered her even more fragile, smaller but above all helpless, something he had often seen in others and something he loved, ,,Just let me guide you, do you understand?” it came like a question but it was more of a command that she answered with an almost choked ,,Y-Yes, I understand” as he moved.

Still a little stiff at first, after a few minutes of being pressed against him she seemed to relax and let him lead.

Cato heard her sweet smell, it reminded him of flowers, pretty flowers between his fingers that only he could hold. Soon he slowly let go of her as she made the sword movements herself, it seemed that his bird was about to blossom under his watchful eye, such training had to be used not only to win but also to catch a pretty bird.

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

Clove

The golden girl and the golden boy from the district two hopefuls who had been through blood before the games had even started.

Two contestants who together could have won it all according to the estimates, bets, calculations and the other districts, but in the end even they would hardly have believed that the four of them had made it, a win was a win and that was all that mattered.

But even after the games were over, the four of them celebrated, and unlike Cato, who continued to train recruits and not escape the battlefield, Clove continued to indulge in her training and weaponry, of which there was never enough.

Until she was asked by Snow to take care of a recruit who would take part in the next games. Her time was precious, the president and the others knew that, which was why she had the training room to herself with her recruit, apart from the observers and judges.

,,Weak as a mouse, cute to me at most, but not convincing to them,” she said harshly, pointing to the glass behind her where the men who had gathered here were sitting.

In order to get a better picture, she accepted Cato's suggestion and handed a few weapons to her peer. The only way to find out what you were good at was to train endlessly like her or just keep trying until you didn't trip over your own feet and make training dummies stop.

Minutes almost turned into hours and Clove lost more and more of her already low spirits but her eyes never left her mouse, she was really cute she had to admit her attempts to be as good as she could be and yet fail so miserably again, ,,Twitchy scared little whiskers you have my mouse take these knives here…and put them on me” the dark haired one demanded and stood a few meters away from the other.

She could see the overcoming in the recruit and felt her own smile on her lips as she felt the adrenaline in the arena for a fraction, but she caught every precise knife throw, it was more than a good start to begin with.

Clove caught the knives and walked them back to her little mouse, ,,Precise very good keep it up and I'm right here for you my scared little mouse” she said and the tip of one knife pressed lightly against the younger girl's cheek as the dark-haired woman feasted her eyes on the uncertain expression before Clove pulled back satisfied with her reaction, the game was going to be interesting.

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

Glimmer

With pink glitter and feathers she came riding into the arena with her teammate Marvel overwhelmed by the mass of spectators and eyes on her but this attention was something she learned to love. Since then, she had kept her frilly style with lots of attention but most of all gemstones as a reminder of her father.

Gemstones were her chosen design and were almost worked into every outfit, the glitter had to continue. Since she had won the games with the others, she was relieved, more than relieved to be able to continue living, but also to finally be able to do something she had always liked in this brutal place.

Her survival had been worth it, she had won and her honor, her reputation had only increased. Shortly after the 74th hunger games, Glimmer rose to become the top designer for the entire Capitol.

She was responsible for every new design, whether it was for District Twelve or a new suit for Flickerman, she had her fingers in every pie of the Capitol.

Until she received the somewhat surprising letter from Snow, she had even met the president a few times herself to design a new dress for his granddaughter.

But this time it was about something she hadn't done for a long, long time: fighting. In the performance room, however, she found herself face to face with a pretty butterfly, almost an image of herself from back then, pretty, engaging but not yet deadly if you got too close.

,,A butterfly in my design, pretty but you can always be better” she said and the blonde moved towards her student, letting her fingers wander over her arms, feeling the small precious stones on the buttons before she pulled the zipper down slightly.

She could see a little of the bust, it would at least be enough for an extra point or two with the judges, something she had done herself, had to do.

She was aware that she wouldn't keep her student for long if she didn't show results but the designer felt she had found a new muse, a pretty butterfly that would be hers in her room, something she wanted to and would try out new designs on, ,,Something that pretty needs to know how to kill though?” she asked, pointing to the various weapons laid out.

A grin appeared on the blonde trainer's face as she saw the other grab a bow and arrow, a weapon she had once chosen herself, it was okay not as perfect as Katniss was for the games but the okay was enough but she wouldn't make that mistake again.

She let her shoot so that she could aim and as good as this weapon was at a distance, something she had to maintain, Glimmer came up to her after a few minutes, ,,Distance is safe for a start but close combat is even more deadly…you just have to be faster” she warned and grabbed the rubber knife the blonde was about to wrap around her pupil and put the tip of the knife on any deadly body points that would have brought her opponent to the ground with a real knife.

But Glimmer didn't let go yet and stayed pressed against her for a moment before she left a kiss on the other girl's cheek as a farewell, ,,Keep training with the knife, sweet butterfly, and I'll be right back with you soon,” was the last thing the blonde said before she disappeared from the training room.

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

Marvel

The young man from district one had been raised, trained to kill and hunt until the victim lay before him, his father a hunter to emulate him, he too had signed up for the games and entered the arena, the capiteol and finally the Hunger Games with his comrade-in-arms Glimmer.

He was someone with strength and a will to win, but never forget to have fun, because that was the best part of the whole thing. From the moment he arrived, he laughed knowing that charm and wit could make people like you, so shortly after the 74th Hunger Games, Marvel found himself moderating before or after Flickermann.

He conducted interviews and showed glimpses into the secret worlds of luxury, including meeting his friends Cato, Clove and Glimmer again and again “by chance” until he received the letter from Snow and found himself back in the training room for a long time, but his interested eyes settled on a pretty sight.

,,A cute bunny that would be an interview for later mhh would you like that?” he asked seeing that she felt uncomfortable under the eyes of the judges but for him it was a matter of course as he was seen every day.

He slowly walked over to her inwardly thanking Glimmer for the new tracksuits pretty in that black clinging to the body a really pretty victim she herself wasn't even aware of something he loved, being superior having his fun and being allowed to teach something so cute.

He placed his hand on hers and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of her hand he felt the smile on his lips as he saw her embarrassment, ,,Don't be so shy always smile and be funny for them and for your life remember bunny” he admonished before he broke away from her and went to the weapons looking at some of them memories of his own training he had reached a year ago and so much had changed for the better when he had her with him.

Marvel instructed his student to fight with the weapons to show what she could do and he assessed what was the best they had to train together besides all the TV appearances and announcements of course.

His bright eyes were already on her, imagining the interviews and aftershows, the pretty clothes and how she would always have to stay with him to avoid being eaten by the Capitol.

,,You are truly quick as a rabbit try it here with me” he said and took a spear in his hand his weapon since ever demostrietre not only to the audience but also to her a well aimed throw that hit the mark and the doll was pierced and dead if it was a human he made an angdue bow for the audience he saw her incredible in her own power.

He stood next to her and put his hands on her body again, correcting her position, ,,That's it, that's it my rabbit, now strike out and just let go," he whispered softly, hollering out with her before the metal spear whizzed through the air and dug into the doll's abdomen, not piercing it but killing it.

He saw a smile on her lips as she rejoiced in the motivation and hope that she could really do it and Marvel knew that once she was victorious she would be all his for his interviews and beyond as he left his new star in the training hall.

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

@daegalyah , @sleepygirlmia

[blakeswritingimagines]

Poly dating Rhaenyra and Alicent Would Include:

Falling in love with your childhood best friend, the most beautiful woman in the Realm. Or maybe like winning a tourney. A true joust for the heart.

You all love each other with every piece of your being. You each are the fire that burns inside you and the water that quenches your thirst. The air you breathe and the light that guides you when the night is dark. They feel like are nothing without you apart of the relationship. You make them feel alive and loved, which is exactly what every living creature deserves. You are their soul mate and you are the only one they want to spend their life with besides each other.

Dates are often going out to different places and doing various activities together. You spend time getting to know each other better and just enjoying each other's company. You all have gone to dinners, tourneys, plays, visiting new places, and many other places together. You like to spend time together and make memories that will last a lifetime. Rhaenyra also likes to be spontaneous and have fun with each other. It is very important to them that you spend quality time together, and they put a lot of care and attention into making each other feel loved and appreciated.

Unfortunately, there can be some negativity and discrimination from people, who may not understand or be accepting of your unconventional relationship. Rhaenyra and Alicent both use their power to do so much to try and make it stop and prove that your relationship is not harming anyone. You all also try to ignore any negativity directed towards you, and instead focus on the positive aspects of your relationship. You are each other's strength and you support each other. Despite any negativity, there are many people who are accepting of your unconventional relationship and who recognize the beauty and empowerment that it brings.

It is a very interesting time, to say the least. Rhaenyra is often a bit jealous and protective of Alicent, while you are often more concerned for her well-being. Overall being loved and taken care of is very nice. It can be very difficult to navigate at times, however, given all the complicated relationships that you are involved in. They would say that it is still very rewarding and beautiful. She feels lucky to have both of you in her life.

Rhaenyra thinks you’re both perfect for her. Alicent is a bit high-strung and tense at times. You are a little more relaxed. But, you’re both sweet people who mean well. You’re both also very pretty. And you’re both very smart and talented. She's happy to be with both of you, and she wants both of you to be happy.

Rhaenyra tends to be more jealous than you. She fears losing you or Alicent or being replaced. She is always very protective of you both and she desires both of yours full attention. She can struggle with sharing you both and often feels competitive when there is any interaction between you two. She is aware of her jealousy and tries to manage it, but you all know it is still an issue for her. Alicent has shown very little jealousy in comparison and even encourages you to spend time together. Rhaenyra understands that you love them both and that you are capable of balancing your time with them.

Being together is amazing. It is wonderful to be surrounded by two people who you love and who also love each other. It is an intense and powerful feeling that none of you can express in words alone. It is a beautiful thing to witness and experience together. Spending time with them and feeling loved and safe is something that you all cherish and greatly appreciate. You each bring your own unique qualities to the relationship, which makes it even more special. They are so thankful to have you in their life and they feel very lucky to be able to share this beautiful journey with you.

Alicent's favorite forms of affection are when Rhaenyra gives her hugs and kisses or tells her how much she loves her. It's warm and comforting to receive her affection and it makes Alicent feel safe and loved. You usually show affection through small, intimate gestures like making her favorite foods or giving her little gifts especially if it's handmade. It's simple and thoughtful, and it makes her feel valued and cared for. Both of you are wonderful at showing affection in different ways.

Rhaenyra's favorite forms of affection are when you hug her tightly, like as if she's the most precious thing in the world. That warms her heart. Alicent's tender touch makes her heart flutter. It's like magic.

They are both loyal, loving, sweetly spoken yet prone to anger and jealousy. They will never betray any promises they make to reach other or you their beloved. They both expect loyalty above all. They do not tolerate cheating. Alicent is a more private person - no public displays of affection for her, while Rhaenyra makes it quite clear how she feels about you both to anybody passing attention and they both like the classics especially after a long day- a quiet dinner for three, a walk in the garden. A shared one fault is that they expect perfection, and when they don't get their way, they make their displeasure known.

Being their partner can be assured that they will dedicate their time and attention to you wholeheartedly and give everything they have to the relationship. They will put you first and make you feel special in every way. They are both loving and affectionate with each other, and you they even show their appreciation for you in many small ways that add up to make you feel seen and valued.

Rhaenyra's children were delighted. It has been many years since she has been happy, and it is difficult to explain how much her children loved when their mother was finally able to smile again. They were pleased with her choice of suitors even if it was Alicent and you as long as she was happy.

Alicent's children, at first they were shocked and horrified to see her with another woman and you at the same time, especially after her marriage with Viserys. But in time, they accepted that her feelings for Princess Rhaenyra and you were strong and real, and they began to understand. She was always honest with them, and they came to accept and embrace it.

You all have an excellent relationship, you go on rides together, you read books that you are all passionate about or even ramble on about what your reading, you have deep conversations together, they both share the same views about family and duty especially since you are around to play mediator, you always comfort each other in times of despair. However, there have been a few disagreements here and there, but they feel like your relationship is strong enough to get through anything, especially since they are both extremely determined people and they will never give up on each other especially for you if it makes you happy.

Every problem they have ever had with each other no longer matters at least the moment they agreed to date you together. You are their love, their passion, their friend, their everything. You complete them, and they complete you. They are both devoted and loyal to each other, and you, your souls are intertwined in the most sacred manner. In short, you are everything that is good and beautiful in the world. You are one heartbeat, one mind, one soul. And you’ll be together forever, no matter how many years it may take. They have never felt such love for any other and they know that nothing could ever take you away from them.

It is loving. You support each other. You talk and listen to each other. You understand one another. You have a connection that none of you can explain. You are there to comfort each other. It is a wonderful thing that you have found in each other.

A relationship with them is genuinely exhilarating. You must go through the entire series of emotions in seconds. There is a lot of passion. They are alike in many things, and that makes it much more intense. You can't be bored around them, and that keeps things exciting. Love can make you feel invincible, like you've been born again and feel more alive than ever before. Sometimes, it does get too much, and you just want to take a break from the intensity, but it's never boring, and they keep you on your toes.

Alicent is more sub/bottom, while Rhaenyra is more dom/top unless you like being in charge then Alicent is a pillow princess, and Rhaenyra is a brat.

They both enjoy marking each other, and you, while Alicent has her's more hidden, Rhaenyra had them on show as much as she can, and they make sure you're completely covered.

They both enjoy spoiling you and making you feel good, and each take turns going down on you but will punish you if you try to pull away.

Rhaenyra enjoys playing around more in public, where others could potentially see but most definitely hear, and Alicent enjoys being alone with you both in the quiet private room you all share.

[deadbydangit]

Hi! Hello :D

First i want to say that I really love your writing ❤️

If you still take request can you do Leon, Wesker, chris and Jill reacting to a reader/survivor that is written like Yor Forger (Spy x Family; she's an assassin). Where they witnessed her strength and somehow knocked out a killer (like nemesis or pyramid head) with her kick with ease, or using her golden needles as a weapon against killers?

I've uh, never actually seen Spy x Family (I know, I know). So I'm going to tweak this a bit. I only do three characters per request, so I'm going to leave Jill out.

With a reader who is really strong.

Leon, Mastermind, Chris

Leon S Kenney

Leon knows for sure that he isn't the strongest around.

But he does know a strong person when he sees one.

Years of combat experience have taught him to spot people like that.

So when he saw you punch Michael in the face, he wasn't too surprised.

But he also was surprised.

I mean, it was Michael Myers.

You didn't knock them out, but still.

It's Micheal Myers!

And you punched him.

But he's also very impressed.

Not just with your strength.

But with your bravery and skill.

Brute strength is nice.

But you have to have a means to control it.

Otherwise it's all wasted.

Despite still having a high skill level, he's still going to help you train.

You can never stop learning how to be better.

How to be stronger and improve your skills.

His training sessions are intense, but not overly brutal.

He knows when to stop and when you've hit your limit.

He would never want to push you too far.

He just cares about you and wants to see the best out of you.

Mastermind

You were actually in a trial with him when he first noticed your skills.

You actually punched him.

Pretty hard too.

Instead of being angry, he was impressed.

Okay, he was a little angry.

But mostly impressed.

So much so that instead of hooking you, he wanted to learn more about you.

He'll approach you outside of a trial, making sure you know he's not trying to be hostile.

He simply wants to know more about you.

"Where did you learn that technique?"

"Who was it that taught you?"

He's not trying to be intrusive.

He is genuinely curious.

It's not everyday someone is strong enough to punch the great Albert Wesker (Chris Redfield being the only exception).

"Perhaps, we could train together sometime. It would be beneficial for both of us to hone our skills on different opponents."

AKA. He wants to make sure you're never able to punch him again.

But, he won't do it exclusively for his benefit.

Someone like you deserves to learn more combat skills.

You have a real talent for it, and he wants to watch you thrive.

Chris Redfield

It's going to take a lot to impress Chris.

This man punched a giant boulder and actually moved it.

So impressing him with strength is pretty damn hard.

But, if you do actually manage to catch his attention, that means you must be something else entirely.

Are you even human?

He doesn't mean that in a rude way, he really doesn't have much of a filter.

He's just in awe of your strength.

So much so, that he thinks he might be in love with you the first time he sees you punch somebody.

Especially if it's Wesker.

You have lots of raw talent.

And he isn't about to let all of that go to waste.

You'll be training with him whether you like it or not.

And his training sessions are intense.

They can last hours.

You'll have to remind him that not everyone is like him.

He'll ease up after that.

It's just his way of showing he cares about you.

Hey, give the guy a break, he's kind of a blockhead.

But he's a blockhead who loves you.

[arcane-vagabond]

Okay I feel like Jake’s POV of the last chapter has already been requested…buuuuuuuuuut…

I am absolutely DYING to see Mav and Penny’s POV maybe not during last chapter…but seeing the boys fall in love. Cause I just know they gossip to each other before falling asleep at night 👀

Nat, you are very correct lol That has been requested already, and I am slowly working my way there.

"You know," Penny hummed, scrubbing at the pot she had just used to make dinner. "I saw the strangest thing today."

"What's that?" Pete asked, flipping through the newspaper as he reclined in his armchair.

"I saw Jake Seresin walking with a girl today."

Maverick chuckled, resting the newspaper on his lap as he looked up at his wife. "Honey, that's not exactly what I would call strange. Jake has a different girl on his arm just about every day."

"This one looked angry," Penny countered, drying her hands on the dish towel and turning to her husband. "And he looked like he was doing some groveling."

"I'm sure it's nothing," he murmured, turning his attention back to his paper.

-

"Matthew Benson said the strangest thing to me today," Maverick muttered, scratching his chin. Penny glanced up at him from where she was serving dinner.

"What's that, sweetheart?"

"He said Jake Seresin came by asking to buy that emerald necklace that's been sitting in the front window for months now. Matthew said he wouldn't take Jake's money, but he also said that he thinks Jake was trying to buy it for a girl. Can you imagine?"

"Jake with a girl?" Penny asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's about time he got serious with someone, and if it's with who I think it is, then he'll be whipped into shape in no time."

"Who is it?" Maverick asked, leaning forward. Penny gave him an incredulous look before shaking her head.

"Pete, don't you pay attention to anything that goes on in this town?" She sighed, sitting across from him. "Everyone with eyes knows he's sweet on Scout."

"Scout?" He frowned, brow furrowing. "Isn't he aiming a little high there?"

"I don't think so," Penny hummed. "She seems to be very sweet on him too. I think they're a good match. She gives him the earfuls he's always needed."

Maverick chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

-

"I've never seen him so down before, Pen," Maverick muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Since he and Scout got back, I don't think I've seen him without a bottle in his hand."

"I wonder what happened between the two of them," Penny murmured, leaning back against the headboard. "They seemed so happy before they left."

"Jake probably stuck his foot in his mouth," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "He has such a talent for that."

"He does," Penny conceded, "but Scout can be stubborn too. I'm not even sure she knows what she wants at times."

"They'll figure it out," he grimaced. "We just need to give them time."

-

"Did you know Bradley came to me and told me that he and the other boys would help build the schoolhouse?" Maverick beamed, resting his arms on the sides of the chair. "I haven't seen him this motivated to help out on a project since we did the renovations on the saloon."

Penny hummed, eyeing her husband with a knowing look as she peeled the potatoes for dinner. "Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with the pretty new school teacher living in our house?"

"Birdie?" Maverick asked, eyebrows raised in shock. "Why do you say that?"

"You didn't notice the way he looked at her when he was over here the other night?" She asked him, face twisted into one of incredulity. Maverick frowned at her, still trying to piece together what his wife was trying to spell out for him.

"Never mind, dear," Penny sighed, turning back to her dinner preparations. "It's very exciting that Bradley wants to help the town out with this."

"It is, isn't it?" Maverick grinned, moving on from the previous topic. "I sure hope he continues this streak. It'll be nice to see him caring about something again."

-

"He's so sweet on her, Pete," Penny gushed as she and Maverick walked down the street back home. "I've never seen Bobby smile at anyone like that before. He's absolutely smitten."

"And what about her?" He asked, smiling fondly down at his wife. "Does she feel the same way?"

"She doesn't give much away," Penny sighed, a frown playing on her lips. She perked up, turning to look up at him. "But she blushed somethin' fierce when he told her she was like a little bunny rabbit bopping around behind the bar."

"Bob said that?" Maverick chuckled, surprised evident in his tone.

Penny nodded, beaming. "He did! I'm telling you, Pete. That boy has his eyes set on her. Mark my words, they'll be married before you know it."

"You keep saying that about these boys, Pen," Maverick snorted. "Who knew our boys would be chasing after girls at their big age."

"I think it's sweet," Penny sighed. "It's nice seeing them all so happy."

He smiled down at her, squeezing her arm in his. "I never thought I'd see them itching to settle down."

"Neither did I," Penny admitted. "But I'm so glad we're still around to see it."

[yannaryartside]

Carmy and Luca teach the same way

and who may be the reason

Soooo I have this crazy theory, about what made Luca and Carmy teach the way they do in the present.

Luca and Carmy have a lot of things in common, like their passion and drive (and those tattoos omfg) but I want to bring some attention to how they treat the people who work for them, particularly when these people are making mistakes.

There is this scene in s1x02 in the new york flashback, you see a cook struggling with a sauce and asking Carmy for revision, and he just says something like "Not ready chef, again" he doesn't call her stupid or screams at her, he just gives the instruction even when they are in the heat of service, giving her the opportunity to correct her mistake, while the executive chef (a piece of shit) sends her home immediately, and then proceeds to insult Carmen. From what I have heard, the behavior of the executive chef is pretty common in the industry at this level, and Carmy comes from an abusive household, so who tf did he learn patience from?

Luca also has a "Not right chef, again," with Marcus, while practicing decorating a dessert. He gives him the opportunity to try again, he doesn't insult him or screams either.

You may think this can be their respective personalities. We know Carmy is gentle and generous at heart, he really wants to see people around him be well. But it seems tooo intentional to make both of them say pretty much the same line to somebody they are mentoring.

Both Luca and Carmy give compliments when they like something, and give direct instructions and explanations, even to people who are total newbies, like Marcus (Luca) and Tina (Carmy). Even when the norm in this industry is to make people feel bad so (hopefully) they are too afraid to make mistakes again, preserving a cult to toxicity.

SO HOW THE FUCK CARMY AND LUCA LEARNED TO BE BETTER?

I think it may be HER.

Again, it seems too intentional. The only thing in common between Carmy and Luca is working for her, and both preserve the motto: "every second counts", in their respective businesses. Like, It is a nice motto, but it may have some other feelings attached to it.

Why the fuck did they cast Olivia Coleman, one of the most wholesome and funny actresses now, that tends to be cast in "mother" roles, for this? They also gave her a sweet name: Chef Terry.

Just imagine the young and hungry Carmy and Luca working for this sweet pie. The only time we see her in "Forks" she is sharing a personal story with a person she has never seen, Richie, and is dedicating time and diligence to a task that is way below her pay grade. Carmy and Luca were both "comis" in her restaurant, also known as line cooks, and their roles were like a soldier to a general, they were not making orders, just regular-ass cooks in this great place. They probably had the opportunity to see Chef Terry give orders and pep talks. Probably both shocked at her personality and approach to her business.

All of her employees have this "service" mentality, instead of an "I am gonna look good and smoke you" mentality, that Carmy mentioned in his monologue. All of them have this motivation to make others happy, and they support one another, they support new ideas and crack jokes in their spare time. Like, all their scenes with Richie (that, sorry, had no talent or reputation for them, they just wanted to respect another fucking human being that wanted to improve) speak volumes.

Carmy and Luca could have learned from Chef Terry, that you can build people up, instead of tearing them apart. I think that would make sense.

I NEED THIS FASHBACK. A CONVERSATION THEY HAD WITH HER, OR HER JUST TALKING TO THE STAFF.

Man, and if it comes in a time when Carmy needs to remember how to be a good leader, from the most "mother" chef he has ever work under? Like man....

btw I really recommend this page if you are confused on the hierarchy of the kitchen:

Anyway, this may be a little of a stretch, but I just think it may be really wholesome, thank you for reading!

[harrysgal]

I DIG YOUR CINEMA (2)

harry styles x yn aspiring filmmaker — social media AU

I know I’m just starting and don’t actually have much experience with this, but I’m actually having a lot of fun doing it and already can’t wait to post more.

About the smau: yn starts posting videos on youtube and is trying to build a career as a filmmaker. Things are going pretty well for her and she starts getting more attention when she creates content about shows she goes to. She’s also a fan of Harry’s music and some of his fans start getting suspicious when his team starts interacting with her.

Disclaimer: The story it’s set in 2021 and it will follow their relationship through the LOT leg in the US. Since this is nothing but fiction, I will be following some of the real timeline but also adding my own stuff. On top of that, I won’t be basing myself on Harry’s actual posts.

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PART 1 — MEET YN / MASTERLIST

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I DIG YOUR CINEMA (PART 2) — LAS VEGAS

liked by bestfriend, yourmom, mollyjane_x and 22,108 others 

yourinstagram HELLOOOOOOO FABULOUS LAS VEGAS NEVADA 

view all 3,045 comments

user1 soooo… a new full time job that took you to las vegas? 👀 yourbrother Please behave  bestfriend don’t get (too) drunk without me pls harryfan STOP FIRST LOT SHOW IT’S IN VEGAS 

↳ harryfan2 She’s going to the show right???? I mean it can’t be just a coincidence anymore IT JUST CAN’T ↳ harryfan NO I KNOW THIS IS IT I CAN FEEL IT IN MY BONES

Aug 26, 2021 •

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liked by bestfriend, cuteguy, mollyjane_x and 22,451 others 

yourinstagram you’d think a lady in vegas would be out there getting wild but this one actually has been locked in her hotel room for the last 27 hours overthinking her ideas and freaking out about this new job lol if any of you could send me a pizza or something id appreciate it. thanks. 

view all 3,111 comments

user1 nooooo you’re so talented whatever it is i know you can do it!! bestfriend yn ✋🏻  cuteguy Should I give you a call? 😊 harryfan17 I would too be freaking out if I had to work for THE harry styles lol

↳ harryfan16 we still don’t know if she is tho  ↳ harryfan17 C’mon she’s in vegas and molly and jeff are following her ↳ harryfan16 still 🤷🏻‍♀️ tour doesn’t start for another few days so this could be just about something else  ↳ harryfan16 also maybe she’s there because she wants to be and not bc she’s “working” for him. she’s done videos about several artists and she isn’t working for any of them is she?  ↳ harryfan17 Well yes but she literally just said she was starting a new job so 🤷‍♀️ ↳ harryfan16 so everyone just assumed HARRY, out of all people, hired her? c’mon guys lol she could be working for just anyone and STILL go to a show. one doesn’t have to be related to the other.

Aug 28, 2021 •

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liked by anthonypham, bestfriend, lookitsnyoh and 25,103 others 

yourinstagram fun fact: if you post something on the internet people around you might see it 🫠

guess im lucky this lovely group who still don’t know me at all cared enough to drag me out of my room and show me around the city. sometimes i get so caught up inside my mind that i forget how important human connection is — which is funny if you think most of my videos are exactly about that lol. so plssssss make sure to surround yourself with (nice) people. also get some sleep, drink water and feed yourself. it’ll do wonderful things for you!!!

anyway my mom was worried about my “not leaving the room post” so this is just me saying everythings good!! (i also already called her of course <3)

view all 3,557 comments

bestfriend LOVE YOU harryfan the new followers the new likes 😭 it’s happening i knew it  user1 so true bestie!! this reminded me of your 2nd video i think

↳ yourinstagram omg yesssss!!  ↳ user1 ahh i missed your interactions <3  ↳ yourinstagram i knowww! promise i’ll try my best to keep interacting even if it’s not as much as before 💗

lookitsnyoh my belly still hurts from all the laughing 

↳ yourinstagram and my mind is still rushing from all the talking ↳ anthonypham go to sleep you two 

harryfan9 I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING BUT OMFG I’M SO HERE FOR IT

Aug 29, 2021 •

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liked by anthonypham, mollyjane_x, bestfriend and 27,257 others 

yourinstagram sightseeing left me speechless. but here’s a picture from tonight. 

view all 4,107 comments

user1 omg you’re feeding us this week! i’m so happy you’re being active again <3 harryfan78 POST A PICTURE OF YOURSELF I WANT TO MEET YOU AT THE SHOW BUT I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE 

↳ user4 calm down pls? we like to behave as respectful human beings on this profile

bestfriend ❤️❤️❤️ bestfriend i’m losing my mind but i’m also so excited and proud! user7 I miss your videos :( lookitsnyoh when was this? where was I? bummed that I missed it!

↳ yourinstagram sorryyy just a last minute decision after dinner :( ↳ lookitsnyoh ohhhh makes sense now! Glad it left you speechless ↳ yourinstagram i mean the city is beautiful  ↳ lookitsnyoh sure thing it is 👽

Sep 1, 2021 •

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liked by harryfan, harryfan2 and 15,157 others 

fanwhometharry GUYS I JUST MET HARRY I’M SHAKKNG I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE NOW 

view all 2,107 comments

harryfan64 omg where did you meet him??

↳ fanwhometharry AT THE BELLAGIO  ↳ harryfan64 is he staying there???  ↳ fanwhometharry NO!! I MEAN IDK?? I DONT RHINK SO I JUST MET HIM OUTSIDE AT THE FOUNTAINS  ↳ harryfan74 hmm not tryin to be rude or something but that sounds like a weird place for him to be tbh ↳ fanwhometharry I FUCKKNG KNOW THAT?? I MEAN MY PARENTS WANTED TO SEE THE WATER SHOW SO I TAGGED ALONG BUT NEVER EVER THOUGHT ID BUMP INTO HIM THERE

harryfan62 you’re so lucky!! was he alone???

↳ imetharry I DONT KNOW?? I DONT REMEMBER I WAS SO NERVOUS  ↳ imetharry I KNOW THERE WAS A GIRL NEARBY BC SHE HANDED HIM A PEN WHEN I COULDNT FIND MINE BUT I DONT KNOW IF SHE WAS WITH HJIM OR NOT ↳ harryfan62 who was this girl? Anyone from the LOT crew? ↳ imetharry IDK I JUST SAID I DONT EVEN KNOW IF SHE WAS WITH HIM OR NOT 😭

harryfan15 Hi hun! Don’t listen to people, they're just jealous. It was really sweet of him to sign that for you! Hope you have a great time at the show 💕

↳ imetharry THANK YOU 😭😭 HE WAS THERE JUST WATCHING LIKE A NORMAL PERSON SO I DIDN’T WANT TO TAKE A PIC IF PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE ME THEN I DON’T CARE I KNOW IT’S REAL 😭😭

Sep 1, 2021 •

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liked by gemmastyles, anthonypham, jefezoff and 35,109 others 

yourinstagram having to keep this secret from the world was the most cruelest thing that anyone has ever done to me. but whatever… it’s fine… i’m okay… i’m just gonna pretend this wasn’t a big deal and i didn’t just watch one of my favorite artists perform my favorite songs… and then i’ll just casually say: pls stay tuned for next wednesday when my new video will be up 😇

(i’ll be back and share more details once my serotonin levels have normalized again)

view all 7,125 comments

bestfriend i love you so much thank you for representing us so well  harryfan I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT OMFG I CANT WAIT I KNEW IT harryfan2 YN KASDHUHHD PLS OMFG YOU CAN’T JUST SAY THIS AND LEAVE user1 😲 i can’t wait for this one! harrystyles soz 

↳ harryfan OMFG HARRY ↳ harryfan5 ?????????????????????????? ↳ harryfan3 AUIDHIAUSHDBAJH WTF ↳ harryfan9 ARE YOU F KIDDING ME WHATS HE DOING HERE

cuteguy Nice! Glad you’re having a good time darling. 

Sep 4, 2021 •

— — — — — 

PART 3: DENVER

— — — — — 

If you happen to read and enjoy this, pls let me know? 🙏 thanks!! it would be nice to know if this is working, or what else would people would like to see.

[laurie-stark]

Chapter I: Secret's Keeper

A/N: RAHHHHHHHHHHH Cherry Bomb is finally yours. Thank you to everyone for the tremendous support and excitement leading up to the publication. You guys loving Laurie means more than I can express.

A special thank you to w1steriaa_for being Laurie's biggest cheerleader and also the best proofreader ever. Guys, please go give Amber's works a read bc she is so immensely talented and I could not have done this without her.

see you guys in two weeks for the next update! lots of love, m<3

Word count: 2.8k

Cherry Bomb Masterlist

Seven in the morning was an ungodly hour to expect a fourteen-year-old to pay attention to ninth-grade algebra. The bell had just rung and I was already sitting in the same spot I had been since January. I may be my father’s daughter, but Pepper Potts drilled punctuality into me like it was my life’s blood. And I’d grown up watching how stressed she would get every time Dad ran late for an event or press conference. Being Tony Stark’s personal assistant was hard enough, so I decided when I was still pretty young that being early was another way of being kind. It was the least I could do.

My classmates started to file into the room and take their seats. Despite it still being early in the morning, the New York City summer heat was well on its way. And it was only May. Being on the fourteenth floor of a really old building didn’t help either. But hey, I was not one to complain. I was just happy to be at school at all.

Kidding, of course. That was horseshit. It was mornings like these, when the humidity made it feel like I was underwater and I’d only gotten four hours of sleep because I had been studying for the history test I had next period, that I truly cursed my younger self for wanting to go to real school so badly. Being homeschooled made the most sense when I was younger. Dad was hardly ever in one city for longer than a month and he had crippling undiagnosed separation anxiety to me. So, I spent my childhood following him around the world. It was nice though. I had complete control over my education and my dad did a pretty good job of being involved, as much as a billionaire harlot with a small gambling addiction could. Naturally, Dad spent the most time on science stuff with me. He’d work in his lab on weapons, and then eventually the Iron Man suits, while I did spelling and math and science. It was nice, nearly perfect. As I got older, I think I began to realize my dad was definitely working overtime to be a better father than his was. And he was a really, really good dad. 

Homeschooling also meant that I had a lot more freedom and flexibility than the other kids my age. And where some kids do hard-core dance or varsity one sports, I would bother the Avengers over their intercom. So basically dance, if Tony Stark being a dance mom equated fighting by his daughter’s side to protect the people of New York…You get the gist. I was a registered agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a couple of years. It was never anything crazy, I just helped where I could. It started eight years ago, with Loki. Nick and his team knew virtually nothing about controlling the Tesseract and he thought me and my abilities would be helpful. They weren’t. So, Nick found other uses for me. 

The Battle of New York left me fairly shaken up and my parents were super against any active participation during missions. In between my schooling and singing lessons, I would help with the preparation: scouting locations, hacking enemy mainframes, anything that let me feel like I was truly a part of a team. I was always desperate to impress the adults in my life, to show them that I could be useful and worth something. That feeling sparked when I first met Nick Fury and it never truly went away. 

I liked being an agent. I liked being in on all the secrets, I liked helping people, and I loved working with the Avengers. Nat, Steve, Clint, Bruce, and Thor became family. Suddenly I wasn’t a lonesome only child whose only friend was her dad and his assistant. I was the guy in the chair, the one handing out coordinates and fallback plans. I had a purpose. 

Sokovia changed everything. I still had nightmares about what happened a year ago. I’d wake up in a sweat, feeling the phantom grip of metal fingers around my arm. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the sounds of screaming people I couldn’t save because I froze up. They died because I wasn’t strong enough. Dad put his foot down after that. He told me that what I was doing wasn’t good for me and he’d be a terrible father if he let me continue. He was right, but I was still angry about it. 

Real school was our compromise. If I wasn’t allowed to go on missions anymore then I needed someplace else to have a social life. It was pretty good timing too because I had just wrapped up the eighth grade curriculum. It took a lot of convincing and three PowerPoint presentations to finally convince my dad that being a normal kid in a normal school would be beneficial for me. He got me into Dalton and the rest was history.

However, what wasn’t history was the test on that very subject that was surely going to kill me next period. I spent the remainder of my math period going through my flashcards and study notes. I wasn’t alone, nearly half of the class was in the same boat as me. And if they studied as much as I had, then we were all fried. 

…

Halfway through my history test, I knew I was screwed because all I could think about was lunch. Every factoid about Greek history was clouded with fantasies about turkey avocado sandwiches. There was a little French sandwich place just down the road from my school and it was my favourite. The owner was a true French man from a town just outside Paris and he let me practice my French with him. I spent at least two lunch periods a week being ruthlessly criticized by a middle-aged man, but that made it more authentic. I wasn’t super fluent, but I knew enough to hold a conversation, or at least get through a conversation with Emery. But French was not going to help me pass this history test and I was beginning to recall all my knowledge of Percy Jackson as a last resort. 

Forty-five minutes later, I gathered all my dignity and shame and walked my test up to the front of the room. I handed it off to my history teacher, who gave me a grim smile. My classmates seemed to be just as stone-faced as I was and I think we were all hopeful that our teacher would curve the grade. 

I rocked on the balls of my heels outside the classroom door, waiting for my two best friends to finish their tests. When I first started at Dalton, making friends was a challenge. Quite a few of the student body had been attending the school since kindergarten, so their relationships had been forged nearly a decade ago. I didn’t have an abhorrent amount of friends; I knew enough people to say hi when we passed in the halls or have someone to sit with in the cafeteria. I would have been content with just that, but I was fortunate enough to have made two wonderful best friends. 

Like many of the numerous friendship pacts, Brianna Sinclair and Meredith Camden had been best friends since their preschool days. We met briefly during freshman orientation, but it was first-semester theatre class when we really got close. Brianna and I were both huge theatre nerds and she was quick to sit at the desk next to mine. She was a redhead with the spirit to match the fiery hair. She loved performing and astrology, and she was definitely the epitome of an Aries. It wasn’t long before she introduced me to Meredith and we all became happy chums. 

Meredith Camden was perfect. She was the only freshman I knew who was already planning her senior year class presidency. And, she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, and I don’t even like girls. Meredith was a true stunner, from her long, silky coils to her perfectly smooth dark complexion. She was kind as well. Even though I met Brianna first, Meredith was the one who really made me feel welcome at Dalton. At first, I was apprehensive about making a trio out of an already tight-knit pair, but Meredith always made sure I felt included. And soon enough we were as thick as thieves. 

Post-test stress had kicked in while I waited for the girls. I used my thumb to rub circles into the centre of my palm, switching back and forth between my hands. When I caught a glimpse of red, my back straightened. 

“How bad was that?” I asked.

Brianna swung her ponytail over her shoulders. “That was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done,” she huffed.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Meredith chimed in softly. “Everything that was on there was in our notes.”

“I was up until like three in the morning studying and I still think I failed,” I said as we began to walk towards the stairs to our next period. 

“Well studies do show that quality of sleep greatly impacts test performance, maybe next time you should prioritize getting a good night’s rest and study more in the morning.” 

Brianna rolled her eyes playfully at Meredith’s info dump. 

I smiled at her. “I’ll give that a try.” 

We squeezed through the flood of students walking around us and I slunk back behind the girls to give us some more room.

“So what are we doing today? Shop along Park? I think Madison Beaucard is having people over. Oh, we could go to the flower market, I have been dying to get my hands on fresh tulips now that they’re in season.” Brianna’s hands were flying around as she talked. 

“Right now?” I asked.

“No, stupid,” Brianna teased.  “After school.”

“Be nice,” Meredith chimed in. Brianna shot a playful look at the other girl.

“We finally, finally finished the renovations on the indoor pool yesterday so you guys could come over to test it out!” Meredith offered. Her family had been chipping away at that project for as long as I’d known her for. 

Brianna tugged on Meredith’s arm excitedly. “Oh my gosh, yes! We are so doing that.” She turned around to face me, still hanging off of Meredith. “You in, Laur?” 

I smiled but heaved a high. “Sorry Bri, I wish I could, but my family is gonna want me home right after school.”

“Of course, how silly of me,” Brianna feigned an English accent. “It’s Wednesday.” 

“Are you sure your Dad wouldn’t miss you just for one week?” Meredith pouted. 

“I’m sorry dude, it’s out of my hands.”

“Ugh, your parents are no fun.” 

I smiled inwardly. “You know I’d be hanging out with you guys in a heartbeat if I could.” 

To Meredith and Brianna, Wednesdays meant I had “family time” immediately after school each week. If it were any other day I would have happily tagged along for shopping or swimming or whatever new activity Brianna found on Instagram was. But Wednesdays were always signed off. 

The truth was that I had training at the compound. Although my dad was firm about pulling my involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D., he allowed me to go Upstate once a week to do drills with Nat. Natasha Romanoff had been training me in hand-to-hand combat since I was seven or eight. She said it was important that I knew how to protect myself. At first, it was just for fun, but with how defenceless I’d felt in the last few years,  I started to get more serious about it. 

There was also the small matter of superhuman powers that I had very little control over. They showed up when I was seven, pretty soon after my father was kidnapped and held hostage overseas. They say it was the trauma and intense emotionality that triggered my powers being awoken. But my knowledge of the powers ended there. My father absolutely refused to let Nick Fury or his team study me or study the things I could do. Which, if I was honest, was a good call on his part, but it did leave me living with a lot of questions. From what we could tell, it was some sort of gravitational and elemental manipulation; the product of experiments my birth mother ran on me as an infant. I tried not to think about that too much, though. I just knew that when I feel things too hard, the powers can get out of control. It was pretty scary, and really confusing as a kid. But thankfully the Avengers found an expert.

Wanda Maximoff has been a great help in the last few months. Training with Nat became also training with Wanda after Ultron and the destruction of Sokovia. Her powers are very different from mine, but she approached me after she moved into the compound to see if I wanted her help. I remember I had woken up in the middle of the night to my bedroom at the compound looking like a storm had passed through. I must have been having another nightmare and set myself off in my sleep. After I did my best to put the room back in order through tears, I found myself on the roof of the compound, looking out at the stars. Wanda found me sitting out there. Turned out she was having similar dreams. She asked me about my powers, I asked her about hers and soon enough she was offering skills and advice and suggesting I start honing in on training. It had been about a year since then and my control had gotten a lot better. But of course, this was all a humongous secret I was keeping from my friends. One secret wasn’t too bad though. 

“I was thinking we haven’t done our monthly movie marathon sleepover this month,” Meredith pointed out as we took our seats. The three of us had history and English class together this semester. “Laurie, is your place free?”

And there was the other shoe. Secret superhero shenanigans weren’t the only thing I kept from Meredith and Brianna. I was also under strict orders to pretend that I didn’t exist. Or rather, pretend that Laurie Stark didn’t exist. 

Sometime after the battle of New York, probably during all the stuff with the Mandarin, my dad asked Nick Fury to erase me from existence. It was a safety thing. Somewhere between aliens and terrorists attacking our house over and over, my dad decided he needed to take a more proactive role in my general safety. Hazards of the job, he called it. I understood, I guess, but it just meant there were even more secrets to keep. I was enrolled in school as Laurel Potts. My private social media accounts were under that same name, and I even carried a fake learner’s permit with the alias. I always felt really guilty when I had to turn down bringing friends over or lying about why they had never met my parents, but the secrets kept me safe. And they offered me freedom. Win some, lose some. 

“Sorry guys, our kitchen is undergoing a huge reno,” I blurted out the lie. “My dad has been super into…dutch ovens?”

I could tell they didn't believe me but they shrugged it off. Guilt panged at my heart and I rubbed at the centre of my palm again. When it was just me and my dad and our small world, I could be anything. And as much as I loved being out in society like a normal teenage girl, I wished I could live it authentically. 

The girls snuck a look at each other they thought I wouldn’t see. I could almost hear the best friend telepathy going off. They were definitely thinking I must not want them around. With their backs to me, I felt my shoulders begin to tense. My girls had never once made me feel out of place since starting at the Dalton, but I had never been oblivious to the fact that three was a crowd. 

I turned away from my friends when our English teacher pulled the class’s attention to the front of the room. We started our lesson on writing comparative analysis essays, but the only thing I was analyzing was the body language of the girls beside me. The pinch of my thumbnail against my palm was enough to bring me back to the present, and I forced myself to focus on worrying about that rotten history test instead…

[heroescore]

Heroes

Chapter 5 - Ship

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The press is relentless. They stalk and they dig and they ask, they find leaks and tear it open, all to get the most viewers or readers in name of “the truth.” The people deserve the truth, they shout while blatantly disregarding a man’s right to privacy. They were clever, but so was Slade.

He prevented the press from digging too deep, by releasing a statement. He decided to get to know the commanding officer of the 124th, and right outside the precinct she held a press conference, answering questions once and for all with a couple half-truths, but sounding believable enough to be accepted as absolute truth.

Aiden was working when the conference was held, but Mr Ecker turned on the TV in the corner and turned up the volume so everyone in The Joint could follow along. Phil had been sitting at the counter, working out a new piece for his column on his brand-new laptop, though he stopped to watch the conference along with everyone else.

People waiting in line didn’t even mind that Aiden took a break to watch as well, though he did quietly set a few things ready so he could catch up as soon as the important bit was over.

Captain Carnahan cleared her throat, explaining she was giving the statement in the first place, due to her precinct’s involvement in super affairs. Then she folded open a sheet of paper, and pretty much read aloud:

“I, Dr Douglas Slade, although famous for my ability to heal myself instantaneously, suffered a mortal wound roughly six years ago. This, too, I was able to heal, but it took a toll on my abilities and mentality, and my body reacted so slowly, I was presumed dead.

‘I do not have a full recollection of six years ago, but I understand my passing made a significant impact on the lives of supernatural humans in New York City and surrounding areas. The majority of my mentees retired from the role of superhero, and many talented individuals rose to the occasion to take their place. I was delighted to find, upon my return, that the cooperation between these individuals and the city has improved, but there is a dire lack of regulation.

‘Now that I have fully recovered, and after seeing all the changes after such a short period of time, I have decided to take it upon myself to turn this hot-spot for supernaturals into a safe spot. I strive for my plan to have little to no impact on the current order of business, except for the improvement of communication between individuals as well as between them and the city, and to create a medical safety net for these individuals and their direct family.

‘I am well aware that these plans of mine are ambitious and will require me to put in many hours of work, seven days a week, for God knows how long. I therefore kindly request the press to turn their attention to other current affairs, and to stay tuned for updates, which will come whenever I deem it appropriate to publish.”

After that, Captain Carnahan answered a couple of questions with some rather vague answers, leaving the press wanting more, yet having nothing to latch on to.

“Great, now we’re going to see so-called experts speculating and criticising the whole situation for weeks on end,” Ecker said with a sigh, turning the TV off.

“What’s that medical safety net he was talking about? He wants supers to get priority in the ER?” Phil questioned.

“Back in the day Slade ran a small private clinic where he provided healthcare exclusively for supers and free of charge,” Ecker explained, “medical safety net is just fancy speech for wanting to reopen his practice.”

“That makes sense,” Aiden said, “getting tossed into a world with so much unfamiliarity it must be nice to get to do something you’re good at.”

“...you’re really too good for your own good,” Ecker said, shaking his head as he helped him catch up with the line.

“Hey, let my friend be pure in peace,” Phil said, “also, when you have time can I have a refill, please?”

“Of course, you’re the first once we work away this line.” Aiden said, before handing the next customer their coffee. “Sorry for the wait, miss. That’ll be three-fifty.”

“No worries, we were all watching.” the woman said, while swiping her card before handing him a couple of bills, “Sorry they’re all singles. My boyfriend’s a...male entertainer.”

“Oh, well, women deserve entertainment too, I guess?” Aiden said, a little awkwardly, “have a nice day!”

“Gimme those, if there’s glitter on them we are so putting them in the rent jar, it’ll be so funny,” Phil said, trying to steal his tip.

Aiden smacked his hand away and simply tucked the bills away in the usual spot, before preparing his refill.

When the rush was over and things quieted down again, Slade showed up too. It seemed he had gotten a hold of his own clothing, or perhaps it was new now that he could finally access his money again.

Either way he almost looked like an entirely different person. Dressed smartly in a slim suit, expensive-looking leather shoes, a briefcase seeming to be filled to the brim with paperwork, and a tacky pocket watch...which didn’t work.

“Good evening~ Say, do clock makers still exist, or have they gone extinct?” he said as he walked in.

“Welcome!” Aiden said, “I...honestly wouldn’t know? You can try googling it?”

“...I can what now?”

“Why don’t I make you some coffee and then I’ll explain it to you?” Aiden said.

“That sounds like a splendid idea, Love. The usual, please,” Slade said, sitting at the counter next to Phil who, surprisingly, seemed speechless.

Slade noticed him gaping at him, and looked over.

“Can I help you?”

“Um…”

“Oh, that’s my roommate, Phil,” Aiden introduced, “he’s kind of a big fan.”

“No autographs.”

“Oh...then can I—”

“Nor photos, nor any questions besides ‘good day, how are you?’ or ‘How are you finding the weather?’ Thank you kindly.”

Phil bit his lip, while Aiden was trying not to laugh, mentally counting the seconds until Phil was unable to hold himself back.

“How does it feel?” he blurted out, “when you...get injured then heal immediately?”

Slade sighed deeply.

“Same pain, but it lasts shorter as it heals fast,” he said, “now no more questions, please.”

“Here’s your coffee,” Aiden interjected, handing him his cup.

“Ah, thank you, Love. Speaking of...how much do I owe you for all the coffees you bought me?”

“Ah, I haven’t been keeping track, don’t worry about it,” Aiden quickly said.

“Don’t be silly, I insist,” Slade said, pulling out a cheque book, “a hundred should probably cover it, including tips?”

“You really don’t have to—”

“I’m already writing. Full name, please?”

“But—”

“Aiden J. Carter.”

“Phil!”

“Thank you, Phil,” Slade said as he finished writing, then tore out the cheque and handed it to Aiden.

“Now don’t forget to cash it in, Love. I’ll know if you don’t~”

“Man…”

Aiden sighed defeated as he put the cheque with the rest of his tips, praying people would stop surprising him with large amounts of money, relatively speaking of course.

“Now then, how do I find a clockmaker?” Slade asked.

“Right,” Aiden said, “swipe up to find all the hidden apps, remember? Then open the search engine. The button with the big G.”

Phil sipped his coffee as he watched his friend interact with a legend so casually, both leaning on the counter as they peered at the small screen together. Aiden showed Slade how he could call straight to the shop they found since he was on his phone.

While he called, another customer walked in, so Aiden went to help him, but Slade didn’t seem to be able to keep his eyes off of him. Phil could tell what was happening, but at least he waited for Slade to finish his call before speaking up.

“I know what you’re doing,” he said quietly.

“Excuse me?” Slade said.

“You like him, don’t you?”

“Are you his chaperone?” Slade asked.

“No...I think?” Phil said, “I just don’t think it’s a good idea...the two of you.”

“Well I’m sorry for developing a fondness for a kind young man,” Slade said.

“Young being the operative word,” Phil said, “you’re like, ten times his age?”

“And yours,” Slade said, “and if I ever be so lucky to do more than just look, it will be his decision, not yours. This protective shtick of yours might be well-intended, but it is not a good look.”

“That’s very progressive, but you don’t understand,” Phil said, lowering his voice even more, “he’s doing great now, but he’s not well.”

“Oh?”

“What are you two talking about?” Aiden asked, surprising both of them.

“Nothing important,” Phil quickly said.

“Phil was telling me about his laptop,” Slade said, “they’ve gotten so much thinner. If technology keeps developing at this rate we’ll be living on the moon in ten years.”

“Ah, they’re aiming at Mars for some reason,” Aiden said.

“Why that’s silly,” Slade said, “at least do a test run on the moon.”

“I don’t know, I kinda dig Mars,” Phil said.

“I think I’ll stay on earth, thanks,” Aiden said, “another refill?”

“Nah I think I’ll go home,” Phil said, “get some actual work in before dinner. Speaking of; oven lasagne or stir-fry?”

“Lasagne,” Aiden said.

“Deal! See ya later. It was an honour meeting you, sir. And if you ever change your mind about questions.”

“I don’t think so,” Slade said.

“Still, you know where to find me,” Phil said, leaving a business card on the counter and running off before Slade could decline it.

“What a twat…”

“Excuse you, that’s my best friend,” Aiden said, “if you wanna insult him, do it to his face, not behind his back.”

“But—”

“I’m not going to argue about it,” Aiden said, “it was uncalled for. End of story.”

Slade raised a brow. It seemed his observation from the previous chapter was correct. Aiden took no shit from rude customers, nor would he accept rudeness towards his friends, apparently. Slade could tell he messed up, so he quietly drank his coffee, paid for it, and left.

By the end of his shift, Aiden had already forgotten about his annoyance with Slade. He simply left the patrons in the hands of his questionably capable co-worker, and headed home, looking forward to that lasagne. He could already smell it by the time he reached the apartment door, eagerly unlocking it and heading inside.

“It smells great, Phil!”

“Thanks, I didn’t spill the cheese for a change and it’s not burnt to a crisp at the bottom of the oven for a change,” Phil said, playing a racing game, and keeping his eyes glued to the screen.

He was so focused he didn’t even realise he repeated a phrase. Aiden just let him be, putting his bag away and getting changed into something more comfortable before taking the lasagne out, dividing it onto two plates, and joining Phil on the couch, watching him trying to beat a speed record.

“How was work?” he asked, still rather absent-mindedly.

“Normal?? You were there, Phil.”

“I meant after I left— Ah shit, forget it!”

He promptly turned the game off after spinning out and losing his chance to beat the time.

“Still normal?” Aiden simply answered, ignoring his outburst.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well,” Phil slowly said, “you’ve gotten awfully close with Slade, haven’t you?”

“...not really?” Aiden said, “he’s pretty much just another regular.”

“You’re pretty dense for someone that can see emotions,” Phil said.

“Anyone can see emotions, Phil, do you see me getting frustrated?”

He gestured at his own frown.

“The guy has the hots for you,” Phil said.

“What? Don’t be silly,” Aiden said, waving his hand dismissively.

“Bro he was staring at you the whole time,” Phil said.

“While you were talking to him?”

“No before that.”

“That was hardly a minute, dude,” Aiden said, “maybe he just spaced out? You’re seeing things that aren’t there.”

“Or maybe you’re not seeing the obvious,” Phil said.

“That doesn’t even make any sense!” Aiden said, “besides, so what if he was staring at me? I’m a grown man, I can take care of myself.”

“Fine, but if something happens to you I’ll know where to start looking.”

“My fucking goodness, Phil, he wouldn’t do anything like that!” Aiden said, “...would he? No! I’m not going to let you put ideas in my head, I’ve got enough of that going on already!”

He took his plate, and went to eat in his room. Luckily it didn’t ruin his appetite too much, but he didn’t have the best night. Someone was being noisy, trying to tire him out, and successfully so.

The next day he barely made it through lectures, and he was dragging his feet a bit as he headed to The Joint for his shift. Though, maybe interacting with people would be a nice distraction. He stretched a bit to wake himself up before stepping inside and getting ready. Ecker himself was behind the counter, making coffee for patrons and preparing slices of apple pie.

“Hi Mr Ecker,” Aiden greeted as he got behind the counter and stowed his bag away.

“Hey, kid. Could you bring these pies and two black coffees to the booth in the corner?”

“Of course,” Aiden said, grabbing his apron and a tray to bring the order over.

After that as customers thinned out and things quieted down, Mr Ecker disappeared into his office to work on...whatever he worked on in there. However, not before having a little chat with Aiden. Now that they could both be a little more open about their powers, he didn’t have to very carefully probe his mind for information.

“How are you doing?” he asked, “you seem a bit...off, today.”

“Hm? Oh, um...don’t worry about it, just a lot on my mind,” Aiden said, “between college and private life, and you-know-who…”

“The old one or the evil one?” Ecker asked.

“...excuse me?” Aiden asked, a bit confused.

“Don’t try to hide it from me, kid. You got two people on your mind today,” Ecker said.

“What— Oh! No, that’s just...Phil said something and I’m just thrown off I guess.”

“Well, word of advice, always listen to your friends’ opinion,” Ecker said, “I ignored everyone when I met my ex-wife, and I’m still dealing with her crap.”

“Um...I’m sorry to hear?” Aiden said a little awkwardly, “but also don’t worry, I never considered— Just no. I’m going to stop talking about it now….and thinking!”

Ecker just smirked a bit before going into his office, leaving Aiden to find distraction in his work. Luckily that arrived shortly after, in the form of a pale-looking man. His brown hair was beginning to turn grey, but not from age, judging from the lack of wrinkles on his face, but Aiden could sense the abundance of stress before the man even set foot in the shop.

He carried a stack of papers, and walked up to the counter, picking one off the stack and showing it to Aiden. It was a missing poster of a boy, twelve years old according to the text underneath his picture. He looked an awful lot like his father. Or rather, that’s what Aiden assumed upon seeing how similar they looked.

“Have you seen this boy?” the man asked, a little out of breath.

Aiden bit his lip as he shook his head.

“N-no, I’m sorry, I haven’t,” he said, “would you like something to drink? You look exhausted…”

“Thanks, but...I just spent my last cash printing these,” he looked down at his posters.

“Don’t worry about that,” Aiden said, “it’s on the house. Would you like to sit down, or would you rather take it to-go?”

“Th-thank you, so much...to-go, please. I’ve got an appointment with the police soon.”

Aiden nodded, putting a to-go cup ready for his order. Not wanting to take advantage of the young man’s kindness, the stressed father asked for a simple black coffee, before asking if he could leave a couple of flyers.

“I-I mean, I don’t want to impose, but I heard a lot of supers come here, a-and, I was just hoping…”

“No, I understand, it’s alright, I promise,” Aiden said, “I’ll put them right here so people can see them when they order something. Also, can I have another stack? I could hand them out at church…”

“Oh bless you,” the man said gratefully, pulling another stack out of his bag and handing that to Aiden.

“Thanks. I’ll stop by after work to give these to my pastor. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he’s found,” he said.

“Thank you so much...y-yeah I hope so,” the man said, “a-anyway, the number on the flyer is my mobile number. You can reach me whenever if anyone finds anything…”

“Has he been missing for long?” Aiden gently asked.

“Almost two weeks now. The police haven’t been able to find anything…”

“That must be awful,” Aiden quietly said, before handing him his coffee, “here you go. Best of luck with your search, and...don’t lose hope.”

“Thank you...so much.”

He gratefully took his coffee and took off to get to his appointment. Aiden looked back down at the flyers he had left behind, and for the first time in forever, he thought about his own parents. Had they too pasted his picture all over town on a missing flyer? Was his father’s hair beginning to turn grey from stress? And his poor mother…

The ring of the bell by the door tore him out of his thoughts as he put on his best fake smile to welcome the next customer.

“Welcome to The Joint, how may I help you?”

“Good afternoon!” Slade replied, as chipper as always, “say, I don’t suppose that search engine on my phone can also find a shipwright, can it?”

“Um...that’s weirdly specific?” Aiden slowly said, recovering from his entrance.

“Ah apologise,” Slade said, “I have a boat...yacht, small yacht...sailing yacht—”

“Weird flex, but okay,” Aiden said.

“I’m not sure I know what that means, but I’ll be getting it back soon, and I wanted to take residence in it, but it needs a lot of maintenance, preferably before winter.”

“Oh, um...well, you can try searching, I’m sure there’ll be something. It’s a big city after all. Anyway, what can I get you today?”

“The usual please, Love~”

Aiden nodded, but seemed a bit distracted as he poured some black coffee from the pot, spilling some and pouring it over his hand.

“Shit— Ouch!” he hissed, quickly wiping it off on his apron.

“You arite?”

“Yeah, just a job hazard,” Aiden said, taking some paper towels to clean the outside of Slade’s cup before handing it to him.

“I have to ask,” he said, “why do you call me that?”

“What?”

“...love,” Aiden slowly said.

“Have I?” Slade asked, “I believe I say that to all servers as a habit… Why, does it bother you?”

“No— I mean yes— No wait. I...don’t particularly care, I was just curious,” Aiden said, stumbling over his words a little, “I should...go ice this. Coffee hot.”

“Actually ice will do more harm than good, try lukewarm water,” Slade said.

“I know how to treat burns,” Aiden said, changing course from the freezer to the tap.

“Of course,” Slade said, hiding his smirk by taking a sip.

Considering how awkward the young man was acting, it seemed Phil had told on him. Oh well. Awkward conflicting feelings were part of life, he knew that all too well. And who knew? Maybe it was something he could look back on and laugh about when he grew older.

And like he told Phil, Slade didn’t have any intentions at the moment, but he did love to tease people. Especially when they had such a cute reaction~ However, before he got the chance to make his day a little worse, he noticed a stack of flyers by the register, reading the red letters spelling out ‘MISSING’ before picking one up.

“What’s this then?” he said to no one in particular, before staring at the picture.

“Oh, some guy left those here, his son is missing,” Aiden said, “are you okay?”

“Yeah, just...I know this lad,” Slade slowly said, “except he’s older now.”

“That’s what tends to happen over the span of six years,” Aiden reminded him.

“Aye, it’s just...I helped deliver him, and look at him now,” Slade said, a hint of pride in his voice.

“Hard to look at him when nobody knows where he is,” Aiden said.

“How did the father look?” Slade asked.

“Very stressed, like he hadn’t slept in days,” Aiden said, “if you wanna reconnect with him, his personal cell is on the flyer.”

“Really? Not his office?”

“...he didn’t seem like the type of guy to have an office,” Aiden slowly said, “like, he said he spent his last money printing these flyers, so I gave him a coffee for free…”

“That doesn’t sound right,” Slade said, “he was rather wealthy when I last spoke to him, so if one of his children is missing you’d think there’d be a ransom demand. But if he’s not doing so well, and there hasn’t been a word yet...I ought to give my two cents to the police.”

He pocketed the flyer and finished his coffee, pulling out his wallet to pay.

“In the meantime, show the flyer to William — your boss —  and ask him to do a search, he’ll know what it means.”

“Um, sure?” Aiden said, raising a brow to see Slade in such a rush, “do you...think he’s in danger?”

“I dunno, but it’s imperative that we find him sooner rather than later,” Slade said, before taking off, leaving Aiden a little confused.

Still, he shrugged it off and took one of the flyers to the back to show to Ecker.

“Hey,” he greeted, “so, some guy just dropped these off, and then Slade saw them and said you had to do a search?” he summarised.

“Did he tell you why?” Ecker asked, taking the flyer and looking at it.

“No, but he said it was imper...imperativ— He said it was important he’s found fast.”

“Well, I can’t make any promises, but I can keep a line out...is he still here?”

“No, he paid for his coffee and kinda ran?” Aiden said.

“Ah, well, you get used to that,” Ecker said.

“Why?” Aiden replied, “he’s just a customer, what do I care if he’s in a rush? Maybe as a regular, but so long as he pays I don’t care!”

He closed the door and went back to work, leaving Ecker to shake his head a little to himself. For someone growing up with a persistent demon it seemed his thoughts were surprisingly easily influenced. Still, it didn’t seem to impact his work performance, so Ecker decided to stay out of it, focusing on the missing boy instead.

Meanwhile Aiden’s life was beginning to look like a bad romcom, with a British man trying to get his attention, though fortunately he looked nothing like Hugh Grant. Luckily Aiden usually knew what to do with himself whenever he showed up again. Remain polite, chat about current affairs, and pretend to be busy to keep contact to a minimum.

Between that and Phil’s insufferable ‘I told you so’ attitude, as well as college breathing down his neck to actually turn in some work instead of only attending lectures, and occasionally some hero work, it was safe to say he was beyond exhausted. Yet still he couldn’t say no when Ecker asked him to work a closing shift one Saturday night.

He wanted to follow up on a lead for the missing boy, which seemed important, so Aiden agreed, and found himself in an empty cafe at about three am. It seemed no more customers would be coming in now, none of the regulars at least, so he turned off the open sign and started cleaning up. He locked the front doors, gathered his tips into an envelope and stuffed it in the bottom of his bag, before turning the lights off and leaving through the back alley.

Mistake number one.

The next was not beginning to sprint as soon as he noticed something moving from the corner of his eyes. He liked to think he could easily survive anything considering he spent his first few years in the city on the streets, but he forgot for a second that he couldn’t just transform into Cross in front of three strangers in a dark alley after they cornered him because he didn’t move fast enough. Great. So he was going to be mugged. Just what he needed...not.

“Well, well, well~” one of the men said, his face hidden under his hood.

“No need to waste time, I’m reaching for my wallet,” Aiden said, trying to stay calm as he slowly reached into his pocket.

“Atta boy~” one of the men said, whilst the others chuckled at the easy score.

Aiden just tossed his wallet at one of them. But instead of taking it and running away, they checked the contents first.

“Five fucking dollar?!”

“Take it or leave it,” Aiden calmly said.

“Nah, he’s got to have more,” another guy said, “you waiters are always loaded with tips. Where’s that money?”

“My boss collects it and deposits it on my account for safety,” Aiden lied.

It wasn’t the case at all, but he was going to strongly suggest it after this.

“Check his bag,” the man apparently in charge said.

Aiden mentally cursed. He wasn’t too tall, so they probably thought him an easy target...which he was, but he wasn’t willing to accept that fate quite yet. He dodged one pair of arms, but when he tried to run he was yanked back by his hoodie, landing roughly on the ground, before they pulled him back off, pinning him to the wall with an arm pressing on his throat.

He gasped for air, not even noticing they cut the strap of his bag until he felt it being yanked off of him. Of course they turned it upside down, but he didn’t quite care for it. He couldn’t breathe. He discreetly reached into his pocket again, finding his phone, and surprising his assailant by smacking it to the side of his head.

It forced him to back away, allowing Aiden to breathe again. No time to catch his breath, he tried to get away, but having hurt the man’s pride, he wouldn’t get away so easily.

“Get back here you little shit!”

“Dude, shut up, someone’ll hear!” one of the others hissed, which gave Aiden an idea as he was yanked back into the alley again.

“HELP! THIEVES!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Precisely what the three muggers didn’t want.

“Shut him up!”

“I’m trying!”

Two of them worked the young man against the ground, until one of them lost his patience and rammed his fist against the side of his head. The blow was hard enough to dizzy Aiden, his vision dancing before his eyes as he calmed down significantly, groaning in pain.

“Nice, now let’s get out of here in case someone heard!”

However, as they moved to leave the alley, their way was blocked by someone, breathing heavily as he had ran after hearing Aiden’s cry for help.

“Three against one, eh? That doesn’t seem very fair now, does it lads?” he said.

Aiden prayed he was dreaming. Really? Of all the heroes in this city, the one coming to his rescue was the one he had been trying to avoid for the past few weeks? Still, the throbbing pain in his head told him not to complain, so he stayed quiet. One of the muggers was still too close to him for comfort after all.

“Keep walking if you know what’s good for you, dude,” one of them said, threateningly pulling out a large knife.

“No, I don’t think I will,” Slade simply said, setting a step forward.

“Your funeral,” the man with the knife replied, taking it by the blade, and throwing it at Slade.

It seemed these muggers weren’t the simple folk Aiden had taken them for, as they weren’t above murder, considering the precision with which the knife was thrown, the blade sinking between his eyes and through his skull.

Slade’s head was thrown back, but to the muggers’ horror, he didn’t fall over. Instead, he slowly straightened himself, blood running down his face, but otherwise seeming perfectly fine.

“First of all,” he said, reaching up for the handle, “rude…”

He grimaced a bit as he slowly pulled it out, looking down at it.

“Secondly, I’m keeping this, this is a quality piece and I doubt it belongs to you.”

He casually tossed it in the air and caught it again, pointing it at the three muggers.

“And lastly. Let’s dance~”

However, they opted to flee instead, leaving everything behind, including their dignity as they booked it in the other direction. Slade was a bit disappointed, but it had gotten the job done either way. He quickly wiped the dagger on his shirt, before sticking it between his belt and going to check on Aiden.

“You’re lucky I passed by when I did,” he said, “that particular little gang has been leaving bodies all over the city. Are you arite?”

“Hgnn…” Aiden couldn’t find the words or the energy to reply.

Slade bent over him, gently tilting his head and finding a bruise forming on the side of his head.

“That’s going to smart,” he said, “don’t worry, you’re in good hands, Love. Let’s get you off that nasty ground. Tell me where you live, I’ll take you there.”

However, he received no reply, and upon closer inspection, it seemed he had lost consciousness. Slade sighed, taking off his jacket to use as a pillow while trying to think of what to do next...

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[tryingmyhand-atwriting]

BEGIN AGAIN 

Chapter One : An Unplanned Run-In

Notes: Hi, everyone (or no one if no one bothers to read!) This is my first ever attempt at posting fan-fiction that I have written, although I have been a reader of it for years. I’ve been in multiple fandoms through out the years but never had the guts to post anything out of fear of not being good enough or no one liking it but I figure - if one person likes it or one hundred people like it, it will all mean the same to me which is utter gratefulness that will swell within me. I am posting under a side blog so no one will know it’s me although I think there is someone who has found me (if so, hi Elise I love you.) Even if you hate it and it sucks and is boring be nice to me please I am baby. That is all - if you have made it this far I am grateful for that too.

Warnings: SLOW BURN. Hang in with me folks once we get to the good stuff it’s promising. Also, new writer - that’s a warning in itself too.

Word Count: 6545

Ashley Tisdale would argue that at times she knew her best friend better than he knew himself. Since the first day they met their connection had been instant and not even time or distance had proven able to dispel the friendship they both helped to nourish.

Not seeing him for three years didn’t change a thing between them and the older sister intuition kicks in when he’s over for the first time upon returning, meeting Jupiter in person now that he’s home, when he says, ‘Member Isabela?” And a lightbulb goes on over her head.

Ashley remembers a pretty, young eighteen year old interning for Austin’s personal assistant in 2013 to 2014. Isabela had been kind to a fault and so gentle as a person that Ashley–and Austin–had developed a protectiveness over her. She had fit into their group effortlessly and there was a close friendship that had developed between Austin and her. So close they were, Ashley would joke about being replaced. It all went downhill after the Great Incident of 2014 and Ashley never heard Austin nor Vanessa speak about Isabela again.

She exits her kitchen, resting against the doorway with her arms crossed. “Yeah I do,” she replies wondering where he would take it next. Austin hums but doesn’t reply as he continues stroking Jupiter’s back, the toddler asleep on the couch beside him. “Did you run into her or something?” She probes.

“Nah, just been… reminiscin’, I guess.” But Ashley knows her best friend, knows by the clench of his jaw and glint in his eyes that he has more to say. Things he may not want to admit or isn’t sure he should admit. “When Lydia told me she was stepping down after havin’ her baby I asked if she had any contact with Isabela but she said they don’t talk anymore.”

Ashley does a double take. “You wanna offer her the job?” She isn’t sure how to explain to him that if someone reached out after years with no contact , she would have a lot to say to that person. Granted, Isabela would never give anyone a piece of her mind but to save Austin from rejection she knows he is in desperate need of some womanly advice. “Don’t you think that’d be, uh–I’m not sure these are the right words but–awkward and mean after what happened?”

“It doesn’t have to be for the job, Ash.” Austin shrugs his shoulders. “With all these new changes in my life I guess I just uh–I know what people I want in my life now.” Ashley has seen firsthand what he means. While paparazzi had always been a part of their lives, the recent attention and invasiveness being introduced to Austin’s life was something new. A level of fame even Ashley hadn’t achieved with High School Musical..

Ashley had faith in Austin and his talent, even if he wasn’t as confident in himself. She could see his wildest dreams coming true but with Elvis, Ashley also knew he had learnt some lessons scary enough they would never shake. She saw he was frightened to death of being made to be someone he wasn’t, of being put on a pedestal and failing to meet expectations. Most importantly, Austin was made aware of how quickly people came around for the wrong reasons, ready to take advantage of success, money, and fame. Someone who freely gave loyalty and honesty expected it in return, a betrayal of that nature would hurt Austin the most. Ashley had seen Austin lose himself and have to find who he was again, but the man who reemerged was skeptical, with a new point of view.

“So you want to make amends?”

It takes Austin a while to look at Ashley, his hand rubbing soothing circles on Jupiter’s back. “More than anything I just wanna talk to her.” But she sees the longing in his eyes when they meet hers and pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together.

That’s how Ashley ends up at Chucky’s Bar in Los Feliz on a Thursday night. She didn’t tell Austin that she occasionally chats with Isabela over Instagram because she didn’t want him to do something embarassing like slide into her DMs with a lame greeting and possible emoji. Austin was smooth and charming in many ways, but at the end of the day, he was only a man and this situation was better handled with a woman’s touch. All it had taken was a ‘miss you! when are you free?’ before Isabela responded saying that this was where she’d be on her last night in LA before she traveled to Hawaii for a work trip.

“Ashley! You came!” There’s a girly squeal and arms squeezing her from behind before she turns to face Isabela. There’s a wide smile on her face and her hair frizzes with the humidity of the crowded bar. Sweat shines on her face, mascara smudged under her eyes, but Ashley has to smile– Isabela never let perceived-imperfections dull her shine. “You look hot.” Isabela checks her friend out with an impressed grin.

“I feel out of my element. I can’t remember the last time I dressed up.” Ashley giggles, taking in her surroundings. “I’m also scared I’m going to start leaking and ruin this dress.” She gestures to her enlarged breasts, made more noticeable by the deep V-cut of her dress.

Isabela lets out a loud laugh. “Some guys like that,” she whispers conspiratorially and Ashley slaps her on the arm. Isabela grabs Ashley by the hand and begins leading her to a table, “Come on, a friend saved us a table. Victoria’s got bar duty tonight but she’ll be checking in occasionally.”

“Victoria’s still working here?”

Chucky’s Bar brought back many late night memories for Ashley. There were many drunken nights spent at the low-key bar where Ashley, Austin, and Vanessa had never been recognized. It was at this bar where Ashley met Isabela and her tough as nails cousin, Victoria, who was cold the entire night and would only make rounds to their table to make sure Isabela was drinking enough water to go along with the tequila. It had taken almost a month for Victoria to warm up to the former Disney kids. Ashley was sure any kindness on Victoria’s part was thrown out the window after the Incident.

Ashley would have found Victoria’s over protectiveness creepy if she didn’t understand why. Isabela was sweetly naive, always seeing the best in the world and people around her. An innocence that had probably broken her heart more than once. It hadn’t taken long for Ashley to feel the same way towards Isabela, like she was a younger sister.

“She practically runs this place. Derek’s one year away from retiring and he’s already promised to leave it to her.” Isabela’s face beams with pride. As they approach the table she turns to face Ashley briefly and catches the uncertainty in her eyes, the awkward hunch to her shoulders, that only comes when someone feels unwelcome. Isabela reaches to hold Ashley’s fingers in hers. “She’s gonna be on her best behavior, okay? I told her you were coming and anyways, everything that happened that day had nothing to do with you.”

Doesn’t it, Ashley wants to ask. Guilt gnaws at her, knowing she was meeting up with Isabela for selfish reasons. To do her best friend’s dirty work, get him into contact with someone who probably, most likely–definitely–wants nothing to do with him.

“We talking about how Victoria breastfeeds you?” There’s a busty redhead seated at the table. She’s loud in her proclamation and beautiful in a sheer silver dress. She’s gorgeous, her hair swept back in an updo and her legs crossed, the hem of her dress rising dangerously high. Already there’s more than a few curious eyes glancing towards their table. She smiles at Ashley but it drops when she catches sight of Isabela’s empty hands. She guffaws, offended, “Where are the shots? You get up and come back with no shots?”

Isabela tumbles into the seat beside her, laughing good-naturedly at her friend’s offense. It was obvious the girls had started drinking before her arrival but Ashley didn’t mind; she was planning on an easy night. Hangovers tend to be a multi-day affair once you hit thirty. “Luis said he’ll bring ‘em out to us,” Isabela tells her friend before presenting her to Ashley. “This is the worst influence in my life and the devil on my shoulder — Ash, meet Sky. She was my college roommate and yes, Victoria hates her. Doesn’t give you any right to talk shit about her though,” Isabela pinches Sky’s underarm for good measure.

“I wasn’t talking shit about her, I was making fun of you. The pretty princess stuck in the tower–you’re twenty-six.” It must be a sermon Isabela has heard before because all she offers in response to Sky’s mocking tone is an exaggerated eye roll and a shake of her head.

“Don’t worry, Victoria hates me too,” Ashley tells Sky. “She’s just always gonna look out for Isabela. No judgments here.”

Sky puts a hand on Ashley’s arm,eyes twinkling. “Oh my God. We should totally start a club.”

“I think you two booze hounds have had enough,” a blond waiter approaches their table, balancing a tray of shots. He looks toward Ashley, clarifying, “I mean those two. Especially this one,” he shoves an elbow into Sky’s side, the woman yelping and returning the hit.

Isabela leans over to touch his shoulder, imploring.. “Luis, you’re just in time. Their conversation was sobering me up.” She pouts, her lower lip jutting out.

“You just don’t like hearing the truth–”

“Not you too!”

“Ladies,” Ashley holds up her shot glass and a wedge of lemon, a strategic distraction, putting an end to the conversation. The constant back-and-forth chatter is definitely enough incentive for her to break her own self-imposed sobriety. “Are we taking this shot or what?”

“I like you,” Sky states, preparing her lemon with salt.

“Wait! We have to cheers to something,” Isabela insists when both Ashley and Sky go to throw the tequila back. She purses her lips to the side in thought, “What’s something all three of us can cheer to?”

“How about this,” Ashley begins, leaning forward on her elbows, “Sky’s here for you and so am I. So how about a cheers to Isabela for bringing us together tonight?” Isabela flushes, her lashes fanning against her cheeks as she avoids eye contact, flattered and flustered all at once. Ashley momentarily feels like she’s kissing ass, knowing she’s still wrestling with guilt over her ulterior motives, but she isn’t lying about her affection for her friend.

Sky extends her shot glass forward. “To Isabela.”

The night is a whirlwind after that. Ashley remembers a Pitbull song coming on that had Sky pulling both she and Isabela to the middle of the dance floor, smack between other dancers. There was another shot–or four–taken and by the time the girls are dancing to the fifth song of the night, now joined by a group of girls they had befriended at the bar. Ashley has to momentarily return to the table, ridding herself of her jacket.. It isn’t lost on her that the reason for her random request of a girls’ night out hasn’t been brought up once, but she doesn’t have it in her to ruin what has been an amazing night so far.

She could always try again. Preferably when it wasn’t her first time reuniting with an old friend in months.

As Ashley saunters back over to their spot on the dance floor, she catches sight of Sky’s silver dress towards the bar with Luis, no doubt asking for another round of shots. Ashley hopes–and doubts–that Sky forgot to order her one, the beginning of a headache pounding behind her eyes. Isabela’s still where she left her but a man has since joined her. He’s handsome, Ashley must admit, and standing almost a foot over Isabela who’s lacing her fingers together in front of her repeatedly. She has a smile on her face though,so Ashley doesn’t feel the need to interject as she nears.

“You’re sweet, but I’m here with my friends. Sorry,” Ashley catches Isabela apologize, her lashes fluttering as she blinks rapidly, and her teeth gnawing at her bottom lip. In anyone else Ashley would have taken the actions to be coy or flirty, but in Isabela she sees them for what they are–nervous tics. More words are exchanged and Isabela moves away when the guy places a hand at her hip. Ashley is debating on whether or not she should intercept and tell the guy to get lost, knowing it would be quicker than Isabela’s kind approach, when he throws his hand out beside him in a fist in annoyance before storming away.

Isabela stumbles back, flinching violently at his outburst, and Ashley’s beside her in the next moment, a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” She asks, scanning over Isabela. She didn’t see the guy touch her, but Isabela’s response worried her, as if he did more than utter cruel words to her. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, no.” Isabela shakes her head and attempts a smile but her eyes are glossy with unshed tears. “He just got mad and it caught me off guard, I guess. I’m fine.”

“Isabela—” you don’t seem fine, is what Ashley’s going to say but she’s cut off by the arrival of Sky–who did conjure up another round of shots–and two blonde girls they had been dancing with earlier.

“I got us more shots, bitches,” she whoops loudly, pumping a single fist. She drops the act once she takes in the heavy atmosphere. “What’s wrong?”

Ashley hesitates. Some guy was rude to Isabela and she almost cried, which was technically true, but her reaction hinted at something deeper–although the man hadn’t seemed to lay a hand on her. What worried Ashley was the possibility of someone else having done so..

“Some guy was a dick and caught me off guard. Ashley’s never seen my freak outs before.” Isabela shrugs, feigning nonchalance and maintaining eye contact with her friend. There seemed to be a million words said between them but their mouths didn’t move once. It was a look shared between best friends with no words necessary.

Sky shakes her head, turning to Ashley with another smile and extending the tray of shots again. “Isabela doesn’t go out much, so every time she does she gets shocked at what big assholes guys actually are.” She said by way of explanation, handing a shot to Isabela. “She’ll survive; it just takes her a couple seconds to shake it off.”

Ashley detects the bullshit lie, but it isn’t a topic she wants to press so publicly. Instead she politely declines the shot, “I need water for the next hour before Ubering home. It’s Jupiter’s birthday party tomorrow and I need to be up early to set up.”

“Oh, no,” Isabela’s brows pinch and she places her shot back in Sky’s hand. “I’m so sorry, I wouldn’t have asked you to come out to a bar if I knew you had to be up early tomorrow.” She interlocks her elbows with Ashley’s, pulling her to Luis’s section of the bar and signaling him for two glasses of water.

“I’m a grown woman, Is. And lack of sleep is nothing new to mothers. Having a newborn is like a hangover that lasts for months.”

Isabela chuckles, sliding her glass of water over. “What a lovely comparison!”

“I love being a mom,” Ashley defends, laughing. “But it’s not as easy as people make it out to be. At least it wasn’t for me. I called my mom crying so many times, sure that I was failing or ruining this perfect little person somehow.”

“You’ve officially talked me out of ever wanting kids.”

“Come on,” Ashley rolls her eyes. “You put everyone before yourself; you’d be the perfect mom.”

Isabela shrugs a shoulder, her elbow leaning on the table. “I don’t know. Maybe. I wanted kids when I was younger, but the past few years have basically been about my career. One thing is for sure though, I’d want it to happen on my terms and at the time I’m ready. No time soon.” The conversation and glasses of water have helped both of them sober up and, for that, Ashley is glad. The room isn’t spinning as much as it was before. Now, Ashley just feels drowsy as the alcohol leaves her system. Isabela must catch her tired expression because she hums, “What time should I be at your house tomorrow to help you set up?”

Ashley shakes her head vehemently. “You’ve got a flight tomorrow, miss. You’re going to need all the sleep you could get.”

“I could sleep on the flight,” Isabela returns smartly, her tone matter-of-fact. Ashley pushes her knee, sending her spinning on the bar stool. Isabela continues. “I feel guilty I had you come out! No way in hell are you setting up alone tomorrow before hosting a kids’ party. I’m helping!”

Luis interrupts their conversation, throwing a rag over his shoulder and refilling both glasses with more water. Ashley smiles. “Two beautiful ladies like you must be starving. My momma always said the way into a girl's heart was through her stomach.”

“I think your mom had it wrong; isn’t it supposed to be a man’s stomach?” Ashley laughs, but she has to wonder because food certainly sounded like heaven then.

“Two burgers to go please and then an Uber.” Isabela shoots him a dazzling, cheesy grin, her cheeks dimpling as she throws a hand over Ashley’s shoulder. “We’ve got an early morning tomorrow.”

—

Waking up early after a night out is harder to do the older she gets. If Isabela hadn’t offered to help Ashley with Jupiter’s birthday party set up and have a flight scheduled for later on that day she would have stayed in bed nursing her hangover for the next forty-eight hours. The breeze is fresh as she waltzes up to Ashley’s front door to ring the doorbell. It’s early spring and as is regular for Los Angeles the sun is bright and scorching but the wind is a welcome reprieve from the heat. Various trees are surrounding Ashley’s front yard but Isabela doesn’t dare take off her glasses. Her eyes were probably swollen and red from lack of sleep and overdrinking the night before. Come to think of it, she still felt slightly drunk.

She had been woken up two hours earlier when Sky had crawled into her bed. Ashley and Isabela had left the bar before anyone else and the late time Sky showed up at her apartment meant that Luis and Victoria must have let her and a few others continue drinking after closing time. Isabela doesn’t understand how Sky did it. Isabela hadn’t drank half as much but knew she would be suffering twice as hard compared to Sky.

“Hi, sunshine.” Isabela can only grumble in response to Ashley’s greeting, letting her usher her inside the house with a laugh. “I told you to sleep in. I’m making Chris do all the heavy work anyway.”

“I’m perfectly able,” Isabela insists, sliding her glasses atop her head. She claps her hands, taking in the balloons and empty candy bags surrounding the living room coffee table. “Put me to work.”

There were fifteen other children in Jupiter’s daycare class and each one had a specific diet request which meant each candy bag must contain different items and not be confused. Ashley handed Isabela a list of the kids name and items their goodie bag must contain and sat her down in front of all the miniature snacks and toys. Jupiter’s party was space themed and the small moons and planets that Ashley had bought to go in the bag made Isabela coo. Why were tiny things so unfairly adorable?

“I want to make sure they are perfect,” Isabela defends with a fond eye roll when she sees Ashley arching an eyebrow as she triple checks a bag. There’s a small smile on Isabela’s lips from Ashley’s teasing but when she puts her mind to a task she always has to make sure it is done right. Not to mention that focusing her full attention on the goodie bags had her paying less attention to how sick she still felt. Even when she was younger she had never handled hangovers well.

“Do you want me to place the trash can beside you? Need a reminder as to where the closest bathrooms are?” Ashley teases her friend, noticing the large inhale and exhale she’s continuously doing and knowing it is in efforts to tame her growing nausea. She had offered Isabela tums and breakfast but Isabela insisted the only thing she would be able to keep down was water.

“I hate you,” Isabela returns, leaning back to let the couch cushions swallow her. “Drinking is not meant for me. I don’t know why I keep letting Sky talk me into nights out.” She closes her eyes for a few moments. Her eyelids feel heavy and she wonders if her eyebags are as horrible as she imagines. Isabela knew she looked a mess when she was tired. She wasn’t lucky enough to be a cute drowsy girl. No. It was all dark eyebags and swollen eyes for her.

“Think of the memories,” Ashley insists. “Memories are all we leave behind anyway.”

Isabela pops one eye open. “That was dark,” she laughs, never having known Ashley to be anything but optimistic. She gets what she is trying to say though. It doesn’t matter how much money someone left you if they were pieces of shit throughout your life, you would have rather had good times with them.

There is a shift in Ashley’s attitude, a tension in the air and Isabela knew it would come up sooner or later. She remembers being back at the bar. Crowded and sweaty and that guy had been an asshole but it was nothing new — it wasn’t until he had turned his hand into a fist and swung it beside him that she had reacted. Isabela had flinched and it made her feel weak but knowing Ashley had caught sight of it caused anxiety to flare up in her chest and overtake every feeling in her body. Hangover and shame be damned. She was sick to her stomach deciding whether she wanted Ashley to know the truth or not.

“Is,” Ashley begins, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. Isabela doesn’t want to seem flippant or uncaring of the worries her friend is bringing up so she sits up and mirrors her position. Showing she’s listening but keeping what she hopes is a blank expression on her face so nothing is given away. “Last night at the bar… when that guy asked you to dance —” Ashley cuts herself off and Isabela has been through this before. Knows that the people in her life care about her and it hurts them to think about and they can hardly bear to ask. “If you don’t want to answer it, that’s fine. We’ll move on and I promise I will never bring it up again but I have to ask at least once. What happened with that guy at the bar?”

Isabela thinks back to her sophomore year in college, freshly twenty and in love with the new usual that had taken up residence at Chucky’s Bar. He’d been a couple of years older and had only recently graduated from university, he was on his way to taking over his family restaurant. He was sweet and funny, his family had been warm and welcoming and within a blink of her eyes her sweet dream had turned into her worst nightmare. His tight grips became punches, his jealousy became delusions, and the hopes of him changing for her were flushed down the drain. She knew the saying, ‘if they did it once they will do it again’, but she had been so young and dumb and blinded. She considers herself one of the lucky ones. The incident had only escalated once and she had managed to get away.

It’s been years and she’s had therapy. Isabela isn’t angry at the world. She doesn’t hate all men. Hasn’t sworn off to ever date again or anything like that but the memories still feel fresh in her mind. Sometimes more than others and they always succeed at making her feel weak because she can’t help her body’s physical reactions. She can admit that the memories paralyze her every single time she has to deny someone something or she is in a position to displease someone, even minimally. It’s what had happened at the bar: Isabela’s palms had begun sweating the second the guy approached her because she knew she was going to turn him down. He had been kind in asking but not so nice once she had declined his offer. It hadn’t been the curses he had called her that made her flinch. The flinch had been in response to the arm he’d thrown out in exasperation and more than anything she’s only embarrassed of her lacking strength.

It’s one thing to have your weakness known and another entirely to have to explain it. It was like baring your soul to every person you came in contact with and Isabela trusts Ashley but she’s not ready for the way Ashley looks at her to change. She doesn’t need another person in her life viewing her as needing to be protected.

“My ex boyfriend wasn’t so nice,” is what Isabela settles on and she hopes that it’s enough for now. She remembers her mothers tears and Victoria’s anger when she woke up in the hospital. Ashley’s eyes soften and tear immediately and Isabela isn’t ready to draw out any other reaction. She reaches over to place a comforting hand on her friend's knee, assuring her she was with her now. “Oh Ash, don’t cry,” there’s a wobbly lip accompanying her chuckle. “It was a long time ago and I’m fine, okay? I’m right here.”

There’s astonishment in Ashley’s eyes, wonder over the strength of the woman sitting in front of her. Talking of her pain and still choosing to comfort others. “I hope Victoria killed him,” is all Ashley can think to say and Isabela lets out a watery laugh with one last pat to her knee before bringing her arm back.

“Let’s move on to these balloons, yeah?”

Three hours are spent blowing up balloons and taping them together as well as convincing Ashley to not change every detail over the chosen theme. Chris had been seconds away from crying when Ashley suggested for the tables to be moved and it was only when Isabela convinced her otherwise that the tension in his shoulders seemed to release. He had made a crazy motion behind his wife’s back and Isabela had to bite back her laugh. She sympathized with the stress on Ashley in ensuring the party was perfect for Jupiter and she was glad if she was able to ease a sliver of that.

After meeting the gorgeous and chatty Jupiter she found herself bummed that she was unable to stay. Jupiter was kind in providing Isabela with a tour of her playroom and allowing her to color in her favorite art book. There were lots of gibberish and babbles that ended with Jupiter looking up at Isabela waiting for a response so all she could do was pretend she understood the little girl with responses of ‘oh yeah’ and ‘wow’.

“I don’t want to let her go,” Isabela complains with a pout, squeezing Jupiter for a goodbye hug that the toddler was more than happy to return. “She’s perfect. I don’t understand how you guys get anything done, I just want to have her in my arms all day.” She takes advantage of having her in her arms and decides to take one last whiff of her baby head before letting go. “Have the best birthday party, little lady. Eat cake until your heart's content.”

“Uh oh, someone has baby fever.” Chris cocks a playful eyebrow in Isabela’s direction.

“No, no, no. I’m more than fine being the cool aunt who gets to spoil them rotten and hand them back during tantrums,” she replies, placing both hands on her knees to rise from her couch on the entryway, Jupiter having disappeared to the backyard. “You two should have another one, though.”

Chris’s wide eyes and immediate head shake have Isabela laughing. Ashley elbows her husband slightly, rolling her eyes at him before responding. “That one runs us ragged. We wanna wait until she’s a little older.”

Isabela can understand that. “My flight is in three hours and I still need to shower —”

“Is that what I smell?”

Ashley rolls her eyes at her husband, “Ignore him. It’s what I do.”

There is a bright smile on Isabela’s face, content to be around friends and their marital teasing. Maybe she missed them more than she thought. She feels guilty for believing Victoria when she said Ashley must have had ulterior motives for an impromptu girls night. Isabela had been nervous and taken more shots than she should have before Ashley’s arrival, convincing herself it had something to do with the mishap from years before. Fortunately Victoria and Isabela were both wrong and she found herself letting tension release in Ashley’s presence.

“Make sure to send me lots and lots of pictures of Jupiter. I want to see her chubby cheeks smothered in cake frosting and her little face when she opens her gift.” The adults peek over in the direction of the distracted toddler. “Thanks for having me over.”

“Are you kidding? Thank you for helping. I would still be stuck in a stress frenzy if you hadn’t been my sound board today,” Ashley replies, pulling her old friend in for a hug. Chris has the door open for Isabela behind them as he lets them say their goodbyes in peace, knowing it may be a while before the girls would be able to see each other again. “Let’s not go that long without contact again, ‘kay?”

Isabela shook her head. “Now that I’ve met your little monster you aren’t getting rid of me.” There’s another round of waves and goodbyes before Isabela exits their home and they close the door behind her. She feels lighter than she had when she arrived that morning, sleep deprived and slightly hungover. The air breeze against her no longer has the morning freshness and the LA heat has managed to set in.

She takes solace in the fact that in a few hours she was going to be in Hawaii. It was a light work trip with her client only having one single interview and photo shoot so she knew she would have downtime to hit the beach and local restaurant. Isabela’s making a mental note to text Jessica, her coworker and client’s social media manager, as well as opening her notes app to see the packing checklist made the day before when she hears footsteps trudging towards her and her name being called.

There's a sinking feeling in her gut. A part of her wants to run away and hide, remembering the embarrassment and shame that was brought upon her that day, but there’s a voice in her head telling her to keep her head held high and act like nothing was off.

“Austin, hey,” she hopes her tone isn’t filled with the dread she feels.

There’s a pause before she allows herself to face him for the first time in seven years. Isabela has seen him on television shows and movies, on the cover of magazines and gracing the front pages of tabloids with his then girlfriend. She would have to be in hiding to not have seen him this past year alone with all the Elvis promo, but seeing him in person manages to take her breath away. He’s handsome and that hasn’t changed. If anything, time and new opportunities have done him well. She remembers a sad boy who had just lost his mother and didn’t know what to do with his life; he was skinny and lanky and hadn’t got a haircut in months.

The man in front of her had life in him. He’s filled out since the last time she saw him and she sees a gleam in his eye that wasn’t there before. Austin must be happy, its the only guess she would make, and no matter what he put her through, happiness and health is all Isabela would have ever wished for him.

“Ash didn’t tell me you’d be here,” he says as he approaches closer to where she stands. Isabela expects the hug, finds herself accepting it, and then she immediately hates herself after. “It’s so good seeing you. I’ve been thinking about you.” Austin has never been one to shy away from his feelings, he’s always been one to wear his heart on his sleeve, but this once she wishes he wasn’t so honest because it somehow hurts more to know she’s crossed his mind and he never reached out. “My assistant, uh, Lydia, remember her? She's pregnant. Told me last week and she was really happy. She’s gonna become a stay at home mom after, I think.”

There’s a brow arch because she’s unsure of how the news pertains to her. Isabela has talked to Lydia frequently through the years and the woman had called her a few days prior to share the news. “Yeah, she told me. Her and Raul are really excited. I mean, good for them, I know they’ll make the best parents.”

Austin looks like he’s gonna continue as he nods his head along in agreement but, “Hang on, you keep in touch with her?” He asks and he looks genuinely confused. It makes two of them because Isabela has no idea what’s going on in this conversation or what she could possibly have to do with Lydia being pregnant and why on earth it would be the first thing Austin wants to share with her after six years of no contact.

Isabela nods slowly. “She’s been a great help to me through the years. Helped me finish my internship and get an interview at this agency I’m at. I tell her she makes me feel like a nepo baby with all the connections she offers.” The fond eye roll shows all the love between the two women and transports Austin back in time to when there was a genuine friendship between them and he remembers to put the conversation back on track, where he wants it to head.

“Well, the job’s yours. If you want it.” There’s a dead silence that takes up the space between them. Quiet enough where he can hear the sound of the leaves rustling on Ashley’s front yard and the faint sound of a car honking from a block over. Austin feels the need to explain, “The past year has been amazing, Is, and I’ve actually got some of my favorite directors asking for me to read for their films. And with Elvis coming out, despite how it makes me sound like a complete dick, things are changing for me and I want people I can trust around me. You know, people who won’t come around for the wrong reasons or with bad intentions. When Lydia told me she’d help me find someone new all I could think about was offering it to you. I’ve got James, Kate, and people I trust around me and I wanna keep that going. I trust you. And I already know you’re damn good at your job.”

The betrayal that has simmered beneath her skin for six years - a betrayal from a friend and former employer, a betrayal that Isabela had forced herself to forgive without apologies being exchanged for her own emotional health - she feels the betrayal awaken in her chest as if it’s the day of again. She didn’t need anyone to plead for forgiveness and she didn’t need to be fought for but she always hoped that if a thought from him was spared for her it was because of more than him needing her for a job. A job he was only offering because he was big and famous and people were out to use him now.

Did Austin wake up and think, “hey, she was humiliated and treated like shit in my backyard and never spilled the beans to any tabloid so I must be able to trust her?”

Isabela reminds herself to take a deep breath. Austin was many things but he was never selfish or inconsiderate of others. His mom and sister would have never allowed it. Isabela had to come to terms with the fact that a moment of great disappointment and disloyalty in her life didn’t create an impact in his life. He hadn’t spent three days crying in bed afterwards or had a hard time getting hired for months after because gossip had made the rounds. Nope. The humiliation, sadness, and shame was left for her.

“I, um,” she knows that anyone else would have a lot to say. She wishes she had the guts to do the same but she doesn’t want to engage in an argument or have him give a meaningless apology. She doesn’t want him to know how much she still cares when he obviously had moved past it. “I’m taking a year off. Gonna take some time to travel and all that, but thank you. For thinking of me and offering.” She hopes her eyes aren’t brimming with tears because they sure are currently burning.

Austin looks disappointed and she wonders why he’d be anything but aware of the fact that she wouldn’t want to work with him again. Do they remember the day differently or something? She doesn’t have the gall to say any of that and she bites her lip to stop herself from easing any discomfort between them so the awkward silence grows between them before Austin moves to break it.

“Let me take your number down, at least,” he says as he reaches into his back pocket to pull his sleek black iPhone out and hand it to her. She takes it, noticing no phone case on and she cringes because her phone wouldn’t survive a day. “In case you come back from vacation early.” There’s a teasing lilt in his tone and she offers a small smile as she inputs her number for him, “Or just so we could catch up. You’ve been missed.”

There’s that eye roll again and it makes his stupidly handsome grin immediately return. For her part, she offers another small smile and wave as she heads down the pathway, “until next time, then,” she replies and when she turns she takes a deep breath to disperse the tightness in her throat. Although it’s unlikely, she wishes the next time is never because she wouldn’t survive another experience.